Gender-switching trend continues in Hollywood with more female-led movies and TV shows

Walt Disney Co. reportedly is planning to reboot its “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie franchise with a female lead character.
Disney is ready to part ways with Johnny Depp, whose Jack Sparrow character has led the franchise over the last five films, according to news reports.
The new movie would center on a female pirate named Redd, who is featured in the Disneyland attraction and as a meet-and-greet park character.
If it comes to fruition, it would be the latest in the gender-flipping trend that kicked off with movies like “Ghostbusters” (2016) and “Ocean’s Eight” (2018).
What follows are some other gender-swapped movies and TV shows in the works with female leads.

• “What Men Want” starring Taraji P. Henson is a remake of “What Women Want” (2000), which starred Mel Gibson. The new movie follows a woman who, after getting passed over for a promotion at her work, gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts. “What Men Want” is scheduled for release on Feb. 8.
• Actress Daisy Ridley stars in “Ophelia,” a reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” told from Ophelia’s perspective. The movie is scheduled to open Jan. 22.
• “The Hustle,” a gender-flipped remake of the 1988 comedy “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” is set for release on May 10. It stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson.
• “L.A.’s Finest” is a spinoff of the “Bad Boys” film franchise with female leads. The TV series, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, is scheduled to premiere next year on Charter Communications’ Spectrum cable service.
• Disney has cast actress Zoe Kravitz to star in a series adaptation of “High Fidelity,” a 2000 movie that starred John Cusack. The series is for Disney’s upcoming streaming video service, Variety said.
• NBC is developing a spinoff of its supernatural series “Grimm” that would center on a female Grimm, Deadline reported.
• Annie Clark, also known as musician St. Vincent, is directing a gender-bending adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” for Lionsgate, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. The 1890 novel by Oscar Wilde is in the public domain.
• The CW is developing a series called “Dorian,” a comedic adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” with a gender switch. It would star Marisa Coughlan, according to Deadline.
• A movie based on the Broadway musical “Cats” is in the works. Actress Judi Dench has been cast to play Deuteronomy, a role traditionally played by a man, the Guardian reported.
• Sony is working on a sequel to its upcoming animated film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which would focus on female characters in the Spider-Man universe, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.

Related article:

Gender-swapped roles in movies and TV shows: an update (July 6, 2018)

Photos: Brassy buccaneer Redd at Disneyland park (Disney); and movie poster for “What Men Want.”

Deadliest animals in the U.S. are not what you’d think

What’s the deadliest animal in the United States? That is, what animal is directly responsible for more human deaths than any other?
You might think bear, cougar, alligator or shark, but you’d be way off.
Farm animals, stinging insects and dogs are responsible for the most human deaths in the U.S., according a study by Stanford University researchers.
The researchers analyzed the mortality rates associated with both venomous and nonvenomous animals in the U.S. from 2008 through 2015.
They documented 1,610 deaths caused by animals in that period. Of those, 924, or 57%, were the result of nonvenomous animals and 686, or 43%, were from venomous animals.
According to U.S. government statistics, the largest number of deaths fell into the “other mammals” category. This grouping primarily includes horses and cattle, the researchers said.
“Previous work has identified that horse and cattle account for over 90% of farm animal-related fatalities,” the researchers said in a report. “Severe injuries and fatalities on the farm can result from these interactions with large animals.”
Dairy farming in particular is a known dangerous work environment, they said.
Farm animals and other unclassified mammals accounted for 576 deaths during the eight-year period. That’s 36% of total deaths by animal, the most of any category.
Hymenoptera (hornets, wasps, and bees) accounted for 30% of human deaths by animal, the second largest category. They claimed 478 lives during the research period.
The third most deadly animal in the U.S. are dogs, which were responsible for 272 human deaths in the period. That’s 17% of all fatalities caused by animals. Children four years old or younger had the highest number of fatalities.
There were 34 dog-related human deaths each year in the period 2008-2015. That compares with 28 annual dog-related deaths in 1999-2007 and 19 annual dog-related deaths in 1979 to 2005.
“Dog-related injuries and fatalities remain a substantial public health concern, with over 4.5 million dog bites annually in the United States resulting in an estimated 310,000 to 323,000 people treated in U.S. emergency departments,” the report said.
DogsBite.org compiled a 13-year fatality report identifying breeds of dogs involved in U.S. attacks from 2005 to 2017.
In that period, 433 Americans were killed by dogs. Pit bulls caused 66% of these deaths. Rottweilers, the second-leading canine killer, inflicted 10% of attacks that resulted in human death. Combined, the two dog breeds accounted for 76% of the total recorded deaths.
The Stanford University report had some limitations, the researchers said. For one, it didn’t include traffic fatalities caused by deer in the U.S., which is a “growing public health concern,” the report said. It also didn’t include deaths caused by diseases carried by mosquitoes, ticks and other bugs.

