Latest news with #PeterBerg
Forbes
a day ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
How Sweden Plans To Lead The Revolution In Electric Boats
The electrification of personal vehicles is in full swing, and even trucks are starting on the EV journey. But boats and shipping are a different matter. Sweden, with its extensive coastline and maritime tradition, is hoping to change that, leading the way towards electric boats and more sustainable coastline marinas. I talked to Peter Berg, Project Leader of Innovatum AB in Trollhättan about the companies and innovation spearheading the transformation. Enjoy The Silence Of Electric Boats Gothenburg showcased its top electric boat companies and technology at Enjoy The Silence, part of EVS 38, an electric vehicle symposium in Gothenburg. Alongside a selection of electric vessels, this event at a marina in the Swedish city also demonstrated boat charging. Sweden is second only to Norway in EV penetration (58% versus 92%), so it's a fitting place for extending that transition from land to water. 'We have several missions with this project,' says Berg. 'One is to show the charging infrastructure, and the other is to show the products. If there are no boats, no one would invest in the chargers and vice versa. We thought this was a good opportunity to show them together. It's difficult to have both shown in small marinas. Gothenburg is a brilliant place for this, particularly alongside the EVS Conference.' 'The first thing we were trying to demonstrate was that it is possible to travel with an electric boat,' says Berg. 'Another of the big opportunities with an electric boat is that it is silent.' Hence the Enjoy the Silence title. 'This also comes without any pollution to the water or emissions. People are a bit skeptical about electric boats because they've never seen one. We haven't had so many different boats at one location in Sweden before. We also wanted to demonstrate that you don't need superchargers for all the boats. They can be charged overnight, and some have quite a long range.' Central to Enjoy the Silence was the range of electric boats on show, many of which were available for test rides. 'We have a lot of traditions within boating in Sweden,' says Berg. 'So there are lots of Swedish boat brands, several of them electric. There are also a lot of opportunities for charging operators or equipment suppliers.' X Shore: High Performance Electric Boats One of the earliest electric boat companies to gain media attention is X Shore. Its boats are relatively conventional other than being electrified, offering ranges up to 100 nautical miles and a 30-knot max speed. Even at full pelt, this is a quiet boat and with the weight of its batteries very stable. 'It's for people who want speed,' says Berg. 'If you go waterskiing, you need that kind of boat. It's almost all carbon fiber, so while the batteries are heavy, the hull is very light.' Candela: Hydrofoil Electric Boats Efficiency Candela takes a more high-tech approach by being a hydrofoil alongside its electrification, like New Zealand's Vessev. 'You need to reduce the drag from water,' says Berg. 'Candela mainly focuses on the P-12 ferry right now.' However, the boat on show in Gothenburg was the C-8 leisure craft, which is powered by a motor from Polestar. 'It's difficult to get a big consumer market with the C-8, but they have learned a lot on that boat and it's top of the line for people with enough money. However, the P-12 is already operating in Stockholm, reducing energy consumption by 80 or 90%. The main challenge for an electric boat is to reduce the drag through the water.' Once on its hydrofoil, a Candela boat can go much further on the same battery capacity as a conventional vessel without this technology. Pol: Potentially Infinite Electric Boats Range However, the Pol boat on show in Gothenburg shows an even more exciting potential possibility for an electric boar – limitless range. This is not a fast craft, with an 11-knot top speed, and it has a range of 60 nautical miles when cruising at 7 knots. However, Pol has also installed a canopy incorporating solar panels. On a sunny enough day, the Pol boat can transport up to 13 people for as long as there is sufficient light at a speed of 4 knots. 'It's very energy efficient,' says Berg. 'It's made of carbon fiber, so it's very light and has very low drag. There are other boats that have this concept with a big solar roof. There is a Spanish brand, there's Pol, and in Finland, Elvene. They have gone 200 nautical miles without external charging. You can go boating without any environmental impact.' Volvo Penta: Electric Boats To Grid Power Potential The boat on show from Volvo Penta wasn't fully electric, but a hybrid between diesel and electric. It was much larger and being used to illustrate another potential of battery-powered vessels – as grid energy storage. 'It has a battery around 80kWh,' says Berg. 