While the idea of extended reality (XR) may evoke traditions of cyberpunk dystopias, at this year’s Sundance New Frontiers, five Black storytellers were leading a shift to place cultural memory and ancestral knowledge at the center of designing collective futures. “Secret Garden” and “Traveling the Intertitium with Octavia Butler” are exemplary pieces that leverage interactive, browser-based media (WebXR) to challenge our current notions of futurity while also demonstrating the potential for XR when led by Black creators....

Here’s the official synopsis: “Blood on the Wall” originally world-premiered at the virtual AFI DOCS Film Festival back in June. Featuring unprecedented first-person accounts from migrants on the road, farmers, narcos, security enforcers, journalists, presidents and diplomats, “Blood on the Wall” tells the story of how traffickers, corrupt politicians and well-positioned business interests have seized wealth and power, leaving everyday citizens desperately fighting for survival or needing to flee elsewhere for a better life....

“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” chairman of the board Susan Arnold said in a statement. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.” “I am extremely optimistic for the future of this great company and thrilled to be asked by the Board to return as its CEO,” Iger said....

The chief creative officer for the Great American Family network said that unlike Hallmark’s recent slate of films as she alleged, her network will “keep traditional marriage at the core,” or, in other words, not feature LGBTQ+ couples. Bure’s former “Full House” co-star Jodie Sweetin and fellow actress Hilarie Burton spoke out against Bure’s comments, while GLAAD called her “out of sync with a growing majority of people of faith.” Now, Bure is blaming the media for the backlash....

The outfit will aim to develop and produce independent film and television projects from emerging filmmakers and creators, as well as writer/director Raiff’s own work. The first project at Small Ideas will be an undisclosed TV series written, directed, and produced by Raiff, with Quittner also producing. “Clem and I are very protective of passion. We want the artists we work with to know we believe in their stories and ideas as much as they do....

“I ran against Cuomo, because nobody else would,” she told me. “And it was important to show who he was and what he was hiding behind and the kind of New York that we could have. And I don’t have to run now that he’s gone. And other people will run now, because if you were actually in politics as your day job, he was a terrifying person to take on, because he would end your career....

“I’ve had those discussions with [the Duffer brothers] from the very first season,” Harbour said. “We were always interested in that idea of the Gandalf resurrection – Gandalf the Grey who fights the Balrog and then becomes Gandalf the White. It’s the idea of the resurrection of the character. And mythologically, Hopper, in a sense, had to change. I mean, you couldn’t go on the way he was going on. He has to resurrect in some way....