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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
‘K-pop Demon Hunters' directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans on representing Korean culture and creating Huntr/x
Weeks after the release of Netflix's most-watched original animated film of all time, Kpop Demon Hunters, people still can't seem to stop dancing and singing to 'Soda Pop', 'Golden' or 'Your Idol'. This week, four songs from this American animated musical-fantasy film have made it to the top 10 of the Billboard Global Music Chart, even as fan theories continue about whether the film will get a sequel. The film follows the lives of a fictional K-pop girl group, Huntr/x, belonging to a long legacy of female demon hunters, tasked with keeping a magic barrier strengthened through their singing. The 'honmoon' seals demons from stealing souls of people and feeding them to their demon overlord. It isn't long before they face hurdles in the form of the Saja Boys, demons disguised as a preppy boy group. Since the movie's release, the girls have gone on to become badass superhero inspirations and fashion icons. For directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans from Sony Pictures Animation, who co-wrote and co-directed the film, the film's global success has been exhilarating. 'At the core, it's a story about people trying to find love and acceptance in the world, despite their imperfections,' Chris says, of the film resonating with audiences across the world. Global themes 'In a movie like this, one that is set in Korean culture and features Korean characters, it tells an audience that no matter who you are and where you come from, we all want love and acceptance. It's a very global theme,' adds Maggie. The challenge for Maggie and Chris was in creating main characters who were believable as real K-pop stars, and as real people. 'A lot of hard work went into creating their musical identities, casting vocal talent, unique choreo, and of course, writing great songs. But it was just as important to develop them as humans — their friendship, their fears, their favourite snacks and pajama pants,' says Chris, of Zoey, Mira and Rumi, the three main protagonists. 'We've both wanted to see more relatable female characters, ones that are messy, act silly, make stupid faces, and we thought it would be especially refreshing to see that in the superhero space. It felt like a new take on the female superhero,' says Maggie, adding that she wanted the film and the trio to look 'fashionable and editorial'. The team spent a considerable amount of time getting the casting right. Arden Cho, who voices Rumi, and Ahn Hyo-Seop, who voices Jinu in particular, Chris says, had to balance a lot in their characters. 'Beyond being talented, they were both really dedicated. It took many hours and many recording sessions to find that balance, but they both determined to nail it,' Chris recalls. Since its release, the film has garnered much praise for its referencing of Korean culture, mythology, and even how real locations in Seoul were turned into visually stunning animated frames in the film. Maggie, who was born in Korea and brought up in Canada, says they travelled to South Korea as a team to research locations. 'You can't feel the energy of a city from photos. You can only get that by being in it, and I think that trip really helped us capture all the special details of our locations — the narrow alleys of Bukcheon Hanok Village, and the nature and beauty of Jeju Island,' she says. The area of Myeongdong, which features prominently in the film, holds a special place in her heart as she was born there, and it was also where her parents met for the first time. Representing Korean culture onscreen 'I grew up in Canada during a time when Korea wasn't really known. My third-grade teacher couldn't even find Korea on the map when I told him where I was from. That was kind of the norm for years for me — Korea being this insignificant country between powerhouses China and Japan. So to see Korean culture embraced and loved globally, it's unbelievable,' Maggie says, when asked about how important it was to represent Korean culture the right way onscreen. 'It makes me so proud that the beauty of our culture and our people is appreciated, so I wanted to celebrate that through the movie,' she adds. Chris, too, has a Korean connection; his wife is Korean-American, and he jokes that if they had gotten anything wrong, he would have been the shame of his in-laws for all of eternity. 'But in all seriousness, we had an incredible crew with many Korean members who brought their own knowledge and personal experience, and that added so much depth and authenticity. It shows how important it is to have diversity in animation, not just in a leadership role like Maggie's, but across every department,' he says. Theories have been swirling about which specific idol or K-pop group inspired the Saja Boys, but Maggie is quick to set the record straight. 'We were inspired by all of K-pop,' she says. 'Yes, we built reference boards, but really, it's not fair to name specific groups because so many were on them. For me personally, one of the biggest references was H.O.T., which is my original favourite group from the '90s. They used to go from a very cutesy, bubble gum single, do a complete 180 and go dark and hard for the next single, and that was one of the references for the Saja Boys going from 'Soda Pop' to 'Your Idol,' she adds. The Jeoseung Sajas, or the grim reapers of Korea, were what the Saja boys were always going to be, Maggie says, which is why while they begin with the breezy 'Soda Pop', they end with the dark and brooding 'Your Idol'. Movies centred around music are now truly having a moment in the spotlight. Closer home, the title track of Ahaan Pandey and Aneet Padda's Saiyaara is also on the Billboard Top 10 global chart this week, alongside four songs from K-pop Demon Hunters. So what does it take to get that perfect soundtrack for a film where everything hinges on the music? 'We really worked to make sure the songs had a pop catchiness but also a story purpose. In hindsight, I think it helped us write great pop songs because each one had a compelling story to tell,' Chris says. Music Producer Ian Eisendrath and Spring Aspers at Sony were instrumental, he adds, in giving them talented songwriters to collaborate with and, more importantly, creative protection to develop the songs without too much interference. 'We also made sure no two songs feel the same. Our movie has many different tones throughout, and so it meant naturally our soundtrack would feel like that too. Every song has a different vibe and a different kind of message, and I honestly think that's what makes the soundtrack so exciting,' Maggie says of the smash-hit soundtrack. When asked about the possibility of a sequel for a film that seems to have so much more of a story to take forward, both directors remain mum. So until an official announcement comes by, it's endless rewatches and the soundtrack on loop for the fans. Kpop Demon Hunters is currently streaming on Netflix
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Trainwreck Storm Area 51 true story: How a Facebook joke drew 10,000 people – were there corpses everywhere?
