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At Xbox, we put the player at the center of everything we do – and this includes our practices around trust and safety. With more than 3 billion players around the world, vibrant online communities are growing and evolving every day, and it is our role to foster spaces that are safe, positive, inclusive, and inviting for all players, from the first-time gamer to the seasoned competitor.

Today, we are releasing our first-ever Xbox Transparency Report, which puts clear numbers and explanations behind the work we do to protect our players and moderate content on the platform. We commit to releasing a report every six months, where we will share updates on progress we’ve made. In Microsoft’s last Digital Civility Index, it was noted that 9 out of 10 respondents identified a need for increased education on how to make the digital world safer – and as we all know, gaming is one of the largest digital environments. Publishing this report is part of our long-standing commitment to online safety, addressing the learnings and doing more to help people understand how to play a positive role in the Xbox community. This report compliments the continued review of our Community Standards, making it easier for all players to understand what is and isn’t acceptable conduct; continued investment in moderation tools; and ongoing partnership with industry associations, regulators, and the community.

We know that Xbox is a special place for all of you. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of gaming, free from fear and intimidation, and within the boundaries you set. Over the past several years, we have invested in features and capabilities that help to make the player experience safer, such as the Xbox Family Settings App that gives parents and caregivers a convenient way to manage their children’s experience on Xbox, and acquiring community management leader, Two Hat, bringing its Community Sift technology and dedicated language and culture specialists into our safety portfolio. But we also acknowledge that negative activity can and has taken place. We do not condone any conduct or content that goes against our Community Standards. What’s important to us is taking a moment to pause and reflect on where we are in this journey and sharing that with you. We’ll continue to learn, improve and invest so you can have the best experience when you play.

Among the key takeaways in the report:

• We are taking action to offer better experiences. The Xbox team issued more than 4.33M proactive enforcements against inauthentic accounts, representing 57% of the total enforcements in the reporting period. Inauthentic accounts are typically automated or bot-created accounts that create an unlevel playing field and can detract from positive player experiences. Our proactive moderation, up 9x from the same period last year, allows us to catch negative content and conduct before it reaches players. We continue to invest and improve our tech so players can have safe, positive, and inviting experiences.

• Players are stewards of the community. Player reporting is a critical component in our safety approach. Alongside our increased proactive safety measures, investments in scanning and filtering technologies, and education from the Xbox Ambassador community, reporting helps us improve the work that we do to better protect our players. Our players provided over 33M reports this period, with communications (46%) and conduct (43%) accounting for the majority of player concerns. Content moderation agents are on-staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to make sure the content and conduct found on our platform adheres to our Community Standards.

• Players are in control. Every player is different and preferences on content and experiences are not one-size-fits-all. We offer many ways for players to customize settings, from message filters to parental controls, at any point in your Xbox experience. These settings allow players to manage the type of content they see and experience across all the ways they play, whether on PC, console, or anywhere with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta). It’s up to you, the players, friends, and family members to take control and implement the settings that are right for you.

How can you help? The Xbox community is only as strong as its community members, and the feedback and reporting that you provide helps us continue improving by bringing new features, settings, and opportunities that help us shape the platform. We want you to feel confident that we are listening and acting upon your comments, so please share feedback with us via the Xbox Insiders program or on the Xbox Support website. Together, we are able to help shape a space where we can uphold our Community Standards and create spaces where everyone can have fun.

In addition to our safety team, I want to thank the incredible community of more than 150,000 Xbox Ambassadors, some of whom previewed and helped shape the Xbox Transparency Report. Xbox Ambassadors represent a worldwide network of gamers who celebrate the uniqueness of everyone and are on a mission to make gaming an enjoyable experience for every player.

And lastly, sharing some additional resources:    

• Read our Xbox Community Standards
• Learn about how the Xbox Family Settings App works here via a handy video, and download when you’re ready
• Keep up to speed on Privacy and Online Safety
• Remain informed on How to Report a Player and How to Submit a Case Review
• Need help? Request a Call, Chat Online, and More

Related:

Toronto’s medical officer of health has issued an extreme cold weather alert as temperatures are set to drop overnight.

