News Briefs

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Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019

Reports: U.S. launches review of China-owned video app TikTok

This June 6, 2019, file photo shows the U.S. Treasury Department building at dusk in Washington. Multiple published reports say that the U.S. government has launched a national-security review of the China-owned video app TikTok, popular with millions of U.S. teens and young adults. Several senators have recently noted concerns about censorship and data collection on TikTok. The Treasury Department, which houses CFIUS, says it does not comment on specific cases. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) --

Multiple published reports say that the U.S. government has launched a national-security review of the China-owned video app TikTok, popular with millions of U.S. teens and young adults.

The reports Friday from Reuters,The New York Times and others said that the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews acquisitions by foreign firms, has opened an inquiry into TikTok owner ByteDance's 2017 acquisition of a predecessor app, Musical.ly.

Several senators have recently noted concerns about censorship and data collection on TikTok.

The Treasury Department, which houses CFIUS, said it does not comment on specific cases because the agency by law cannot disclose to the public information filed to it.

TikTok said it cannot comment on ongoing regulatory processes. But it said it "has made clear that we have no higher priority than earning the trust of users and regulators in the U.S. Part of that More

Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019

Theater owners: "The Irishman" deserved "better" release

This image released by Netflix shows Al Pacino, center left, and Robert De Niro, center right, in a scene from "The Irishman." (Netflix via AP)

By Jake Coyle, Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) --

Martin Scorsese's crime epic "The Irishman" landed in theaters Friday (11/1), but not nearly enough of them for theater owners.

John Fithian, president and chief executive of National Association of Theater Owners on Friday lamented Netflix's rollout of one of the year's most acclaimed films, from one of cinema's top filmmakers.

"Martin Scorsese deserved better," Fithian said in a statement.

Netflix was unable to come to terms with the largest movie theater chains on "The Irishman." The traditional theatrical window is 90 days, something Netflix has declined to follow.

That has left Netflix films essentially boycotted by the majority of multiplexes. Netflix has instead carved out a roughly three-week exclusive run in independent theaters.

"The point of an exclusive theatrical window is for movies to reach their full commercial potential. Netflix chose to artificially limit 'The Irishman's' theatrical release," Fithian More

Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019

Sony sets "Into the Spider-Verse" sequel for 2022

This image released by Sony Pictures Animations shows a scene from "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." Sony Pictures on Friday set a follow-up to the 2018 Oscar-winning hit for release in April 2022. (Sony Pictures Animation via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) --

The inventive, animated Spider-Man remix "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" is getting a sequel.

Sony Pictures on Friday set a follow-up to the 2018 Oscar-winning hit for an April 2022 release. Producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also celebrated the announcement on Twitter and signaled that they, too, are returning.

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" grossed $375.5 million worldwide. Its deconstructionist approach to Spider-Man earned some of the best reviews of any recent superhero film, and won the Academy Award for best animated feature.

Sony and Marvel Studios recently parted ways on "Spider-Man" before making up . Marvel is set to produce the third film in the live-action "Spider-Man" series.

Friday, Nov. 1, 2019

Indian guru Rajneesh's ex-aide to star in new Netflix documentary

Ma Anand Sheela, spokeswoman for the controversial Osho spiritual movement in the 1980's, speaks to her fans in New Delhi, India, Friday, Nov. 1, 2019. Ma Anand Sheela, who helped controversial Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh set up a commune in Oregon in the 1980’s and was a subject of the hit series Wild Wild Country, will star in a new documentary filmed during her first trip to India in 34 years. (AP Photo/ Krithika Varagur)

By Krithika Varagur

NEW DELHI (AP) --

Ma Anand Sheela, who helped controversial Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh set up a commune in Oregon in the 1980s and was a subject of the hit Netflix series Wild Wild Country, will star in a new documentary shot during her first trip to India in 34 years.

Netflix India announced the documentary on Friday as she ended her monthlong India tour. Top Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar is producing the film.

Ma Sheela is a former convicted felon who directed one of the largest bioterror attacks in U.S. history in 1984, in which more than 750 people were given food poisoning in an attempt to influence local elections by preventing them from voting.

"I have nothing to apologize for," she told the AP when asked about her past.

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019

AT&T says HBO Max streaming service to launch in May for $15

This May 14, 2014 file photo shows an AT&T logo on a store in Dedham, Mass. AT&T planned to announce details of its upcoming streaming service on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

By Tali Arbel, AP Technology Writer

AT&T said Tuesday that its HBO Max streaming service will launch in May for $15 a month, joining a crowded field.

The company has said HBO Max will become the "workhorse" for its video business as cord-cutting of traditional TV expands. It hopes to migrate people who pay for HBO in different ways today to the new platform. The service grew out of AT&T's $81 billion purchase of Time Warner, which AT&T overhauled and rechristened WarnerMedia.

HBO Max will challenge Netflix alongsideDisney , Comcast and Apple . It will be the most expensive of the new services that have announced prices, which could make it challenging to expand its customer base.

