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Disney at the Movies; Facebook in the Metaverse

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المحتوى المقدم من Benzinga. يتم تحميل جميع محتويات البودكاست بما في ذلك الحلقات والرسومات وأوصاف البودكاست وتقديمها مباشرةً بواسطة Benzinga أو شريك منصة البودكاست الخاص بهم. إذا كنت تعتقد أن شخصًا ما يستخدم عملك المحمي بحقوق الطبع والنشر دون إذنك، فيمكنك اتباع العملية الموضحة هنا https://ar.player.fm/legal.

Episode Summary

On this episode, we consider the success that the Walt Disney Co. has enjoyed at the box office with film critic and film festival programmer Joe Meyers, and we visit with Kirill Poskonov, founder and the host of the LikeXR.tech podcast, to discuss Facebook’s forays into the metaverse.

Resources:

Benzinga Pro

Benzinga.com

Phil's Articles on Benzinga.com

Benzinga Podcasts

Guests:

Film Critic and Film Festival Programmer Joe Meyers

Founder and The Host of The LikeXR.tech Podcast Kirill Poskonov

Host:

Phil Hall

Subscribe to all Benzinga Podcasts at https://www.benzinga.com/podcasts

Disclaimer: All of the information, material, and/or content contained in this program is for informational purposes only. Investing in stocks, options, and futures is risky and not suitable for all investors. Please consult your own independent financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

Unedited Transcript:

Welcome to Benzinga show business. I'm Phil hall and on today's show, we're going to be looking at two companies doing rather clever things later in the show. We're going to be discussing. Facebook and they are journey into the metaverse, but first we're going to be going to the movies specifically to the Disney films that have been dominating the box office.

This year. My guest on the segment is Joe Myers. He is a former film critic with the Connecticut. He's also the programmer with the focus on French film festival that takes place every April in Greenwich, Connecticut, Joe, thanks so much for being a guest on today's show business. Oh my pleasure, Phil. Well, Joe, since the movie theaters reopened this spring, Disney has been dominating the box office month after month with movies like Ryan, the last dragon Prunella black widow jungle cruise.

Free guy. And, uh, currently a shank tree is raining at the box office. What is Disney doing? Right? That the other studios aren't doing well, it seems like one of the things they've done right is combined theatrical releases with, um, movies being made available simultaneously on streaming services. You know, that old day and date, uh, thing, although as the year has progressed, You know, they've run into some bumps with that.

I mean, Scarlett Johannson has a lawsuit in progress on black widow because she said it violated the terms of her contract. You know, that she's asked she and her lawyers are estimating that they lost somewhere between 20 to $50 million by the movie, not having us a full theatrical release. And it's interesting that the last movie, the martial arts movie sham key.

Is that the title of it? Yes, it is. Yeah. I mean, that was a theatrical only, and it has made more than those other movies that they did day in date. So it looks like maybe Disney is getting back into the groove of theatrical exclusivity and then, you know, three, four months later putting it out on Disney.

Plus what I found kind of strange with the Scarlet Johansson lawsuit is that. I was out in both theatrical and streaming and Emma Stone didn't complain. And then jumble crews came out in theatrical and streaming and the rock and Dwayne Johnson and Emily blunt didn't complain about it. But black widow, uh, was the one that got.

Uh, Scarlett Johansson's law suit and also a public rebuke by the national association of theater owners against Disney for doing that. Why, what was it about black widow that, uh, uh, people, whereas the other films, nobody even thought twice about. Well, I mean, there were rumblings that Emma Stone might follow suit following the lead of Scarlet.

The difference between black widow and Cruella and jungle cruise is the black widows part of the Marvel franchise, which has always grossed astronomical business around the world theatrically before it goes to video, uh, Emma Stone's Cruella was part of the, the Disney. As was jungle cruise. And I think the bottom line is not as much money as at stake with those two movies as it would be with a Marvel franchise picture.

So I think, uh, Scarlet and her minions, we're looking at the, the incredible grosses that Marvel has scored with the theatrical only releases. I mean, I believe one of the Avengers movie is right now, the top theatrical grossing film in. Well, the first Disney had filmed this year. Might've been the weakest in terms of box office, but that was because so many theaters was so closed.

And that was Ryan. The last dragon. Was that just a case of coming out at the wrong time? I think so. I, I think as the year progressed, things got better and really the theatrical window didn't fully open until New York and LA opened up theaters, which I think. Was in the later spring than that movie, you know, that everyone said that, uh, theatrical releases wouldn't resume full steam until New York and LA theaters were okay to open.

Because I think I read a figure that those two markets are responsible for about 20% of the domestic gross of movies. That would make sense, but Disney also did something strange. They had a Pixar film called Luca, which they didn't bother putting in us theaters. They put that straight on to streaming and look, it was a charming film and did somewhat well in international markets.

Was that a mistake on their part? Not to put it into theaters. That's a good question. I think. I think theaters as venues for families took a while to get back on their feet. I think they might've been smart to do that and just make money from home video because. Parents might not have been ready to take their whole family back to theaters, you know, earlier in the year than they are now.

I, I, you know, Disney is, I think one of the smartest companies about seeing the potential in movies and all of that. So I'm sure they crunch numbers. And also I did not see loca, but the impression I get. From reading about it was that it wasn't considered one of the top Pixar titles. You know what I mean?

