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Stephen King's 1986 novel "It" is the second longest he's ever written. It is only 14 pages shorter than the 1990 update of his 1978 novel "The Stand," and its prodigious length would rightly lead you to believe it is incredibly dense and eventful. 

"It" tells the story of seven friends, all hovering around age 12, who find their town of Derry, Maine is being periodically stalked by a vicious, monstrous clown that lives in the sewer. The clown is a seemingly supernatural entity that knows their deepest fears and can change its shape to match. It takes a great deal of joy tormenting its targets, and it will only occasionally eat them. The clown calls itself Pennywise. 

The bulk of the book takes place in the 1950s, and in depicting instances of domestic abuse, bullying, and everyday hate, it serves as a commentary of the placid Rockwellian picture Americans tend to paint of suburban post-war America. In the 1950s, the friends ultimately gather up childhood totems — slingshots and the like — and confront the clown in the sewers under Derry. Fast forward to the 1980s, and the friends have all grown into unhappy, fearful adults, still living in fear that the childhood clown will eventually return. In the book, it's revealed that Pennywise is an ancient evil space deity that landed on earth centuries ago and has been going through 27-yearlong hibernation cycles underneath Derry, awakening to feed on the children. 

In 1990, director Tommy Lee Wallace ("Halloween III: Season of the Witch," "Fright Night Part 2") adapted Stephen King's massive missive into a 190-minute, two-chapter miniseries starring, among others, Jonathan Brandis, Seth Green, John Ritter, and Harry Anderson. The first part of "It" took place in the 1950s, while the conclusion took place in the 1980s. Tim Curry plays Pennywise, in one of the actor's more notable roles in a career full of them. 

It's It!

By 1990, Tim Curry had already gained a reputation for playing gloriously quirky characters, outsiders, and heavies. Curry's most memorable role is likely that of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," but is just as well known for paying the evil Rooster Hannigan in John Huston's "Annie"; the devil himself, called Darkness, in Ridley Scott's "Legend"; and the prim and possibly murderous butler in "Clue." Curry's on-screen charisma was well known by the time he was cast as Pennywise. 

Pennywise offered Curry an enjoyable acting challenge. A murderous shapeshifting clown from beyond the stars leaves open a lot of possibilities. In a 2017 interview with The Guardian, Curry revealed the research he did for the role and how he came to an abiding understanding of what function Pennywise played in the lives of the youthful protagonists. He had read a lot of Stephen King before, so didn't have a lot to catch up on: 

"I'd read most of his books before doing 'It'; he's such a great storyteller. I love that he is more likely to quote Springsteen than Shakespeare. He's got a great sense of how children think and speak. And a feeling for landscapes. I think he knows that everyone is vulnerable to something. I haven't met him. I wish I had."

It's not too late. Curry is only 76 and King is 74. Perhaps a meeting of the two geniuses can still be arranged. 

What Is It?

Like all sane people, Tim Curry also knows that clowns are naturally scary. He was so scary, in fact, that he frightened one of his young costars. He continued to The Guardian:

"I read 'It' when I got the role and I thought it was wonderfully scary, because clowns are scary. It's the exaggeration. Pennywise always understood what each character was scared of, and provided it. And I could see what fun it would be to be that scary. They came up with such a great makeup. There's the classic scene where little Georgie floats his paper boat down the gutter and puts his hand down to try and get it back, and is grabbed by Pennywise, who says: 'Down here we float!' The boy playing Georgie [Tony Dakota] yanked his hand away and said, 'You're scaring me!' I said, 'I'm sorry, I'm supposed to.'"

The denouement of Stephen King's opus involved Pennywise transforming into its true form, that of an enormous spider. Many fans of the book, including Curry himself, feel the ultimate form of Pennywise is a little bit of a letdown. The insidious surreal quality of a clown in the sewer is a nightmare image, something a child would imagine and fear. A giant spider is perhaps a little too direct. Additionally, a giant spider is a difficult special effect to film, and the spider in the 1990 miniseries simply looks ... off. Said Curry: 

"I was very disappointed by the ending, when I turned into a rather unconvincing spider. But some people are obsessed with Pennywise. I went out to dinner last night, and I'm currently in a wheelchair because I had a stroke five years ago. And a guy saw me and stood up and said, 'I've seen the original Pennywise!' And I said, 'Well, good for you.' I think whatever scares the pants off you when you're a child is an image that always stays with you."

If scaring the pants off of children is the requisite for staying entrenched in a person's mind, then Curry occupies the mind of an entire generation. 

