Sep 30
Google Stadia’s impending shutdown is likely a headache for many users, but one player may be on the verge of losing a ton of Red Dead Redemption 2 progress.
Sep 30
Welcome back to io9’s monthly Nerd’s Watch, where we pare down the enormous lists of new films and television shows arriving on all your favorite streaming services into the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror titles we think you’ll like most.
Sep 30
The Nissan Skyline GT-R developed a cult following before hitting the mainstream in 2 Fast 2 Furious. The car has evolved quite a bit over the years.
Sep 30
Amazon Makes Creepy Surveillance Robot Even Creepier With Yet More Ring Integration
Posted in: Today's Chili
Ever since Amazon launched Astro—its stout, doe-eyed, autonomously mobile domestic robot—its been a curious sight to behold. When first unveiled last summer, a wealth of tech journos rushed to call the bot “cute” while others, myself included, found it creepy. All of us, however, were basically left wondering what the…
Sep 30
Robert Eggers Is Finally Making His Nosferatu Film With Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp
Posted in: Today's Chili
Ever since Robert Eggers announced his arrival on the auteur filmmaking scene with 2015’s The Witch, he’s let it be known that he intended to tackle an adaptation of vampire classic Nosferatu. That project is finally ramping up, with a killer cast announced today.
Sep 30
Bruce Willis may have retired from acting following a diagnosis of aphasia, but a version of him will live on in future projects. Last year, the actor’s “digital twin” appeared in an ad for a Russian telecom created by a company called Deepcake. Now, it’s being reported that he sold his rights for future film, advertising and other projects to Deepcake, according to the company’s website and The Telegraph.
Engineers created the digital double drawing from content in Die Hard and Fifth Element, when Willis was 32 and 42, respectively. With his likeness now on the company’s AI platform, it can graft his likeness onto another actor’s face in a relatively short amount of time. However, Willis’s estate has final approval on any projects.
In the ad for Megafon, Willis’s face was swapped onto actor Konstantin Solovyov. “I liked the precision of my character. It’s a great opportunity for me to go back in time,” Willis said in a statement on Deepcake. “With the advent of the modern technology, I could communicate, work and participate in filming, even being on another continent. It’s a brand new and interesting experience for me, and I grateful to our team.”
In March, Willis’s family announced that he was retiring from acting to due a diagnosis of aphasia, which impairs communication and comprehension. In the last few years, the 67-year-old has appeared in a series of projects amid concern about his cognitive state.
Actors have already appeared as digital versions of themselves, notably in The Book of Boba Fett with a young Mark Hamill. Digital versions of Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing also appeared in Star Wars: Rogue One, despite the fact that both are deceased. James Earl Jones recently sold Disney the right to recreate his voice using AI, so he could retire.
The practice has stoked controversy. Deepfakes vary widely in quality, but many approach the “uncanny valley” where characters don’t look quite right because of stiff movements, dead eyes and other issues. There’s also the question of rights, as deceased actors can’t turn down posthumous film roles, even if the family or estate approves.
Sep 30
‘Unprecedented’ Nord Stream Pipeline Leaks Will Ravage Marine Life, Harm Climate
Posted in: Today's Chili“This will probably be the biggest gas leak ever, in terms of its rate,” said a climate scientist.
Sep 30
It’s been a little over a year since Elon Musk trotted a person in a spandex suit out on stage and called them a prototype robot. Now, he’s teasing that we’ll actually get to see one of his many, many promises escape the vapor at tonight’s Tesla AI Day. Or, at least, he says we’ll see enough of the robot for him to …
Sep 30
Fossil Fuel Industry May Be Seriously Undercounting Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Posted in: Today's Chili
The oil and gas industry may be seriously undercounting its greenhouse gas emissions. A technique used to burn off methane during production may be getting rid of less of the greenhouse gas than previously thought, a new study finds—which could mean that emissions from flaring could be as much as five times higher…
Sep 30
The Sanderson Sisters are back! Hocus Pocus 2 is now streaming on Disney+, just in time for pumpkin spice season and repeat viewings in the lead-up to Halloween. io9 recently participated in the press conference for the film with the cast and creative team to discuss the making of the movie and why it t00k 29 years to…
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