TV, Movies & Home Theatre News - Page 4

Apple's reportedly hard at work on a new kind of operating system that could be used to power future smart home accessories with references to an unconfirmed homeOS software found in the first tvOS 17.4 beta.

This isn't the first time that we have heard that Apple has an interest in something called homeOS, but this is our clearest indication yet that it will be part of the company's future software roadmap and could potentially replace some of the software already in use. As an example, the tvOS beta software that included the references could potentially be replaced by a future homeOS software release. The same goes for the HomePod software that powers Apple's smart speakers.

The references found inside tvOS 17.4 were first reported by MacRumors, but details on what the software will do and which devices it could power are unclear right now. However, 2021 job listings by Apple previously mentioned that successful applicants would be working on homeOS software before references to the software were later removed. There has been no sign of the homeOS name since then and its appearance in the tvOS 17,4 beta software could suggest that Apple is now closer to making it a reality than ever.

Duncan Jones, director of the sci-fi film Moon, has long planned a movie adaptation of the sci-fi war comic series Rogue Trooper and, according to reports, has completed principal photography.

Little was known about the adaptation since its first tease was posted to Jones' Twitter back in 2018. The only information we had was it was to be written and directed by Jones. Now, for the first time in years, we have fresh information; according to a report from Variety, the feature film will be entirely CGI-animation created with Unreal Engine 5. Announced cast members include Mission: Impossible's Aneurin Barnard, Agent Carters Hayley Atwell, and Slow Horses' Jack Lowden.

The film will be based on a strip of the same name from the British anthology comic book series 2000 AD. The Rogue Trooper tells the story of 19, a pale-blue-skinned super-soldier fighting a brutal and relentless future war. 19 is the sole survivor of a horrific attack and must continue to fight to uncover the truth of who sold out himself and his comrades. Not alone in his fight, he is joined by the three minds of his killed squad, whose personalities are digitally preserved within his gun, helmet, and rucksack.

Break-out star from HBO's House of the Dragon, Milly Alcock, has been cast as Supergirl for the highly anticipated DCU reboot film, as confirmed by James Gunn this morning via his personal Instagram.

The new DCU universe has found its Supergirl in Milly Alcock; the Australian-born actress is most known for her incredible performance as the young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the first season of HBO's Game of Thrones spin-off series House of the Dragon, for which she won wide acclaim. Alcock is now set to head her own film, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, based on the DC comics run by Tom King and Bilquis Evely.

James Gunn took to Instagram this morning to share a snippet of an article announcing the young actress's entry to his DCU new universe, stating, "This is accurate. Milly is a fantastically talented young actor, and I'm incredibly excited about her being a part of the DCU. Yes, I first became aware of her in House of the Dragon, but I was blown away by her varied auditions and screen tests for Supergirl. She embodies Kara as envisioned by Tom King and Bilquis Evely."

When you think of popular Apple TV+ shows we can be sure that Severance is towards the top of most lists. Its first season was a hugely popular release for Apple TV+ viewers and the way it ended left people particularly keen to see what would happen in season 2. But production of that season has been a problem for Apple and its partners, but things now appear to be back on track.

One of the problems that caused problems was the writer's strike that delayed production in a big way, but with that now done and dusted we already know that production is underway - and now we appear to have been given another hint that things are progressing pretty well.

Apple TV+ shared a post to X, the social network that was previously known as Twitter, which showed Adam Scott's Mark S. character running along one of those familiar white hallways. The alt-text for the image shared details that the large camera on-screen confirms that Severance season 2 is in production.

If you're a Major League Soccer fan you now have a new season to look forward to with the 2024 Major League Soccer kicking off on February 29. Those who want to watch the games can do so thanks to Apple's Major League Soccer Season Pass, a subscription that covers more than 100 countries and regions and includes coverage of the Leagues Cup, MLS All-Store game, and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs games as well as the 2024 season itself.

Apple confirmed that it is ready to get started on the second of its ten-year contract with the MLS and will launch a first-of-its-kind whip-around show for Spanish-speaking viewers. This is in addition to the existing shows and coverage that proved popular during the 2023 season.

"The first year of our partnership with Major League Soccer exceeded expectations and brought MLS to more fans than ever before," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services. "We look forward to building upon that momentum, celebrating Messi's first full season with the league, and delivering MLS fans the best experience possible."

Amazon Prime Video, the streaming subscription service, is getting adverts as of today.

Amazon first announced that this was happening back in September 2023, but the actual day the new rules for Prime Video subscribers kick in is today, January 29.

If you don't want your viewing to be interrupted with advertising, then you'll have to sign up to pay a little bit more for an ad-free streaming experience.

Current box office projections for the upcoming Marvel Superhero movie Madame Web, led by Dakota Johnson, hint at the worst opening weekend yet for a Sony Spider-Man Universe film.

According to long-range box office tracking, it appears that audiences are just not interested in Sony's latest Spider-Man spinoff film. According to Boxoffice Pro, Sony's upcoming spider superhero team-up movie is currently tracking to earn between $25 million and $35 million on its opening weekend, which, if true and the film does fall in between that range, would mark the lowest opening weekend yet for Sony's SSU (Sony's Spider-Man Universe).

Sony's vampire flick Morbius currently has the worst SSU opening weekend, sitting at a sad $39 million, followed by Venom at $80 million and the sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage at $90 million. Even if, by a miracle, Madame Web manages to sling its way to the higher-end of its tracking, its opening would still be lower than Disney's latest bomb, The Marvels, which premiered with an opening weekend of $46 million.

Surprise Box Office Rom-Com hit Anyone But You has breathed new life into the genre and broken a nearly decade-long record.

The success of the film is impressive considering the saturated market and dominance of streaming platforms; of course, the film's two extremely attractive leads, Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell, may have also helped its success. The film may have also helped to re-ignite audiences' interest in the romantic comedy genre.

Anyone But You has had the vast majority of the world in a chokehold since its release on December 22, 2023, and although receiving mixed reviews from critics and audiences, the film has become the most profitable film of January 2024.

Although 2023's Barbie made history and has received eight Oscar nominations, some of the cast feel as though the film has been snubbed at this year's upcoming Oscars.

Ryan Gosling has spoken out about his disappointment that director Greta Gerwig and co-star Margot Robbie have not been nominated in their respective categories at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards. Gosling was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Ken in the film, as well as co-star America Ferrera, who received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but this has led many to criticize the nominations for seemingly snubbing the film's two biggest creatives.

Gosling, who said he was "extremely honored to be nominated," also shared his disappointment in the nominations, saying -

If you're someone who is currently paying $11.99 per month for Netflix's cheapest ad-free tier you're going to have to find an alternative sooner rather than later. That's after the company confirmed that it plans to ditch the subscription for people who are already on it.

Netflix previously started to prevent new or returning customers from using the $11.99 per month tier in some countries last year but it had told customers who were already on it that they could continue to use it until told otherwise. Now, that's about to happen as Netflix confirms that Canada and the UK will be the first countries to see their users forced to switch. Following that, we can expect other countries to go the same way.

The move will mean that people will then have the $15.49 per month tier as the cheapest option if they don't want to watch ads, while the Premium option will remain at the very top of the pile at $22.99 per month.