Media

How Gerry Anderson’s “UFO” Became “Space: 1999”

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Back in late 1969 & early 1970, the then married couple of Gerry Anderson & Sylvia Anderson produced their first ever live-action #SciFi TV series called #UFO, whose premise was that an unknown race of extraterrestrial aliens were clandestinely visiting Earth to use human beings as spare parts for their dying race.

While the first season of “UFO” did well when it finally premiered 2 years later in 1972 in the United States, ITC Entertainment later pulled the plug not long after ordering a 2nd season when ratings for the series when it went into reruns began to falter.

Gerry Anderson then proposed an alternate show that eventually morphed into what became #Space1999.

The following documentary on YouTube produced by Gerry Anderson Productions is rather interesting to watch.

AT&T to Sell WarnerMedia and DC Comics to Discovery

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On Monday morning, AT&T and Discovery, Inc. announced a deal whereby AT&T’s #WarnerMedia will be spun off and combined with #Discovery in a new standalone media company. The deal (which is still subject to regulatory approval) will combine two treasure troves of content, including the #HBOMax & discovery+ streaming services; #DCComics characters; and the #HarryPotter films, whose distribution is under #WarnerBrothers.

DC Comics is a subsidiary of the Global Brands and Experiences division of Warner Brothers, which itself is a subsidiary of WarnerMedia through its Studios & Networks division.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav (who’s been CEO since 2007) will run the combined business, according to Monday’s announcement. Prior to being the Discovery CEO, Zaslav worked for NBCUniversal, where he was responsible for a number of channels, including “The Sci-Fi Channel” before it was rebranded as the #SyFy Channel on March 16, 2009.

Zaslav’s ascension is part of a surprising move by AT&T and Discovery to pool their media resources and make a bid to compete more directly with large rivals like Netflix, Walt Disney and NBCUniversal. Zaslav will have a broader portfolio of resources as his company and AT&T form a joint venture that will combine his company’s TLC with Warner’s TNT and TBS; the flagship Discovery Channel with Warner’s DC Comics characters; and lifestyle-focused Food Network with Warner programs

David Zaslav

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Disney/LucasFilm Remove John Boyega from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Promotional Art Again

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#LucasFilm and parent company #Disney continue to tarnish their own reputations. While both claim to be inclusive EEO companies, they continue to pander to countries (especially China) that don’t like people of color.

In an official tweet posted to celebrate “Star Wars Day” (May the Fourth) yesterday, the official #StarWars Twitter account shared a fan-made poster by artist Leke Fonge intended to represent the film “Star Wars VII: #TheForceAwakens”, which was the first of the three Disney Star Wars sequel trilogy of movies.

The poster shared by the official Star Wars Twitter account (and later deleted) depicted two characters from the film: Rey and Kylo Ren:

Modified Poster by Leke Fonge Shared on Official Star Wars Twitter Account on May 4, 2021

But, a poster by the same artist and shared on the official Star Wars website includes Finn standing between Rey and Kylo Ren, along with the Millennium Falcon and a number of First Order TIE fighters:

Leke Fonge-made Poster Shared on the Official Star Wars Website

The same artwork that was posted on the official Star Wars website was then also shared on Disney+:

Same Leke Fonge-Made Poster Shared on Disney+

After fans noticed this obvious discrepancy and complete removal of John Boyega’s character of Finn from the poster shared on the official Twitter account, they were outraged and were highly critical of Disney and LucasFilm. This prompted the powers that be at Disney or LucasFilm to delete the original tweet that left out Finn, then replacing it with a different tweet with the exact same wording and yet another poster that not only included Finn, but depictions of Han Solo and Chewbacca also:

2nd Tweet Posted by Official Star Wars Account after Deleting the 1st Tweet that Excluded Finn

At no point was one of the other people of color ever depicted in these pictures: Poe Dameron as depicted by Guatemalan-American actor Oscar Isaac.

This removal of Finn was very reminiscent of the original movie posters released in China for “The Force Awakens” in 2015 that had severely shrunk Finn as compared to his very prominent position in the poster released in the U.S.:

“Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens” Posters released in the U.S. (Left) and China (Right).

And in Sept., 2020, John Boyega had this to say regarding the treatment that he and his character received at the hands of Disney and LucasFilm:

“You get yourself involved in projects and you’re not necessarily going to like everything. [But] what I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”

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“Star Wars: The Mandalorian” Cara Dune Funko Pop Discontinued

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#FunkoPop! is discontinuing #StarWars Cara Dune figures following the firing of actress Gina Carano from #TheMandalorian by #LucasFilm & #Disney in February, similar to the cancelation of Cara Dune action figures by Hasbro. According to Instagram user dis.pops, the Cara Dune Funko Pop! is being discontinued as stated in an email from the retailer they ordered from, Entertainment Earth. The email provided no explanation from the company as to why Funko was pulling the item.

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