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Watch Will Smith's Grand Canyon helicopter bungee jump at 6 PM ET
Of all the things you could possibly be doing on a Tuesday afternoon, watching a live stream of Will Smith bungee jumping out of a helicopter is probably not among the worst. Oh, and he's doing the stunt over the Grand Canyon on his 50th birthday. No biggie. The multi-hyphenate megastar is celebrating his big day in Big Willie Style, and you can watch the jump as it happens, because YouTube is airing it as one of its originals.
YouTube gets 1.8 billion logged-in viewers monthly
On stage today at Radio City Music Hall, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki made a surprising revelation: the service gets 1.8 billion logged-in viewers every month. And that doesn't include people who aren't logged in -- which means the actual number of people watching YouTube is definitely much higher. Last June, the service had 1.5 billion logged-in watchers. On TVs alone, people are now watching 150 million hours of YouTube every day. The latest figures are yet another sign that YouTube's reach is staggering, something that Wojcicki wanted to make crystal clear for the audience of advertisers and potential partners at its annual BrandCast event.
Will Smith's Grand Canyon bungee jump airs on YouTube September 25th
If you haven't noticed, Will Smith has found a new surge of creative energy with his YouTube channel. And in March, he agreed to bungee jump over the Grand Canyon from a helicopter on YouTube, after being challenged from the folks at Yes Theory. Now, we know that stunt, officially called The Jump Off, is going to take place on his 50th birthday, September 25th. YouTube made the announcement at its BrandCast event in New York City tonight, where it's trying to woo over advertisers and partners. Smith, naturally, will be donating proceeds from the jump to charity.
Netflix confirms the expected 'Bright' sequel is on its way
Netflix's Bright might not be a critical success, but it is a commercial success -- and that's all the streaming service needs to hear. After reports that a sequel was in the works, company has confirmed that Bright 2 is in development through a brief teaser clip (below). There's no mention of a release date, plot or even casting, but there's a good chance that Will Smith and Joel Edgerton will pick up their roles. David Ayer is expected to return as a director and writer.
Netflix's 'Bright' nabs 11 million viewers in its first three days
It turns out betting on Will Smith paid off for Netflix. The company's first blockbuster film, Bright, garnered 11 million streaming viewers in the U.S. over its first three days, according to Nielsen figures reported by Variety. To put that in perspective, Nielsen found that 15.8 million people watched Stranger Things 2 over the same period of time, and The Crown's second season premiere saw three million viewers. While Bright was widely reviled by critics, Netflix has reportedly already greenlit a sequel. As I argued yesterday, the hype behind the film matters more to the company than its quality. (Notably, Bright's Rotten Tomatoe's score now sits at 26 percent, while its audience score is a rosy 89 percent.)
Will Smith's 'Bright' is terrible, but that doesn’t matter to Netflix
By most accounts, Netflix's big-budget Will Smith blockbuster Bright is one of the worst movies of the year. It has a 32% score on Rotten Tomatoes -- critics don't just dislike it; they've eviscerated it as an affront to cinema. Yet despite that response, which is particularly disappointing for a film with a $90 million budget, Netflix has reportedly greenlit a sequel with Will Smith attached. That doesn't make much sense at first, especially since the company can't bank on big box office returns like other studios. But for Netflix, it turns out hype matters more than quality.
Netflix's big-budget film 'Bright' already has a sequel planned
If you're as thrilled as we are for Netflix's Will Smith vehicle, Bright, then get ready for even more excitement. The film, which reportedly cost Neftlix $90 million to make, already has a sequel lined up, according to a report at Bloomberg. Whether this is the start of a Marvel-esque movie universe exclusively on Netflix (as TechCrunch notes) or not, it's hard not to see this as competition for actual movies in theaters.
Here’s our closest look yet at Will Smith’s ‘Bright’ for Netflix
Bright, from director David Ayer and starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, is probably Netflix's highest profile movie release this year. Will Smith stars as a policeman on an Earth that's inhabited by orcs, elves and other creatures. Edgerton is the first orc on the police force and becomes Smith's partner. The movie releases on December 22nd, just in time for the holidays. The second trailer came out today, and you can take a look at it below.
Netflix drops the full trailer for David Ayer's 'Bright'
Netflix has some 40 original movies due for release this year, but the highest profile release will likely be Bright. Directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, End of Watch), it stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as a pair of cops, but the twist is that they live in a world with orcs, fairies and elves. Following a panel appearance at Comic-Con Netflix posted this three minute trailer on YouTube, giving us our first good look at the movie ahead of its December 22nd release date.
