Latest news with #GrimReaper

It's not just Colbert — network late-night TV is dead

New York Post

3 days ago

Entertainment
New York Post

It's not just Colbert — network late-night TV is dead

Everybody was shocked — shocked! — when Stephen Colbert announced this week that CBS canceled 'The Late Show.' The despondent media reacted like a meteor was about to smash into Earth. But how surprising was Colbert's kibosh really? Advertisement Did peoples' jaws also hit the floor when Blockbuster Video called it quits in 2014? Were they muffling their screams when blimps were phased out for air travel in 1937? 'What do you mean 'no more silent films'?!' Advertisement The end of 'The Late Show' was every bit as writ-in-stone as any of those predictable downfalls. And it's not only Colbert. The Grim Reaper is coming for all of late-night TV. Those comedians in neckties are just ignoring Death's deafening knock. The retro programs, which began in the 1950s as an experiment to fill time, have far too tiny a viewership to justify their exorbitant cost anymore. The Post reported Friday that Colbert's talk show was losing $40 to $50 million per year. The Times watered down those figures to mere 'tens of millions.' Advertisement Awfully hard to blame Trump for that. 4 Colbert's show was reportedly losing $40-50 million a year. CBS via Getty Images True, 'The Late Show' was beating the competition with 2.42 million nightly viewers on average during the first quarter. But just 9% of those eyeballs were in the 18-49 demo that advertisers covet. That means no ad dollars because young people couldn't care less. Advertisement And why would they? They've got YouTube and TikTok to scroll through after dark. 4 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' likely won't be too far behind. Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images The funniest story of the week by a mile was Astronomer CEO Andy Byron getting caught on the jumbotron kiss cam canoodling with his head of HR at a Coldplay concert. I even chuckled as I typed it. Fifteen years ago, Americans would've turned to David Letterman and Conan O'Brien to mock the horny halfwits. Now, social media does it faster and funnier than Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers ever could. Shake up the format all you want, but a fixed 11:30 p.m. show with commercial breaks on a dusty, old, censored network can't compete with instant, razor-sharp reactions from billions. Advertisement Could chats with A-List stars keep the struggling shows afloat? Hah. The five-minute, skim-the-surface interview is a thing of the past, too. Celebrities are way overexposed, and promotional appearances present them at their fakest and least likable. That's why podcasts like 'Good Hang with Amy Poehler' and 'Las Culturistas' with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, which can be listened to for free at any time of day, are so popular. They give you a casual, revealing full hour with big names. Sensing the sea change, top talent keeps choosing headphones over TV sets. Advertisement 4 Escalating politics have been just one problem for late-night TV. CBS via Getty Images The escalating politics of late night are often called out as the chief offender. And they were a thorn, to be sure. But their slant is not the No. 1 problem anymore. Think about it. Gen Z and Millennials aren't steering clear of talk shows because the hosts are too left-leaning. The simple truth is these monologue-couch-desk affairs are behind-the-times museum exhibits that today's audience has a dwindling connection to. Advertisement 'The Late Late Show with James Corden' was the first major casualty. Now, the guillotine has dropped on CBS' former crown jewel. NBC's 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' 'Late Night with Seth Meyers' and 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' won't be far behind. Yes, I know the politically driven cable shows like 'The Daily Show' and 'Gutfeld' are chugging along. They're different animals. Undeniably, the network workhorses that were once for everybody are now for nobody. 4 The biggest story from late-night TV this week was about a 16-year-old interview conducted by David Letterman. CBS via Getty Images Advertisement It's telling that, aside from Colbert's walking papers, just one big-ish story has come out of late-night TV all month. That was cuckoo Joaquin Phoenix apologizing for his uncomfortable stunt interview with David Letterman, the first 'Late Show' host, back in 2009. It's a reminder of how vital late-night TV used to be. A 16-year-old interaction with a totally different man is still a hotter topic than anything the new guys can drum up. I'd suggest Letterman return for a 'Top 10 Reasons Late-night Shows Are Disappearing' list. But he'd only need one. Nobody's watching them.

[팟캐스트] (705) 넷플릭스에 등장한 K팝 보이그룹 ‘사자보이즈'의 정체는?

