DT’s entertainment show, Between the Streams, is your guide to all of the hottest, most important, and (of course) dumbest new developments in streaming and entertainment, providing a handy recap of the week that was. (You can also add us via RSS, iTunes, or Stitcher at the links above to take BtS on the road!)
Sure, Brexit has caused economic uncertainty worldwide, affecting everything from global trade to the fantastic U.K. film and TV industry; but the good news is, Game of Thrones is going to be fine. We’ll chat briefly today about the ripple effect of Britain’s EU exit in entertainment, but don’t worry, politics won’t detour us from all the other crazy entertainment news happening this week.
For instance, what the hell’s going on with Prometheus 2 … er, Alien: Covenant? First, we heard that Noomi Rapace, who played the only “living” thing to make it off that godforsaken hell-rock in the Alien prequel from Mr. Scott, wouldn’t be reprising her role in the sequel. Then the film’s name changed, and now it sounds like Rapace will indeed be in the film, and is rumored to be flying to Australia for a few weeks of shooting. Also this week, we got a picture of Danny McBride with Scott on the bridge of a ship, all of which prompted The Guardian to ask if Scott is just making this movie up as he goes along. We’re still stoked (if not slightly concerned) about another Alien gorefest, but it’s starting to get interesting, to say the least.
Switching gears a bit, we’ll also be talking about the glory that is Finding Dory, which, at times, looks more like live action than CGI thanks to Pixar’s genius animators. Then we’ll switch gears again to talk about the absolutely addicting new trailer for Westworld, HBO’s highly anticipated series adaptation of Michael Crichton’s ingenious film about a fantasy world populated by androids gone haywire.
And how about those Rogue One reshoots, eh? While we’d been told all sorts of troubling rumors about test audiences, 40 percent of the film getting axed, and trouble with the film’s tone, it appears it may all have just been internet nonsense. That’s according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who put her name on the line Friday to dispel virtually all the rumors.
We’ll also chat a bit about the poor critical showing for Independence Day: Resurgence, the intriguing new film from the director of What We Do in the Shadows (and Thor: Ragnarok), which opens this weekend, and so much more.
Check us out live at 2 p.m. PT each Friday, or take us along for the ride!
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.