People throw the word visionary around a little liberally nowadays. Well, people have diluted a host of words through overuse, but visionary is a specifically bizarre one. Throughout history, you can count the number of people who were true visionaries in their field on both hands. — Read the rest
In case you missed it, one of the biggest leaks in gaming history went down last September, resulting in over 90 videos of the in-development Grand Theft Auto 6 being distributed over the Internet. Evidently, Take-Two is still sore over the loss, considering the takedown notice they issued over a Goat Simulator 3 ad using a snippet of the leaked footage. — Read the rest
The joke is so old, it’s a cliché. Personally, I’m convinced doctors are just using it as an excuse at this point. A self-fulfilling prophecy. A dog chasing its tail. The Ouroboros of handwriting. Yes, I’m talking about not being able to read your doctor’s writing. — Read the rest
If you need a little bit of automotive-induced joy in your life, might I recommend Cars Shaped Like A Friend? Gimmick accounts are a dime a dozen on Twitter, but the whimsy of this one helps it stands out- every so often, it posts pictures of friendly-looking cars, using criteria that don’t seem to have much consistency but are extremely endearing. — Read the rest
Santa Camp is real, and it’s where all Santas are welcome. The HBO Max documentary, which debuted in November, chronicles the laughter and tears inside New Hampshire’s Santa Camp, where Santas, Mrs. Clauses, and Elves all learn how to be their best selves. — Read the rest
Touring the Most host Jordan Hurt tours an extraordinary home in upstate New York, transformed by artist Katwise into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. In 2009, Kat and her partner bought a run-down farmhouse near Woodstock and began a massive renovation project on the 19th century property. — Read the rest
3M announced plans to stop manufacturing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances by 2025. PFAS are used in consumer, commercial and industrial products, and is such a large part of 3M’s bottom line that Reuters reports “3M expects related total pre-tax charges of about $1.3 billion to $2.3 billion over the course of its PFAS exit.” — Read the rest
It seems like you can’t go a week without hearing how Netflix keeps breaking its own records. The streaming giant has been on quite the roll throughout 2022 and is looking to close out the year with a similar showing. Several months ago, Stranger Things season four dominated the conversation online with a series of scenes that became meme fodder. — Read the rest
James Cameron has revealed that he shot scenes for Avatar 3 and 4 in advance to avoid Stranger Things-style ageing issues with the younger cast members.
The recently released Avatar: The Way Of Water introduced a number of child characters, including Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, who was 7 years old when cast and is now 13) and Spider (Jack Champion, who was 12 when cast, but is now 18).
READ MORE: ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ review: bold, beautiful and very, very blue
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cameron said that the first, second and third act of the fourth film had to be completed in one production, because Champion was “growing like a weed”.
“Otherwise, you get – and I love Stranger Things – but you get the Stranger Things effect, where they’re supposed to still be in high school [but] they look like they’re 27,” Cameron said. “You know, I love the show. It’s okay, we’ll suspend disbelief. We like the characters. But, you know.”
James Cameron CREDIT: Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images for Absolut Elyx
In the same interview, producer Jon Landau said that all newly introduced characters will continue to be part of the Avatar story in the upcoming sequels.
“Each movie is going to introduce audiences to new clans, new cultures on Pandora,” Landau said. “Once we introduce a character, they stay a part of the ongoing evolution. We just add to it.
“So you can expect to see the Metkayina that you meet in this movie in subsequent movies. There are other clans that we’ll introduce in movie 3 that you’ll see in movie 4 and so on and so forth.”
The Avatar franchise is set to consist of five films in total, with a third, fourth and fifth yet to be released. However, Cameron recently suggested that the series could end after the third film if it doesn’t perform at the box office.
“The market could be telling us we’re done in three months, or we might be semi-done, meaning, ‘OK, let’s complete the story within movie three, and not go on endlessly,’ if it’s just not profitable,” the filmmaker told Total Film.
Filming on Avatar 3 is said to be finished, having been shot simultaneously with The Way Of Water. The third film is scheduled to be released on December 20, 2024.
The post James Cameron shot ‘Avatar 3’ and 4 early to avoid ‘Stranger Things’ ageing issue appeared first on NME.
The FCC has proposed a $299,997,000 fine against “the largest robocall firm” it has ever investigated, the regulator announced. It would be the FCC’s largest fine ever, and targets a firm that made over 5 billion calls in three months, enough “to have called each person in the United States 15 times,” it wrote.
The operation is run by Roy Cox, Jr. and Michael Aaron Jones via their Sumco Panama company, along with other domestic and foreign entities. In July of this year, the FCC issued its first ever “K4 Notice” and “N2 Order” directing all US telephone providers to stop carrying traffic related to the car warranty scam calls. “This resulted in a massive, 99 percent drop in the volume of such calls since June, according to [spam blocking app] RoboKiller,” the FCC wrote.
The FCC proposed its largest-ever fine because it found the robocallers met the criteria for “egregious violations.” Consumers described the calls as “incessant” and “harassment,” and the robocallers used dirty practices like calling health care workers from spoofed hospital numbers. The firm also violated multiple FCC rules, like failing to identify the caller at the start of a message.
In the calls, a message would open with something like “we’ve been trying to reach you concerning your car’s extended warranty,” and prompt you to speak to a scam “warranty specialist.” Robokiller advises users to avoid the calls in the first place if possible, not follow prompts, and above all, never provide personal information like banking details.