'They can go at lower speeds on electricity in sensitive areas but could also use the battery as a resource. Many manufacturers see the potential in 'boat to grid' winter storage. For the winter season, if you have ten boats this size, then you have a one-megawatt battery for frequency balancing or energy trading.' This was what Volvo Penta was demonstrating in Gothenburg, together with a local energy company. 'You could make revenue from the boat when it's not used,' says Berg. 'In a marina, the boats are seldom used, so they can charge at low power or using solar panels, collecting energy before the weekend, and then they can be used to provide local energy. There will be periods when the peak is too high for the grid and then the battery can be a good resource to absorb that energy and to use it at a later stage.' Electrifying Sweden's Coast Berg is also looking at how to build the charging infrastructure around marinas. This isn't just about power connectivity, however. 'We must work on the business model,' he says. 'We need to start building charging opportunities along the coast so that you can travel up and down with an electric boat.' This is a project called go:LEIF. 'You can already travel in a X Shore vessel from Gothenburg up to Fjallbacka or down to Humburgsund along the Swedish West Coast. With an X Shore, you can travel at a higher speed after charging in Gothenburg. You can go to a small island called Burica where they put up a supercharger, or Marstrand.' However, most people won't consider an electric boat without a berth where they can charge their boat, in a similar way to how home charging remains the primary enabler for EV car ownership. 'You can go two hours to some location, maybe 10 or 15 nautical miles, fill up the battery and then go back. That is the use case that we need to have, and then we need quite decent power in those chargers.' However, sailing ships with an electric outboard motor already make considerable sense, because they don't need a lot of range on battery power. "You're only talking about a few nautical miles to get out of the harbor.' Nevertheless, convincing the seafaring community to choose electric boats faces even greater challenges than personal road transport. 'The green transition has rough seas right now,' concludes Berg. 'But I'm quite positive. Five or six knots would be perfect. For a boat that lives for 40 years, you can retrofit with an electric drive. It is not that much more expensive than a new diesel engine. But we need to think differently. We need to value that it's silent. We need to value that we don't put pollution into the sea. Two-stroke outboard motors can be terrible. We need to have some incentives and regulations put in place to help, because otherwise it will be quite tough.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This former 'Friday Night Lights' star may make a cameo in series reboot
Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose. Those six words are permanently etched into the brains of every fan who ever watched the hit TV show Friday Night Lights and they may hear them again soon. Back in December, fans of the show learned that a new adaptation of the series is currently in development at Peacock (which beat out Netflix) and Universal Television. The new show takes place after a hurricane as a Texas high school football team attempts to compete for a state championship. We don't know much about the show yet, but here is what we heard from Peter Berg, who will return as director and executive producer of the show (via Esquire): "It's a complete reinvention of the show. We want to do it with a whole new cast, but obviously there'll be football in it. But the original show was done a long time ago ... There's just so many new elements, so we want to look at that. And if certain cast members come back, have appearances, that's great. But if Friday Night Lights works, it'll be because it works as a reinvention.' So which of these "certain cast members" might come back to have appearances? Connie Britton, who played one of the lead roles Tami Taylor, told Vanity Fair earlier this summer that she would be willing to have a "real tight little cameo" in the reboot. Taylor Kitsch, who portrayed star player Tim Riggins, said in the same interview that he "won't be a part of it" this time around. During a recent interview with The Wrap to promote The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, it once again seemed that Kitsch did not seem particularly interested: "I was asked to do it. Yeah, I'm not going back. No." Based on that answer, it seemed unlikely fans would see Riggins in the project. During his conversation with Access Hollywood, meanwhile, Kitsch added that he had not spoken to Kyle Chandler about it. But he seemed more willing to participate. "[Expletive] I'll do a cameo. I would do one. It's got to be out of control, though. I don't know. We'll see." Then, when asked how he thought Riggins was probably spending his time these days, here is what he said: "Where would Riggs be? Probably [expletive] having a cold one on the lake with a couple girls waiting for him in the cabin." So perhaps Kitsch would actually do a funny arc (perhaps as an opposing coach) in the new version of the show in an episode "for like eight seconds" after all. Meanwhile, in addition to Berg as director and executive producer, Jason Katims will return as the showrunner and executive producer. Brian Grazer will return as an executive producer. Kristen Zolner from Imagine Entertainment will also join as an executive producer. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Friday Night Lights star may make a cameo in series reboot
