Latest news with #Firestorm
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
NBC News' Jacob Soboroff Sets Deal With HarperCollins to Chronicle Los Angeles' Devastating Blazes in ‘Firestorm'
Jacob Soboroff, a national and political correspondent for NBC News, has set a deal with HarperCollins to write a book examining the wildfires that devastated his hometown of Pacific Palisades as well as Altadena in January. 'Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America's New Age of Disaster' is set to be published on Jan. 6, 2026, the day before the one-year anniversary of the start of the wind-whipped fires. More from Variety Ahead of PGA Awards, Guild Says Fighting Runaway Production Is Top Priority: 'We Have to Stand Up and Fight for Los Angeles' ABC News Plans 'SoCal Strong' Coverage, Fundraising for California Wildfire Victims MSNBC Plans Launch of 'American Swamp' Docuseries with Katy Tur, Jacob Soboroff Soboroff inked his deal with Peter Hubbard, senior VP and publisher of the HarperCollins imprint Mariner Books. The pair worked together on Soboroff's 2020 nonfiction best-seller 'Separated: Inside an American Tragedy.' That book, about the Trump administration's family separation policy for migrants, was made into a 2024 documentary helmed by Errol Morris. 'We are honored to be partnering with Jacob again as he embarks on writing a defining account of the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires, a subject so close to his mind and heart,' Hubbard said. 'Having worked with Jacob on his first book, 'Separated,' I know that every page of 'Firestorm' will evidence his blend of dogged reporting, open-hearted attunement to human stories, and a wide-angle understanding of the complex regional, national and global implications of the L.A. fires.' Soboroff said he intends to keep the time frame of 'Firestorm' fairly narrow, given the limited time that he has to finish the book. It will focus on the momentous two weeks from the start of the blazes on Jan. 7 until Jan. 24, the day newly inauguarated President Donald Trump visited the Palisades to survey the destruction with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Soboroff intends to establish a meticulous timeline of what happened and to capture the experiences of survivors, first responders and myriad others whose lives were up-ended by the blazes that left more than 20 people dead and more than 18,000 homes and buildings destroyed. 'It's been a real journalistic endeavor of investigating what went on and a reflection that there will be more of these fires,' Soboroff told Variety. 'It's a book-length examination of what we've experienced as a society and as a country.' Soboroff noted that his drive to write 'Firestorm' was similar to the process that led him to write 'Separated,' after he saw first-hand how the Trump administration's cruel policy of family separation for migrants was being implemented along the U.S.'s southern border. It was the jolt that inspired Soboroff to dig deep into the policy failures and political fights around immigration policy for decades. 'Family separation was the X-ray vision that allowed us to undersand the immigration system and how broken it was,' Soboroff said. 'The fire has exposed the intersection of disaster and inequality. When an event like this hapens, it makes the problems so concrete. It makes things glaringly obvious.' Soboroff grew up in the Pacific Palisades area. His brother and other family members were in harm's way when Soboroff headed out of NBC News' L.A. bureau to cover the devastation in an area he knows so well. 'This was in many ways the fire of the future,' he said. 'I felt like I was watching my childhood flash before my eyes. And this book is becoming an examination of what my children's future is going to look like as it relates to these types of disasters.' Soboroff is repped by CAA. (Pictured top: NBC News' Jacob Soboroff speaks to an employee of a restaurant destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire on Jan. 10.) Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NBC News' Jacob Soboroff Sets Deal With HarperCollins to Chronicle Los Angeles' Devastating Blazes in ‘Firestorm'