Korea Herald

14-07-2025

Entertainment
Korea Herald

[팟캐스트] (705) 넷플릭스에 등장한 K팝 보이그룹 ‘사자보이즈'의 정체는?

What you need to know about the Saja Boys, Korea's grim reapers in K-pop form 기사 요약: 전세계를 강타한 '케이팝 데몬 헌터스'의 주인공 보이그룹 사자보이즈가 지닌 한국적 전통 문화와 설화적 요소 [1] When the Saja Boys appeared on screen for the first time, dressed in floor-length black hanbok and wide-brimmed hats casting shadows over pale, painted faces, Kang Chan-mi, a 32-year-old office worker in Seoul, immediately recognized the look. *brimmed: 가득 찬, 테두리가 있는 (brim: 모자의 챙) [2] The Saja Boys, a fictional K-pop group from the new Netflix animated film 'K-pop Demon Hunters,' may appear to be just another stylish boy band debuting for a global audience. *fictional: 허구의 [3] However, for many Korean viewers, their stagewear evokes something much older and far more haunting: the "jeoseung saja," or the traditional Korean Grim Reaper. *evoke: 떠올려 주다 *haunting: 잊혀지지 않는 *grim reaper: 사신 [4] The image is deeply familiar to Koreans. A pale-faced man, draped in black robes and wearing a gat, a traditional Korean hat made of horsehair and silk, has long signaled death in Korean storytelling.

Perth Now

14-07-2025

Health
Perth Now

World-first move for gay blood donors

Sexual activity rules that have prohibited thousands of Australians from donating blood have been lifted, smashing long-held stigmas and increasing much-needed plasma supplies. Ever since the AIDS crisis exploded into the public consciousness in the early 1980s, the Australian Red Cross has prevented gay and bisexual men, transgender people, sex workers and people taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) from donating blood. Decades later, the Red Cross Lifeblood Service reports 'some 625,000 Australians' will become eligible to donate plasma after the lifting of these rules. Australia will become the first country to remove sexual activity wait times for plasma donation and allow those on PREP to donate. NewsWire / John Appleyard Credit: News Corp Australia Lifeblood chief executive Stephen Cornelissen AM said the service was 'looking forward' to welcoming new donors into the fold. 'Importantly, today's (Monday's) change will allow those on PREP to become the first in the world to donate plasma without a wait period,' he said. 'Over the next 12 months, we estimate an extra 24,000 donors will give plasma, but we know people have been eagerly awaiting these changes and hope to far exceed these numbers.' Professor Cornelissen also took time to acknowledge the stigma that has accompanied blood donor ineligibility. 'While the rules were put in place to ensure a safe blood supply in the past, we know they have contributed to the stigma faced by many and hope today will be a turning point for Lifeblood and the LGBTQIA+ community and that people will feel welcome to come forward to donate their lifesaving plasma,' he said. Lifeblood chief executive Stephen Cornelissen estimates that an extra 24,000 people will donate plasma in the next year. NewsWire / John Appleyard Credit: News Corp Australia Throughout the '80s and '90s, AIDS became highly stigmatised, and high-profile media campaigns such as the infamous 'Grim Reaper' AIDS campaign had detrimental impacts on the already marginalised LGBTQIA+ community – a residual trauma that many still vividly recall. On Monday, several gay men donated their plasma at the Lifeblood clinic in Sydney – some for the first time and others for the first time since they became ineligible in their youth. For Kane Wheatley, 44, a schoolteacher from Sydney's inner west, donating plasma always seemed just out of reach. 'I spent my whole life thinking that I couldn't get married – and then I was able to get married … and so donating blood or plasma … I thought it was never going to be an option – we were just never going to get there,' Mr Wheatley said. Schoolteacher Kane Wheatley said donating blood was a 'privilege'. NewsWire / John Appleyard Credit: News Corp Australia 'Today it just feels really great to be able to get across the line. To be one of the first people to do this and help normalise it and show people that we can do this … it's really flattering. 'I feel really honoured and really special to be able to do it.' Matt Higgs, 31, said he was a regular donor in his youth, but his sexuality eventually rendered him 'ineligible' – an experience that he called 'pretty common'. 'My partner is the same, he has a scar on his arm because he used to donate so regularly,' Mr Higgs said. Mat Higgs donated blood in his youth but stopped for a long time due to the perceived risks his sexuality posed. NewsWire / John Appleyard Credit: News Corp Australia 'I was healthy, but because I was in a relationship with a man, I couldn't donate.' Mr Higgs acknowledged the history of his ineligibility but said change was well overdue. '(Preventing gay men from donating blood) was a response that was maybe warranted at the time, but we've moved so far beyond the time of where that decision was made and so it's huge (for destigmatisation) for sure,' he said. 'It's a great feeling to be able to come back and give back … I know plenty of people that have needed blood products in their life and to be able to contribute to that is really cool.' Plasma is an essential component of more than a dozen medical treatments for illnesses like chickenpox, brain disorders, tetanus, measles, liver disease and haemophilia.