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How ‘American Primeval,' ‘Daredevil' and ‘The Last of Us' Pulled Off Some of the Year's Biggest Stunt-Filled Action Set Pieces
The year is 1857. A woman is sitting in a meadow in southern Utah Territory, casually explaining her plans to settle in the Salt Lake Valley, when she's cut off mid-sentence by a pointed object that bursts from her forehead with a bone-cracking crunch. She remains upright for a moment — silent, eyes open and blood oozing from her wound — then falls over dead, revealing the long shaft of an arrow lodged in the back of her skull. The next two-plus-minutes of Netflix's 'American Primeval' are a dizzying display of nonstop mayhem. The sky is instantly filled with flying arrows, falling victims right and left, as attackers on horseback and on foot zoom in and out frame, shooting, stabbing, scalping and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. The camera snakes through the action, capturing a succession of brutal deaths (including the shooting of a minor character played by director Peter Berg), always circling back to Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin) and her pre-teen son Devin's (Preston Mota) desperate efforts to stay alive. More from Variety How Meghann Fahy Created a Rebellious Character Whose 'Disdain' for Flowery Dresses Disrupted the Wealthy World of 'Sirens' Ramy Youssef on Juggling 'Mountainhead,' '#1 Happy Family USA,' 'Mo,' 'The Studio' and Perhaps - Eventually - a Baby 'Bridget Jones' Director Michael Morris on the Emmy Longform Conundrum: What's The Difference Between a Film and a TV Movie? 'The script read for 100 people on each side, and we got 15 [stunt people] on each side,' says second unit director and stunt coordinator J.J. Dashnaw, who worked on the show alongside his father, fellow stunt coordinator Jeff Dashnaw. 'We had guys running around dying, and when the camera tilted one way, [they'd] get up and play other people.' There were several other Dashnaws on the stunt team, including J.J.'s son Jaxon, who plays a boy taken down by a bullet to the head, causing his guilt-wracked killer to vomit. 'I actually walked away, because I got emotional as a proud father,' says J.J. 'It was a cool moment for me.' 'American Primeval' is one of many examples of Emmy-eligible shows that have upped TV's action game, from Amazon's 'The Boys' and 'Reacher' to HBO Max's 'House of the Dragon' and 'The Penguin,' putting themselves in contention in the stunt coordination and stunt performer categories. The raid in 'American Primeval,' based on a real-life incident known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre, was done as a 'oner,' a term used to describe a scene shot — or seemingly shot — in a single take. In recent years, it has become an increasingly common attention-grabbing aesthetic device employed across genres. The raid scene was filmed in New Mexico at dusk over the course of three days, then seamlessly stitched together digitally in post. Aside from CG flying arrows and a CG charging bull, everything else was done practically, from the fires burning the wagons to the gunshots, the bullet hits and the fake blood. In the first episode of Disney+'s 'Daredevil: Born Again,' the big 'oner' starts with the stunt doubles for the titular blind superhero (Charlie Cox) and the villain Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) smashing through the front window of Josie's Bar. As patrons scatter, Daredevil and Bullseye trade punches and kicks, eventually moving out of frame. The camera travels outside, where Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) lays on the ground, mortally wounded, then back into the bar, following Daredevil and Bullseye's fight up the back staircase and on to the roof. '[Showrunner] Dario Scardapane really knows how to flesh out and write a sequence that leaves it open for you to creatively jump into it and design characters, but he's also very specific at the same time,' says second unit director and stunt coordinator Philip Silvera. And directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead 'had a very specific camera language to which they wanted to shoot the sequence. So it's my job to kind of figure out how to make that flow within the camera