Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer: Heres whats revealed and what we still dont know
The Spider-verse is back. This time in live-action.
The first trailer has been released for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a continuation of a trilogy that has given us the popular superhero web-swinging around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But things are off to a rocky start.
The trailer was leaked online Sunday, forcing Marvel Studios and Sony to get a high-quality version out into the world Monday, before too many eager eyes got to the pirated version.
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What’s all the fuss? Fans want to know: Just how many Spider-Men are we dealing with in this movie? After all the rumors that anyone who has either been Spider-Man or ever thought about being Spider-Man is in this movie, the anticipation for the trailer was high.
And let us not forget the movie that showed us multiple spider-people in a film can work: The Academy Award-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Miles Morales did it first.
So what does the trailer confirm? Well, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is definitely in this movie (which is no surprise) and a key player in potential multiverse shenanigans.
At the end of 2019′s “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” Spider-Man’s secret identity was revealed to the world, and now it seems Peter Parker (Tom Holland), MJ (Zendaya) and all of their closest family and friends are dealing with the consequences of that. The stress of the world knowing who he really is sends Peter to Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, where he asks the Sorcerer Supreme (whom he got to know in the Avengers movies) if there is a spell he can cast that would make the world forget Peter Parker and Spider-Man are the same person.
Doctor Strange, who before this trailer was known to be one of the MCU’s brightest minds, somehow agrees with Peter’s plea and begins casting a spell. But when Peter says he’s concerned about the few who know his secret being in the dark again, he begins to have second thoughts. Those second thoughts distract Doctor Strange enough that the spell doesn’t cast as intended and boom: instant multiverse madness.
Magic and alternate realities are nothing new to the MCU after “WandaVision” and “Loki” on Disney Plus, but neither of those successful shows have attempted what this Spider-Man movie is apparently destined to do.
Those other Spider-Men? Are they here? With the fabric of reality now ripped, are we going to see the original $100 million opening-weekend hero that is Tobey Maguire and the guy he passed his web-shooters to, Andrew Garfield? Can three Spider-Men fit into one movie? Is that even really happening given that we do not see them in this trailer? If they are here, is it for major roles or just quick cameos?
It’s too early to know, and honestly foolish to think that we would get those answers so soon. You may just have to wait until Christmas, when this movie is released.
But the few surprises that are given in this trailer hint that such anticipation could be warranted. There’s the Green Goblin pumpkin bomb we saw rolling around, Jamie Foxx’s return as Electro (which he hinted at in since-deleted Instagram posts), and a final treat: the confirmation of the return of Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus. The villains? They are a-coming. From multiple Spider-Man movie universes.
The other Spider-Guys? Time, as fractured as it is in this universe now, will tell.
Blackpink’s Lisa Teases ‘Coming Soon’ Ahead of Solo Debut!
It looks like Blackpink’s Lisa is going solo, too. She has finally announced that her long-awaited solo debut album is coming soon, and taking to her Instagram handle, the dancer and rapper posted a poster with “COMING SOON.”
Lisa delivered a visual teaser for fans this weekend, on Sunday (August 22). The artwork features a blurred image of her in long, red, high-heeled boots, and her signature blonde hair with her hands clasped together. “COMING SOON,” she wrote, where she shared the poster.
Four weeks ago, the Blackpink maknae, Lisa, uploaded a couple photos that appeared to be from the studio on her Instagram Stories. Her upcoming solo release was first confirmed in July and she has taken over global trends ever since the announcement.
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See her teaser poster below:
Blackpink’s Lisa Teases ‘Coming Soon’ Ahead of Solo Debut!
Much like the poster keeps us guessing what the concept is about to be as the further details will be revealed soon.
Lisa has also been releasing the dance video through her channel, Lili’s Film. As the second dance performance video “Lili’s FILM: The Movie” already garnered more than 70 million views, 3.7 millian likes, more than 300k comments, and she already has more than 8 million subscribers.
The Blackpink girls themselves showed support and shared their excitement by reposting the trailer on their Instagram Stories. Jennie even wrote “She coming”, Rosé wrote “Coming Soon” and Jisoo put an adorable crown on Lisa’s head in the poster. Even the girls can’t wait for Lisa to shine during her solo era.
Ahead of Lisa’s solo, fellow Blackpink members “Jennie”, released her music back in 2018, titled Solo and “Rosé” released a single album consisting of two tracks, On the Ground and Gone. While “Jisoo” broke into the world of K-Drama, to release her acting venture titled ‘Snowdrop’.
Are video game pro controllers worth it? Heres a guide to find out.
As competitive gaming has grown in mainstream appeal, so too has the prevalence of high caliber controllers from third-party vendors.
From Scuf to Astro to Battle Beaver, the controllers usually offer an array of upgrades (additional buttons, the ability to assign different functions to different buttons, faster input registration, more durable hardware) over the default controllers shipped for PlayStation and Xbox, and usable with PCs.
However, it’s not as though the new analog sticks will turn you into an esports all-star overnight, and with prices exceeding $100, it’s worth figuring out exactly what you’re looking for before you invest.
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Here are several key questions to help decide if you’d benefit from upgrading to a pro controller.
– What do you want to do better?
