Dua Lipa‘s sophomore album is expected to drop sometime this year — sadly, it sounds like that Ariana Grande collab didn’t make the cut — but in the meantime, the “One Kiss” and “Electricity” singer is holding fans over with an exciting one-off release.
For her first move of 2019, Lipa contributed a soundtrack cut for the upcoming motion-capture action flick Alita: Battle Angel. The full song doesn’t arrive until January 25, but Lipa has generously shared a snippet of what’s to come. In the behind-the-scenes clip, posted to Instagram on Thursday (January 3), Lipa takes to the studio to belt “Swan Song” in all its epic-sounding glory. “I can’t lie / I’m scared to open my eyes / ‘Cause what if I find nothing at all,” she sings, before taking flight on the chorus. “Hold on tonight / This is not a, this is not a, swan song, swan song / Swan dive / It’s a new life.”
“Swan Song,” which was co-written by Justin Tranter and Lipa herself, is described as an “inspiring and empowering anthem” for Alita: Battle Angel. Lipa previously said in a statement, “I am intrigued at both Alita herself, and the amazing team of creators that came together to make this movie possible. I see a little of myself in her, in both her badass spirit and our shared haircut.”
She added, “Alita is all about empowerment and standing up for who you are, which are two things that resonate with me.”
As if a new Dua song wasn’t exciting enough, it sounds like we’ll also be getting an accompanying video, which will hopefully find the Grammy nominee unleashing her inner battle angel and serving looks while kicking ass. She wrote in another post, “We made a music video too and that was a lot of fun to shoot! Can’t wait for you to see.”
“Swan Song” arrives on January 25, while Alita: Battle Angel hits theaters on February 14.
Some of the most egregious character tropes in film — the professor who underlines a word on the board to start class, the writer who never pitches anything but is somehow always working — have found their way into a meme.
On Tuesday, Rory Turnbull, an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of Hawaii in Manoa tweeted about a film trope he’d noticed — one that you have also noticed, probably, in every single movie with a classroom scene. “Hello, I’m a professor in a movie, I only reach the point of my lecture right as class is ending,” he wrote. “Then I yell at students about the reading / homework as they leave.”
Hello, I’m a professor in a movie, I only reach the main point of my lecture right as class is ending. Then I yell at students about the reading / homework as they leave.
After Turnbull’s tweet, dozens of people shared other character types that aren’t necessarily lazy, per se — they just allow for shocking narrative expedience and probably wouldn’t fly IRL.
Okay, fine, some of them are very lazy.
Hello, I’m a professor in a movie, I have an uncanny knack for picking on Mr/Ms Who-isn’t-paying-attention at this moment (I know the names of every student in my 200+ lecture) without looking up. The student is a genius who instinctively knows the answer.
Hello, I’m a writer in a movie. I write one piece a week and live in a two bedroom New York apartment with a walk-in wardrobe. Also I never actually pitch anywhere, the jobs just come to me. https://t.co/YyuPjYgEyP
Hi, I’m the youngest member of this special ops team. My wife just gave birth and I’m nervous about my first mission, but confident nothing terrible will happen to me in the first scene.
Hello, I’m a fat girl in a movie. I exist to be the butt of everyone’s jokes. I’m either relentlessly sunny or totally unlikeable. I’m allowed to be funny, but no one can ever be attracted to me unless they are pathetic or scorned for it. I dress badly & can’t groom myself. https://t.co/Xv0JjKxzVf
Hello, I’m a doctor in a movie. I use defib on a flatlined patient instead of adrenaline, despite knowing that a flatline is the goal of defibrillation. I also do CPR compressions wrong. I use my position of authority to pressure an underling into a romantic relationship. https://t.co/5dPwFiZifJ
Hello, I’m a reporter in a movie. I have three months in which to file a story and it’s about the person I’m falling in love with. My editor is as much a mentor as a boss.
Hello, i’m the editor in this movie. I have an unlimited budget for writers and no deadlines. I think this story is a surefire hit and have no qualms about the ethics of sleeping with sources.
Hello, I’m a lawyer in a movie. Every case is a lengthy jury trial where I’m totally outmatched & losing the entire time. Then, at the final possible moment I have a stroke of genius that no one ever thought of & win the case hands down. https://t.co/JjvS7Aa42O
Hello, I’m a literary agent in a movie. No one seems to understand that my job is different from being a book editor. I seem to have a client list consisting of one author, whom I visit a lot and also take to lunch/dinner on a weekly basis. I wear a ton of statement jewelry.
Hello, I’m an programmer in a movie. I’m white, male, and conspicuously nerdy, and everything I code works on the first try. I’m the Best Coder because I’m a fast typist, and I type extra fast in programming emergencies. I never Google error messages. There are no error messages. https://t.co/uQiKv18zkc
Hello, I’m a bisexual woman in a movie. I’m evil, sexy, slutty, and hit on everything that moves. I prey on vulnerable young women, seduce upstanding guys with my wiles, and cheat on all my partners. You’ll know I’m bi bc I’ll mention or show it roughly every 2 second. https://t.co/7gN6efxPgm
“There were points where in working stuff out, it got like trying to do a Rubik’s cube in your head, and I had to literally get up from my desk and kind of walk around the house holding my head.”
According to Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, Bandersnatch was as mind-boggling to make as it was to watch—and he’s got the behind-the-scenes footage to prove it.
Just days after Bandersnatch‘s successful post-holiday streaming debut, Netflix has begun publishing peeks into the interactive movie’s making-of process. From producer Annabel Jones lamenting scrapping her production plan on the first day of filming to snapshots of Brooker’s elaborate story boards, the details in these clips explain some of how the ambitious (and experimental) production was pulled off, giving viewers brand new insight into the latest Black Mirror experience.