So maybe Disney thought, uh, rather than mess around with a theater and streaming day and date, we'll just do it streaming and, and, and, you know, give a little bonus to our Disney plus subscribers, which is largely a family audience. Well, Disney has a whole slate of films coming out later this year in comparison, there are competition of paramount pictures, pulled all of their films for the remainder of 2021, including the, uh, the long weighted reboot of top gun.

So with, uh, late middle-age Tom cruise, still writing about his, uh, his motorcycle and leather jacket. Was that a mistake on Paramount's part to pull everything from the theaters and just put it off until next. I think it might've been, I think the real barometer that everybody is waiting for is the James Bond film, no time to kill, which is opening as a theatrical exclusive the first Friday in October, if that is a barnstorming blockbuster, I think paramount will regret having moved two of their big action movies to next year.

I mean, who knows, but. I was nervous when paramount yank those two films that, uh, James Bond was going to be moved yet. Again, I think it's been moved at least three times since it was supposed to open in 2020. So apparently they're full steam ahead. And if that movie makes abundant. You know, if it, if it, uh, out grosses anything that's open so far during the pandemic, which I think there's a very good chance of will.

I think that will make everybody start to relax and see that the theater business is not dead the way some people projected this time last year. Well, you and I are both long time lovers of the Broadway theater, particularly musical theater, and Disney has a, one of the big films coming out later this year, Steven Spielberg's remake of west side story, and I'm looking at it with a bit of trepidation because one of the big flops this summer was the musical in the Heights.

One of the, uh, most, uh, terrifying slew of bad reviews I've ever seen came out of the Toronto film festival with a dear Evan Hansen. He's a terrible movie musicals. Uh, what, uh, what is your take on the new west side story? Because not only are musicals not really catching on with audiences and critics this year, but Spielberg's going into classic territory and remaking a film that really wasn't crying out for reason.

Uh, I would say that is one of the real huge question marks because like you, I, I wondered why Spielberg particularly wanted to do a remake of a best picture Oscar winner, you know, which has been seeing for the past, what 60 years widely, you know, and has been revived as a stage property, what we don't know, you know?

And, and I think it all boils down to his execution. I mean, he got Tony Kush. The Pulitzer prize, winning playwright to write a brand new script, you know, so they threw out the Arthur Lawrence book and a new choreography. Uh, so I, I would say it all depends on how good, you know, but on paper, I don't see a crying need for a new movie version of west side story, and actually went in the Heights opened.

You know, there was a considerable Twitter storm about the ethnicity of the leading ladies, you know, that they weren't Afro that Chino. They were, you know, a lot of people put it bluntly. They weren't dark skinned enough for their tastes to play the leads in, in the Heights. And I believe the leading lady of west side story might have a similar, uh, Twitter challenge.

You know, I, I. Don't, you know, I'm not sure of this, but I think she may not be. Well, she certainly not madly wouldn't grease paint. So, I mean,

we're going to go up in terms of ethnic authenticity, but you know, the thing about musicals and frankly, I was. By some of the flap over in the Heights is I would say the musical genre is perhaps the least realistic of all dramatic film genres, you know, and a west side story. You're right. I don't think, I think the only ethnically correct lead in that was Rita Moreno and even her skin was dark and to make her look more ethnic, you know, so.

I just hope west side story is as good as a Steven Spielberg film could be. You know, and I must say years and years ago, I remember seeing 1941 and which was a terrible flop, but there's an incredible sequence in that film set in a dance hall where it almost becomes like a musical number in terms of the way he marshals the crowds and moves people.

And I remember thinking at the time, boy, Spielberg ought to do a. At some point and it's taken him all these years, but I would never write him out. You know, I, I, so I, I am very eager to see what he did with this, you know, old property. Indeed. You mentioned about the choreography, so they're not using Jerome Robbins, original choreography.

No, I I'm not sure who the choreographer is, but it's somewhat akin to that revival that was on Broadway, which closed. With the arrival of the pandemic, I believe that was the first Broadway production, which did not use the Robbins' choreography. It used to be, uh, you had to use Robin's choreography if you staged, uh, west side story, because that was considered part of the authorship of the material.

Uh, Spielberg has. Broken away from, from all. I mean, other than Stephen Sondheim, you know, the lyricist who I think was called in to do some tweaking, you know, all of the original creators are dead and are not involved in this. Well, prior to this interview, I was reading up on what Disney is, uh, coming up with.

And I saw that they have a live action version of the little mermaid, which is going to be ready in 2023, where they're looking at the films that they have this year. We have a couple of Marvel films. Uh, we had a Cruella which reboots the 101 Dalmatians franchise. A couple of times, jungle cruise is based on the popular Disney ride.

It's the creativity. Well at Disney running dry, I know free guy is an original story. And so it was raw, but, uh, most of the films that they have out now, or they're going to be bringing out later this year and into next year, or you the parts of franchises or they're remakes or reboots. Yeah. I, I mean, I gotta tell you that I'm very happy not to be a regular reviewer in recent times because to me, the notion.

Of converting a cartoon. A very successful cartoon, like the lion king or beauty and the beast into a live action film just seems sort of bonkers to me and also a blatant exploitation of the family market. You know, I mean, the, the thing about Disney and it's always been true is nobody is better at selling a new film to a family audience, you know, and I believe so far all of the lines.

Action. Reboots of their previous animated hits have been very financially successful. So the thing about Disney that is interesting to me is, you know, they did away with their subsidiaries, Hollywood pictures and, um, touchstone, which used to put out. Mainstream adult film. You know what I mean? Pretty woman was a product of a Disney subsidiary.