In determining if you need a pro setup, or what models to consider, start by figuring out exactly what problem you want the controller to solve. For me, a regular “Warzone” player, I struggled with precise movement and often would accidentally melee by pushing the R3 button when I’d tense up in a gunfight. If you ever saw someone in Verdansk who looked like they were trying to have a slap fight against someone spraying them with a sub machine gun, that was probably me.
The game has a setting to fix that, but it moves another useful button (melee) to the circle or B button on PlayStation or Xbox, respectively. On a controller with mappable back buttons, I don’t need to move my thumb off the stick and can use my middle finger on the back button to melee instead. If this sort of thing sounds like it would benefit you, you may want to check out the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, the brand new Scuf Instinct Pro for Xbox/PC or even just the back-button attachment for PS4 controllers, which could be a budget friendly option for seeing how you like the additional inputs.
For many games, being able to play while always keeping your thumbs, index and middle fingers on the same inputs is a great benefit. (For example, EA Sports titles really reward stick movement.) If you like to bounce around between games and genres, one nice feature on the Instinct Pro is the ability to save three separate button profiles directly on the controller and toggle between them with a button on the back, which is a huge time saver.
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However, some genres of games may benefit from a more specialized controller. Fighting games, for instance, may feel better with an arcade-style joystick and buttons combination, like the Razer Panthera or Atrox. And of course racing and flight simulators feel far better when playing with a wheel/pedal combo or a flight stick and throttle, respectively.
– How often do you play?
This is another basic starting point, but it’s worth noting. If you’re only putting in 2-5 hours a week, it doesn’t make sense to spend on a new controller. Not only are you just not going to spend much time with it relative to your investment, but it also takes a good amount of time to get used to the new controller, to learn its features and discover how best to configure it. If you’re not gaming for more than a few hours at a time, you’re not going to get much return on your investment. If you’re playing multiple hours a day/night, though, then it’s an upgrade you may want to consider.
– Are you competitive or casual?
Similar to the above, if you’re not actively trying to improve your skills at a particular game, a pro controller may just be a waste. For instance, if you play on a PlayStation 5 and enjoy the immersion of the haptics you may prefer the sensations of the trigger resistance and recoil when playing a game like “Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.” But if you’re more of the competitive type, you may favor turning that resistance off to allow you to squeeze off shots faster. Pro controllers are aimed specifically at people who are willing to do the latter, favoring their performance in the game above all other factors.
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– Are you willing to learn?
To make it worthwhile, you need to have a bit of drive to improve at your favorite game(s). You’re going to need to sink in some time and be patient; using a pro controller may require relearning how to play the game.
Take for example the new Scuf Instinct Pro we’re currently reviewing. The controller features trigger stops (which decrease the distance you need to pull the triggers to register a command) and allows four more inputs on the underside of the controller using two paddles (push toward the handle for one input, toward the middle of the controller for another). For a battle royale game like “Call of Duty: Warzone,” those elements can allow you to aim and fire faster and perform other actions normally reserved for the X, Y, A and B buttons without moving your right thumb off the stick. That lets you aim easier or continue to look around while you reload, jump, melee/slide or change weapons.
But to use those paddles, you’ll have to unlearn reaching for the buttons with your right thumb – a reflex I’ve developed over some 15 years of console gaming.
In playing with the Instinct Pro, I’ve often forgotten about the new options sitting (literally) at my fingertips, concentrating on the game and letting my hands and fingers do what they’ve always done. Developing new habits is a process. If you don’t want to put in the time and effort, don’t waste your money buying yourself options you’ll never take advantage of.
– How hard are you on your controllers?
There are two important parts to this question. First, you’re going to spend a lot of money on a pro controller. So if you’re the kind of person who throws the controller down on the coffee table every time they die in “Fortnite,” you probably shouldn’t sink money into something you’re likely to break. Also you should probably work to lower your stress level. It’s just a game.
However, if you’re the sort of player that tends to wear down your controllers through prolonged use (for example, smoothing out the handles or exhausting the thumb sticks so the L3/R3 buttons don’t register properly) then you might benefit from a controller that helps by offering enhanced grip, and is designed to absorb more wear and tear – through normal use, of course.
– How do you use your current controller?
The best feature for most pro controllers is the additional configurations made possible by back or additional buttons. By remapping your controller, you can put the inputs you use most in the easiest places to activate them. For most, the easiest to reach places are going to be the triggers, the thumbsticks and the back buttons. With that set up, you never need to move your thumbs off the sticks and index fingers off the triggers. If, with your current controller, you’re manipulating your grip to reach buttons, for instance using a “claw” grip, save yourself the agony and splurge for a remappable controller. It’ll probably be cheaper than the physical therapy to fix your mangled hand, too.
Pro gaming controllers won’t automatically make you better at your favorite games. What they should do is provide ways for you to improve that standard controllers don’t offer. If that’s something that appeals to you, and if you’re willing to put in the time to learn the ins and outs of the new equipment, then it might be worth taking the plunge.
What to know about What If…?, the Marvel series that features Chadwick Boseman voice
What if the Marvel Cinematic Universe had an animated alternate reality?
