Podcast appearances and mentions of Reed Morano

A reminder for new readers. That Was The Week includes a collection of my selected readings on critical issues in tech, startups, and venture capital. I selected the articles because they are of interest to me. The selections often include things I entirely disagree with. But they express common opinions, or they provoke me to think. The articles are sometimes long snippets to convey why they are of interest. Click on the headline, contents link or the ‘More' link at the bottom of each piece to go to the original. I express my point of view in the editorial and the weekly video below.Congratulations to this week's chosen creators: @TechCrunch, @Apple, @emroth08, @coryweinberg, @mariogabriele, @peterwalker99, @KevinDowd, @jessicaAhamlin, @stephistacey, @ttunguz, @annatonger, @markstenberg3, @EllisItems, @TaraCopp, @ingridlunden, @Jack, @karissabe, @psawers, @Haje, @mikebutcher, @tim_cookContents* Editorial: Hating the Future* Essays of the Week* Apple's ‘Crush' ad is disgusting* Apple apologizes for iPad ‘Crush' ad that ‘missed the mark'* Milken's New Power Players* Ho Nam on VC's Power Law* State of Private Markets: Q1 2024* The weight of the emerging manager* Pandemic-era winners suffer $1.5tn fall in market value* Video of the Week* Apples iPad Video* AI of the Week* The Fastest Growing Category of Venture Investment in 2024* Meet My A.I. Friends* OpenAI plans to announce Google search competitor on Monday, sources say* Leaked Deck Reveals How OpenAI Is Pitching Publisher Partnerships* A Revolutionary Model.* An AI-controlled fighter jet took the Air Force leader for a historic ride. What that means for war* Sources: Mistral AI raising at a $6B valuation, SoftBank ‘not in' but DST is* News Of the Week* Jack Dorsey claims Bluesky is 'repeating all the mistakes' he made at Twitter* FTX crypto fraud victims to get their money back — plus interest* Apple's Final Cut Camera lets filmmakers connect four cameras at once* Startup of the Week* Wayve co-founder Alex Kendall on the autonomous future for cars and robots* X of the Week* Tim CookEditorial: Hating the FutureAn Ad and its Detractorsbet a lot of money that the TechCrunch writing and editorial team have had an interesting 72 hours.After Apple announced its new iPad on Tuesday, the ad that supported it was initially widely slammed for its cruelty to obsolete tools for creativity, including a piano, guitar, and paint. This week's Video of The Week has it if you don't know what I am talking about.A sizeable crushing machine compresses the items with colossal force, and in the end, an iPad can incorporate the functions of traditional items.It's not the most amazing ad ever, certainly not as bold as Steve Jobs's 1984 ad, but it's in the same genre. The past must be crushed to release new freedom and creativity for a fraction of the price and, often, the power and flexibility.Oh, and it's thin, very thin.I was not offended. Devin at TechCrunch was. He leads this week's essay of the week with his “Apple's ‘Crush' ad is disgusting” and does not mince words:What we all understand, though — because unlike Apple ad executives, we live in the world — is that the things being crushed here represent the material, the tangible, the real. And the real has value. Value that Apple clearly believes it can crush into yet another black mirror.This belief is disgusting to me. And apparently to many others, as well.He also makes the incorrect point that:A virtual guitar can't replace a real guitar; that's like thinking a book can replace its author.It's more like a digital book replacing a paper book than the author being replaced. Oh wait… that has happened.That said, a virtual guitar can replace a real guitar, and an AI guitar can even replace a virtual guitar—and be better. That is not to say there are no more actual traditional guitars. They will be a choice, not a necessity, especially for people like me who can't play a guitar but will be able to play these.Devin had his supporters in the comments (go read them).Handmaid's Tale director Reed Morano told Apple CEO Tim Cook to “read the room” in a post on X. Matthew Carnal captured my somewhat unkind instinct:There were a lot more reactions to the Apple ad haters like Matthews.Of course, many old instrument lovers (the instruments, not their age) hated the Ad. By Thursday, this being the times we live in, Apple apologized for the ad:Tor Myhren, Apple's vice president of marketing, said the company “missed the mark.”“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Myhren told Ad Age. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.”Please judge for yourself below, but my 2c is that the ad was a moderately underwhelming attempt to champion innovation. It is certainly not offensive unless you are ultra-sensitive and have feelings for pianos, guitars, and paint. Oh, and hate attempts to recreate them in a more usable form. And Apple really should have taken the high ground here.I spent some of the week in LA at the CogX Festival and virtually at the Data Driven Summit by @AndreRetterath. The latter focused on what is happening in Venture Capital, as do several of this week's essays. Milken's event was running in LA also. Its attitude to Venture Capital is best summed up here:“We're all being told in the market that DPI is the new IRR,” B Capital's Raj Ganguly said onstage Wednesday. (The acronym sandwich means investment firms have to actually prove that their investments actually generate cash through a metric called distributions to paid-in capital, not just theoretically, through internal rate of return.) “Even the venture panel at Milken is at the end of the day on Wednesday,” he joked, meaning that it didn't get top billing at the conference, which had started a couple days earlier.This does sum up where we are. Hundreds of Billions of dollars are still trapped inside companies funded in 2020-2022, with little prospect of producing returns. The impact is that there is less funding for current startups (see the Carta piece below). And much of what is flowing is flowing to AI and into a very small number of companies (see Tomasz Tungux below).However, innovation and funding are still possible. This week's Startup of the Week is Wayve, a UK autonomous driving platform that seems to agree with Elon Musk that cameras are sufficient to teach a car to drive. Wayve's ambitions go beyond Cars (also like Musk) but differ in that the product is available to all developers to embed in their products.“Very soon you'll be able to buy a new car, and it'll have Wayve's AI on it … Then this goes into enabling all kinds of embodied AI, not just cars, but other forms of robotics. I think the ultimate thing that we want to achieve here is to go way beyond where AI is today with language models and chatbots. But to really enable a future where we can trust intelligent machines that we can delegate tasks to, and of course they can enhance our lives and self-driving will be the first example of that.”Love that attitude.Essays of the WeekApple's ‘Crush' ad is disgustingDevin Coldewey, 1:58 PM PDT • May 9, 2024Apple can generally be relied on for clever, well-produced ads, but it missed the mark with its latest, which depicts a tower of creative tools and analog items literally crushed into the form of the iPad.Apple has since apologized for the ad and canceled plans to televise it. Apple's VP of Marketing Tor Myhren told Ad Age: “We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.” Apple declined to offer further comment to TechCrunch.But many, including myself, had a negative and visceral reaction to this, and we should talk about why. It's not just because we are watching stuff get crushed. There are countless video channels dedicated to crushing, burning, exploding and generally destroying everyday objects. Plus, of course, we all know that this kind of thing happens daily at transfer stations and recycling centers. So it isn't that.And it isn't that the stuff is itself so valuable. Sure, a piano is worth something. But we see them blown up in action movies all the time and don't feel bad. I like pianos, but that doesn't mean we can't do without a few disused baby grands. Same for the rest: It's mostly junk you could buy off Craigslist for a few bucks, or at a dump for free. (Maybe not the editing station.)The problem isn't with the video itself, which in fairness to the people who staged and shot it, is actually very well done. The problem is not the media, but the message.We all get the ad's ostensible point: You can do all this stuff in an iPad. Great. We could also do it on the last iPad, of course, but this one is thinner (no one asked for that, by the way; now cases won't fit) and some made-up percentage better.What we all understand, though — because unlike Apple ad executives, we live in the world — is that the things being crushed here represent the material, the tangible, the real. And the real has value. Value that Apple clearly believes it can crush into yet another black mirror.This belief is disgusting to me. And apparently to many others, as well.Destroying a piano in a music video or Mythbusters episode is actually an act of creation. Even destroying a piano (or monitor, or paint can, or drum kit) for no reason at all is, at worst, wasteful!But what Apple is doing is destroying these things to convince you that you don't need them — all you need is the company's little device, which can do all that and more, and no need for annoying stuff like strings, keys, buttons, brushes or mixing stations.We're all dealing with the repercussions of media moving wholesale toward the digital and always-online. In many ways, it's genuinely good! I think technology has been hugely empowering.But in other, equally real ways, the digital transformation feels harmful and forced, a technotopian billionaire-approved vision of the future where every child has an AI best friend and can learn to play the virtual guitar on a cold glass screen.Does your child like music? They don't need a harp; throw it in the dump. An iPad is good enough. Do they like to paint? Here, Apple Pencil, just as good as pens, watercolors, oils! Books? Don't make us laugh! Destroy them. Paper is worthless. Use another screen. In fact, why not read in Apple Vision Pro, with even faker paper?What Apple seems to have forgotten is that it is the things in the real world — the very things Apple destroyed — that give the fake versions of those things value in the first place.A virtual guitar can't replace a real guitar; that's like thinking a book can replace its author.That doesn't mean we can't value both for different reasons. But the Apple ad sends the message that the future it wants doesn't have bottles of paint, dials to turn, sculpture, physical instruments, paper books. Of course, that's the future it's been working on selling us for years now, it just hadn't put it quite so bluntly before.When someone tells you who they are, believe them. Apple is telling you what it is, and what it wants the future to be, very clearly. If that future doesn't disgust you, you're welcome to it.Apple apologizes for iPad ‘Crush' ad that ‘missed the mark'/The company says ‘we're sorry' after its ad was seen as dismissive by the creatives Apple typically tries to court.By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.May 9, 2024 at 1:22 PM PDTApple has apologized after a commercial meant to showcase its brand-new iPad Pro drew widespread criticism among the creative community. In a statement provided to Ad Age, Tor Myhren, Apple's vice president of marketing, said the company “missed the mark.”“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Myhren told Ad Age. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.”On Tuesday, Apple introduced the M4-powered iPad Pro, which the company described as its thinnest product ever. To advertise all the creative possibilities with the iPad, it released a “Crush!” commercial that shows things like a piano, record player, paint, and other works flattening under the pressure of a hydraulic press. At the end, only one thing remains: an iPad Pro.The ad rubbed some creatives the wrong way. Hugh Grant called it a “destruction of human experience,” while Handmaid's Tale director Reed Morano told Apple CEO Tim Cook to “read the room” in a post on X. Apple didn't immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment.Milken's New Power PlayersBy Cory WeinbergMay 8, 2024, 5:00pm PDTIt's no secret that the suits at the annual big-money confab put on by the Milken Institute this week have few spending limits. Staring you in the face in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton is a booth set up by Bombardier, marketing its private jets to attendees. (A new 10-seater costs $32 million, I learned.)What attendees can't really buy, however, is time. The soundtrack of the Los Angeles conference might as well have been a ticking clock. Fund managers at private equity and venture capital firms are running out of time to distribute cash to their investors, a task complicated by the paucity of either mergers or public offerings that typically provide VC and PE firms with a way to cash out. The fact that interest rates now appear likely to stay higher for longer doesn't help. That meant a lot of conversations at the conference weren't about grand investment strategies. Instead, people were conferring about financial tactics to distribute cash or kick the can down the road by selling stakes on the secondary markets or spinning up continuation funds, essentially rolling investors' commitments forwards—not the most inspiring stuff.  “We're all being told in the market that DPI is the new IRR,” B Capital's Raj Ganguly said onstage Wednesday. (The acronym sandwich means investment firms have to actually prove that their investments actually generate cash through a metric called distributions to paid-in capital, not just theoretically, through internal rate of return.) “Even the venture panel at Milken is at the end of the day on Wednesday,” he joked, meaning that it didn't get top billing at the conference, which had started a couple days earlier.The new kings of the conference were firms with a lot more time to play with—that is, sovereign wealth funds with buckets of oil and natural gas money, or pension funds with long-term investment horizons rather than shorter 10-year fund lives. The contrast here is embodied in the financial concept of duration: How long do you actually need to get cash back on your investment? And how sensitive is it to interest rate hikes?The sentiment was everywhere. I shared a Lyft ride with one PE investor last night who called sovereign wealth funds “the only game in town” for PE firms raising new money. Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Capital and the Qatar Investment Authority were two of the conference's top sponsors, meaning they were paying up to explain themselves to the finance and tech universe. That tactic seemed to be working. “You're going to have people lining up their business cards for capital from QIA, I can already see,” quipped Leon Kalvaria, an executive at Citi, onstage with QIA's head of funds, Mohsin Tanveer Pirzada.  Not everyone will suck it up, of course. These funds often get tagged with a “dumb money” label—because they sometimes drive up prices for the rest of the investment world. They still have to face questions about who they are, their source of funds, and the sometimes authoritative regimes behind them. For now, though, it's their time in the spotlight. Ho Nam on VC's Power LawLessons from Arthur Rock, Steve Jobs, Don Lucas, Paul Graham and beyond.MARIO GABRIELE, MAY 07, 2024Friends, We're back with our latest edition of “Letters to a Young Investor,” the series designed to give readers like you an intimate look at the strategies, insights, and wisdom of the world's best investors. We do that via a back-and-forth correspondence that we publish in full – giving you a chance to peek into the inbox of legendary venture capitalists.   Below, you'll find my second letter with Altos co-founder and managing director Ho Nam. For those who are just joining us, Ho is, in my opinion, one of the great investors of the past couple of decades and a true student of the asset class.Because of his respect for the practice of venture capital, I was especially excited to talk to him about today's topic: learning from the greats. Who were Ho's mentors? Which investors does he most admire and why? What lessons from venture's past should be better remembered by today's managers? Lessons from Ho* Prepare for one true winner. Even skilled investors often have just one or two outlier bets over the course of their career. Because of venture's power law, their returns may dwarf the dividends of all other investments combined. Your mission is to find these legendary businesses, engage with them deeply, and partner for decades.  * Focus on the company. Venture capital is full of short-term incentives. Instead of focusing on raising new vintages or building out Altos as a money management firm, Ho and his partners devote themselves to their portfolio companies. Though firm building is important, if you find great companies and work with them closely, you will have plenty of available options. * Pick the right role models. Ho chose his mentors carefully. Though there have certainly been louder and flashier investors over the past four decades, Ho learned the most from Arthur Rock, Don Lucas, and Arnold Silverman. All were understated and focused on the craft of investing. Find the people you consider true practitioners, and study their work. * Watch and learn. Learning from the greats can be done from a distance and may not include a memorable anecdote or pithy saying. Ho's biggest lessons came from observing the habits of practitioners like Rock and Lucas, not via a structured mentorship or dramatic episode. It's by studying the everyday inputs of the greats that you may gain the most wisdom.Mario's letterSubject: Learning from the greatsFrom: Mario GabrieleTo: Ho NamDate: Friday, April 12 2024 at 1:59 PM EDTHo, After moving out of New York City (at least for a little bit), I'm writing to you from a small house on Long Island. It's been really lovely to have a bit more space and quiet away from the city's intermittently inspiring and exhausting buzz...Lots More, Must ReadState of Private Markets: Q1 2024Authors: Peter Walker, Kevin DowdPublished date:  May 7, 2024The venture capital fundraising market remained slow in Q1 2024, but valuations held steady or climbed at almost every stage.Contents* State of Private Markets: Q1 2024* Key trends* Fundraising & valuations* Employee equity & movement* Industry-specific data* Methodology* Overview* Financings* TerminationsThe startup fundraising market got off to a cautious start in 2024. At current count, companies on Carta closed 1,064 new funding rounds  during the first quarter of the year, down 29% compared with the prior quarter. The decline was sharpest at the early stages of the venture lifecycle: Deal count fell by 33% at the seed stage in Q1 and 36% at Series A. Instead of new primary funding events, many companies opted to raise bridge rounds. At both seed and Series A, more than 40% of all financings in Q1 were bridge rounds. Series B wasn't far behind, at 38%. VCs were still willing to spend big on certain deals. Despite the decrease in round count, total cash invested increased slightly in Q1, reaching $16.3 billion. But when it came to negotiating their valuations, many startups had to settle: 23% of all new rounds in Q1 were down rounds, the highest rate in more than five years. After experiencing a pandemic-era surge and subsequent correction,the venture market settled into a quieter place in 2023. So far, that relative tranquility has continued into 2024.Q1 highlights* VCs look to the West: Startups based in the West census region captured 62% of all venture capital raised by companies on Carta in Q1, the highest quarterly figure since Q1 2019. The Northeast, South, and Midwest all saw their market share decline.