So I mean, I think the hope for Disney now for us adult viewers is the fact that they absorbed 20th century, Fox and seem to be prepared to continue the search. Uh, brand, which, you know, has been responsible for many prestige, Oscar winners. And, uh, it's now just called Searchlight and indeed they have the new Wes Anderson movie, the French dispatch coming out, I think October 22nd and then just a week or so.

Uh, the Jessica chestain Oscar bait movie, the eyes of Tammy Faye is opening under the Searchlight banner. So it's going to be interesting to see if those films do well. And if Disney wants to keep a hand in the whole year and Oscar. You know, a phenomenon because certainly the movies that Disney produces under the Disney label don't have much chance for Oscar consideration, you know, and I know that's so important to the film community that it's gotta be fascinating to watch what happens to Searchlight.

And, uh, we should also mention too that, uh, the most recent best picture Oscar winner was a Searchlight film and that was nomad land. So that's, that's not something you think of as a Disney movie. No. And, and, you know, a few years before that, uh, 12 years of slave won best picture, and that was also a Fox Searchlight movie.

So that, that green. As a good track record in recent years, you know, uh, uh, the question is, you know, in the absorption of that label, what, what Disney branch is doing the marketing, you know what I mean? Did they absorb the Searchlight? People who are so good at Oscar campaigning so that those people will be working on these movies or will they have to.

Learn how to get back into Oscar campaign. I haven't followed it that closely. I don't know if, if, if a bunch of the Searchlight people moved to Disney. Well, Joe, I know that you're a, an arts and entertainment writer, not a financial writer, but hypothetical situation. Let's say that you go to the movie theater and you find a bag on the floor, on the floor.

You open the bag and there's a thousand dollars in the bag. Would you invest in Disney stock? Would that. Yeah, I, I don't, I, I might, I don't think it can do too badly with Disney stock. I mean, that company has evolved. Uh, like I said, with the touchstone and, and their Hollywood, you know, they, they found a way of producing adult films.

When the animated thing was sort of declining in the eighties. Of course, they came back with, uh, animated blockbusters in the nineties. They've also always been savvy about home video, whether it's DVD streaming, And from what I've gleaned Disney plus has just exploded in terms of growth because of things they've done this year, like putting Hamilton on there and, you know, making Corella available through that black widow, et cetera.

So I would never count Disney out at all. So I might, I might invest a thousand bucks. If you forced me to pick a movie company, I would probably go with Disney. Excellent. Well, we've been speaking with Joe Myers. He is the former film reviewer with the Connecticut post. He is the programmer of the focus on French film festival, which is going to be coming back to Greenwich, Connecticut in April.

So if you're in Greenwich, which is right outside New York city, please put that on your calendar, Joe. Thanks so much for being on this segment of the show. Thanks for having me, Phil and folks stick around. We have a message from the good people at Benzinga pro, which I think you'll be very, very interested in hearing.

Get access to actionable news and market research with all the information you need to invest smarter and profit faster. Start your free trial today@prodotbenzinga.com. Welcome back to this segment of Benzinga show business. And now we're going to be going into a very different sector of the metaverse, which is something I have to admit.

I don't know very much about, but I have a guest who knows a lot about it. He is Carol . He is founder of like XR agency. And you may know him as the host of the like XR podcast. Carol, thank you so much for being a guest on today's program. Yeah, thank you friend, mittens for inviting me. Uh, um, so appreciate.

So Carol, what is the metaverse all about? And what does it mean for businesses and consumers? Um, well, so the term metaverse was first appeared back in 1992 in new Stevenson, no snow crushed their metaverse and Simonson book is an intertwine, digital and physical worlds. So events in one world can affect life in another.

And it's sometimes impossible to draw land between the worlds at all. So things then in one version or another, the metaverse regularly appears in verus work of hearts. But in my opinion, the metaverse is shown in the best way in the field and read. So in the modern world, the work metaverse until recently was known only to those who somehow came into contact with the gaming industry, or like to read fiction rather than to a general public or business.

But during the pandemic, uh, the border between the physical and digital worlds began to become unstable, not only for computer game players and science fiction. So when you went fully functional version of the family or physical world came to our home and mess with the help of digital technologies. So worker study for many cases to be associated with the move, into an office or an Institute, the giraffe watching a movie premiere become available from sofa with a good home theater and then new year's corporate party.

Turn out to be a very emotional event, not to know. But on the social VR platforms. So with the growth and development of extended reality technologists, the Metro Verisk has become more visible to understand. Well, I'm starting to understand it. Certainly that explanation helps, but how has the metaverse being used today?

So, um, to answer the question was the questions. Um, we should dive deeper in the study of the metaverse. So, um, if we study, uh, the Metro is deeply, we will understand that the metaverse is a collective or shared space grated by the convergence of enhanced physical reality and to physically resistant future space, including the SAMO pole.

We have told worlds, augmented reality and the. So if we simplify this definition, then in essence, the Metro versus just a visualization of what we can no longer match out our life doubt. Yes, I am talking about the internet since the internet is the metaverse. It has enabled the emergence of digital twins of power world, such as multiplayer, computer games, social internet platforms.

And so. So after all, if you think about it, Facebook is already a metaverse, but result with realization. So in the context, Superbird speech about Facebook becoming the metaverse, it can be perceived as a transition from a flat screen laptop or smartphone to a variable VR and mixed reality devices. Yeah.