That’s the premise behind the new series “What If. . .?,” which began streaming the first of its nine episodes on Disney Plus on Wednesday. It marks Marvel Studios’ first foray into the world of animation, while taking inspiration from the classic “What If. . .?” comics that began in 1977. Those comics – and the show – use the power of the hypothetical, remixing classic story lines and taking Marvel characters to places even the most well-read fans wouldn’t see coming.
The very first issue of “What If. . .?” imagined Spider-Man joining the Fantastic Four (although that did end up happening in the mainstream comics). “What If . . .?” the series will use similar storytelling tactics but will apply them to the first decade of Marvel Studios on film.
One episode features Agent Peggy Carter, voiced by Hayley Atwell, the actress who portrayed her in the Captain America movies, when she was the love interest to Chris Evans’s Steve Rogers. In “What If. . .?” she’s the soldier who takes the super-serum and is handed a shield, becoming Captain Carter.
The goal of each episode is to reel the viewer in with familiar MCU moments before they realize they have no idea what is going to happen.
“The first question was never what if, the first question is where is the heart in the hero?” head writer A.C. Bradley said. “Where’s the humanity in these iconic characters that we’ve all spent so many years watching on-screen and growing up reading comic books? How do we get beyond the shield? So, with Peggy Carter it was as simple as: She was a woman in the 1940s who says I’m staying in the room and how is that going to change the world?”
When she and director Bryan Andrews brainstormed ideas, Bradley joked about wanting to do an episode where Thor love-interest Jane Foster becomes Thor – but she was told not to pursue it because that’s actually the story line of Taika Waititi’s next Thor movie.
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Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, the architect of its past decade of interconnected storytelling, was a part of the decision-making process. According to Bradley, Feige’s uncanny ability to read the pulse of the MCU fandom was an invaluable asset.
In one episode, T’Challa, the prince of Wakanda, doesn’t grow up to become king and take on the mantle of the Black Panther. Instead, he is whisked to space as a child and grows up to become Star-Lord, leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
T’Challa is voiced by the late Chadwick Boseman, who played the Black Panther in the 2018 movie that grossed a billion dollars. Bosman died in 2020 from complications from colon cancer.
Working with Boseman left a lasting impression on “What If. . .?” producers, none of whom knew that the actor was ill or that the vocals he was recording would represent his last MCU performance.
“He was excited about playing a slightly different riff on T’Challa because he cares for T’Challa and all that T’Challa represents so much,” Andrews said. “I think since he knew what he was going through, he saw this as one more opportunity to bring a slightly different color, a different shade, to what we think of [T’Challa]. Here’s T’Challa with a little bit more of a light heart, he’s got more jokes in him. We’re thankful that we have another performance with him.”
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Bradley says Boseman understood the impact of T’Challa on younger generations who saw the Black Panther stand shoulder to shoulder with MCU icons Iron Man and Captain America in the movies, and he knew such imagery was important to the future of Marvel Studios.
“When [Chadwick] came to record, he didn’t bring his A-game, he brought every damn sport with him. He was the best,” Bradley said. “We didn’t realize at the time that we were in the room with a legend that we were going to lose too quickly.”
The series’ narrator and overseer is the Watcher, who carries over from the original comics. He’s voiced by Jeffrey Wright, who’s no stranger to superhero universes on film. He recently finished filming Matt Reeve’s “The Batman,” playing the new Commissioner Gordon. Filming one superhero movie role in the heart of a pandemic was quite different from voicing one.
“We slogged to make [‘The Batman’] in really challenging conditions,” Wright said. “I enjoy the specificity of voice work. In this case I enjoy joining the MCU from my bedroom closet . . . with or without pants. I like to have that optionality. I recorded some of these episodes during the pandemic, so we had to improvise.”
The Watcher is an alien being who never involves himself in the alternate-reality scenarios that the show presents, only observing and verbally setting the stage for the unexpected. He is an intergalactic cosmic fanboy.
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Wright used his now 19-year-old son’s encyclopedic knowledge of Marvel – and memories of taking him to see Marvel movies in theaters – as his inspiration for the character.
“He is his own being. He’s described [in comics] as the most dramatic being in the known universe,” Wright said. “He’s got powers that are unique to him . . . but he’s also omnipresent but in some ways quietly. So in a sense, he’s not being introduced now. He’s always been there. He’s always been there watching.”
Best Movies to Binge Watch on Disney Plus Hotstar (July 2021)
If you’re looking to get lost in the classic Disney movies, Disney Plus Hotstar has them all, and we’ve chosen the freshest for you as a fast track into what you want to watch right now!
In support of those working from home, and to help your social distancing go as entertainingly as possible, here’s a list of gripping movies to binge watch from magnificent action flicks to cool choices which you can currently find on Disney Plus. Check them out here.
10 Movies Perfect to Binge While Working at Home
Lady and the tramp (1955)
Disney’s beloved classic “Lady and the tramp”, a 1955 American animated romance film. Experience the marvelous adventures of Lady, a lovingly pampered cocker spaniel, and Tramp, a freewheeling mutt with a heart of gold. This heartwarming tale now charms a new generation of families with its exquisite animation, unforgettable songs and one of the greatest love stories of all time. This is the night to share a special bella notte with your family and introduce them to this timeless classic.
