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Watch footage of Arkane's unreleased Half-Life spin-off
After years of rumors and leaks, Half-Life fans can finally see footage from Arkane's cancelled Half-Life spin-off 'Ravenholm'.
Apple TV+ posts a full trailer for 'Beastie Boys Story'
With SXSW 2020 canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, Apple is hyping its upcoming Beastie Boys documentary with a nearly three-minute trailer posted tonight on YouTube. Acquired at Sundance, the documentary promises to have "Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz tell you an intimate, personal story of their band and 40 years of friendship."
‘Frontline’ documentary tackles Jeff Bezos and the ‘Amazon Empire’
Amazon is the subject of the latest Frontline documentary, which airs on PBS today at 9PM ET and is probably worth checking out if you have any interest in the tech giant. From the same team that was behind a 2018 Frontline examination of Facebook, Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos charts the rise of Bezos and his company from shipping books from a Washington garage in the mid-'90s through to its current status as a trillion-dollar colossus.
Apple TV+ documentary series will profile Oprah, Lin-Manuel and Big Bird
Apple is leaning even further into documentaries than you might have expected. The company has unveiled plans for a Dear... Apple TV+ documentary series that, in an odd (if logical) twist, will use the "Dear Apple" ads as inspiration for the basic format. The show will profile "iconic" people through letters written by people whose lives were changed by a given cultural leader's achievements. The figures included in the 10-episode initial run are eclectic, to put it mildly. They'll range from existing Apple pal Oprah Winfrey to Lin-Manuel Miranda, ballet dancer Misty Copeland and even Big Bird.
Apple TV+ snags Spike Jonze's documentary on the Beastie Boys
Apple TV+ is about to venture into uncharted territory for the service: music documentaries. Apple has acquired Beastie Boys Story, a documentary co-produced by the remaining two Beastie Boys (Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz) and directed by friend and collaborator Spike Jonze. The movie will follow the stories of Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D both as a band and as close pals. It premieres online April 24th, although it'll come to some IMAX theaters for a "limited engagement" on April 3rd.
YouTube will premiere a Coachella documentary on March 31st
Save for a year off in 2000, Coachella has been held every year since 1999, and YouTube is celebrating two decades of the music festival with an upcoming documentary. Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert will debut on the platform March 31st.
YouTube’s Justin Bieber docuseries premieres January 27th
Today, YouTube shared the trailer for "Justin Bieber: Seasons," its 10-part docuseries on the artist. The first episode will drop on January 27th, and YouTube says the show will chronicle the making of Bieber's first album in four years. It promises a "raw, powerful and intimate look" at Bieber's creative process, and it will undoubtedly promote Bieber's 2020 tour.
Netflix tweaks 'Devil Next Door' documentary after Polish PM complains
Netflix distributes content in nearly every country around the world now, which has meant making edits to content in some places based on local laws. In the case of a Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj episode that was critical of Saudi Arabia's government, the streamer pulled it entirely in the country, while continuing to maintain that it believed in "artistic freedom." This week, just after CEO Reed Hastings commented on the Saudi Arabia incident by saying "we are not in the truth to power business, we're in the entertainment business," it faced a different complaint from Poland's government. A documentary series added this month called The Devil Next Door is about an John Demjanjuk, who was living in Cleveland until Holocaust survivors identified him in the as a notorious Nazi death camp guard and he was later extradited to stand trial. He was eventually convicted, and died while the case was being appealed in 2012.
Johnny Cash's powerful voice narrates his life in YouTube's 'The Gift'
"I was a bag of bones. I looked like walking death, and I knew it." By now the trials, and redemption, of Johnny Cash are well documented. Whether it's 2005's Walk The Line or, most recently, Ken Burns' Country Music, it's not hard to find a detailed account of the career of the Man in Black. What many of them don't offer though is Cash's own perspective on his life -- both the highs and the lows. With Emmy-winning director Thom Zimny's The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash, we get just that. And the impact is more haunting and inspiring than any other time these stories have been told.
Disney+ non-fiction shows include Mickey, Wolfgang Puck documentaries
Disney already has a robust lineup of scripted shows for its upcoming streaming service, but it'll also have documentaries on offer for non-fiction fans. The company has announced new non-fiction originals for Disney+ at the International Documentary Association, where it has also previewed previously announced titles. One of the titles you can look forward to in 2020 is Howard, a documentary directed by Don Hahn (Beauty and the Beast) that focuses on the life of Howard Ashman, the lyricist behind Disney classics like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid. He also created the Little Shop of Horrors musical.