I was, uh, very curious about the Facebook announcement about the metaverse. Why was this announcement particularly important? So I think when the leaders of tech giants make policy statements about changing the strategy of their companies, it is always useful to listen to them. So often the change is announced to them will sooner or later affect the entire industry.

We can recall how Sundar Pichai, the head of Google said that the. To solve and 17 conference that the it giant is rethinking all its products, taking into account. The fact that we now live in AI first world. So the recognition of that fact that Google is no longer a search company, but an AI company at that time became the reason for the headlines there quite accurately determined at the fate of the entire it sector.

But four years ago, not everyone quickly realized that. The scale of the current churn and the impact that it will have on the development of technologists on business and simply on our lives. Uh, and, um, at the end of June, uh, this year, mark Zuckerberg made the program statement to Facebook employers.

And a few days later, he gave interesting and detailed comments to a journalist of the verge and their subtitles. So of this material accurately conveys the essence of Superbird clown speech. So the social network games to turn into. And it's time to ask, to get acquainted with this term and get used to it.

Uh, but, um, what makes super statements stand out against this solar? The fairly regular background of mansions of the metaverse. So of course the scale of the resources that Facebook. The influence of this company in general and the complexity of the approach, which goes far beyond game and entertainment.

So in this regard, it is very important to be in context of events since the entire internet is moving towards the concept of web 3.0, where the metaverse will be an important point of connection between the internet and the real world. Yeah. Oh, and speaking of the real world, if you should happen to hear a little buzz behind me, it's my neighbor outside is doing his gardening recording, which is a, that happens, uh, unfortunately, but, uh, getting back to the, uh, the unreal world, at least to me, how long will it take for Facebook to achieve the plans that outlined for the metaverse.

Uh, if you remember in two Southern date, mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook would be the first mobile company and nowadays we can hardly match our life without Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram mobile apps. And it is also worth mentioning that the variable, there are devices of vocals, which are also belongs to Facebook.

I'm about to, I'm talking about tacos, go and balsa focus quests. But this is a question about, um, what the world will van and what is. What science has led us to and how engineers, developers, and innovators use it. So since 2008, a lot has changed. Personal computers have become laptops. And those in turn have become tablets.

Mobile phones are not just phones, but full fledged pocket computers and all of this allow Facebook to become mobile company and to become a metaverse the real world and master. So firstly variable, our devices must become as common as mobile phones. And for these, they must become more native and convenient and the quality of graphics must increase significantly.

And then there should also be a large amount of high quality content to make people want to buy. So there should be wearable mixed reality devices that will not differ in dimension from the usual glasses. So at the moment, people are not ready to buy huge HoloLens or magic leap, especially for thousands of dollars.

And, um, you will not go out and shopping in them or wear them to a party. So at the moment, there are a large number of obstacles from the speed of the mobile internet, to the device. Which do not allow me to be sure that the forecast of a appearance of a full-fledged metaverse will come through within five years.

So in my opinion, we should expect this on the timeline in 10 years or more. I would hope so. I have no idea where I could even buy a huge calendar or even what a small Howland for that matter. I mean, it's not on my shopping list at the moment, but what companies are the major players in today's medical.

Uh, well, first of all, it's worse mentioning of course, Facebook, which publicly announced this party, but in the context of creation, the metaverse Facebook is not the leader at the moment. So at least a unity unreal engine and Roblox cannot be ignored. I'm sure that the most, if not all. Micrometric versus we'll be graded on these engines and platforms, which relate to enter the Metro versus planets and star center, the galaxy and the cluster of galaxies into the universe.

So it is also worth mentioning Microsoft corporation with the. Enterprise metaverse Amazon with their shopping experience, Walt Disney company with them park. Metaverse also NBO Corp has already launched its own omnivorous digital platform for virtual collaboration and simulation. So and so on as we can see the metaverse is not initially a centralized.

And it cannot be such a many market players, technology companies, political institutions, and so on will be involved in the creation and the, if the nearest future, they believe pair more and more. I just thinking suspicion, Amazon and Disney, we're going to be somewhere in this and you've confirmed that.

But Carol, if we were to have this conversation a year from today, what do you think the metaverse environment will be? Okay. I think that in common year we should draw, they expect new loud statements rather than a great progress in the creation of the Metro verbs. So of course there will be a new micrometric versus have a limited number of participants due to current technical limitation.

But mainly it will be the development of existing gaming platforms and social ones and the emergence of course, of new ones that the intersection of XR 5g. Uh, blockchain, AI and other technologies. So without a doubt, this will be an important step and becoming the Metro verse as it should be. But as I said, um, it will still be far away from the level of the ready player.

One few. Well, he was certainly expanded my scope on the metaverse, but if our listeners wanted to continue the conversation with you, how could they get in touch with you? So, um, they can, um, mailed me, uh, I have mail, uh, It's BK, uh, like xsara.com, uh, or, uh, I have a podcast, uh, like Sara dot that. Excellent.

So that's a like exhort.tech and, uh, the email you at PK at like XR dot. Yes. Yes. Also I have feature Facebook and every, every social platforms that we have now, well, I think we all do, but at this point in time and, uh, uh, now I know what I'm gonna get myself a Christmas. I'm going to get myself a huge handle.

And I think that's something Carol Paskin. I'll. Thank you so much for being a guest on today's episode of Benzinger show business. And folks we'll see you again next week until then have yourself most wonderful of experience.


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When? This feed was archived on January 02, 2024 18:13 (3M ago). Last successful fetch was on January 04, 2023 06:32 (1y ago)

Why? تلقيمة معطلة status. لم تتمكن خوادمنا من جلب تلقيمة بودكاست صحيحة لفترة طويلة.

