News Corp. and OpenAI have reached an multi-year agreement to provide content for use in artificial intelligence.
The deal is the latest that OpenAI has reached with news publishers, even as it defends itself from lawsuits filed by other content creators over the use of their work in training models.
According to a joint announcement, OpenAI will receive access to content from The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Investor’s Business Daily, Fn, New York Post, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Australian, news.com.au, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail, The Advertiser and Herald Sun.
The Journal reported that the deal could be worth $250 million over five years, with compensation in the form of cash and credits for the use of AI technology.
Other publishers also have reached agreements with OpenAI, including the Associated Press and Axel Springer, offering up vast libraries of content that can...
The deal is the latest that OpenAI has reached with news publishers, even as it defends itself from lawsuits filed by other content creators over the use of their work in training models.
According to a joint announcement, OpenAI will receive access to content from The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Investor’s Business Daily, Fn, New York Post, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Australian, news.com.au, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail, The Advertiser and Herald Sun.
The Journal reported that the deal could be worth $250 million over five years, with compensation in the form of cash and credits for the use of AI technology.
Other publishers also have reached agreements with OpenAI, including the Associated Press and Axel Springer, offering up vast libraries of content that can...
- 5/22/2024
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Youth Without YouthImage: Sony Pictures Classics
Youth Without Youth, Tetro, Twixt—years could pass without us hearing the titles of these Francis Ford Coppola movies. These digitally-shot, classically-infused “late era” films excited, baffled, and irritated 21st century audiences in equal measure, but are too readily dismissed as a bad couple...
Youth Without Youth, Tetro, Twixt—years could pass without us hearing the titles of these Francis Ford Coppola movies. These digitally-shot, classically-infused “late era” films excited, baffled, and irritated 21st century audiences in equal measure, but are too readily dismissed as a bad couple...
- 5/20/2024
- by Rory Doherty
- avclub.com
When most cinephiles think of Francis Ford Coppola, they think of his miracle run in the 1970s. During that decade, he directed four films, all of them five-star masterpieces: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather, Part II, and Apocalypse Now. Or they think of embarrassments from his for-hire period, including the Robin Williams weepy Jack. Yet those five films hardly encapsulate the entire career of Francis Ford Coppola, which will likely end with the upcoming Megalopolis. Instead the best indication of Coppola as an artist and filmmaker might be found in the most recent movies he’s made, with Coppola having released three self-produced and self-financed pictures every two years between 2007 and 2011: Youth Without Youth, Twixt, and Tetro.
Although they vary in quality, and none top his work from the ’70s, this independent trio captures the experimental and romantic heart that lies at the center of Coppola’s overall oeuvre.
Although they vary in quality, and none top his work from the ’70s, this independent trio captures the experimental and romantic heart that lies at the center of Coppola’s overall oeuvre.
- 5/14/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Before he made the disastrous Batman & Robin, Joel Schumacher helmed the summer blockbuster film A Time to Kill starring Matthew McConaughey. The Interstellar actor was still a newcomer at the time, only having the cult film Dazed and Confused popularly in his portfolio. He was cast in the role after Schumacher pulled some strings, but two other famous stars were rejected before McConaughey’s casting.
Matthew McConaughey with Samuel L. Jackson in the Joel Schumacher film A Time To Kill
Kevin Costner was a contender for the role and a much older actor than McConaughey. Costner was rejected because the film needed someone younger to play the up-and-coming lawyer. Interestingly, McConaughey is rumored to appear as the next big star in the Yellowstone franchise after Costner.
Matthew McConaughey’s Breakout Film Rejected Kevin Costner Before Considering Him
JFK star Kevin Costner was considered for the role in A Time to Kill...
Matthew McConaughey with Samuel L. Jackson in the Joel Schumacher film A Time To Kill
Kevin Costner was a contender for the role and a much older actor than McConaughey. Costner was rejected because the film needed someone younger to play the up-and-coming lawyer. Interestingly, McConaughey is rumored to appear as the next big star in the Yellowstone franchise after Costner.
Matthew McConaughey’s Breakout Film Rejected Kevin Costner Before Considering Him
JFK star Kevin Costner was considered for the role in A Time to Kill...
- 5/6/2024
- by Hashim Asraff
- FandomWire
The breadth of Netflix’s catalog of true-crime docuseries is deep and wide, with truly something for everyone—or at least some type of murder for everyone. The best documentaries reveal the truth about more than just their primary subjects, and the 20 true-crime series here expose the rot at the core of many of our venerated institutions.
These shows shine a light on our flawed jury and appeals processes, with a recurring theme of corruption highlighted in patterns of forced confessions, police negligence, and prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence. Of course, while all of them attempt to locate some semblance of “the truth,” not all of them provide a truly complete or objective picture. But that doesn’t make them any less compelling or, in some cases, downright infuriating.
Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on September 28, 2021.
20. The Pharmacist
What starts out as a familiar true-crime tale about a...
These shows shine a light on our flawed jury and appeals processes, with a recurring theme of corruption highlighted in patterns of forced confessions, police negligence, and prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence. Of course, while all of them attempt to locate some semblance of “the truth,” not all of them provide a truly complete or objective picture. But that doesn’t make them any less compelling or, in some cases, downright infuriating.
Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on September 28, 2021.
20. The Pharmacist
What starts out as a familiar true-crime tale about a...
- 4/15/2024
- by Sal Cinquemani
- Slant Magazine
The rise of AI has been equal parts impressive and terrifying, but the latest advancement seems to have its sights set on Hollywood. OpenAI announced the development of Sora today, a new generative AI tool that can create a realistic and imaginative video from text instructions.
Unlike previous AI video generators, Sora is reportedly capable of generating content close to a minute long, all while maintaining visual quality and adherence to the user’s prompt. While the videos revealed by OpenAI are certainly impressive, they’re a direct threat to existing creatives in Hollywood. According to a study done at the beginning of the year, a whopping three-quarters of those surveyed indicated that AI tools “supported the elimination, reduction or consolidation of jobs at their companies.” The report also estimated that nearly 204,000 positions will be adversely affected over the next three years.
Those in danger include concept artists, voice actors,...
Unlike previous AI video generators, Sora is reportedly capable of generating content close to a minute long, all while maintaining visual quality and adherence to the user’s prompt. While the videos revealed by OpenAI are certainly impressive, they’re a direct threat to existing creatives in Hollywood. According to a study done at the beginning of the year, a whopping three-quarters of those surveyed indicated that AI tools “supported the elimination, reduction or consolidation of jobs at their companies.” The report also estimated that nearly 204,000 positions will be adversely affected over the next three years.
Those in danger include concept artists, voice actors,...
- 2/16/2024
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Warner Bros is to scrap Coyote Vs Acme after all, a report says, with the studio having turned down offers from Netflix and Amazon.
For a while there, things looked positive for Coyote Vs Acme, the Looney Tunes comedy that Warner Bros was on the cusp of scrapping in November 2023. After a vocal backlash, it looked as though the studio had changed its mind, and was thinking about selling the film to another studio instead. According to a report published by The Wrap, however, the film may never be released after all.
Despite receiving offers from other firms – including Paramount, Netflix and Amazon – Warner Bros is reportedly still intent on deleting the film and claiming it as a tax write-off, seemingly because it couldn’t get the $75- to $80m asking price it was after. The Wrap (via Comicbook.com) even claims that studio boss David Zaslav still hasn’t bothered...
