ACORN TV
Programming from several countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand, and UK. AMC Networks chief Josh Sapan told The Hollywood Reporter that Acorn TV has "among the lowest churn" among major services owing to its focus as well as viewers' "dedication and affinity" for its content.

Magic Screen, a joint venture between Alevy Productions and Super 78 Studios, will be unveiled in the U.S. and Canada later this year, and content will include live-character animation on the screen. As part of the launch, private demonstrations will be presented in Las Vegas, where CinemaCon is being staged. The system, dubbed Magic Screen — a joint venture between Alevy and interactive firm Super 78 Studios, whose technology was initially launched for theme parks — will be presented for use in cinemas, in partnership with cinema tech startup MetaMedia. MetaMedia, which introduced a cloud-based system for distributing movies and other cinema content to theaters in 2020, plans to launch the first wave of Magic Screen cinema entertainment in major U.S. and Canadian cities this winter. MetaMedia, which introduced a cloud-based system for distributing movies and other cinema content to theaters in 2020, plans to launch the first wave of Magic Screen cinema entertainment in major U.S. and Canadian cities this winter... (Courtesy Carolyn Giardina)

The two best international film schools (according to the Hollywood reporter) 1- Australian Film, Television and Radio School. This Sydney-based school benefits from a deep pool of industry lecturers and close ties with the Australian film community. Notable alumni include Black Widow director Cate Shortland and a slew of Oscar winners and nominees, including Jane Campion (The Piano), writer-director Chris Noonan (Babe) and David White (sound editing for Mad Max: Fury Road). The school has developed and implemented a “COVIDSafe Plan” that sets out a return to on-campus learning, with protocols being revised on a weekly basis in accordance with local public health circumstances and government advice
2- Beijing Film Academy. The USC of the Middle Kingdom, China’s most prestigious film school offers its graduates a wealth of industry ties in what has become the world’s largest theatrical film market. BFA now has an undergraduate film production program taught in English, but foreign students remain unable to enter China because of strict immigration controls implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19...

When the Broad Theater, an independently owned cinema in New Orleans, reopened in April after being shuttered for 13 months, business came back with a bang. Moviegoers, desperate to see a film that wasn’t preceded by hours of scrolling on Netflix in search of something to watch, filled the art house for screenings of Emily Blunt and John Krasinski’s suspenseful sequel “A Quiet Place Part II” and A24’s awards darling “Minari. "We were happy,” says Broad owner Brian Knighten. The honeymoon didn’t last long. Soon after, in late July, city government officials issued a mask advisory, suggesting but not requiring that patrons cover their mouth and nose while inside to prevent the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. “That hit a nerve with our customers,” Knighten says. “Attendance didn’t tank completely, but it dropped off. It’s not dire straits, but it could be busier...

For the last 60 years, the James Bond franchise has served as a reliable constant amid changing trends and uncertain times. But even the super-spy himself may have finally met his match, with MGM Studios unable to weather the pandemic storm and forced to postpone the release of No Time to Die several times over. The company’s pending acquisition by Amazon further shook up the iconic property, leading to even more questions about the future of the movie series. One such possibility can now apparently be crossed out, however, as the Bond producers have stated in no uncertain terms that you won’t be seeing any Bond-themed streaming shows anytime soon...

Gene Roddenberry, the late “Star Trek” creator who was born 100 years ago on August 19, imagined our terrible present, too. Before he died in 1991 at age 70, he went about diagnosing the ills of contemporary life with a candor uncommon to Hollywood franchise builders usually averse to courting controversy. “‘Star Trek’ proves the much-maligned common man and common woman are ready for the 23rd century now,” Roddenberry once said. “And they are light years ahead of their petty governments and visionless leaders.” The optimism that Gene Roddenberry then had for how humanity could become, well, more human — at least by the 23rd century — was no product of a sheltered life. Far from it. He flew 89 combat missions as the pilot of a B-17 bomber over Guadalcanal and the other Solomon Islands during World War II. As third officer of Pan Am Flight 121, journeying from Karachi to Istanbul, he had to take charge after the plane crashed in the Syrian desert, killing 15 of the 36 people onboard. With two broken ribs, he helped pull survivors from the wreckage. The last one died in his arms. Then, following in his father’s footsteps, he joined the LAPD — and got the idea that writing could be a full-time career. Selling stories from the beat to TV cop shows of the day, such as “Highway Patrol,” he got his foot in the door of Hollywood... (Courtesy Christian Blauvelt)