Innholdsfortegnelse for 8/16/2023 i Variety

A year ago, nobody in Hollywood was talking about artificial intelligence as an existential threat to the creative community. Now, two unions on strike say the sheer power of this fast-evolving computing platform is a line-in-the-sand issue that must be addressed in the next contract. The suddenness of the AI agita makes it ripe for a deeper look at how we got here. It also calls for some healthy skepticism. Is AI this year’s Web3? VR? Immersive 3D? Or any number of technologies that have come on strong, only to fade quickly away? The first important thing we learned as Todd Spangler, our New York digital editor, explored the subject is that AI is more than an app — it’s an entirely new computing platform that is programmed through human language…

Clarence Avant, whose unofficial title of the “Black Godfather” spanned the worlds of music, sports, entertainment and politics, died Aug. 13 at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his family. No cause of death was announced; he was 92. Avant’s list of accomplishments is long, broad and varied. Initially a nightclub manager, he spent the 1960s managing the likes of Lalo Schifrin and Jimmy Smith. He went on to found two record labels, through which he helped launch the careers of Bill Withers, Sixto Rodriguez and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. In 1993 he became chairman of the board of Motown Records, and subsequently the first African American board member at PolyGram. He launched one of the first fully black-owned radio stations, and didn’t hesitate to…

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MUSIC REVIEW Artist: Rhiannon Giddens Label: Nonesuch It’s been a few years since Rhiannon Giddens did anything remotely in the ballpark of a “pop” album, and it’s not hard to understand why — she’s overqualified for the job. The recipient of both a MacArthur “genius grant” and a Pulitzer, the banjo-wielding balladeer has sustained herself at the intersection of earthy and highbrow, most recently winning acclaim for her opera, “Omar,” and looking as much at home fronting the LA Phil as she did leading the old-fashioned string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Her recorded output in the past few years has focused on superb collaborations with her partner, Francesco Turrisi, emphasizing the sounds of Ireland and Italy. Naturally, she hosts a PBS series and dips her intellectual toe into educational…

As part of researching this week’s cover story on AI, digital editor Todd Spangler watched “Black Mirror” episodes and posed mischievous questions to ChatGPT. Executive editor of film & media Tatiana Siegel got to bust out some Russian she learned as a child to interview Soviet-born swindler Anna Delvey at her East Village kvartira. TV editor Michael Schneider has been covering this most unusual Emmy season, including how For Your Consideration plans have changed without actors on the campaign trail. Illustrator Francesco Muzzi, who designed the cover for our AI story, says, “I wanted to create something simple but striking, which would communicate a certain urgency and need for attention for what’s coming.”…

Ryan Knapp woke up before sunrise one morning in July and left his home in northern New Hampshire at 5:30 a.m. to catch a movie. It wasn’t just any day at the cinema. In fact, it was a 14-hour roundtrip journey that involved crossing two state lines by car, train and bus. That’s because Knapp wanted to see Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” the way the director intended: in Imax 70mm, a rare format crafted from Nolan’s film negative, with physical reels spanning 11 miles and weighing 600 pounds. It’s a movie nerd’s dream — but it’s only available on 30 screens worldwide, 19 of them in the U.S. So Knapp trekked to Providence, R.I., for a 2 p.m. showing. The verdict? “It was definitely worth it.” “Oppenheimer,” an R-rated three-hour drama…

FILMMAKER JUSTINE BATEMAN DOESN’T THINK THERE IS A THRIVING FUTURE FOR ACTORS in filmed entertainment as we know it. She believes that artificial intelligence will ultimately suck the creative marrow out of Hollywood. “AI can create a convincing simulation of a human actor, and the tech is improving at an alarming rate,” says Bateman, the former “Family Ties” star who has a degree in computer science and digital media management from UCLA. In a few short years, she asks, why would anyone need to pay real actors? “I stress that this is an existential threat,” continues Bateman, who is an adviser to SAG-AFTRA on AI issues. “And if they can do this with actors, they can do it with writers, directors, cinematographers — everyone. We’ll be replaced with Frankenstein spoonfuls…

“I no longer had excuses to not read some of the classics and the epic, long-form poetry I had always wanted to.” Hozier’s third album, “Unreal Unearth” (out Aug. 18), has serious conceptual underpinnings that include references to mythic tropes and literary works like Dante’s “Inferno.” But fans may hope and assume that the Irish singer-songwriter will be taking them somewhere closer to heaven this fall when he mounts a major U.S. tour, including a sold-out stop at the Hollywood Bowl Nov. 4. • “Take Me to Church” resounds in such positive ways, 10 years later. I was astounded that a song that changes from 3/4 time to 4/4 time, that has these weird chromatic movements, that was recorded without a bass guitar, and the vocals of which were recorded…

Last year, an aspiring actor got a call to submit an audition for a major network television series. They had less than two days to turn around a complex tape that would have to be shot and produced on their own, their acting coach recalls to Variety. The coach (who asks that he and his client remain anonymous) says the audition consisted of multiple scenes: an elaborately choreographed musical number, a thick chunk of dialogue and a combat sequence. The coach worked with his client for more than four hours, which typically would cost $500. He accepted less than half that, as it was all the actor could spare without facing financial hardship. “You do it for your clients because you want them to succeed, to win, to get the…

Henry Deas III, a longtime Variety advertising sales executive who specialized in film festivals and international markets, died Aug. 6 in Culver City. He was 75. Deas was known throughout the entertainment industry for his love of the movie business. He was an expert on the world’s largest film festivals and had an encyclopedic knowledge of film-makers from around the globe. And he was rarely seen without a broad smile on his face. “Henry Deas loved the independent film business, and the industry loved him right back,” says Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, Variety group publisher and CEO, who worked closely with Deas and considered him a mentor. “There was never a kinder soul, nor a dearer friend to so many.” A native of Charleston, S.C., Deas came from a prominent local family.…

Aug. 10 Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood NeueHouse, Hollywood The annual celebration of Hollywood’s most influential up-and-comers was headlined by Steve Lacy, Noah Schnapp and Sydney Sweeney, who each gushed over their Variety magazine covers. “Seeing my face on it with Steve and Sydney, it’s just an incredible honor,” Schnapp told Variety. “I’m huge fans of both of them.” Lacy, who sported his signature dark sunglasses and a black turtleneck pulled over his mouth, couldn’t hide a twinkle in his eye about being honored. Describing his white-carpet look, Lacy said coyly, “It’s giving introvert. I’ve been in the studio every day, and then today suddenly I’m around a bunch of people, so I’m really shy.” Sweeney arrived last, still buzzing from seeing Taylor Swift’s Eras performance. “It was the most…

IT’S a scorching hot July day in Manhattan, but Anna Delvey wants to walk to her scheduled check-in with New York parole officers. All 40 blocks, that is. Who can blame her? The infamous fake heiress, whose twisty tale of conning some of Wall Street’s biggest sharks became the inspiration for the hit Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” has been confined to a 470-square-foot apartment in the East Village for the past 10 months as she fights deportation to Germany, her most recent country of residence. Not surprisingly, she seizes the opportunity to be outdoors, her weekly Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins and trimonthly parole meet-ups providing her only escape. Wearing all black — a tight-fitting T-shirt, a bubble skirt and Roman sandals that obscure her ankle monitor — the notorious…