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February 21 - February 27

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Apple TV+ just unveiled a first look at “Murderbot,” its highly anticipated comedic thriller created by Academy Award nominees Chris and Paul Weitz (“About a Boy,” “Mozart in the Jungle”) and starring Emmy Award winner Alexander Skarsgård (“Succession,” “Big Little Lies”), who also serves as executive producer. The 10-episode sci-fi series will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, May 16, 2025 followed by new episodes every Friday through July 11...

While Disney is replacing legendary theme park attractions and angering everyone with a pulse, it seems 2025 could be the year of Universal Studios. Universal Studios Orlando is set to open their huge Epic Universe expansion in a couple of months, bringing huge new lands and rides with the latest technology. Now, Universal Studios Hollywood is joining the fray with its own big news for 2025 that promises a new kind of experience at the theme park with Universal Fan Fest Nights. Created by the same people who gave you Halloween Horror Nights, this new Fan Fest Nights event promises to bring the energy from the park's massively popular Fall event to another time of the year. Fan Fest Nights is an upcoming special ticketed event taking place after-hours and focusing on celebrating different fandoms (with no discernible connection between them). Taking place exclusively at Universal Studios Hollywood (or now, at least), the event promises to immerse attendees into hyper-detailed experiences meant to recreate and celebrate beloved franchises. There are experiences themed to "Star Trek," "Back to the Future," "Dungeons & Dragons" (the board game, not the excellent and under-seen movie), "One Piece," and "Jujutsu Kaisen," as well as a light projection show at the "Harry Potter" theme land, and the debut of Yoshi as a meet and greet character at "Super Nintendo World.” Tickets are now on sale for the Fan Fest Nights, which takes place April 25-27, May 2-4, May 9-11, and May 16-28, 2025 at the Universal Studios Hollywood website...

AI is both a potential “goldmine” and a “ticking time bomb,” in the words of Rich Welsh, Deluxe senior VP of innovation, who also serves as president of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. “Creative work in particular belongs to the person who created it. But can you protect it realistically, if you don’t have any recourse to defend the ownership of that work?,” he asked. “That is my ticking time bomb.”...

In an interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast last week, Maya Hawke revealed that she knows several “smart directors” who have been told by producers that they must cast actors with a certain amount of Instagram followers in order for a project to move forward. “I don’t care about Instagram. Instagram sucks,” she said. “Right, well just so you know, if you have over this many followers you can get the movie funded. It’s a really confusing line to walk.” When asked by press at Berlin Film Festival about his daughter’s remarks, Ethan Hawke said he’s encountered this phenomenon as well and it’s “crazy.”...

“Naruto,” one of the world’s most popular and profitable manga and anime franchises, is getting its first-ever North American symphonic concert tour. Fresh off a successful European tour that drew over 60,000 fans, Naruto the Symphonic Experience will visit more than 60 North American cities, starting with a performance at the Old National Events Plaza in Evansville, Indiana. Produced by GEA Live, Un Pour Tous Productions, and RoadCo Entertainment, the tour will make stops in major cities including Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas, Toronto, Atlanta, Orlando, Seattle and Washington D.C...

The DreamWorks Animation film “The Wild Robot” is the sole contender with a story that reflects the planet's ecological crises, per consulting firm Good Energy. “The Wild Robot” is the only one of 30 films nominated for Academy Award honors this year to reflect the ecological crises that are bearing down on the planet. That’s the conclusion of a study by the nonprofit environmental consulting firm Good Energy that examines how contemporary films represent climate change. Of the 30 films nominated for Oscar accolades this year, 10 met the eligibilty requirements for assessment — namely that the story takes place on planet Earth and in the time frame of the present day, recent past or near future. “The Wild Robot” has earned many laurels, including an Oscar nom for best animated feature, since its September premiere. Variety‘s review dubbed the film from director Chris Sanders to be “a gorgeous computer-generated cartoon with a human heart beating beneath its sleek, state-of-the-art surface” and “a radical new visual approach to CG animation.” The movie revolves around a robot built to serve others that winds up stranded on an inhabited island, where it dutifully adopts a gosling. The story reflects concerns about rising sea levels with a scene depicting whales swimming over the Golden Gate Bridge. It also reflects a world beset by extreme weather conditions....