language and the character design.' The 'oner' was assembled from several shots taken over the course of two and a half days. The bar and the staircase were filmed on location at the Capri Social Club in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, while the rooftop portion was done on a soundstage at Silvercup Studios East in Long Island City, N.Y. The shots bookending the sequence are equally spectacular. For the lead-in, which has Daredevil doing a rope swing from a rooftop, Silvera and Daredevil stunt double Jason Mello were raised on a lift three-and-a-half stories in the air outside the bar. Mello was flown down on a winch line using a device called a descender, and Silvera followed on a separate line, holding a camera to capture the shot from a subjective perspective. In the scene's climax, Bullseye stunt double Brian Jansa falls from the rooftop on a descender and is blended into a CG version of the character that hits the concrete below with a wet smack. When they shot the attack of the zombie-like fungus-infected humans on the town of Jackson Hole in the second episode of HBO's 'The Last of Us' Season 2, the stunt falls from rooftops weren't done on wires or into airbags, but on to stacks of cardboard boxes. 'The problem with an air bag, when there's a two-person entry into it, if one hits first, the other one potentially doesn't get any air,' explains stunt coordinator Marny Eng. Cardboard boxes notwithstanding, the sequence was a highly complex, high-tech undertaking. Shot over the course of four weeks on a set built in a gravel pit in Minaty Bay, British Columbia, it mixes practical effects (including fire and snow), makeups and stunts (both human and canine) with an array of CG elements, which, unlike in 'American Primeval,' included digitally animated characters. 'The plan that I had with Marny is that if we have 50 stunt performers that day, where do we put them that is most advantageous for visual effects, understanding that we had to add more to that number?' says visual effects supervisor Alex Wang. 'Fifty had to turn into 200, for example, for some shots.' When the infected horde is running down Main Street to attack the town, the first unit (under the direction of Mark Mylod) and the second unit team worked in tandem, with the former on the rooftops with lead actors and the latter on the ground with the 'infected' stunt performers. 'That really happened in real time with everybody, where you see Maria [Rutina Wesley] up on the roof and Tommy [Gabriel Luna] down below, and the guys with the flamethrowers,' says cinematographer Catherine Goldschmidt. Camera operator Robin A. Smith got into the act as a stunt performer of sorts to capture the subjective perspective of a seven-foot-tall 'bloater' — a human with a late-stage fungal infection that has turned them into a mushroom-scaled monstrosity — in a one-on-one showdown with a flamethrower-wielding Tommy. Wearing the fire suit he uses for his off-hours Formula Vee auto racing hobby, Smith was placed inside an enclosure described as a 'fireproof rickshaw' and pushed into a stream of real fire shot at him by Luna. 'It was extremely, extremely hot,' laughs Smith. 'Luckily, the day outside wasn't so hot,so between setups, I could just peel back the curtain [of the enclosure], take my mask off and get some fresh air.' Best of Variety Emmy Predictions: Documentary Programs — Nonfiction Races Spotlight Pee-wee Herman, Simone Biles and YouTube Creators Emmy Predictions: With One Week Until Voting Opens, Declining Submissions Create Tight Acting and Series Races Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
Irish Daily Star
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
Netflix streaming 'one of the best films of 2016' but viewers have days left to catch it
Netflix viewers have only a short while remaining to catch a riveting crime drama inspired by The Boston Marathon bombing. The 2016 feature, Patriots Day, offers an intense look at the horrific act of terrorism and its harrowing aftermath. The alarming event unfolded in April 2013, casting a dark shadow over Boston's traditional marathon, celebrated on Patriots' Day, as two siblings executed a bomb attack, which left three dead and well over 500 injured. This traumatic episode prompted various cinematic interpretations, notably Netflix's own lauded 2023 documentary, American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing. But prior to the streaming giant dropping its version, famed filmmaker Peter Berg had already crafted a powerful portrayal with his 2016 movie, reports the Mirror US . Mark Wahlberg stars in the 2016 drama (Image: Publicity Picture) With a robust 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Patriots Day is available on Netflix until Tuesday, 29 April. The suspenseful narrative follows Sergeant Tommy Saunders, played by Mark Wahlberg, chasing down the culprits behind the attack. Joining Wahlberg are Emmy-winner John Goodman, The White Lotus actress Michelle Monaghan, and Academy Award-winner J. K Simmons. Though it didn't sweep major film accolades, this piece deeply resonated with audiences. They found the grave subject matter impactful, as evidenced by a heartfelt comment from a Rotten Tomatoes contributor who wrote: "Wow what a movie it had me in tears quite a few times. The strength and courage of the people of Boston was captured in this movie [...]