What now? You might be able to find a more up-to-date version using the search function. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.

Manage episode 303123771 series 2986011
المحتوى المقدم من Benzinga. يتم تحميل جميع محتويات البودكاست بما في ذلك الحلقات والرسومات وأوصاف البودكاست وتقديمها مباشرةً بواسطة Benzinga أو شريك منصة البودكاست الخاص بهم. إذا كنت تعتقد أن شخصًا ما يستخدم عملك المحمي بحقوق الطبع والنشر دون إذنك، فيمكنك اتباع العملية الموضحة هنا https://ar.player.fm/legal.

Episode Summary

On this episode, we consider the success that the Walt Disney Co. has enjoyed at the box office with film critic and film festival programmer Joe Meyers, and we visit with Kirill Poskonov, founder and the host of the LikeXR.tech podcast, to discuss Facebook’s forays into the metaverse.

Resources:

Benzinga Pro

Benzinga.com

Phil's Articles on Benzinga.com

Benzinga Podcasts

Guests:

Film Critic and Film Festival Programmer Joe Meyers

Founder and The Host of The LikeXR.tech Podcast Kirill Poskonov

Host:

Phil Hall

Subscribe to all Benzinga Podcasts at https://www.benzinga.com/podcasts

Disclaimer: All of the information, material, and/or content contained in this program is for informational purposes only. Investing in stocks, options, and futures is risky and not suitable for all investors. Please consult your own independent financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

Unedited Transcript:

Welcome to Benzinga show business. I'm Phil hall and on today's show, we're going to be looking at two companies doing rather clever things later in the show. We're going to be discussing. Facebook and they are journey into the metaverse, but first we're going to be going to the movies specifically to the Disney films that have been dominating the box office.

This year. My guest on the segment is Joe Myers. He is a former film critic with the Connecticut. He's also the programmer with the focus on French film festival that takes place every April in Greenwich, Connecticut, Joe, thanks so much for being a guest on today's show business. Oh my pleasure, Phil. Well, Joe, since the movie theaters reopened this spring, Disney has been dominating the box office month after month with movies like Ryan, the last dragon Prunella black widow jungle cruise.

Free guy. And, uh, currently a shank tree is raining at the box office. What is Disney doing? Right? That the other studios aren't doing well, it seems like one of the things they've done right is combined theatrical releases with, um, movies being made available simultaneously on streaming services. You know, that old day and date, uh, thing, although as the year has progressed, You know, they've run into some bumps with that.

I mean, Scarlett Johannson has a lawsuit in progress on black widow because she said it violated the terms of her contract. You know, that she's asked she and her lawyers are estimating that they lost somewhere between 20 to $50 million by the movie, not having us a full theatrical release. And it's interesting that the last movie, the martial arts movie sham key.

Is that the title of it? Yes, it is. Yeah. I mean, that was a theatrical only, and it has made more than those other movies that they did day in date. So it looks like maybe Disney is getting back into the groove of theatrical exclusivity and then, you know, three, four months later putting it out on Disney.

Plus what I found kind of strange with the Scarlet Johansson lawsuit is that. I was out in both theatrical and streaming and Emma Stone didn't complain. And then jumble crews came out in theatrical and streaming and the rock and Dwayne Johnson and Emily blunt didn't complain about it. But black widow, uh, was the one that got.

Uh, Scarlett Johansson's law suit and also a public rebuke by the national association of theater owners against Disney for doing that. Why, what was it about black widow that, uh, uh, people, whereas the other films, nobody even thought twice about. Well, I mean, there were rumblings that Emma Stone might follow suit following the lead of Scarlet.

The difference between black widow and Cruella and jungle cruise is the black widows part of the Marvel franchise, which has always grossed astronomical business around the world theatrically before it goes to video, uh, Emma Stone's Cruella was part of the, the Disney. As was jungle cruise. And I think the bottom line is not as much money as at stake with those two movies as it would be with a Marvel franchise picture.

So I think, uh, Scarlet and her minions, we're looking at the, the incredible grosses that Marvel has scored with the theatrical only releases. I mean, I believe one of the Avengers movie is right now, the top theatrical grossing film in. Well, the first Disney had filmed this year. Might've been the weakest in terms of box office, but that was because so many theaters was so closed.

And that was Ryan. The last dragon. Was that just a case of coming out at the wrong time? I think so. I, I think as the year progressed, things got better and really the theatrical window didn't fully open until New York and LA opened up theaters, which I think. Was in the later spring than that movie, you know, that everyone said that, uh, theatrical releases wouldn't resume full steam until New York and LA theaters were okay to open.

Because I think I read a figure that those two markets are responsible for about 20% of the domestic gross of movies. That would make sense, but Disney also did something strange. They had a Pixar film called Luca, which they didn't bother putting in us theaters. They put that straight on to streaming and look, it was a charming film and did somewhat well in international markets.

Was that a mistake on their part? Not to put it into theaters. That's a good question. I think. I think theaters as venues for families took a while to get back on their feet. I think they might've been smart to do that and just make money from home video because. Parents might not have been ready to take their whole family back to theaters, you know, earlier in the year than they are now.

I, I, you know, Disney is, I think one of the smartest companies about seeing the potential in movies and all of that. So I'm sure they crunch numbers. And also I did not see loca, but the impression I get. From reading about it was that it wasn't considered one of the top Pixar titles. You know what I mean?