The Black Hole (1979)
“The Black Hole”, a 1979 American science fiction film, about a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape. A space mission to a black hole finds that another ship has arrived earlier: The Cygnus, which disappeared 20 years earlier.
The Princess Bride (1987)
“The Princess Bride,” a 1987 American fantasy adventure comedy film, a fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. A Combination of a basic storyline of love and adventure this movie transcends the usual weekend fair with wit and unmitigated charm.
The Avengers Movies
Marvel’s The Avengers, also known as “The Avengers”, an American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team. If you want to see the Marvel and Avengers movies in order as they happened, we’ve listed all 27 MCU movies in chronological order.
25. Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney Plus series)
26. Loki (Disney Plus series)
27. Black Widow (2021)
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
“Jennifer’s Body”, a 2009 American comedy horror film, a newly possessed cheerleader (Megan Fox) turns into a killer who specializes in offing her male classmates, has become a cult classic and widely renowned as a great LGBTQ+ representation today.
Avatar
“Avatar”, an American epic science fiction film, takes audiences to a spectacular world beyond imagination. The amazing world of Pandora, where a man embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save both the people he learns to love and the place he now calls home.
The Favourite (2018)
“The Favourite”, a 2018 period black comedy film, only sort of based on real historical events and laced with plenty of creative fabrications, the film certainly indulges in the sensational a period drama about two clever and ambitious ladies feuding over the affections and favor of the long suffering and mercurial Queen Anne.
Soul (2020)
“Soul”, a 2020 American computer-animated fantasy comedy-drama film, a jazz pianist who has a near-death experience and is stuck in a mediocre job, finally gets his big break. However, when a wrong step takes him to the Great Before, he tries to help an infant soul in order to return to reality.
Cruella (2021)
“Cruella”, a 2021 American crime comedy film based on the character Cruella de Vil from Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, a second Disney live-action adaptation to feature the perspective of the villain, after 2014’s Maleficent.
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
“Raya and the Last Dragon”, a 2021 American computer-animated fantasy action-adventure film, follows Raya, a warrior princess who must find the fabled last dragon in order to save her divided homeworld from a ravenous plague.
The original Bugs Bunny voice was his idol. Now he plays the character in the Space Jam sequel.
When opportunity knocks, sometimes it pays to answer with a funny voice. Just look at where it got Jeff Bergman.
The actor lends his elastic larynx to a trove of animated characters in the new sequel “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” most notably Bugs Bunny in his stream of street-wise riffing opposite LeBron James – who follows in the Nike footsteps of Michael Jordan from the original 1996 hit.
For the veteran voice artist, it all began 40 years ago when Mel Blanc was passing through Pittsburgh on a lecture tour. The legendary actor had originated and cultivated the sounds of Bugs and other Looney Tunes characters, and worked on such Hanna-Barbera shows as “The Flintstones” and “The Jetsons.” Bergman, then a 20-year-old theater student at the University of Pittsburgh, discovered where Blanc was staying on campus and worked up the nerve to meet the man.
“Something compelled me to do it without hesitation,” Bergman says of his 10 p.m. cold call. “I knocked on that door and when I heard a voice that sounded kind of like Barney Rubble saying, ‘Just a jiffy,’ I just shuddered.”
The dapper Blanc, then in his 70s, opened the door clad in a vibrant Cordovan-colored robe, and the conversation soon flowed. “We sat on those two little, single uncomfortable beds and faced each other like father and son,” Bergman recounts, “and he could not have been more warmhearted and sweet.”
Bergman did some of his impressions for Blanc, including George Burns and Jack Benny. The elder actor advised Bergman to stay in school and keep developing his talents. The visit lasted about 45 minutes.
“That was the watershed moment for me,” Bergman says. Maybe he could actually build a career doing “silly voices.” For the next several months, “I was just like a madman in my room, working on television and film characters. I was able to get 100 to 150 voices over that summer.”
Also in 1981, Bergman says, he tried a stunt worthy of a Bugs cartoon: He dressed up as a delivery person to get an audition tape into the hands of decision-makers at the William Morris Agency. Within a few months, he had an agent and his first booking.
The actor worked steadily until a big break came at the end of the decade. Executive producer Steven Spielberg and his team hired Bergman for the show “Tiny Toon Adventures,” to voice such disparate-sounding characters as Bugs, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Tweety and Sylvester.
Blanc, known as “the man of a thousand voices,” had reprised some of those roles in 1988’s “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” but he died on July 10, 1989 – Bergman’s 29th birthday.
Bergman was not involved with the first “Space Jam” film – he left Hollywood and stayed on the East Coast while raising his family – but in his late 40s, he moved West and returned to the Looney fold.
“Never did I think they would do ‘Space Jam’ again,” Bergman says of the family comedy that combines animation and live action. “They talked about it for years.”
Then in 2019 came what he calls the “never-ending” casting process. Finally in March of 2020, just before the lockdown in California, Bergman learned he would voice Bugs, in addition to Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Fred Flintstone and Yogi Bear, whom he also voices on the show “Jellystone.” (His castmate from the series, Eric Bauza, also voices several “Space Jam 2” characters, including Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig.)
Given the coronavirus pandemic, Bergman would now have to record these characters from his home studio. He brought aboard recording engineer Matt Kulewicz from Showtime’s “Our Cartoon President,” on which Bergman has voiced Donald Trump.
