Netflix is expanding its gaming initiative by testing games on a wider range of devices, including TVs and computers, in addition to mobile phones. The initial testing is starting in Canada and the United Kingdom, with select subscribers getting to try out games on their TVs. Two games, “Oxenfree” and “Molehew’s Mining Adventure,” will be part of this test phase.
For TV gaming, the games will be available on devices from partners like Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, LG, Nvidia Shield, Roku, and Samsung Smart TVs. Notably absent is the Apple TV. More devices will be supported in the future.
Netflix recently launched an iPhone game controller app that connects to TV-based games through a QR code displayed on the Netflix app.
Gaming on PCs and Macs will use keyboard and mouse controls.
During the beta phase, Netflix aims to refine its game-streaming technology and improve the user experience.
According to Tech Crunch, Mike Verdu, Netflix’s VP of Games, emphasises the company’s excitement about expanding gaming to more devices while acknowledging the early stage of their gaming journey.
Netflix’s move into gaming was hinted at last year, along with the establishment of a gaming studio in Southern California.
Verdu clarifies that Netflix’s gaming approach differs from traditional platforms like PlayStation and Xbox, focusing on a unique business model for seamless gaming.
In the upcoming year, Netflix plans to launch a total of 40 games, with 16 from their in-house studios and 70 more in partnership with developers. Since starting in gaming in 2021, Netflix has already released 70 mobile titles.
Lucasfilm’s visual effects and animation studio in Singapore will close down in the coming months due to economic reasons, parent firm Disney said on Tuesday.
The Singapore studio was set up in the 2000s by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which was founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas and is a division of Lucasfilm.
For years, its home in Singapore was the striking Sandcrawler building, named after the Star Wars transport that inspired its design. Lucasfilm sold the building in 2021.
“Over the next several months, ILM will be consolidating its global footprint and winding down its Singapore studio due to economic factors affecting the industry,” Disney said in a statement. It did not say how many employees will be affected in Singapore.
Disney said in February it was cutting 7,000 jobs worldwide — part of a reorganisation as its traditional television business erodes and in the face of stiff competition and eroding subscriber numbers for its streaming service, Disney+.
“Lucasfilm’s decision to wind down its Singapore operations is in response to changes in the industry and business conditions,” Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) said in a joint statement.
“The global media industry is facing disruption from rapid technological advancements, while studios are coping with challenges relating to talent and profitability.”
The Singapore studio was involved in high-profile Hollywood productions including “Iron Man”, “The Avengers” and Star Wars films, according to the EDB’s website.
The weekend is here and we know you need to divert your attention from politician shenanigans. We get it, your brain is completely drained and you can’t make a decision on what show to watch. You need a change, a good distraction so we’re suggesting Korean dramas.
Yeah okay, you can’t watch shows with subtitles because its too distracting (but then how did you grow up watching Bollywood because their shows have different accents too, right?) It’s true that many of us are completely taken aback by how quickly and suddenly the Korean wave has gripped the entire world. But most importantly, how did Korean dramas suddenly become every woman’s comfort show?
I’ve been watching Korean dramas for the past three years and one of the things that drew me in was the gorgeous story telling, and how women in these shows were complex, well written, never shying away from reveling in their internal conflicts and desires to be the way they want to be. Coming from a lifetime of watching Bollywood or local television dramas where dramas written for women involved sexism, violence, or poorly, flat characters ending with happy marriages, changing my comfort watch seemed more like putting my mind at ease. Another thing, people commonly have shared as a token aspect they have come to adore about Korean dramas is how they offer an escape to a reality and culture completely different from their own. Quite commonly since the pandemic began and more people were locked up inside, Korean content offered a sense of ease with its architecture, the food or customs, and even how themes like building your own family offered a sense of relief for millennials bound by patriarchal customs of South Asian countries.
Give your doubts some ease, and take our advice that yes, there is a good reason why you won’t stop hearing Jung Kook’s ‘Seven’ on the radio. Take it from us and dedicate your Saturday night to one of these five recommendations we’re offering you, based on some of popular tropes loved by social media users.
If you love high school romances, then watch ‘True Beauty’
If high-school romances are what you love, then this is the drama you should watch. And also, if you’re completely into watching hot men, then yes Chan Eun-Woo is a good option. It follows an insecure teenager Lim Joo kyung, who was bullied for her looks and decides to change schools, as well as start wearing more makeup. As she navigates learning to be comfortable in her own skin, as well as her budding romance with the school’s resident hot boy Lee Su-hoo, you won’t help but get drawn into the wholesome storytelling, as well as how lovable and endearing Joo kyung is.