So far, Netflix has published two of these featurettes on their YouTube page. The first, showcasing the tech behind the production, is above. The second, showing more of the overall narrative process, can be found here.
We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more videos since this can only be the tip of the Bandersnatch iceberg—but in the meantime, it’s back to those alternate timelines.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is now streaming on Netflix.
A lot of shit is scheduled to hit the fan when Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres in April, including revelations that Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen – military allies and newly-minted lovers! – are aunt and nephew.
The actors discussed the weight of this information with TV Guide, as did showrunner D.B. Weiss.
“From a dramatic standpoint, it makes things interesting, because the story is no longer about who Jon’s parents are,” Weiss said in the interview. “It’s about what happens when Jon finds out.”
As fans have suspected for years, the Season 7 finale confirmed that Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark – a son called Aegon.
“Jon is someone who plays by the book. He cannot lie,” Harington said (a fact we’ve seen demonstrated and weaponized by the Night’s Watch). “Finding out about Dany would be very hard for him.”
Not to mention that Daenerys has built quite a lot of her reputation on being the last living Targaryen – a direct successor to the throne in whose veins flows the blood of dragons.
“Daenerys’s lifelong dream has been to avenge her family and claim her rightful seat on the Iron Throne,” Clarke said. “She truly loves Jon. Were she to find out about his title, it would cut deep.”
This sounds highly foreboding for Westeros’ new incestuous power couple (sorry, Jaime and Cersei!). But will it destabilize their relationship before or after the Army of the Dead destabilize all life? Will it somehow remain a secret? Worst yet…will Cersei get to the news before they do?
We’ll find out when Game of Thrones returns in April.
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Everyone wants to get the word out on 5G. (What’s 5G? Read What Is 5G? for the answer.) For now, as we wait for true 5G networks to launch, it’s mostly about marketing. Thus T-Mobile, which has a stake in how 5G is perceived, did a study to “understand consumer attitudes and perceptions of 5G today.” The company had HarrisX contact 5,009 consumers with internet-enabled devices across 22 major markets during the second week of December of 2018.
The findings show a full 55 percent of respondents believe it’s “very important” to invest in “technological innovation;” 39 percent said it’s only “somewhat important.” The remaining 6 percent (due to rounding, these results don’t always hit 100 percent) apparently are fine with their flip-phones and half-megapixel cameras.
Image: 5G CONSUMER INDEX
The people who think it’s very or somewhat important are spread across party lines: It’s a big deal for Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters alike. More older respondents (age 45 and up) thought it was important than younger ones did. And apparently, men (63 percent) think tech innovation is more important than the women do (47 percent), so HarrisX obviously didn’t call my parents.
The real nitty-gritty of what T-Mobile probably wanted to know has to do with consumer awareness: Just where does 5G fall in the ranking of various technological marvels of the modern age? It’s not bad — at 57 percent awareness, 5G is third, just behind virtual reality (83 percent — thanks, Pokemon Go!) and artificial intelligence (78 percent). That puts 5G awareness ahead of esoteric terms such as cloud computing, Internet of Things, machine learning, and the ever-buzzy blockchain.
Image: 5G CONSUMER INDEX
5G awareness is highest in major cities where the big carriers are planning tests, including Orlando, Vegas, Miami, and LA — all are 62 percent aware or higher. (Miami, Charlotte, and Houston show the most excitement about getting 5G, as indicated in the top chart.)
Image: 5G CONSUMER INDEX
Gender and age for 5G awareness again reveals more men (64 percent) ready for it than woman (50 percent). The age range with the highest awareness was 35 to 44 (61 percent). From users of the big four mobile carriers, Sprint users apparently have the most awareness (59 percent) but even the lowest — T-Mobile customers — was only 56 percent. A full 57 percent of respondents across the board said they’re not only familiar with 5G but that they truly believe it will lead to faster wireless speeds. 43 percent said it will be “significantly better” than 4G/LTE; that number goes up to 75 percent for people who said they’re “very familiar with 5G.”
Probably recalling previous upgrades to the wireless networks, the response to the question, “Do you expect it will be easy or difficult to adopt this technology?” finally raised some red flags. While 43 percent said it’ll be “somewhat easy” for consumers, 25 percent said it’ll be “somewhat difficult.” That will come down mostly to affordability.
Here’s where things get wacky. 29 percent of people said 5G is already here. 35 percent said it’ll hit in 2019. 25 percent said 2020.
No 5G device is widely available yet; all four US carriers are supposed to launch 5G phones this year, and even then, coverage will be very limited for another year or two. Respondents may be confused by the number of technologies currently being called “5G.” Many laypeople call WiFi on the 5-gigahertz band “5G WiFi,” although it’s a totally different technology that has nothing to do with the 5G we’re talking about. And AT&T is busy rebranding its existing 4G network as “5G E,” hoping that you don’t ask about the ‘E’ part.
The top two major tech companies that are pegged as “mind leaders” in 5G are Google at number two and Apple at number one. That’s funny, because Apple is way behind on 5G — it’s expected to release its 5G iPhone a full year later than most other mobile phone manufacturers, in late 2020. Google also doesn’t have much to do with 5G right now. Americans may just think of Apple as the leader in every kind of technology, showing how far uphill the actual 5G leaders are going to have to climb.
Image: 5G Consumer Index
You can find all this data and a lot more from T-Mobile and HarrisX at www.5GConsumerIndex.com.
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