Express Tribune

09-07-2025

Entertainment
Express Tribune

Why horror is slaying box office

The Substance grossed over USD77 million globally, with 80 per cent from outside US. Photos: File Vampires, zombies and the Grim Reaper are killing it at the box office. At a time when superheroes, sequels and reboots have grown stale among audiences, horror has emerged as an unlikely saviour, entertainment industry veterans say. This year, scary films account for 17 per cent of the North American ticket purchases, up from 11 per cent in 2024 and 4 per cent a decade ago, according to Comscore data compiled exclusively for Reuters. Thanks to the box office performance of Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines, and new installments of popular horror films hitting later this year, including The Conjuring: Last Rites and Five Nights at Freddy's 2, cinema owners have reason to celebrate. "We have identified horror as really one of the primary film genres that we are targeting to grow," said Brandt Gully, owner of the Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, Georgia. "It can really fill a void when you need it." Producers, studio executives and theatre owners say horror has historically provided a safe outlet to cope with contemporary anxieties. And there is no lack of material to choose from: the aftershocks of a global pandemic, artificial intelligence paranoia, the loss of control over one's body, and resurgent racism. "It's cathartic, it's emotional, and it comes with an ending," said film data analyst Stephen Follows, author of the Horror Movie Report, which offers detailed insights into the genre. "Horror movies give space to process things that are harder to face in everyday life." The often low-budget productions allow for greater risk-taking than would be possible with high-cost, high-stakes productions like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. The creative freedom has attracted such acclaimed directors as Ryan Coogler, Jordan Peele, Danny Boyle and Guillermo del Toro. "Horror movies are an accountant's dream," said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore senior media analyst. "If you're going to make a science-fiction outer-space extravaganza, you can't do that on the cheap. With horror films, a modest-budget movie like Weapons can be scary as hell." Audiences are responding. Coogler's Sinners, an original story about Mississippi vampires starring Michael B Jordan, was the year's third highest-grossing film in the US and Canada, according to Comscore. Movie theatres are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic which broke the movie-going habit, and increased viewing in the home. Mike De Luca, co-chair and Warner Bros Motion Picture Group, which released Sinners, said horror was a genre that manages to get people out of the house. "It's a rising tide that lifts all boats," he said. "You know, we're trying to get people back in the habit of going to the theatres." Fear knows no geographical bounds. Half of all horror movies released by major US distributors last year made 50 per cent or more of their worldwide box office gross outside the US, according to London-based researcher Ampere Analysis. The breakout international hit The Substance, for example, grossed over USD77 million worldwide – with around 80 per cent of that from outside the US. Streamers also are similarly capitalising on the appeal of the genre. AMC's post-apocalyptic horror drama series The Walking Dead, became one of the most popular series when it was added to Netflix in 2023, amassing 1.3 billion hours viewed, according to Netflix's Engagement Report. Director Guillermo del Toro's film adaptation of Mary Shelley's gothic novel, Frankenstein, is set to debut in November. Date night Horror films are ideally suited to watching in movie theatres, where the environment heightens the experience. "What you can't do at home is sit in a dark room with a hundred other people, not on your phone, and jump," said Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum, producer of Halloween, Paranormal Activity and other lucrative horror franchises. "You can't really be scared when you watch a horror movie at home." Big-budget movies that the industry refers to as "tent poles," such as Captain America: Brave New World or A Minecraft Movie, remain the lifeblood of movie theatres. Over time, these blockbusters have elbowed out more moderately budgeted romantic comedies and dramas on movie screens. Against this backdrop, horror has been quietly gaining momentum. The genre broke the USD1 billion box office barrier in the US and Canada for the first time in 2017, Comscore reported, buoyed by the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, It, and Jordan Peele's exploration of racial inequality in Get Out. Announcements of new horror films from US producers have risen each year for the last three years, including in 2023, when the Hollywood strikes significantly impacted production, according to Ampere Analysis. The number of US horror films that went into production last year was up 21 per cent over 2023, Ampere found. "While more arthouse fare and even some tentpole superhero franchises have had mixed fortunes at the global box office in the wake of the pandemic, horror remains one of the key genres that audiences still make a point of seeing in the theatres," wrote researcher Alice Thorpe in a report for Ampere's clients which she shared with Reuters. The researcher's own consumer surveys revealed horror is the favorite genre among two-thirds of film-goers, ages 18 to 24. "Anytime a teenager graduates to wanting to take a date to the movies, horror gets popular really fast," said Warner Bros' De Luca. "It's a great film-going experience to take a date to because you get to huddle with each other and gasp and hoop and holler." Freak show Horror has been a cinematic staple from its earliest days, when Thomas Edison filmed Frankenstein on his motion picture camera, the Kinetograph, in 1910. The British Board of Film Classification introduced the "H" rating in 1932, officially designating the genre. But it didn't always get Hollywood's respect. "In the first half of the 20th century, it was seen as a freak-show," said Follows. Perceptions began to change with the critical and commercial success of films like Psycho, The Exorcist and The Shining. Director Steven Spielberg ushered in the summer blockbuster in 1975 with Jaws, a re-invention of the classic monster film. In recent years, horror films have become part of the Oscar conversation. Peele collected an Academy Award for best original screenplay in 2018 for Get Out. Demi Moore received her first Oscar nomination earlier this year for her portrayal of an ageing Hollywood star who will go to any lengths to stay beautiful in The Substance. Not every horror film connects with audiences. M3GAN 2.0, a sequel to the 2022 low-budget film about a killer robotic doll that grossed USD180 million worldwide, brought in a modest USD10.2 million in the US and Canada in its opening weekend, according to Comscore.

