Days after Sheffield DocFest artistic director Cintia Gil departed over "artistic differences," seven festival programmers found themselves locked out of their email accounts and scrubbed from the website. - Variety
Optimizing for engagement is at the heart of many of the criticisms of social platforms. An algorithm that’s too focused on engagement might push users toward content that might be super engaging but of low social value. - Wired
The film was shut down seven times as a result of the pandemic and now Paramount Studios, the movie’s distributor and producer, is suing its insurance company to recover the sizable losses. - Los Angeles Times
As executive producer of The Price Is Right (2008-2019), Richards was "a manager who was more interested in being a host, who ushered out veteran on-set leaders, was the subject of HR complaints, and presided over budget cuts and loss of benefits to staffers." - The Hollywood Reporter
Mike Richards lasted a day as permanent host before revelations of past behavior and social media protests led him to resign. As more details of his work history and the rigged process to replace the late Alex Trebek became public, the studio cut him loose. - The Hollywood Reporter
"'I'm still surprised we are up and running,' said Saad Mohseni, Tolo's co-owner. … Whether its menu of pop music and female television hosts will survive in the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will be a barometer of the insurgents' tolerance for dissenting views." - The New York Times
“They don’t want me because I won’t follow orders and I won’t do the kind of Muppets they believe in,” he continued. Just how does Oz describe the new version of the Muppets? “The soul’s not there,” he said. - Deadline
Just over the past year, the record price for a copy of a game has risen by a factor of almost 20, from $114,000 to $2 million, with the most in-demand items being versions (preferably sealed) of the Super Mario Bros. franchise. - Artnet
Gamers aged below 18 will be limited to one hour of online game play, between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in normal weeks. They will also be allowed to play on statutory public holidays. - Variety
The iconic MLA Handbook has added an entry for TikTok, so Noam Chomsky 2.0s, who need to cite videos from the social media powerhouse, can now do it properly. - Fast Company
DC and Marvel got you bored? Hunt down Captain Invincible, Griff the Invisible, or, even better, the TV series Cleverman, told from an Indigenous Australian perspective. - The Guardian (UK)
In theory, four fall film festivals are about to take place, with masked, vaccinated, and tested participants. "Yes, the last Oscars were just four months ago. But there’s no shortage of intriguing awards season hopefuls premiering at these festivals." - Los Angeles Times
And they don't want day and date releases, either. When movies get released on streaming, the speed of piracy is, well, it's immediate. If the U.S. gets the delta variant under control, will distributors return to theatrical windows? Perhaps. - Los Angeles Times
In a show whose segments are punctuated by dollar amounts, there’s actually a quiet, persistent suggestion to direct our aspirations somewhere else: history, family, sentiment, even love. - The Atlantic
