A hand-held video game is not necessarily a one-way ticket to life as a couch potato–quite the contrary in this case as we see a male gamer with portable game console in hand playing away as he travels along the streets of San Francisco. And his travels are linked to the game as he’s on a quest to find or do something before other out-and-about gamers who too are playing on their portable systems.
Our protgaonist gamer runs down an alleyway and reaches his destination before several other late arriving players. That destination is a door which he knocks on to reveal an attractive princess-like character who gives him a kiss. The other gamers are clearly disappointed as they thought they were going to win the prized smooch. But suddenly they’re all off again to track down the next goal.
“Roku’s Revenge,” which has run sparingly online and was screened at the NAB Convention, was directed by Jeffrey Karoff for agency/production house Kaleidoscope Productions. Karoff is with Backyard Productions, Venice, Calif. Karoff also wrote the script with Kaleidoscope creative director Jim Samalis. Karen Jorgensen was exec creative director for Kaleidoscope.
Lauren Becker produced for Kaleidoscope. Anghel Decca was the DP.
Editor was Bob Jenkis of Mad River Post, Santa Monica. Visual effects house was Ntropic, San Francisco.
Meta Joins Growing List of Companies Backing Off From DEI Initiatives
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms Inc. joins a growing list of companies that are pulling back on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Like others before it, the social media giant cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision in July 2023 that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions.
Conservative activists have gone after companies — both in the courts and on social media — seeking to set a similar precedent in the working world. They've been targeting workplace initiatives such as diversity programs and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups, and have widened their objections to include programs focused on gender identity and sexual orientation.
DEI policies typically are intended as a counterweight to discriminatory practices. Critics argue that education, government and business programs which single out participants based on factors such as race, gender and sexual orientation are unfair and the same opportunities should be afforded to everyone.
Joel Kaplan, Meta's freshly appointed global policy chief, told Fox News Digital on Friday that the move will ensure that the company is "building teams with the most talented people" instead of making hiring decisions based on protected characteristics.
"This is ultimately about doing what's best for our company and ensuring that we are serving everyone and building teams with the most talented people," Kaplan told Fox News Digital. "This means evaluating people as individuals, and sourcing people from a range of candidate pools, but never making hiring decisions based on protected characteristics like race or gender."
Here's a look at some of the other companies that have retreated from... Read More