Jacob Soboroff, a national and political correspondent for NBC News, has set a deal with HarperCollins to write a book examining the wildfires that devastated his hometown of Pacific Palisades as well as Altadena in January. 'Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America's New Age of Disaster' is set to be published on Jan. 6, 2026, the day before the one-year anniversary of the start of the wind-whipped fires. More from Variety Ahead of PGA Awards, Guild Says Fighting Runaway Production Is Top Priority: 'We Have to Stand Up and Fight for Los Angeles' ABC News Plans 'SoCal Strong' Coverage, Fundraising for California Wildfire Victims MSNBC Plans Launch of 'American Swamp' Docuseries with Katy Tur, Jacob Soboroff Soboroff inked his deal with Peter Hubbard, senior VP and publisher of the HarperCollins imprint Mariner Books. The pair worked together on Soboroff's 2020 nonfiction best-seller 'Separated: Inside an American Tragedy.' That book, about the Trump administration's family separation policy for migrants, was made into a 2024 documentary helmed by Errol Morris. 'We are honored to be partnering with Jacob again as he embarks on writing a defining account of the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires, a subject so close to his mind and heart,' Hubbard said. 'Having worked with Jacob on his first book, 'Separated,' I know that every page of 'Firestorm' will evidence his blend of dogged reporting, open-hearted attunement to human stories, and a wide-angle understanding of the complex regional, national and global implications of the L.A. fires.' Soboroff said he intends to keep the time frame of 'Firestorm' fairly narrow, given the limited time that he has to finish the book. It will focus on the momentous two weeks from the start of the blazes on Jan. 7 until Jan. 24, the day newly inauguarated President Donald Trump visited the Palisades to survey the destruction with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Soboroff intends to establish a meticulous timeline of what happened and to capture the experiences of survivors, first responders and myriad others whose lives were up-ended by the blazes that left more than 20 people dead and more than 18,000 homes and buildings destroyed. 'It's been a real journalistic endeavor of investigating what went on and a reflection that there will be more of these fires,' Soboroff told Variety. 'It's a book-length examination of what we've experienced as a society and as a country.' Soboroff noted that his drive to write 'Firestorm' was similar to the process that led him to write 'Separated,' after he saw first-hand how the Trump administration's cruel policy of family separation for migrants was being implemented along the U.S.'s southern border. It was the jolt that inspired Soboroff to dig deep into the policy failures and political fights around immigration policy for decades. 'Family separation was the X-ray vision that allowed us to undersand the immigration system and how broken it was,' Soboroff said. 'The fire has exposed the intersection of disaster and inequality. When an event like this hapens, it makes the problems so concrete. It makes things glaringly obvious.' Soboroff grew up in the Pacific Palisades area. His brother and other family members were in harm's way when Soboroff headed out of NBC News' L.A. bureau to cover the devastation in an area he knows so well. 'This was in many ways the fire of the future,' he said. 'I felt like I was watching my childhood flash before my eyes. And this book is becoming an examination of what my children's future is going to look like as it relates to these types of disasters.' Soboroff is repped by CAA. (Pictured top: NBC News' Jacob Soboroff speaks to an employee of a restaurant destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire on Jan. 10.) Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Stelios': Greek Box Office Hit Lands North American Theatrical Release Via Firestorm Entertainment
EXCLUSIVE: After posting record box office figures in Greece, Stelios, a biopic of the revered Greek musician Stelios Kazantzidis, is heading stateside for a theatrical release via Firestorm Entertainment. Firestorm will release the flick in theaters across the U.S. and Canada from May 9th. More from Deadline Sally El Hosaini & James Krishna Floyd's TIFF & LFF Feature 'Unicorns' Gets North American Deal 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' Dancing To North American Deal With Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate & LD Entertainment Former Studiocanal Exec Lucy Savage Among Trio Behind New Distribution Outfit Two Fresh, Company Set For EFM With Debut Title 'Stelios' Directed by Yorgos Tsemberopoulos and produced by Tanweer Productions, Stelios stars Christos Mastoras, lead singer of the band Melisses, as Kazantzidis. Since its release in Greece in December, Stelios has passed 920,000 admissions, quickly climbing the local charts to become the fourth highest-grossing Greek film of all time. The film explores Kazantzakis's unique life story, from his childhood as a Pontus refugee to his start in the music business and how he became one of Greece's most beloved artists. Best known for his tunes which mixed Greek rebetiko and laïko traditions, Kazantzakis was regarded as the voice of the people. His songs often explored themes of love, migration, and resilience. Such was his quiet yet global popularity, Frank Sinatra is often quoted to have said of