Trainwreck Storm Area 51 true story What is Area 51? What happened at the event? the trainwreck storm area 51 documentary is pretty funny. at least the first ep it has like clips of the tik tok trends at the time and all that. Feels like a mini time capsule — ⊹ ⋆ﾟ꒰ఎ ♡ ໒꒱ ⋆ﾟ⊹ Alysia ⊹ ⋆ﾟ꒰ఎ ♡ ໒꒱ ⋆ﾟ⊹ (@Alyssa55236307) July 30, 2025 Why you should watch Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 Trainwreck Storm Area 51 true story: What started as a tongue-in-cheek Facebook joke quickly snowballed into a viral sensation, drawing thousands to the Nevada desert in 2019. The so-called 'Storm Area 51' event saw nearly 10,000 attendees hoping to uncover extraterrestrial secrets. Netflix's documentary Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 revisits this bizarre moment in pop culture history, exploring the unexpected turnout and the chaos that to The Guardian, Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 tells the strange true story of how a late-night Facebook joke turned into a viral sensation. In 2019, 20-year-old Matty Roberts, a mall worker from California, created a playful event called 'Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us,' inspired by a Joe Rogan podcast. It was meant as a joke for 3 a.m. on September 20 but within days, millions RSVP'd, memes spread like wildfire, and the tiny Nevada town of Rachel, with just 56 residents, prepared for a surprise invasion of 51, a secret U.S. Air Force base hidden from the public since the Cold War, has fueled UFO and alien theories for years. It wasn't officially acknowledged by the government until 2013, when President Obama jokingly mentioned millions RSVP'd to the Facebook event, Matty Roberts was shocked by the attention. He gave interviews from his room while playing video games, amazed that his late-night joke had gone viral the chaos leading up to it, the actual event was much calmer than expected. While 3.5 million people had RSVP'd online, only a few hundred showed up in Rachel, Nevada. Still, the mood was fun and quirky, people wore alien costumes, danced under the stars, and shared the event on social media. Some even tried the 'Naruto run' toward the Area 51 gates but stopped to take photos spent about $11 million preparing for a possible security threat, making it the largest defense effort in the base's history. One man was caught with weapons, but no serious incidents Unicole Unicron called the event a spiritual success, saying it felt like the aliens were 'dancing with us.' As for Matty Roberts, he went back to everyday life, calling the whole thing 'the most exciting moment of my life.'Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 goes beyond being just an offbeat documentary about an internet meme, it delves into the unpredictable ways online culture can manifest in real life. It explores how a seemingly harmless Facebook joke, sparked by boredom and curiosity, unexpectedly escalated into a worldwide phenomenon that compelled local officials, the U.S. military, and a small desert community to brace for an event whose outcome was entirely uncertain.