Watch the trailer for Apple's first TV+ documentary 'The Elephant Queen'
Apple has more than TV shows up its sleeve for the debut of TV+ next month. Among the day-one titles for the service is The Elephant Queen. A trailer for the feature-length documentary, which actor Chiwetel Ejiofor narrates, centers on a family of these astonishing creatures. The Elephant Queen follows the herd's search for a new home, led by matriarch Athena.
YouTube’s Johnny Cash documentary premieres November 11th
A feature-length documentary about the legendary Johnny Cash is on the way to YouTube. The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash features interviews with the singer-songwriter's family and collaborators, along with newly unearthed archive footage and an original score from Pearl Jam's Mike McCready. It delves into the Man in Black's triumphs and spiritual endeavors along with his addiction problems and personal tragedies.
Recommended Reading: The redesigned WWE Network
WWE Network 2.0: How WWE rebuilt its streaming service after a split with Disney Chris Welch, The Verge After a flashy reveal at CES a few years ago, the WWE Network is by all accounts a success, amassing well over a million subscribers by early 2019. Disney threw a wrench in the plans when it bought BAMTech, the company that had successfully constructed streaming services for the likes of Major League Baseball and HBO Now. It was also what WWE relied on for its 24/7 buffet of choke slams and live events. WWE saw the writing on the wall, and rebuilt its streaming library from the ground up.
Apple lands 'Dads' documentary from Bryce Dallas Howard
Apple isn't wasting time with its Ron Howard documentary deal. Variety has learned through sources that Apple used its first-look deal to acquire Dads, a documentary film from Ron's daughter and fellow director Bryce Dallas Howard. The Apple TV+ production will look at modern fatherhood around the world, with celebrities like Jimmy Fallon, Neil Patrick Harris and Will Smith weighing in. There's no firm premiere date, but a run in theaters is "on the table," according to one of the sources.
Disney+ docu-series will focus on the people behind its movies and parks
Disney+ will have access to Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Fox's impressive film library, but it needs a wide variety of other content to compete with Netflix's endless scroll. The entertainment giant has dropped a clue at what we can expect to see with the launch of a new docu-series called One Day at Disney. It will go behind the scenes to profile Disney talent like Imagineer Eric Baker, who designed props and creatures for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Aladdin animator Eric Goldberg and Marvel Studio development head Ryan Meinerding.
Netflix will peer inside Bill Gates' mind with a new docuseries
An upcoming Netflix docuseries will offer some insight into Bill Gates's mind as he tries to solve some of the planet's biggest problems. The three-part series, Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates, "offers an unprecedented peek inside the mind of the celebrated tech visionary, business leader, and philanthropist," Netflix said. It includes interviews with Gates and his wife Melinda, as well as their loved ones and philanthropy and business partners.
Amazon has bought yet another soccer documentary
Amazon is getting to set to stream the Premier League this year, and even though it only has 20 mid-week matches, it wants to multiply the impact as much as possible. To that end, it announced that it has acquired a four-part documentary on BVB Borussia Dortmund's quest to capture the German Football League (Bundesliga) championship. Called Inside Borussia Dortmund, it will air globally starting in August, coinciding with Amazon's first round of Premier League streaming.
PBS celebrates the lunar landing's anniversary with a space miniseries
This year marks the lunar landing's 50th anniversary, and PBS is celebrating the event by broadcasting a space-themed mini-series. The broadcaster will debut the six-episode show entitled Stellar on June 20th, publishing the episodes on its YouTube and Facebook pages. It will feature three of its space-loving hosts: Matt Dowd (astrophysicist and host of Space Time), Dianna Cowern (host of Physics Girl) and Joe Hanson (host of It's Okay to be Smart).
What’s coming to Netflix in June: ‘Black Mirror’ and the final 'Jessica Jones'
Netflix packed May with new movies like Wine Country, the animated series Tuca and Bertie, a Ted Bundy biopic and more. Now, it's bringing just as much new content and star power to June. In just the first half of the month, Netflix will release season five of Black Mirror -- a three episode run, which you can watch trailers for now -- and the third and final season of Jessica Jones.
Sony releases its 'God of War' making-of documentary on YouTube
God of War was one of the biggest games of last year. It was among the top ten best-selling titles of 2018 and it scooped up numerous plaudits, including the top prize at the Game Awards and a coveted spot among Engadget's favorite games of the year. Bringing the game to life took an immense effort, and it took Sony's Santa Monica Studio a long time to revamp the action-adventure series for PS4.