Kazantzidis: 'If Stelios Kazantzidis had been in the United States, he would have had a bigger career than me.' Stelios is co-produced by Aegean Oil, Finos Film, Cosmote TV, Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center- Creative Greece, Stardust Effects, and Black Orange, with sponsorship from Custom Productions, DEI, the Greek National Tourism Organization, and the Hellenic Healthcare Group. In addition to opening in the US and Canada, Stelios is set for theatrical release in the United Kingdom (Two Fresh), Germany, Switzerland and Austria (Kinostar), the Netherlands (Kinepolis), Turkey (The Moments Entertainment), Australia (Palace Cinamas), Israel (Tulip Entertainment), with deals being set for South Africa and Central and Eastern Europe. 'Stelios Kazantzidis is not just a musician – he is a voice of resilience, hope, and passion that has defined Greek culture for generations,' Tsemberopoulos said in a statement. 'This film is a tribute to his legacy, and we are thrilled to share it with audiences around the world.' Firestorm Entertainment is the theatrical distribution label founded and run by industry veterans Amorette Jones, Evan Saxon, and Joe Garel — the distribution and marketing team behind the hit Filipino drama Hello, Love, Again. Producer Dionyssis Samiotis added: 'The overwhelming response in Greece proves the lasting impact of Stelios Kazantzidis' music. His voice spoke to the soul of the nation, and this film captures his incredible journey.' Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery How To Watch 'Wicked: Part One': Is The Film Streaming Yet? All The Songs In 'Severance' Season 2: From The Who To Ella Fitzgerald
CBC
23-03-2025
- General
- CBC
In the visionary work of late artist John Scott, 'the future is coming at us with knives'
In a second-floor gallery overlooking the Humber River Valley, a fire-breathing warplane sketched in black oil slices through the heavens. The posters and paintings hanging nearby wear phrases like "ground zero," "cruise missile" and "2nd strike." At the opposite end of the room, a mutant motorbike sheathed in plate armour idles, as if on patrol. The blade of a scythe hangs menacingly from its side. At the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ont., the exhibition Firestorm focuses on the late Toronto artist John Scott's depictions of what he called "engines of history" — the violent instruments, mechanisms and vehicles through which power has been brutally won and maintained over the last century. Spanning four decades, much of the artwork of Firestorm was made through the Cold War lens of arms races, nuclear brinksmanship and the Doomsday Clock ticking toward midnight. Even just a few years ago, this same assortment of objects and images may have looked historical. But today, the work of the artist — who died in 2022, one week before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine — appears eerily prophetic. His stubby black brush has left us dire warnings about political strongmen, Big Data, techno-fascism, the military industrial complex and Canadian sovereignty jeopardized by American imperialism. "The future is coming at us with knives," says art historian and exhibition curator John O'Brian, surveying Scott's grim vision. "John seems to be a sort of talismanic figure for our times." It is no coincidence Scott made work inspired by the story of Frankenstein, the curator says. "That is the original nightmare vision of scientific experiment gone wrong. And it hasn't abated. Lots of people hoped it would following the end of the so-called Cold War — which never did end, it continues to this day. If anything, it is more dangerous now than it was before." Scott was born in Windsor, Ont., across the Detroit River from Motor City. His dad worked in the local factories and died of industrial emphysema when Scott was 11. As a young teen, Scott left home and began taking factory jobs himself. He was fascinated by mechanical power, O'Brian says. "He loved motorcycles. He drove them; he cracked them up." He had a deep attraction to the "hyper-masculine machinery" of his day. "At the same time," the curator explains, "there was a deep revulsion to what those machines did and could do." Stretching 30 feet across one gallery wall, Between the Eyes is perhaps the exhibition's centrepiece. The mixed media work from 1989 shows a shadowy rendering of the Lockheed SR-71, a high-power reconnaissance aircraft that still holds world speed and altitude records three decades after its retirement. The sinister-looking spy plane is flanked by photographic prints of the artist's own eyes, emphasizing the all-seeing power of the military state. As O'Brian notes in an exhibition essay, the artwork occupies the same square footage as Picasso's famous Guernica — an anti-war painting that pictures the carnage after