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Cathy Yan wishes she had "more control" over 'Birds of Prey'.

The 38-year-old director helmed the DC Extended Universe movie and confessed that she wanted to have more of a say over the final cut of the film.

Cathy said: "I would have loved to have more control over the edit of ('Birds of Prey'). But that's just kind of how it is.

"I don't know if there's a Cathy Yan cut out there, but I think for any filmmaker, all of us are in it because we want to express ourselves as wholly as possible. And to match what you ultimately see on screen with what's in our head."

Cathy admits that her experience on 'Birds of Prey' which starred Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as The Huntress and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary - has left her unsure about taking on a blockbuster in the future.

Asked if the superhero flick will impact on her plans, she told The Playlist: "Yes and no.

"I never did ('Birds of Prey') in the first place so that I could say I did a big movie or blockbuster movie. I actually very much did it because I thought the script was interesting. And the fact that I got the chance to depict women, especially female superheroes, in a way that we haven't really seen before, like neither perfect nor weak, you know?

"I think it's (typically) either-or really. I enjoyed that challenge of being able to subvert the genre a little bit."

Cathy added: "I would never discount ever doing it again. I try not to think of whether I would do this type of movie or that type of movie again. Or whether I'd work with this studio or that.

"But more like, 'Is this story compelling?' And I'm also a writer/director. So, in that case, my big lesson is that I want to continue to do that and have a little bit more control over the story I'm telling."

Link:
Cathy Yan wanted 'more control' over Birds of Prey - Crow River Media

Facebook, which has long enabledadvertisers to control what content their ads appear adjacent to on its audience network, Instant Articles and its in-stream video, will soon be able to do so across the most organic content itpublishes: its newsfeed.

The initiative, which is in its early stages of development, will enable advertisers and agencies to exclude their ads from running next to or near topicsthey deem inappropriate or harmful to their brands image.

Providing advertisers topic exclusion tools to control the content their ads appear next to is incrediblyimportant work for us, Facebook Vice President-Global Business Group Carolyn Everson said in a statement announcing the effort this morning. She added that the steps are being taken as part ofFacebooks commitment to support the World Federation of Advertisers recently announced GARM (Global Alliance for Harmful Media) initiative.

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Withprivacy at the center of the work, were starting to develop and test for a control that will apply to News Feed, she said, adding that, It will take time but its the rightwork to do.

Marketers and agencies have a long history of requiring media to ensure that their ads do not appear adjacent to objectionable content that might harm their brandmessages by association. The criteria vary by brands and the context of the media they place it in, and the process is constantly evolving. Some brands, for example, may have different criteria forthe same objectionable content in an entertainment environment vs. a news programming environment, but as social media has evolved -- especially so-called user-generated content -- some of theircriteria have fallen off historic guardrails, because they have not been easily classifiable, and/or because the platforms -- like Facebook -- didnt have the controls to enable them.

A Facebook spokesperson said explicit details were still being worked out and characterized the plans as early days, but offered the following example of how it might work:

The current design is a control that helps address concerns brands have of their ads appearing around ads appearing next to certain topics, based on their brand suitabilitypreference, in News Feed, he said, adding, For example, the control may allow an advertiser to select a topic, such as Crime and Tragedy. That selection would inform how our ad systemsdeliver the ads. The control may change as we test and learn.

Read more:
Facebook To Give Brands Control Of Ad Buys Next To Its Most Organic Content: The Topics Of Its Newsfeed 01/29/2021 - MediaPost Communications

Shagmag

The famed Hollywood sign that overlooks Tinseltown briefly read "Hollyboob" on Monday. And now we (may) know why.

Social media influencer Julia Rose says she changed the sign to protest what she sees as censorship of racier content by Instagram. Police arrested Rose and five others for trespassing, and park rangers quickly restored the iconic sign to its usual status.

Entertain your brain with the coolest news from streaming to superheroes, memes to video games.

"This was way uncool (not to mention the terrain is quite steep and dangerous)," Captain Steve Lurie, commanding officer of LAPD's Hollywood area, tweeted Monday.

Rose is founder and CEO of Shag Mag, a digital publication that features "exclusive and uncensored content of Julia Rose and other up and coming Instagram models" (yes, there are lots of boobs). In an interview with The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, Rose said she first came up with the Hollyboob idea last year after Instagram warned her about nudity on her personal and company accounts. The accounts had about 6 million followers combined before they were disabled, the Times reports.