The recording conditions ensured that Bergman and LeBron James would never meet during production. But the voice actor says the Zoom meetings with the filmmakers, including director Malcolm D. Lee, fostered an attentive intimacy that supported his leading performance as Bugs.
Bergman’s secret to voicing Bugs Bunny, by the way? The Philadelphia-born actor says he conveys “an inherent ethnicity” to the character, noting that Blanc himself was partly inspired by East Coast accents and Yiddish.
On Monday, Bergman attended the film’s red-carpet premiere in Los Angeles. The 5-foot-10 actor still had not met his 6-foot-9 co-star. But once again, Bergman employed a funny voice when opportunity knocked.
After the premiere, LeBron James was surrounded by layers of fans. What could Bergman do to get the NBA star’s attention despite the distance and din? “I yelled out from about 20 feet away and said in Bugs Bunny’s voice, ‘Hey, Doc, we really are family,’ ” Bergman says. “He heard and saw me.” Bergman was ushered through the throng to greet him.
“He was holding his daughter and we embraced and thanked each other,” Bergman says. Even amid the crowd, it felt like “a very private congratulatory moment.”
Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s return to the croisette made another history as he wins Jury Prize from his ninth feature film ‘Memoria’.
Despite some questions from the industry that the event can actually happen, Cannes Film Festival 2021 takes place successfully as the celebration of the revival of global film industry after the pandemic has destroyed much of it.
In the evening night of July 17, the jury members which veteran American filmmaker Spike Lee is the head has given Palme d’Or to ‘Titane’, second feature film of female director Julia Ducournau, whose 2016 film ‘Raw’ premiered in the International Critics’ Week. ‘Titane’ is the first time Ducournau has film in main competition in Cannes, which turns Julia into the second female filmmaker after Jane Campion to win the prestigious Palme d’Or. Renowned Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi won Grand Prix from ‘A Hero’, which he shares the award with Finnish director Juho Kousmanen’s ‘Compartment No. 6’. French auteur Leos Carax wins Best Director from Cannes for the first time from his latest film ‘Annette’.
Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul has made another history when his latest film ‘Memoria’ won Jury Prize, which he shares the prize with Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid who win the prize for his latest film ‘Ahed’s Knee’. After his winning of the Palme d’Or in 2010 from ‘Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives’, Apichatpong wins award from Cannes again in 2021 from his ninth feature film, which back in 2004, ‘Tropical Malady’ won Jury Prize from Cannes.
“Thank you the juries members and Festival de Cannes very much much for this recognition. Thank you so much to my dearest producer for your belief and your support for over the years, especially Simon Field and Diana Bustamante. You are the world to me. Dear our team in Colombia, Mexico, and Thailand, I wish we were here together.”, says Apichatpong in his acceptance speech.
“Tilda, I remember we talked about this many times and here we are. You are one of the most incredible humans I encountered. Thank you so much for igniting this fireworks.”, Apichatpong mentioned about Tilda Swinton, who was the jury in Cannes Film Festival 2004 that gave the Jury Prize to Apichatpong’s ‘Tropical Malady’, and Apichatpong has been talking with her for many years about working together.
A co-production between Colombia, Thailand, United Kingdom, Mexico and France, ‘Memoria’ is the first time that Apichatpong directs a feature film in another country. The film which is the long-awaited collaboration between Apichatpong and Tilda Swinton was shot entirely in Colombia in Spanish and English. Tilda Swinton plays character of Jessica, a woman who is unable to sleep because she keeps hearing a strange bang noise inside her head. Jessica goes to Bogota to visit her sister and gets to know with Agnes (Jeanne Balibar), an archeologist. While trying to find out what is the mysterious sound she always hears, Jessica goes to the dreamlike countryside of Colombia and meets with Hernan (Elkin Diaz), the fish scaler who she shares memory with by the river.
“I am lucky to be standing here, while many of my countrymen cannot travel. Many of them suffer greatly from the pandemic, with the mismanagement of resources, healthcare, and vaccine accessibility. I want to call out for the Thai and Colombian governments, and the governments of countries in a similar situation, to please wake up, and work for your people, now.”, The pandemic has caused sufferings to so many people in many countries including the two main production countries of Memoria, which Apichatpong calls out to the government of Thailand and Colombia to work for their people.
After the winning in Cannes, Apichatpong will continue his journey to FID Marseille, where he will receive the Grand prix d’honneur. ‘Memoria’ will start its journey in film festivals around the world, and will be released in Thailand by the end of this year.
Published : July 18, 2021
By : Special to Nationthailand by Donsaron Kovitvanitcha
Loki just gave us Marvel best Disney Plus finale yet
When it comes to final episodes of Marvel Studios shows on Disney Plus, theres “Loki,” and then theres everything else. Those are the new rules.
“WandaVision” may have blown your mind, and yes, Captain America is a Black man now, but Kang the Conqueror? He’s here? Now? That’s Marvel Studios using their Disney Plus format to take things to the next level.
Jonathan Majors made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as the character in the “Loki” Season 1 finale, which began streaming Wednesday. A gasping OMG moment? Absolutely. Totally surprising? No. Not when you consider how much Kang’s Marvel comic book existence has to do with time as power and the fragility of time being the central element of the Disney Plus show.
