The Indian Panorama

Tag: Disney

  • WITNESS THE MARRIAGE OF MUSIC WITH ANIMATION AT DISNEY’S ‘FANTASIA’ IN CONCERT

    WITNESS THE MARRIAGE OF MUSIC WITH ANIMATION AT DISNEY’S ‘FANTASIA’ IN CONCERT

    • By Mabel Pais 

    “What the New Jersey Symphony has established, bringing music to the Garden State in schools and in six different cities, is a sincere accomplishment. And it’s never been better.” – nj.com

    This October, experience a wide variety of events with the New Jersey Symphony. A program for everyone!

    Experience Disney’s groundbreaking marriage of symphonic music and animation. Enjoy iconic moments and childhood favorites like never before!

    The whole family will love Disney’s ‘Fantasia in Concert’ (October 23–26), with repertoire from the original 1940 version and ‘Fantasia 2000’ being performed by the New Jersey Symphony while Disney’s stunning footage is shown on the big screen at Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, Count Basie Performing Arts Center in Red Bank, and State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick.

    PROGRAM

    New Jersey Symphony at the Movies
    Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ in Concert

    Morristown –Thursday, October 23, 7 pm, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown
    Red Bank –     Saturday, October 25, 2 pm, Count Basie Center for the Arts

    New Brunswick – Sunday, October 26, 2 pm, State Theatre New Jersey

    Constantine Kitsopoulos conductor

    New Jersey Symphony

    Estimated concert duration: 2 hours and 20 minutes

    TICKETS

    For tickets to the film concert, visit njsymphony.org.

    Constantine Kitsopoulos

    Constantine Kitsopoulos has established himself as a dynamic conductor known for his ability to work in many different genres and settings. Equally at home with opera, symphonic repertoire, film with live orchestra, music theater, and composition, his engagements have led him to conduct worldwide, appearing with major orchestras in North America as well as the Hong Kong and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestras.  Learn more at maestrock.com.

  • US regulator denies Apple, Disney bids to skip votes on AI

    US regulator denies Apple, Disney bids to skip votes on AI

    New York (TIP) – The top U.S. securities regulator has ruled that Apple and Disney cannot avoid shareholder votes about the use of artificial intelligence proposed by a labor group.
    In a January 3 notice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected a request by the iPhone maker and the entertainment giant to exclude from its upcoming annual meetings a call for reports on the use of AI.
    Corporations have adopted new technology for its promised efficiencies. But this trend has raised fears that it will replace many creative and professional workers or unfairly take over their jobs, issues recently highlighted in Hollywood labor disputes and the recent New York Times lawsuit. Are. Similar shareholder proposals were filed by the pension trust of the largest US labor union federation, the AFL-CIO, which also has AI measures pending at four other technology companies. In Apple, the group asked for a report on the company’s “use of AI in its business operations and disclosure of any ethical guidelines the company has adopted regarding its use of AI technology.” In a similar request, it also asked Disney to report on its board’s role in overseeing the use of AI.
    In its support statement at Apple, the AFL-CIO wrote that “AI systems should not be trained on copyrighted works, or the voices, likenesses, and performances of professional artists, without transparency, consent, and compensation to creators and rights holders. “
    Brandon Reese, deputy director of the AFL-CIO’s investment office, said the SEC’s ruling could pave the way for settlements with Apple and Disney that would bring them in line with AI disclosures from other companies like Microsoft.
    In contrast, Apple and Disney “haven’t even begun to grapple with these ethical issues” around AI, Rees said.
    Apple and Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    Both companies had argued that the proposals could be removed from their ballots because they were related to “normal business operations”, such as the company’s choice of technologies.
    The SEC disagreed. “In our view, the proposal goes beyond normal business matters and does not seek to micromanage the company,” the agency wrote in separate letters. Source: Reuters

  • Reliance, Disney edge closer to mega India merger deal

    Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Walt Disney have appointed law firms and started antitrust due diligence of their planned Indian media and entertainment merger, four people familiar with the matter said.
    Reliance has appointed law firm Khaitan & Co and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, while Disney has roped in AZB & Partners, the people said.
    The appointments are the latest sign of progress as Reliance and Disney, which each have a major streaming service as well as 120 television channels between them, look at merging into an entity to create an entertainment superpower in the world’s most populous nation. Reliance Industries is expected to have a majority stake in the entity.
    A fifth source said senior Disney executives from Burbank headquarters and top Reliance officials from Mumbai travelled to London in late December and signed a non-binding term sheet on the deal. Reliance said it had “no comments to offer”, calling the story “speculative”, without elaborating.
    Source: Reuters

