The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has announced that actor and comedian Joel McHale (star of "Animal Control" and "Community") will return as host of the 51st Annual Saturn Awards on Sunday, February 4, at the L.A. Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel. The Saturns will once again be live-streamed on Electric Entertainment’s premium OTT app and FAST channel, ElectricNOW, and will include exclusive interviews from the red carpet, from the winner’s press walk, and from behind-the-scenes with genre luminaries.
In a joint statement, Academy president Robert Holguin and Saturn producers Bradley and Kevin Marcus shared, “We are thrilled to have Joel McHale host the Saturn Awards for the second year in a row. With his remarkable talent, dry wit, and acerbic humor, he embodies the spirit of the Saturn Awards tradition as Hollywood’s entertaining and irreverent awards show. The Academy is truly fortunate to have him as the host for this momentous 51st annual celebration.”
This year’s show is dedicated to the memory of the Saturn Awards’ dear friends, acclaimed actor and former Saturn Awards host, Lance Reddick (most well-known for his roles in “Bosch” and the “John Wick” franchise), and filmmaker William Friedkin, (Oscar winning director of “The Exorcist,” and “The French Connection”).
In addition to the annual award categories, the award show will present Special Saturn Awards honorees from past, present, and future winners. Christopher Nolan will receive The Visionary Award, presented by Emily Blunt at the awards show. Other special awards will be announced in the coming weeks.
Google is blasted by UK watchdog for what it calls anti-competitive behavior through digital ads
Google was slammed Friday by U.K. regulators who say it's taking advantage of its dominance in digital advertising to thwart competition in Britain, ratcheting up pressure that the tech giant is facing on both sides of the Atlantic over its "ad tech" business practices.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said that the U.S. company gives preference to its own services to the detriment of online publishers and advertisers in Britain's 1.8 billion pound ($2.4 billion) digital ad market. The watchdog leveled its accusations after an investigation, and the findings could potentially lead to a fine worth billions of dollars or an order to change its behavior.
Google is a major player throughout the digital ad ecosystem, providing servers for publishers to manage ad space on their websites and apps, tools for advertisers and media agencies to buy display ads, and an exchange where both sides come together to buy and sell ads in real time at auctions.
"We've provisionally found that Google is using its market power to hinder competition when it comes to the ads people see on websites," the watchdog's interim executive director of enforcement, Juliette Enser, said in a press release.
The watchdog's charges, known as a statement of objections, arrive two years after it opened its investigation. Google's digital ad business is also the focus of a European Union antitrust investigation and a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that's set to go to trial this month.
The CMA said that Google's "anti-competitive" conduct is ongoing, but the company disputed the allegations Friday.
"Google remains committed to creating value for our publisher and advertiser partners in this highly competitive sector," the company said in a prepared... Read More