Related reading:

The deadliest animals in America revealed: Study finds more people are killed each year by FARM ANIMALS, insects, and dogs than large predators (Daily Mail; March 2, 2018)

An Update on Fatalities Due to Venomous and Nonvenomous Animals in the United States (2008–2015) (ResearchGate)

America's Most Dangerous Dog Breeds (Statista)

Of mosquitoes and men: The world’s deadliest animals (Tech-media-tainment; April 6, 2015)

The world’s deadliest animals (Tech-media-tainment; Jan. 24, 2011)

Making fun of millennials

Baby boomers have been blamed for bankrupting Social Security and other evils, so my generation takes pleasure in headlines about all the things young people are destroying.
Headlines that say “millennials are killing” this and that have been so numerous that they’ve become an internet meme.
Most recently millennials have been killing American cheese. (See “Millennials Kill Again. The Latest Victim? American Cheese” by Bloomberg.)
Among the things millennials are killing with their consumer behavior are breakfast cereal, paper napkins, bar soap, fabric softener, razors, golf, big beer brands, department stores and casual dining chains like Applebee’s and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Just the other day I read that millennials think “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is racist.
After the classic animated special ran on ABC, young people took to social media to complain that the only black character sat by himself on one side of the dinner table. (See article by the Daily Mail.)
Finally, I saw a funny graphic online recently that showed a millennial’s investment portfolio: blockchain, crypto, weed, La Croix and avocados.

Related articles:

RIP: Here are 70 things millennials have killed (Mashable)

Here are all the things millennials have been accused of killing — from dinner dates to golf (MarketWatch)

‘Psychologically scarred’ millennials are killing countless industries from napkins to Applebee’s — here are the businesses they like the least (Business Insider)

5 Industries Millennials Are ‘Killing’ (And Why) (Forbes)

Woman Creates Brilliant Collage Mocking All Of The Things That Millennials Allegedly Killed (BroBible)

Photo: Kraft Singles American Cheese (Photo by Mike Mozart)

Autonomous vehicles as mobile brothels

Name a new technology and someone has probably come up with a sex application for it.
This year, I’ve written about sex or porn applications for artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain and robotics.
What about autonomous vehicles?
Yes, people are already thinking of sex applications for the emerging technology.
A new study by the journal Annals of Tourism Research said the rise of self-driving cars will give people another place to have sex, possibly for money.
Some media reports suggested “mobile brothels” and “prostitution on wheels” could be on the way.
I’m skeptical.

Related articles:

Self-driving vehicles will turn cars into brothels on wheels: study (New York Post)

People are going to sell sex in driverless cars, researchers say (Washington Post)

Will Automated Vehicles Be a Boon to the Sex Trade? (AVN)

‘Mobile Brothels’ Could Be Enabled by Self-Driving Cars, But That Doesn’t Mean They Will (Reason)

Photo by Kalvin Chan via the Creative Commons.

Lying clickbait exploits the curiosity gap with incorrect photos

One of the tricks that clickbait purveyors use to get web surfers to click on their items is to use an incorrect photo.
This exploits the “curiosity gap.” People see a promoted article with an odd photo and say to themselves, “What the heck?” They feel compelled to click on it to find out what’s up with the headline subject and the unusual photo. Often there is no connection – it’s just lying clickbait.
Here are some recent examples.

Revcontent ran an article titled “Why George Lopez never mentions his daughter is heartbreaking.” It used a photo of the comedian alongside a picture of a heavily tattooed woman. She is not his daughter. That woman is Mirella Ponce of Fresno, Calif. She attained some notoriety for her striking mugshot photo. (See articles by the Fresno Bee, KRON 4 and YourCentralValley.)