  • Netflix rocked by subscriber loss, may offer cheaper ad-supported plans

    Netflix rocked by subscriber loss, may offer cheaper ad-supported plans

    Netflix Inc said inflation, the war in Ukraine and fierce competition contributed to a loss of subscribers for the first time in more than a decade and predicted deeper losses ahead, marking an abrupt shift in fortune for a streaming company that thrived during the pandemic. The company said it lost 200,000 subscribers in its first quarter, falling well short of its forecast of adding 2.5 million subscribers. Suspending service in Russia after the Ukraine invasion took a toll, resulting in the loss of 7,00,000 members.

    Wall Street sent Netflix’s stock tumbling 26% after the bell on Tuesday and erased about $40 billion of its stock market value. Since it warned in January of weak subscriber growth, the company has lost nearly half of its value.

    The lagging subscriber growth is prompting Netflix to contemplate offering a lower-priced version of the service with advertising, citing the success of similar offerings from rivals HBO Max and Disney+. “Those who have followed Netflix know that I’ve been against the complexity of advertising, and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription,” said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. “But, as much as I’m a fan of that, I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice.”

  • Shang-Chi becomes the highest-grossing film of 2021, beats Black Widow

    As expected, Disney-Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of Ten Rings is raging through the box office, and is standing ground after minting 3.6 million dollars on Friday, which is a feat in itself, as it makes the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed film the highest grossing title during the pandemic ahead of Black Widow with a 186 million dollars. It doesn’t end there, as Shang-chi is expected to gross around 12.8 million through the next three days and a running total of 196 million dollars. This is seen as a landmark for the movie theater business, as it was released solely in theaters with 45 days of exclusivity, as compared to Black Widow and many other new releases, which have opted for a hybrid model, with ensuing controversies. This weekend, Shang-Chi is predicted to top the domestic box office charts for the fourth weekend straight, adding an expected 12 million to 14 million dollars. In all probability, the film would end the weekend just shy of the 200 million dollar mark.

  • Disney cuts ties with Scarlett Johansson, to not go ahead with any project?

    Disney cuts ties with Scarlett Johansson, to not go ahead with any project?

    Scarlett Johansson and Disney are at loggerheads, and the legal battle between them is still trending and making news. While there are a lot of speculations in the air about the future of the two together, many new continue to surface. The latest has to do with the question that will Scarlett ever again reprise Black Widow for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Well, it seems dark. If you are unaware, Scarlett Johansson sued Disney recently. She accused the studio of breaching her contract in which they promised her an exclusive theatrical release of the Black Widow standalone flick. The studio released the movie simultaneously on their streaming platform Disney Plus. Johansson claimed to has incurred losses in huge numbers. Now if the latest dash of grapevine is to go by, the studio has now made a firm decision to not ever partner with Scarlett, who has been their Natasha Romanoff.

    Scarlett Johansson entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008 as Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2. Over the decade, she appeared in multiple projects and won hearts only for the fans to keep asking for a standalone flick. After a massive demand, the actor finally got Black Widow but only to start a war between the studio and Johansson.

    Now as per We Got This Covered, Disney has now decided to not ever work again with Scarlett Johansson. The studio who have strongly dissed the lawsuit twice calling it ‘meritless’ and ‘PR Stunt’. They now plan to completely cut ties with their Black Widow and halt everything that they were planning to do with her. This also means that they won’t be going ahead with Tower Of Terror, which started the actor in the lead role.

  • Amazon buys MGM for $8.45 bn

    Amazon buys MGM for $8.45 bn

    Amazon is going Hollywood. The online shopping giant is buying MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, ‘Legally Blonde’ and ‘Shark Tank’, with the hopes of filling its video streaming service with more stuff to watch.

    Amazon is paying $8.45 billion for MGM, making it the company’s second-largest acquisition after it bought grocer Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in 2017. The deal is the latest in the media industry that’s aimed at boosting streaming services to compete against Netflix and Disney+. AT&T and Discovery announced on May 17 that they would combine media companies, creating a powerhouse that includes HGTV, CNN, Food Network and HBO.