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    Warner Bros. sends “Scoob!” straight to on-demand

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1333 Views
    This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows characters Shaggy, voiced by Will Forte, left, and Scooby-Doo, voiced by Frank Welker, in a scene from the animated film "Scoob!" The Scooby-Doo film will bypass theaters and premiere directly on digital platforms, Warner Bros. said Tuesday, making it the latest studio to experiment with an on-demand release during the pandemic shutdown. (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

    By Jake Coyle, Film Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    The animated Scooby-Doo film "Scoob!" will bypass theaters and premiere directly on digital platforms, Warner Bros. said Tuesday, making it the latest studio to experiment with an on-demand release during the pandemic shutdown. 

    "Scoob!" had originally been set to open in theaters on May 15. But instead, on the same date, it will be available for a $20 digital rental and $25 digital purchase. 

    Warner Bros. joins Universal Pictures and the Walt Disney Co. in testing the video on demand waters while theaters remain shuttered and moviegoers are locked down at home. So far, the largest movies to make the movie have been family films. Universal earlier this month sent "Trolls World Tour" to on-demand. Disney has said "Artemis Fowl" will go straight to streaming on Disney Plus in June. 

    "While we're all eager to be able to once again show our films in theaters, we're navigating new, unprecedented times which call for creative thinking and adaptability in how we distribute our content," said Ann Sarnoff, Warner Bros. chief executive, in a statement. 

    Universal claimed "Trolls World Tour" set a new high mark for digital rentals, though it declined to share how much the film made. Paramount Pictures also sold one of its upcoming releases, the romantic comedy "Lovebirds," to Netflix. 

    The major studios have otherwise postponed their top releases to late summer, the fall or next year. Warner Bros. on Monday reshuffled its release schedule for films including "The Batman" and a "Sopranos" prequel. The studio's next scheduled theatrical releases are Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" on July 17 and "Wonder Woman 1984" on Aug. 14. Warner Bros. on Tuesday also moved the adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights," originally planned for this summer, to summer 2021. 

    "Scoob," which features a voice cast including Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried, follows how Scooby and Shaggy first met. 

    Warner Bros. opted not to send "Scoob!" straight to its streaming service, HBO Max, even though the timing nearly lines up. HBO Max launches on May 27.

    Tags:coronavirusScoob!Warner Bros.



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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