‘Fake dating but he falls harder for her’? Take ‘Her Private Life’
Deok Mi has a secret- she’s obsessed with the boyband White Ocean, like she’s obsessed OBSESSED. Watches all their concerts, runs a fan blog dedicated to Cha Si-An, even has posters all over her apartment. But when during a work assignment, she is snapped by paparazzi and mistaken to be Si-An’s girlfriend, quickly turns her into a target for hyper fan girls and makes her life even harder. When her boss, the uptight, stingy Ryan Gold steps into pretend to be her boyfriend to dispel the rumors, they agree to date until the rumors die down and everyone is convinced Si-An is taken. Ryan even has someone else, nothing will happen right…right?
Friends to lovers will make you wail, but not the way ‘Romance Is A Bonus Book’ will.
The worst day of Cha Eun-Ho’s life was when the longtime love of his life, and childhood best friend Dan-I married her high school sweetheart, completely sealing his heart to the possibility that anyone would suit him as he ascends the world of publishing. But the ground completely crumbles under his feet when he finds out that five years later after they cut off contact, Dan-I is homeless after her husband abandoned her and their daughter to make a new family. The two decide to live together, much to Eun-Ho’s dismay, as Dan-I takes on a job as an intern and obscures her CV to pretend she is a college dropout, not a marketing professional with years of experience. But as much as the two try to remain friends to keep their plot going, Eun-Ho realises he isn’t over Dan-i, and neither is she over him.
Enemies to lovers is *chef’s kiss*? ‘Shooting Stars’ will make you wish you had someone
Oh Han-Byul is the cranky, over-worked PR manager working for a leading celebrity agency, where she is directly responsible for handling Korea’s top celebrity, Gong Tae-Sun. His endless requests and hectic fanbase is the reason why Han Byul has a depleting dating life, no social skills, and a lifelong agenda to be the one to put Tae Sung in his grave. But as a scandal emerges which puts their relationship in a different light the two realised they are both heading towards a path that would be difficult to turn back from.
He’s a human, she’s an immortal being? ‘Legend of the blue sea’ is definitely for you
Forbidden love between an immortal being and a mortal will clench your heart, but this korean drama will become the reason why you cancel the last part of your social life. Heo Jung-Jae is a con-artist, a way to support himself after cutting off his father and supporting himself. He tricks billionaires into handing them their valuable assets to him, and escapes without a trace. But during a vacation to Spain, his accidental encounter with the mermaid Shim Cheong forces him to confide into his past life as a Joseon emperor who made the fatal mistake to fall in love with a mermaid and brought about his doom.
The Legend of Maula Jatt headlined by Fawad Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi and Mahira Khan is by far the most expensive film to come out of Pakistan. It is unquestionably the biggest Pakistani release ever internationally.
The film opened to packed houses on October 13th and earned record-breaking figures on day one despite the fact that it is not currently playing in every theater in the country.
Bilal Lashari’s directorial has become the first film in Pakistan’s history to earn 100 crore domestically. This achievement was announced by the makers on social media handles.
Breakdown
It earned 4.4 crores locally and 4.9 crores internationally on its opening day, making it a total of 9.3 crores.
Four-day Weekend Collections
In its extended weekend, the film collected over 50 crores globally.
According to a recent report in Deadline, this action-fantasy movie has broken box-office records within its opening weekend. So far, The Legend of Maula Jatt has collected over half a million dollars. Across 79 locations in the UK, the film has earned $355,000, making it trend at no. 9 on the charts. In the US and Canada, the film grossed $290,000 and $235,000 respectively. On the other hand, in Australia, it earned $160,000. In both Canada and Australia, the Pakistani movie is trending at No. 6 in the charts, while in the United Arab Emirates, it reached No. 1 after earning over $515,000.
The Legend of Maula Jatt has opened in 25 markets worldwide, including Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and South East Asia, and overall it has grossed $2.3 million globally.
First Week Collections
The Humaima Malick and Gohar Rasheed starrer has garnered 80 crores, globally in its first week of release.
These figures surpass the lifetime receipts of every Pakistani movie and have set new records. The Legend of Maula Jatt is poised to set additional records now that the second weekend has begun.
Second Weekend
Its second-weekend collections gave a new hope to the industry. The magnum-opus crossed the unprecedented 100 crore mark post its second-weekend collections. This made it the first-ever Pakistani feature film to achieve this target.
200 Crore Club
TLOMJ‘s winning streak continues as the magnum opus becomes Pakistan’s first offering to hit the PKR 200 crore mark, globally.
Producer Ammara Hikmat shared the update on her Instagram handle.
Earlier this month, the official Instagram account of TLOMJ shared that the Bilal Lashari directorial has beaten the Laal Singh Chaddha and South Indian blockbuster RRR’s box office collection in Britain.
