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☆ What’s In Our Queue? ‘Andor’ and More
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sophie Downes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

What’s In Our Queue? ‘Andor’ and MoreLucasfilm Ltd./Disney+, via Associated PressI am an editing resident on The New York Times Culture desk. I can often be found going solo to old movies or hunting for deals on theater tickets. Here are five things I have watched, listened to and enjoyed recently →

☆ 'Andor' almost dropped the first F-word in 'Star Wars' franchise history, actress says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"Andor" is the best-reviewed "Star Wars" live-action series yet, and feels more gritty than previous shows. "Fiona's voice was over all of us," Gough told Empire, referring to actress Fiona Shaw's monologue in the episode. "Andor" could be described as a "gritty" "Star Wars" series. It's received glowing reviews from critics, with the first season receiving a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, the best of any of Disney+'s live-action "Star Wars" series. But the three-episode premiere lagged behind other "Star Wars" debuts in viewership, according to Nielsen data.

☆ Bob Iger needs to fix Disney's 'Star Wars' problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He said then that a movie-a-year strategy for "Star Wars" was "too much, too fast." But Disney might have slammed on the brakes a little too hard: The only "Star Wars" movie to be released since then has been "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," in 2019. And now, there isn't a "Star Wars" film on the theatrical release calendar until 2025. It's unclear if Iger foresaw a six-year wait, at least, when he said back in 2018 that "Star Wars" movie output would slow. But Lucasfilm hasn't made any public commitment to any of them as the next stage of "Star Wars" on the big screen.

☆ Disney’s tale of two Bobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This was a big surprise Sunday night, for a few reasons:1) Iger has previously dismissed the idea of going back to Disney. Then, he kept going: Iger’s Disney acquired Lucasfilm, home of the Star Wars franchise, for a little over $4 billion. Disney shares surged 9% Monday morning, reflecting investors’ hopes that Iger will swoop in and work his magic. The Trump news was no surprise — even before buying Twitter, Musk made clear he would reinstate Trump and rethink the site’s content-moderation policies. And if Musk’s strategy is to stoke controversy, he’s already brought out the big guns in letting Trump back on.

☆ Disney plans to freeze hiring and cut jobs, memo shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Disney (DIS) is planning to freeze hiring and cut some jobs as it strives to move the Disney (DIS)+ streaming service to profitability against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Friday. Chief Executive Bob Chapek sent the memo to Disney’s leaders, saying the company is instituting a targeted hiring freeze and anticipates “some small staff reductions” as it looks to manage costs. Disney has said the fast-growing service added 12 million subscribers in its fiscal fourth quarter but reported an operating loss of nearly $1.5 billion. The company said Disney+ would become profitable in fiscal 2024, with losses having peaked in the quarter. Meta said this week it would cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce to rein in costs.

☆ Disney plans to freeze hiring and cut some jobs, memo shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) is planning to freeze hiring and cut some jobs as it strives to move the Disney+ streaming service to profitability against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Friday. Chief Executive Bob Chapek sent the memo to Disney's leaders, saying the company is instituting a targeted hiring freeze and anticipates "some small staff reductions" as it looks to manage costs. Disney has said the fast-growing service added 12 million subscribers in its fiscal fourth quarter but reported an operating loss of nearly $1.5 billion. The company said Disney+ would become profitable in fiscal 2024, with losses having peaked in the quarter. Meta Platforms (META.O) said this week it would cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce to rein in costs.

☆ Disney Shows the Limits of Streaming
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The quarter included the launch of shows and movies from the company’s well-regarded brands, including the Star Wars series ‘Andor.’The streaming spell might be wearing thin at the Magic Kingdom. Disney said Tuesday afternoon that it added 12.1 million net new subscribers to its flagship Disney+ streaming service during its fiscal fourth quarter. That was 36% more than analysts were expecting, and this time Disney didn’t fully depend on growth from regions that generate very little revenue.