But why does Majors making his first appearance as Kang feel like such a moment? Two reasons. One: our “WandaVision” hangover. Remember all of those Mephisto rumors? So many of us were so sure Marvel’s top devil was the bad guy pulling the strings. After each episode, the show sent us into YouTube deep-dive madness, so we could search for clues as to how things would end. And everyone was preaching the church of Mephisto, especially after Paul Bettany trolled everyone by saying he worked with someone he always wanted to work with in the final episode (he was talking about himself). But the “WandaVision” finale gave us only a bridge to the “Doctor Strange” sequel in which Elizabeth Olsen is set to co-star and a very cool-looking West Coast Avengers-style white Vision.
Secondly, ever since it was confirmed that Kang was the next big-time MCU foe – one who would maybe even be the antagonist for a new generation of Avengers if they are reassembled on-screen – it was assumed that he would do so in theaters, not on Disney Plus.
Majors appearing as Kang in the “Loki” finale is like Luke Skywalker showing up in “The Mandalorian” with a red lightsaber instead of a green one. This is not only a big moment, it’s one of certification. It shows Marvel Studios and its Disney Plus series aren’t just chapters in between the films, they are moments that will directly affect the next decade of the MCU in theaters, as well.
Another factor setting this season of “Loki” apart from its Disney Plus predecessors “WandaVision” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is that there will be a Season 2.
Six episodes was never going to be enough for all of that time-bending, and an announcement of Season 2 was revealed in a finale post-credit scene. We now know multiple seasons are possible for other future MCU/Disney Plus shows, whether that be “Hawkeye,” “Ms. Marvel,” “She-Hulk” or “Ironheart.”
For now, we are left with this “Loki” finale that serves as a master class in what villainy looms in the future of the MCU.
Majors’s performance, in comic-book-appropriate purple, was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what he will bring to his many upcoming performances as Kang, whose origins were revealed as being in the 31st century of the MCU. He warned both Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (the female Loki, played by Sophia Di Martino) that the easy thing to do would be for them to take over managing the sacred timeline. Any other option could lead to more chaos. The key element to “Loki” all season has been variants. Different versions of one’s self in a multiverse of possibilities. Kang’s variants, he says, are to be feared. They scare even him.
Sylvie, determined to destroy the person responsible for her being on the run through time her whole life, doesn’t care. She banishes Loki and kills Kang in front of her. Kang, knowing a much more dangerous variant of himself is now coming after his pending death, has one thing left to say.
“I’ll see you soon,” he says.
It’s a parting shot that signals the next great evil coming, while giving a preview of what is likely to be the next great MCU performance.
K-pop – mainstream pop music from South Korea – has a distinct recipe for creating global hits.
The main ingredient – a catchy hook song – gets paired with a signature dance move and is wrapped up in a flashy video. The entire package is optimized for social media, where a devoted fan base gives the song a life of its own.
This method, which relies on pop music tropes, Internet culture and intense training, helped make K-pop an international phenomenon.
Many K-pop songs follow a classic song-writing style: an intro and a verse with hooks in the chorus. These “hook songs” emphasize catchiness through devices like repetition, said Dal Yong Jin, a professor at Simon Fraser University.
Put more simply: “There’s always like this catchy part,” fan Jason Nguyen said. “You just can’t get it out of your head.”
One song that exemplifies this pattern is “Tell Me” by the group Wonder Girls, which topped Korean music charts when it was released in 2007. The repetitive lyrics and upbeat tempo make for an incredibly catchy hook.
“The hook song has become one of the most popular types in K-pop,” Jin said, adding that K-pop stars, or idols, have focused on this type of music because it’s easy to memorize and easy to dance to.
Another popular song, “Sorry, Sorry” by Super Junior from 2009, similarly repeats both English and Korean phrases, making it easy to sing along to, even if you don’t know the language.
Music videos on YouTube also helped K-pop appeal to fans globally. Nguyen was only 8 when he first saw the music video for “Gee” and he was instantly hooked. Memes weren’t a concept yet, but the video is full of them – it sets Girls’ Generation’s infectious bubble-gum pop against a fantasy story line of mannequins coming to life.
Nguyen, who now co-directs a K-pop dance troupe at the University of Washington, said the video’s synchronized dancing, colorful outfits and intricate sets pulled him in. “You don’t really see that with American pop music.”
The visual appeal of K-pop videos is universal. Choreography in particular can transcend cultural barriers, which is why most K-pop videos contain a signature dance move. Like the crab dance in “Gee” or the “Up & Down” dance from EXID, these moves – called point dances – are intentionally easy to imitate.
Lia Kim, a choreographer who has worked with groups like Girls’ Generation and Wonder Girls, said labels will specifically request choreography that is memorable and easy to follow.
The universal nature of point dances also makes them easy for fans to share as dance challenges on social media. Their explosion on Twitter and TikTok, and even in the game “Fortnite,” has helped further expand K-pop’s global reach. In fact, the preview video for BTS’s newest single, “Permission to Dance,” was framed as a dance challenge with sign language for “dance.”
