Fans of Resident Evil and the zombie apocalypse genre writ large can look forward to Netflix’s live-action reboot this summer. The streamer announced that the series — which takes place 14 years after a virus causes the apocalypse — will premiere on Ju…
Amazon completes its $8.45 billion takeover of MGM
The James Bond, Rocky and RoboCop movies are now owned or co-owned by Amazon. The company has closed its $8.45 billion takeover of storied movie and TV studio MGM.
European Union antitrust regulators unconditionally approved the deal this week. They determined there wasn’t a great deal of overlap between the two companies, and that “MGM’s content cannot be considered as must-have” compared with other studios.
Amazon had reportedly given the Federal Trade Commission, which was said to have been reviewing the buyout, a deadline of mid-March to challenge or approve the acquisition. If the agency didn’t file a legal challenge by then, Amazon would have been free to move forward with the purchase.
MGM “will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers,” Amazon said in a press release. The studio has more than 4,000 films and 17,000 episodes of TV to its name, along with 180 Oscars and 100 Emmy Awards. MGM movies include classics such as Thelma & Louise, The Silence of the Lambs, The Magnificent Seven and Raging Bull.
Amazon will still release James Bond movies in theaters instead of hanging onto them as Prime Video exclusives. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bond reading by the pool with a Kindle in his next outing, as long as franchise co-owner Eon Productions gives the OK for that product placement.
It’s likely that the vast majority of MGM movies and TV shows will wind up on Prime Video following theatrical runs and after agreements with other streaming platforms expire.
Update 3/17 12:03PM ET: Noting that Amazon co-owns the James Bond franchise rather than owning it outright.
‘Discovery’ fully clicks into the philosophy of Star Trek with its fourth season finale
The following contains minor spoilers for season four, episode 14 of ‘Star Trek: Discovery.’
Season four has been an interesting one for Star Trek: Discovery. The show finally embraced a more episodic format, only to slide back into an ongoing storyline in the back half of the season. But today’s finale once again promises a return to the things that make Star Trek, well, Star Trek. And, while Discovery also made those promises at the end of last season, there’s more reason to believe that this time the changes will stick.
It starts with the fact that while the major threat this season began as a spatial anomaly (known as the Dark Matter Anomaly, or “DMA”), it was discovered to be merely a harvesting tool used by a previously unknown species, one the Federation calls the 10C. It may have seemed harmless to the 10C in its role as farmers, but the Federation found itself in the role of a rabbit in front of a plow. The DMA destroyed Kwejian; both Ni’Var (née Vulcan) and Earth were next.
In previous seasons this would have shifted Starfleet into action hero mode, and some characters did advocate for a more assertive and violent approach. But instead of merely jumping into the fray we got lots of… arguing. This may not sound exciting, but it’s always been one of the things Star Trek does best: people discussing conflicting ideas. Some advocated for a peaceful solution and that was ultimately the course decided upon, since it was closest to the Federation ethos of peace and exploration. In other series this might seem like a terrible idea, but Trek is supposed to be, in theory, a utopia. This kind of thinking is one of the cornerstones of the franchise.
There are those who disagree, spearheaded by Cleveland Booker and Ruon Tarka. But while their actions turn them into antagonists, they don’t become villains. We’ve seen this in previous shows like The Next Generation and Voyager, where terrorists like the Maquis were treated with empathy. In Discovery it’s even more at the forefront given Book’s status as a main character, but also the series’ ethos as the Star Trek show that’s all about feelings. While the show sometimes takes flak for all the crying, here the emotional elements feel well balanced, with everyone’s motives clearly articulated both to each other and to the audience. It’s easy to understand each character even if you disagree.
And understanding is the lynchpin of the plot here; the 10C are not carbon-based lifeforms and they don’t communicate like humanoids do. It’s a classic Star Trek problem, as seen in episodes like “Darmok” or “Amok Time.” So last week’s episode was dedicated to the crew and assorted ambassadors methodically working through mathematical and chemical solutions to build a working bridge language. They managed to establish to the 10C that there were problems with the DMA, opening up the door to further negotiation in this week’s episode.
“Coming Home” has a lot of meanings in the context of the actual episode. There’s the threat of the DMA heading toward Earth, there’s a number of scenes set in our solar system involving returning character Sylvia Tilly, and reconciliation between Michael Burnham and her lover Cleveland Booker, the person who grounds her in the 32nd century.