☆ How ‘Andor’ Designers Took ‘Star Wars’ Back to the Analog Era
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( John Jurgensen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

To construct the world of the “Star Wars” prequel series “Andor,” the show’s designers went back to the 1970s to find inspiration—and spare parts. A vintage Polaroid camera, an early portable cassette player, and a lot of beefy buttons, switches and knobs all got built into the retro-futuristic gadgets that have important functions in the show.

☆ ‘Star Wars’ movie in development from 'Watchmen' showrunner and 'Ms. Marvel' director, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A new "Star Wars" movie is under development with a pair of buzzy names already attached, according to media reports. Damon Lindelof, showrunner for "Lost," "The Leftovers" and "Watchmen," is co-writing the new Lucasfilm movie, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy of "Ms. Marvel" signed on to direct, according to media entertainment site Deadline. But the upcoming feature marks the first "Star Wars" film set for theaters since 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker." "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" was a massive success for the franchise, grossing $1 billion at the global box office. Other "Star Wars" film projects from Taika Waititi, Rian Johnson and Kevin Feige have yet to be officially announced by the studio or given release dates.

☆ 'Andor' is the best 'Star Wars' show since 'The Mandalorian' — but the least popular
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The three-episode premiere of "Andor" trailed other "Star Wars" shows in viewership, per Nielsen. But the show is the best-reviewed "Star Wars" series yet. Maybe it's "Star Wars" fatigue after "Boba Fett" and "Obi-Wan," which I was personally incredibly disappointed by. Other data further suggests the show isn't gaining traction with as big of an audience as the other "Star Wars" series. Parrot Analytics, which measures audience demand based on online engagement and other factors, told Insider that the show is trailing the others in demand.

☆ ‘Game of Thrones’ ended with a thud. But ‘House of the Dragon’ has caught fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Frank Pallotta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —HBO has created a kingdom of hits, with none as popular as “Game of Thrones.” But “Game of Thrones” ended with a thud in 2019 when critics and fans were unhappy with the fantasy epic’s ho-hum conclusion (Bran Stark on the Iron Throne? Create more “Game of Thrones,” of course. Enter “House of the Dragon,” a prequel that takes place almost 200 years before the events of its predecessor and focuses on the Targaryen family. To put that number into context, season seven of “Game of Thrones” averaged 32.7 million viewers per episode, and season 8, its final season, averaged 46 million viewers. (It doesn’t hurt that “Game of Thrones” is pretty much like watching sports, albeit with more dragons.)

☆ The case for — and against — watching movies and TV shows with subtitles on
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But for "House of the Dragon," I've found that it's necessary and supplemental. I've also been watching Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" with subtitles, for similar reasons. With a recent survey revealing that people are increasingly using them, I took a look at the case for — and against —turning on subtitles. Subtitles can also be helpful if your TV doesn't have the best sound quality (although there are ways to adjust that). "House of the Dragon" and "The Rings of Power" are some of the best-looking shows on TV, and the subtitles can distract from the beautiful imagery.

☆ Why it might be better to wait and watch the new 'Star Wars' series 'Andor' in batches of episodes, not every week
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's tempting to wait to watch each block instead of watching one episode every week. "I knew where it was going to end up," Gilroy said during an interview last week on The Watch podcast. It's definitely the best "Star Wars" series since "The Mandalorian," as I was disappointed by "The Book of Boba Fett" and "Obi-Wan Kenobi." But I also appreciate the episode format "Andor" is striving for, and watching every week might ruin the experience. Gilroy has said that the entire series will take place over two seasons with 24 total episodes.

☆ 'Star Wars' series 'Andor' looks at everyday life under the Empire
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Rollo Ross | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File PhotoLOS ANGELES, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The new "Star Wars" television series "Andor" promises a look at the day-to-day lives of the people who eventually become heroes in the ongoing battle set in a galaxy far, far away. "Andor," which debuts on the Disney+ (DIS.N) streaming service on Wednesday, is a prequel to hit 2016 film "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." I don't think we've seen that," Luna said. "I don't think we've been in the most intimate life of the people that were having to live under the control of the Empire. "We want to make everything real - real emotions, real stakes, real threats, real fear, real betrayal, real love, real desperation, real families, real domestic drama, real adventure," he said.