." Viewers claim it is one of the best films of 2016 (Image: FilmMagic) Another reviewer shared their verdict, stating: "Most movies based off of true events drag out. This doesn't relent for a second. It's one of the best films of 2016 [...]" A third viewer simply stated: "One of the best movies I've ever seen in my life." On IMDb, viewers also praised the film, with one person sharing: "I wanna start by saying I didn't know much about the actual events, I just know I was saddened when I heard about it. "I was blown away [by the film]; it was phenomenally filmed and very intriguing. I'm quite surprised it wasn't up for major awards." Patriots Day is streaming now on Netflix.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Judge orders Chicago to install audible crossing signals for the blind and visually impaired
A federal judge has ordered Chicago to install audible crossing signals at intersections with traffic lights to help people who are blind or have problems seeing to cross public streets. The order would require the city to install at least 75 accessible pedestrian signals this year and more than 100 every year until at least 71% of intersections have the devices within 10 years. All city intersections with traffic lights would have the audible crossing signals by the end of 2040. Disability Rights Advocates, the group that helped bring a lawsuit asking for the signals, welcomed the news as long overdue. 'With this proposed order, blind and low-vision pedestrians in Chicago are one step closer to being able to navigate the city's streets safely and independently, something they have been fighting to do for years,' Rachel Weisberg, supervising attorney with Disability Rights Advocates, told the Tribune in an email. Peter Berg, who is blind and uses a guide dog to help commute from Naperville to Chicago, said the devices can be extremely helpful. 'If crossing signals are a good thing for sighted people, why wouldn't they be good for people who are blind or with low vision?' he asked. 'It's a matter of equality. Give me the same choice you're providing sighted people.' The remediation plan the judge proposed last week comes about two years after a judge found that the city was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act for its lack of audible crossing signals. The city has begun installing such devices but has just 85 at about 2,800 intersections with traffic lights. The devices typically are attached to poles in the sidewalk at street corners and emit a locator tone, with a button to activate them. They then beep or give verbal alerts when it's safe to cross the street, similar to flashing 'walk' and 'don't walk' signs. U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt proposed that the city install the devices whenever it installs new or substantially modified traffic lights. She recommended prioritizing intersections where the city receives requests for the devices, as well as dangerous sites such as mid-block crossings and intersections where three streets cross. The judge also called for prioritizing crossings near public transportation, hospitals, parks, schools, libraries, police stations, shopping areas, major cultural venues, organizations serving people with visual disabilities and seniors and government buildings. Hunt recommended that the city use input from a citizen advisory committee and would let the city extend its final deadline or eliminate the final five years of installations if it shows it has provided 'meaningful access.' City officials and the plaintiffs, who include blind and visually impaired people, and the American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago, are to go to court April 29 to propose any changes to the order and to recommend an independent monitor to oversee its implementation. Until then, the city is to begin implementing the order. The judge wrote that she will enter a final order that 'strikes an appropriate balance between the available reasonable accommodations and the resulting financial and administrative burdens.' The city Department of Transportation (CDOT) told the Tribune in a statement that it 'fully recognizes the importance of Accessible Pedestrian Signals in ensuring an accessible public way.' City officials said they will incorporate the signals into all new traffic signal installations or modernizations and roadway reconstruction, with a citywide retrofit program to come. Last year, the city installed the devices at 36 locations, with 160 more in construction, design or procurement.