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Voice actors push back as AI threatens dubbing industry
Reuters Boris Rehlinger may not turn heads on the streets of Paris, but his voice is instantly recognisable to millions of French filmgoers. As the French voice of Ben Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix, and even Puss in Boots, Rehlinger is a star behind the scenes - and now he is fighting to keep his craft alive in the age of AI. "I feel threatened even though my voice hasn't been replaced by AI yet," the actor, who is part of a French initiative, TouchePasMaVF, to protect human-created dubbing from artificial intelligence, told Reuters. He said there was a team of professionals, including actors, translators, production directors, dialogue adapters and sound engineers, to ensure audiences barely notice that the actor on screen is speaking a different language than they hear. The rise of global streaming platforms such as Netflix, which relies heavily on dubbing to make global hits such as "Squid Game" and "Lupin", has amplified demand. Consumer research firm GWI says 43% of viewers in Germany, France, Italy and Britain prefer dubbed content over subtitles. The market is expected to grow to $4.3 billion in 2025, reaching $7.6 billion by 2033, according to Business Research Insights. That growth could also amplify demand for the so-far nascent technology-based solutions, with platforms competing for subscribers and revenue, and seeking to win over advertisers from their rivals by emphasising their increasing reach. But as AI-generated voices become more sophisticated and cost-effective, voice actor industry associations across Europe are calling on the EU to tighten regulations to protect quality, jobs and artists' back catalogues from being used to create future dubbed work. "We need legislation: Just as after the car, which replaced the horse-drawn carriage, we need a highway code," Rehlinger said. Worries over technology in the movie industry and whether it will replace the work of humans are not new. AI has been a flashpoint in Hollywood since the labour unrest of 2023, which resulted in new guidelines for the use of the technology. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said this month that the company used generative AI to produce visual effects for the first time on screen in the original series "El Eternauta (The Eternaut)". It has also tested GenAI to synchronise actors' lip movements with dubbed dialogue to improve the viewing experience, according to three sources familiar with the work. These experiments rely on local voice actors to deliver the lines, rather than use AI to synthetically translate the on-screen performer's voice into another language. Such a use of AI for dubbing is permitted under the new SAG-AFTRA actors' union contract, which covers voice-over dubbing from foreign languages into English. It also requires that the actor rendering the dubbing service be paid. Netflix declined to comment on its use of AI in dubbing when asked by Reuters. Intellectual property Such test-runs by an industry giant will do little to allay the fears of dubbing actors. In Germany, 12 well-known dubbing actors went viral on TikTok in March, garnering 8.7 million views, for their campaign saying "Let's protect artistic, not artificial, intelligence". A petition from the VDS voice actors' association calling on German and EU lawmakers to push AI companies to obtain explicit consent when training the technology on artists' voices and fairly compensate them, as well as transparently label AI-generated content, gained more than 75,500 signatures. When intellectual property is no longer protected, no one will produce anything anymore "because they think 'tomorrow it will be stolen from me anyway'," said Cedric Cavatore, a VDS member who has dubbed films and video games including the PlayStation game "Final Fantasy VII Remake". VDS collaborates with United Voice Artists, a global network of over 20,000 voice actors advocating for ethical AI use and fair contracts. In the United States, Hollywood video game voice and motion capture actors this month signed a new contract with video game studios focused on AI that SAG-AFTRA said represented important progress on protections against the tech. Studios experiment Some studios are already cautiously exploring AI. Eberhard Weckerle, managing director of the Neue Tonfilm Muenchen studio, hopes AI and human dubbing can one day coexist. "The fear is that AI will be used to make something as cheap as possible and then people will say, 'Okay, I'll accept that I'll have poorer quality'. And that would actually be the worst thing that could happen to us," said the sound engineer whose studio worked on the German version of "Conclave" and is currently dubbing Guy Ritchie's new film. Earlier this year, the German-dubbed version of streaming service Viaplay's Polish crime series "Murderesses" was removed after criticism from viewers about the monotony of its AI-generated dialogue. The streamer had decided to look into alternative dubbing options due to how prohibitively expensive going through the traditional channels can be in Germany. The hybrid dubbing, created with Israeli startup DeepDub, used a mix of human and AI voices. DeepDub did not respond to an emailed request for comment. "We'll continue offering subtitles and reserve dubbing for select content," said Vanda Rapti, the executive vice president of ViaPlay Group, ViaPlay Select & Content distribution. Despite the disquiet over that series, other potential viewers seem more sanguine. According to GWI, nearly half of viewers said their opinion would not change if they learned that the content they liked was generated by AI. Some 25% said they would like it slightly less, and only 3% said they would like it much more. 'Interest is huge' Stefan Sporn, CEO of Audio Innovation Lab, which used AI to dub the Cannes Film Festival entry "Black Dog" from Chinese to German, believes AI will reshape, but not replace, voice work. Humans will always be needed for emotion, scripting, and language nuance, he said, "just not to the same extent". Audio Innovation Lab's technology alters the original actor's voice to match the target language, aiming for authenticity and efficiency. "Interest is huge," said Sporn, adding that producers, studios and advertisers all want to know how well it works. Another startup, Flawless AI, bills itself as an ethical AI company that works with local voice actors and uses its technology to match the on-screen actor's lip movements to the different languages. "When AI technologies are used in the right way, they are a silver bullet to change how we can film-make in a new way," co-CEO Scott Mann said. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Jane St: How an options trader smelt a rat when others raised a toast Regulators promote exchanges; can they stifle one? Watch IEX TCS job cuts may not stop at 12,000; its bench policy threatens more From near bankruptcy to blockbuster drug: How Khorakiwala turned around Wockhardt Stock Radar: SBI Life rebounds after testing 50-DEMA; could hit fresh record highs above Rs 2,000 – check target & stop loss These 10 banking stocks can give more than 25% returns in 1 year, according to analysts Two Trades for Today: A metals stock for an over 6% gain, a large-cap chemicals maker for about 7% upmove F&O Radar| Deploy Broken Wing in LIC Housing Finance to benefit from bearish outlook