The post read, “Another day, another achievement! The Legend of Maula Jatt beats the highest-grossing Indian movie of 2022, RRR’s lifetime business in just 17 days in the UK.” A few days ago, it was reported that Pakistan’s most expensive movie has beaten the lifetime number of Aamir Khan starer Laal Singh Chaddha in the UK, in just 13 days.
According to British film publication Screen Daily, Maula Jatt, released by Moviegoers Entertainment, accumulated £44,149 (Rs11.5 million) on its fifth weekend. Its performance has dropped considerably lower than many competitors as its run continues at 54.6 percent, bringing the film to almost £1.3m (Rs340 million). That’s more than the £1.26m (Rs329 million) of this year’s Tamil epic Ponniyan Selvan: I.
The Legend of Maula Jatt has become the highest-grossing Punjabi film globally according to its official Instagram account, the film made $7.8 million (Rs1.7 billion) at the worldwide box office within four weeks of its release.
The movie’s first teaser was released in 2019, which managed to receive a thunderous response worldwide for its cinematic grandeur, exceptional star cast, and mega-scale production.
Actor Armeena Rana Khan faced flak for being “too western” in her maternity shoot, a netizen even accused her of plagiarising Bipasha Basu’s pregnancy shoot. However, the Janaan star clapped back at haters.
While sharing a screenshot from the comment section of her maternity shoot picture, Khan showed how she shut a troll for being a “hypocrite” for wanting her to confide to his perfect ‘desi woman’ standard. “Troll me all you want, I don’t care and will never care,” she wrote reiterating that it’s her online space and she shares all updates with her fans and well-wishers and not with haters.
She went on to share the brutal comments she has received on the post. A person commented on how her maternity shoot looked like a “Hollywood copy” and that women shouldn’t copy the “Kafir (sinners)” to feel empowered. “Hey ladies, Don’t be like Fatima. She’s a hypocrite,” wrote Khan.
Triggered by the negative comments, Khan put up a PSA for everyone following her. “Next up, I will talk about my delivery and all of the details when it happens. [This is] my space, not yours,” she wrote in a series of Instagram Stories. “If I haven’t triggered you religious fanatics enough yet, watch this space.”
She also went on to encourage other women to share their experiences of motherhood, and otherwise and claim their space after a fan congratulated her for finding the strength to do the same. “Claim your space, ladies. Motherhood and all its aspects are indeed beautiful. We should discuss our experiences. Let’s lift the ‘shame’ which isn’t even Islamic by the way, but has more to do with misogyny and our oppressive culture,” Khan exclaimed.
Khan, on a roll, pointed out the lack of logic in a certain troll’s comment who insisted on her to feel “shameful because she’s a Muslim woman.” She said, “When you see a pregnant woman in public on the streets, do you wear those horse blinkers or do you avert your eyes? I doubt you do either. It all depends on how filthy your mind is,” she concluded her series of posts.
The Daldal star
Armeena was last seen in Mohabbatien Chahatein costarring Junaid Khan and Hira Mani.
Severe flash floods have wreaked havoc in Pakistan; the country’s citizens are suffering from homelessness and many have also lost loved ones.
Floods triggered by incessant rains have killed more than 1000 people including 300 hundred children. The catastrophic flooding has rendered millions of people homeless during the last few days. People from across the globe are also sending prayers, donations, and supportive words to Pakistani citizens, who are concerned about the flood victims.
Bollywood actors Ishaan Khatter and Aly Goni took to their Instagram stories to express their concerns and prayers for the plight of flood victims in Pakistan. While Aly made a prayer, Ishaan termed the situation as heartbreaking.
Even Turkish superstar Engin Altan Duzyatan stated on Instagram that he is praying for Pakistan.
Ahsan Khan’s 4-year-old clip has once again come to life, as the #BritishAsian hashtag started to appear on Twitter’s trending list. In the video which was recorded in 2018, the actor flaunted a British accent and presented himself as a “British-Asian actor” who lives “here and there”.
Khan was in London for the International Pakistan Prestige Awards, where he received the ‘Star Of The Year’ award and spoke at multiple media interviews.
He voiced several excellent observations, and many people appreciated what he said about Pakistan’s growing drama industry.
The BBC also covered the ceremony, questioning PEMRA’s ruling (at that time) regarding our productions being “too bold”. Khan stressed the importance of using our shows to address Pakistani moral codes and cultural challenges.
He highlighted how there should be a clear distinction between exaggeration and depicting reality.
Besides the appreciation the actor received, the netizens could not resist noting something unusual about his accent during these interviews. The #BritishPakistani posts comprising Ahsan Khan’s quotes have once again flooded social media.
Trolling has become more common than ever before on the social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and others. Celebrities are often the victim of this troll brigade. Every gesture, every position, and every picture published by celebrities is critiqued, from their attire to their accent.