For a while there, things looked positive for Coyote Vs Acme, the Looney Tunes comedy that Warner Bros was on the cusp of scrapping in November 2023. After a vocal backlash, it looked as though the studio had changed its mind, and was thinking about selling the film to another studio instead. According to a report published by The Wrap, however, the film may never be released after all.
Despite receiving offers from other firms – including Paramount, Netflix and Amazon – Warner Bros is reportedly still intent on deleting the film and claiming it as a tax write-off, seemingly because it couldn’t get the $75- to $80m asking price it was after. The Wrap (via Comicbook.com) even claims that studio boss David Zaslav still hasn’t bothered...
- 2/9/2024
- by Ryan Lambie
- Film Stories
The Authors Guild is exploring a model for its members to opt-in to the offering of a blanket license to artificial intelligence companies for use of content to build automated chatbots.
Early discussions involve a fee to use works as training materials and a prohibition on outputs that borrow too much from existing material.
“We have to be proactive because generative AI is here to stay,” says Mary Rasenberger, chief executive of the organization, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The exec notes that best-selling author James Patterson helped fund the project. “They need high-quality books. Our position is that there’s nothing wrong with the tech, but it has to be legal and licensed.”
Under the model, there’d be a fee for the ingestion of works and another for outputs that reference content. Talks include restrictions on prompting the chatbots to produce material “in the style of” authors,...
Early discussions involve a fee to use works as training materials and a prohibition on outputs that borrow too much from existing material.
“We have to be proactive because generative AI is here to stay,” says Mary Rasenberger, chief executive of the organization, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The exec notes that best-selling author James Patterson helped fund the project. “They need high-quality books. Our position is that there’s nothing wrong with the tech, but it has to be legal and licensed.”
Under the model, there’d be a fee for the ingestion of works and another for outputs that reference content. Talks include restrictions on prompting the chatbots to produce material “in the style of” authors,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
OpenAI claims The New York Times “intentionally manipulated prompts” to provide examples of where ChatGPT mimicked Gray Lady content.
OpenAI’s comments came in a blog post response to the Times’ copyright infringement lawsuit against the company. Times claims that OpenAI seeks “to free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism by using it to build substitutive products without permission or payment.”
In the blog post, OpenAI argued that the use of copyrighted content for AI training models was fair use, but that they have still offered an “opt-out process” to prevent their tools from accessing their sites.
“Training AI models using publicly available internet materials is fair use, as supported by long-standing and widely accepted precedents,” he wrote. “We view this principle as fair to creators, necessary for innovators, and critical for US competitiveness.”
OpenAI also argued that ChatGPT’s “regurgitation” of content was “a rare bug.
OpenAI’s comments came in a blog post response to the Times’ copyright infringement lawsuit against the company. Times claims that OpenAI seeks “to free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism by using it to build substitutive products without permission or payment.”
In the blog post, OpenAI argued that the use of copyrighted content for AI training models was fair use, but that they have still offered an “opt-out process” to prevent their tools from accessing their sites.
“Training AI models using publicly available internet materials is fair use, as supported by long-standing and widely accepted precedents,” he wrote. “We view this principle as fair to creators, necessary for innovators, and critical for US competitiveness.”
OpenAI also argued that ChatGPT’s “regurgitation” of content was “a rare bug.
- 1/8/2024
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
In what may be a landmark case, The New York Times has sued Open AI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, saying the publication’s content is being lifted by the platform to feed automated chatbots, constituting “unlawful copying and use of The Times’s uniquely valuable works.”
“Defendants seek to free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism by using it to build substitutive products without permission or payment,” it said.
It’s the first time a major media organization has sued an AI platform although there are a handful of pending cases brought by IP owners from Sarah Silverman to John Grisham to Getty Images.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York today (read it here), says Open AI and backer Microsoft should be responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” and that chatbot and training...
“Defendants seek to free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism by using it to build substitutive products without permission or payment,” it said.
It’s the first time a major media organization has sued an AI platform although there are a handful of pending cases brought by IP owners from Sarah Silverman to John Grisham to Getty Images.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York today (read it here), says Open AI and backer Microsoft should be responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” and that chatbot and training...
- 12/27/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Candy Cane Lane is a fantasy-comedy film directed by Reginald Hudlin, from a screenplay by Kelly Younger. The Prime Video film revolves around Chris Carver, who makes a deal with a mysterious stranger to win the annual contest of who has the best-decorated home for Christmas in their neighborhood but what he doesn’t know is that the mysterious stranger is an evil Elf named Pepper, and she is about to make him a glass Christmas figurine. To save their father and Christmas the Carver family tries to stop Pepper from unleashing misery on everyone. Candy Cane Lane stars Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Ken Marino, and Nick Offerman. So, if you loved the Prime Video film here are some similar movies you could watch next.
Spirited (Apple TV+) Credit – Apple TV+
Synopsis: Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) selects one...
Spirited (Apple TV+) Credit – Apple TV+
Synopsis: Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) selects one...
- 12/2/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Best. Christmas. Ever! is a Christmas romantic comedy film directed by Mary Lambert, from a screenplay by Todd Calgi Gallicano and Charles Shyer. The Netflix film revolves around two friends Jackie and Charlotte, and their families. Jackie’s life seems too perfect to Charlotte and when fate brings both Jackie and Charlotte together on Christmas, Charlotte tries to prove that Jackie’s life is not perfect. Best. Christmas. Ever! stars Heather Graham, Brandy, Jason Biggs, and Matt Cedeño in the lead roles. So, if you loved the Netflix film here are some similar movies you could watch next.
Deck the Halls Credit – 20th Century Fox
Synopsis: Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito are hilarious as two neighbors trying to put the “win” in “winter” in one of the year’s funniest comedies! Determined to unseat Steve Finch’s (Broderick) reign as the town’s holiday season king, Buddy Hall (DeVito) plasters...
Deck the Halls Credit – 20th Century Fox
Synopsis: Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito are hilarious as two neighbors trying to put the “win” in “winter” in one of the year’s funniest comedies! Determined to unseat Steve Finch’s (Broderick) reign as the town’s holiday season king, Buddy Hall (DeVito) plasters...
- 11/16/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Despite the D.C. push to establish guardrails around artificial intelligence, major studios are warning against “inflexible” rules when it comes to copyright, asserting that existing law is sufficient to deal with the emerging AI technology.
The studios’ positions on a host of issues regarding AI were outlined in a Motion Picture Association filing with the U.S. Copyright Office. AI also is said to be a major point of contention in talks between the SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP.
In the filing (read it here), the MPA’s legal team, including Karyn Temple, Benjamin Sheffner and Terrica Carrington, wrote that the studio members’ “overarching view, based on the current state, is that while AI technologies raise a host of novel questions, those questions implicate well-established copyright law doctrines and principles. At present, there is no reason to conclude that these existing doctrines and principles will be inadequate to provide courts...
The studios’ positions on a host of issues regarding AI were outlined in a Motion Picture Association filing with the U.S. Copyright Office. AI also is said to be a major point of contention in talks between the SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP.
In the filing (read it here), the MPA’s legal team, including Karyn Temple, Benjamin Sheffner and Terrica Carrington, wrote that the studio members’ “overarching view, based on the current state, is that while AI technologies raise a host of novel questions, those questions implicate well-established copyright law doctrines and principles. At present, there is no reason to conclude that these existing doctrines and principles will be inadequate to provide courts...