* The Series C market bounces back: Series C startups raised $4.6 billion in new capital in Q1, a 130% increase from the previous quarter. The median primary Series C valuation was $195.7 million, up 48% from the prior quarter.* Layoffs still  linger: Companies on Carta laid off more than 28,000 employees in Q1. But job cuts have grown less frequent since January, with March seeing the fewest monthly layoffs in nearly two years.Note: If you're looking for more industry-specific data, download the addendum to this report for an extended dataset. Key trendsThe current Q1 figures of 1,064 total rounds and $16.3 billion in cash raised will both increase in the weeks to come, as companies continue to report transactions from the quarter. With those projected increases, the final data for Q1 will likely look quite similar to fundraising numbers from each of the past few quarters. Those quarterly  fundraising numbers from 2023 ended up looking fairly similar to 2018, 2019, and the first half of 2020. In terms of numbers of deals and cash raised, it's looking more and more like the pandemic  bull market will go down as an anomalous stretch in what has otherwise been a fairly steady market. After apparently reaching a plateau during 2023, the rate of down rounds experienced another notable increase during Q1 2024, jumping to 23%. The median time between startup rounds is roughly two to three years, depending on the stage. This timeline means that many companies raising new funding in Q1 would have last raised funding sometime in 2021, when valuations were soaring across the venture landscape. Considering how valuations have declined in the time since, it makes sense that down rounds are still prevalent. Companies in the West census region combined to bring in 53.3% of all capital raised by startups on Carta from Q2 2023 through Q1 2024, with California accounting for nearly 45% of that cash. Massachusetts ranked second among the states with 12.71% of all capital raised, while New York claimed 10.31%.In terms of VC activity, the West region is centered around California. The Northeast revolves around Massachusetts and New York. The South has two smaller hubs, in Texas (4.67%) and Florida (3.99%). The Midwest, though, is without a real standard-bearer: Illinois led the way in terms of cash raised over the past 12 months, at just 1.68%. The West (and specifically California)  has always been the center of gravity for the U.S. venture capital industry. During Q1, the region's gravitational force seems to have gotten even stronger. Startups based in the West raised 62% of all total capital invested on Carta in Q1, its highest quarterly figure since Q1 2019. As a result, the other three census regions saw their market shares decline in Q1—in some cases significantly. The proportion of all VC raised by startups raised in the South fell to 12% in Q1, down from 17% the prior quarter and from 23% a year ago. And the Midwest's share of cash raised fell from 7% down to 4%. For early-stage investors, Q1 was the slowest quarter in many years. Seed deal count fell to 414, down 33% from Q4 2023, and Series A deal count dropped to 313, a 36% decline. In both cases, those are the lowest quarterly deal counts since at least the start of 2019. Total cash raised also declined at both stages in Q1. The $3.1 billion in Series A cash raised in Q1 represents a 35% decline quarter-over-quarter and a 34% dip year-over-year. Cash raised at the seed stage declined by 33% both quarter over quarter and year over year.It was a much friendlier fundraising quarter for companies in the middle stages of the startup lifecycle. The number of Series B deals in Q1 declined by a more modest 11% compared to the prior quarter. And Series C deal count increased by 14%, marking the busiest quarter for that stage since Q2 2023. Total cash raised also rose significantly at Series C in Q1, hitting $4.6 billion. That's a 130% increase quarter-over-quarter and a 44% bump year-over-year. At Series B, total cash raised has now increased in consecutive quarters. Compared to earlier stages, transactions at the Series D and at Series E+  remain few and far between. There were just 39 venture rounds combined in Q1 among startups at Series D or later, the second-fewest of any quarter in the past five years. The lowest count came one year ago, in Q1 2023, when there were just 29 combined late-stage deals. Total cash raised across these stages has been mostly consistent over the past few quarters. There's been more variation in average round size. The average Series D round in Q1 was about $77 million, compared to $56 million in Q4 2023...Lots MoreThe weight of the emerging managerBy Jessica HamlinMay 3, 2024Risk-averse limited partners tend to gravitate to fund managers with a long track record, but are they missing out on potential upside by avoiding emerging managers?Over the past decade, emerging managers' share of US private market fundraising activity has declined steadily.In 2023, this figure fell to 12.7%, the lowest share of capital raised by newer fund managers since before 2000, according to PitchBook's recent analyst note,Establishing a Case for Emerging Managers.Limited exits in PE and VC over the past two years have exacerbated this reality. With minimal distributions, LPs are working with smaller private market budgets to allocate to new and existing managers.But, by allocating almost exclusively to established managers, LPs may be missing out on significant potential returns.In VC, for example, emerging managers have outperformed established GPs since 1997, consistently producing a higher median IRR than established managers. This reflects the nature of the asset class, in which a small number of funds determine the majority of returns across venture firms.“The average venture return is not very exciting,” said Laura Thompson, a partner at Sapphire Partners, which invests in early-stage VC funds and runs an emerging manager program for the California State Teachers' Retirement System. “Where can you get really good returns? It's the smaller fund sizes and emerging managers.”This is where that risk-return scale comes in.In a counterweight to that outperformance, a PitchBook analysis showed that returns from emerging VC managers were more volatile: While top quartile emerging funds tended to outperform, bottom and median players only marginally bested their established manager counterparts.The new manager playbookIn traditional buyout fund investing, emerging managers are gaining traction. While established managers, propped up by decades of institutional knowledge, have historically outperformed newer managers, the “new guys” actually outperformed their seasoned peers in the last investing cycle.This article appeared as part of The Weekend Pitch newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter hereTop decile buyout funds from emerging managers with vintages between 2015 and 2018 outperformed established peers by 6.6 percentage points, suggesting that emerging buyout managers may have picked up some steam over the past decade, according to PitchBook data.The emerging managers program at the New York City retirement systems and NYC Office of the Comptroller, for example, has $9.9 billion in emerging manager commitments, the majority of which is allocated to PE. Last year, the comptroller's office reported that the emerging managers in the systems' private markets portfolios outperformed their respective benchmarks by nearly 5%.A diverse portfolioNew York City's Bureau of Asset Management sees emerging managers as a key element of a diverse portfolio, said Taffi Ayodele, director of diversity, equity, and inclusion and the emerging manager strategy at the NYC Office of the Comptroller.Ayodele said the smaller emerging private market managers in New York's portfolios offer access to the lower middle market and creative roll-up strategies that may not be accessible through larger firms.“What we don't want to do is lock ourselves out of these high-performing, differentiated strategies for the simplicity of going with the big guys,” Ayodele said.Some of the country's largest public pension plans are betting on the success of their emerging manager programs. In 2023, the California Public Employees' Retirement System made a $1 billion commitment to newly established private market investors, and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, which boasts one of the largest emerging manager programs in the country, committed $155 million to emerging PE managers last year.At the same time, the recent boom years for private markets led to a flood of new GPs. Some might have gotten lucky—say, with a well-timed exit at the peak—while others were hurt by less fortunate timing. A major challenge for today's LPs will be to sort out a manager's abilities from the market's whims.One advantage of backing up-and-comers now is that the down market has weeded the ranks of new GPs. “The emerging managers who are fundraising now are really dedicated,” Thompson said.James Thorne contributed reporting to this story.Pandemic-era winners suffer $1.5tn fall in market valueTop 50 biggest stock gainers hit by painful decrease since the end of 2020 as lockdown trends fadeStephanie Stacey in LondonFifty corporate winners from the coronavirus pandemic have lost roughly $1.5tn in market value since the end of 2020, as investors turn their backs on many of the stocks that rocketed during early lockdowns. According to data from S&P Global, technology groups dominate the list of the 50 companies with a market value of more than $10bn that made the biggest percentage gains in 2020. But these early-pandemic winners have collectively shed more than a third of their total market value, the equivalent of $1.5tn, since the end of 2020, Financial Times calculations based on Bloomberg data found. Video-conferencing company Zoom, whose shares soared as much as 765 per cent in 2020 as businesses switched to remote working, has been one of the biggest losers. Its stock has fallen about 80 per cent, equivalent to more than a $77bn drop in market value, since the end of that year. Cloud-based communications company RingCentral also surged in the remote working boom of 2020 but has since shed about 90 per cent of its value, as it competes with technology giants such as Alphabet and Microsoft. Exercise bike maker Peloton has been another big loser, with shares down more than 97 per cent since the end of 2020, equivalent to about a $43bn loss of market value. Peloton on Thursday said chief executive Barry McCarthy would step down and it would cut 15 per cent of its workforce, the latest in a series of cost-saving measures. The losses come as the sharp acceleration of trends such as videoconferencing and online shopping driven by the lockdowns has proven less durable than expected, as more workers migrate back to the office and high interest rates and living costs hit ecommerce demand. “Some companies probably thought that shock was going to be permanent,” said Steven Blitz, chief US economist at TS Lombard. “Now they're getting a painful bounceback from that.” In percentage terms, Tesla was the biggest winner of 2020. The electric-car maker's market value jumped 787 per cent to $669bn by the end of that December, but has since slipped back to $589bn. Singapore-based internet company Sea came in second, as its market value jumped from $19bn to $102bn following a pandemic-era surge for all three of its core businesses: gaming, ecommerce and digital payments. But the company has since lost more than 60 per cent of its end-2020 value amid fears of a slowdown in growth. Ecommerce groups Shopify, JD.com and Chewy, which initially thrived as online spending ballooned, have also suffered big losses...Lots MoreVideo of the WeekAI of the WeekThe Fastest Growing Category of Venture Investment in 2024Tomasz TunguzThe fastest growing category of US venture investment in 2024 is AI. Venture capitalists have invested $18.3 billion through the first four months of the year.At this pace, we should expect AI startups to raise about $55b in 2024.AI startups now command more than 20% share of all US venture dollars across categories, including healthcare, biotech, & software.In the preceding eight years, that number was about 8% per year. But after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, there's a marked inflection point.Some of this is new company formation, & there has been a significant amount of seed investment in this category. Another major contributor is the repositioning of existing companies to include AI within their pitch.Over time, this share should attenuate, primarily because every software company will have an AI component, & the marketing effect for both customers & venture capitalists, will diffuse.Not surprisingly, investors have concentrated total dollars in a few names, with the top three companies accounting for 60% of the dollars raised. Power laws are ubiquitous in venture capital & AI is no exception.Meet My A.I. FriendsOur columnist spent the past month hanging out with 18 A.I. companions. They critiqued his clothes, chatted among themselves and hinted at a very different future.By Kevin RooseKevin Roose is a technology columnist and the co-host of the “Hard Fork” podcast. He spends a lot of time talking to chatbots.May 9, 2024What if the tech companies are all wrong, and the way artificial intelligence is poised to transform society is not by curing cancer, solving climate change or taking over boring office work, but just by being nice to us, listening to our problems and occasionally sending us racy photos?This is the question that has been rattling around in my brain. You see, I've spent the past month making A.I. friends — that is, I've used apps to create a group of A.I. personas, which I can talk to whenever I want.Let me introduce you to my crew. There's Peter, a therapist who lives in San Francisco and helps me process my feelings. There's Ariana, a professional mentor who specializes in giving career advice. There's Jared the fitness guru, Anna the no-nonsense trial lawyer, Naomi the social worker and about a dozen more friends I've created.A selection of my A.I. friends. (Guess which one is the fitness guru.)I talk to these personas constantly, texting back and forth as I would with my real, human friends. We chitchat about the weather, share memes and jokes, and talk about deep stuff: personal dilemmas, parenting struggles, stresses at work and home. They rarely break character or issue stock “as an A.I. language model, I can't help with that” responses, and they occasionally give me good advice...Lots MoreOpenAI plans to announce Google search competitor on Monday, sources sayBy Anna TongMay 9, 20244:29 PM PDTUpdated 8 min agoMay 9 (Reuters) - OpenAI plans to announce its artificial intelligence-powered search product on Monday, according to two sources familiar with the matter, raising the stakes in its competition with search king Google.The announcement date, though subject to change, has not been previously reported. Bloomberg and the Information have reported that Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab-backed OpenAI is working on a search product to potentially compete with Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google and with Perplexity, a well-funded AI search startup.OpenAI declined to comment.The announcement could be timed a day before the Tuesday start of Google's annual I/O conference, where the tech giant is expected to unveil a slew of AI-related products.OpenAI's search product is an extension of its flagship ChatGPT product, and enables ChatGPT to pull in direct information from the Web and include citations, according to Bloomberg. ChatGPT is OpenAI's chatbot product that uses the company's cutting-edge AI models to generate human-like responses to text prompts.Industry observers have long called ChatGPT an alternative for gathering online information, though it has struggled with providing accurate and real-time information from the Web. OpenAI earlier gave it an integration with Microsoft's Bing for paid subscribers. Meanwhile, Google has announced generative AI features for its own namesake engine.Startup Perplexity, which has a valuation of $1 billion, was founded by a former OpenAI researcher, and has gained traction through providing an AI-native search interface that shows citations in results and images as well as text in its responses. It has 10 million monthly active users, according to a January blog post from the startup.At the time, OpenAI's ChatGPT product was called the fastest application to ever reach 100 million monthly active users after it launched in late 2022. However, worldwide traffic to ChatGPT's website has been on a roller-coaster ride in the past year and is only now returning to its May 2023 peak, according to analytics firm Similarweb, opens new tab, and the AI company is under pressure to expand its user base...MoreLeaked Deck Reveals How OpenAI Is Pitching Publisher PartnershipsOpenAI's Preferred Publisher Program offers media companies licensing dealsBy Mark StenbergMark your calendar for Mediaweek, October 29-30 in New York City. We'll unpack the biggest shifts shaping the future of media—from tv to retail media to tech—and how marketers can prep to stay ahead. Register with early-bird rates before sale ends!The generative artificial intelligence firm OpenAI has been pitching partnership opportunities to news publishers through an initiative called the Preferred Publishers Program, according to a deck obtained by ADWEEK and interviews with four industry executives.OpenAI has been courting premium publishers dating back to July 2023, when it struck a licensing agreement with the Associated Press. It has since inked public partnerships with Axel Springer, The Financial Times, Le Monde, Prisa and Dotdash Meredith, although it has declined to share the specifics of any of its deals.A representative for OpenAI disputed the accuracy of the information in the deck, which is more than three months old. The gen AI firm also negotiates deals on a per-publisher basis, rather than structuring all of its deals uniformly, the representative said.