Editor’s Note: Welcome to a daily column we run here at BroBible breaking down the day’s biggest stories in sports finance with commentary from the sports money and sports fanatic perspectives. It comes to us via our friends at JohnWallStreet, publisher of a free e-mail newsletter focused on sports related public equities and their subsidiaries. You can sign up here.

YouTube TV, Hulu Engaged in Sports Sponsorship Arms Race 

A brand awareness campaign is among the ways (exclusive content and user experience are others) that an MVPD, OTT live-streaming service or VOD platform can distinguish itself from the competition and drive growth. Over the last month, rivals YouTube TV and Hulu have announced noteworthy sponsorship transactions (without disclosing financial details) surrounding marquee sporting events. Below is a brief each deal:

• YouTube TV will remain (was in ’17) the presenting sponsor of the World Series, (“World Series Presented by YouTube TV”) through the 2019 season. As part of an expanded partnership, the subscription streaming service will also add MLB Network to its base package. For an additional fee, YouTube TV subscribers will eventually have the option to add MLB.tv (provides regional broadcasts of games) to their package. “On-air callouts”, a national advertising campaign and in stadium signage are also included within the deal.
• YouTube TV will become the first-ever presenting sponsor for the NBA Finals. The deal, which runs through at least ’19, will also make the company the presenting sponsor of the WNBA and G-League Finals. On-court and in-arena signage, ABC ad spots, “in-game callouts” and branding across the league’s digital and social channels, are also included within the pact.

It must also be noted that YouTube TV has also landed exclusive streaming rights to Los Angeles FC and Seattle Sounders games.

• Hulu has signed on as an official partner of the NHL & NHLPA for the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals; a “comprehensive partnership” that will “cross all league touch points including NBC Sports, the NHL’s digital and social channels, as well as camera-visible, in-stadium inventory within all U.S. venues.”
• Hulu also signed a deal with Turner Sports, to sponsor NBA playoff games on TNT. A “Presented by Hulu” graphic will be prominently displayed on “opening graphic cards, custom billboards and scorecards” throughout all first-round coverage, Conference Semifinals action and Western Conference Finals broadcasts. NBA on TNT talent will appear in ad spots promoting the streaming service.

Howie Long-Short: The success YouTube TV had using live telecasts of the 2017 World Series to drive subscriptions initiated this competition between rivals; but, YouTube TV isn’t the leader in this space. In fact, the size of its subscriber base (300,000+) has the company competing with Hulu (450,000) for a distant 4^th place. The oldest service, Sling TV, leads with 2.22 million subscribers; while AT&T’s (T) DirectTV Now comes in second with 1.2 million. Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation Vue is 3^rd with +/- 500,000 monthly subscribers.

Fan Marino:  For reference purposes, Sling TV is a subsidiary of DISH Network (DISH). Google (GOOGL) owns YouTube TV and The Walt Disney Co. (DIS), pending final approval of its 21^st Century Fox acquisition, controls 60% of Hulu; Comcast (30%) and Time Warner (10%) own the balance.

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Octagon SVP, Dan Cohen, Projects FAANG’s Impact on the Next Round of Media Rights Negotiations

There has been a lot of activity within the OTT & MVPD space over the last 30 days (see: ESPN+ launched, Endeavor acquired NueLion and Comcast dropped Big Ten Network “out of market”). To help us gain some perspective on the sports media rights landscape is Dan Cohen, Octagon SVP, Global Media Rights Consulting Division. In Part 2 of a 2 Part interview, Dan discusses a future with rising sports media rights and the likeliness of a FAANG company nabbing broadcasting exclusivity within the next round of rights negotiations.

JWS: As we briefly touched on in Part 1, the OTT & MVPD (multi-channel video programming distributor) space has quickly become crowded. How can those companies best position themselves to acquire cord cutters/cord nevers? Is there one you project to be the “winner”?

Dan: You differentiate yourself with exclusive content, an enjoyable user experience and with a brand awareness campaign; which has created space between YouTube TV and Hulu, Sling, DirecTV Now and the others. Frankly, both cost a lot of money, so the ones with the deepest pockets to strategically spend across those areas are the ones that are going to come out ahead.