- 10/31/2023
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Matthew McConaughey‘s career has had more ups and downs than a sentence delivered in his usual Texas twang. After a few small roles, McConaughey was cast opposite an equally unknown Renee Zellweger in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation” one of the many incarnations of that horror series. Then things suddenly seemed to blossom for the Texas actor and suddenly he had the lead in an adaptation of the John Grisham novel “A Time to Kill” and was on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine being hailed as the new Paul Newman. After a series of successful films, things seemed to go off track for McConaughey. He did a number of less than stellar romantic comedies and became more known for his tanned muscular torso than his acting talents.
McConaughey seemed to become aware of his career slump in the early 2010s and made a conscious change to redirect his career.
McConaughey seemed to become aware of his career slump in the early 2010s and made a conscious change to redirect his career.
- 10/28/2023
- by Zach Laws, Robert Pius and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
A trio of major music publishers are stepping into the legal battle against generative artificial intelligence to stop the use of their copyrighted material to train AI systems, this time in a lawsuit against Anthropic.
Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group and Abkco sued the company in Tennessee federal court Wednesday, accusing it of “systematic and widespread infringement” by copying and distributing lyrics from at least 500 songs from artists such as Katy Perry, the Rolling Stones and Beyoncé.
The lawsuit, which is the first from a music publisher against an AI company over the use of lyrics, was filed in the wake of the Authors Guild — representing a host of prominent fiction authors including George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Franzen and John Grisham — suing OpenAI last month. The leading trade group for writers claimed that the Sam Altman-led company engaged “in a systematic course of mass-scale copyright infringement” to “power their lucrative commercial endeavor.
Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group and Abkco sued the company in Tennessee federal court Wednesday, accusing it of “systematic and widespread infringement” by copying and distributing lyrics from at least 500 songs from artists such as Katy Perry, the Rolling Stones and Beyoncé.
The lawsuit, which is the first from a music publisher against an AI company over the use of lyrics, was filed in the wake of the Authors Guild — representing a host of prominent fiction authors including George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Franzen and John Grisham — suing OpenAI last month. The leading trade group for writers claimed that the Sam Altman-led company engaged “in a systematic course of mass-scale copyright infringement” to “power their lucrative commercial endeavor.
- 10/18/2023
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
He’s played superheroic gunfighters, supervillains, cab drivers, NFL quarterbacks, homeless violinists, vice cops, death-row inmates, the President of the United States and, of course, Ray Charles — all of which attests to the range and versatility of Jamie Foxx. But there may not be a role more suited to the Oscar-winner’s talent for playing larger-than-life, louder-than-God characters than Willie Gary. The son of a sharecropper, Gary was a Florida-based lawyer who specialized in two things: winning cases, in no small part due to his theatricality and his ability to...
- 10/13/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
The Burial is a legal drama film directed by Maggie Betts from a screenplay by Betts and Doug Wright. Loosely based on the true story of lawyer Willie E. Gary and his client Jeremiah Joseph O’Keefe, the Prime Video film follows the story of their lawsuit against the Loewen funeral company, as it was documented by Jonathan Harr in a New Yorker article. The Burial stars Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones in the lead roles. So, if you loved the Prime Video film here are some similar movies you could watch next.
Michael Clayton (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Warner Bros.
Synopsis: Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house “fixer” at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At the behest of the firm’s co- founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops, takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s dirtiest work.
Michael Clayton (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Warner Bros.
Synopsis: Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house “fixer” at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At the behest of the firm’s co- founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops, takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s dirtiest work.
- 10/9/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
A standout turn from the Oscar winner anchors an entertaining throwback to 90s legal dramas based on an unlikely true story
Based in the mid-90s, Amazon’s robust legal drama The Burial also moves like a movie made during that exact time, in the very best way possible. The period was jam-packed with grand, dad-pleasing films taking place in the courtroom, predominantly based on books by John Grisham, perfectly tailored to big stars seeking a way to show off their argumentative skills, an actors’ showcase that at the time couldn’t be topped.
Here it’s the turn of Jamie Foxx, the sort of big, charismatic movie star it’s become too easy to underestimate as it’s become so rare for us to see him operating at his very best. The last few years have given him precious few chances outside of a string of rote Netflix action...
Based in the mid-90s, Amazon’s robust legal drama The Burial also moves like a movie made during that exact time, in the very best way possible. The period was jam-packed with grand, dad-pleasing films taking place in the courtroom, predominantly based on books by John Grisham, perfectly tailored to big stars seeking a way to show off their argumentative skills, an actors’ showcase that at the time couldn’t be topped.
Here it’s the turn of Jamie Foxx, the sort of big, charismatic movie star it’s become too easy to underestimate as it’s become so rare for us to see him operating at his very best. The last few years have given him precious few chances outside of a string of rote Netflix action...
- 10/6/2023
- by Benjamin Lee
- The Guardian - Film News
October has arrived, and Amazon Prime Video is not lacking in great new movies to stream this month. The bulk of the James Bond library is available to stream on Prime Video starting on Oct. 1, so pick your favorite era and play your marathon accordingly. There’s also a bona fide new release hitting just in time for Spooky Season – the 1980s-set time travel horror film “Totally Killer,” starring “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” lead Kiernan Shipka. And the Nicolas Cage Dracula film “Renfield” also hits Prime Video this month.
Whether you’re looking for scares, thrills or a classic rom-com, we’ve got you covered. Check out our picks for the best new movies on Amazon Prime Video in October 2023 below.
The James Bond Franchise Eon
Ok so this is more than one film, but if you’re a James Bond fan you can now stream a slew of entries...
Whether you’re looking for scares, thrills or a classic rom-com, we’ve got you covered. Check out our picks for the best new movies on Amazon Prime Video in October 2023 below.
The James Bond Franchise Eon
Ok so this is more than one film, but if you’re a James Bond fan you can now stream a slew of entries...
- 10/1/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
In 2009, I wrote a book about James Cameron called The Futurist, in which I detailed the Avatar and Titanic filmmaker’s complicated relationship with technology. Cameron has spent his career on the bleeding edge of science, from the visual effects he helped pioneer to the submersibles he designed and rode to the deepest points in the world’s oceans. But much of Cameron’s storytelling has been devoted to warning against technology’s dark potential, starting with 1984’s The Terminator, in which an artificially intelligent defense network known as Skynet becomes sentient and starts a war between humans and machines.
“It’s not the machines that will destroy us, it is ourselves,” Cameron told me when I interviewed him for The Futurist. “However, we will use the machines to do it.”
I couldn’t help but think of this conversation when I learned this week, thanks to a remarkable piece...
“It’s not the machines that will destroy us, it is ourselves,” Cameron told me when I interviewed him for The Futurist. “However, we will use the machines to do it.”
I couldn’t help but think of this conversation when I learned this week, thanks to a remarkable piece...
- 9/29/2023
- by Rebecca Keegan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For OpenAI, the lawsuits just keep on coming. The company behind the innovative chatbot ChatGPT is the target of a copyright infringement suit organized by the Authors Guild and headlined by scribes like George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult, and John Grisham.
The suit was filed on September 19 in a New York federal court. The plaintiffs include 17 authors, led by literary titans like Martin, Picoult, Grisham, David Baldacci, Sylvia Day, Jonathan Franzen, and Elin Hilderbrand. The writers are arguing that OpenAI has enabled “flagrant and harmful infringements of plaintiffs’ registered copyrights” by building ChatGPT upon “systematic theft on a mass scale.”