Rose told the newspaper she knew she was "pushing the boundaries of censorship" on the accounts by featuring other scantily clothed influencers, but believed Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, targeted influencers more aggressively than established brands like Playboy.

"We don't allow nudity on Instagram, and we removed these accounts for repeatedly breaking those rules," a Facebook company spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday.

Rose, and fellow influencer Jack Tenney, one of her prank partners, maintain that the stunt had unanticipated benefits, like raising breast cancer awareness and bringing a smile to people's faces.

"It's awesome," Rose told the LA Times. "All of it combined together has been really, really great."

The Hollywood sign was built in 1923 as a giant illuminated ad for an upscale real estate development called Hollywoodland and quickly became a tourist attraction and symbol of Hollywood glamour. It's appeared in numerous films, including Argo, Sharknado and San Andreas, and in video games including Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. The W on the sign, the tallest letter on the current version, stands at 45 feet high by close to 40 inches wide.

Accessing the landmark atop Mt. Lee requires climbing steep terrain, but trespassers have managed to alter it before. In 2017, an artist changed it to read "Hollyweed," and in 1987, it briefly became "Holywood" to coincide with a visit from the pope.

Rose also made headlinesduring the 2019 World Series, when she and some friends flashed their breasts to TV cameras from seats behind home plate. At the time, they also said they were raising awareness of breast cancer.

Rose and Tenney face court appearances for their Hollyboob hijinks later this year.

Read more:
Why an influencer turned the Hollywood sign into the Hollyboob sign - CNET

DA MP Natasha Mazzone had social media buzzing on Tuesday, after her comments on vitamin D and the reopening of beaches.

It all started when Mazzone welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that some lockdown restrictions would be eased.

Among the changes were the unbanning of the sale of booze, reopening all beaches, and shortening the curfew from 11pm to 4am.

These changes have been made possible by the significant reduction in Covid-19 hospital admissions across all provinces, reducing the pressure on beds and hospital personnel, said Ramaphosa.

Taking to Twitter, Mazzone explained why she had been arguing for the reopening of beaches.

Covid-19 hates vitamin D, which your body gets naturally from sunshine, you should be in open spaces with lots of fresh air. Our government closed beaches and parks and we all crammed into malls and tight spaces," she said.

Read this article:
Natasha Mazzone splits social media with vitamin D and beaches comment - TimesLIVE

A new report from U.K. broadcaster BBC says that the corporation is on course to deliver 951 million ($1.3 billion) in savings despite a real-terms 30% reduction in income.

The BBC Value for Audiences report released Wednesday notes that the reduction is due to increased funding obligations, such as the World Service and Welsh free-to-air channel S4C, the freeze in cost of the license fee income from 2011-2017 and the removal of the subsidy for licenses for those over 75 years of age, together resulting in an income loss of 1.1 billion ($1.5 billion).

The report also records a slowing down of growth in total households needing a TV license, a small increase in license fee payment evasion, and a drop in the overall Television Penetration Rate, which has fallen from 95.7% to 93.8%. It recognizes market pressures in the shape of SVOD and pay TV services such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney Plus and Sky, and also from the rapid rise of social media and gaming.

The report states that as a saver, the corporation has: halved the number of senior managers; reduced the costs of managing the BBCs property estate by 22%; delivered 29 major projects since 2012/13, on average 9% below budget; saved 45% on major strategic contracts costs; and cut overheads from 7.6% to 4.8%.

As a seller, among many achievements, the BBC has grown commercial income by 50% to 1.6 billion ($2.18 billion) and increased the on-screen value for every 1 ($1.36) of license fee spent from 1.35 ($1.83) to 1.47 ($2) within the last 12 months due to increased third-party investment.

However, the report identifies that further savings will involve difficult choices that will impact programs and services.

The report also has numerous instances of the BBCs smart spending, without losing quality or audiences. Looking forward, the report states several objectives including keep audience value as the primary focus of its strategy; efficiencies in content creation and distribution; further increase commercial revenues; explore opportunities presented by technological developments, including increased automation and digital offers; use lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic to inform future ways of working including travel efficiencies; and investing in new, diverse talent.

Tim Davie, BBC director-general, said: The BBC has made big changes to ensure we provide outstanding value. We are smarter spenders and savers and more efficient than ever before, but there is more to do.

The financial challenges and competition we face continue to evolve and while we have demonstrated we can deliver, I want us to adapt and reform further to safeguard the outstanding programs and services that our audiences love for the future, Davie added.

Read more:
BBC on Track to Deliver $1.3 Billion in Savings by 2022, Despite 30% Income Reduction - Variety