Updated every Friday 12:00 PM
November 21 - November 27

APPLE TV
A"Pluribus," is a superb and intriguingly peculiar sci-fi series full of mysteries. Those mysteries go beyond the central enigma surrounding the virus which transforms people into sedate drones. The Apple TV show, from "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" creator Vince Gilligan, seems to have a lot to say about our modern times but exactly what its point of view actually is remains elusive even several episodes into the debut season. According to one "Pluribus" writer, that's all by design, as revealing what the show is trying to say — if anything — would render it entirely pointless...

Producers were encouraged to rethink their role in a film industry adapting to artificial intelligence (AI) during a panel covering the new technology at the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic programme. "The producer's job is now you have to think like a systems architect," said Polish-US filmmaker Matt Szymanowski, who is in post-production on a hybrid-AI feature called Captive Mind. "You have to see the bigger picture and work with the individual talents that have the AI tools, that know the AI tools, as well as these new workflows." Szymanowski suggested hybrid AI, where 30-40% of a film is AI-generated, could entirely change the workflow of production in addition to saving on logistics. Referencing the "linear" way films are currently made, he suggested how AI could allow you to add new characters, change worlds and rewrite at any point in the production timeline. "You can mix up the process, it's circular, it's dynamic," he continued. "It's a little chaotic, but it is the way of the future." The filmmaker also dismissed the notion AI was about making jobs easier. "AI is not about shortcuts," he stressed. "You may think 'oh great I can save time and money'. But no, you actually have to work harder to get a better story, to get a human story."...

Ian Murray, the UK's creative industries minister, has said he wants to make "createch as high profile as fintech" through a series of measures to improve access to finance for the creative industries. Murray took over from Chris Bryant in a government reshuffle in September. "We understand that supporting the sector's long-term growth means rapidly improving access to finance for creative businesses and IP owners," he said at the annual conference of the British Screen Forum in London on November 19. "That is why we're increasing support for the British Business Bank, establishing a working group to support IP-backed lending, and working with industry to create a single front door for investment gains." Earlier this year, the British Business Bank committed an additional £4bn to support investment and growth in the government's eight target sectors for growth, which includes the creative sector. The British Business Bank is a government-owned development bank set up in 2014 to help businesses in the UK access financial support. Murray joined the DCMS from his role as Scotland secretary.  His predecessor, Chris Bryant, is now the minister for international trade and economic security at the Department for Business and Trade. Lisa Nandy remains culture secretary...

It's nothing new to suggest that Victor Frankenstein, the titular doctor at the heart of Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus," is the real monster in the story, and yet no adaptation seems to have fully contended with that idea — until now. In Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein," Victor (Oscar Isaac) is a toxic and self-centered man-child with enormous daddy issues who sips milk and sulks with abandon, and he's by far the most plainly villainous version of the doctor to date. There isn't a shred of sympathy for Victor in the film, and while we could argue until the end of time about what Shelley actually thought about her troubled protagonist, del Toro's take cuts to the core of the character and elaborates on the themes Shelley set into motion. By making Victor the true villain of "Frankenstein" and refusing to give him leeway for his actions, del Toro has helped cinema to finally do Shelley justice. (Courtesy Ken Woroner...

Metro Private Cinemas, a new upscale theater in Manhattan is catering to cinephiles eager to privatize and glamorize the theatrical experience – for a price. For $50-100 a head, you can book a room at the 20-screen complex in Chelsea for a group sized anywhere between four and 20 people. Pick a film from either current releases or a curated archive, select a drink package for an extra $50 each, choose a 12-13 course gourmet meal off a seasonal menu for another $100 a head, and you have a ritzy night at the movies. The new venue, which opened to the public in late October, is the latest New York establishment to specialize in so-called experiential cinema: movie screenings with an extra incentive – be it a curated scented candle screening or the full amusement park bombast of 4DX – to get people off the couch and into the theater. Metro is on the smaller, curatorial, more upscale end of the theatrical event spectrum, competing alongside the lavishly themed menus of start-ups like Fork n' Film and the privacy of members-only clubs for a slice of New Yorkers' recreational spending. "I love being in a huge room that's crowded and feeling the audience," said Tim League, the co-founder of the cinephile-beloved Alamo Drafthouse, who stepped down as CEO in 2020 to focus on building Metro. A private room with friends and family, he noted, is "just a different vibe". "I think it plays in concert with Alamo," he added. "If you're going to spontaneously check out a movie and pop in and get two tickets, we're probably not your theater. It's more 'hey, let's plan to get together and have a special night out.'"..

A religious school in England is currently making headlines for banning its students from singing the original songs from Netflix's animated blockbuster "KPop Demon Hunters." As reported by the BBC, the school had concerns over certain song lyrics not being in line with its "Christian ethos." "Lilliput Church of England Infant School in Poole, Dorset sent a message to parents on Friday saying some members of the community are 'deeply uncomfortable' with references to demons," the BBC wrote. "It said this was because they 'associate them with spiritual forces opposed to God and goodness.' In an update on Monday, acting head teacher Lloyd Allington said he had since received feedback from parents, highlighting positive messages from the songs, but said the school was seeking to support those who found the themes 'challenging.'...