As evidence of that theft, the Authors Guild pointed to ChatGPT-written works like “A Dawn of Direwolves.” The unauthorized Game of Thrones prequel uses the same characters Martin created for his unfinished book series A Song of Ice and Fire.
“It is imperative that we stop this theft in its...
The suit was filed on September 19 in a New York federal court. The plaintiffs include 17 authors, led by literary titans like Martin, Picoult, Grisham, David Baldacci, Sylvia Day, Jonathan Franzen, and Elin Hilderbrand. The writers are arguing that OpenAI has enabled “flagrant and harmful infringements of plaintiffs’ registered copyrights” by building ChatGPT upon “systematic theft on a mass scale.”
As evidence of that theft, the Authors Guild pointed to ChatGPT-written works like “A Dawn of Direwolves.” The unauthorized Game of Thrones prequel uses the same characters Martin created for his unfinished book series A Song of Ice and Fire.
“It is imperative that we stop this theft in its...
- 9/22/2023
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
We’re in the midst of an exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, which is equal parts fascinating and terrifying. As most AI systems are trained using copyrighted work, the legality of such systems has been the subject of much debate. The Authors Guild, which includes prominent authors such as George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, Jonathan Franzen, and more, has filed a class-action lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that their work has been used to train the system.
Maya Shanbhag Lang, president of the Authors Guild and a class representative, said, “The Authors Guild serves to protect the literary landscape and the profession of writing. This case is merely the beginning of our battle to defend authors from theft by OpenAI and other generative AI. As the oldest and largest organization of writers, with nearly 14,000 members, the Guild is uniquely positioned to represent authors’ rights. Our membership is diverse and passionate.
Maya Shanbhag Lang, president of the Authors Guild and a class representative, said, “The Authors Guild serves to protect the literary landscape and the profession of writing. This case is merely the beginning of our battle to defend authors from theft by OpenAI and other generative AI. As the oldest and largest organization of writers, with nearly 14,000 members, the Guild is uniquely positioned to represent authors’ rights. Our membership is diverse and passionate.
- 9/20/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
The leading trade group for authors has entered a legal battle against OpenAI over its human-mimicking chatbot in a case that could decide the legality of using copyrighted works to train AI systems.
The Authors Guild — led by prominent fiction authors including George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Franzen and John Grisham — on Tuesday sued OpenAI, accusing the company of engaging “in a systematic course of mass-scale copyright infringement” to “power their lucrative commercial endeavor.” The proposed class action filed in New York federal court builds upon arguments from creators who have already initiated lawsuits against AI firms that generative AI illegally produces infringing works that directly compete with their creations.
The legal action is at least the third against OpenAI over the company using copyrighted books to train its system. OpenAI is facing a proposed class action from author Paul Tremblay, in addition to another filed by Sarah Silverman, which also names Meta.
The Authors Guild — led by prominent fiction authors including George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Franzen and John Grisham — on Tuesday sued OpenAI, accusing the company of engaging “in a systematic course of mass-scale copyright infringement” to “power their lucrative commercial endeavor.” The proposed class action filed in New York federal court builds upon arguments from creators who have already initiated lawsuits against AI firms that generative AI illegally produces infringing works that directly compete with their creations.
The legal action is at least the third against OpenAI over the company using copyrighted books to train its system. OpenAI is facing a proposed class action from author Paul Tremblay, in addition to another filed by Sarah Silverman, which also names Meta.
- 9/20/2023
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, Jonathan Franzen, and George Saunders are among the authors who have filed a class action lawsuit against the company behind ChatGPT, accusing them of “feeding” and “training” the AI software on the authors’ copyrighted works.
The Authors Guild — which also represents bestselling writers like Michael Connolly, Scott Turow, Jodi Picoult, David Baldacci, and others — filed the lawsuit against OpenAI Wednesday in a New York district court.
“Plaintiffs, authors of a broad array of works of fiction, bring this action under the Copyright Act seeking redress...
The Authors Guild — which also represents bestselling writers like Michael Connolly, Scott Turow, Jodi Picoult, David Baldacci, and others — filed the lawsuit against OpenAI Wednesday in a New York district court.
“Plaintiffs, authors of a broad array of works of fiction, bring this action under the Copyright Act seeking redress...
- 9/20/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
The Authors Guild, John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, Michael Connelly, Jodi Picoult and a group of other famous fiction writers filed a class action lawsuit on Wednesday against OpenAI, claiming that their technology is infringing on their works.
It’s the latest lawsuit to challenge AI’s use of copyrighted works as “training data” for their system.
In their complaint, the authors claim that OpenAI copied their works “wholesale, without permission or consideration.” The plaintiffs contend that the company fed their works into large language models, “algorithms designed to output human-seeming text responses to users’ prompts and queries.”
“Generative AI is a vast new field for Silicon Valley’s longstanding exploitation of content providers. Authors should have the right to decide when their works are used to ‘train’ AI. If they choose to opt in, they should be appropriately compensated,” author Jonathan Franzen said in a statement. Read the complaint.
It’s the latest lawsuit to challenge AI’s use of copyrighted works as “training data” for their system.
In their complaint, the authors claim that OpenAI copied their works “wholesale, without permission or consideration.” The plaintiffs contend that the company fed their works into large language models, “algorithms designed to output human-seeming text responses to users’ prompts and queries.”
“Generative AI is a vast new field for Silicon Valley’s longstanding exploitation of content providers. Authors should have the right to decide when their works are used to ‘train’ AI. If they choose to opt in, they should be appropriately compensated,” author Jonathan Franzen said in a statement. Read the complaint.
- 9/20/2023
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Clockwise from top left: Malcolm X (Warner Bros.), Washington at the 74th Annual Academy Awards (Getty/Frederick M. Brown) Training Day (Warner Bros/Screenshot), Remember The Titans (Buena Vista Pictures/Screenshot), Fences (Paramount). Graphic: The A.V. Club
In 2020, The New York Times anointed Denzel Washington the greatest actor of the 21st century so far.
In 2020, The New York Times anointed Denzel Washington the greatest actor of the 21st century so far.
- 8/31/2023
- by Phil Pirrello
- avclub.com
We're back in a Suits Era!
The former USA Network hit drama has had a resurgence in popularity since it hit Netflix at the end of June, and it's wracked up over a billion minutes of viewership since. Four years after leaving the air, we're once again living in Suits Renaissance.
It has attracted a brand new audience with varying factors, from seeing the Duchess of Sussex in her acting prime to genuinely craving a delicious, fast-paced, witty series to hold people over as we deal with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
TV Fanatic has plenty of Suits-related content in our archives, as we covered the series religiously with our Suits Reviews and Suits Roundtables. Feel free to check any and all of it out as you enjoy your binge.
For those who just hopped off the Suits train and are searching for their next great series that matches that same energy,...
The former USA Network hit drama has had a resurgence in popularity since it hit Netflix at the end of June, and it's wracked up over a billion minutes of viewership since. Four years after leaving the air, we're once again living in Suits Renaissance.
It has attracted a brand new audience with varying factors, from seeing the Duchess of Sussex in her acting prime to genuinely craving a delicious, fast-paced, witty series to hold people over as we deal with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
TV Fanatic has plenty of Suits-related content in our archives, as we covered the series religiously with our Suits Reviews and Suits Roundtables. Feel free to check any and all of it out as you enjoy your binge.
For those who just hopped off the Suits train and are searching for their next great series that matches that same energy,...
