Emperor

The DC Studios co-CEO recently took to Bluesky to explain why The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1 are not considered canon even though events from both projects are referenced or followed up on in Creature Commandos, which is the first entry in the DCU. "Short answer: Only Creature Commandos forward is pure canon. For instance, Rick Flag Jr was killed because we heard Rick Flag Sr talking about it in Creature Commandos, not because we saw it in The Suicide Squad," Gunn wrote. "Long answer: Only CC forward is pure canon; Peacemaker is almost entirely consistent with that canon other than the Justice League; The Suicide Squad has a lot of consistencies but I think of it as an imperfect memory."

For the bulk of the 2010s, Blumhouse was synonymous with horror. Sinister, The Purge, Paranormal Activity, and Insidious all captured the zeitgeist thanks to their catchy concepts, many of which have since been turned into larger franchises.

Arguably their most impressive moment was the one-two punch of Get Out and Split, released just a month a part, earning over half a billion on a combined budget of just $13.5 million. It was Jason Blum’s very own Barbenheimer.

That brings us to 2025, with Blumhouse’s new $25 million Wolf Man reboot opening to an anemic $12 million over the four-day holiday weekend.

The three day tally was lower than last year’s Night Swim, and barely above Imaginary. Largely expected to take first place, it instead wound up behind both Christmas holdover Mufasa, as well as the new buddy comedy One of Them Days.

What does this mean for Blumhouse?

Fans of The Substance will probably appreciate this low-budget Kiwi body horror, intent as it is on tearing holes in the human meat carapace in order to question modern beauty standards. Grafted is actually more superficial than Coralie Fargeat’s film in terms of what it says about appearance – but that is somehow fitting and ably concealed by director Sasha Rainbow with a heavy grouting of punky attitude.

UK pay growth rose in November despite evidence of employers cutting jobs after Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising budget, underlining a dilemma for the Bank of England as it considers cutting interest rates next month.

With the government under pressure on the economy, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said annual growth in average weekly earnings rose by 5.6% in the three months to the end of November, up from 5.2% in the three months to October.

City economists had forecast total annual pay growth would accelerate. The reading matched estimates for total pay, but was marginally higher than expected for regular pay, excluding bonuses.

At the same time, the figures showed the UK unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over rose to 4.4% in the three months to November, up from 4.3% in the three months to October, highlighting some evidence of a cooling jobs market since the autumn budget.

The bakery chain has confirmed its frozen steak bakes which are sold in Iceland stores contain sulphites which have not been declared on the label.

Anyone with a sensitivity to sulphur dioxides and sulphites is at risk as they can cause allergy-like symptoms in people with asthma and allergiv rhinitis.

It can cause wheezing, a tight chest and a cough.

The more severe reactions can also include anaphylaxis – although this is rare according to Allergy UK.

mSome steak bake packs also contain the sausage, bean and cheese melts instead, which also contain sulphites.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/17497219

The expansion is inconsistent with decarbonization.

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Wrestling was in a state of flux in 1987 and Kendo Nagasaki had a slightly faulty vision for how All-Star Wrestling could compete with the glitz and glamour of the WWE.

If one word could describe Joint Promotions’s presentation, it might be ‘traditionalist’. Indeed, its conservative approach saw few real characters, white meat goodies take on black trunk baddies and a heavy focus on the grappling component.

With this in mind, the infamous All-Star Wrestling’s Disco Ladder match, the main event of their first TV slot in 1987, looked positively otherworldly!

...

A first for British audiences, it is thought the ladder match was brought over by Nagasaki, who had wrestled in Canada’s Stampede Wrestling at the same time as the first-known ladder match.

In this sense, Britain outdid America, which did not have a nationally televised ladder match until WrestleMania X in 1994.

The ladder match in Britain was more limited, with the wrestlers using a one-sided step ladder and thus ruling out fights atop of the ladder. Both men would try to retrieve a charity golden record.

As it was Christmas time, the golden record was secured with gold tinsel. Notably, the match would not air until January 3rd – well after Christmas Day – and was recorded on the 27th.

An addition to the ladder concept was the disco element in which a light and music show would accompany the action in the ring.

...

Elsewhere, respected wrestling journalist David Bixenspan added: “I’m not sure if anyone knows how Brian Dixon’s brain decided to book this, but it’s one of the strangest matches in the history of wrestling and a lot of fun to watch.”

The match

Donald Trump is not a warmonger and most people in the world are glad he is back in power, David Lammy said ahead of his inauguration on Monday.

Going out of his way to praise the new president, the Foreign Secretary called him “gracious and generous”.

Mr Lammy, who has been fiercely critical of Mr Trump in the past, said Britain had to come to terms with dealing with him.

“You meet the world as it is - not as you would like it to be,” he told the BBC.