“Trendy dances are what makes K-pop, K-pop,” said choreographer Sienna Lalau, who has worked with BTS, Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliott, “because it reminds us that in some ways, the movement is as important as the music in today’s ‘content is king’ era.”
K-pop labels have found innovative ways to promote their content globally. One of their marketing strategies is to give up copyrights and release songs and albums to stream on YouTube at the same time they become available for purchase, Jin said.
Of the 10 music videos with the most views in their first 24 hours, nine are songs by the K-pop groups Blackpink and BTS, as of July 13. The only non-K-pop song is Taylor Swift’s “ME!” at No. 8.
Other Asian pop styles, such as Japanese pop, have tried to cross over into global markets, but as Jin pointed out, K-pop succeeded because of its timing with technology. Today, roughly 90 percent of views for K-pop videos on YouTube come from outside of South Korea.
“(K-pop is) very savvy at using social media,” said Sun Lee, YouTube’s head of music partnerships in Korea and greater China.
One of the first K-pop songs to break through in the United States was Psy’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012. Musically, it followed a similar formula as earlier songs with its catchy lyrics, signature dance moves and delightfully ridiculous video. But its success included one other key ingredient: social media.
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“That video that was just this kind of early look at like how to create a virality on YouTube,” said YouTube music trends manager Kevin Meenan, who described the video as “snowballing” through the platform.
“Gangnam Style” became the first video to surpass 1 billion views on YouTube and is still the fifth most-viewed music video on the platform. Offline, the song hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Psy the second K-pop artist to rank (Wonder Girls was the first at No. 76 in 2008). Psy even became part of the American cultural zeitgeist by performing in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
Gangnam Style’s success was fueled in part by celebrities like T-Pain and Britney Spears sharing the YouTube video on Twitter, which generated thousands of retweets each.
“The 2012 global popularity of ‘Gangnam Style’ was triggered by exposure through two large platforms: YouTube and Twitter,” said YeonJeong Kim, the head of global K-pop and Korean content partnerships at Twitter. “Before Psy … it was a very difficult process for K-pop artists to enter the U.S.”
The 2010s marked the beginning of mutual growth for K-pop and Twitter. Today, the #KpopTwitter fan community is the largest shared-interest group on the platform.
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In 2020 alone, there were nearly 6.7 billion K-pop-related tweets globally. To put that in perspective, in the first six months of the coronavirus pandemic, there were 28 percent more tweets about K-pop than covid-19.
And the interest is growing. This year, Twitter users posted an additional 1.4 billion tweets about K-pop, an increase of 23 percent over 2020.
“Twitter has been called the ‘holy place of K-pop,’ ” Kim said, not only because of the way artists engage with their fans, but also the way fans interact with each other.
BTS, the first K-pop act to be nominated for a Grammy, has had a huge impact on K-pop’s growth on Twitter, Kim said. The group started tweeting before their official debut and used the platform to have close conversations with fans. This approach was groundbreaking in 2012 but has now become a formula for success for new idols.
“Artists like The Boyz, Stray Kids, Ateez, Tomorrow x Together … are advancing to the global stages faster than the previous generations,” Kim said, adding that digital platforms like Twitter play a significant role in growing new fandoms.
As fans use social media to glimpse into the personal lives of K-pop stars, they feel more connected – and loyal – to these artists, which further drives engagement.
Fans will coordinate the use of specific hashtags – a tactic called a “total attack” – to support artists and spread fandom culture. Through these “attacks,” they publicize information about everything from streaming a video on YouTube to voting participation and award celebrations.
“K-pop fans are one of the biggest, most organized, fastest groups on the internet,” said David Kim, who runs a YouTube channel analyzing K-pop’s influence. “When they have a common goal to achieve … they concentrate their firepower until they reach the goal.”
In May, fans used this firepower to promote BTS’s latest hit, “Butter.” The single got more than 108 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours, driven in large part by conversation about it on Twitter. According to YeonJeong Kim at Twitter, fans tweeted about the single more than 31 million times on launch day.
The song, which is entirely in English, quickly climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Global 200 charts, marking BTS’s fourth No. 1 hit in nine months and establishing the septet on the same international plane as artists like the Beatles, Jackson 5 and Justin Timberlake.
But the power of K-pop fans now extends beyond the music industry, as many use their vast network to support digital activism.
After George Floyd’s murder, various fandoms came together to help. Blackpink fans, for example, organized to promote #BlackLivesMatter instead of #SourCandy, the group’s new release with Lady Gaga.
Around the same time, BTS’s fandom – known as ARMY – raised more than $1 million for organizations like Black Lives Matter and the NAACP. Fans coordinated this effort using the hashtag #MatchAMillion, with the aim of matching the money that BTS themselves donated to the cause.
“ARMY had immediately mobilized like many people around the world,” said Erika Overton, from the BTS fan collective that coordinated the campaign. “It has become a fandom culture to participate in charity because we’re aware that we have the potential to make an impact.”
Lady Gaga may have her Little Monsters, Justin Bieber his Beliebers and Megan Thee Stallion her Hotties, but K-pop fans are in another league.
“The fans for K-pop are unlike anything I’ve seen in my life,” said K-pop choreographer Kyle Hanagami, who has also worked with artists like Justin Beiber, NSYNC and Britney Spears. “They find each other from across the globe.”