Revcontent ran another article titled “Tiger Woods’ ex-wife is 38 now and is nearly unrecognizable.” It used a photo of the golfer alongside a picture of a woman who is not his ex-wife. That woman is Instagram model Laci Kay Somers. At one point she was rumored to be dating Woods, but she denied it. In fact, she said he had never met him.

Taboola ran an article titled “This warship is an enemy’s worst nightmare.” It used a photo of an artist’s conception of a fictional submarine-cum-aircraft carrier. The fantasy craft is the work of Igor Ljubuncic at website Dedoimedo.

A sponsored article titled “Rare historical Vietnam photos showcase a different side of war” was illustrated with a picture of a Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter. The picture is by photographer Peter Tonna. He photographed the aircraft in Malta in November 1991. This beast of a helicopter never flew in the Vietnam War.

Finally, Outbrain ran an item titled “Horrifying Titanic photos found on old camera.” It used a black-and-white copy of a still from the 1997 film “Titanic.” Versions of this lying clickbait have been running for years.

Previous articles on lying clickbait:

Clickbait firms love Russian women (Aug. 8, 2018)

Lying clickbait: ‘Photos taken seconds before tragedy’ (Aug. 6, 2018)

Fake news! Lying clickbait exposed! (June 23, 2018)

Fake historical photos, deceptive pictures and other lying clickbait tactics (April 3, 2018)

Fake Old West photos, fake teachers and other lying clickbait (Jan. 25, 2018)

Great Falls, Virginia, as told by lying clickbait

Great Falls, Virginia, is a quiet, woodsy, upscale suburb of Washington, D.C. But location-based clickbait advertisements tell a very different story about the community.
I live on the border of Great Falls in the town of Vienna, so I get location-based ads for those communities as well as Washington, D.C.
Internet advertisers only customize the text of their ads, so some of the photos they use are pretty ridiculous. They’ll say Great Falls, Va., but show a desert landscape, for instance.
Here are some of the latest examples of inaccurate depictions of Great Falls and the surrounding region, according to lying clickbait.

Let’s start with the lovely ladies of Great Falls. There are many beautiful women here, of course, just not the ones clickbait ads are showing.
One ad distributed by Revcontent shouted “Meet the girl in Great Falls!” It showed a fit lady in a tight miniskirt. “The girl” is actually Instagram model Anna Nystrom from Stockholm, Sweden. That particular photo was taken on April 11.

Another dating service ad carried by Revcontent was headlined “Divorced woman looking for new partner in Great Falls.” It used a photo of former teenage Instagram model Claire Abbott. She is from Canada.
(For more on Abbott, see the articles “What Happened to Claire Abbott, Famous Instagram Model?” by the Frisky and “Why Did This Famous Instagram Model Disappear?” by Travelfuntu.)

If you believed lying clickbait, this area also has some famous attorneys and judges.
Outbrain distributed an ad titled “The cost for an elite Great Falls attorney might surprise you.” It used a photo of Julianna Margulies from the CBS television series “The Good Wife.”

Another Outbrain ad titled “Virginia may pay off your home if you live near Great Falls.” It used a photo of Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who is overseeing the case of school shooter Nikolas Cruz in Broward County, Florida.

Lying clickbait articles about “new rules” often feature pictures of women being arrested. Often they are stock images, but occasionally the selections are really odd.
One article titled “Little-known rule leaves Great Falls, Virginia, drivers stunned.” It used a news photo of Jamie Lyn Basinger of Morganton, N.C. She was charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse in the March 2017 death of her 3-year-old son.

A clickbait article titled “New rule in Great Falls, Virginia. (Drivers are furious)” used an on-set photo from the HBO series “Girls.” It showed actress Jemima Kirke getting arrested for a scene in the show. (See article by the Daily Mail.)

An article titled “New rule in Washington, District of Columbia” used a photo of actress Debby Ryan who was pretending to get arrested at a charity event in 2014. (See article by TeenInfoNet.)

Finally, an article titled “You may not believe the prices on these new cars in Vienna” used an image of a lot filled with new cars and vans in Brazil. The picture is available on Getty Images from photographer Luoman.