☆ 'Andor' review: 'Star Wars' revives Diego Luna's character in a slow-moving prequel to 'Rogue One'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

(CNN) A prequel to a prequel, "Andor" brings a gritty tone and look to the "Star Wars" universe, as much the washed-out landscape of "Blade Runner" as George Lucas' far-away galaxy. Yet whatever promise that entails is mostly lost in flabby storytelling, essentially stretching what would have been a 10-minute movie prologue over the first three episodes. Disney+ has wisely decided to launch the 12-episode prequel to "Rogue One," starring Diego Luna as the spy Cassian Andor, with those three episodes, providing a somewhat better sense of the series' framework than the plodding first installment. Following a less-trodden path, though, doesn't excuse moving at the pace of a wounded Bantha, bogged down by flashbacks to the protagonist's childhood. Nor do these early episodes do enough to distinguish the shifting cast of supporting characters, a group that doesn't provoke much more than indifference.

"Andor," the latest series in the "Star Wars" franchise, hits Disney Plus on September 21. The sci-fi adventure is a prequel to "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." How to watch 'Andor'You can watch "Andor" exclusively on Disney Plus. Based on the runtimes of similar "Star Wars" series on Disney Plus, each episode will likely be about 35-45 minutes long. Season one of "Star Wars Rebels" is set within the same year as "Andor," so the two shows have parallel timelines.

☆ Disney removes Star Wars film 'Rogue Squadron' from schedule
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPeople dressed as Storm Troopers attend the premiere of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in London, Britain, December 18, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/FilesSept 15 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) on Thursday pulled"Star Wars" movie "Rogue Squadron" from next year's film schedule and gave no indication on when the company would release a new movie in the blockbuster space franchise. The movie would have been the first "Star Wars" film to reach theaters since "The Rise of Skywalker" debuted in December 2019. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why the Jenkins' film was pulled from its upcoming slate. Disney has released several "Star Wars" TV shows in the past few years on the Disney+ streaming service.

☆ Star Wars spinoff 'Rogue Squadron' officially off calendar as Disney shores up film slate
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Questions about the fate of Patty Jenkins' "Rogue Squadron" began circulating nearly a year ago, and intensified after the Star Wars film went unmentioned at Disney's annual D23 Expo last weekend. The suggestion was that Jenkin's Star Wars feature would be punted down the calendar to another date. "Rogue Squadron" was set to be the first theatrical Star Wars film since the 2019 release of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," which received middling reviews and generated over $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide. The path for future Star Wars films has been unclear since "Rise of Skywalker" was released. There's even talk that "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson is still attached to a stand-alone trilogy set within the Star Wars universe.

☆ Former Disney CEO says the pandemic left a 'permanent scar' on movie theaters, and that business will never return to pre-pandemic levels
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bob Iger, the former CEO of Disney, said that the pandemic left a "permanent scar" on the movie business. Bob Iger, who retired from Disney at the end of 2021, said that the pandemic left a "permanent scar" on movie theaters. "I don't think movies ever return, in terms of moviegoing, to the level that they were at pre-pandemic," Iger said during Vox's annual Code Conference on Wednesday. Before he stepped aside as CEO and into an executive chairman role in early 2020, Iger led the launch of the Disney+ streaming service in November 2019. The head of the National Association of Theatre Owners, John Fithian, doesn't think movie supply will be back to pre-pandemic levels for another 12 to 18 months.

☆ The biggest blockbusters aren't in movie theaters right now — they're on TV: from 'The Rings of Power' to 'House of the Dragon'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-07 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The blockbusterization of TV has reached a peak with "The Rings of Power" and "House of the Dragon." Meanwhile, movie theaters are experiencing a dire lack of new releases. In fact, the future of "Star Wars" is largely streaming TV — a big loss for movie theaters. "The Rings of Power" is the most expensive TV series ever made, with a production budget of $465 million for the first season. Some examples: Apple is making a TV series set in the same universe as "Godzilla vs. Kong," and Disney is readying its own King Kong series.