But there’s also meaning in that the episode is where Discovery finally reconciles itself as a Star Trek show, making its highest point of drama not the struggle to evacuate a doomed planet, or the attempts to stop Tarka’s plan, but the actual face-to-face (so to speak) discussion with the 10C. It’s nothing like the action-based approach of the Abrams films or even earlier seasons that dealt with war and time travel and evil sentient computers. It’s diplomacy. It’s a lot of talking, and sitting around and talking about feelings.
And some of those feelings are what you’d call… environmentally minded. It isn’t enough that the 10C merely stops destroying planets that house sentient life. The fact is, the DMA also creates pollution and that needs to be stopped as well. With Earth in immediate danger it seems like an unreasonable ask at the moment, but it’s also very much in the ethos of Star Trek to consider one’s general societal and galactic impact as well. The core of Star Trek is humanism and social justice, and so many classic episodes deal with issues of identity, civil rights, and environmental issues. Discovery has spent so much time dealing with one huge violent crisis after another that it hasn’t had time to do simpler humanist metaphors, and bringing that in at the end here seems to indicate a desire to deal with those issues more in upcoming seasons.
The entire denouement makes that promise: The Federation is growing in strength, the Discovery crew is taking some time off for themselves, and a very special guest toward the end seems to be the show making its politics clear to those segments of the audience who love to decry “woke Trek.” Star Trek has always been woke, but Discovery has only dipped its toe into the water in previous seasons. With its fifth season on the horizon, it’s ready to plunge fully in.
Twitter actioned over 50,000 pieces of misleading Ukraine content
Twitter said it has "labeled or removed" more than 50,000 pieces of content that broke its policy on manipulated media in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the company shared in a blog post today. Additionally, the platform removed roug…
Netflix wants to charge you more for moochers on your account
Netflix is finally gearing up to do something about unauthorized account sharing. After testing a notification last year that pushed people to stop mooching and get their own Netflix accounts, the company has announced another test in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru that will let subscribers pay extra to share their account with people outside of their home. According to Variety, subscribers will be able to add up to two “sub-members” for $2.99 each in Costa Rica. Those users will get their own Netflix logins, recommendations and profile.
Additionally, Netflix will also let subscribers in those countries transfer individual profiles to completely separate accounts. That’ll make it easy for moochers to keep their queue and recommendations intact. The company isn’t committing to these features globally yet, but if it works out in those countries, don’t be surprised if it starts nagging your parents to pay extra for your account.
“We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium plans,” Chengyi Long, director of Netflix Product Innovation, said in a blog post. “While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are being shared between households – impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”
If anything, it’s surprising it’s taken Netflix this long to do something about account sharing. The practice is explicitly forbidden in the company’s Terms of Service, but it’s something many people do anyway. (And really, grandma doesn’t need her own account just to watch her stories.) After raising its prices in North America earlier this year, it wouldn’t be too shocking to see the company push for additional fees.
Sam Barlow’s Immortality trilogy hits Xbox and PC this summer
Immortality, the latest game from Her Story and Telling Lies creator Sam Barlow, is set to hit Xbox Series consoles, Game Pass and PC this summer. Like its predecessors, Immortality is shot in full-motion video and uses interactive cinematic scenes as a main mechanic. However, unlike the previous games, Immortality has a distinct horror vibe, not just psychological thrill.
The game is broken into three parts, each one a mysterious, unreleased movie starring the actress Marissa Marcel. Marcel disappeared after filming wrapped on these movies, and players have to investigate the lost footage to figure out what happened to her. The movies are Ambrosio (1968), Minsky (1970) and Two of Everything (1999).
Barlow revealed the Immortality trilogy back in 2020 and released a teaser in June 2021, though details about the game have remained scarce. Today’s new trailer, which debuted during the ID@Xbox showcase on Twitch, was the first real dive into the game — and it looks delicious.
Barlow brought on three screenwriters to help with the Immortality script, Allan Scott (Queen’s Gambit), Amelia Gray (Mr. Robot) and Barry Gifford (Lost Highway). It looks like the game will come to additional consoles down the line, as Barlow said on Twitter, “Other platforms to be announced.”