It is also the same price as HBO Now, the current HBO streaming service for people who don't get the cable channel. Company officials expect existing HBO customers — those subscribing either via cable or HBO Now — to switch to HBO Max, which will offer far more to watch.

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019

Survey: Number of kids watching online videos soars

In this Wednesday, April 25, 2018, file photo, the YouTube app and YouTube Kids app are displayed on a smartphone in New York. A new survey confirms what a lot of parents already know: Teens and tweens are consuming a lot of online video, often on services such as YouTube. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

By Martha Irvine, AP National Writer

The number of young Americans watching online videos every day has more than doubled, according to survey findings released Tuesday. They're glued to them for nearly an hour a day, twice as long as they were four years ago.

And often, the survey found, they're seeing the videos on services such as YouTube that are supposedly off limits to children younger than age 13.

"It really is the air they breathe," said Michael Robb, senior director of research for Common Sense Media , the nonprofit organization that issued the report. The group tracks young people's tech habits and offers guidance for parents.

The survey of American youth included the responses of 1,677 young people, ages 8 to 18. Among other things, it found that 56% of 8- to 12-year-olds and 69% of 13- to 18-year-olds watch online videos every day. In 2015, the last time the survey was conducted, those figures were 24% and 34%, respectively. The margin of error was plus or More

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019

Art Directors Guild to present Stephen Myles Berger with Lifetime Achievement Award

Stephen Myles Berger

LOS ANGELES --

The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) announces that Stephen Myles Berger, best known for his work in theme parks around the world and on films such as The Sunshine Boys, Basic Instinct and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Set Designers and Model Makers (SDMM) Council at the 24th Annual ADG “Excellence in Production Design” Awards. Berger’s illustrious career spans five decades and has earned him international acclaim. The 2020 ADG Awards will be held at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown in the Wilshire Grand Ballroom on Saturday, February 1, 2020. This is the third of four Lifetime Achievement Awards to be announced by Art Directors Guild.

“Stephen’s artistic abilities have traversed television, film and theme parks for the last half century. Those who have had the chance to work with him enjoy his energy, enthusiasm and skill. We appreciate his years of service More

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019

Sony shutting down online-cable service PlayStation Vue

In this June 14, 2018, file people stand online next to the PlayStation booth at the 24th Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Sony is shutting down its pioneering online-cable alternative, PlayStation Vue, citing the high costs of content and the difficulty of network deals. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

By Tali Arbel, AP Technology Writer

Sony is shutting down its pioneering online-cable alternative, PlayStation Vue, citing the high cost of content and the difficulty of reaching deals with networks.

It launched Vue in early 2015 as a skinnier, cheaper version of cable or satellite TV delivered via the internet. It was a test case for a TV alternative alongside Dish's Sling TV, and, later, a slew of copycats from DirecTV , Google , Hulu and others.

These services were initially heralded as the future of TV as cable cord-cutting ramped up. They offered popular TV networks for less than you'd pay a cable company. Signing up and canceling were easy, with no need for a cable guy to come to your house.

But customer growth has slowed and even dropped for many of these services as prices rose and they added more channels, coming closer to their traditional TV counterparts. AT&T's version, formerly known as DirecTV Now, today AT&T TV Now, has dropped customers for More

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019

The-Artery Launches THE-LAB

The-Lab

NEW YORK --

Multi-award-winning creative studio The-Artery has opened “THE-LAB,” a hub for creative artists and visual storytellers to not only operate, but also collaborate.

Based in NY, THE-LAB is structured to be an environment conducive to innovation, offering a home for complementary talent to work with and alongside each other. “First and foremost, this is a business playground for building companies, products, careers, and, most importantly, relationships,” explained Vico Sharabani, founder and executive creative director of The-Artery. “Our strategy is to design conditions in which bold and exciting ideas can be envisioned and launched organically rather than try to define what they’re supposed to be.”

Boasting a spacious physical layout within The-Artery’s own creative studio, THE-LAB hosts high-level talent curated from a diverse range of mediums, carefully taking into consideration the opportunities for collaboration and potential More

Monday, Oct. 28, 2019

Facebook employees sign letter opposing political ads policy

This March 29, 2018, file photo shows the Facebook moniker on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York's Times Square. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --

Hundreds of Facebook employees have signed a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives saying they oppose the social network's policy of letting politicians lie in advertisements.

The New York Times reported Monday that more than 250 workers have signed the letter urging Facebook leaders to change the policy that they say is a "threat to what FB stands for." While that's a small fraction of Facebook's workforce of more than 35,000, it's a rare showing of employee dissent generally more typical of Google and Amazon.

Facebook spokeswoman Bertie Thomson says the company appreciates its employees voicing their concerns but the company "remains committed to not censoring political speech."

The employee letter follows widespread criticism of Facebook's ad policy, including from Sen. Elizabeth Warren , a leading Democratic presidential candidate.