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Barry Diller: Only Ten Percent Of Movie Theatres Will Survive

“Because of streaming, because of the pandemic, because of the enormous production of longform content … the word movies — what we think of as a movie — is evolving and no longer means what it did just a couple of years ago." - The Hollywood Reporter

Henceforth, The Main Unit Of Entertainment Is Not TV Or Film But Corporate Universe

The proof (as if Marvel weren't enough): Space Jam: A New Legacy — whose subtitle should be "Warner Media: We Own the Rights to a Lot of Shit and We Want You to Interact With All of It. At Once. And to Get Your Kids Hooked Early." - Vulture

YouTuber Deepfakes Mandalorian So Well That LucasFilm Hires Him

One of those fans did so well, Lucasfilm has hired him to help it ensure its upcoming projects won't feature underwhelming de-aging and facial visual effects. - Engadget

Host Of Public Radio’s ‘The Takeaway’, Tanzina Vega, Resigns

"The well-known journalist has been on medical leave for months at the same time the network has looked into human-resources complaints against her, including claims that on multiple occasions Vega blew up at members of her staff." - The Daily Beast

Is There A Future For Film Festivals?

American film festivals faced an identity crisis even before the pandemic. An impenetrably dense media landscape, the proliferation of on-demand content, and market instability created a mounting sense of uncertainty. IndieWire

How DeepFake Voices Are hanging Hollywood

The voice imitation revolution is already here, and artists, technologists and companies in several industries who use the new tech are grappling with the big question of what happens when you separate speech from the speaker. - Los Angeles Times

As The Movie ‘Spirited Away’ Turns Twenty, An Evaluation Of How It Changed Animation

The movie made animation a legitimate genre in Japan, and set up young girls as true heroines in their own lives. - Time Magazine

Idris Elba Says Difficult And Constant Creative Work Is Great Therapy

Elba was working as a bouncer when he got a part on The Wire - and since then, he hasn't stopped working as an actor and musician, constantly releasing music, movies, and TV shows. - The Guardian (UK)

How An Actress Known For Playing Dramatic, Troubled Roles Ended Up In Ted Lasso

Juno Temple didn't even know how to act in a comedy, she says. Brendan Hunt, Lasso co-creator and colleague: "She’s just playing the truth of what the character’s going through, and it’s just hilarious. ... Though there are certainly times where we have to be like: 'OK, great, Juno. Now try it again. Without crying.'" - The New York...

Rebooting Old Series With A BIPOC Cast Might Actually Harm Diversity Initiatives

What about original stories developed by BIPOC creators? "Reboots take up so much bandwidth for the network, for the studio ... that they have less to devote to newer features and maybe something that would be really original." - CBC

Marvel Has All The Money In The World, But Can Its Actors Do Accents?

A dialect coach weighs in on the Russian accents of Black Widow. "In the ideal world, I invite the actors first to get into a Russian body." - Slate

HBO Streaming Sees Big Surge In Subscribers

With its 2.8 million Q2 2021 subscribers, HBO Max now has 47 million subscribers in the United States, and a total of 67 million subscribers worldwide. That’s not bad at all considering HBO Max is just over a year old. - Fast Company

OnlyFans Has Some Serious, And Maybe Dangerous, Moderation Issues

Some creators on the site, especially those with erotic content, have faced hacking, ransomware, piracy, revenge porn, stalkers, and threats of violence. And they say the company has been sluggish or worse in addressing the problems. - BBC

Hollywood’s Diversity Problem — In Numbers

The study found that overall, 16.1% of the below-the-line workforce is Latino and 4.7% is Asian American. Both groups are dramatically underrepresented compared with their share of the state population (39.4% and 15.5%, respectively). - Variety

So What Do Other Documentarians Think About Using The AI-Simulated Voice Of Anthony Bourdain?

"Way overblown," declared one, who said the backlash shows "that people ... really don't understand how documentaries are edited." Others weren't so certain: "If it was clear that this was a projection of a fantasy, that's fine. But faking his voice is a betrayal of the contract." - Slate

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