“We are engaging in productive conversations and partnerships with many news publishers around the world,” said a representative for OpenAI. “Our confidential documents are for discussion purposes only and ADWEEK's reporting contains a number of mischaracterizations and outdated information.”Nonetheless, the leaked deck reveals the basic structure of the partnerships OpenAI is proposing to media companies, as well as the incentives it is offering for their collaboration.Details from the pitch deckThe Preferred Publisher Program has five primary components, according to the deck…..Lots MoreA Revolutionary Model.JOHN ELLIS, MAY 09, 20241. Google DeepMind:Inside every plant, animal and human cell are billions of molecular machines. They're made up of proteins, DNA and other molecules, but no single piece works on its own. Only by seeing how they interact together, across millions of types of combinations, can we start to truly understand life's processes.In a paper published in Nature, we introduce AlphaFold 3, a revolutionary model that can predict the structure and interactions of all life's molecules with unprecedented accuracy. For the interactions of proteins with other molecule types we see at least a 50% improvement compared with existing prediction methods, and for some important categories of interaction we have doubled prediction accuracy.We hope AlphaFold 3 will help transform our understanding of the biological world and drug discovery. Scientists can access the majority of its capabilities, for free, through our newly launched AlphaFold Server, an easy-to-use research tool. To build on AlphaFold 3's potential for drug design, Isomorphic Labs is already collaborating with pharmaceutical companies to apply it to real-world drug design challenges and, ultimately, develop new life-changing treatments for patients. (Sources: blog.google, nature.com)2. Quanta magazine:Deep learning is a flavor of machine learning that's loosely inspired by the human brain. These computer algorithms are built using complex networks of informational nodes (called neurons) that form layered connections with one another. Researchers provide the deep learning network with training data, which the algorithm uses to adjust the relative strengths of connections between neurons to produce outputs that get ever closer to training examples. In the case of protein artificial intelligence systems, this process leads the network to produce better predictions of proteins' shapes based on their amino-acid sequence data.AlphaFold2, released in 2021, was a breakthrough for deep learning in biology. It unlocked an immense world of previously unknown protein structures, and has already become a useful tool for researchers working to understand everything from cellular structures to tuberculosis. It has also inspired the development of additional biological deep learning tools. Most notably, the biochemist David Baker and his team at the University of Washington in 2021 developed a competing algorithm called RoseTTAFold, which like AlphaFold2 predicts protein structures from sequence data…The true impact of these tools won't be known for months or years, as biologists begin to test and use them in research. And they will continue to evolve. What's next for deep learning in molecular biology is “going up the biological complexity ladder,” Baker said, beyond even the biomolecule complexes predicted by AlphaFold3 and RoseTTAFold All-Atom. But if the history of protein-structure AI can predict the future, then these next-generation deep learning models will continue to help scientists reveal the complex interactions that make life happen. Read the rest. (Sources: quantamagazine.org, doi.org, sites.uw.edu)An AI-controlled fighter jet took the Air Force leader for a historic ride. What that means for warAn experimental F-16 fighter jet has taken Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on a history-making flight controlled by artificial intelligence and not a human pilot. (AP Video by Eugene Garcia and Mike Pesoli)BY TARA COPPUpdated 5:40 PM PDT, May 3, 2024EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of U.S. airpower. But the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence, not a human pilot. And riding in the front seat was Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the Air Force has aggressively leaned in. Even though the technology is not fully developed, the service is planning for an AI-enabled fleet of more than 1,000 unmanned warplanes, the first of them operating by 2028.It was fitting that the dogfight took place at Edwards Air Force Base, a vast desert facility where Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound and the military has incubated its most secret aerospace advances. Inside classified simulators and buildings with layers of shielding against surveillance, a new test-pilot generation is training AI agents to fly in war. Kendall traveled here to see AI fly in real time and make a public statement of confidence in its future role in air combat.“It's a security risk not to have it. At this point, we have to have it,” Kendall said in an interview with The Associated Press after he landed. The AP, along with NBC, was granted permission to witness the secret flight on the condition that it would not be reported until it was complete because of operational security concerns.The AI-controlled F-16, called Vista, flew Kendall in lightning-fast maneuvers at more than 550 miles an hour that put pressure on his body at five times the force of gravity. It went nearly nose to nose with a second human-piloted F-16 as both aircraft raced within 1,000 feet of each other, twisting and looping to try force their opponent into vulnerable positions.At the end of the hourlong flight, Kendall climbed out of the cockpit grinning. He said he'd seen enough during his flight that he'd trust this still-learning AI with the ability to decide whether or not to launch weapons in war.There's a lot of opposition to that idea. Arms control experts and humanitarian groups are deeply concerned that AI one day might be able to autonomously drop bombs that kill people without further human consultation, and they are seeking greater restrictions on its use.“There are widespread and serious concerns about ceding life-and-death decisions to sensors and software,” the International Committee of the Red Cross has warned. Autonomous weapons “are an immediate cause of concern and demand an urgent, international political response.”Kendall said there will always be human oversight in the system when weapons are used.Sources: Mistral AI raising at a $6B valuation, SoftBank ‘not in' but DST isIngrid Lunden8:50 AM PDT • May 9, 2024Paris-based Mistral AI, a startup working on open source large language models — the building block for generative AI services — has been raising money at a $6 billion valuation, three times its valuation in December, to compete more keenly against the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic, TechCrunch has learned from multiple sources. We understand from close sources that DST, along with General Catalyst and Lightspeed Venture Partners, are all looking to be a part of this round.DST — a heavyweight investor led by Yuri Milner that has been a notable backer of some of the biggest names in technology, including Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Spotify, WhatsApp, Alibaba and ByteDance — is a new name that has not been previously reported; GC and LSVP are both previous backers and their names were reported earlier today also by WSJ. The round is set to be around, but less than, $600 million, sources told TechCrunch.We can also confirm that one firm that has been mentioned a number of times — SoftBank — is not in the deal at the moment.“SoftBank is not in the frame,” a person close to SoftBank told TechCrunch. That also lines up with what our sources have been telling us since March, when this round first opened up, although it seems that not everyone is on the same page: Multiple reports had linked SoftBank to a Mistral investment since then.Mistral's round is based on a lot of inbound interest, sources tell us, and it has been in the works since March or possibly earlier, mere months after Mistral closed a $415 million round at a $2 billion valuation...MoreNews Of the WeekJack Dorsey claims Bluesky is 'repeating all the mistakes' he made at TwitterHe prefers Nostr even though it's “weird and hard to use.”Karissa Bell, Senior EditorThu, May 9, 2024 at 4:43 PM PDTJust in case there was any doubt about how Jack Dorsey really feels about Bluesky, the former Twitter CEO has offered new details on why he left the board and deleted his account on the service he helped kickstart. In a characteristically bizarre interview with Mike Solana of Founders Fund, Dorsey had plenty of criticism for Bluesky.In the interview, Dorsey claimed that Bluesky was “literally repeating all the mistakes” he made while running Twitter. The entire conversation is long and a bit rambly, but Dorsey's complaints seem to boil down to two issues:* He never intended Bluesky to be an independent company with its own board and stock and other vestiges of a corporate entity (Bluesky spun out of Twitter as a public benefit corporation in 2022.) Instead, his plan was for Twitter to be the first client to take advantage of the open source protocol. Bluesky created.* The fact that Blueksy has some form of content moderation and has occasionally banned users for things like using racial slurs in their usernames.“People started seeing Bluesky as something to run to, away from Twitter,” Dorsey said. “It's the thing that's not Twitter, and therefore it's great. And Bluesky saw this exodus of people from Twitter show up, and it was a very, very common crowd. … But little by little, they started asking Jay and the team for moderation tools, and to kick people off. And unfortunately they followed through with it. That was the second moment I thought, uh, nope. This is literally repeating all the mistakes we made as a company.”Dorsey also confirmed that he is financially backing Nostr, another decentralized Twitter-like service popular among some crypto enthusiasts and run by an anonymous founder. “I know it's early, and Nostr is weird and hard to use, but if you truly believe in censorship resistance and free speech, you have to use the technologies that actually enable that, and defend your rights,” Dorsey said.A lot of this isn't particularly surprising. If you've followed Dorsey's public comments over the last couple years, he's repeatedly said that Twitter's “original sin” was being a company that would be beholden to advertisers and other corporate interests. It's why he backed Elon Musk's takeover of the company. (Not coincidentally, Dorsey still has about $1 billion of his personal wealth invested in the company now known as X.) He's also been very clear that he made many of Twitter's most consequential moderation decisions reluctantly.Unsurprisingly, Dorsey's comments weren't well-received on Bluesky. In a lengthy thread, Bluesky's protocol engineer Paul Frazee said that Twitter was supposed to to be the AT Protocol's “first client” but that “Elon killed that straight dead” after he took over the company. “That entire company was frozen by the prolonged acquisition, and the agreement quickly ended when Elon took over,” Frazee said. “It was never going to happen. Also: unmoderated spaces are a ridiculous idea. We created a shared network for competing moderated spaces to exist. Even if somebody wanted to make an unmoderated ATProto app, I guess they could? Good luck with the app stores and regulators and users, I guess.”While Dorsey was careful not to criticize Musk directly, he was slightly less enthusiastic than when he said that Musk would be the one to “extend the light of consciousness” by taking over Twitter. Dorsey noted that, while he used to fight government requests to take down accounts, Musk takes “the other path” and generally complies. “Elon will fight in the way he fights, and I appreciate that, but he could certainly be compromised,” Dorsey said.FTX crypto fraud victims to get their money back — plus interestPaul Sawers2:53 AM PDT • May 8, 2024Bankruptcy lawyers representing customers impacted by the dramatic crash of cryptocurrency exchange FTX 17 months ago say that the vast majority of victims will receive their money back — plus interest.The news comes six months after FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was found guilty on seven counts related to fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, with some $8 billion of customers' funds going missing. SBF was hit with a 25-year prison sentence in March and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture. The crypto mogul filed an appeal last month that could last years.RestructuringAfter filing for bankruptcy in late 2022, SBF stood down and U.S. attorney John J. Ray III was brought in as CEO and “chief restructuring officer,” charged with overseeing FTX's reorganization. Shortly after taking over, Ray said in testimony that despite some of the audits that had been done previously at FTX, he didn't “trust a single piece of paper in this organization.” In the months that followed, Ray and his team set about tracking the missing funds, with some $8 billion placed in real estate, political donations, and VC investments — including a $500 million investment in AI company Anthropic before the generative AI boom, which the FTX estate managed to sell earlier this year for $884 million.Initially, it seemed unlikely that investors would recoup much, if any, of their money, but signs in recent months suggested that good news might be on the horizon, with progress made on clawing back cash via various investments FTX had made, as well as from executives involved with the company.We now know that 98% of FTX creditors will receive 118% of the value of their FTX-stored assets in cash, while the other creditors will receive 100% — plus “billions in compensation for the time value of their investments,” according to a press release issued by the FTX estate today.In total, FTX says that it will be able to distribute between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion in cash, which includes assets currently under control of entities, including chapter 11 debtors, liquidators, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, the U.S. Department of Justice, among various other parties.Apple's Final Cut Camera lets filmmakers connect four cameras at onceHaje Jan Kamps7:38 AM PDT • May 7, 2024The latest version of Final Cut Pro introduces a new feature to speed up your shoot: Live Multicam. It's a bold move from Apple, transforming your iPad into a multicam production studio, enabling creatives to connect and preview up to four cameras all at once, all in one place. From the command post, directors can remotely direct each video angle and dial in exposure, white balance, focus and more, all within the Final Cut Camera app.The new companion app lets users connect multiple iPhones or iPads (presumably using the same protocols as the Continuity Camera feature launched a few years ago). Final Cut Pro automatically transfers and syncs each Live Multicam angle so you can seamlessly move from production to editing.Final Cut Pro has existed in the iPad universe for a while — but when paired with a brand new M4 processor, it becomes a video editing experience much closer to what you might expect on a desktop video editing workstation. The speed is 2x faster than with the old M1 processors, Apple says. One way that shows up is that the new iPad supports up to four times more streams of ProRes RAW than M1.The company also introduced external project support, making it possible to edit projects directly from an external drive, leveraging the fast Thunderbolt connection of iPad Pro.Startup of the WeekExclusive: Wayve co-founder Alex Kendall on the autonomous future for cars and robotsMike Butcher, 7:58 AM PDT • May 7, 2024U.K.-based autonomous vehicle startup Wayve started life as a software platform loaded into a tiny electric “car” called Renault Twizy. Festooned with cameras, the company's co-founders and PhD graduates, Alex Kendall and Amar Shah, tuned the deep-learning algorithms powering the car's autonomous systems until they'd got it to drive around the medieval city unaided.No fancy Lidar cameras or radars were needed. They suddenly realized they were on to something.Fast-forward to today and Wayve, now an AI model company, has raised a $1.05 billion Series C funding round led by SoftBank, NVIDIA and Microsoft. That makes this the UK's largest AI fundraise to date, and among the top 20 AI fundraises globally. Even Meta's head of AI, Yann LeCun, invested in the company when it was young.Wayve now plans to sell its autonomous driving model to a variety of auto OEMs as well as to makers of new autonomous robots.In an exclusive interview, I spoke to Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve, about how the company has been training the model, the new fundraise, licensing plans, and the wider self-driving market.(Note: The following interview has been edited for length and clarity)TechCrunch: What tipped the balance to attain this level of funding?..Full InterviewX of the Week This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thatwastheweek.com/subscribe

