How generative AI boosters are trying to break into Hollywood
A still from the Critterz short film. This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the intersection of entertainment…
The Social Network follow-up has a new title and release date
We knew that Aaron Sorkin was working on a companion piece to The Social Network, and now we know what the movie will be called and when Sony plans to…
Scarlet turns Shakespeare into an animated fantasy epic
Scarlet. Well, I was wrong, and I did manage to make it to one last day at the Toronto International Film Festival. One of the movies I wanted to see…
Exit 8’s director was inspired by watching people play the game
Few video game adaptations understand their source material quite like the Exit 8 film. It takes the rules and structure of the game – which strands players inside of a…
Guillermo del Toro makes Frankenstein his own
Frankenstein is one of those stories that’s been retold countless times. And yet, Guillermo del Toro has managed to make a version that not only feels true to Mary Shelley’s…
TIFF 2025: Frankenstein, Knives Out 3, and all the biggest movies from Toronto
The Toronto International Film Festival is almost like a preview of the movie slate for the next few months — and this year I’m watching as much as possible to…
Wake Up Dead Man adds a delightfully dark twist to Knives Out
When director Rian Johnson introduced the new Knives Out film on the third day of TIFF 2025, he exclaimed: “we’re going back to church.” By that he meant that Wake…
Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice is as bleak as it is hilarious
No Other Choice. At my second day at TIFF 2025, the longest line I saw wasn’t for a movie: it was for the Criterion Closet. The space is housed in…
Showrunner wants to use generative AI to recreate lost footage from an Orson Welles classic
Showrunner — the startup that wants to “revolutionize” the entertainment industry by charging people to prompt up AI-generated videos featuring copyrighted IP — is working on a new project to…
Warner Bros. Discovery sues Midjourney for generating ‘countless’ copies of its characters
Midjourney allegedly generated these images of Batman and the Joker. | Image: Warner Bros. Discovery via Midjourney Warner Bros. Discovery is suing Midjourney over claims the AI startup “brazenly dispenses…