Here's our first look at Netflix's 'Bright,' starring Will Smith
Why would Netflix pay $90 million for a single film? Two words: Will Smith. The blockbuster star is teaming back up with David Ayer, the director of Suicide Squad, for Bright, a new fantasy action film. Tonight at the Academy Awards we caught our first glimpse at the movie, which basically looks like a bunch of Suicide Squad deleted scenes. Smith stars as a cop in a world where humans live alongside fantasy creatures, and he partners up with an orc (Joel Edgerton) to track down a superweapon.
Tech host Will Smith needs help funding his VR talk show
News of tech journalist Will Smith's VR talk show broke in April and he's looking for help funding the first season. Smith has taken to Kickstarter to raise money for the The Foo Show's 5-episode affair that will debut on Oculus Home and Steam in December. After the premiere, the plan is to release two episodes in both January and February and the entire first season can be yours with a pledge of $20.
Tech journalist Will Smith launches a talk show in VR
When Will Smith (no, not that one) announced he was leaving Tested to start his own virtual reality company last September, it came as a bit of a shock. But sometimes you see something so powerful that you can't do anything to stop yourself from pursuing it. Now Smith has revealed exactly what he's doing: A talk show filmed entirely in VR called The FOO Show. "My goal with The FOO Show is to showcase amazing creators and their works in ways that were never before possible, using virtual reality," he writes on Medium.
Netflix reportedly pays $90 million for Will Smith and 'Bright'
A couple of weeks ago rumors surfaced that Netflix was in the lead to sign its biggest movie deal yet, and now Deadline says it is the winner of a bidding battle (over Warner Bros./MGM and PalmStar) for Bright. Pitched as an R-rated thriller with fantasy elements, it carries a reported price tag of about $90 million -- $30 million or so more than it paid for War Machine with Brad Pitt. In it, Smith is apparently playing cop partnered with an orc (Joel Edgerton) Alien Nation-style. That includes $45 million to shoot it, with another $45 million used to pay the talent and buy out back end residual fees that they won't get because of its anticipated limited theater release.
Netflix wants Will Smith's next feature film
Netflix's track record for original movies is spotty, to say the least. On one hand, you have something like the pretty stellar Beasts of No Nation. Then there's Adam Sandler's output that's exclusive to the streaming juggernaut and the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon sequel. But maybe Bright, a new flick starring Will Smith that's being directed by Suicide Squad's David Ayer, can fix that. The Hollywood Reporter says that the budget is between $80 million and $100 million and follows a human cop (Smith) forced into working with an orc partner (Joel Edgerton) to find a powerful wand.
Sony Pictures softened 'Concussion' to appease the NFL
Looks like it isn't just its own Players Association that the National Football League can push around with impunity. Internal Sony emails recently brought to light by the company's massive data breach indicate that Sony Pictures intentionally softened the point on it's upcoming film Concussion so as not to upset the league. The movie, which stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the man who helped first diagnose CTE (or chronic traumatic encephalopathy). According to the emails, Sony executives discussed at length with Smith and Peter Landesman, the film's director, about altering the script and marketing for the film to avoid antagonizing the NFL. The movie's angle was reportedly changed from being a condemnation of the NFL's handling of the growing CTE crisis to focus more on Omalu's discovery and initial diagnosis.
Hancock streaming home to BRAVIA HDTVs ahead of Blu-ray release for $9.99
Tired of watching Amazon Video on Demand, Dailymotion and YouTube videos on your BRAVIA Internet Video Link? Coming through on its promise to send Hancock to Sony HDTV owners first, Sony Pictures is offering the flick (in 720p or 480p, depending on bandwidth) for $9.99 starting October 28 through November 10, and even throwing in a free Blu-ray copy after it's released November 24. We'll have to wait and see if the Hancock At-Home Premiere is a one of a kind promotion (note: the stream is "valued" at $29.99) or a regular benefit to owning a BRAVIA and accompanying $299 add-on, but we can't help thinking this would be alot more interesting if it were offered over the PlayStation Network.[Via Sony PR]
Sony readying Men in Black BD-Live release June 17
We've known Sony would bring Men in Black to Blu-ray for a while, but thanks to an ad in the latest Home Media Magazine, we now know the date is June 17. High Def Digest points out the ad mentions the long-awaiting BD-Live extra will include a trivia game, although hopefully it will be more interesting than War's disappointing Yakuza Fighter. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones blasting aliens in 1080p sounds good to us, but throwing the latest tech on top doesn't hurt a bit.