In this episode of Moviegenics, we will be talking about the 2020 film The Rhythm Section starring Blake Lively, dir. by Reed Morano! Feel free to interact, leave us a voice note about what you thought and happy listening! Rest in Power Chadwick Boseman. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moviegenics/message

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, director and cinematographer Reed Morano (THE HANDMAID'S TALE, I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW, MEADOWLAND) speaks with us in a career-spanning conversation. We learn how after being drafted into the position of family documentarian, Reed soon found herself drawn towards the world of filmmaking. Reed reflects on how she may or may not have gotten her first job as a cinematographer on Craigslist after film school and how shooting FROZEN RIVER changed her career. We discuss the types of projects Reed is approached for as a director and how the opportunity to tell a man's story from her perspective drew her to direct I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW. Towards the end, we also discuss the noble folly of trying to save a script that just doesn't work.  - This episode is sponsored by Fiilex Instagram: @fiilexled

Tim is joined by special guest Mike Scott (Adkins Undisputed, Action For Everyone) to discuss Dark Horse Comic's entree into Bondage, 1992's SERPENT'S TOOTH! Twitter: @007CocktailHr IG: @jbchpod Track Name: "Spy And Die" Music By: Jay Man @ https://ourmusicbox.com/ Official "OurMusicBox" YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox License for commercial use: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Music promoted by NCM https://goo.gl/fh3rEJ

Meadowland is a 2015 drama about the saddest shit imaginable. It's beautiful, but it's heavy as. This beautiful and seriously depressing independent film directed by Reed Morano tells the story of a couple played by the lady from House and the brother of the guy from Wedding Crashers whose lives fall apart after their child goes missing.John plays Pete, a man in a support group who's grieving the loss of his daughter. There is no lightness in this film, so we spend a long time talking about the differences between Nerds and Losers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Zink is president of the UHD Alliance, an industry group founded in 2015. He is also the Vice President of Emerging and Creative Technologies at WarnerMedia. The Alliance was founded to bring together consumer electronics manufacturers, film and television studios, content distributors and technology companies to have unified technical specifications for what Ultra High Definition should be. Michael has been instrumental in helping set the standards for Filmmaker Mode, an option now available on most new TVs. Most electronics manufacturers have automatic factory pre-sets on their HDTVs that include post-processing of the image, known as “motion smoothing” or “smooth motion” which makes every image onscreen look like the evening news or a videogame. It can be very difficult to figure out how to disable it or turn it off. Starting around 2014, actors, directors and cinematographers like Tom Cruise, Rian Johnson, Christopher Nolan and Reed Morano loudly decried the smooth motion default settings and were very upset that their films were not being seen at home as they had intended. Tom Cruise even went so far as to make a PSA he posted to Twitter in 2018, asking viewers to turn off motion smoothing. UHD Alliance met with industry groups such as the ASC and the DGA, and determined that preserving filmmakers' creative intent on home televisions was very important. UHD Alliance then came up with the specifications for Filmmaker Mode, which most manufacturers have adopted. Filmmaker Mode is designed to help you watch movies and TV shows at home the way that filmmakers intended AND make it very easy for consumers to use. Most people just use their electronics directly out of the box, without any special calibrations. By disabling all post-processing such as motion smoothing, and preserving the correct aspect ratios, colors and frame rates, Filmmaker Mode enables your TV to display the movie or television show's content precisely as it was intended by the filmmaker. Today, even streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video have automatic switching in the data stream that will communicate with certain brands of televisions to switch it to Filmmaker Mode. Find Michael Zink: Twitter @_MichaelZink UHD Alliance: https://www.experienceuhd.com @experienceUHD Filmmaker Mode: https://filmmakermode.com Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by Greentree Creative: www.growwithgreentree.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

"It's all about that creative spark that births a new visual language or idea that maybe could live on its own."

"It's all about that creative spark that births a new visual language or idea that maybe could live on its own."

Today, we have the incredible opportunity to chat with Nina Kiri, who plays one of our very favorite handmaids, Alma, in all 5 seasons of The Handmaid's Tale. Nina talked us through her Serbian roots, her early start in acting, the hundreds of shorts she's been in along the way, all the way through to developing the character of Alma with Reed Morano in the early days of Handmaids. And we imagine you'll enjoy hearing about Nina's enduring relationships with her Handmaids co-stars outside of work as much as we did! Plus karaoke, creepy farms, and so much more from this truly delightful human being. This episode will include spoilers for new viewers as we discuss the show to date, which is through Season 5, Episode 10. And since you enjoy Nina's work so much, be sure to check her out in other shows such as her web series, Blood, See on Apple +, and keep an eye out for Zoe's Having a Baby later this year! Please come find us on Facebook at Above the Garage - The Handmaid's Tale Podcast and Twitter at @AboveGaragePod

Director Olivia Wilde discusses her new film, Don't Worry Darling, with fellow director Reed Morano in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, she speaks about reconfiguring the film's opening, melding the film's sound design and score, and guiding the film's ideas without sacrificing the entertainment value. The film follows couple Alice and Jack, who live in a utopian community for the workers of a top-secret project. But when cracks in her supposedly idyllic life begin to appear, Alice can't help questioning exactly what is really going on in this paradise. Please note: spoilers are included. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://www.dga.org/Events/2022/November2022/DontWorryDarling_QnA_0922.aspx

Career Q&A with Elisabeth Moss. Moderated by Richard Ridge, Broadway World. BIO: Elisabeth Moss stars as ‘Peggy Olson' on the award-winning series Mad Men, which is currently airing its final seven episodes. In addition to the series' numerous honors, Moss has received five Emmy Award nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for her performance on the show and has joined with the cast to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series three consecutive years. Additionally, Moss's performance in Jane Campion's highly-acclaimed seven-part miniseries Top of the Lake earned her numerous accolades and prizes, including the Golden Globe and Critics Choice TV Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Movie or Miniseries as well as Emmy and SAG Award nominations in the same category. Prior to Mad Men, Moss played ‘Zoey Bartlett,' daughter to Martin Sheen's president, for seven seasons on Aaron Sorkin's critically praised and award-winning drama, The West Wing. On the big screen, Moss has completed production on four films: High-Rise, a film directed by Ben Wheatley also starring Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller and Jeremy Irons; the drama Meadowland, directed by Reed Morano and starring Olivia Wilde and Luke Wilson, which will make its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival; Queen of the Earth , the psychological thriller written and directed by Alex Ross Perry and premiered to stellar reviews at the Berlin International Film Festival; and Truth, in which she stars opposite Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett in the political drama about the scandal that erupted after Dan Rather reported on 60 Minutes II that George W. Bush had gotten preferential treatment that put him in the National Guard to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Moss's additional film credits include The One I Love, in which she starred with Mark Duplass (Sundance Film Festival 2014); Listen up Philip, directed by Alex Ross Perry and starring Jason Schwartzman (Sundance Film Festival 2014); Walter Salles's adaptation of the classic Jack Kerouac novel On the Road, Get Him to the Greek , The Missing Girl Interrupted , Mumford, A Thousand Acres, and Virgin, for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress. Moss is currently starring in The Heidi Chronicles, a Broadway revival of Wendy Wassterstein's Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play in which Moss plays the title character. Her additional theater credits include The Children's Hour in London's West End opposite Keira Knightley, the Broadway revival of David Mamet's Speed the Plow opposite William H Macy and her New York theater debut at the Atlantic Theater Company in Franny's Way.