So maybe Disney thought, uh, rather than mess around with a theater and streaming day and date, we'll just do it streaming and, and, and, you know, give a little bonus to our Disney plus subscribers, which is largely a family audience. Well, Disney has a whole slate of films coming out later this year in comparison, there are competition of paramount pictures, pulled all of their films for the remainder of 2021, including the, uh, the long weighted reboot of top gun.

So with, uh, late middle-age Tom cruise, still writing about his, uh, his motorcycle and leather jacket. Was that a mistake on Paramount's part to pull everything from the theaters and just put it off until next. I think it might've been, I think the real barometer that everybody is waiting for is the James Bond film, no time to kill, which is opening as a theatrical exclusive the first Friday in October, if that is a barnstorming blockbuster, I think paramount will regret having moved two of their big action movies to next year.

I mean, who knows, but. I was nervous when paramount yank those two films that, uh, James Bond was going to be moved yet. Again, I think it's been moved at least three times since it was supposed to open in 2020. So apparently they're full steam ahead. And if that movie makes abundant. You know, if it, if it, uh, out grosses anything that's open so far during the pandemic, which I think there's a very good chance of will.

I think that will make everybody start to relax and see that the theater business is not dead the way some people projected this time last year. Well, you and I are both long time lovers of the Broadway theater, particularly musical theater, and Disney has a, one of the big films coming out later this year, Steven Spielberg's remake of west side story, and I'm looking at it with a bit of trepidation because one of the big flops this summer was the musical in the Heights.

One of the, uh, most, uh, terrifying slew of bad reviews I've ever seen came out of the Toronto film festival with a dear Evan Hansen. He's a terrible movie musicals. Uh, what, uh, what is your take on the new west side story? Because not only are musicals not really catching on with audiences and critics this year, but Spielberg's going into classic territory and remaking a film that really wasn't crying out for reason.

Uh, I would say that is one of the real huge question marks because like you, I, I wondered why Spielberg particularly wanted to do a remake of a best picture Oscar winner, you know, which has been seeing for the past, what 60 years widely, you know, and has been revived as a stage property, what we don't know, you know?

And, and I think it all boils down to his execution. I mean, he got Tony Kush. The Pulitzer prize, winning playwright to write a brand new script, you know, so they threw out the Arthur Lawrence book and a new choreography. Uh, so I, I would say it all depends on how good, you know, but on paper, I don't see a crying need for a new movie version of west side story, and actually went in the Heights opened.

You know, there was a considerable Twitter storm about the ethnicity of the leading ladies, you know, that they weren't Afro that Chino. They were, you know, a lot of people put it bluntly. They weren't dark skinned enough for their tastes to play the leads in, in the Heights. And I believe the leading lady of west side story might have a similar, uh, Twitter challenge.

You know, I, I. Don't, you know, I'm not sure of this, but I think she may not be. Well, she certainly not madly wouldn't grease paint. So, I mean,

we're going to go up in terms of ethnic authenticity, but you know, the thing about musicals and frankly, I was. By some of the flap over in the Heights is I would say the musical genre is perhaps the least realistic of all dramatic film genres, you know, and a west side story. You're right. I don't think, I think the only ethnically correct lead in that was Rita Moreno and even her skin was dark and to make her look more ethnic, you know, so.

I just hope west side story is as good as a Steven Spielberg film could be. You know, and I must say years and years ago, I remember seeing 1941 and which was a terrible flop, but there's an incredible sequence in that film set in a dance hall where it almost becomes like a musical number in terms of the way he marshals the crowds and moves people.

And I remember thinking at the time, boy, Spielberg ought to do a. At some point and it's taken him all these years, but I would never write him out. You know, I, I, so I, I am very eager to see what he did with this, you know, old property. Indeed. You mentioned about the choreography, so they're not using Jerome Robbins, original choreography.

No, I I'm not sure who the choreographer is, but it's somewhat akin to that revival that was on Broadway, which closed. With the arrival of the pandemic, I believe that was the first Broadway production, which did not use the Robbins' choreography. It used to be, uh, you had to use Robin's choreography if you staged, uh, west side story, because that was considered part of the authorship of the material.

Uh, Spielberg has. Broken away from, from all. I mean, other than Stephen Sondheim, you know, the lyricist who I think was called in to do some tweaking, you know, all of the original creators are dead and are not involved in this. Well, prior to this interview, I was reading up on what Disney is, uh, coming up with.

And I saw that they have a live action version of the little mermaid, which is going to be ready in 2023, where they're looking at the films that they have this year. We have a couple of Marvel films. Uh, we had a Cruella which reboots the 101 Dalmatians franchise. A couple of times, jungle cruise is based on the popular Disney ride.

It's the creativity. Well at Disney running dry, I know free guy is an original story. And so it was raw, but, uh, most of the films that they have out now, or they're going to be bringing out later this year and into next year, or you the parts of franchises or they're remakes or reboots. Yeah. I, I mean, I gotta tell you that I'm very happy not to be a regular reviewer in recent times because to me, the notion.

Of converting a cartoon. A very successful cartoon, like the lion king or beauty and the beast into a live action film just seems sort of bonkers to me and also a blatant exploitation of the family market. You know, I mean, the, the thing about Disney and it's always been true is nobody is better at selling a new film to a family audience, you know, and I believe so far all of the lines.