JWS: Where do you see the value of the next round of media rights going? Up with the interest of FAANG companies or down with the number of cable subscribers? 

Dan: Everyone is talking about how there is cable cutting, cord corrosion and that the media rights bubble is going to burst; but, what no is talking about, is what is on the horizon to grow the business even bigger than it is today. Linear broadcasters have subs and ad sales. With digital broadcasters, it’s subs, ad sales and e-commerce. When watching on a digital screen, albeit your first or second screen, I (the broadcaster) can harness your consumption habits, profile, and other advantageous consumer data, that arm me in a way to connect with you (the customer) like never before. I know more about you than I’ve ever known before and I can appeal and sell directly to you now. The 4^th pillar that I believe we are bound to experience next, is the betting piece. In-game betting and the need for live streaming rights will soar. e-Commerce and betting are going to drive incremental revenues and rights fees even higher.   

JWS: When can we expect to see the FAANG companies to land exclusive broadcast rights?

Dan: Well, that has already started to happen; but, on a smaller scale. It didn’t really pick up a ton of attention, but Oath (Yahoo!, Verizon, AOL) grabbed exclusive English language media rights to the CONCACAF Champion’s League. Overseas, Amazon has nabbed the ATP rights, in the UK, exclusively. So, you’re starting to see different tech giants enter the media rights market and do more; but, what I don’t think people are talking enough about is survivability.

Content is the lifeblood of NBC, CBS, ESPN, Turner and ABC. They derive revenue from ad sales and subscription fees. Premium sports rights have proven to drive subscriptions, retain subscriptions and generate ad dollars. Having these sports rights are not only integral, but life critical for traditional linear broadcasters. They are not critical for survivability for Facebook and Amazon. Amazon did $156 billion in revenue last year and not a penny of that is tied to sports media rights. So, traditional linear broadcasters are not going down without a fight. They aren’t going to lose these rights, so quickly. They are either going to find a way to work with the FAANG technology companies, as we have seen with Twitter/Amazon and the NFL through CBS/NBC, to share in some of these rights; or they’re going to go down swinging and rights fees are going to keep rising.

Howie Long-Short: Octagon is a subsidiary of the publicly traded Interpublic Group (IPG), a collection of advertising agencies and marketing services companies; and component of the S&P 500. In early February, IPG released Q4 revenue +3.3% (to $2.34 billion) and FY17 revenue +1.8% (to $7.88 billion) figures and noted that the company’s operating margin grew +40 basis points (to 12.4%) in 2017. IPG also reported a 17% YoY increase in the Q4 dividend paid (to $.21) and announced the authorization of a new $300 million repurchase program; actions that “reflect our continuing operating success and financial strength”. Since ’11, the company has returned $3.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and repurchases. IPG, which hopes to grow organic revenue 2-3% in ’18, will report Q1 ‘18 earnings on the morning of April 27^th.

Fan Marino: As noted last week, the Pac-12 Network has watched its average subscription fee decline 63% over the last 5 years, while the Big Ten Network increased its per sub fee by 30% over that time. We’ve since heard that Comcast is dropping Big Ten Networks from all but 9 “home markets”. If you’re building a conference network, are you more concerned about the average per sub fee or the number of subscribers?  

Dan: You need to serve the fan, especially when you are a new product; it’s about exposure and how you grow your sub base. So, if you are a league, a federation or a conference that is leaving dollars on the table in the short run, in order to prioritize exposure and carriage; you’re going about it the right way, because it’s an arms race. Sports fans have more options now than they have ever had to consume sports content. My advice would be to research, analyze and understand your core fan, your casual fan, your market, your competition and gain a firm understanding of market trends. Then, overcome the challenge of differentiating your property, rollout a unique and thoughtful marketing strategy to acquire the fans’ attention, provide a seamless and intuitive user experience and price accordingly. If you get those steps in line, subscriber growth will be followed by subscriber fee growth.

