Hong Kong Filmmakers Build New Homes, Festivals Overseas

From setting alarms to playing music to even answering those random questions that spring to mind, Amazon ’s Alexa is a pretty useful thing to have around. And while these nifty features may be extremely revolutionary when it comes to day-to-day tasks, things could be set to get even more advanced, according to Amazon. The company has recently revealed that the voice assistant could use the voices of dead people “to make memories last”, as reported by WalesOnline.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticFor a long time, if you said the name “the Reverend Al Sharpton,” you were guaranteed to get a response that seemed to erupt from the very gut fauna of mass-media outrage. “Loudmouth,” the fascinating new documentary about Sharpton, makes a convincing case that most of that moral high dudgeon was fatally overblown. In the ’80s and ’90s, Sharpton was at the molten center of every race-based news event in the greater New York area.

Members of the Directors Guild of Canada in British Columbia have voted overwhelmingly – 89.5% to 10.5% – to ratify a new three-year film and TV contract with the AMPTP and the Canadian Media Producers Association-BC.

It’s no secret that some fans doubted Austin Butler‘s ability to embody the late Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann‘s 2022 film, Elvis. Several other Hollywood heartthrobs like Harry Styles and Miles Teller auditioned for the role.

R.L. Ford Jalmer Caceres needed to come up with a 10-page script exploring the importance of work for his application to Indeed’s Rising Voices program — time was running out.

The teaser trailer for Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is here!

Disney's animated hit Lilo & Stich celebrated its 20th anniversary, though director Chris Sanders has a bit of a bone to pick with critics.The film followed a young orphan Lilo (voiced by Daveigh Chase) who is raised by her older sister Nani (voiced by Tia Carrere) when their lives are turned upside down when she discovers an alien creature she dubs Stitch (voiced by Sanders).The film performed quite well at the box office, but many years later, Frozen earned high praise for its message of sisterhood, which Sanders admitted in an interview with The New York Timeswas upsetting since his movie did that first. Director:Disney's animated hit Lilo & Stich celebrated its 20th anniversary, though director Chris Sanders (above) has a bit of a bone to pick with critics Lilo and Stitch:The film followed a young orphan Lilo (voiced by Daveigh Chase) who is raised by her older sister Nani (voiced by Tia Carrere) when their lives are turned upside down when she discovers an alien creature she dubs Stitch (voiced by Sanders) Frozen praise:The film performed quite well at the box office, but many years later, Frozen earned high praise for its message of sisterhood, which Sanders admitted in an interview with The New York Times was upsetting since his movie did that firstThe movie, which debuted on June 21, 2002, was a hit at the box office, earning $273.1 million worldwide from an $80 million budget.The movie earned praise for the Lilo and Nani characters and their authenticity, along with shining a spotlight on kids from broken homes, instead of focusing on any sort of romantic angle like many animated films did.

Paramount’s Sonic The Hedgehog 2 has crossed the $400M threshold at the global box office, including $190.6M from domestic and $209.5M internationally through Tuesday. It is currently the No. 8 film worldwide in 2022 and is likely to jump up a few notches as it still has Japan and Hong Kong to release. At Paramount’s CineEurope presentation today, a threequel was touted.

You’ve definitely never heard Shawn Mendes like this.

Andrew Barker Senior Features WriterThe Palm Springs International ShortFest will mark an in-person return to the California desert oasis from June 21-27, showcasing 300 short films in 51 different curated programs. If that seems like a markedly high number of films considering all of the disruptions in both the film production and festival space over the past two years, interim festival director Sudeep Sharma has an explanation.“One thing I’ve been saying a lot is that the pandemic has seemingly affected everything except for the production of short films,” says Sharma, a ShortFest veteran currently manning the festival helm while director Lili Rodriguez is on maternity leave.

Kristen Bell was surprised by a young fan while out in New York City on Tuesday (June 21).

EXCLUSIVE: A3 Artists Agency has promoted three to agent — Nick Beldoch, in the Motion Picture Literary Division; Jillian Holch in the TV Literary Division and Lucy Powis in the Theatrical Literary Division.

Jenny Slate is opening up about her latest project.