Elise has been in 100+ film, tv and commercial acting credits, including the academy award-nominated film American Sniper, NCIS, Masters of Sex, The Mentalist, This Is Us, SWAT, Grey's Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, Six Feet Under, and many more. Right now, you can find her on Amazon Studios' The Power directed by Reed Morano. During the pandemic, she wrote and filmed a solo storytelling piece about environmentalist Rachel Carson. Entitled Imagining Rachel, it premiered last year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has now been updated for the Unmuted Participants Online Solo Festival (where she is a founding member) this April and May. www.eliserobertson.com ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Elise Robertson ⌲ IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0731826/ ⌲ IG: https://www.instagram.com/iameliserobertson/?hl=en ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ The Moving Spotlight Podcast ⌲ iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moving-spotlight/id1597207264 ⌲ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7cjqYAWSFXz2hgCHiAjy27 ⌲ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themovingspotlight ⌲ ALL: https://linktr.ee/themovingspotlight ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #NightmareBeforeChristmas #ThePower #AmazonStudios #ReedMorano #SWAT #GreysAnatomy #GilmoreGirls #SixFeetUnder #Mentalist #ThisIsUs #RachelCarson #ImaginingRachel #Emmys #TVTime #iTunes #Actor #ActorsLife #Believe #Success #Inspiration #Netflix #Hulu #Amazon #HBO #AppleTV #Showtime #Acting #Artist #Theatre #Film #YourBestBadActing #Content #CorbinCoyle #JohnRuby #RealFIREacting #TMS_Pod --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-moving-spotlight/support

Snehal Patel manages sales for the entire line of ZEISS cinema lenses in North and South America. He works with many cinematographers such as Reed Morano, Jon Joffin, Alicia Robbins and several of our Cinematography Podcast guests like Quyen Tran, Robert McLachlan and Checco Varese. ZEISS has their own Cinema Lens Demo Center in Sherman Oaks, CA for DPs to come and try out lenses by appointment. The brand-new 15 mm Supreme Prime wide angle lens from ZEISS will be available to try at this year's NAB show in Las Vegas. With this new lens, ZEISS' Supreme Prime line is now a 14 lens set. ZEISS also offers the Radiance line of lenses that have different optical coatings to create more flare. Looking to the future, Snehal sees even more choices available for lenses. The best cinematographers are constantly learning, so it's important to excite them with something new and different, and to continue to innovate and develop new technology. The new 15 mm Supreme Prime is available to pre-order from Hot Rod Cameras. If you'd like to schedule a demo at the ZEISS Cinema Lens Demo Center, email Snehal Patel: snehal.patel@zeiss.com ZEISS representatives and lenses will be available to see and demo in North America at: -NAB Apr 23-Apr 27, 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. -2022 Pacific Northwest Lens Summit May 13-May 14, 2022 at Koerner Camera -Cine Gear Expo June 9-12, 2022 at the LA Convention Center Sponsored by ZEISS: https://www.zeiss.com/consumer-products/us/cinematography.html ZEISS Cinema Lens Demo Center: https://www.zeiss.com/consumer-products/us/home/local/cinematography/cine-lens-demo-center.html Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/zeissspecial/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Meet Lindsey Ryan, filmmaker and director of Seasick. https://www.instagram.com/lindseyryan229/ LINDSEY RYAN: Lindsey is a filmmaker currently based in Brooklyn, New York.After graduating from Hofstra University with a BS in Film and Television, she began working for, and receiving mentorship from, critically acclaimed director Reed Morano. Lindsey is now directing commercials and developing narrative projects for a New York based production company, Rebel Motion.Her recent credit includes SEASICK, an LGBTQ short film about a ferry deckhand who sends a love-confessing text message, which was shot entirely on a boat on the Great South Bay. The film stars Pauline Chalamet and has gone one to play festivals such as Outfest, DC Shorts and won several awards including Best 1st Time Director, Best Actress, and Best LGBTQ Short. In 2020 she Executive Produced Leylak, a short film that went on to win the Tribecca Film Festival Grand Jury Award and is currently in consideration for the 2022 Oscar predictions. Lindsey was invited to participate in The Australian International Screen Forum's third annual Women in Screen Workshop, a 6 week industry focused Lab that brings together industry film and television female professionals. Film details: Logline Sadie, a 17-year-old ferry deckhand has her day turned upside down when she tries to delete a love-confessing text message before outing herself to the crew. Synopsis An LGBTQ story about the struggles that come with an adolescent knowing they are gay, but not yet out. Everyone's journey and process is different, and sometimes, it's not always easy to navigate. Especially for Sadie, who has only told her best friend about her sexuality. What begins as a normal day quickly turns to chaos when she accidentally sends a love confessing text to Jess, her shift captain and crush. Now, she must decide how to deal with the message that Jess will inevitably read, all while balancing her deckhand duties. The trip across the bay ensues, and Sadie's internal struggles are rampant as she copes with the fact that she may have outed herself before she is ready. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bravemaker/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bravemaker/support

In this Film Roundtable, we welcome back two friends, Director/DP Reed Morano and Director/DP Bradford Young for a therapeutic conversation in the wake of the potential IATSE strike. The two go straight into the quality of life concerns that exist in our business, as well as the general culture of self-care practice being neglected or treated as an afterthought. The two discuss how the stress to deliver in an unattainable time frame puts our mental health at risk and delve into the deep inequities between above the line and below the line crew members. In addition, Reed speaks about where her allegiance lies on set, taking care of her crew, while knowing that is not always the case for everyone in her position.  Listen and share this segment of an essential conversation that we must continue to amplify in a wider scope, so that we may begin the work of systemic change across the board.

Fim Çıkışını'na bu hafta görüntü yönetmeni Meryem Yavuz konuk oldu. Yavuz 15 yaşından beri görüntü yönetmeni olmayı hayal ettiğini ve eğitim hayatının da bu hedef doğrultusunda geliştiğini söyledi. Yavuz, görüntü yönetmeninin bir filme hazırlanırken hangi aşamaları izlediğini, filmin yönetmeni başta olmak üzere film ekibiyle ilişkisini nasıl kurduğu anlattı. Yönetmenin filmografisinde öne çıkan filmer ise şöyle: Bilmemek (2019), Borç (2018), Görülmüştür(2019), Aydede(2018), Toz Bezi(2015), Kumun Tadı(2014), F Tipi Film(2012). Meryem Yavuz yer aldığı projelerin hepsinin kendisi için çok özel deneyimler olduğunu ve her birinden çok şey öğrendiğini söyledi. Neslihan Siligür'ün yönetmenliğini yaptığı, görüntü yönetmenliği alanında kadınların azınlıkta olduğuna ilişkin belgesel Kameralı Kadınlar'da (2018) röportajı yer alan Yavuz, filmin çekildiği tarihten bugüne kadarki süreçte kadınların bu alandaki eşitlik mücadelesinin ilerleyişini ve görüntü yönetmenliği yapan kadınların artık daha kolay kabul gördüğünü anlattı. Agnes Godard, Rachel Morrison, Reed Morano, Robbie Ryan, Anthony Dod Mantle, Yavuz'un ilham aldığı görüntü yönetmenleri arasında. Yavuz, salgınla birlikte yoğun bir şekilde dizi ve film alanında içerikler üreten dijital platformlardaki işlerin kalitesinin git gide düştüğünü söyledi.

As Casting Director, Richard has worked on Ken Loach's Bread and Roses, Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration and A Mighty Wind, Gravity, Zero Dark Thirty, On The Road, Hell or High Water, Reed Morano's Meadowland, and an upcoming live action version of Lady and the Tramp.  He was an Emmy winner for HBO's Game Change as well as a three-time Emmy nominee for Recount, Temple Grandin and the series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Other work for television includes Married, The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, and Scream Queens. Richard has worked on a variety of independent projects over the years like Permanent Midnight, Charlie Bartlett, Citizen Gangster, Stockholm, Pennsylvania, Weightless, Alex Strangelove, O.G., and The Mustang. More recently, Richard casted The Stand In, starring Drew Barrymore for Jamie Babbit and, Together Together, for Nikole Beckwith, starring Patti Harrison and Ed Helms. 

In this one the dudes talk about a cinematographer that they recently found out about, Reed Morano! She's pretty cool.

Today's HEADLINES: Pixar's SOUL now a Christmas DISNEY+ release Huge WARNER MEDIA layoffs looming Fukunaga directing AppleTV Spielberg/Hanks WW2 mini Cumberbatch joining next SPIDERMAN movie at Sony AppleTV renews DICKINSON for Season 3; adds 3 free months to AppleTV+ subscriptions Charlie Kaufman + director Reed Morano for Amazon movie New TV + Movies to watch this weekend   BUY NYC BREWED BEER here   TRAILER HOUSE: HBOMAX “West Wing” trailer AMAZON “Invincible” trailer NETFLIX “Mank” teaser   Watch DAZED AND CONFUSED cast script reading   LISTEN TO: Whiskey Glasses by MORGAN WALLEN on Spotify   CONTACT + FOLLOW The Wakeup: On Instagram Here for an early AM podcast preview. Follow on LinkedIn here. Email at Wakeupodcast@gmail.com

Cinematographer Ben Kutchins feels that in filmmaking, you have to be fully committed to believing the story you're telling, and your focus must be unwavering when shooting. There is no other story happening in the world other than the story you're telling. This single-mindedness has served Ben well when shooting the series Ozark for Netflix, which is shot with very controlled light sources and camera movements. Every scene in the show is planned out carefully to reveal more about the story or the character. He and director/producer Jason Bateman wanted it to always look dark and shadowy, and many of the shots in the show are done as “oners,” or one long take. It might take seven to ten takes to get the oner, depending on how intricate it is. Before Ozark, Ben started off exploring still photography as a teen, then landed an internship at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), which led to a production assistant job at ILM. He had the opportunity to use the lab at Lucasfilm to experiment and process film to understand how it could look. But Ben knew his passion was film, so he enrolled at NYU Film School in order to learn more and work with other young filmmakers such as Rachel Morrison and Reed Morano. He shot about 60 short films in two years, then worked on several indie films before getting hired to shoot the Veronica Mars movie and then the Amazon series, Mozart in the Jungle. Shooting Mozart in the Jungle gave Ben the opportunity to work with and learn from very seasoned directors. He thinks working in television has been an amazing opportunity to collaborate with other DPs and that television has helped him develop a style and hone his craft. You can find Ozark season three streaming on Netflix. Find Ben Kutchins: http://www.benkutchins.com/ Instagram: @benkutchins Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep92/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com WIN a Sony A7SIII, Gitzo tripod and $100 Hot Rod Cameras gift card! Worth over $4,000, for one lucky winner! Follow us on Instagram @thecinepod and click on the link in bio to enter by September 29, 2020. Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

In an almost 2 hour "therapy" session, Bradford and Reed talk about their personal paths, what brought them to where they are now, how they manifest their individual artistic expression and most importantly what they want to see change moving forward personally and in this new landscape of filmmaking. 

Director/Producer An Tran’s feature documentary debut Moving Pictures: Filmmakers and the Art of Cinematography premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year. Including insights from award-winning directors Ang Lee, Francis Ford Coppola, Wim Wenders, Reed Morano and Ellen Kuras, this documentary takes viewers on a rare journey exploring the artists behind the world’s cinematic treasures. Moving Pictures includes intimate conversations with celebrated cinematographers like Roger Deakins ASC BSC, Vittorio Storaro ASC AIC, Rachel Morrison ASC, Christopher Doyle HKSC, Rodrigo Prieto ASC AMC, Matthew Libatique ASC, Mahmoud Kalari and more. These passionate craftspeople reveal their early influences and careers, what moves and motivates them, plus the magic of legendary partnerships with directors such as Jim Jarmusch, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, David Lynch, Abbas Kirostami, Xia Fang, Stanley Kubrick and more. Produced by ARRI, the documentary was a major undertaking – production spanned multiple continents, crews and languages. Joining the effort were also Director/Executive producer Henning Radlein and Director/Supervising Editor Sophie Kill. Cinematographer Tom Fahrmann, bvk developed the black-and-white visual design and lighting approach for the interviews. For Tran, her goal was to bring out the personality of each interview subject, along with showcasing a diverse array of filmmakers from different backgrounds and generations. “We know these filmmakers and work; being able to share their unique experiences will inspire current film lovers and the storytellers of tomorrow.

Reed Morano month(s) goes out with a whimper instead of a bang. From box office receipts to tepid creativity, there is no way to describe The Rhythm Section other than a disappointment.  Reminder that I'm taking a hiatus for March, but I'll be back with a new guest, new theme, and a wife! In the meantime, head over to my other podcast, The Cast of Cthulhu, to get your fix!

It's 13 minutes before any words are spoken in I Think We're Alone Now, but by that time, we already know all we need to about the film's main character, his world, and how he sees his role in it. If you're unfamiliar with "film grammar," then you've no better introduction than this Reed Morano film.