Horror films killing it at the box office, say analysts

RTÉ News

07-07-2025

Entertainment
RTÉ News

Horror films killing it at the box office, say analysts

Vampires, zombies, and the Grim Reaper are killing it at the box office. At a time when superheroes, sequels, and reboots have grown stale among audiences, horror has emerged as an unlikely saviour, entertainment industry veterans say. This year, scary movies account for 17% of the North American ticket purchases, up from 11% in 2024 and 4% a decade ago, according to Comscore data compiled exclusively for Reuters. Thanks to the box office performance of Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines, and new installments of popular horror films arriving later this year, including The Conjuring: Last Rites and Five Nights at Freddy's 2, cinema owners have reason to celebrate. "We have identified horror as really one of the primary film genres that we are targeting to grow," said Brandt Gully, owner of the Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, Georgia. "It can really fill a void when you need it." Producers, studio executives, and cinema owners say horror has historically provided a safe outlet to cope with contemporary anxieties. And there is no lack of material to choose from: the aftershocks of a global pandemic, artificial intelligence paranoia, the loss of control over one's body, and resurgent racism. "It's cathartic, it's emotional, and it comes with an ending," said film data analyst Stephen Follows, author of the Horror Movie Report, which offers detailed insights into the genre. "Horror movies give space to process things that are harder to face in everyday life." The often low-budget productions allow for greater risk-taking than would be possible with high-cost, high-stakes productions like Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. The creative freedom has attracted such acclaimed directors as Ryan Coogler, Jordan Peele, Danny Boyle, and Guillermo del Toro. Watch: Danny Boyle discusses 28 Years Later with RTÉ Entertainment 's Alan Corr "Horror movies are an accountant's dream," said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore Senior Media Analyst. "If you're going to make a science-fiction outer-space extravaganza, you can't do that on the cheap. "With horror films, a modest-budget movie like Weapons can be scary as hell." Audiences are responding. Ryan Coogler's Sinners, an original story about Mississippi vampires starring Michael B Jordan, was the year's third highest-grossing film in the US and Canada to date, according to Comscore. Cinemas are still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic that broke the cinema-going habit and increased viewing in the home. Mike De Luca, Co-Chair and Co-CEO of Warner Bros Motion Picture Group, which released Sinner s, said horror was a genre that manages to get people out of the house. "It's a rising tide that lifts all boats," he said. "You know, we're trying to get people back in the habit of going to the theatres." Fear knows no geographical bounds. Half of all horror films released by major US distributors last year made 50% or more of their worldwide box office gross outside the US, according to London-based researcher Ampere Analysis. The breakout international hit The Substance, for example, grossed over $77 million worldwide - with around 80% of that from outside the US. Streamers also are similarly capitalising on the appeal of the genre. AMC's post-apocalyptic horror drama series The Walking Dead became one of the most popular series when it was added to Netflix in 2023, amassing 1.3 billion hours viewed, according to Netflix's Engagement Report. Director Guillermo del Toro's film adaptation of Mary Shelley's gothic novel Frankenstein is set to debut in November. Date night Horror films are ideally suited to watching in cinemas, where the environment heightens the experience. "What