Latest news with #Wipeout
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
1,800 Scouts take over theme park to enjoy day of fun
Nearly 2,000 Scouts were awarded bravery badges after enjoying a day at a theme park. The 1,800 Scouts from Norfolk and Suffolk took over Pleasurewood Hills at Lowestoft on Sunday. The youngsters, aged between four and 18, were among the first to try out the relaunched Wipeout ride, the UK's only Vekoma Boomerang which reaches up to 5G of forward force. George, eight, from Bowthorpe, said: "Wow, that was the most fun ride I've ever been on, I really liked the six loops." 'So special' - Scouts take over theme park for day out (Image: Supplied) "It felt really special having the park to ourselves." The event was organised by adult volunteers and gave the Scouts the opportunity to meet others from across the two counties and enjoy a day out different from their usual weekly programmes. Jane Warden, from Norfolk Scouts, said: "It's brilliant to see so many Scouts having so much fun. "It's so special to have the whole park to ourselves, our young people are really lucky to be part of such a large organisation that is able to do things like this."
Yomiuri Shimbun
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Artist Accuses Playstation Game of Lifting Her Work; Studio Admits to ‘Oversight'
Sony 'Marathon,' the upcoming multiplayer game by Sony-owned Bungie, has been accused of using artwork from an independent artist without permission. Fern Hook, a 30-year-old independent artist in Scotland, noticed something familiar about 'Marathon,' the upcoming video game by Bungie, the studio that created the Halo series and is now owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. 'Marathon,' she said, is 'covered with assets lifted from poster designs I made in 2017,' all in the alpha version of the game, which allowed the general public to play an early version of the multiplayer shooter. She became suspicious when the game was announced in a 2023 trailer, but nothing appeared to her to be derivative at first. In mid-April, content creators began publishing early videos of 'Marathon' gameplay. She said she 'very quickly' began to spot her work. Hook's futuristic iconography and font designs are posted on social media sites like Tumblr and X as far back as 2017, and similar features are seen all over the environment and the objects within 'Marathon,' she said, pointing out the similarities through her social media on Thursday. 'It was kind of vindicating to see direct plagiarism because it meant I wasn't crazy for feeling so uncomfortable with the overall direction,' Hook told The Washington Post. 'I kept quiet about it because I was advised to seek legal action, but … I don't have enough time or money to fly out to the U.S. to pursue an unwinnable court case against Sony.' When The Post contacted Sony about the allegations, a spokesperson pointed to Bungie's statement on social media. The 'Marathon' developer team said on X that it was looking into 'a concern regarding unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon and confirmed that a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game.' 'The issue was unknown by our existing art team, and we are still reviewing how this oversight occurred,' the studio posted on X, adding that it had contacted Hook to discuss the issue and was 'committed to do right by the artist.' The studio said it is conducting a review of the game's artwork, specifically the images made by the former artist, and implementing 'stricter checks to document all artist contributions.' The allegations could be particularly damaging for Bungie and 'Marathon,' which has struggled to gain positive press during a financially challenging era for the studio. 'Marathon' is a classic 1990s computer shooter with a harrowing science-fiction narrative. The reboot, expected to be released in September, throws that out to instead focus on an always-online, multiplayer-only competitive shooting game. The most widely acclaimed aspect of the new game was its art design, which goes for bold colors and a 1990s futurism vibe. The art style is not original, especially in games, with PlayStation's Wipeout series being an early adopter. But the clean, shiny aesthetic is rare in a modern video games industry typically obsessed with gritty realism. This is not the first time Bungie has been accused of using the work of an independent artist. In 2024, a fan made art of a toy gun designed in the style of Bungie's earlier game 'Destiny 2,' which was then used as a model for a game-themed Nerf gun. Bungie later said it would credit and compensate the artist. Hook said this is also not the first time she has seen her work lifted, and she has made posts over the years alleging other organizations tracing and lifting her work. She said she relies on donations for her various online projects, and this recent incident has seen hundreds of people donating money in support. Hook also composes drum and bass music and sound design for games under the name N2, and produces freelance art work under the name ANTIREAL. She co-runs a design and software consultancy firm called Superstructure as well. 'I'd kind of had to learn to shut up about these cases because they've happened so constantly over the past 10 years,' she said. 'It was tiring to be viewed as 'someone who complains' more than as an artist. But the response this time has been overwhelmingly understanding and I'm extremely thankful for the support.'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NBCUniversal Execs Face Reality Check As Unscripted Hit Hardest By Layoffs