READ NEXT: Michael Owen's 'hot' wife Louise's life - bikini snaps, bond with Gemma and 'jealousy'As celebrate show star Chris Pratt's 43rd birthdays, let's take a look at what everyone has been up to since the show wrapped, from sex symbol status to a major Me Too movement fall out.After moving on from her local government role as lovable Leslie Knope, Amy continues to make her mark on the big screen starring in a string of TV and movie hits.She currently serves as co-host of NBC's craft competition series Making It with her fellow Parks and Rec alum Nick Offerman. She also created and voiced the characters Duncan and Annie Harris in Fox's animated series Duncanville.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorWarnerMedia Discovery Access has announced a new program seeking aspiring music supervisors from historically underrepresented communities.Titled the Warner Bros. Discovery Access Music Supervisor Program (naturally enough), it will provide access to training and experience within the world of TV and film music supervision.

A new three-part documentary which covers the full story of Scotland's most famous beast is set to air on UK TV.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLincoln Center has announced a musical tribute to Greg Tate, a veteran music writer and musician and a ‘godfather of hip-hop journalism’ who died in December at 64.The performance will feature more than 30 members of Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, the group that Tate founded (head here for more information). “For this homecoming concert, curated and presented with The Tate Family at one of his favorite venues, more than thirty BSAC members will perform in celebration and tribute to one of the most essential voices in the history of 21st Century Avant Groidd music and thought,” the announcement reads.Titled
“More Than Posthuman: Rise of the Burnt Sugar Arkestra Mojosexual Cotillion”
An “Oh the Utter Negrocity of It All,” the tribute is one of three in Tate’s honor being held this summer: one last week at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and another, also featuring Burnt Sugar, on August 20 at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem as part of New York’s SummerStage concert series.

Kristen Bell is up for a third Frozen film.The star, who voiced the character of Anna in the first two version of the Disney animated movies, said she is ready to sign on the dotted line when visited Good Morning America on Monday.'I would do it in a heartbeat, I love that family,' shared the star who was promoting her new bookThe World Needs More Purple Schools. Bright: Kristen Bell is up for a third Frozen film.

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On first came to life in the form of an animated short in 2010, written by actress Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp.Riding the wave of its viral success over the course of three years, Marcel, an anthropomorphic seashell outfitted with one googly eye and a pair of miniature shoes, popped up again in two short film sequels and a children's book.It took nearly seven years, but Slate and Fleischer-Camp have followed through on their idea to make a full-length filmabout the character, which is a mix of live action andstop-motion animation.The film's two co-creators were along the cast and crew to attend the film's premiere atthe Whitby Hotel, in the heart of upper midtown Manhattan,on Saturday. Premiere: Jenny Slate, 40, attended the premiere of the live action- stop-motion animation film version ofMarcel The Shell With Shoes On at the Whitby Hotel in New York City on SaturdaySlate, 40, showed off her fit figure in white floral skirt that was matched with a white-patterned crop top and a pair of white heels.

Karen Idelson When writer-director Leon Cheo was crafting his Indeed Rising Voices short “The 25th Filial Exemplar,” he drew inspiration from old Hollywood films with terrifying depictions of the parent-child relationship, both classic (“Psycho”) and unintentionally camp (“Mommie Dearest”).But his initial creative spark came from something much closer to home: an article he read about a man in China who dressed up as his late sister to help ease his mother’s feelings of loss and grief. Cheo’s own parents live in his native Singapore, and he’s aware that as they grow older, he may have to help them navigate the health care system. It’s rare in Asian culture for parents to go into nursing homes or for people outside the family to provide assistance, so he knows that the burden of providing care could very well fall on him.  “It’s an unpaid job that kind of lasts a lifetime,” says Cheo. Cheo amped up the psychological terror and turmoil in “The 25th Filial Exemplar,” infusing the story with the dark tone of a horror movie and adding sibling rivalry to the thematic mix. While it’s often the first-born male child who becomes the favorite in Asian cultures, in this film, it’s the daughter — though the “daughter” is actually the son dressed as his dead sister.

A WHOLE generation of children grew up on the Toy Story series ‒ but what happened to the cast who voiced the iconic inhabitants of Andy’s room? Disney Pixar’s Lightyear was released this weeks, providing eager fans with an origin story for the plucky astronaut the Buzz Lightyear action figure was inspired by. The film has Chris Evans voicing Buzz and tells the story of a young test pilot who is marooned on a hostile planet and confronts the threat of Emperor Zurg.