you can't do at home is sit in a dark room with a hundred other people, not on your phone, and jump," said Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum, producer of Halloween, Paranormal Activity, and other lucrative horror franchises. "You can't really be scared when you watch a horror movie at home." Big-budget films that the industry refers to as tentpoles, such as Captain America: Brave New World or A Minecraft Movie, remain the lifeblood of cinemas. Over time, these blockbusters have elbowed out more moderately budgeted romantic comedies and dramas on cinema screens. Against this backdrop, horror has been quietly gaining momentum. The genre broke the $1 billion box office barrier in the US and Canada for the first time in 2017, Comscore reported, buoyed by the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel It and Jordan Peele's exploration of racial inequality in Get Out. Announcements of new horror films from US producers have risen each year for the last three years, including in 2023, when the Hollywood strikes significantly impacted production, according to Ampere Analysis. The number of US horror films that went into production last year was up 21% over 2023, Ampere found. "While more arthouse fare and even some tentpole superhero franchises have had mixed fortunes at the global box office in the wake of the pandemic, horror remains one of the key genres that audiences still make a point of seeing in the theatres," wrote researcher Alice Thorpe in a report for Ampere's clients that she shared with Reuters. The researcher's own consumer surveys revealed horror is the favourite genre among two-thirds of cinema-goers, ages 18 to 24. "Any time a teenager graduates to wanting to take a date to the movies, horror gets popular really fast," said Warner Bros' Mike De Luca. "It's a great film-going experience to take a date to because you get to huddle with each other and gasp and hoop and holler." 'Freak-show' Horror has been a cinematic staple from its earliest days, when Thomas Edison filmed Frankenstein on his motion picture camera, the Kinetograph, in 1910. The British Board of Film Classification introduced the 'H' rating in 1932, officially designating the genre. But it didn't always get Hollywood's respect. "In the first half of the 20th century, it was seen as a freak-show," said analyst Stephen Follows. Perceptions began to change with the critical and commercial success of films like Psycho, The Exorcist, and The Shining. Director Steven Spielberg ushered in the summer blockbuster in 1975 with Jaws, a re-invention of the classic monster movie. In recent years, horror films have become part of the Oscar conversation. Jordan Peele collected an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2018 for Get Out. Demi Moore received her first Oscar nomination earlier this year for her portrayal of an ageing TV star who will go to any lengths to stay beautiful in The Substance. Not every horror film connects with audiences. M3GAN 2.0, a sequel to the 2022 low-budget film about a killer robotic doll that grossed $180 million worldwide, brought in a modest $10.2 million in the US and Canada in its opening weekend, according to Comscore. Cinema chains will have no shortage of horror films to screen this summer. Seven films are slated to be released before Labor Day weekend (30 August - 1 September) in the US, including Columbia Pictures' nostalgic reboot of the 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer, which reaches screens on 18 July, and Weapons, which opens on 8 August. Both films will be released in Irish cinemas on the same dates. "The best types of these movies are ones that elicit an audible and visceral reaction... 'Don't go in there!'" said Screen Gems President Ashley Brucks, who has worked on such films as Sony's upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer as well as A Quiet Place and Scream.