Latest news with #TheLATimes
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'I started crying': A robotic Walt Disney has been denounced by his granddaughter
The urban legend goes that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen to one day be brought back to life. While there's never been any truth to that, the pioneering American animator has, in-sort, been revived - as a robot. To celebrate Disneyland California's 70th anniversary in July, the theme park recently unveiled an animatronic replica of their founder. Disney's granddaughter, Joanna Miller, has denounced the creation - calling it "dehumanizing". In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Miller expressed her hurt upon seeing the mechanical figure: 'I think I started crying,' she said. 'It didn't look like him to me.' When the project was first announced last year, Miller voiced her concerns in a letter to Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, later meeting with him and some of the members involved in the attraction's creation. Miller told Iger she strongly felt that, for visitors, 'the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy,' adding that people would 'remember the robot - and not the man.' While Iger was reportedly 'very kind', her pleas for the robot to be scrapped were ultimately ignored. Miller also spoke out in a Facebook post last November, calling the idea of a 'Robotic Grampa' a disservice to the real Disney, who once loved to greet the park's visitors in person. 'You could never get the casualness of his talking, interacting with the camera, [or] his excitement to show and tell people about what is new at the park,' Miller wrote. 'You cannot add life to one empty of a soul or essence of the man.' Miller made it clear to The LA Times that she was speaking on behalf of her mother and grandfather, noting that it 'pains' her to be speaking out against his company. 'When you get older, you just start to get pissed off. And you get tired of being quiet. So I spoke up on Facebook,' she said. 'The fact that it got back to the company is pretty funny.' The Audio-Animatronics figure is due to debut in a new show titled 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life', which will open on 17 July 2025. 'Creating our first Walt figure is an idea that's been whispered in the hallowed halls of Imagineering for years – decades, even,' Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro said during a company showcase. 'We just had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams. And we're finally ready,' he added. A Disney press release explains how Disney's Imagineers - the creative minds behind Disney park attractions - had 'worked closely with the Walt Disney Archives to ensure we had the details as accurate as possible.' As technology and, in particular, artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced, companies are increasingly experimenting with ways to bring back the dead. Last year, a film producer sued Disney for digitally recreating the late actor Peter Cushing's appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope for 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Previously, Disney used CGI and unused footage to resurrect actress Carrie Fisher for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while the voice of James Earl Jones, who played iconic baddie Darth Vader and died last year, was artificially repurposed for the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. While sometimes agreed upon by the actors themselves or their estates, any artificial recreations remain highly controversial as people become increasingly wary of technology trying to imitate and dehumanise art. Meanwhile, despite the company riding a box office high with Lilo & Stitch - currently the second-highest grossing movie of the year - Disney announced on Tuesday that it is cutting hundreds of jobs worldwide to reduce costs and adapt to evolving industry conditions. 'As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fuelling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney,' a spokesperson said. 'As part of this ongoing work, we have identified opportunities to operate more efficiently and are eliminating a limited number of positions.'