☆ United Galați a cucerit Supercupa României la futsal
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-12 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: 1 min

Confruntarea pentru trofeu a avut loc la Sala Sporturilor "Dunărea" din Galați. United a început în forță disputa și a deschis scorul prin Daniel Araujo. Trupa pregătită de Florin Ignat nu a scăzut ritmul și până la pauză a mai marcat de trei ori, unul dintre goluri a fost înscris de Sergiu Tacot, care a reușit un voleu superb.La reluarea jocului, FK Odorheiu Secuiesc a redus din diferență prin Kedei Barna. Andrei Crăciun a refăcut diferența de patru goluri, apoi Robert Crișan a dus scorul la 6-1.În ultimul minut al partidei, gruparea din Odorheiu Secuiesc a predat o adevărată lecție de "5 contra 4" și, după ce a scos portarul, a marcat spectaculos la capătul unei faze de o rară frumusețe prin Balint Andor.United Galați a cucerit în premieră acest trofeu. Formația este campioană națională și reprezentanta României în Liga Campionilor la fotbal în sală.

Persons: Daniel Araujo, Florin Ignat, Sergiu Tacot, Barna, Andrei Crăciun, Robert Crișan Organizations: Sporturilor, Dunărea, United, FK, națională, Liga Campionilor Locations: Galați, FK Odorheiu Secuiesc, Odorheiu Secuiesc, Balint, României

☆ Disney a anunţat un nou film "Star Wars" pentru sfârșitul lui 2023
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-11 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +2 min

Această poveste va avea loc în "viitorul galaxiei" şi va urma "o nouă generaţie de piloţi spaţiali", a dezvăluit Kathleen Kennedy, preşedinta Lucasfilm, compania aflată în spatele legendarei saga lansate în 1977 şi cumpărată de numărul 1 mondial din industria divertismentului, scrie agerpres.ro Patty Jenkins, al cărei "Wonder Woman 1984" va fi lansat până la sfârşitul lunii, va fi prima femeie care va regiza un lungmetraj al francizei "Star Wars", acesta "urmând să ajungă în cinematografe de Crăciunul lui 2023", a precizat Kennedy în timpul unei prezentări virtuale destinate investitorilor grupului Disney.Ea a anunţat, de asemenea, mai multe noi seriale din universul "Star Wars", dintre care unul consacrat întoarcerii celebrului Lando Calrissian şi două spinoff-uri ale "The Mandalorian" ("The Rangers of the New Republic" şi unul dedicat aventurilor lui Ahsoka Tano, în interpretarea lui Rosario Dawson). "Lando", care va urmări aventurile personajului vorbăreţ făcut celebru de prima trilogie "Star Wars", va fi regizat de Justin Simien, creatorul seriei "Dear White People".În ceea ce priveşte serialul spin-off al "Rogue One", aceasta se va numi "Andor", iar producţia sa abia a început la Londra, a anunţat pentru Disney actorul Diego Luna, care interpretează rolul principal. El va juca alături de Stellan Skarsgard şi Fiona Shaw în acest thriller de spionaj, al cărui scenariu este semnat de Tony Gilroy.Hayden Christensen, care l-a interpretat pe tânărul Anakin Skywalker în cea de-a doua trilogie, va reveni în rolul lui Darth Vader alături de Ewan McGregor în seria "Obi-Wan Kenobi", care va începe producţia în martie.Lista continuă cu o anchetă spaţială intitulată "'The Acolyte'", care va fi realizată de co-creatoarea de la "Russian Doll", Leslye Headland, şi va avea loc "în ultimele zile ale Republicii".Compania a adăugat că pentru următorii ani a programat 10 serii "Star Wars" pentru Disney+, alături de un număr egal de serii care se desfăşoară în universul Marvel.

Persons: Kathleen Kennedy, preşedinta, Patty Jenkins, Kennedy, Lando Calrissian, Ahsoka, Rosario Dawson, Lando, Justin Simien, Diego Luna, El, Fiona Shaw, Tony Gilroy.Hayden Christensen, Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, Ewan McGregor, Wan Organizations: Disney, Marvel Locations: New Republic, Londra, Republicii

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