Most groups’ fandoms have physical identifiers – colors, names, glowsticks and chants – and an incredible amount of influence and buying power.
In elementary school, Areum Jeong’s very first concert was Seo Taiji and Boys, the group that arguably started the K-pop fandom phenomenon after fans protested the censorship of their 1996 song “Regret of the Times.”
As she got older, Jeong was part of Yellowkies, the fandom for the group Sechskies, which was part of the first generation of K-pop in the 1990s. Jeong, who is now an assistant professor at the Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute, has been collecting the group’s merchandise and attending shows for more than two decades.
Early K-pop fandoms had a top-down relationship, Jeong said, with K-pop labels facilitating interactions by running fan clubs and events. But over time, fandoms have evolved to become more horizontal and reciprocal, with fans coordinating their own clubs and promotions.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to discuss K-pop in isolation from its fandom,” she added, “because an idol cannot become popular without fans’ labor.”
Fans of the first generation of K-pop stars laid the groundwork for organizing together and utilized search engines to create individual fan pages.
By the 2000s, fans of second-generation groups like Super Junior, Big Bang and Girls’ Generation developed “support culture” centered around online fan communities and official fan cafes with artists.
Third-generation fans of groups like EXO, Red Velvet, BTS and Blackpink are actively involved with how the groups are portrayed in the digital space, going so far as to reorganize search keywords and keep track of negative comments. Fancams, or fan videos of live concerts or their favorite groups, are also used to create community online.
This evolution has led to powerful K-pop fandoms that transcend the music industry.
“The power you have on social media is basically power in the real world,” said YouTuber David Kim, “which is why K-pop fandoms definitely have the ability to access buying and political power.”
There is no better example of this than BTS fans. Industry insiders say they will buy everything the group touches, from cars and makeup to Barbie dolls and fast food.
The group’s recent chicken nugget collaboration with McDonald’s was so popular that some used paper bags with the BTS logo are selling for thousands, with one bid as high as $20,000, on eBay.
“BTS is … the definition of a global phenomenon,” said Jennifer Healan, vice president of U.S. marketing, brand content and engagement for McDonald’s. “They have a hugely passionate and loyal fan base – many of whom are our customers and crew.”
While K-pop’s success is driven by a variety of factors, Twitter’s YeonJeong Kim says it’s the fans that set the genre apart. “(K-pop has a) dedicated, organized and smart fandom culture that is particularly difficult to find in other types of content,” she said.
For many fans, it’s not just about the music, but the sense of community. Jackie Alvarez, the chief financial officer of the US BTS ARMY, agrees.
“It feels like one ginormous family,” said Alvarez about the BTS fandom. “We can … give back to them what they’re giving back to us.”
Published : July 15, 2021
By : The Washington Post · Marian Liu, Youjin Shin, Shelly Tan
Black Widow sets pandemic record in hopeful sign for theaters
Walt Disney Co.s “Black Widow” scored the highest-grossing debut for a film since the onset of the pandemic, with revenue supercharged by a significant number of downloads from viewers at home.
The newest Marvel picture generated $80 million in U.S. and Canadian theater ticket sales in its debut weekend, the company said Sunday. Disney, for a first time reporting such numbers, said the film also produced more than $60 million in revenue from fans paying $30 to watch “Black Widow” at home, suggesting that the combination of at-home and theatrical release can produce sizable revenue for Hollywood studios.
An additional $78 million was generated from overseas markets.
The movie bested “F9: The Fast Saga,” which held the previous record for biggest movie premiere since covid-19. “F9,” the newest installment in the “Fast & Furious” series, generated $70 million in domestic ticket sales in its debut three weeks ago.
“Black Widow,” which stars Scarlett Johansson as a former KGB assassin, suggests the appetite for moviegoing wasn’t killed off by the combination of the pandemic and the rising popularity of streaming. That’s good news for theaters, along with studios that plan to release other potential blockbusters later this year, including a new James Bond film and a fourth Matrix movie.
While the movie’s performance is strong for pandemic times, it fell below the $93 million opening that the research site Boxoffice Pro had projected.
The numbers also pale in comparison to major films that came out prior to the covid-19 crisis. It is one of the worst domestic openings for a Marvel movie ever. Of the 23 films the franchise has produced since 2008, “Black Widow’s” performance is below the average domestic opening of $135 million, according to data from Box Office Mojo.
The film is seen as a crucial test of a new release strategy, where movies become available for home viewing much sooner than they have been in the past. Studios have been trying different models, releasing them immediately to subscribers of their streaming services or putting them online for rental just a few weeks after their theatrical debuts. In the case of “Black Widow,” Disney allowed customers of its Disney+ streaming service to watch it starting on Friday for the additional $30 fee.
Some of the largest moviegoing markets, such as Australia, have seen spikes in covid cases, meaning theaters are closed or in-person gathering is heavily limited. Normally Marvel films make most of their money abroad, but the international outlook for “Black Widow” is hazy. On Wednesday and Thursday the movie made $22.4 million abroad, a figure that trails “F9” in some places.
Published : July 12, 2021
By : Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Kelly Gilblom, Christopher Palmeri
Blackpink’s Lisa Teases ‘Coming Soon’ Ahead of Solo Debut!
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