Steven Spielberg is venturing into interactive film with a (currently-untitled) haunted house horror project. The movie, announced last week and to be directed by 'Crawl' director Alexandre Aja, will have a choose-your-own-adventure plotline that follows in the footsteps of projects like Netflix's "Bandersnatch," relying on interactive content technology from the startup Kino Industries.
That company will be providing an app called CtrlMovie to Spielberg's Amblin Productions that will help construct the film's "branch narrative," which outlines the various choices audience members can make throughout an interactive film.
The company's co-CEO, Chady Eli Mattar, told Cheddar that in movie theaters, audiences will vote on what choices characters should make as the film progresses.
"Every individual will have their own voice, but collectively — and democratically — the story changes. And that's the main thing: we're trying to bring everyone into the dialogue," he said, though the company has also translated the system for the individual streaming experience.
"It's still very much like the cinematic experience that you see in the movie theater, but for the first time, really, you have a say in the movie. And you're controlling the movie as the audience, and that's the exciting part," co-CEO Tobias Weber said.
As movie theater attendance in the U.S. falls, the company's executives say interactive plotlines may be a way to bring audiences back.
In 2017, Kino Industries — whose name appears to reference the first interactive movie ever made — unveiled its technology for the first time, debuting an interactive film called "Late Shift" that follows a boy who is roped into robbing an auction house.
Weber and Mattar emphasize that the format can be used beyond horror and adventure films, adding that they currently have romantic comedy, "family-friendly," and documentary interactive movies all in the works.
Fox is also reportedly working on an interactive movie series based on the similarly-structured "Choose Your Own Adventure" book-series using Kino Industries' technology.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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