- 8/9/2023
- by Jasmine Blu
- TVfanatic
For a time in the 1990s, a film adaptation of a John Grisham novel was guaranteed to turn a tidy profit at the box office, if not mushroom into a full-on blockbuster. "The Firm," "The Pelican Brief" and "The Client" all made loads of money off of a built-in audience that just had to see how the lawyer-turned-bestselling author's latest book was brought to life by Hollywood's biggest stars. Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Tommy Lee Jones, and Susan Sarandon, among many others, were enlisted to turn these page-turners into big-screen spectacles. They were never better than over-produced B movies, but you didn't care because the material was never more than risible. Grisham wrote disposable legal thrillers that moved fast enough to get you past their myriad implausibilities, and there was nothing wrong with this.
"A Time to Kill" was a different animal. Based on Grisham's debut novel,...
"A Time to Kill" was a different animal. Based on Grisham's debut novel,...
- 7/27/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Samuel L. Jackson is speaking out about another missed opportunity he had at winning an Oscar for one of his early films.
Last year, the 74-year-old actor told The Times that he thinks he should have won the 1995 Academy Award for best supporting actor for “Pulp Fiction” instead of Martin Landau (“Ed Wood”).
Jackson believes he was robbed of a second chance at taking home a golden statuette just a few years later for his role in Joel Schumacher’s 1996 legal drama “A Time to Kill”, which also starred Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock. In the Joel Schumacher-directed film, adapted from John Grisham’s novel of the same name, Jackson portrayed a man on trial for killing the two men who raped his daughter.
Read More: Samuel L. Jackson Defends Brie Larson From Sexist Marvel Fans: ‘She’s Not Going To Let Any Of That Stuff Destroy Her’
In a new interview with Vulture,...
Last year, the 74-year-old actor told The Times that he thinks he should have won the 1995 Academy Award for best supporting actor for “Pulp Fiction” instead of Martin Landau (“Ed Wood”).
Jackson believes he was robbed of a second chance at taking home a golden statuette just a few years later for his role in Joel Schumacher’s 1996 legal drama “A Time to Kill”, which also starred Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock. In the Joel Schumacher-directed film, adapted from John Grisham’s novel of the same name, Jackson portrayed a man on trial for killing the two men who raped his daughter.
Read More: Samuel L. Jackson Defends Brie Larson From Sexist Marvel Fans: ‘She’s Not Going To Let Any Of That Stuff Destroy Her’
In a new interview with Vulture,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Samuel L. Jackson told The Times last year that he deserved to win the Oscar for best supporting actor over Martin Landau (“Ed Wood”) at the 1995 Academy Awards. In a new interview with Vulture, the actor said he was robbed of a second chance to win an Oscar just a couple years later with Joel Schumacher’s 1996 legal drama “A Time to Kill,” co-starring Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock. The John Grisham adaptation starred Jackson as a man on trial in Mississippi for killing the two men who raped his daughter.
“In ‘A Time to Kill,’ when I kill those guys, I kill them because my daughter needs to know that those guys are not on the planet anymore and they will never hurt her again — that I will do anything to protect her,” Jackson said. “That’s how I played that character throughout. And there were specific things we shot,...
“In ‘A Time to Kill,’ when I kill those guys, I kill them because my daughter needs to know that those guys are not on the planet anymore and they will never hurt her again — that I will do anything to protect her,” Jackson said. “That’s how I played that character throughout. And there were specific things we shot,...
- 7/20/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut (Warner Bros.); Magnolia (New Line Cinema); Mission: Impossible (Paramount Pictures; Top Gun (Paramount Pictures)Image: Getty Images; New Line Cinema; Paramount Pictures; Paramount Pictures
No one has made a better case to be Hollywood’s most enduring movie star over the past four decades than Tom Cruise.
No one has made a better case to be Hollywood’s most enduring movie star over the past four decades than Tom Cruise.
- 7/14/2023
- by Scott Huver, Mark Keizer, Don Lewis, Richard Newby, Luke Y. Thompson, Todd Gilchrist
- avclub.com
The highly anticipated spy thriller “Special Ops: Lioness” arrives on Paramount+ on July 23. The original series from Taylor Sheridan is based on a true story and stars Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Nicole Kidman, and Morgan Freeman. De Oliveira plays a CIA undercover operative, a “lioness,” charged with befriending someone close to a high-value enemy target, a key member of a state terrorist organization.
Catch the “Special Ops: Lioness” trailer
Also coming to Paramount+ next month will be a reunion filled with humor and romance. New film “Zoey 102” will premiere on July 28 and reunite many of the cast members from the beloved high-school series “Zoey 101.” The gang is getting back together in Malibu to attend Logan and Quinn’s wedding, but that is not the only romance in the air. Jamie Lynn Spears, Sean Flynn, Christopher Massey, Erin Sanders, and Abby Wilde star in the sequel film.
Watch...
Catch the “Special Ops: Lioness” trailer
Also coming to Paramount+ next month will be a reunion filled with humor and romance. New film “Zoey 102” will premiere on July 28 and reunite many of the cast members from the beloved high-school series “Zoey 101.” The gang is getting back together in Malibu to attend Logan and Quinn’s wedding, but that is not the only romance in the air. Jamie Lynn Spears, Sean Flynn, Christopher Massey, Erin Sanders, and Abby Wilde star in the sequel film.
Watch...
- 6/30/2023
- by Fern Siegel
- The Streamable
Every 10 years or so, Hollywood seems to fall head over heels in love with a writer. In the 1990s, studios couldn't stop turning John Grisham's legal drama/thriller novels into movies. Such was also the case with romance novelist Nicholas Sparks, starting with "Message in a Bottle" in 1999 and stretching on throughout the 2000s and a little beyond.
More recently, journalist and writer David Grann has quietly emerged as the hot new thing in Tinseltown. His book "Killers of the Flower Moon" is now a $200 million, three-hour epic directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and the screen rights to his newest work, "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder," were acquired by Scorsese and DiCaprio before it was even published. Recent years have also seen Grann's book "The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon" and his New Yorker article...
More recently, journalist and writer David Grann has quietly emerged as the hot new thing in Tinseltown. His book "Killers of the Flower Moon" is now a $200 million, three-hour epic directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and the screen rights to his newest work, "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder," were acquired by Scorsese and DiCaprio before it was even published. Recent years have also seen Grann's book "The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon" and his New Yorker article...
- 5/18/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Matthew McConaughey didn’t come out of his Dazed and Confused days as an immediate leading man.
Though an established actor, it took a while for many to consider McConaughey a star. But a Sandra Bullock feature helped establish McConaughey as a headliner.
Matthew McConaughey was laughed at for wanting to be the lead in ‘A Time to Kill’ with Sandra Bullock Matthew McConaughey | Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
McConaughey may have had two breakthroughs in his career. His first breakthrough came when he scored a memorable role in the Richard Linklater project Dazed and Confused. The film would help launch his film career, but his second breakthrough would officially launch him into movie star status.
A Time to Kill was a 1996 drama that starred McConaughey as a fresh-faced lawyer attempting to successfully defend a client accused of murder. It featured an ensemble cast that included Samuel L. Jackson and Sandra Bullock.
Though an established actor, it took a while for many to consider McConaughey a star. But a Sandra Bullock feature helped establish McConaughey as a headliner.