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As an aging yuppie wook at heart who just wants to spend all his days on Phish and Dead tour, I’ve always wanted to criss-cross the country in a VW Bus. There are only one very-real problem for this wook #vanlife dream: The old school Volkswagon Vanagons from the 60s – 80s break down like crazy and I’m notoriously terrible at anything involving automobile maintenance.

But there’s good news! Come 2022, VW will turn an electric bus concept into a consumer reality. It will also be 100% electric, since green is the future:

The I.D. Buzz is the second EV concept that VW has revealed for production, along with the original I.D. concept slated to enter production around 2019 as a 2020 model, while the I.D. Crozz concept has shown how an electric VW SUV could look. All three use VW’s Modular Electric Drive kit (or MEB, for its German acronym), a group of components and chassis parts engineered to maximize the potential of electric drive and future technology.

Designed to recall the original Type 1 Microbus without mimicking it, the I.D. Buzz concept has won several awards in the months since it was revealed at the Detroit Auto Show. The front V in the bodywork calls back to the two-tone predecessor on the original Bus, but in the I.D. Buzz carries a light strip that surrounds the vehicle and gives it a unique visual signature. The LED headlights have hexagonal segments that act as “eyes” to communicate the vehicle’s status. With near-zero body overhangs and 22-inch wheels, the I.D. Buzz manages to look modern and timeless, one of the hallmarks of Volkswagen brand design.

The first VW Bus sold in the United States in 1950 had all of 30 hp. The I.D. Buzz concept sports 369 hp from electric motors on each axle that also provide all wheel drive and the 111 kWh battery pack in the floor of the MEB chassis provide nearly 300 miles of estimated range. Using a VW fast-charge system, the it can recharge about 80 percent of its energy capacity in 30 minutes at 150 kW.

Can’t wait to drive this thing up to The Gorge for a Phish show. Never needed a car more in my life.

Here’s tour of this badass vehicle:

Dwight Howard has missed more free throws this season than Steve Nash has in his 17-year career. [USA Today]

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Toronto police say one person has been charged with impaired driving after a six-car crash on Eglinton Avenue this morning.

One of the frustrating things for Android users is not knowing when their phones will get the latest Android software pushed out to them... if at all. CNET has put together a handy guide of major Android phones that have been confirmed to get Android 5.0 Lollipop and while a lot of devices have been confirmed as getting the upgrade, some big names are still missing.

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I’ll be honest, I look forward to the countless Peyton Manning commercials that flood commercial breaks during NFL games.

For example, these new spots for Gatorade could play a couple hundred times during a boring 1pm game, and I’d be totally fine every time.

Watch Peyton Manning refuse to sell numerous customers Gatorade because they’re just not sweating enough.

[via The Big Lead]

This game is going to be the coolest game, whenever it decides to come out. Can you believe it’s been five years since the last Grand Theft Auto game came out? That’s ridiculous, but I’d rather Rockstar take their time and get everything right. It’s highly likely that Grand Theft Auto V will be the last GTA game on this generation of hardware, and from these screenshots it looks like they’re milking every last ounce of processing power out of them. We return to Los Santos (from GTA: San Andreas), but this time there are three playable characters, each with their own storylines, that you can switch between at any time between missions. Grand Theft Auto V hits on September 17th.

Of course you would.

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This is the End is a full-length comedy featuring actors playing themselves. I know, it’s a tough concept to wrap your head around, so just watch the new red band trailer and it will all make sense.

Of course by “it will all make sense” I just meant the concept. I still have no clue what’s happening in the movie. There’s a sink hole, some sort of aliens beaming people up, a monster running around James Franco’s house, and Michael Cera is thankfully dead. Through all that, no one is willing to help Aziz Ansari out, though it’s understandable because all his jumping around and yelling would probably get annoying in a crisis. It seems to feature every comedic actor of relevance for the past five years, plus Rihanna and Emma Watson with an axe. Hermione is reason enough alone for me to see This is the End.

