By Lauri Neff
NEW YORK (AP) --While he's not exactly yelling at kids to get off his lawn quite yet, Jason Reitman says he has a hard time relating to teenagers and it's all because of the Internet.
The 37-year-old director says when he talks to kids who are 15 to 20 years younger, they "might as well be 100 years younger than me because their life they grew up with doesn't resemble my childhood at all."
He says while "a cordless phone versus a wired phone" separated him and his parents, newer generations are growing up with "the Internet as a fact of their life." "And we'll just be old people who don't understand," Reitman says.
That generational relationship with technology is the focus of Reitman's new movie, "Men, Women & Children," which expands to wide release Friday. It focuses on a group of high school students and their parents dealing with the way the Internet affects their lives.
The Oscar-nominated director says he doesn't "get social media," noting that his teen actors had to explain to him how SnapChat works.
He also says he's uncomfortable with how easily teens share their lives online. "That fuzzy line between public and private when it comes to social media is the thing that bothers me personally."
The son of director Ivan Reitman says he's already worrying about how his nearly 8-year-old daughter will maneuver her way online when she gets a cellphone in a few years.
"It's like giving the keys to the car, only they're much younger. And unlike a car, which you can drive to any part of town, on the Internet, a cellphone can really take you anywhere. So you have to hope that from the moment they can log on that you've done enough to raise them well so they're not looking for the wrong thing in the wrong places."
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More