Eddie Jones has died at the age of 84. The actor is best known for playing Jonathan Kent, Clark’s father, on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. But he was an oft-seen face in a whole bunch of movies and TV shows over the years.
Jones was a longtime member of Los Angeles’ Interact Theatre Company, which confirmed the news of his death.
“An actor of keen wit and sharp instinct, when Eddie was on stage, you couldn’t take your eyes off him,” the group said on its website. “When he was off-stage, his broad, bright smile would light up the room.”
Source: Deadline
Amazon is exploring the launch of its Amazon Channels service in Australia. For those unfamiliar, subscribers to its Prime Video service can buy add-on video services that bundle in third-party providers content alongside Prime Video content. For example, in the US, a subscriber might add HBO to their Prime Video service. When they then log-in, not only will there be the HBO app that will take them to see just the HBO content, but all of that content is also featured in the general content navigation.
The benefits for consumers is that you can handle all of your billing through the one service, along with reducing your need to flip between apps to access all your content.
In June, three Seattle-based Amazon content executives came to Australia and took meetings with a range of local media executives in broadcasting as well as content, such as NBCUniversal, BBC and Discovery, with a view to see who could be signed on for a potential launch of Amazon Channels.
Amazon Channels essentially acts as a hub for third-party channels and streaming services, much like Foxtel or Fetch, without hardware such as a box. It is an additional product on top of subscription video on-demand service Amazon Prime Video, which is a standalone service with its own content, both original and licensed.
Source: AFR
There’s a CBS All Access mini-series set to enter production based on Stephen King’s The Stand. Negotiations are underway for the cast, which includes James Marsden, Whoopi Goldberg, Amber Heard, Greg Kinnear, and Odessa Young. But there’s one name that is set to generate a lot of attention: Marilyn Manson.
Source: Dark Horizons
Robin Thede is the star of a new HBO sketch comedy show. A Black Lady Sketch Show launches on August 2.
And finally…
US soldiers are going to be trained on how to work within a nuclear war scenario through the use of VR, which makes sense.
The US army is currently staffing up:
This SSN seeks information on existing solutions for virtual training and testing platforms for DoD combat forces operating in a battlefield nuclear warfare (BNW) environment, or performing radiological threat objects find and interdict operations. Leveraging AR/VR capabilities will increase the ability to train in relevant situations in a reduced cost environment. AR/VR capabilities will not replace field training requirements but will enable their execution and training iterations. Battlefield scenarios at all levels are of interest (large force movement down to individual movement).
Purpose is to test warfighter scenarios and decision-making to provide users realistic outcomes to support training and course-of-action selection when faced with radiological/nuclear threats. Additionally, the solution may be leveraged for planning training scenarios and equipment testing events. Radiological/nuclear considerations may include everything from point radiation sources, area contamination, and nuclear weapon detonation…
Source: VR Scout