Ahsan Khan is best known for his roles in Udaari, Aangan, and Dastaan. For his act in Chupan Chupai, he was also nominated for Lux Style Awards for the ‘Best Film Actor’ in 2018. He currently hosts ‘Time Out with Ahsan Khan’, a talk show that was previously fined Rs50,000 by PEMRA for using animals as props.
Actor Yasra Rizvi is not happy with her sharp memory because she believes “having a poor memory in show business pays off.”
Taking to Instagram, the Dil Na Umeed To Nahi actor shared a selfie along with a long note, saying: “Show Business is the kinda business where having a poor memory pays off. I however suffer from the ailment called not being able to forget. Occupational hazard! How do you write about or portray life when you don’t remember and register what you experienced or felt? Yourself or vicariously.”
“Things that happen or how people behave in certain situations even if left in the past become a part of our eternal selves, making up the hows and whys of what we think today, the context! And context is everything, nothing exists in isolation,” she added.
Appearing on a local talk show recently, the Malika-e-Aliya diva talked at length about her work ethics and criteria for selecting projects. When asked about what she looks for in a script, she stated, “To be honest, I don’t get offered many scripts maybe because people are a bit intimated/scared by me.”
The Churails star also believes that her projected voice and serious expressions turn people away.
Yasra welcomed her first born in May 2021 and named him Ibn e Adam.
Trending at number one since it released on Pakistani Netflix, Haseen Dilruba is India’s latest, winning movie on the streaming platform. An easy watch for a suspense thriller, the story revolves around the murder of a husband after his wife has an affair.
It’s a perfect set up and it begins at full speed. Shy and sweet, seedha saadha sa Rishu (Vikrant Massey) has an arranged marriage with the hot, loud and opinionated Rani (Taapsee Pannu) and beychara Rishu is so intimidated by Rani that he is unable to perform in the first month of their marriage. He overhears Rani telling her family members about their private sex life and decides to never speak/touch her again. Meanwhile, Rishu’s super hot and dashing cousin Neel (Harshvardhan Rane) comes to stay with them and thats when the trouble begins.
The beauty of the film is how fast paced it is, even though it is more than two hours long. The story begins with a bang, slows down but not too slow in the middle, and then ends with a not to unexpected ending.
The downside of the film is really the acting. It’s very evident that the writer has written a strong and thoughtful script but the acting is flat and the chemistry between all the characters is blah at best. Rani is the weakest link with the biggest role. Despite being the hero (and somewhat the villain) of the story, Taapsee’s acting leaves you yawning in the middle and asking, ‘is that the best she can do’ near the end. The only character that comes close to his role is Vikrant as Rishu.
Despite the slow drawl in the middle, the storyline is solid and the movie is definitely worth a watch. But in the end you will wonder if star actors had taken on the role, what an actual big blockbuster it could be.
After working both on and off the screen as an accomplished actor and a producer, Sheheryar Munawar has come a long way since his debut in 2012.
The 32-year-old delivered one of the biggest local releases of 2019, Parey Hut Love, and is all set to make a comeback on television after six long years in ARY Digital’s Pehli Si Mohabbat. Sheheryar’s stint in the industry as an actor as well as a producer means that he knows how to tackle two different mediums – TV and film.
Talking to ARY News, Sheheryar shared how he manages to tread the fine line between the two polar mediums, highlighting the technical differences between them. “As an actor, even your movements are part of your acting. When you’re studying acting or working, dialogue delivery is one thing but the movement also plays an important role. I feel that differs quite a bit,” he said.
He explained how on TV since the screen is restricted shots are taken differently. “You shoot a film shot to shot but for TV, you usually do a long master,” he said, adding how since a film is larger than life so you have more liberty to take risks. “But on TV, the screen is smaller so you have to be careful with how far you can go before risking believability.”
Referring back to his comment about the difference in dialogue delivery, Sheheryar shared that the pace differs as well. “Usually, while doing a film, you add a punch to the dialogue, but on TV, returning to it after so long, I’ve noticed that the pacing of the dialogue is a little slower.”
Having broken into the industry relevantly recently and by virtue of his work, the actor had hard-hitting advice for the younger lot looking to find a strong footing in the entertainment world. “Complete your education and only then come into this field!” he exclaimed.
Sheheryar went on to explain: “A good and complete education is perhaps even more important in this field because you become a public figure and your education shows, which helps you.” He also emphasised the importance of being in control and disciplined when it comes to your work.
“Contrary to what many may have heard, if you want to be successful, you need to be disciplined,” he said, adding, “If you have been called at nine, come in at nine with your homework done, your dialogues and scenes ready and with your research complete.”
He had one last pearl of wisdom for newcomers: “If you’re going to do this, do it wholeheartedly with hard work. Don’t just run after fame.”
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