Euronews
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Meet the Azerbaijani Paralympic champion inspiring the next generation
Azerbaijani Para-Taekwondo athlete Imameddin Khalilov brought home the Gold medal at the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in the -70 kg category, becoming the pride of his nation. In this episode of Azerbaijan Diary, he describes how he got started in Para-Taekwondo, and what he thinks of the changing perception of disabled sports and athletes. 'For the first time, the Paralympic Games were broadcast live,' he says. 'People have begun to understand what children with physical disabilities actually go through.' Khalilov says his victory at the 2024 Paralympics has motivated him to help and inspire younger generations of athletes. The urban legend goes that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen to one day be brought back to life. While there's never been any truth to that, the pioneering American animator has, in-sort, been revived - as a robot. To celebrate Disneyland California's 70th anniversary in July, the theme park recently unveiled an animatronic replica of their founder. Disney's granddaughter, Joanna Miller, has denounced the creation - calling it "dehumanizing". In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Miller expressed her hurt upon seeing the mechanical figure: 'I think I started crying,' she said. 'It didn't look like him to me.' When the project was first announced last year, Miller voiced her concerns in a letter to Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, later meeting with him and some of the members involved in the attraction's creation. Miller told Iger she strongly felt that, for visitors, 'the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy,' adding that people would 'remember the robot - and not the man.' While Iger was reportedly 'very kind', her pleas for the robot to be scrapped were ultimately ignored. Miller also spoke out in a Facebook post last November, calling the idea of a 'Robotic Grampa' a disservice to the real Disney, who once loved to greet the park's visitors in person. 'You could never get the casualness of his talking, interacting with the camera, [or] his excitement to show and tell people about what is new at the park,' Miller wrote. 'You cannot add life to one empty of a soul or essence of the man.' Miller made it clear to The LA Times that she was speaking on behalf of her mother and grandfather, noting that it 'pains' her to be speaking out against his company. 'When you get older, you just start to get pissed off. And you get tired of being quiet. So I spoke up on Facebook,' she said. 'The fact that it got back to the company is pretty funny.' The Audio-Animatronics figure is due to debut in a new show titled 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life', which will open on 17 July 2025. 'Creating our first Walt figure is an idea that's been whispered in the hallowed halls of Imagineering for years – decades, even,' Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro said during a company showcase. 'We just had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams. And we're finally ready,' he added. A Disney press release explains how Disney's Imagineers - the creative minds behind Disney park attractions - had 'worked closely with the Walt Disney Archives to ensure we had the details as accurate as possible.' As technology and, in particular, artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced, companies are increasingly experimenting with ways to bring back the dead. Last year, a film producer sued Disney for digitally recreating the late actor Peter Cushing's appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope for 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Previously, Disney used CGI and unused footage to resurrect actress Carrie Fisher for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while the voice of James Earl Jones, who played iconic baddie Darth Vader and died last year, was artificially repurposed for the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. While sometimes agreed upon by the actors themselves or their estates, any artificial recreations remain highly controversial as people become increasingly wary of technology trying to imitate and dehumanise art. Meanwhile, despite the company riding a box office high with Lilo & Stitch - currently the second-highest grossing movie of the year - Disney announced on Tuesday that it is cutting hundreds of jobs worldwide to reduce costs and adapt to evolving industry conditions. 'As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fuelling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney,' a spokesperson said. 'As part of this ongoing work, we have identified opportunities to operate more efficiently and are eliminating a limited number of positions.'
Euronews
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Why a robotic imitation of Walt Disney is causing controversy
The urban legend goes that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen to one day be brought back to life. While there's never been any truth to that, the pioneering American animator has, in-sort, been revived - as a robot. To celebrate Disneyland California's 70th anniversary in July, the theme park recently unveiled an animatronic replica of their founder. Disney's granddaughter, Joanna Miller, has denounced the creation - calling it "dehumanizing". In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Miller expressed her hurt upon seeing the mechanical figure: 'I think I started crying,' she said. 'It didn't look like him to me.' When the project was first announced last year, Miller voiced her concerns in a letter to Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, later meeting with him and some of the members involved in the attraction's creation. Miller told Iger she strongly felt that, for visitors, 'the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy,' adding that people would 'remember the robot - and not the man.' While Iger was reportedly 'very kind', her pleas for the robot to be scrapped were ultimately ignored. Miller also spoke out in a Facebook post last November, calling the idea of a 'Robotic Grampa' a disservice to the real Disney, who once loved to greet the park's visitors in person. 