Action. Reboots of their previous animated hits have been very financially successful. So the thing about Disney that is interesting to me is, you know, they did away with their subsidiaries, Hollywood pictures and, um, touchstone, which used to put out. Mainstream adult film. You know what I mean? Pretty woman was a product of a Disney subsidiary.

So I mean, I think the hope for Disney now for us adult viewers is the fact that they absorbed 20th century, Fox and seem to be prepared to continue the search. Uh, brand, which, you know, has been responsible for many prestige, Oscar winners. And, uh, it's now just called Searchlight and indeed they have the new Wes Anderson movie, the French dispatch coming out, I think October 22nd and then just a week or so.

Uh, the Jessica chestain Oscar bait movie, the eyes of Tammy Faye is opening under the Searchlight banner. So it's going to be interesting to see if those films do well. And if Disney wants to keep a hand in the whole year and Oscar. You know, a phenomenon because certainly the movies that Disney produces under the Disney label don't have much chance for Oscar consideration, you know, and I know that's so important to the film community that it's gotta be fascinating to watch what happens to Searchlight.

And, uh, we should also mention too that, uh, the most recent best picture Oscar winner was a Searchlight film and that was nomad land. So that's, that's not something you think of as a Disney movie. No. And, and, you know, a few years before that, uh, 12 years of slave won best picture, and that was also a Fox Searchlight movie.

So that, that green. As a good track record in recent years, you know, uh, uh, the question is, you know, in the absorption of that label, what, what Disney branch is doing the marketing, you know what I mean? Did they absorb the Searchlight? People who are so good at Oscar campaigning so that those people will be working on these movies or will they have to.

Learn how to get back into Oscar campaign. I haven't followed it that closely. I don't know if, if, if a bunch of the Searchlight people moved to Disney. Well, Joe, I know that you're a, an arts and entertainment writer, not a financial writer, but hypothetical situation. Let's say that you go to the movie theater and you find a bag on the floor, on the floor.

You open the bag and there's a thousand dollars in the bag. Would you invest in Disney stock? Would that. Yeah, I, I don't, I, I might, I don't think it can do too badly with Disney stock. I mean, that company has evolved. Uh, like I said, with the touchstone and, and their Hollywood, you know, they, they found a way of producing adult films.

When the animated thing was sort of declining in the eighties. Of course, they came back with, uh, animated blockbusters in the nineties. They've also always been savvy about home video, whether it's DVD streaming, And from what I've gleaned Disney plus has just exploded in terms of growth because of things they've done this year, like putting Hamilton on there and, you know, making Corella available through that black widow, et cetera.

So I would never count Disney out at all. So I might, I might invest a thousand bucks. If you forced me to pick a movie company, I would probably go with Disney. Excellent. Well, we've been speaking with Joe Myers. He is the former film reviewer with the Connecticut post. He is the programmer of the focus on French film festival, which is going to be coming back to Greenwich, Connecticut in April.

So if you're in Greenwich, which is right outside New York city, please put that on your calendar, Joe. Thanks so much for being on this segment of the show. Thanks for having me, Phil and folks stick around. We have a message from the good people at Benzinga pro, which I think you'll be very, very interested in hearing.

Get access to actionable news and market research with all the information you need to invest smarter and profit faster. Start your free trial today@prodotbenzinga.com. Welcome back to this segment of Benzinga show business. And now we're going to be going into a very different sector of the metaverse, which is something I have to admit.

I don't know very much about, but I have a guest who knows a lot about it. He is Carol . He is founder of like XR agency. And you may know him as the host of the like XR podcast. Carol, thank you so much for being a guest on today's program. Yeah, thank you friend, mittens for inviting me. Uh, um, so appreciate.

So Carol, what is the metaverse all about? And what does it mean for businesses and consumers? Um, well, so the term metaverse was first appeared back in 1992 in new Stevenson, no snow crushed their metaverse and Simonson book is an intertwine, digital and physical worlds. So events in one world can affect life in another.

And it's sometimes impossible to draw land between the worlds at all. So things then in one version or another, the metaverse regularly appears in verus work of hearts. But in my opinion, the metaverse is shown in the best way in the field and read. So in the modern world, the work metaverse until recently was known only to those who somehow came into contact with the gaming industry, or like to read fiction rather than to a general public or business.

But during the pandemic, uh, the border between the physical and digital worlds began to become unstable, not only for computer game players and science fiction. So when you went fully functional version of the family or physical world came to our home and mess with the help of digital technologies. So worker study for many cases to be associated with the move, into an office or an Institute, the giraffe watching a movie premiere become available from sofa with a good home theater and then new year's corporate party.

Turn out to be a very emotional event, not to know. But on the social VR platforms. So with the growth and development of extended reality technologists, the Metro Verisk has become more visible to understand. Well, I'm starting to understand it. Certainly that explanation helps, but how has the metaverse being used today?

So, um, to answer the question was the questions. Um, we should dive deeper in the study of the metaverse. So, um, if we study, uh, the Metro is deeply, we will understand that the metaverse is a collective or shared space grated by the convergence of enhanced physical reality and to physically resistant future space, including the SAMO pole.

We have told worlds, augmented reality and the. So if we simplify this definition, then in essence, the Metro versus just a visualization of what we can no longer match out our life doubt. Yes, I am talking about the internet since the internet is the metaverse. It has enabled the emergence of digital twins of power world, such as multiplayer, computer games, social internet platforms.

And so. So after all, if you think about it, Facebook is already a metaverse, but result with realization. So in the context, Superbird speech about Facebook becoming the metaverse, it can be perceived as a transition from a flat screen laptop or smartphone to a variable VR and mixed reality devices. Yeah.

