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Nope: Tolkien Estate Blocks Crypto Coin “JRR Token”

The developer said in response that JRR Token was intended to reference “a unique form of digital currency”, rather than the late fantasy author, and that the fact that the domain name “brings to mind” the name JRR Tolkien is parody rather than bad faith. - The Guardian

The Problem With Piling Prosthetics On Actors To Make Them Look Like The Famous Real People They’re Playing

"These inspired-by-real-life prosthetics are meant to bring authenticity, but they have a perverse way of achieving the opposite. … Playing people as heavily televised as Bakker and Ball seems to make prosthetic tweaks irresistible, yet the result usually lands the actor in the uncanny valley." - New York Magazine

Japan’s Grand Old Man Of Anime Is Making One Last Film

Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli said in 2013 that he was retiring. Now, aged 80, he's back at work, the film titled How Do You Live? "I am making this movie," he says "because I do not have the answer." - T — The New York Times Style Magazine

Why Did An Australian TV Network Pay $1 Million For An Interview With Adele?

The answer is we got there via a thousand cuts, incremental concessions that have contributed to, and reinforced, the idea that mainstream media is often little more than another marketing arm of the global entertainment industry. - The Age (Melbourne)

After George Floyd And Breanna Taylor, Do We Need TV Cop Shows To Change?

"The ways in which Brooklyn Nine-Nine and NCIS: New Orleans reacted to a changing cultural and political environment were rudimentary: some timely references inserted into scripts and plotlines touching on contemporary issues. Going forward there are deeper issues to confront, in redressing key elements of the genre." - BBC

Grandmaster Sues Netflix Over “Queen’s Gambit” Portrayal

The complaint accuses Netflix of disparaging Nona Gaprindashvili's achievements to make for a more dramatic story and dismissing her earlier allegation of defamation without issuing a public apology or retraction. - NPR

Kevin Spacey Ordered To Pay ‘House Of Cards’ Producers $31 Million

At the end of a confidential two-year process, an arbitrator ruled, and an appeals panel confirmed, that Spacey is liable for breach of contract for violating the production company's sexual-harassment policies. - Variety

How Saturday Night Live Turned Itself Into The Internet

"Given the anxious state of the world today, watching the show has started to feel uncannily like doomscrolling through a social-media feed." That's mixed with daffy bits, of course - just like Twitter. - The Atlantic

This Year, Says The Palme D’Or Winner, Women Kicked ‘Serious Ass’ In Film

The winner at Cannes, Julia Ducournau is excited "about the current boom in female horror; she particularly rates British films by Rose Glass (Saint Maud) and Alice Lowe (Prevenge)." Women, she says, have a special relationship with horror. - The Observer (UK)

The Documentary Effect

In recent weeks, documentaries about R. Kelly, Britney Spears, Malcolm X's killers, and Julius Jones appear to have had real-world effects. Why now? Theory: Unscripted content is cheaper; there's more of it; and social media exists. - Washington Post

Professional Armorers Say Guns Belong On Film Sets

One armorer: "You can’t keep hiring people who aren’t qualified just to get your movie made because you have a time constriction. ... Getting rid of the guns is not going to get rid of the problem." - Los Angeles Times

The Best Set For A Teen Comedy Is A High School You Bought For Yourself

At American High, "the school has not had actual students in the halls for years, but it is once again home to high school drama of the sort generally captured in R-rated teenage comedies." - The New York Times

The Synergy Between Cinematographer And Camera Operator Can Be The Lifeblood Of A Film

When it works, anyway. One cinematographer: "What I look for in an operator is basically a clone of myself. An idealized clone. Somebody who will be able to do exactly what I want, but better." - Variety

Do We Really Need Netflix Viewing Numbers?

Netflix has released its Top 10 lists. But "the obsession with the numbers generated by films in the first few days of their release has had ... a negative effect on the quality of the films themselves, squeezing out the offbeat in favour of franchises and sequels." - Irish Times

What Are You Buying When You Buy An NFT?

Critics of NFTs assert that it’s ridiculous to try to claim ownership of something that can be infinitely reproduced on the internet, and pranksters will try to annoy collectors by simply copying and pasting the NFT image. - Slate

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