Matthew McConaughey was laughed at for wanting to be the lead in ‘A Time to Kill’ with Sandra Bullock Matthew McConaughey | Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
McConaughey may have had two breakthroughs in his career. His first breakthrough came when he scored a memorable role in the Richard Linklater project Dazed and Confused. The film would help launch his film career, but his second breakthrough would officially launch him into movie star status.
A Time to Kill was a 1996 drama that starred McConaughey as a fresh-faced lawyer attempting to successfully defend a client accused of murder. It featured an ensemble cast that included Samuel L. Jackson and Sandra Bullock.
- 4/25/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Apple TV+’s “The Last Thing He Told Me,” adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Laura Dave, arrives 17 years after we bade farewell to Sydney Bristow, and critics agree it’s great to see Jennifer Garner on television again. Though she headlined HBO’s “Camping” and has a recurring role on Starz’s “Party Down,” this is Garner’s most solid Emmy vehicle since “Alias” earned her four nominations throughout its five-season run on ABC.
Artisanal woodworker Hannah Michaels (Garner) has worked to shield herself from unwanted surprises, but that carefully curated existence is thrown into disarray when her husband (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) vanishes amidst an FBI raid of his software startup. All Hannah’s given is a handwritten note requesting she protect his 16-year-old daughter (Angourie Rice). The mismatched duo must dodge investigators and a host of seedy figures while attempting to uncover the truth behind their newfound state of jeopardy.
Artisanal woodworker Hannah Michaels (Garner) has worked to shield herself from unwanted surprises, but that carefully curated existence is thrown into disarray when her husband (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) vanishes amidst an FBI raid of his software startup. All Hannah’s given is a handwritten note requesting she protect his 16-year-old daughter (Angourie Rice). The mismatched duo must dodge investigators and a host of seedy figures while attempting to uncover the truth behind their newfound state of jeopardy.
- 4/20/2023
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
Jeopardy champion Brian Henegar will donate a portion of his earnings to the Anti-Defamation League following hateful comments about his appearance.
On Tuesday night’s episode, Henegar beat Crystal Zhao and Amanda Bain Wysocki, correctly answering “John Grisham” in Final Jeopardy. He earned $23,200.
However, he went viral for a different reason when viewers poked fun at his appearance on social media, comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
Henegar spoke out on Twitter, saying those who mocked his appearance were “a bunch of jerks.”
Right now I’m feeling every emotion under the sun reliving my Jeopardy! appearance. And I’m seeing what a bunch of Jerks on Twitter are doing because all they can focus on my looks… So I’m going to be leaving Twitter for a while, see you soon
— Brian Henegar (@JepMasta) April 5, 2023
The Jeopardy champion then chose to leave the social media platform.
When a user wrote,...
On Tuesday night’s episode, Henegar beat Crystal Zhao and Amanda Bain Wysocki, correctly answering “John Grisham” in Final Jeopardy. He earned $23,200.
However, he went viral for a different reason when viewers poked fun at his appearance on social media, comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
Henegar spoke out on Twitter, saying those who mocked his appearance were “a bunch of jerks.”
Right now I’m feeling every emotion under the sun reliving my Jeopardy! appearance. And I’m seeing what a bunch of Jerks on Twitter are doing because all they can focus on my looks… So I’m going to be leaving Twitter for a while, see you soon
— Brian Henegar (@JepMasta) April 5, 2023
The Jeopardy champion then chose to leave the social media platform.
When a user wrote,...
- 4/7/2023
- by Alex Nguyen
- Uinterview
Doubleday will publish the sequel to John Grisham’s bestseller The Firm this fall. The new legal thriller, titled The Exchange: After The Firm, will mark the return of protagonist Mitch McDeere; publication date is October 17.
The announcement was made today by Grisham’s publisher, Suzanne Herz, EVP, Publisher Vintage/Anchor Books, and rights to the work were sold by David Gernert at The Gernert Company.
The book will be published by Doubleday in hardcover, as an ebook, and in audio by Penguin Random House. Anchor will published it in trade paper a year later. An announced hardcover first printing of 1.5 million copies has been set.
“When last seen in The Firm, Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby were fleeing Memphis with the bad guys in hot pursuit,” says Grisham. “Now they’re back, fifteen years later, and living in New York where Mitch is an international lawyer and a partner in a mega-firm.
The announcement was made today by Grisham’s publisher, Suzanne Herz, EVP, Publisher Vintage/Anchor Books, and rights to the work were sold by David Gernert at The Gernert Company.
The book will be published by Doubleday in hardcover, as an ebook, and in audio by Penguin Random House. Anchor will published it in trade paper a year later. An announced hardcover first printing of 1.5 million copies has been set.
“When last seen in The Firm, Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby were fleeing Memphis with the bad guys in hot pursuit,” says Grisham. “Now they’re back, fifteen years later, and living in New York where Mitch is an international lawyer and a partner in a mega-firm.
- 3/29/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Night Agent is a series created by Shawn Ryan starring Gabriel Basso. It is based on the novel by Matthew Quirk.
A call, an FBI agent and a conspiracy: the elements of the thriller are defined in just ten minutes.
About the Series
And the fact is that The Night Agent is a series that is not in the least misleading: a protagonist dedicated to good and an action script structure that jumps from one scene to another in a series that knows which strings to pluck and simply acts accordingly.
Absolutely nothing bad, but nothing that will be surprising either. A series with the tension of a John Grisham (without lawyers) in literature, close to Jack Ryan, although more devoted to intrigue and suspense than to action.
The Hollywood industry draws on what it knows best, from the well-executed suspense thriller, with its rhythm, the structured script, sometimes vacuous,...
A call, an FBI agent and a conspiracy: the elements of the thriller are defined in just ten minutes.
About the Series
And the fact is that The Night Agent is a series that is not in the least misleading: a protagonist dedicated to good and an action script structure that jumps from one scene to another in a series that knows which strings to pluck and simply acts accordingly.
Absolutely nothing bad, but nothing that will be surprising either. A series with the tension of a John Grisham (without lawyers) in literature, close to Jack Ryan, although more devoted to intrigue and suspense than to action.
The Hollywood industry draws on what it knows best, from the well-executed suspense thriller, with its rhythm, the structured script, sometimes vacuous,...
- 3/22/2023
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid - TV
Since it began in January, the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh has captivated viewers. Murdaugh, 54, is accused of fatally shooting his 52-year-old wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh, near the dog kennels on his hunting estate, called Moselle, in Islandton, South Carolina, on June 7, 2021.
Netflix recently premiered a docuseries focused on Alex’s misdeeds and accusations, including more than 100 finance-related charges. Many of those following his crimes want to know more about his extensive family tree. Here’s everything you need to know:
Alex Murdaugh’s immediate family members include wife Maggie and sons Buster and Paul
Alex Murdaugh is a former attorney who worked for the South Carolina private injury law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick (Pmped), now known as The Parker Law Group. This firm built a lot of its success in the early 2000s, and Alex had worked at this family firm for decades,...
Netflix recently premiered a docuseries focused on Alex’s misdeeds and accusations, including more than 100 finance-related charges. Many of those following his crimes want to know more about his extensive family tree. Here’s everything you need to know:
Alex Murdaugh’s immediate family members include wife Maggie and sons Buster and Paul
Alex Murdaugh is a former attorney who worked for the South Carolina private injury law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick (Pmped), now known as The Parker Law Group. This firm built a lot of its success in the early 2000s, and Alex had worked at this family firm for decades,...
- 3/2/2023
- by Produced by Digital Editors
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Exclusive: FilmNation Entertainment and Zq Entertainment have finalized a multi-year feature film development fund deal.