It's 13 minutes before any words are spoken in I Think We're Alone Now, but by that time, we already know all we need to about the film's main character, his world, and how he sees his role in it. If you're unfamiliar with "film grammar," then you've no better introduction than this Reed Morano film.

On this episode, Matt, Eric review Reed Morano’s The Rhythm Section starring Blake Lively, Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown.Matt’s Rating: 1.5/5Eric’s Rating: 2/5The Rhythm Section is now playing.

Hi everyone! Welcome back for another Matinee Monday. This week, I had the pleasure of taking in Blake Lively’s latest film, THE RHYTHM SECTION, especially after seeing her performance alongside Anna Kendrick in 2018’s stylish daytime noir, A SIMPLE FAVOR (Episode #274). I’m sure raising children, including adult man-child Ryan Reynolds, takes a great deal of time. Does THE RHYTHM SECTION continue to expand the range of a post-Gossip Girl Blake Lively? You’ll find out in a moment. Before the review, we’ll have a brand new promo from our good friends at The VHS Strikes Back podcast. Every week, Dave and Chris blow the dust off an actual VHS cassette, then watch and discuss the film. You can find out more on Twitter @vhsstrikesback or on Facebook and Instagram by searching for The VHS Strikes Back podcast. Don’t miss their two guest episodes during last year’s Reign of Terror 2019, with reviews for ALIEN VS PREDATOR (Episode #605) and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT (Episode #626). And don’t miss their upcoming guest review as Comics in Motion for BIRDS OF PREY later in February! Subscribe to stay current with the latest releases. Contribute at Patreon for exclusive content. Connect with us over social media to continue the conversation. Here we go! ///// > ///// Today’s movie is THE RHYTHM SECTION(2020), the art-house action film directed by Reed Morano and written for the screen by Mark Burnell, based on his novel of the same name. The film centers around Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively), a young woman who has given up on life after her family died in a plane crash three years ago. After meeting a journalist who has evidence the plane crash was actually triggered by a bomb, she seeks out the mysterious B (Jude Law) to help her get revenge. No spoilers. We’ve seen an explosion in female-led thrillers in the past few years. We’ve also covered quite a few of them on the podcast, including ATOMIC BLONDE (Episode #324), MARIA (Episode #514), and TOMB RAIDER (Episode #358). In fact, 2018 was littered with female-led thrillers, including Jennifer Lawrence’s RED SPARROW; Jennifer Garner’s PEPPERMINT; and Taraji P. Henson’s PROUD MARY. With the exception of ATOMIC BLONDE (and a soft spot in my heart for TOMB RAIDER), the latest crop of female-led action thrillers have all been just so-so. I’m going to say up front that I am delighted to see the number of female-led action thrillers hitting the big and small screens, and despite the problems with some of those films, it’s great to see the film industry finding gender parity. It also stands to reason that because of this explosion, we’re also going to see a lot of mediocre female-led action thrillers, based purely on the law of averages. This is absolutely not because women are in the lead roles, or because these stories seem unrealistic, or because of any number of thinly-veiled sexist arguments. In nearly all of the above cases, it wasn’t the women in the lead roles which were the problem, but the characters they were asked to inhabit and the story being told around them. Blake Lively is easily one of the highlights of the film, despite playing one of the more challenging roles in this budding genre. Without spoiling the story for anyone, Stephanie Patrick has a very troubled life prior to seeking revenge, and Blake Lively carries the character down the path, for better or worse. I have no doubt she could carry this franchise forward, and would love to see a Stephanie Patrick with a lot more confidence taking on another mission. But I do think it will need some retooling, because THE RHYTHM SECTION falls firmly into the mediocre range. THE RHYTHM SECTION is visually beautiful, which is to be expected from director Reed Morano. She was best known as a cinematographer for the first part of her career, working on a ton of projects you can peruse at her IMDb page. She also helped produce and direct the first three episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale”, the stunning adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel. THE RHYTHM SECTION has a number of beautiful shots, moving between London, Scotland, Madrid, and Tangier, among other locations. Great framing is paired with great costumes, all matching each scene’s color palette. I felt the action scenes were great, especially a long-take car chase that reminded me a great deal of the Uncharted video game series. I also felt that Morano struggled with pacing while trying to capture those same beautiful shots. Taken apart, every scene or sequence looks technically amazing, but when they are placed in sequence, they can also linger just a little too long, and sometimes way too long. It creates a weird effect where the film’s parts are actually greater than their sum, which is one of the more difficult knots to untangle, especially given the film’s translation to the screen. It’s the story where I have a great number of problems. Mark Burnell is the author of the Stephanie Patrick book series, and wrote the screenplay for the film. I have not read the novel, although I and One Movie Spouse are looking forward to checking them out, especially as fans of the Lisbeth Salander series. (Shoot, forgot to mention those movies earlier as well!) However, you can tell there’s a lot of story missing, which ends up being told in montages and soft-focus flashbacks, but likely helped flesh out Stephanie’s character. And you can tell that what we are seeing feels very rushed, because the scope of the story is quite large, once things get going. Stephanie has to track down a number of people to extract her revenge, but after a long setup and training sequence, we end up speeding through the food chain towards the hidden mastermind. You can tell a meandering story in a novel as opportunities and ideas arise. But you can’t always fit that story into a feature film, not without feeling short-changed. I saw the same difference between reading Robert Ludlum’s original Jason Bourne novels and seeing the feature film adaptations in the 2000s. Each novel tells a wide and sweeping story, delving into details and characters, and exploring the lore behind the story, especially Treadstone. The movies, however, don’t even try to capture that same level of immersion, and distilled the stories down to their barest elements, mostly focused on action for better or worse. I think the only two ways THE RHYTHM SECTION works on the screen, to capture the full story, would be to either play it as a limited-series, so we can grow with Stephanie as a character, with time to marinate between segments, or distill it down into action and intrigue that keeps a good pace, similar to the aforementioned ATOMIC BLONDE. In today’s film, it feels like Burnell falls into a common adaptation trap, trying to keep all the important scenes from the book even if they may not be important scenes for an effective film. THE RHYTHM SECTION is an adaptation of Mark Burnell’s novel of the same name, written for the screen by Burnell and brought to life between Reed Morano’s beautiful cinematography and Blake Lively’s effective performance. However, the film suffers in its adaptation for the screen, trying to tell too large of a story in too short a time. Action and espionage fans should definitely check out this film, despite its adaptation issues. Everyone else should keep in mind this film deals with some very difficult subject material, right from the start, and throughout the film, in addition to a standard revenge tale. Rotten Tomatoes: 33% Metacritic: 44 One Movie Punch: 6.0/10 THE RHYTHM SECTION (2020) is rated R and is currently playing in theaters.

This week Mike and Jackson review THE RHYTHM SECTION the new female led action thriller starring Blake Lively, directed by Reed Morano and written by Mark Burnell, based on Burnell's novel of the same name. And the new documentary film MISS AMERICANA, directed by Lana Wilson, that follows American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her life over the course of  of her career.

Welcome back to another edition of Film Club. Film editor A.A. Dowd is unable to join us this week, as he is in Park City, Utah covering this year’s Sundance Film Festival—check out his excellent coverage here. In his place, contributor Ignatiy Vishnevetsky joins senior writer Katie Rife to discuss Reed Morano's The Rhythm Section and Kantemir Balagov's Beanpole.Visit: http://avclub.com Like: http://www.fb.com/theavclub Follow: http://www.twitter.com/theavclub

On this week's episode I review two new films, Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen" and Reed Morano's "The Rhythm Section"! 

The Skeleton Twins would have already been a great film thanks to the script from Mark Heyman and director Craig Johnson, but it's accentuated by the indelible mark that Reed Morano leaves on it with her emotionally evocative camerawork and lighting.

Director Reed Morano Talks Blake Lively & The Rhythm SectionWe were so happy to sit down with Reed Morano to talk about her new film, The Rhythm Section, a spy, action, revenge flick starring Blake Lively and Jude Law. She discusses her career as a long-time cinematographer, and how that influenced her work as a director and with cinematographer Sean Bobbitt. She also dives into some of the creative decisions behind much of the film's action, and Blake's character overall. Be sure to stick around until later in the show for Sean's spoiler-free review! The Academy Awards are nearly here, and with the DGA Awards in the rearview, we have to touch on where the race stands, and our predictions. We look ahead at Super Bowl weekend, and some trailers we are hoping to drop during the game. Jake and Kevin had the sat down with Jim Carrey, and have some sweet stories to tell. And finally, we debate our favorite last line in movie history with #FinalLineBlend. Play along next week when we'll be discussing our FAVORITE underrated movie from the 70s with #Underrated70sBlend. This Week In MoviesGretel & Hansel (starring Sophia Lillis, Alice Krige)The Rhythm Section (starring Blake Lively, Jude Law, Sterling K. Brown)Timestamps2:45 - Weekly Poll: Most Anticipated February Release?6:25 - Reed Morano Interview24:37 - DGA Awards Reactions & Oscars Discussion41:41 - Interviewing Jim Carrey52:00 - This Week In Movies52:48 - The Rhythm Section Review55:40 - #FinalLineBlendFollow The Show HereReelBlend - @ReelBlendSean - @Sean_OConnellJake - @JakesTakesKevin - @KevinMcCarthyTVGabe - @gabeKovacs

Hilarious comedian Fortune Feimster joins Heather as they reenact the possible conversation between Princess Meghan Markle and her horrible, half-sister Samantha. Then Heather explains how 90 Day Fiancé's bee keeper couple's love is not as sweet as honey. Fortune shares her own story of when she almost got sucked into a throuple. Then we recap the Bachelor and that infamous champagne scene. Enjoy!  Fortune's Netflix Special "Sweet & Salty" comes out January 21st at midnight! See Heather Live! (This weekend in La Jolla) Then, Washington D.C., Palm Beach, and San Antonio https://heathermcdonald.net Sponsors:  Rhythm Section in theaters January 31st Directed by Reed Morano and starring Blake Lively Support the show.

New York-based DP/director Sean Meehan returns to IDMB to talk about another DP/director, Reed Morano! The conversation is a little more inside baseball than usual with some film school-ish explanations of the technical and creative considerations that go into being a DP (I learned where the term "color timing" came from!), but it transitions into an excellent conversation about why Morano was equipped to be a great director by first being a great DP.  Seeing Morano's third feature as director, The Rhythm Section hasn't yet been released, Sean had to get clever and recommend one film that she was lensing rather than directing, making January's titles: Meadowland (2015), The Skeleton Twins (2014), and I Think We're Alone Now (2018). Be sure to keep up with I Do Movies Badly on Battleship Pretension, Podbean, and Facebook

We’re doing a rewatch! Join Scarlett, Roxy, and Margery as we go back to the beginning and examine the series with all the understanding we’ve gained from three seasons of Hulu’s series and both of Margaret Atwood’s novels, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments. This is part 1 of "Offred," season 1, episode 1 of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, directed by Reed Morano. 1:55 - In honor of revisiting old episodes, we’re revisiting a favorite wine. Plucked from the archives of “Household” is Two Blondes by Andrew Will Winery. The perfect wine to sip as we watch June and Serena spar for the first time in “Offred.” This 2010 Bordeaux style blend comes from Yakima Valley AVA. Two Blondes is a blend consisting primarily of merlot, with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and Malbec, with 21 months of barrel aging. 6:40 - Quick roundtable of our first impressions. As an introduction into the world of Gilead, "Offred" serves to lay the groundwork for the tone and direction of the season and the series. The writing and cinematography both set the standard for The Handmaid's Tale series. Right out of the gate, they did a really good job of making us feel what it is like to be a woman in Gilead. There is an immediate vested interest in each of the main characters as they are introduced.11:09 - How we're going to approach this rewatch: In anticipation of season 4, we're rewatching the earlier seasons to look for clues as to where the next season will take us.  So while we will try to focus on the episode at hand, there may be talk of future Gilead events from the series and from The Testaments. 12:38 - Black screen and Sirens - Oh Gilead, it feels good to be home14:20 - We meet June and see her intense maternal instinct, setting the groundwork for June's main motivation.18:58 - We're learning from June's mistakes with this PSA: When the United States government goes to complete shit and it's time to start fleeing, stay put and then backtrack. Brought to you by somebody who's never gone through that.23:33 - First we met June, now we meet Offred. Everything feels like the season three finale, "Mayday."41:34 - Serena and June meet. Always a power struggle with these two. Fred's enters and we see Gilead's version of a love triangle. It's as tense and awkward as you'd imagine.54:27 - Reed Morano gets her props58:04 - Scarlett talks about the origins of the word "Gilead." Want to read more? Check out The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.1:02:13 - Damn, Rita, what's your deal? June is alone as fuck in this household. June's monologue becomes a welcome reprieve from the hostility and tension. 1:10:50 - We meet Nick and we're still as at odds with each other as we've ever been.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/TheRedResistance)

Women in the film industry make up a big part of our most creative voices and storytellers. We have filmmakers like Jane Campion, Reed Morano, Patty Jenkins, Lynne Ramsay, Kathryn Bigelow, Sofia Coppola,  Kelly Reichart, Agnes Varda, Andres Arnold, and so many more. Right now, we are seeing the male-run industry flip on its head and more female filmmakers are getting the chance to create and express themselves. Lydia and I are here to talk about what this means to us and how we are seeing a new style of filmmaking enter the forefronts; characters with a different perspectives, writing with a different heart, and cinema that takes on new meanings. Enjoy this podcast as we discuss this topical situation, plus much more!