Related articles:

My neighborhood looks exciting and exotic thanks to lying clickbait (Aug. 11, 2018)

Celebrities in my backyard thanks to lying clickbait (June 24, 2018)

Artificial intelligence in sex technology

If there’s a new technology, someone is going to figure out a sex app for it. I’ve written a couple of times about entrepreneurs coming up with porn or sex applications for the latest technologies.
Lately I’ve seen stories about businesses touting AI in their sex gadgets.
A sex toy company called Very Intelligent Ecommerce Inc. has developed an oral sex simulator for men that it says uses AI technology.
The product, Autoblow A.I., provides 16 different oral sex experiences using artificial intelligence, the company’s Indegogo page says. (See articles by the Sun and AVN.)
Meanwhile, a Barcelona-based engineer has created a smart sex doll called Samantha. The doll has the power to say “no” to a man’s sexual advances. Samantha also requires some foreplay to get her “in the mood.” (See articles by Geek.com and Metro.)
Some scientists are concerned about possible negative consequences of developing sex robots. They worry about the impact they’ll have on human sexual relations. (See article by the Sydney Morning Herald.)
Technology marches on.

Related articles:

Augmented reality: Is there a porn app for that? (July 30, 2018)

Blockchain: Is there a porn app for that? (Jan. 20, 2018)

Is there a porn app for that? (Jan. 30, 2016)

Photos: Smart sex doll Samantha (top) and Autoblow A.I.

Netflix DVD subscribers fall below 3 million

Yes, Netflix is the top subscription streaming video network, but it still runs a DVD-by-mail service in the U.S. that’s beloved by movie fans.
But the subscriber base for the DVD service continues to shrink. That’s mostly because people are choosing the convenience of streaming video. It doesn’t help that Netflix no longer promotes its legacy DVD service.
Netflix ended the third quarter with 2.85 million DVD subscribers, down 20% year over year. It exited the second quarter with 3 million DVD subscribers.
Seven years ago, the DVD service had 13.93 million subscribers.
I hope Netflix doesn’t pull the plug on its DVD service any time soon. It has a superior selection of movies compared with its more popular streaming cousin. It also offers a complementary set of TV series on DVD that aren’t on the streaming service.
Check out the service at DVD.com.

Related article:

How many Netflix DVD subscribers are there? (May 18, 2018)

Tech-media-tainment turns 10

Tech-media-tainment – a blog covering personal technology, media, pop culture and entertainment – marks its 10-year anniversary today.
The blog is still a catchall for my personal interests, which have evolved over the last decade. I hope readers have found the subject matter interesting over the years.
One constant has been my support for freedom of speech and specifically the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The First Amendment has come under attack by political groups who want to narrow its scope by including exceptions for so-called “hate speech” and some forms of political speech. Thankfully the courts have held firm on the broad protections for the First Amendment.
For free speech to survive, we as a people must be willing to accept speech that we disagree with or find offensive. As my favorite T-shirt reads, “Free Speech More Important Than Your Feelings.”
Other major topics of interest for Tech-media-tainment include the importance of the public domain and abuses of copyright.
I’ve also written a lot about halls of fame, Donald Trump magazine covers, revisionist Disney princess art, post-apocalyptic entertainment and the proliferation of lying clickbait.
Unfortunately I’ve cut back on my blogging activity this year as I’ve been busy with other things.
I’m on pace in 2018 to post my lowest full-year article count since I started Tech-media-tainment.
Maybe I should pick up the pace a bit.

Photo: T-shirt from Libertarian Country.

Disney ramps up Mickey Mouse promotions ahead of public domain debut

The copyright for the first Mickey Mouse film, “Steamboat Willie,” is scheduled to expire in 2024 and the work will enter the public domain. Then artists will be able to do their own interpretations of the work without having to get permission from copyright holder Disney and pay the media giant a licensing fee.
In the past, Disney has pressured the federal government to extend copyright terms to protect Mickey Mouse from falling into the public domain. The last extension was widely viewed as a corporate handout to Disney and others, which makes another extension unlikely.
Until the 1970s, copyright terms only lasted for 56 years. Now works published in 1923 or later are protected for 95 years.
Disney now is likely to use trademarks to extend its ownership of Mickey Mouse. Unlike copyrights for creative works, trademarks are renewable for perpetuity. So Disney could do an end-run around copyright law using trademarks. Trademarks were designed to protect consumers from knockoff products, such as fake Rolex watches or fake Gucci handbags.
This will keep a lot of lawyers busy for years.
Lately I’ve noticed a big increase in licensed products featuring Mickey Mouse, purportedly to celebrate the character’s 90th birthday.
At the grocery store, I’ve seen Mickey Mouse branded Eggo waffles, Oreo cookies and Dole pineapples. In technology products, I’ve seen Mickey Mouse branded Beats headphones and OtterBox smartphone cases.
My guess is Disney is bucking up its argument that Mickey Mouse isn’t just a creative work but a corporate brand. Thus, Disney would argue, that it can stamp out any works that use the Mickey Mouse name. That would not be in the spirit of copyright law and would hurt the public domain.