Here’s most of the cast:
James Franco
Jonah Hill
Seth Rogen
Jay Baruchel
Danny McBride
Craig Robinson
Emma Watson
Michael Cera
Jason Segel
David Krumholtz
Paul Rudd
Mindy Kaling
Martin Starr
Kevin Hart
Rihanna
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Aziz Ansari
Backstreet Boys

The greatest comic ever written by a five-year-old is making its way to TV. Axe Cop will be joining Fox’s new Saturday night “Animation Domination HD” lineup this summer, and we’ve got the trailer.

Axe Cop has been kicking ass for over three years, so it’s about time the non-internet addicted world gets to meet my hero. I prefer the adult narrator from the videos on Rugburn’s YouTube channel, but it’s hard to argue with Nick Offerman as the voice of Axe Cop. Like I said last week, is there anything he can’t do?

Donovan McNabb, for the record, has nine career playoff wins. But seven losses. And the last of those losses, in January 2010, happened to come against the Dallas Cowboys. It was Tony Romo's only playoff win.

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This is Patrick Kane's spin-o-rama from Chicago's 8-1 thumping of the Stars last weekend, given the NHL 94 treatment.

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Straight talk: we're not karate experts. We have no idea what the technical term is for this spinning, flipping, guillotine kick knockout. Just watch the video, no words are needed.

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The new TV spot for Iron Man 3 has people crying spoiler. I don’t see what all they whining is about, but watch at your own risk.

Pepper Potts is in the Iron Man suit! That’s so…expected. If anything, it’s more exciting to have that little piece of info rather than it be as a surprise in the movie. Now people have to wonder, is she actually going to use it or is it just JARVIS acting to save her and Tony? I think it’s more likely the latter, but it will set the stage for Gwyneth Paltrow to get involved as “Rescue” in the inevitable Iron Man 4: Still Pressing.

The sheer sound of this knockout will startle you. You can literally hear his jaw/throat breaking into pieces.

The knockout, which occurred at the Tuff-N-Uff-Mayhem in Mesquite gave A.J. Williams his second win a month. Congrats AJ. As for Sam Edwards, our dear friend lying helpless on the mat, get well soon. Also, buy some straws—lots of them. I imagine that’s how you’ll be eating for the foreseeable future.

The 2nd World War Z trailer was released at midnight, and in it Brad Pitt has no idea what’s going on.

Taken at face-value, World War Z looks pretty good. There’s nothing more terrifying than zombies that can run quickly. Add in them being smart enough to create former-human pyramids and you’ve got a recipe for my worst nightmare. I don’t care that people are complaining it’s nothing like the book, I’m still going to see it.

Bruins Assistant coach Geoff Ward just sank one of the most incredible over-the-head shots you'll ever see.

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msnNOW

Former WWE star Chris Masters was called to his mom’s home after a neighbor reportedly barricaded himself inside. When the man allegedly lit the house on fire, Masters yanked a tree out of the ground (WITH HIS BARE HANDS!!) and rammed it through a window.

Click to see more on msnNOW.com, updated 24 hours a day.

Please don't suck. Please don't suck. Please don't suck... New teaser after the jump. So far, so not sucky. Continue reading "Vin Diesel Strangles a Dragon in New Riddick Teaser" >

It has been circling the web for a day now so maybe it will stay up. Check out this hand held footage of Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man. This “test footage” premiered at Comic Con 2012. It probably won’t stay up long too much longer. 

Guyism Composite

NBC announced that Jimmy Fallon will officially take over for Jay Leno sometime before fall of 2014. Hopefully this works out better than the Conan O’Brien debacle just two years ago.

While the network has yet to complete a deal, it has made a commitment to Jimmy Fallon, the current host of its “Late Night” program, to have him succeed Jay Leno as the next host of “Tonight,” according to several senior television executives involved in the decision.

This is a smart move for NBC. Yes, Jay Leno is still beating Kimmel in the rating department, but not by much. And how many years does he have left? All of his fans are dying of old age. OK, that’s not true. He and Kimmel actually have the same number of 18-34 viewers. But we can all agree that Leno is the past and Fallon is the future, correct?