The first project to be developed under the initiative is Josephine Decker’s feature adaptation of Karen Russell’s 2011 Pulitzer Prize-nominated bestselling novel Swamplandia!
Decker is best known for her Berlinale- and Sundance-selected features Madeleine’s Madeleine (2013) and Shirley (2020) as well as the recently released The Sky Is Everywhere Else for Apple TV+ and A24.
Russell’s Southwest Florida-set tale follows the story of 13-year-old Ava Bigtree who, after an illness befalls her mother, embarks out of her family’s Everglades theme park to piece her family back together.
Development on the feature is ongoing.
The new fund is the first collaboration between the two like-minded companies and is intended to pay for the development of feature films and create project co-financing opportunities.
The partnership will allow Glen Basner’s FilmNation to further expand its strategy of acquiring early-stage,...
The first project to be developed under the initiative is Josephine Decker’s feature adaptation of Karen Russell’s 2011 Pulitzer Prize-nominated bestselling novel Swamplandia!
Decker is best known for her Berlinale- and Sundance-selected features Madeleine’s Madeleine (2013) and Shirley (2020) as well as the recently released The Sky Is Everywhere Else for Apple TV+ and A24.
Russell’s Southwest Florida-set tale follows the story of 13-year-old Ava Bigtree who, after an illness befalls her mother, embarks out of her family’s Everglades theme park to piece her family back together.
Development on the feature is ongoing.
The new fund is the first collaboration between the two like-minded companies and is intended to pay for the development of feature films and create project co-financing opportunities.
The partnership will allow Glen Basner’s FilmNation to further expand its strategy of acquiring early-stage,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Michael Crichton’s brilliant mix of science and narrative resulted in north of $10 billion in film and TV revenue and 250 million books sold. Now, the estate of the author who died in 2008 has made another major deal to bring his work back to new audiences.
Blackstone Publishing has made a seven-figure deal with CrichtonSun to acquire the worldwide print, eBook and audiobook rights to Crichton’s first series of novels, which he wrote under the pseudonym John Lange. This was long before Jurassic Park, ER and such, and he wrote the first three titles while matriculating at Harvard Medical School. This side pursuit also came prior to his first breakout novel done under the Crichton name, 1971’s The Andromeda Strain.
The eight books comprise unconnected tales of fiction in numerous genres and will be shopped to studios and streamers for potential film/television adaptations. Perhaps Crichton didn’t want...
Blackstone Publishing has made a seven-figure deal with CrichtonSun to acquire the worldwide print, eBook and audiobook rights to Crichton’s first series of novels, which he wrote under the pseudonym John Lange. This was long before Jurassic Park, ER and such, and he wrote the first three titles while matriculating at Harvard Medical School. This side pursuit also came prior to his first breakout novel done under the Crichton name, 1971’s The Andromeda Strain.
The eight books comprise unconnected tales of fiction in numerous genres and will be shopped to studios and streamers for potential film/television adaptations. Perhaps Crichton didn’t want...
- 2/21/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins will team with Top Gun: Maverick’s Glen Powell in Locked, a remake of the Argentinian action thriller 4X4, for Zq Entertainment and Raimi Productions. David Yarovesky is set to direct. He and Sam Raimi collaborated recently on Nightbooks. Michael Arlen Ross (Oracle) wrote the script. The original was written and directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat (Official Competition).
Related Story Octavia Spencer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Lucy Liu To Star In Black List Script ‘Nobody Nothing Nowhere’ For ‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’ Producers – EFM Hot Package Related Story 'Don't Suck': Vmi Worldwide Boards Jamie Kennedy Vampire Comedy & Releases First Trailer — EFM Related Story Mossbank, CAA & UTA Launch Action-Horror 'Azrael' With 'Ready Or Not' Star Samara Weaving & 'You're Next' Scribe, First Look — EFM
Locked is an intense, character-driven thriller about a thief who breaks into a luxury SUV,...
Related Story Octavia Spencer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Lucy Liu To Star In Black List Script ‘Nobody Nothing Nowhere’ For ‘Beasts Of The Southern Wild’ Producers – EFM Hot Package Related Story 'Don't Suck': Vmi Worldwide Boards Jamie Kennedy Vampire Comedy & Releases First Trailer — EFM Related Story Mossbank, CAA & UTA Launch Action-Horror 'Azrael' With 'Ready Or Not' Star Samara Weaving & 'You're Next' Scribe, First Look — EFM
Locked is an intense, character-driven thriller about a thief who breaks into a luxury SUV,...
- 2/7/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho is teaming with Zq Entertainment to produce God’s Country — a new genre film starring Scream VI’s Melissa Barrera, which will mark the American directorial debut of Egor Abramenko (Sputnik).
The film going into production this summer will have Barrera playing a young Salvadoran woman who travels to Kentucky to meet her fiancé. What she uncovers is something sinister beyond comprehension, as her American dream curdles into a nightmare of biblical proportions.
Related Story ‘The Backrooms’ Horror Film Based On Viral Shorts By 17-Year-Old Kane Parsons In Works At A24, Atomic Monster, Chernin & 21 Laps Related Story Lionsgate Acquiring Blumhouse Thriller 'Imaginary' To Be Directed By Jeff Wadlow – EFM Related Story Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad & Anthony Carrigan Set For Murder Mystery 'The Adults' From Filmmaker Alex Winter – EFM
Will Soodik (Westworld) wrote the script. Reeves (The Batman) and Rafi Crohn (Tales from the Loop) will produce for 6th & Idaho,...
The film going into production this summer will have Barrera playing a young Salvadoran woman who travels to Kentucky to meet her fiancé. What she uncovers is something sinister beyond comprehension, as her American dream curdles into a nightmare of biblical proportions.
Related Story ‘The Backrooms’ Horror Film Based On Viral Shorts By 17-Year-Old Kane Parsons In Works At A24, Atomic Monster, Chernin & 21 Laps Related Story Lionsgate Acquiring Blumhouse Thriller 'Imaginary' To Be Directed By Jeff Wadlow – EFM Related Story Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad & Anthony Carrigan Set For Murder Mystery 'The Adults' From Filmmaker Alex Winter – EFM
Will Soodik (Westworld) wrote the script. Reeves (The Batman) and Rafi Crohn (Tales from the Loop) will produce for 6th & Idaho,...
- 2/7/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1997, Alan J. Pakula's "The Devil's Own" came and went with minimal fanfare. Although coming from the director of "All the President's Men," and the recent John Grisham hit "The Pelican Brief," no one much paid attention. Even the presence of Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt couldn't pull in audiences or dazzle critics. "The Devil's Own" was a modest hit, earning 140 million worldwide, and earned tepid reviews from critics; it currently holds a 35 approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It's one of those major studio releases that seems to exist only to provide the writers of movie-related Trivia Pursuit cards an opportunity to stump players. It awaits on basic cable, filling time between dinner and the late shows. It was Pakula's final film before his death, and cinematographer Gordon Willis' final film before his retirement.
"The Devil's Own" is about an Irish operative named Frankie (Pitt) who comes to...
"The Devil's Own" is about an Irish operative named Frankie (Pitt) who comes to...
- 1/11/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Hollywood comedies are a dime a dozen. Yet, many receive flak for their attempts to tickle our funny bones, while only a select few earn rave reviews or accolades from critics. Honestly, I can only think of a handful of comedic films that made their way to the tops of end-of-year lists, while also recalling hundreds more that drew the ire of bigwigs like Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel for accomplishing what they set out to do.