the titular Basque town was razed by air attacks. Scott considered the work foundational to his own art-making. In characteristic style, Between the Eyes is annotated with scratchy fragments of text, owing as much to diagram labels and comic books as bathroom graffiti. "Between the eyes/Over our heads/Under our noses," reads the main inscription. "The fastest plane on the planet," says another. Sharp-eyed visitors will find the words "ubiquitous," "cruel," "pitiful" and "helpless" marked faintly against the background. It's a device Scott long used to intone, contextualize and comment on his own images, O'Brian says. It's also a technique shared by some of his best-known contemporaries. "It seems to me that he has been insufficiently recognized for being the Neo-Expressionist equivalent in Canada of [Jean-Michel] Basquiat in the United States," says the curator. "Not enough can be said about Basquiat, and his paintings sell for tens of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, John Scott, the Canadian, has not received that international recognition." Nearby, the hood of a Pontiac Trans Am held aloft by a narrow plinth resembles a stealth bomber in flight. The sculpture does a double duty, acknowledging the absence of Scott's magnum opus, Trans Am Apocalypse. The full-size muscle car etched with the Book of Revelations couldn't have fit inside the McMichael's doors even if they'd wanted to include it, says the curator. But the soaring car hood near the exhibition entry winks as if to say, "You know about that apocalypse; here are some fresh visions of hell." It draws visitors' minds toward the sky and the threats that seemingly always hang overhead. Hiding around the next corner waits the armed and armoured motorcycle, known as The Conqueror Worm. Scott conceived of the sculpture after visiting Beirut at the height of the Lebanese Civil War. There, he witnessed the realities of conflict first-hand. He imagined the metal beast as a sort of juggernaut. "This is a creature," he wrote, "which spans the globe, from which there is no escaping." The autonomous war machine was mainly speculation in 1997, when Scott completed the work, but today, such Conqueror Worms have revolutionized every battlefield — land, air and sea — with the rise of drone warfare. In contrast with the displays of military muscle, Firestorm contains dozens of drawings and paintings of Scott's soft-bodied rabbit-like characters. They weep and flail. They congregate in masses. Vulnerable, scared and expendable, Scott's bunny-men represent the populations beleaguered by state oppression. The symbol, O'Brian says, derives from the artist's stint working at the University of Toronto's zoological labs, where he cared for the animals used for experimentation, including countless rabbits. Unlike the bunny figures, which are plentiful, Firestorm includes just one image of another important Scott persona. The Dark Commander is a Napoleonic figure who wears a tricorn hat. He stands imperiously, presiding over the gallery from a tall canvas installed in one corner. A later character to join Scott's universe, the Dark Commander signifies authoritarian power as well as the fascist tendencies latent to humanity. Behind the figure, Scott often included a matrix of numbers — a representation of algorithms and "the power of data," says O'Brian. "You need only to look south of the border with the tech oligarchs surrounding Trump to have some clear idea about who the dark commanders are these days." Near the back of the exhibition, playing from a small monitor, Scott shares some of his most acute and startling prophecies. Born Near the U.S.A., named after the Springsteen hit, is a monologue from 1988 animated with Scott's drawings. Here, in a lucid, stream-of-consciousness rhapsody the artist reflects upon growing up in Windsor in the shadow of a cultural and political superpower, his family's generations of manual labour and a future in which workers become more and more integrated with their machinery, transforming what it means to be human. "There's a link between those machine lines — those assembly lines — and the submarines off our Atlantic and Pacific coasts," says Scott's narration. "We're all part and parcel of making a new future, of reinventing even the biological form of man and woman. God knows what the worker of 2020 will look like. We might be just lumps of industrialized protoplasm. The new worker — mysterious and unknown and … ugh. And the new sex, who can even imagine that? The delirious beauty of new diseases. Even the idea of our bodies, even the idea of our identities might be really different, and we might be parcelled up in unique ways." The accompanying sketches are messy and quick — messier and quicker than anything that hangs on the walls around. It's as if Scott is racing just to keep up with the speedway of visions roaring through his mind.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Firestorm Awarded PY25.1 STRATFI Funding to Advance Modular Unmanned Aerial Systems
SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Firestorm Labs, the leader in modular, additively manufactured unmanned aerial systems (UAS), was recently selected for STRATFI PY25.1 award to scale production and deployment of software-driven, battlefield-adaptive UAS. Administered by AFVentures, STRATFI accelerates cutting-edge defense technology from prototype to full-scale deployment. This funding fuels Firestorm's rapid expansion of 3D-printed modular UAS (mUAS), Air Launched Effects (ALE), and its Expeditionary Additive Manufacturing system (xCell)—the solution to contested logistics and supply chain vulnerabilities. xCell: Warfighters Print What They Need, When They Need It Traditional supply chains fail in high-intensity conflicts. Firestorm's xCell eliminates that risk by enabling warfighters to 3D-print drones, replacement parts, and mission-configured payloads directly in the field—cutting dependence on centralized factories and vulnerable supply lines. "xCell is built for the realities of modern warfare, where sustainment must happen at the edge," said Chad McCoy, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Firestorm. "We're giving warfighters the ability to manufacture mission-ready drones in hours, not weeks." Tempest 50: 10X Faster, 80% Cheaper, and Ready for Any Mission Firestorm's Tempest 50 UAS, built for expeditionary manufacturing, can be produced 10X faster and at one-fifth the cost of legacy drones—enabling rapid force regeneration, scalable production, and unmatched operational flexibility. Its modular, software-driven design allows warfighters to swap ISR, electronic warfare, and kinetic strike payloads in minutes—not months. "We're building our solutions as flying software platforms—systems that evolve as fast as the fight," said Dan Magy, Founder and CEO of Firestorm. "With software-driven autonomy and modular payloads, our drones adapt to emerging threats in real time." Airborne Adaptive Enterprise (A2E): A Lethal CLT-Variant for Air Launched Effects (ALE) Firestorm A2E UAS, a Common Launch Tube (CLT) variant of Tempest, is designed for Air Launched Effects (ALE). It deploys from rotary-wing aircraft, fixed-wing platforms, and ground-based launchers, delivering ISR, electronic attack, and kinetic effects in contested airspace. As the Army expands its ALE portfolio, Hurricane offers a high-performance, attritable option that integrates seamlessly into Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) frameworks. Firestorm Accelerates Deployment with STRATFI Investment With this STRATFI-backed contract, Firestorm will: Scale production to support deployments and military exercises. Expand xCell field integration, enabling in-field manufacturing of mission-ready drones. Enhance software-driven autonomy, optimizing swarm coordination and real-time battlefield adaptability. Accelerate field testing and operational deployment, ensuring seamless integration with Joint Force networks. "This STRATFI award accelerates our mission to deliver affordable, adaptable, and rapidly deployable drones to U.S. forces," said Dan Magy, Founder and CEO of Firestorm. "We are closing the gap between prototype and warfighter-ready systems, ensuring next-generation UAS are mission-ready when and where they are needed most." Firestorm exemplifies the Department of Defense's initiative for rapid capability fielding, reducing years from traditional acquisition cycles. With STRATFI, Firestorm is positioned to deliver scalable, attritable, and rapidly adaptable UAS to support warfighters in the most demanding operational environments. For more information, visit About Firestorm Labs: Firestorm Labs is a leader in expeditionary additive manufacturing, specializing in modular, open architecture unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for modern warfare. Their 3D-printed UAS enable in-theater production, autonomous operations, and rapid reconfiguration, redefining defense technology. Firestorm's platforms provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare, and kinetic capabilities at unmatched speed and scale—ensuring warfighters get the tools they need, when and where they need them. About AFVentures STRATFI: The AFVentures Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) program accelerates the transition of emerging technologies into operational use, providing critical funding to scale innovative small-business solutions for the DoD. STRATFI investments support warfighter modernization and the rapid fielding of disruptive defense technologies. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Firestorm Labs, Inc Sign in to access your portfolio