With ABC’s Kimmel already settled into his new time slot, NBC is allowing the former “Man Show” host to lock up a competitive advantage over Fallon. Both have their own unique style, but it’s clear they target the same audience. Kimmel utilizes video to perfection, from sketches to YouTube interaction, and Fallon’s bits, such as “History of Rap,” take over the internet each time a new edition is released. While these are inclusive to old geezers, they are obviously directed at a younger crowd.

NBC needs to get Fallon into the “Tonight” show before it’s too late. The real question will be if his shtick translates to an earlier time slot. Is the general public willing to watch a guy play beer pong with Maria Sharapova or quarters with Kristen Stewart? There’s only one way to find out. Let the late night battle begin…again.

For those who care about such things, it should also be noted that the “Tonight” show will also be moving back to New York. I don’t see whereas that makes a damn bit of difference, but then again, I’m not from NY. My main connection between Fallon and New York is the time he spent ruining every sketch on SNL by laughing uncontrollably. Thankfully his late night show has made up for that travesty in the past few years.

‘Tonight’ Show Expected to Return to New York, With Fallon [New York Times]

I'm Canadian, so bear with me for a moment.

EA's NHL '94 was an important landmark for the sport of hockey as the first game in the still-ongoing franchise to include authentic team names, logos and rosters. Twenty years later, it's still remembered as one of the best games of the generation by sports aficionados. Celebrating the game that helped form new fans and enhanced the experiences of existing ones, NHL.com has written a piece that deals with its legacy and how it has helped evolve the status of the sport and its players.

In it, former Chicago Blackhawks superstar Jeremy Roenick reveals that people, to this day, still mention his virtual representation's dominance on the ice. "Whatever the case may be, I would say one out of three people I meet mention '94 Sega," Roenick says.

The article continues with a look at how its highest-ranked players achieved cult status outside of the real-world sport. It's an interesting read for fans of the series, gamers that survived the 16-bit era, and sports fans looking to see how meaningful their favorite pastime can be in the digital era.

If you're American, substitute all mentions of hockey with football for maximum effectiveness. Or tennis, if that's your thing.

NHL.com celebrates the 20th anniversary of NHL '94 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m a big fan of people who mash-up video game audio with “real music.” Though all the examples I’ve passed along pale in comparison to Game Theory.

The following, which was first highlighted by Kotaku, is by Ithaca Audio and was performed with re-wired game controllers. It’s a brilliant example of how audio from Tetris, Goldeneye, and Call of Duty can be made even better with a little help from Lana Del Rey, David Bowie, and RUN DMC (plus the theme to Doctor Who)…

Actually, Jimmy Fallon and Selena Gomez sang a cover to a relatively old YouTube ditty (Mario Kart Love Song).

If you’re not familiar with the original by Sam Hart, here ya go. Anyhow…

The above is getting the usual amount of flack, which happens whenever Fallon does anything related to video games. The most common complaint is that he’s not a “legit” gamer and is just pandering to that audience. I’m of the belief that his love is indeed genuine. I just don’t find him very funny.

At least he’s a better singer than Gomez, though that sucks for her. And I have no idea why she’s wearing a mustache either. If it was an attempt to be cute or funny, then mission failed. Because it’s just giving people yet another reason to goof on her (in this case, her ethnicity). Oh internet.

If you're watching the New Mexico State-Saint Louis game, surely you've noticed Sim Bhullar, the Aggies' man-mountain of a center. He's listed at 7'5", 360 pounds. That's five pounds more than the combined weight of St. Louis's starting backcourt this afternoon. He's a big boy.

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Matt Forte: not a huge fan of the new rules for runners approved by NFL owners today.

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Okay, yes, we get it, the world is going to end and it’s awful. Just stop! Post-apocalyptic movies are Hollywood’s hot thing right now, with Tom Cruise’s Oblivion, Will Smith’s After Earth, et cetera all vying for some of that sweet moviegoer cash. Enter a new, somewhat lower-profile challenger in The Colony, an upcoming sci-fi film about the heat death of the Earth starring Bill Paxton and Laurence Fishburne. Humanity is driven underground into hermitlike colonies, but when a distress call goes out, things start to get even worse than the end of the world. No release date has been announced for The Colony yet.