Global support for Trump was rooted in the view that he would curb “malign authoritarian” leaders by “keeping them guessing,” said Mr Lammy.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/22970743

Disney+ U.K. originals “Extraordinary” and “Shardlake” will not be returning to the streamer for further seasons, Variety has learned.

Edgy comedy “Extraordinary,” which stars Máiréad Tyers and Sofia Oxenham as a pair of chaotic flatmates living in a world of superpowers, had already aired two seasons, with Season 2 ending on a cliffhanger as Jen falls into a void. It will not return for a third.

“Shardlake,” a four-part historical mystery series set in Tudor times starred Arthur Hughes, Sean Bean and Anthony Boyle, launched its first season last summer. It will not return for a second.

...

Despite the disappointing news, Disney+ is continuing to invest in U.K. originals, with a second season of its hit Jilly Cooper adaptation “Rivals” already underway. Other projects in the works include “A Thousand Blows,” which launches next month, documentaries about cricketer Freddie Flintoff and tragic “Love Island” host Caroline Flack and a scripted series about the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Disney+ U.K. originals “Extraordinary” and “Shardlake” will not be returning to the streamer for further seasons, Variety has learned.

Edgy comedy “Extraordinary,” which stars Máiréad Tyers and Sofia Oxenham as a pair of chaotic flatmates living in a world of superpowers, had already aired two seasons, with Season 2 ending on a cliffhanger as Jen falls into a void. It will not return for a third.

“Shardlake,” a four-part historical mystery series set in Tudor times starred Arthur Hughes, Sean Bean and Anthony Boyle, launched its first season last summer. It will not return for a second.

...

Despite the disappointing news, Disney+ is continuing to invest in U.K. originals, with a second season of its hit Jilly Cooper adaptation “Rivals” already underway. Other projects in the works include “A Thousand Blows,” which launches next month, documentaries about cricketer Freddie Flintoff and tragic “Love Island” host Caroline Flack and a scripted series about the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

As A24’s flagship contender this awards season, The Brutalist has already cemented its place in the cultural conversation, seemingly resonating with many of the guilds and award boards across the world. Its success underscores the power of bold, auteur-driven storytelling and serves as a testament to the creative heights that can be achieved even with constrained resources.

However, one of the ways that they have maintained this small budget is by utilising publicly available tools and taking advantage of one of the biggest growing ones – AI, specifically Generative AI, which is famously critiqued due to the way it functions, which is by learning from already existing art created by real artists and replicating and crafting these into something new.

...

In a new interview with editor Dávid Jancsó for RedSharkNews, he revealed that AI was used for two parts of the production process on the film: for assisting in helping the actors sound more Hungarian with AI enhancements to their voice, and using it to create an entire scene towards the end of the movie to showcase a variety of drawings.

...

Many people have already argued that relying on generative AI for such an important moment in The Brutalist diminishes the craftsmanship and human creativity that audiences expect in a film centered on architecture, considering that it involves a field deeply rooted in artistic vision and individuality. The use of AI here has sparked debates about the ethics of automation in art and cinema, particularly as it pertains to projects that pride themselves on being deeply personal or auteur-driven.

Adding fuel to the fire, the proud claims of a low budget now feel disingenuous, as it was not achieved by creative ingenuity as implied but rather morally dubious shortcuts. However, the reliance on AI shortcuts now casts that achievement in a different light, with many seeing it as a cost-cutting measure that compromises the film’s authenticity. For a movie centered on an architect’s vision and legacy, the use of AI to simulate the protagonist’s creations feels antithetical to the story’s core themes and message.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/22939833

Sir Keir Starmer is embroiled in another row over Donald Trump after the Labour mayor of London warned of a “resurgent fascism” on the eve of his inauguration.

Allies of the prime minister slapped down Sir Sadiq Khan, distancing the government from his comments, while the Tories condemned them as “unacceptable”. The latest spat comes at a difficult time for the UK-US relationship.

In what would be an extremely rare move, Mr Trump is considering rejecting Sir Keir’s nominee for UK ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson.

The Trump team is also still angry Labour staffers travelled to the US to campaign for their rivals, the Democrats, in the presidential race.

Sir Sadiq warned of a "resurgent fascism" and “deeply worrying times, especially if you're a member of a minority community", in The Observer.

“By exploiting economic concerns and a growing distrust of political and media institutions, these reactionary populists have been able to attract new supporters,” he wrote.

“In Germany, the AfD is on course for a breakthrough in next month’s federal elections. In France, the National Rally is topping presidential polls. And, of course, in the US, Donald Trump is back.

He also hit out at close Trump ally Elon Musk, adding: “A billionaire bully shouldn’t be able to use his social media platform as a propaganda tool to amplify lies and advance the cause of the far right.”

Asked about his comments on the BBC on Sunday, Treasury minister Darren Jones said: “I don’t agree with it. I speak on behalf of the government, and we don’t agree with it.”