“Yorgos Lanthimos had filed a request to film scenes for sci-fi comedy Bugonia at the fifth-century BC site in April. But in a statement on Thursday, the culture ministry said permission had been refused because ‘the proposed scenes are incompatible with the symbolism … and the values the Acropolis represents’.” - The Guardian
“Because most federal funding goes to ensuring underserved areas of the country have a news source, defunding PBS would likely disproportionately impact rural communities. It would also be a major blow to lower income households, which often rely on PBS programming for its children’s entertainment.” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
“A new audit from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting found that Capital Public Radio and its affiliate stations overstated funding, reported ‘questionable costs,’ and failed to comply with financial requirements and grant guidelines.” - Capital Public Radio (Sacramento)
“This is Jurassic Park: Castlemaine Redux, a shot-for-shot remake (if you squint) of Jurassic Park.” The film's director, with a $3,000 budget, has classic Australian issues: “Some sheep walked into the last shot and screwed up the continuity.” - The Guardian (UK)
“We’re competing against are taking our business, our assets, our storytelling and hiring their crews instead of our crews, and that’s not good for business here.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
A nonprofit, the Upper West Side Cinema Center, bought the building with state and local funds. "It plans to revitalize the building, on Broadway near West 99th Street, with a five-screen theater, a lobby lounge and a public cafe.” - The New York Times
"I couldn’t figure out why any computer program would suggest that a person attending an Australian journalist’s lecture about a distant Hungarian relative selling off rare Bible fragments would be interested in attending the Northern Rockland Lacrosse Comedy Night Dinner.” - Wall Street Journal (MSN)
“The Ghiblification of OpenAI’s image generation launch was likely a calculated move to ensure that people viewed the new feature in a good light.” - Gabriel Burrow
Until we hear more about any potential deal that actually could be used to delay the law as it’s written, it’s probably a good idea to keep your TikTok app updated just in case its listings disappear again. - The Verge
“Today is a celebration for my colleagues at RT, Sputnik, and other outlets, because Trump unexpectedly announced that he’s closing down Radio Liberty and Voice of America, and now they’re closed. This is an awesome decision,” said Margarita Simonyan, RT’s chief editor. - NiemanLab
“There could be deep psychological – even evolutionary – factors behind the success of Minecraft and games like it, say experts. Such games tap into an innate instinct within all of us – one that underpins the success of our entire species. The desire to build.” - BBC
There is a sizeable body of research looking at how gender, sexuality and interconnecting identities are represented in video games. - The Conversation
“As the deadline nears for TikTok‘s Chinese parent to cut a deal to divest controlling ownership of the app or face a U.S. ban, new bidders are coming out of the woodwork. Among the interested investors in TikTok is Tim Stokely, founder of OnlyFans. … In addition, Amazon submitted a last-minute offer.” - Variety
Radio Liechtenstein, which began broadcasting in 1995, went off the air at 6:00 pm Thursday, following a referendum last October in which 55.4% of voters elected to revoke the law that funds the station. Plans for privatization never materialized, as no buyer appeared interested in such a tiny market. - AP