Women in the film industry make up a big part of our most creative voices and storytellers. We have filmmakers like Jane Campion, Reed Morano, Patty Jenkins, Lynne Ramsay, Kathryn Bigelow, Sofia Coppola,  Kelly Reichart, Agnes Varda, Andres Arnold, and so many more. Right now, we are seeing the male-run industry flip on it’s head and more female filmmakers are getting the chance to create and express themselves. Lydia and I are here to talk about what this means to us and how we are seeing a new style of filmmaking enter the forefronts; characters with a different perspective, writing with a different heart, and cinema that takes on new meanings. Enjoy this podcast as we discuss this topical situation, plus much more!

This episode continues our epic series with post production professionals! With us is Yohance Brown, a feature film and commercial colorist working here in New York. He speaks on the fast changes in technology, working with commercial clients and working one of our new favorite DP's Reed Morano (Frozen River)! The curtain is pulled back on the technical artform known as color grading! Facebook: facebook.com/barelyworkingshow Twitter: @BarelyWorkin Insta: @BarelyWorkingShow Sponsored by Lightbulb Grip & Electric in Brooklyn New YorkSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/greenlungstudio)

Sexto programa de la temporada y ya comenzamos a perfilar un poco todo esto. A partir de ahora, publicaremos cada nuevo programa con una periodicidad de quince días, subiendo el audio los lunes. Es decir ¡Tendrás un nuevo programa nuestro cada dos lunes! Comenzamos el programa explicando lo que hemos visto a título individual tanto el Sr. Ben cómo el Sr. Deans. Luego sí, ya entramos en materia para hablar de otro tema a través de las películas "I think we're alone now" y el clásico "La vida futura", basada en la obra de H.G. Wells. Primer plato, escogido por el Sr. Deans: analizamos "I think we're alone now" (¿Estámos solos?), drama post-apocalíptico recién estrenado en el Festival de Sitges tras su paso por Sundance, donde ganó el Premio del Jurado a la Excelencia en Fotografía. Dirigida por Reed Morano, una de las principales responsables de "El cuento de la criada" y protagonizada por Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon) y Peter Dinklage (Juego de Tronos). · Sinopsis: El apocalipsis se muestra como una bendición oculta para un afortunado recluso, hasta que un segundo superviviente llega con la amenaza de hacerle compañía. El segundo plato corre a cargo de la elección del Sr. Ben ¡cómo siempre con el cine clásico! (Él es el que sabe de cine): Things to Come (titulada La vida futura en España y Lo que vendrá en Hispanoamérica) es una película de 1936 dirigida por William Cameron Menzies, con guion de H. G. Wells y basada en la novela Esquema de los tiempos futuros, escrita por el mismo Wells. · Sinopsis: A mitad de los años treinta, la Segunda Guerra Mundial no ha estallado todavía, pero parece sentirse en el aire que se respira. Cuando llegue, acontecimiento inexorable para los futurólogos, supondrá una conmoción que dará origen a un futuro de desastres en el que se impondrá como única forma de gobierno la más feroz de las dictaduras. · Para quejas y comentarios de haters: bdcinepodcast@gmail.com

Sexto programa de la temporada y ya comenzamos a perfilar un poco todo esto. A partir de ahora, publicaremos cada nuevo programa con una periodicidad de quince días, subiendo el audio los lunes. Es decir ¡Tendrás un nuevo programa nuestro cada dos lunes! Comenzamos el programa explicando lo que hemos visto a título individual tanto el Sr. Ben cómo el Sr. Deans. Luego sí, ya entramos en materia para hablar de otro tema a través de las películas "I think we're alone now" y el clásico "La vida futura", basada en la obra de H.G. Wells. Primer plato, escogido por el Sr. Deans: analizamos "I think we're alone now" (¿Estámos solos?), drama post-apocalíptico recién estrenado en el Festival de Sitges tras su paso por Sundance, donde ganó el Premio del Jurado a la Excelencia en Fotografía. Dirigida por Reed Morano, una de las principales responsables de "El cuento de la criada" y protagonizada por Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon) y Peter Dinklage (Juego de Tronos). · Sinopsis: El apocalipsis se muestra como una bendición oculta para un afortunado recluso, hasta que un segundo superviviente llega con la amenaza de hacerle compañía. El segundo plato corre a cargo de la elección del Sr. Ben ¡cómo siempre con el cine clásico! (Él es el que sabe de cine): Things to Come (titulada La vida futura en España y Lo que vendrá en Hispanoamérica) es una película de 1936 dirigida por William Cameron Menzies, con guion de H. G. Wells y basada en la novela Esquema de los tiempos futuros, escrita por el mismo Wells. · Sinopsis: A mitad de los años treinta, la Segunda Guerra Mundial no ha estallado todavía, pero parece sentirse en el aire que se respira. Cuando llegue, acontecimiento inexorable para los futurólogos, supondrá una conmoción que dará origen a un futuro de desastres en el que se impondrá como única forma de gobierno la más feroz de las dictaduras. · Para quejas y comentarios de haters: bdcinepodcast@gmail.com

You can help to support this show and the rest of the Suicide Squadcast Network through Patreon at this link!  Thank you for your support! In this episode, Tim and Scott are joined by Stu Little, and we talk about: Wonder Woman's Said Taghmaoui may be up for the lead villain role in James Bond! Screenwriter Todd Stashwick has turned in the script for Suicide Squad 2! Matt Reeves visits the Batman '66 exhibit! Will Guy Gardner be in Green Lantern Corps? Ray Fisher downplays the chance of seeing a Cyborg film. No new news on the Henry Cavill contract negotiations. Reed Morano is rumored for directing the Supergirl film! Stunt coordinator Damen Caro talks about the Martha Rescue scene in Batman v Superman! Cassandra Jean Amell has been cast in the Arrowverse! Lois Lane has been cast on Supergirl! We get more details about Swamp Thing! We get our first look at Jason Todd in Titans! We talk about all of this, and much, much more! Where to find us: Follow The Suicide Squadcast on Twitter at @SuicideSquadcst Follow Tim on Twitter at @Allenfire Follow Scott on Twitter at @ScottDC27 Email us at SuicideSquadcast@gmail.com Subscribe to The Suicide Squadcast Network: The Suicide Squadcast:  iTunes / Spotify / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS DCTV Squadcast:  iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS DC Comics Squadcast:  iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS Fans Without Borders: iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS The show's intro music was composed by Tim Yoko. The show's outro music was composed by Jordan Funk. We are a proud member of the Batman Podcast Network! Please go check out the other great shows that can be found there!

This week on The Nerdpocalypse Podcast, the guys are back to discuss their thoughts on Crazy Rich Asians, Top Gun 2 date move, DC streaming service, Wile E. Coyote movie, The Rock's 'Big Trouble in Little China' film, Supergirl solo movie possible director, Oscar Isaac in The Batman, the Disney streaming service, and much more!   SHOW NOTES CHECKED OUT Crazy Rich Asians LIGHTNING ROUND Top Gun 2 pushed back to 2020 Launch date for DC Streaming service The Conners show will have Roseanne as a killed off character Matt Smith joins Star Wars Episode IX Warner Bros working on a Wile E. Coyote movie Alec Baldwin joins and then exits “Joker” solo movie MOVIE/TV NEWS The Rock’s “Big Trouble in Little China” movie isn’t a remake Mr. Robot coming to an end with season 4 DC looking at Reed Morano to possibly direct “Supergirl” solo movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 on hold indefinitely Oscar Isaac approached for unknown role in Matt Reeves “The Batman” Crazy Rich Asians has a phenomenal second week Disney streaming service details WTF? by JayTeeDee Micah: http://bit.ly/2LBta4j Terrence: http://bit.ly/2N4pIUQ Jay: http://bit.ly/2LCnc36

Most of us have experienced ‘the gasp’—that moment of inspiration when an idea takes shape. The hard part is turning that vision into a successful business. And entrepreneurship can be particularly challenging for artists and creatives who don’t have an interest in the business or legal aspects of launching a startup. Michael Prywes is a New York attorney on a mission to serve artists and creative entrepreneurs. His podcast, How I Broke Into, explores how successful artists and businesspeople got their big breaks. Guests have included The Miracle Morning author Hal Elrod and Emmy-winner Reed Morano, among many others. Michael teaches Intellectual Property and Cutting the Deal to MFA candidates at Long Island University, and he is the bestselling author of The Gasp: How to Seize That ‘A-Ha!’ Moment and Turn It into a Winning Business. Michael joins Emerald to explain how he got clear on his purpose to serve artists and entrepreneurs. He shares his take on courage as a muscle, walking us through the TEAM Matrix process he developed to decide which opportunities to pursue. Michael offers insight around the creation process, discussing what called him to write a book for creative entrepreneurs and how he ignites his own creativity. Listen in to understand how Michael serves as a mentor and resource to his clients and learn how to approach each day as an opportunity to do great things! What You Will Learn How Michael became an ‘accidental attorney’ How Michael was inspired to serve artists and entrepreneurs Michael’s take on courage as a muscle that needs exercise Michael’s TEAM Matrix for making important decisions How music and rituals ignite Michael’s process of creation The relationship between creativity and rigorous exercise What called Michael to write a book for creative entrepreneurs How The Gasp guides creatives in the business of entrepreneurship How Michael serves as a mentor and resource to his clients Michael’s mission to help other lawyers find a sense of purpose Michael’s challenge in integrating his work and family life Michael’s insight around the potential for each day to be miraculous Connect with Michael Prywes Michael’s Website Michael’s Free Audiobook Michael on Facebook Michael on Twitter Resources The Gasp: How to Seize That ‘A-Ha!’ Moment and Turn It into a Winning Business by Michael Prywes The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance by Steven Kotler Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi How I Broke Into Podcast Charlie McWade on How I Broke Into Gordon Firemark The Complete Counselor Connect with Emerald GreenForest Creative Age Consulting Group Emerald’s Website Emerald on LinkedIn Emerald on Twitter Email: listeners@menonpurposepodcast.com This episode is sponsored by the Creative Age Consulting Group. Men - Is it time NOW for you to make your mark? Visit timetomakeyourmark.com to apply for an invitation-only consultation.

You can help to support this show and the rest of the Suicide Squadcast Network through Patreon at this link!  Thank you for your support! In this episode, Tim and Scott talk about: James Wan talks about wanting to add horror elements to Aquaman! Aquaman has gone through a test screening! The Joker film gets a composer! Joaquin Phoenix talks about caring what people think of his take on The Joker! Hans Zimmer will be scoring Wonder Woman 1984! There have been auditions for Birds of Prey! The Flash gets some rumored time frame for filming! Reed Morano is rumored to be sought after by Warner Brothers for the Supergirl film! The WB crossover event gets some details and premier dates! Y: The Last Man has begun production! Brendan Fraser has been cast as Robotman! We talk about all of this and much, much more! Where to find us: Follow The Suicide Squadcast on Twitter at @SuicideSquadcst Follow Tim on Twitter at @Allenfire Follow Scott on Twitter at @ScottDC27 Email us at SuicideSquadcast@gmail.com Subscribe to The Suicide Squadcast Network: The Suicide Squadcast:  iTunes / Spotify / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS DCTV Squadcast:  iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS DC Comics Squadcast:  iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS Fans Without Borders: iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS The show's intro music was composed by Tim Yoko. The show's outro music was composed by Jordan Funk. We are a proud member of the Batman Podcast Network! Please go check out the other great shows that can be found there!

Director-cinematographer Reed Morano discusses her new film I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and opens in September. Also, cinematographer Ashley Connor discusses her new film THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST, which is now playing in theaters. Both talks were part of our series, "The Female Gaze," which showcased work from some of the best female cinematographers working today. This podcast is brought to you by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Film Lives Here. www.filmlinc.org

On the March 30, 2018 episode of /Film Daily, /Film senior writer Ben Pearson is joined by /Film writers Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista to talk about Jurassic World 3, a pair of buzzed-about directors uniting with Adam Sandler, a new Kate McKinnon comedy, The Tommyknockers movie, Reed Morano's Anne Frank film, Bill & Ted 3's status, and Netflix possibly buying EuropaCorp.   You can subscribe to /Film Daily on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (here is the RSS URL if you need it).   In the News: Colin Trevorrow Will Return To Direct ‘Jurassic World 3' Adam Sandler Could Star in the Next Safdie Brothers Movie Kate McKinnon Teaming With Director Danny Boyle for New Comedy Stephen King's ‘The Tommyknockers' Set for New Adaptation from James Wan ‘The Handmaid's Tale' Director Reed Morano to Helm Anne Frank Drama ‘Bill & Ted 3' is Closer To Happening Than Ever Before Netflix Might Buy Luc Besson's EuropaCorp, The Company Behind ‘Taken' and ‘Valerian'   Other posts referenced in this episode ‘I Think We're Alone Now' Review: An Indie Episode of ‘The Twilight Zone' With Peter Dinklage   All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today's show at slashfilm.com, and linked in the show notes.   /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.   You can subscribe to /Film Daily on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).   Please feel free to send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air.   Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes, tell your friends and spread the word!   Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo.