I was, uh, very curious about the Facebook announcement about the metaverse. Why was this announcement particularly important? So I think when the leaders of tech giants make policy statements about changing the strategy of their companies, it is always useful to listen to them. So often the change is announced to them will sooner or later affect the entire industry.

We can recall how Sundar Pichai, the head of Google said that the. To solve and 17 conference that the it giant is rethinking all its products, taking into account. The fact that we now live in AI first world. So the recognition of that fact that Google is no longer a search company, but an AI company at that time became the reason for the headlines there quite accurately determined at the fate of the entire it sector.

But four years ago, not everyone quickly realized that. The scale of the current churn and the impact that it will have on the development of technologists on business and simply on our lives. Uh, and, um, at the end of June, uh, this year, mark Zuckerberg made the program statement to Facebook employers.

And a few days later, he gave interesting and detailed comments to a journalist of the verge and their subtitles. So of this material accurately conveys the essence of Superbird clown speech. So the social network games to turn into. And it's time to ask, to get acquainted with this term and get used to it.

Uh, but, um, what makes super statements stand out against this solar? The fairly regular background of mansions of the metaverse. So of course the scale of the resources that Facebook. The influence of this company in general and the complexity of the approach, which goes far beyond game and entertainment.

So in this regard, it is very important to be in context of events since the entire internet is moving towards the concept of web 3.0, where the metaverse will be an important point of connection between the internet and the real world. Yeah. Oh, and speaking of the real world, if you should happen to hear a little buzz behind me, it's my neighbor outside is doing his gardening recording, which is a, that happens, uh, unfortunately, but, uh, getting back to the, uh, the unreal world, at least to me, how long will it take for Facebook to achieve the plans that outlined for the metaverse.

Uh, if you remember in two Southern date, mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook would be the first mobile company and nowadays we can hardly match our life without Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram mobile apps. And it is also worth mentioning that the variable, there are devices of vocals, which are also belongs to Facebook.

I'm about to, I'm talking about tacos, go and balsa focus quests. But this is a question about, um, what the world will van and what is. What science has led us to and how engineers, developers, and innovators use it. So since 2008, a lot has changed. Personal computers have become laptops. And those in turn have become tablets.

Mobile phones are not just phones, but full fledged pocket computers and all of this allow Facebook to become mobile company and to become a metaverse the real world and master. So firstly variable, our devices must become as common as mobile phones. And for these, they must become more native and convenient and the quality of graphics must increase significantly.

And then there should also be a large amount of high quality content to make people want to buy. So there should be wearable mixed reality devices that will not differ in dimension from the usual glasses. So at the moment, people are not ready to buy huge HoloLens or magic leap, especially for thousands of dollars.

And, um, you will not go out and shopping in them or wear them to a party. So at the moment, there are a large number of obstacles from the speed of the mobile internet, to the device. Which do not allow me to be sure that the forecast of a appearance of a full-fledged metaverse will come through within five years.

So in my opinion, we should expect this on the timeline in 10 years or more. I would hope so. I have no idea where I could even buy a huge calendar or even what a small Howland for that matter. I mean, it's not on my shopping list at the moment, but what companies are the major players in today's medical.

Uh, well, first of all, it's worse mentioning of course, Facebook, which publicly announced this party, but in the context of creation, the metaverse Facebook is not the leader at the moment. So at least a unity unreal engine and Roblox cannot be ignored. I'm sure that the most, if not all. Micrometric versus we'll be graded on these engines and platforms, which relate to enter the Metro versus planets and star center, the galaxy and the cluster of galaxies into the universe.

So it is also worth mentioning Microsoft corporation with the. Enterprise metaverse Amazon with their shopping experience, Walt Disney company with them park. Metaverse also NBO Corp has already launched its own omnivorous digital platform for virtual collaboration and simulation. So and so on as we can see the metaverse is not initially a centralized.

And it cannot be such a many market players, technology companies, political institutions, and so on will be involved in the creation and the, if the nearest future, they believe pair more and more. I just thinking suspicion, Amazon and Disney, we're going to be somewhere in this and you've confirmed that.

But Carol, if we were to have this conversation a year from today, what do you think the metaverse environment will be? Okay. I think that in common year we should draw, they expect new loud statements rather than a great progress in the creation of the Metro verbs. So of course there will be a new micrometric versus have a limited number of participants due to current technical limitation.

But mainly it will be the development of existing gaming platforms and social ones and the emergence of course, of new ones that the intersection of XR 5g. Uh, blockchain, AI and other technologies. So without a doubt, this will be an important step and becoming the Metro verse as it should be. But as I said, um, it will still be far away from the level of the ready player.

One few. Well, he was certainly expanded my scope on the metaverse, but if our listeners wanted to continue the conversation with you, how could they get in touch with you? So, um, they can, um, mailed me, uh, I have mail, uh, It's BK, uh, like xsara.com, uh, or, uh, I have a podcast, uh, like Sara dot that. Excellent.

So that's a like exhort.tech and, uh, the email you at PK at like XR dot. Yes. Yes. Also I have feature Facebook and every, every social platforms that we have now, well, I think we all do, but at this point in time and, uh, uh, now I know what I'm gonna get myself a Christmas. I'm going to get myself a huge handle.

And I think that's something Carol Paskin. I'll. Thank you so much for being a guest on today's episode of Benzinger show business. And folks we'll see you again next week until then have yourself most wonderful of experience.


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