'You could never get the casualness of his talking, interacting with the camera, [or] his excitement to show and tell people about what is new at the park,' Miller wrote. 'You cannot add life to one empty of a soul or essence of the man.' Miller made it clear to The LA Times that she was speaking on behalf of her mother and grandfather, noting that it 'pains' her to be speaking out against his company. 'When you get older, you just start to get pissed off. And you get tired of being quiet. So I spoke up on Facebook,' she said. 'The fact that it got back to the company is pretty funny.' The Audio-Animatronics figure is due to debut in a new show titled 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life', which will open on 17 July 2025. 'Creating our first Walt figure is an idea that's been whispered in the hallowed halls of Imagineering for years – decades, even,' Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro said during a company showcase. 'We just had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams. And we're finally ready,' he added. A Disney press release explains how Disney's Imagineers - the creative minds behind Disney park attractions - had 'worked closely with the Walt Disney Archives to ensure we had the details as accurate as possible.' As technology and, in particular, artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced, companies are increasingly experimenting with ways to bring back the dead. Last year, a film producer sued Disney for digitally recreating the late actor Peter Cushing's appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope for 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Previously, Disney used CGI and unused footage to resurrect actress Carrie Fisher for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while the voice of James Earl Jones, who played iconic baddie Darth Vader and died last year, was artificially repurposed for the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. While sometimes agreed upon by the actors themselves or their estates, any artificial recreations remain highly controversial as people become increasingly wary of technology trying to imitate and dehumanise art. Meanwhile, despite the company riding a box office high with Lilo & Stitch - currently the second-highest grossing movie of the year - Disney announced on Tuesday that it is cutting hundreds of jobs worldwide to reduce costs and adapt to evolving industry conditions. 'As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fuelling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney,' a spokesperson said. 'As part of this ongoing work, we have identified opportunities to operate more efficiently and are eliminating a limited number of positions.' While film fans continue to wait for an official announcement regarding the identity of the new James Bond and when the secret agent will be back on the big screen, gamers will be thrilled by the announcement of a new video game which hits consoles next year. Developed and published by IO Interactive, the folks behind Hitman, 007 First Light just got its first trailer, which was released during PlayStation's State of Play. 'This is Bond as you've never seen him before - the youngest Bond fans have ever met,' reads the description. 'In 007 First Light, at only 26 years old, he isn't the fully fledged 007 you know from the tux-and-martini days but a man with sharp instincts, sometimes reckless, who is still learning when to fight, when to bluff, and when to disappear into the shadows." The 'completely original standalone story', developed in collaboration with Amazon MGM Studios, will see a young Bond earn his designation as 007 – much like he did at the start of Casino Royale, Daniel Craig's first outing as Bond. The trailer sees M describe the young spy as 'a bullet without a target' and assigns him a mission in hopes of giving Bond a sense of focus. Check it out below: The game was first announced in 2020 and a deeper look at 007 First Light's gameplay is set to be revealed this summer. In 2021, IO CEO Hakan Abrak said: 'It was very important for us that it wasn't a movie adaptation. It's not a game about a specific movie, where the story has already been told. Every Bond defines a generation and it's amazing how they kept reinventing themselves over so many years.' 007 First Light will be the first James Bond game to release in 14 years. The last Bond title to launch was 2012's poorly received 007 Legends, released to celebrate the iconic film series' 50th anniversary. Bond fans have already expressed their excitement for the new video game. 'I'm excited for this. I've got no doubt IOI can nail the infiltration gameplay and level design, hopefully they get the action elements right too,' wrote one fan, while another said: 'James Bond has been so under-utilised for the last few generations. I'm so stoked to see 007 make a return.' Others have been wondering whether the game reveal is a sign that things are speeding up for a cinematic announcement. The next James Bond film – now under the creative control of Amazon - is apparently being fast-tracked, with rumours suggesting that the 26th adventure will hit cinemas by the end of 2027. That means that when the next Bond film arrives, it will match the record for the longest wait for a new 007 since Sean Connery first played the British spy in 1962's Dr No. The previous record was GoldenEye, which was released in 1995 - six years after Timothy Dalton appeared in Licence to Kill. The 2015-2021 pause between SPECTRE and No Time To Die already gave that record a run for its money, primarily due to the Covid pandemic which delayed the release of the film. We already know that the 26th Bond film will be produced by Amy Pascal and David Heyman, and last month, we asked: Could Aaron Taylor-Johnson becoming Omega brand ambassador be the James Bond confirmation we've all been waiting for? The wait continues...
