UK Culture Secretary Lays Out Why The Government Is Regulating The Streamers

Resident Evil 4 remake fan has modded a small mouse onto protagonist Leon Kennedy’s head, in reference to a viral tweet that reimagined the game’s Ashley Graham as a mouse.Since Capcom launched its Resident Evil 4 remake in March, fans have latched onto a Twitter post that asked what they would do if one of the game’s main characters – the president’s kidnapped daughter Ashley Graham – was a mouse.I saw a joke drawing that depicted ashley with big ears and this came to my mind, i never got past the boulder chase scene as a kid.— Mora (@Agrimmora) March 24, 2023The now-viral tweet has amassed over 17million views, and even inspired other Resident Evil 4 players to draw their interpretations of a mousey Ashley – who fans have dubbed “Moushley Graham”.Now, Nexus Mods user Cathroon has brought Moushley Graham to life with the Moushley Graham – Ratatouille Mod (via Gamesradar), which adds a model of Moushley to watch the horror game from Leon’s head.“This is Moushley Graham, she’s cheesed to meet you, and she craves violence,” reads the mod’s description.

UHI Perth’s principal has joined calls urging the Scottish Government to intervene and save 80 college mental health counselling jobs at risk of potential redundancy.

Activision Blizzard regarding its handling of salaries in Call Of Duty and Overwatch professional scenes.In the lawsuit, the US Government stated that Activision Blizzard’s Competitive Balance Tax in its Overwatch and Call Of Duty leagues limited competition and “suppressed esports players’ wages”.The Competitive Balance Tax forced competing teams to adhere to a salary cap implemented by Activision, meaning they were fined if any of their players were paid above a certain amount.In October 2021, Activision Blizzard told Call Of Duty and Overwatch teams that the Competitive Balance Tax would no longer be enforced, following an investigation by the DOJ.“The Competitive Balance Tax substantially lessened competition between teams in the Overwatch and Call Of Duty Leagues for esports players and limited the players’ compensation,” alleged the DOJ, who added that teams who used most of their salary cap on more expensive players drove down wages for everyone else.If successful, the lawsuit would hit Activision with a financial penalty and order the company to avoid reimplementing anything like the Competitive Balance Tax again.“Professional esports players – like all workers – deserve the benefits of competition for their services,” said Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

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Scotland's new Health Secretary has insisted Humza Yousaf did a good job in the role despite patients facing record waiting times.

Silent Hill publisher Konami has opened a new studio in Osaka, Japan, to provide “sustainable growth” for the 50-year-old company.The company’s newest branch has been named Konami Osaka Studio, and a press release from Komani has shared that it is equipped with motion capture equipment and sound studios.Konami explained that Osaka Studio will help it “continue sustainable growth in the next 50 years,” following the company celebrating its 50th birthday in March.Elsewhere, construction continues on Konami’s “next-generation R&D centre” in Tokyo, which is scheduled to complete in 2025.In the same press release, Konami also announced that it has “substantially” raised the company’s base salary level. This means an average increase of 50,000JPY (£303) per employee, while the base salary for new starters will be increased by the same amount.“We have taken various steps to promote management emphasized on human capital, improve employee engagement, and enhance its competitiveness,” shared Konami.Over the last year, a number of Japanese game publishers have issued pay rises for its workers.Back in February, Sega announced a 30 per cent pay increase for all workers, which will kick in from July 2023.In the same month, Nintendo confirmed it would be giving its employees a 10 per cent pay rise.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The high-profile film and TV production facilities Iskandar Malaysia Studios have been sold to Singapore’s GHY Culture & Media. GHY has paid RM8.8 million ($1.98 million) for an 80% stake in Studio Management Services, investment company, to RK Media Ventures Sdn Bhd and CL Media Holdings. According to a regulatory filing GHY and SMS must pay a further RM26.5 million ($5.99 million) within five days to state-owned Granatum Ventures to buy 100% of Iskandar Malaysia Studios. That gives a total purchase price of RM35.3 million ($8 million) for a controlling 80% stake. The remaining minority can be bought out in five years. The filing said that Iskandar Malaysia Studios’ net asset value at the end of 2022 was RM32 million ($7.23 million).