EXCLUSIVE: NBCUniversal started another round of layoffs earlier Wednesday, as revealed by Deadline. It appears that its unscripted teams were the hardest hit in this latest round of redundancies, with at least two SVPs on the reality side impacted as well as a number working across NBC, Peacock and Bravo. More from Deadline NBCUniversal Starts New Round Of Layoffs As SpinCo Begins To Take Shape NBCUniversal Restructuring: Nod To Vertical Integration Past Or Sign Of The Future? Comcast Blunt On Steep Broadband Losses; Brian Roberts Says "Customer Pain Points" Being Addressed But Will Take Several Quarters Deadline understands that Stephanie Steele, SVP Unscripted Current Production, and Jenny Ramirez, SVP Unscripted Formats, were among those let go today. Steele, who one source described as 'one of the most beloved senior people in our business,' has been with the company for nearly 15 years. She oversaw the team that produces its true-crime shows including Peacock's Who Killed Robert Wone? and The Hillside Strangler: Devil in Disguise. Ramirez joined the company in late 2022, having previously been SVP Unscripted Programming for TBS, TNT and TruTV, where she worked on shows such as Wipeout, Rat in the Kitchen and Stupid Pet Tricks. There were other departures within this unscripted team, involving director- and manager-level execs. Elsewhere, Christy Dees, VP Development and Bravo, is also leaving. She has been with the company for more than 15 years and worked on shows including Summer House as well as titles in The Real Housewives and Below Deck franchises. This focus on unscripted comes amid a recalibration of NBCUniversal's structure. It follows the departure of EVP Unscripted Content, Competition and Game Shows Corie Henson, who left following a restructure that saw Pearlena Igbokwe, who runs Universal Studio Group, take control of NBC Entertainment, which includes unscripted, in addition to scripted programming at Peacock. Frances Berwick, meanwhile, moved over to Chairman, Bravo and Peacock Unscripted, overseeing all of the company's non-NBC unscripted programming. Before this restructure, Henson oversaw all titles that had a cash prize across NBC, Peacock and the cable networks, while Rachel Smith, who was promoted to EVP Unscripted Content, Lifestyle and Documentaries in 2023 following the departure of Rod Aissa, oversaw non-competition reality titles. Smith reports to Berwick, while Sharon Vuong, who recently secured the job of EVP Unscripted Programming at NBC on a permanent basis, reports to Igbokwe. NBC's unscripted slate includes America's Got Talent, The Voice, American Ninja Warrior and Deal or No Deal Island and upcoming titles such as On Brand with Jimmy Fallon. On the Peacock side, it has Love Island USA, which is also behind spinoffs including Love Island Games and Love Island: Beyond the Villa; The Traitors, the Emmy-winning format that has been renewed through Season 5; and spinoffs of The Real Housewives and Below Deck. Outside of unscripted, there have been a few cuts across various scripted divisions, most notably Vivian Lin, VP Development at UCP, departing the studio. She's been with the company for just over two years, having spent the previous seven at Netflix working on indie film. Best of Deadline 'Ginny & Georgia' Season 3: Everything We Know So Far Everything We Know About The 'Reminders of Him' Movie So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
The Guardian
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Fox's new game show makes people guess what Trump's been up to. Somehow I can't see the joy in that
The classic television game show is one of the simplest pleasures available to the sedentary, socially maladjusted people we used to call 'couch potatoes'. An average Joe is required to perform a task – ranging from answering a trivia question or spinning a large, colorful wheel to keeping a hand on a Toyota Land Cruiser for as long as possible – in exchange for the possibility of winning a cash prize (or a truck). For the viewer, there is the satisfaction of believing, perhaps falsely, that you could win the prize if you were in the contestant's place. Maybe you identify with that contestant and actively root for their success. Or perhaps you just want to see some poor bastard shot out of a cannon, like on TBS's dearly departed series Wipeout. Whatever your pleasure might be, it's not an uncommon or esoteric one. We watch game shows because they are basic human drama distilled into an easily repeatable format. TV development executives have tried to modernize it with the fancy graphics of something like NBC's The Wall or the gratuitous flesh-baring of the 2000s disasterpiece Are You Hot, in which a panel of 'celebrity' judges such as Lorenzo Lamas critiqued people on the number of visible abs on their bodies. The simpler a game show premise – guessing the cost of basic household items, answering multiple choice questions in a spooky room, or doing menial tasks for a man who combs his hair forward – the better. Perhaps this is why my initial reaction to the press release for the forthcoming mini-series Greg Gutfeld's What Did I Miss?, on the Fox Nation streaming service, was so immediately negative. In the new series, Gutfeld (who made an entire career out of sporting a perpetually self-satisfied smirk that turns liberals into feral animals running around in circles and urinating on the floor) quizzes contestants on the headlines. The unusual part: these contestants have been sequestered in upstate New York for three months, 'with no contact to the outside world – no phones, internet, television, or social media' – not unlike the short-lived BBC series The Bubble. Some of the headlines Gutfeld offers are real. Some are fabricated. It is up to the sad group of media-starved test subjects to ferret out what's real from what isn't. Imagine, a blissful 90 days of not knowing what is happening outside your window. A three-month vacation of regular meals, uninterrupted sleep and zero temptation to spend hours scrolling TikTok for videos of people marinating chicken in NyQuil. Doesn't that sound lovely? Jared Leto spent 12 days in blissful