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Developmental Disabilities Alliance hosting Awareness Day event Tuesday
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – The Developmental Disabilities Alliance of Western New York will host its annual Developmental Disabilities Awareness Day, or DD DAY, event on Tuesday. DD Day, the largest event of its kind in the United States, brings together advocates, local and regional agencies and leading experts, among others, to discuss a wide range of topics for people with developmental disabilities and those close to them. The main headliner for this event is journalist, author and screenwriter Keah Brown. Brown's work on disability, identity and pop culture has appeared in top publications like The New York Times and The LA Times. Eighty industry-connected vendors, suppliers and local and regional agencies will be at the event. There will also be 20 presentations from leading experts specializing in services for people with developmental disabilities who will discuss a variety of topics at the event. Maria Torgalski, director of Regional Office 1 at the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, will also be there. The event will take place at the Niagara Falls Convention Center at 101 Old Falls Street and will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Owen Klein is an intern for the summer of 2025 at WIVB. He is a rising senior at Penn State. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Star
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Smokey Robinson sued for RM210mil as ex-employees allege sexual assault
Four former employees have sued Motown legend Smokey Robinson and his wife Frances Gladney. Photo: TNS Four former employees have sued Motown legend Smokey Robinson and his wife, alleging the singer sexually assaulted them on multiple occasions and failed to pay them properly for hours worked while claiming that Frances Robinson berated them. According to the complaint filed May 6 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Robinsons are accused of negligence, sexual battery and sexual assault, false imprisonment, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, gender violence, and hostile work environment, in addition to a host of labour violations related to wages, breaks, meal periods, and holiday and overtime pay. The plaintiffs' attorneys did not immediately respond Tuesday to The LA Times ' requests for comment. A former publicist for the singer said she was not currently working for Smokey Robinson; his talent agent did not respond immediately to The LA Times ' request for comment. The women are suing under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1 through 4 due to the sexual misconduct allegations, including rape, that are levelled against the 85-year-old singer, the lawsuit says. Three are former housekeepers and one was the singer's personal assistant, cook and hairdresser, per court documents reviewed by The LA Times . All four women allege in the lawsuit that Robinson summoned them to various places at his homes in Chatsworth, Ventura County's Bell Canyon and Las Vegas when his wife wasn't around. Sometimes emerging naked from a shower, he forced them to have various types of sex with them – vaginal, oral and digital – over a number of years, the lawsuit says. They accuse Frances Robinson of 'regularly screaming... in a hostile manner, using ethnically pejorative words and language' toward them and say in the documents that she knew what her husband was doing and failed to rein him in. One plaintiff was 'unwilling to report... Smokey Robinson's unlawful acts to the authorities due to her fear of losing her livelihood, familial reprisal, public embarrassment, shame and humiliation to her and her family, the possible adverse effect on her immigration status, as well as being threatened and intimidated by Defendant Smokey Robinson's well-recognized celebrity status and his influential friends and associates,' the lawsuit says. That sentiment, with or without the immigration issue, was echoed by the other plaintiffs. All four plaintiffs say they worked 10 hours a day, six days a week for the Robinsons but were not paid minimum wage or overtime. They also worked holidays without receiving a holiday rate, the lawsuit says. The housekeepers made between US$10 (RM42.30) and $18 (RM76.20) an hour while the assistant made US$15 (RM63.50) an hour before getting a raise to US$20 (RM84.75) an hour. Jane Doe 1 worked for the Robinsons from January 2023 until February 2024. Jane Doe 2 worked from May 2014 to February 2020. Jane Doe 3 worked from February 2012 to April 2024. Jane Doe 4 worked from October 2006 to April 2024. Minimum wage in California was US$6.75 (RM28.60per hour in 2006 and increased gradually over the years. In 2024, it was $16 (RM67.80) per hour for those not working for large fast-food chains. The plaintiffs say in the lawsuit that they quit because of the alleged sexual misconduct and hostile work environment. In addition to legal fees and court costs, the lawsuit seeks general damages of 'not less than US$50mil (RM211.8mil) on most of the charges plus punitive damages to be determined at trial. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