Related reading:

Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again (Ars Technica; Jan. 8, 2018)

A Landslide of Classic Art Is About to Enter the Public Domain (The Atlantic; April 8, 2018)

These 1923 Copyrighted Works Enter the Public Domain in 2019 (Lifehacker; April 13, 2018)

X is the new Y: a favorite journalist crutch

The Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” will end next year with its seventh season. But one thing that won’t end is the use of the expression “X is the new Y.” You know, statements such as “sitting is the new cancer.”
What follows are just a few examples online from the last few weeks. Journalists can’t resist using them.

Air pollution is the new tobacco (The Guardian; Oct. 27, 2018)

Sneaker Rat is the new Pizza Rat (The Cut; Oct. 23, 2018)

Barra is the new salmon (The Guardian; Oct. 23, 2018)

Data is the new oil (Salon; Nov. 4, 2018)

In Europe, ‘hate speech’ is the new blasphemy (American Greatness; Nov. 1, 2018)

Amazon is the new Apple (The Motley Fool; Oct. 16, 2018)

Abundance is the new sustainability (Forbes, Nov. 4, 2018)

Celebrities knocking on doors is the new fancy fund-raiser (Vogue; Oct. 31, 2018)

Photo: Scene from “Orange Is the New Black” (Netflix)

The world’s richest cats

Insurance aggregator Compare the Market recently launched its inaugural list of the world’s richest pets.
The 2018 Pet Rich List includes 19 dogs and 12 cats. It also features two tortoises, two monkeys, a chimpanzee, a parrot, a bear, a cow, a fox and even a chicken. (Keep those last two apart!)
As a cat lover, I’ve decided to repurpose the list. So I present …

The world’s richest cats 

1. Grumpy Cat (aka Tardar Sauce). Net worth: $99.5 million. She started as an internet meme and branched into merchandising and media appearances, including the 2014 movie “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.”

2. Olivia Benson. Net worth: $97 million. She is one of singer Taylor Swift’s two cats. Named after the lead character on TV series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” the Scottish Fold has appeared on advertisements for Diet Coke and Keds shoes.

3 Tommassino. Net worth: $13 million. The Italian cat inherited its wealth from its deceased owner.

4. Blackie. Net worth: $12.5 million. The U.K. cat inherited his riches.

5. Street Cat Bob. Net worth: $5 million. The U.K. cat was the inspiration for a best-selling book and movie.

6. Choupette. Net worth: $3.5 million. The French feline is the beloved cat of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. The Birman has been in multiple photoshoots for Chanel and other brands. She also has a large social media following.

7. Tara. Net worth: $1.85 million. Known as “the Hero Cat,” Tara rose to fame in 2014 when she rescued her family’s small child from an attacking dog. A video of the incident went viral on social media. She now has a large social media following.

8. Maru. Net worth: $1.8 million. The adorable Japanese cat is a social media star. The Scottish Fold is best known for his love of boxes.

9. Hamilton the Hipster Cat. Net worth: $826,800. The mixed breed cat has a large social media following. He earned his nickname because of his unique mustache of white hair.

10. Henri, le Chat Noir. Net worth: $316,000. The mixed breed cat inspired a web series of short films which are based around his existential musings.

11. Lil Bub. Net worth: $195,000. The odd-looking feline became an internet meme. She makes money from media appearances, sponsorships, YouTube royalties and merchandising.

12. Tinker. Net worth: $160,000. The U.K. cat is another trust fund pet.

Photo: Grumpy Cat on the cover of the Sunday Times Magazine in December 2014.