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July 28 - August 3

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Apple TV+ eleased a gripping teaser for the highly anticipated third season of “The Morning Show,” starring and executive produced by Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. The 10-episode third season of “The Morning Show” will premiere globally on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through November 8, 2023...

AMC Theatres is not going to roll out its variable pricing model for seating nationwide. The initiative, called "Sightline," was announced earlier this year, with the idea being that users would pay more to sit in the better seats in a given theater, while undesirable seats, namely in the front row, would be slightly cheaper. However, after testing out the program in a few markets in the U.S., the nation's largest exhibitor decided not to move forward with the plan...

Disney is looking to hire someone capable of working with generative AI, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Offering a yearly salary of approximately $180,000, the R&D Imagineering position is looking for someone with “ambition to push the limits of what AI tools can create and understand the difference between the voice of data and the voice of a designer, writer or artist.” The job posting comes as members of the SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America continue to strike in a push for fair wages from the studios. Another concern the performers have is the impact AI will have on their jobs. The listing is similar to what was reported from Netflix recently. The streaming platform looking for a person who could improve their Machine Learning Program. While the software was originally used to recommend similar titles to viewers, Netflix now seems poised to implement it in creation of the content they develop. Time will tell if the tools will be used to enhance the technology already available for Hollywood, or if it will be used in an attempt to replace the work of actors and writers. Again, this comes as much of the industry is striking partly over concerns that the rapid development of similar tools and initiatives will eventually encroach on creative spaces currently dominated by union members...

Given the themes of Oppenheimer, Göransson revealed that one of the most inspirational points for his work actually came from an atom. He explained that, upon seeing the visual effects created by the atoms being split, he was struck by inspiration that left him spellbound. And it gave him the idea to create something of his own. Göransson explained, "I think one thing that was unique for this, or a couple of things that were unique for the score, was obviously the strings and the violins, but also the performance of the violins and the strings. One of the first things that Chris showed me was this... I went into a visual effects meeting at IMAX, and I saw some of the visuals that he had been working on with (VFX supervisor) Andrew Jackson, and you see the spinning of the atoms. That visual to me was just so spellbinding, and I've never seen anything like it. And I was like, “That's how I want the music to sound like.”...

From the creative mind behind the Academy Award-winning hit animation, Ratatouille comes The Inventor, an upcoming animated project set in the French capital during the Renaissance period. However, this time, rather than an ambitious rat for its protagonist, Jim Capobianco's next major feature will revolve around a real-life visionary, the legendary inventor Leonardo Da Vinci (voiced by Stephen Fry). Captured in stunning stop-motion animation, The Inventor delves into the very essence of Da Vinci, showcasing not only his ingenious creations but also the intimate and profound personal struggles that plagued him behind the scenes...

A cinema is set to open in May 2024 in Bristol, UK, with the capability of monitoring audience reactions. These insights could underpin future commissioning, directorial and production approaches to content creation. The auditorium is a 36-person 150m2 cinema and has received £400,000 from UK charity the Wolfson Foundation to equip it with monitoring equipment to record data on audience members and how they react to the content they are watching and hearing. The Instrumented Auditorium will allow us to stream data that captures audience responses moment by moment, providing unique insights that take us way beyond current questionnaire-based methods...

Weeks after multiple top diversity executives departed their posts, a group of California lawmakers put pressure on the Hollywood companies that reap a combined $1.65 billion in tax credits from the state. “One executive removal could be a fluke. But four more?” said Sen. Lola Smallwood at a July 13 press conference from the California Legislative Black Caucus. “This is a troubling pattern.” The news of the back-to-back departures also came as the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in higher education. While the ruling was limited to higher ed, there are cases currently under review that could challenge DEI initiatives that extend into business, with some noting that it could impact hiring practices. And, while the ruling had no legal bearing on DEI efforts in Hollywood, the ruling dovetailed into existing anxieties about the place that diversity efforts hold in the country...

“I probably am the biggest nerd in Congress.” That’s Rep. Robert Garcia’s self-assessment, at least when it comes to comic books (and the movies inspired by them). The Democrat and former Mayor of Long Beach has been an avid comic book fan since he was child, and says he’s seen every Marvel and DC movie multiple times. Now Garcia is putting all that geek cred to work. Over the weekend at Comic-Con, Garcia unveiled the Congressional Popular Arts Caucus. It has attracted 20 lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, lawmakers with an interest in movies, TV and gaming — and the issues affecting those spaces. In particular, the caucus will look at copyright issues, piracy, artificial intelligence and labor in these spheres...

Georges Méliès was born in France in 1861, a time before "the movies" as we know them even existed. He discovered his love for the on-screen arts at a screening of the Lumière brothers' work — the two had pioneered the use of projection screens by inventing a new kind of camera. He instantly fell in love, attempting to buy one of the brothers' "Cinématographe" machines. Turned down, he took matters into his own hands, obtaining a similar mechanism from another manufacturer. There was just one problem: It could only project movies, not film them. Naturally, Méliès reverse-engineered the thing into a camera, and that was that: The world was on the way to discovering genre films. At the time, movies weren't really fictional — they mostly stuck to the realm of documentary or to events that could plausibly play out in real life. Méliès aimed to change all that. He wanted to bring to life the sci-fi stories of Jules Verne, to create fantastical worlds and impossible beings. Even though much of his early work is experimental, dedicated to displaying new camera tricks, (there is a term for this — trick films) it's still captivating. And in films as early as 1896's The Haunted Castle, for instance, camera tricks like a skeleton turning into a bat are nestled within a larger silent story. Méliès just kept expanding, building his own glass-encased studio in France. (He hoped it would help with more natural light.) Between the years of 1896 and 1913, he made over 500 films, including art form staples like The Impossible Voyage and Blue Beard. But his greatest accomplishment would be filmed in 1902: A Trip to the Moon. (Courtesy Cameron Gorman)...