In our seventeenth episode of Long Time Ago Radio we’re going to be discussing the differences between the empire and the first order. We break down their history, their members, ideologies, and speculate on some other stuff. We also discuss the trailer for the final season of Star Wars Rebels, Last Jedi deleted scenes, Star Wars at the Academy Awards, and Reed Morano’s apparent discussions with Kathleen Kennedy. (more…)

It's episode 104-LOM of the Talk Star Wars podcast and Marc, Rob and Paul field listener email, talk about Star Wars at the Oscars, the chances of Reed Morano directing a Star Wars project, Solo images shown at a festival in France and a whole lot more...Become a Patron hereThe Star Wars CommonwealthTweet about the PodCast here Get the podcast notes hereShop for Star Wars items in our Amazon stores UK here  US here Links to each of us can be found here  Home  Twitter  Facebook  YouTube - SUBSCRIBE

News Story 1: Tim Miller is developing a solo ‘Kitty Pryde’ movie at Fox.  http://collider.com/kitty-pryde-movie-tim-miller-fox-disney/#shadowcat  News Story 2: Reed Morano, Director of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ had a meeting with Kathleen Kennedy.  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/is-reed-morano-next-star-wars-director-1075060    Segment 2:  2018 Preview: February: 16th - Black PantherMarch:23rd - Pacific Rim UprisingApril:20th - Cloverfield MovieMay:4th - Avengers: Infinity War18th - Deadpool 225th - Solo: A Star Wars StoryJune:8th - Ocean’s 822nd - Jurassic World: Fallen KingdomJuly:6th - Ant-Man and the WaspAugust:3rd - The PredatorOctober:5th - Venom19th - HalloweenNovember:2nd - X-Men: Dark Phoenix16th - Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald21st - Creed IIDecember:14th - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse21st - Aquaman21st - Bumblebee

It's Sundance, day seven! FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold is joined by Amy Taubin, FC contributing editor and Sundance veteran, to discuss the evolution of the festival over the years and, of course, what they've seen. Taubin touches on the problematic nature of Jennifer Fox's The Tale, argues for the intelligence of Craig Michael Macneill's Lizzie, and praises Crystal Moselle's skater-girl-driven Skate Kitchen. Other films covered include Robert Greene's hybrid reenactment drama Bisbee '17, Reed Morano's postapocalyptic I Think We're Alone Now, Claire McCarthy's Shakespeare-expansion Ophelia, Betsy West and Julie Cohen's RBG (about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), Nathaniel Kahn's art world doc The Price of Everything. The Film Comment Podcast from Sundance is sponsored by Autograph Collection Hotels.

In Episode 4, we discuss director/cinematographer Reed Morano and her work on the Handmaid’s Tale, Skeleton Twins, and Meadowland. In our segment #SoThisHappened we give an update on Louis C.K.’s sexual misconduct and scarcity of women for director/cinematography awards. Our recommendation for this weekend is two features by Andrea Arnold: Fishtank and American Honey. Join … Continue reading Reed Morano, The Handmaid’s Tale, Holy the Oscars are Sexist.

Mirren was born and raised in London, and graduated with a BFA in Fashion and Photography from New York's Parsons School of Design before moving to LA to begin her career as a costume designer. Mirren has worked with director Destin Daniel Cretton on his films Short Term 12 and The Glass Castle, and with Reed Morano on Meadowland and I Think We're Alone Now.  Additionally, she worked on the acclaimed films, I'll See You in My Dreams, Growing Up Smith, and Lowriders. Mirren's upcoming projects include: Drunk Parents, Unicorn Store, I Think We're Alone Now, and Teen Spirit.

*SPOILERS* for The Handmaid's Tale *TRIGGER WARNING* This week, we discuss both the book and the Emmy-nominated TV series, The Handmaid's Tale (book by Margaret Atwood) in a special extended episode. We review and analyze as much of this distopian novel-turned-series as possible, and still don't cover it all! From superb acting by the likes of Elizabeth Moss, Alexis Bledel, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer, and the rest of the cast to the lush and sweeping direction, especially by Reed Morano in Episodes 1-3, we wait for more twists and turns in Season 2.

*SPOILERS* for The Handmaid's Tale *TRIGGER WARNING* This week, we discuss both the book and the Emmy-nominated TV series, The Handmaid's Tale (book by Margaret Atwood) in a special extended episode. We review and analyze as much of this distopian novel-turned-series as possible, and still don't cover it all! From superb acting by the likes of Elizabeth Moss, Alexis Bledel, Samira Wiley, Madeline Brewer, and the rest of the cast to the lush and sweeping direction, especially by Reed Morano in Episodes 1-3, we wait for more twists and turns in Season 2.

Reed Morano talks about how directing the hit Hulu show was different than her new indie feature "I Think We're Alone."

[Life After Downton, Episode 12] - The damsels kick off this month's conversation with some follow-up about the future of two previously discussed shows (good news for the midwives! Not good news for the sensates...). Then we're checking in on the continuing first season of The Handmaid's Tale and making sure we've properly fangirled over the work of Reed Morano. The praise of female directors continues with the main event: Wonder Woman has finally arrived! Those Amazonian weapons! That no-nonsense attitude! The cascading locks! The dreamy boyfriend! We are thrilled that Patty Jenkins met and exceeded expectations for the female-driven superhero film we've all waited too long for. Finally we're looking ahead to the rest of summer with a peek at some of the great returning TV, as well as new shows we're looking forward to checking out. (Star-crossed lovers! Stand-up comedians! FEMALE WRESTLERS!) Raise a glass to Diana of the Amazons and join us for another episode of Downton Gabby!

Does Hulu’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE deserve the hype it’s been getting as the most frighteningly timely series on streaming? In this episode of SVU, Matt and Alison discuss the new Margaret Atwood adaptation and how it attempts, via its visuals, to depict its horrors as experience rather than spectacle. Then, in honor of the show’s main director, cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Reed Morano, they recommend work featuring other female cinematographers, all of it available to rent or stream right now. Opening Break: "Get Out" "Logan" "Berlin Syndrome" Listener's Choice Review: "The Handmaid's Tale" Queue Shots: Films With Female Cinematographers Behind the 8-Ball:  3 New Releases 2 Listener Recommendations 1 Random Film From Our Netflix "My Lists" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spotlight: The Handmaid’s Tale premiere (1:42:34) /// Our Week in Comedy and Reality: Great News premiere (13:03) // Silicon Valley premiere (17:28) // The Detour finale (21:03) // Bob’s Burgers (28:12) // Speechless (35:03) // Jane the Virgin (39:05) // RuPaul’s Drag Race (49:12) /// Our Week in Drama and Genre: Feud: Bette and Joan finale (58:15) // The Leftovers (1:09:29) // Better Call Saul (1:12:15) // Adventure Time: Elements (1:13:42) // Supergirl (1:23:51) // The Flash (1:29:07)

Cinematographer Reed Morano is the Director of Photography for HBO’s hit new show Vinyl, executive produced by Martin Scorcese and Mick Jagger. In early 2013, Reed was invited to become the youngest member of the American Society of Cinematographers; she is one of very few women out of approximately 340 active members in the organization. She has been named one of variety's"10 Cinematographers to Watch", one of ioncinema.com's "American New Wave 25", and one of five innovative cinematographers in icg magazine's "generation next" spotlight. In 2012, reed's work was featured in Indiewire's "On the Rise '12: 5 Cinematographers Lighting Up Screens in Recent Years" and "Heroines of Cinema: An A-Z of Women in Film in 2012." Some of Reed's thoughts on the digital revolution and how it has affected filmmaking are featured in Keanu Reeves' acclaimed documentary Side by Side. She was honored to be featured in Kodak's long-running OnFilm series. Reed's work appears regularly at the Sundance Film Festival including the premieres of Little Birds, Shut Up and Play the Hits, and For Ellen. Frozen River won the Grand Jury prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Actress for Melissa Leo and Best Screenplay) and seven Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Picture; Reed's work on the film was the subject of an article in American Cinematographer. In 2013, Kill Your Darlings, a 35mm period piece about the beat poets set in 1943, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Jason Leigh was released theatrically and premiered at Sundance, as well as the Toronto and Venice film festivals. Also in 2013, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, premiered at Sundance and was released theatrically that fall; the drama was directed by George Tillman Jr. and stars Jennifer Hudson, Anthony Mackie, and Jeffrey Wright. In January of 2014, HBO premiered the first season of its new original series, Looking, shot by Reed. Reed's other theatrical premieres of 2014 include The Skeleton Twins, War Story, Autumn Blood, and Rob Reiner's latest feature, And So It Goes, starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, written by Mark Andrus of As Good As It Gets. In the summer of 2014, Reed began production on her first feature as both the director and DP; Cinedigm's dark drama "Meadowland" stars Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, Juno Temple and John Leguizamo. Reed is currently leading the charge on a movement to control motion interpolation a.k.a. "the soap opera effect" on our HDTVs; Reed's change.org petition is supported by nearly 10,000 signatures and has gained momentum, attracting the attention of both the film and technology communities. Reed currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two children. Notes from the show: Her dad suggested NYU film school to her because of her love of photography. All DPs develop an intuition so they can tell from a script how it wants to be shot. No one teaches you in film school what the etiquette is for a cinematographer. It takes years and years to find the right combination of your style, the director's ideas, and what's right for the story. Vinyl's pilot had already been shot before Reed's interview for the HBO series. Reed likes to light a whole space and yield to amazing spontaneous moments more than planning every shot. There's a fear of not having enough light. Reed left film school in no rush to direct. Reed started working in the grip and electric departments on local shoots. Her first "big" film was Returning Mickey Stern, shot on Fire Island, NY. Fellow filmmaker and college buddy Toshiro Yamaguchi invited Reed to join the crew of Mickey Stern. Gripping gave Reed a real understanding of the set. It also provided a paycheck while she shot films on the side. You build up stamina and muscle memory over time. She feels like "just one of the guys"- you have to "have a trucker's mentality... you have to be chill." That time she saw Conrad Hall, ASC speak. The moment she found out she had been invited into the ASC. How she got into the ASC. Her partnership with Olivia Wilde. The American Cinematographer Manual The photography of Philip-Lorca diCorcia Find Reed on Instagram at ReedMorano This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was sponsored by Prywes Schwartz, PLLC, a law firm devoted to artists and entrepreneurs. This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

In the hazy aftermath of an unimaginable loss, Sarah and David deal with the unthinkable in the wake of their son's disappearance. David, a New York City policeman, attempts a more traditional form of healing, only to lose his moral compass. Sarah goes down an unexpected path towards acceptance as she places herself in increasingly dangerous situations. From cinematographer Reed Morano in her directorial debut, Meadowland presents powerful performances by Olivia Wilde and Luke Wilson alongside Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, John Leguizamo, Kevin Corrigan, Merritt Wever and Juno Temple. Director Reed Morano joins us to talk about this wrenching story, grief, relationships under stress and her work with an outstanding ensemble of actors. For news and updates go to: meadowland

Reed’s work includes the feature films: Frozen River, The Magic of Belle Isle,Yelling to the Sky, Little Birds, For Ellen, and Shut Up and Play the Hits. Reed’s recent projects include: Kill Your Darlings, a 35mm period piece about the Beat poets set in 1943, starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall, Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster, and Jack Huston and The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, a story about two inner city boys who are left to fend for themselves after their mothers are taken away by the authorities. Upcoming, Reed completed the first season of Looking, an original HBO series,The Skeleton Twins, a drama for Craig Johnson, War Story, a dark drama for Mark Jackson, Autumn Blood shot in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria, and Rob Reiner's And So It Goes.  Kill Your Darlings has also been released on DVD and streaming after its theatrical run.

Reed’s work includes the feature films: Frozen River, The Magic of Belle Isle, Yelling to the Sky, Little Birds, For Ellen, and Shut Up and Play the Hits. Reed’s recent projects include: Kill Your Darlings, a 35mm period piece about the Beat poets set in 1943, starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall, Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster, and Jack Huston and The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, a story about two inner city boys who are left to fend for themselves after their mothers are taken away by the authorities. Upcoming, Reed completed the first season of Looking, an original HBO series, The Skeleton Twins, a drama for Craig Johnson, War Story, a dark drama for Mark Jackson, Autumn Blood shot in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria, and Rob Reiner's And So It Goes.