Don't get me wrong. Bad comedies exist, but everyone's sense of humor is different. Some people get a good chuckle from the physical pratfalls enacted by Chris Farley, while others revel in the low-brow antics of Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey. At any rate, the purpose of a comedy is to supply laughs and entertain its audience. The purpose of this article is to highlight a handful of poorly reviewed comedies that are...
Don't get me wrong. Bad comedies exist, but everyone's sense of humor is different. Some people get a good chuckle from the physical pratfalls enacted by Chris Farley, while others revel in the low-brow antics of Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey. At any rate, the purpose of a comedy is to supply laughs and entertain its audience. The purpose of this article is to highlight a handful of poorly reviewed comedies that are...
- 12/11/2022
- by Jeff Ames
- Slash Film
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for NCIS Season 20 Episode 9, “Higher Education.”] Thom E. Gemcity, now there’s a name we haven’t heard in a while — and a name Jessica Knight (Katrina Law) never has — on NCIS. That changes with “Higher Education.” When Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Knight come into work, and Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) is seemingly distracted, he reveals that he’s busy with a “personal project”: Thom E. Gemcity is back! That’s how Knight finds out McGee’s a novelist, the “John Grisham of NCIS,” as she puts it (he’d say Tom Clancy), and just who exactly is in his books. “What mystery is Special Agent Tibbs embarking on next?” Torres asks. “Your lead character’s name is Special Agent Tibbs?” Knight asks in disbelief. “Because Gibbs couldn’t clear legal?” But “Gibbs and Tibbs are wildly different people,” McGee insists. As for the story, “since Gibbs is off doing his thing,...
- 12/6/2022
- TV Insider
Click here to read the full article.
Each week, The Hollywood Reporter will offer up the best new (and newly relevant) books that everyone will be talking about — whether it’s a tome that’s ripe for adaptation, a new Hollywood-centric tell-all or the source material for a hot new TV show.
Rights Available
Parachute Women by Elizabeth Winder (LoTurco Literary)
Everyone knows The Rolling Stones, but fewer know the four women whose sense of adventure and know-how helped build the band. Here, Winder puts Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger and Anita Pallenberg at the forefront of the story.
The Boys From Biloxi by John Grisham (The Gernert Co.)
The legal thriller author’s latest release is one of his most epic. It’s the story of two friends growing up in 1960s Mississippi as the drama of the Dixie Mafia — mobsters who ruled Biloxi — swirled around them, haunting the two protagonists into adulthood.
Each week, The Hollywood Reporter will offer up the best new (and newly relevant) books that everyone will be talking about — whether it’s a tome that’s ripe for adaptation, a new Hollywood-centric tell-all or the source material for a hot new TV show.
Rights Available
Parachute Women by Elizabeth Winder (LoTurco Literary)
Everyone knows The Rolling Stones, but fewer know the four women whose sense of adventure and know-how helped build the band. Here, Winder puts Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger and Anita Pallenberg at the forefront of the story.
The Boys From Biloxi by John Grisham (The Gernert Co.)
The legal thriller author’s latest release is one of his most epic. It’s the story of two friends growing up in 1960s Mississippi as the drama of the Dixie Mafia — mobsters who ruled Biloxi — swirled around them, haunting the two protagonists into adulthood.
- 11/4/2022
- by Seija Rankin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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Paul Glickler, who directed, co-wrote, produced and edited the sex-filled 1973 independent film The Cheerleaders, has died. He was 81.
Glickler died Sept. 19 of a heart attack at his Topanga home in Los Angeles, his sister, Louise G.S. Plaschkes, told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Cheerleaders starred Stephanie Fondue, Denise Dillaway and Jovita Bush in a playful film about Amorosa High School cheerleaders who have sex with the opposing team’s football players the night before a big game to sap them of their strength.
The X-rated movie — eventually recut to an R rating — was made for 120,000, saw a great return on its investment, was name-checked in a John Grisham novel and spawned quick features including The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974), directed by Jack Hill, and Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1976), helmed by Richard Lerner, a co-writer and producer on Glickler’s movie.
Glickler described The Cheerleaders as...
Paul Glickler, who directed, co-wrote, produced and edited the sex-filled 1973 independent film The Cheerleaders, has died. He was 81.
Glickler died Sept. 19 of a heart attack at his Topanga home in Los Angeles, his sister, Louise G.S. Plaschkes, told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Cheerleaders starred Stephanie Fondue, Denise Dillaway and Jovita Bush in a playful film about Amorosa High School cheerleaders who have sex with the opposing team’s football players the night before a big game to sap them of their strength.
The X-rated movie — eventually recut to an R rating — was made for 120,000, saw a great return on its investment, was name-checked in a John Grisham novel and spawned quick features including The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974), directed by Jack Hill, and Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1976), helmed by Richard Lerner, a co-writer and producer on Glickler’s movie.
Glickler described The Cheerleaders as...
- 10/26/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
John Grisham may be one of the most successful authors, well, ever, but he still has hopes for his books. Namely, he would like them all to be banned. Yes, for real.
Grisham revealed his hope when he stopped by “The View” on Tuesday to promote his newest book, “The Boys from Biloxi: A Legal Thriller.” During the interview, the acclaimed writer discussed his writing process, why he doesn’t write sex scenes (that’s because of a combination of input from his wife and mother) and more. But during the conversation, host Sara Haines asked for Grisham’s input on the increased effort to ban books in schools in recent years.
“Oh, I love banned books. I wish all my books could be banned,” Grisham replied.
The table laughed, earning a chuckle from Grisham himself, but in reality, he was serious as he said it. And there’s one...
Grisham revealed his hope when he stopped by “The View” on Tuesday to promote his newest book, “The Boys from Biloxi: A Legal Thriller.” During the interview, the acclaimed writer discussed his writing process, why he doesn’t write sex scenes (that’s because of a combination of input from his wife and mother) and more. But during the conversation, host Sara Haines asked for Grisham’s input on the increased effort to ban books in schools in recent years.
“Oh, I love banned books. I wish all my books could be banned,” Grisham replied.
The table laughed, earning a chuckle from Grisham himself, but in reality, he was serious as he said it. And there’s one...
- 10/18/2022
- by Andi Ortiz
- The Wrap
Science and religion make for strange bedfellows, but in "Contact," we see two characters who personify them in bed together, anyway. One of them is Jodie Foster's atheistic protagonist, Dr. Ellie Arroway. The other is Matthew McConaughey's unconventional "man of the cloth, without the cloth," Palmer Joss, who got his "master's in divinity" before dropping out of the seminary to do humanitarian work. Ellie and Palmer meet in Puerto Rico, go star-gazing, and quickly wind up between the sheets, enabling McConaughey to do what his "Interstellar" co-star Matt Damon once teased him for and appear shirtless after three scenes.
By 1997, the John Grisham adaptation "A Time to Kill" had established McConaughey as an up-and-coming leading man, but Palmer Joss is a character he identified with to such an extent that he was willing to take on a supporting role in "Contact." In Vulture's oral history of the film for its 25th anniversary,...
By 1997, the John Grisham adaptation "A Time to Kill" had established McConaughey as an up-and-coming leading man, but Palmer Joss is a character he identified with to such an extent that he was willing to take on a supporting role in "Contact." In Vulture's oral history of the film for its 25th anniversary,...
- 9/6/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
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