‘Elden Ring’ has sold over 12 million copies in 18 days
Bandai Namco expected FromSoftware’s Elden Ring to sell 4 million copies in five weeks. It would’ve been already impressive if that’s what had happened, considering Dark Souls 3sold 3 million copies within a month of its release. Elden Ring, however, eclipsed the company’s expectations: It sold 12 million units worldwide, 1 million of which were sold in Japan alone, within 18 days of its release. The companies have announced the game’s blockbuster sales numbers in a press release and also mentioned the possibility of expanding the IP “beyond the realm of games.”
According to the announcement, those numbers came from the “distribution figures of the package version and sales figures of the downloadable versions” as of March 14th, 2022. With those sales numbers, Elden Ring smashed a bunch of other records associated with Souls-type games. FromSoftware’s previous release, Sekiro, sold 2 million copies in 10 days, and it took four years for Dark Souls 3, the best-selling game in the series, to reach 10 million units sold worldwide. Based on how well it’s doing, it seems apt to compare Elden Ring to Pokémon Legends Arceus, which sold 6.5 million copies in seven days — and that’s a game from a franchise that already has a massive following.
FromSoftware developed Elden Ring with help from A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R. R. Martin, who wrote the overarching mythos for the game that features Lovecraftian creatures and dragons. At the helm of the project was Hidetaka Miyazaki, known for creating the notoriously difficult Souls games, as well as directing Bloodborne and Sekiro. It was supposed to be available back in January but was ultimately released on February 25th for the PlayStation 5 and 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC via Steam.
《Ms. Marvel / 驚奇少女》將於 6 月 8 日上線 Disney+
《驚奇少女》將於 6 月 8 日上線 Disney+,來看看超級英雄的校園生活。
Amazon wins EU approval for its $8.45 billion purchase of MGM
European Union officials have unconditionally rubber stamped Amazon’s $8.45 billion bid to buy famed movie and TV studio MGM. The European Commission’s antitrust regulators determined there was limited overlap between the companies and said the merger wouldn’t severely reduce competition in the theatrical film and audio-visual content markets.
“The Commission found that MGM’s upstream activities as a producer and licensor of AV content are limited compared to other market players’ activities; MGM’s content cannot be considered as must-have; and a wide variety of alternative content exists,” the EC said. It noted MGM’s movies account for a limited share of box office revenue in the European Economic Area and that “overall MGM is not among the top production studios, despite its rights over successful film franchises such as James Bond.”
Amazon still requires the green light from the Federal Trade Commission before it can close the deal, which was announced last May. Recent reports suggested the FTC was planning to challenge the merger with an antitrust lawsuit. However, that requires a majority vote by commissioners.
The FTC currently has two Democrat and two Republican commissioners. The Information reported that while they have reached a bipartisan consensus on some issues, a vote on an Amazon-MGM suit could be split along party lines. The Senate has yet to vote on Alvaro Bedoya’s nomination to the commission.
In any case, the deadline for a decision on the proposed MGM buyout is said to be fast approaching, reportedly sometime in mid-March. If the FTC doesn’t mount a legal challenge by then, Amazon could be free to proceed with the merger.
Google’s Immersive Stream lets other companies use Stadia gaming tech
Google is finally sharing more about how it will deliver Stadia game streaming to other companies. The search firm used its Google for Games Developer Summit to detail Immersive Stream for Games, its “expanded” Stadia platform for third parties. The offering lets businesses offer cloud gaming for a wide range of players — not just subscribers.
As with Stadia itself, a “Click to Play Trials” feature will let gamers test full titles without an account. You’ll know if you like a game without having to download it. You can also browse a game store without an account. Accordingly, Google wants to simplify bringing games to the platform through a “Low Change Porting” effort that should reduce the work needed to make games streaming-friendly.
It may take a while for all these features to reach early Immersive Stream adopters. The open storefront model is due in the “coming weeks,” while trials are coming sometime in 2022. Easier porting is still in testing. AT&T already used the rough version of the platform to offer Batman: Arkham Knight for free in October, though, and it’s teasing an upcoming second game that will finally let you stream on mobile, not just on desktop.
The expansion to outside companies was largely expected. It’s no secret that Google has struggled to grow Stadia, and closed its in-house game studios in early 2021. Immersive Stream gives the company a way to profit from Stadia’s technology regardless of how well the core service fares, and might fend off competitors pitching their own cloud gaming toolkits.