Warning: The following article contains spoilers about The Last of Us season 2.
Inspiration can be found in unexpected places. Director Kate Herron managed to use a tip she learned in The Last of Us and apply it to the live-action adaptation of The Sims.
Herron is a co-writer on the script for The Sims, a movie she will also direct. Herron, who directed the latest episode of The Last of Us, revealed how a component of the HBO show’s script inspired her to apply it to The Sims.
It’s tricky to know what I can say, but I’m very indebted to Craig [Mazin] and Neil [Neil Druckmann] for giving me an opportunity to direct on it” Herron told Variety about directing The Last of Us season 2, episode 4. “Getting to do that was like a bucket list kind of moment. I just hope I get better at my job. OK, actually, I’ve got a much better answer for you. I’ll answer it again. Craig writes the thoughts of the characters in the script. I love it, and I have 100% stolen that, and I’m now doing it in all the scripts I write. It’s such a good idea.”
The Sims‘ live-action movie was announced in March 2024. Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap banner will produce The Sims alongside Amazon MGM Studios and Electronic Arts. Herron will direct from a screenplay she’s writing with Briony Redman.
In Herron’s episode of The Last of Us titled Day One, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) spend their first day in Seattle exploring the confines of the city. At night, Ellie and Dina discover a group of WLF soldiers murdered at the hands of the Seraphites. When the duo tries to escape from the WLF, they run into the infected.
While trying to escape, Ellie is bitten after successfully saving Dina. When Dina points a gun in her face, Ellie reveals her immunity. Dina later confesses her pregnancy to Ellie, and the two have sex while hiding in an abandoned theater.
The episode ends with Ellie and Dina overlooking the city as they plan to infiltrate a hospital with WLF soldiers, which could lead them to Abby.
The Last of Us season 2, episode 5 airs on May 11.
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.