TVが統一教会批判すると抗議殺到「電話対応はやめるべき」萎縮を防ぐための対策 – 弁護士ドットコムニュース

「メディアで統一教会の問題を取り上げると、抗議の電話が殺到する」という話がある。 一般論として、センシティブなテーマを報じることでテレビ局に抗議電話が殺到することは珍しくない。残念ながら、その影響で取り上げづらくなるということもありえるのが番組制作の現実だ。 テレビ局が怖気づいているように見えるだ…

Google Photos for Chromebooks is getting a video editor and movie maker

Later this year, Google Photos is going to get a significant update that has the distinction of first arriving on Chromebooks. According to a Google blog post, Google Photos will get a new movie editor and video editing features this fall as part of an…

‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ remake is indefinitely delayed

You might not get to play the PlayStation 5 remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic anytime soon: According to Bloomberg, its development has been delayed indefinitely. Sony announced that Aspyr Media, a company known for creating ports out of existing video games, was remaking BioWare’s classic Star Wars RPG last year. Aspyr had been working on the remake for three years by then and had industry veterans, as well as people who helped create the original game, onboard. Things certainly looked promising, but now the game’s future seems uncertain. 

Apparently, Aspyr finished a demo of the game to show Lucasfilm and Sony on June 30th and the developers were even excited by what they’ve achieved. A week later, however, the company fired design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor. On his LinkedIn page, Minor’s Aspyr credit shows his end of employment as July 2022, and his profile image currently features the “#Opentowork” frame.

Aspyr reportedly held a series of meetings in July about the situation to tell employees that the demo wasn’t where they wanted it to be and that the project would be put on hold. The studio heads also told staff members that the company will be looking for new contracts and development opportunities. 

While the developer’s reasons for firing Prince and Minor and for freezing the project aren’t clear at this point, one of Bloomberg’s sources suggested that it poured a disproportionate amount of time and money into creating the demo. If that’s the case, continuing what it’s been doing for the rest of the game wouldn’t be sustainable. Bloomberg says another possible point of contention is the game’s timeline. Aspyr has been telling partners that the game would be released by the end of 2022, but 2025 would be a more realistic target.

Some Aspyr personnel now believe that Saber Interactive, which has been doing outsourced work for the project, could now take over. We reached out to the company for a response to Bloomberg’s report and will edit this post with any information it may provide. To note, company released Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II for the Nintendo Switch back in June. The game went out with a bug that prevented people from finishing it, but Aspyr rolled out a patch to fix the issue in July.

Netflix’s ‘The Gray Man’ is getting a sequel and a spin-off

It’s only been a few days since Netflix started streaming The Gray Man, its most expensive film to date, but the company has already announced plans to turn it into a major franchise. A sequel is in the works with star Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo returning. Netflix didn’t say when the follow-up is expected to arrive.

A spin-off from Zombieland and Deadpool screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese is in development too. Netflix says that movie will explore a different aspect of The Gray Man universe, but it’s keeping quiet on the details for now.

While critics by and large had a lukewarm reaction to The Gray Man, the film appears to be a hit with viewers. It has a 91 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It debuted as the number one movie on Netflix in 92 countries when it was released last Friday. By Sunday, viewers had collectively streamed 88.55 million hours of the movie, Netflix said.

Whether that apparent success translates into helping Netflix retain subscribers and attract new ones remains to be seen. The company lost almost a million subscribers last quarter, though the attrition wasn’t as bad as Netflix feared.

Netflix spent a reported $200 million to make The Gray Man. So, along with moves the company is making elsewhere, it’s not a huge shock that Netflix is turning it into a franchise. Sequels to other Netflix blockbusters are in the pipeline, including follow-ups to Extraction and Army of the Dead. Netflix also snapped up the sequels to the terrific murder mystery film Knives Out.

In case it’s not clear, Netflix is very eager to build beloved franchises of its own. “We want to have our version of Star Wars or our version of Harry Potter, and we’re working very hard to build that,” the company’s vice president of original series Matthew Thunell told Reuters last week.

Netflix does have a few hit franchises already. A Stranger Things spin-off series and stage play are in development. The company has made a Korean version of La Casa de Papel and is working on a spin-off. It’s expanding Squid Game, Bridgerton and The Witcher beyond the core shows as well.

Update 7/26 3:43PM ET: Added first-weekend viewership figures for The Gray Man.

Instagram head responds to backlash by saying video is inevitable

You’re not alone if you think Instagram’s TikTok-like test feed is undercooked, but don’t expect it to go away completely. As CNBCnotes, social network head Adam Mosseri has posted a Twitter clip acknowledging that the video-focused trial feed is “not yet good,” and would need to be improved before it reached all Instagram users. However, he maintained that Instagram would invariably become more video-centric over time as that’s the content people were sharing. Get used to seeing more clips, in other words.

Mosseri also defended the rise of recommended posts in users’ feeds. He contended they were the “most effective and important” ways for creators to grow their audiences. Users could pause all recommendations for a month if they weren’t interested, he said.

The Twitter post is effectively Instagram’s response to a mounting backlash against the video feed and recommendation efforts. High-profile users like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian recently blasted Instagram for “trying to be TikTok,” while posts and petitions have increasingly called on the social media site to “make Instagram Instagram again” by returning its attention to photos.

While Mosseri asked for feedback, there’s no guarantee Instagram will change course. Meta has a long history of duplicating features from social networks that pose a competitive threat, including TikTok and Snapchat. The test feed and recommendations are clearly meant to keep Instagram users from drifting toward TikTok, and Meta is trying a similarly overt strategy with Facebook. So long as Meta is worried that rivals might take its user base, it’s unlikely to completely scrap features like these.

Funko moves into video games with former Traveller’s Tales developers

Funko, which is best known for its Pop vinyl figurines, is about to venture into new territory. It’s making video games with the help of developer 10:10 Games. The studio is led by Jon Burton, the founder of Traveller’s Tales and TT Games. “By partnering with 10:10 Games and utilizing the best creators in the business, we will have the talent to deliver games that reflect Funko’s unique look and feel across its lines and varied products,” Funko CEO Andrew Perlmutter said in a statement.

The first game under the partnership is an action platformer that’s coming to PC and consoles in 2023. Funko says the untitled game will have “major third-party studio integration,” which probably shouldn’t be a big shock given the high-profilelicensing deals Funko has for collectibles and Burton’s experience with the various Lego games. Meanwhile, Funko expects the game to have a “T” for teen rating. The first teaser shows a Pop-style character called Freddie Funko, but offers few other details.

‘The Orville’ will stream on Disney+ starting August 10th

After a delay of nearly three years, season 3 of Hulu’s The Orville finally launched last month and proved to be worth the wait. Now, creator Seth MacFarlane has announced some extra recompense for fans — the first three seasons of the series will also stream on Disney+. 

The Orville has been relatively popular with critics, but moved from much wider distribution with Fox to the smaller audiences of Hulu after two seasons. With over 85 million subscribers internationally, though, Disney+ will greatly expand the pool of potential viewers.

“I’m thrilled to bring all three seasons of The Orville to Disney+,” said MacFarlane. “Making this show has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my career, and I’m immensely grateful to Disney for providing us the opportunity to expand our Orville community further. I can’t wait for new audiences to experience this series.”

The extra eyeballs on The Orville with Disney+ could prove crucial to the series, as it has yet to be greenlit for a fourth season. MacFarlane himself didn’t reveal anything in that regard, saying “I don’t think we’ll know until this season is finished.” The last two episodes of season 3 are set to air on July 28th and August 4th, and all three seasons will hit Disney+ on August 10th.