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.

The first trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is now available online, and the 70-second first look at the movie was released in an unusual way. Two years after Tenet’s troubled marketing campaign amidst a pandemic, Christopher Nolan returns with another ambitious IMAX project advertised as something audiences will want to see on the big screen. However, Oppenheimer’s trailer was released in a curious way: a live announcement on Twitter and a live video on YouTube. On both platforms, there was a countdown leading up to the actual trailer release, a strategy that not only created an instant sense of expectation but also reflected the movie’s ominous real-life atomic bomb testing storyline. Nolan’s movies have been known for interesting viral campaigns since The Dark Knight, and it is no surprise that the Oppenheimer trailer was released in a creative way...

If you didn't make it down to Comic-Con this year, you can still hang with Grogu. This animatronic creature from EFX Collectibles is going to set you back anywhere from $85,000 to $100,000. It was made with help from Legacy Effects, who created Grogu for the show. They gave EFX Collectibles the pattern for the robe, fabric samples, paint masters for the eyes, and the master patterns for the head, ears, and hands, according to CEO/President Bryan Ono. EFX Collectibles partnered with Garner Holt Productions for the project. Garner Holt is known for creating animatronic figures for theme parks, and Bill Butler, Vice President of Creative Development for the company, says this was a big challenge. The main reason is because Grogu is so little. They had to fit 15 servos in a head the size of a cantaloupe, he explained. They ended up finding a solution by hiding many of them in his little pram...

The definition of augmented reality has changed in line with technological evolution, but as it currently stands, AR is the name for the type of technology utilized in the spectrum of mixed reality that allows layering virtual objects onto real life. Early seasons and films of "Star Trek" often shot in deserts to give the appearance of planets, but with the ARWalls, there's no limit to the creativity. It's also a great treat for the actors because, as Anson Mount said, "It allows us to be in the world and not have to be building it while we're acting." Writer and executive producer Alex Kurtzman echoed the sentiments, noting that the use of ARWalls also allowed them to shoot on much wider camera lenses than previously used on "Star Trek" shows, because there was no need to "hide" the set or practical location limitations. Thanks to ARWall, "Star Trek" allows the cast and crew to enter, well, a strange new world of their own...

"Directing in animation is doing it in slow motion: It's all the same decision-making, but separated by meetings between months, so the five things you would say on set in an hour happen over a month in five different meetings. So the collective power you have to have of holding a vision and then following that note through is at this weird insanity level. But basically, you still have to figure out where I'm gonna put the camera, what's gonna happen in the frame, what's the motivation, what's the marks.” Andrew Stanton, Pixar creative director "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E"...

Two Arizona studio projects are preparing to break ground next year, now that the state has approved a $125 million incentive for film and TV production. Acacia Filmed Entertainment unveiled its plans Monday to build 14 soundstages on a 70-acre site in the Scottsdale area. The other project, Desert Studios Complex, is slated to be built in Buckeye, in the Southwest Valley. Both projects were intimately involved in designing and lobbying for the state’s new tax credit, which is targeted to incentivize construction of new soundstage facilities...