The Scottish Government has spent £26 million within three months on agency workers to cover workforce gaps in the NHS, according to figures obtained by Scottish Labour.

Zendaya and Tom Holland dressed up for a night with the stars at the inauguration of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, India on Saturday (April 1).

Five supermarket giants are now calling for the government to ditch its controversial drinks recycling scheme. Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose have told the Sunday Mail they don’t believe the deposit return scheme (DRS) can work in its current form.

Eiza González is celebrating her Mexican heritage with a new partnership. The Hollywood star revealed that tequila “is a deep part” of her culture, and wants to honor it by partnering with Casa Azul to launch premium organic tequila.“It was important for me not to be just another celebrity face of a brand, but to partner with a family-led business that celebrates modern Mexico and gives back to my people,” she said in a joint statement with the brand.Eiza showed her love for Casa Azul back in 2018 at the Oscars, when she took a shot from a shoe filled with tequila.

Humza Yousaf has pledged his Cabinet will take a "bold approach" to the issues facing Scotland as his top team met for the first time.

invest money back into grassroots music spaces. Currently, eight new arenas are scheduled to be launched across the country, in cities including Cardiff and Bristol.Elsewhere, back in January, a report showed that one-third of UK nightclubs closed by the end of 2022.

Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury yesterday (March 30), in the first criminal case against a former US President. Numerous famous faces from the entertainment world have since shared their thoughts on the decision.The charges faced by the former POTUS stem back to 2016, when adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal claimed that they were paid in an attempt to silence claims of extramarital affairs.According to the charges, in late 2016 – amid his presidential campaign – Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 (£105,300) to stay silent about an incident a decade earlier.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart penning the newsletter this week in what has been a (surprise, surprise) hugely busy week in the world of international TV and film. We really should stop qualifying that. Read on. And sign up for our weekly Insider here.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australia should remove its strict censorship of legal sex fetishes and some acts of violence in film, a government-commissioned report has recommended. The country has a national system of films and games classification that has been little changed since 1995 – the pre-internet, smartphone and streaming era – as well as differing systems in each of the country’s states. The federal government this week released a report compiled by Neville Stevens in 2020, but not published for more than two years.

The Am I Being Unreasonable actor has said that she has never “known bullying” like she experienced while attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). Cooper said that the abuse at the school aimed towards her was worse than in “any fucking workplace”.“I’ve not known bullying like what I experienced in that school, in any f****** workplace,” she told The Evening Standard.

Opposition politicians have blasted the Scottish Government following the revelations over the spiralling cost of agency staff within NHS Lanarkshire.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France engaged in a record 144 international co-productions in 2022, while the number of majority French movies produced dropped by 10% to 208 titles, according to a study unveiled by the National Film Board (CNC). For the first time since 2003, half of the movies produced in France were international co-productions (with 33 countries) last year, compared with 42.1 % in 2021 and 39.6 % between 2017 and 2019. Investment in films dropped by 12.8% to €1.18 billion ($1.30 billion) compared with 2021, while foreign investment broke a 10-year record. In France, TV channels as well as streamers (since the start of 2022) are required to invest a percentage of annual revenue on French and European productions. As such, they invested a total of €280.78 million in 159 films in 2022, a 8.3 % drop compared with the average invested between 2017 and 2019.

Roku said today it plans to lay off 200 employees, or 6% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan as the drumbeat of staff cuts across the industry continues. Roku laid off 200 last fall on advertising woes and a challenging economy, both of which are still rocky.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku is handing out pink slips again and exiting some office space as the streaming platform company takes additional steps to rein in costs. The company said Thursday it will lay off about 200 employees, or 6% of the company’s remaining workforce. In addition, Roku said, it will exit and sublease (or discontinue use of) some office facilities that the company does not currently occupy. Roku disclosed the cutbacks in an SEC filing. Roku’s latest job cuts come after the company in November 2022 announced that it was eliminating 200 jobs in the U.S., citing “current economic conditions.”