meditative isolation at the start of the Covid pandemic and when he came back into civilization, someone had to tell him he couldn't eat inside at Nobu anymore. I feel bad for the guy, but he probably reminisces about those 12 days constantly. The blessed contestants of What Did I Miss? were afforded not just 12 days of peace, but 90 of them. That's almost eight times what Jared Leto got! And on the other side, there's the chance to win $50,000. Hopefully the inflation rate doesn't spike again and that money keeps its value. They're gonna need it when they hear about those tariffs. I suppose What Did I Miss? is more of a stunt than a traditional game show premise. Something closer to Joe Millionaire, a dating show where women vie for the attention of a man they think is rich but is actually not. How many times can you do something like that before the novelty wears off? You can only sequester so many people for three months before it starts to feel even cheaper than it is. Of course, beyond the show being crass, it trivializes everything in our current moment of social upheaval and angst. 'Isn't that Donald Trump a wacky guy? He's so wild, you'll never guess the nutso stuff he got up to last week!' Being that this is a Fox Nation production starring Fox News's favorite bobblehead doll, it stands to reason that the audience for the show is people who still find something funny about news headlines. We are far beyond the days when someone could riff for hours on the image of George HW Bush puking on the prime minister of Japan. That was, in fact, quite amusing. I mean, man, just look at him hurl! That's something else, isn't it, folks? Donald Trump has yet to vomit on a world leader, but we can certainly say he has soiled the basic functions of democracy. This is not speculating on what your crazy uncle got up to after he raided the liquor cabinet. Are these contestants expected to suss out the fake headline from choices like 'sent an innocent man to a supermax prison that looks like it was ripped off from Judge Dredd comics' or 'threatened to tank the world economy just to see what would happen'? Call me a stick in the mud if you like, but I'm just not seeing the breezy joy of the standard game show in a series in which people must guess whose human rights have been denied and why. The Fox Nation president, Lauren Petterson, said in the press release: 'Truth can be stranger than fiction and who better to help isolated Americans catch up on the headlines they missed during an unprecedented news cycle than Greg Gutfeld.' The word I'm thinking of for all of this is not 'strange'. 'Grim'? Yes. 'Dispiriting'? Sure. 'Morally reprehensible'? Bingo. Instead of calling what we are witnessing a series of preventable calamities, we refer to it as a 'news cycle'. Life is reduced to the whims of the media machine. It is, itself, a game show played for big money, where the object is to do or say the worst thing possible so people pay attention to you. That seems like the aim of the entire endeavor – to use cheeky TV smarm to make all of this palatable. It flattens that which we should be outraged about into a sickly sweet pancake of game show pablum. I hope the winner of this farce refuses the money in exchange for being sent back to the little house in upstate New York, free of the knowledge that human suffering is now government policy. Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘SNL': Marcello Hernández Steals The Show & Almost Breaks Character As Acting Coach Who Auditioned For ‘White Lotus' Incest Scene
Marcello Hernández took the spotlight in Saturday Night Live's first sketch of the night following Mikey Madison's monologue. The comedian played an over-the-top acting coach giving his students tips on landing acting gigs. More from Deadline 'Saturday Night Live' Spoofs 'SignalGate' With Pete Hegseth, JD Vance And Marco Rubio Joining Teen Girl Texting Group Mikey Madison's Jacked Alter Ego Pole Dances During 'SNL' Opening Monologue 2025 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming One of the students, David, played by Andrew Dismukes, called his acting 'a little distracting. ' Hernández's character recalled his resumé to show he was qualified, name-dropping TV shows including The White Lotus. 'And who's the expert here? You, with zero acting credits or me with three?' Hernández's character fired back. 'Number 1, Wipeout. Busted my face on a big red ball,' he said. 'Number 2, What Would You Do? with John Quiñónes. Did not help and was racist.' He continued, 'Number 3, White Lotus. Auditioned for the incest scene with my biological brother, and I didn't hate it.' David asks the teacher, 'So you didn't get the part and you made out with your brother?' Of course, SNL referred to one of the buzziest storylines of The White Lotus, where the Ratliff Brothers, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola, have a threesome on the show. Late on in the sketch, Hernández almost broke character with the over-the-top expressions he was doing as the acting coach doing high kicks in a potential ad for Nike. David chimes in again, telling the coach he got the Nike slogan wrong, to which Hernández's character says, 'Go to sleep!' Off camera, you could hear Hernández laughing at his character's silliness. When the camera cuts back to Hernández, he's saying his lines while trying to contain his laughter. Hernández continued to power through, and another line he directed at Madison's Connie character almost made him lose it on the live sketch show. 'Connie, my slippery little beaver. Come up here,' Hernández said while trying to contain his laugh. Watch the full sketch in the video below. this acting class is totally worth it — Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) March 30, 2025 Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery '1923' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