Read this next: All 59 Stephen King Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

The post Tim Curry Was Also Disappointed By the Ending of It appeared first on /Film.

This post contains spoilers for the first episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" premieres this week with a strong pilot episode that centers Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), the canonical commander of the Starship Enterprise before Captain James T. Kirk came aboard. The latest "Trek" series is set to follow Pike's crew, and Paramount+ has already revealed that Kirk himself will be joining the show's second season, where he'll be played by Paul Wesley.

So who, then, does Captain Pike keep calling for? As the Enterprise gears up for its first in-series mission, Pike keeps asking the crew to have a Lieutenant Kirk report for duty. In the episode's final scene, the crew member finally arrives ... only it's not James Kirk. It's Sam Kirk. "Samuel Kirk! Welcome to Enterprise. How's the family?" Pike declares as he engages Sam in a super-friendly handshake.

Sam Kirk, who is played by Dan Jeannotte, sports a blue Starfleet uniform and a fun little mustache (more on that soon). He also seems to know Pike personally, as he calls him "Chris" before correcting his language to be more work-appropriate. Just before the premiere episode ends, viewers learn that Kirk will be "working on life sciences," and that his boss will be none other than Spock (Ethan Peck) himself. Okay, but who the hell is this guy?

A Mustache For The Ages

The Kirk bit works as both a funny fake-out for fans who await Wesley's debut as James T., and one of the new show's many nods to "Star Trek: The Original Series." Samuel Kirk is a character within existing "Trek" canon, and he makes his debut appearance in the first season finale of the original series.

Sam Kirk first appears in the 1967 episode "Operation -- Annihilate!" The USS Enterprise is on the hunt for the source of a wave of a strange mass illness, and their search brings them to the Federation colony of Deneva. Kirk (played by William Shatner) receives a distress call that turns out to be from Aurelan, the wife of his biologist brother Sam, and gets to the planet as quickly as he can. Unfortunately, when he arrives, he finds Sam already dead at the hands of a parasitic hive mind creature.

When the team stumbles upon Sam's body, Kirk turns it over to identify him, only for audiences to discover that he's played by none other than Shatner himself. It's one of the original series' many, many bits of accidental comedy, as the character pretty much just looks like Shatner with a small, fake mustache and different hairstyle. And while Sam is alive and well in "Strange New Worlds," he's still sporting that same little 'stache.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" does plenty to pique longtime fans' curiosity in its premiere outing, but few moments are as sensational and surprising as the introduction of this Kirk sibling. We've only met him for all of one minute, but Sam Kirk already seems to be a playful presence, perhaps in possession of some of his brother's charms. Plus, Spock gets to be his boss, which sounds like a great "Trek" dynamic if ever I've heard one. Sam's not wearing a red shirt, and we know he won't die in "Trek" canon for some time thanks to the events of the original show. Let's hope Sam sticks around.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" arrives Thursdays on Paramount+.

Read this next: Sci-Fi Box Office Bombs That Deserve A Second Chance

The post The Wild History Behind That Cameo in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds appeared first on /Film.

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on Thursday released an updated cybersecurity guidance for managing risks in the supply chain, as it increasingly emerges as a lucrative attack vector. "It encourages organizations to consider the vulnerabilities not only of a finished product they are considering using, but also of its components — which may have been developed elsewhere

It's been over a decade since the planets aligned and Karyn Kusama, Diablo Cody, Megan Fox, and Amanda Seyfried joined forces to make the monstrous femme sensation, "Jennifer's Body." Kusama was looking for a new project to revitalize her reputation after "Æon Flux" flopped, and a new script from the recent Academy Award-winning Cody seemed like the perfect fit. Fox was on a hot streak after the "Transformers" films and Seyfriend, determined to shed her "Mean Girls" and "Mama Mia" reputation, was looking for something with a little more bite. In recent years, the film has been hailed as one of the greatest horror movies ever directed by a woman, is currently studied in university film theory classes, and is often cited as a cinematic feminist masterpiece. So why did "Jennifer's Body" bomb at the box office and earn terrible reviews from critics and audiences alike?

To put it simply, everything that "Jennifer's Body" had going for it was also actively working toward the film's demise. 2009 became the year where it was socially encouraged to hate Megan Fox for existing, to harshly criticize Cody's style of teenage dialogue, and where anti-femme bias was at an all-time high. The film was incorrectly marketed by clueless studio executives, and therefore, woefully misunderstood by people expecting one type of movie, and being given something completely different. "Jennifer's Body" was written off as a failure, but die-hard defenders were screaming from the wings that "Jennifer's Body" is good, actually. It took almost 10 years for "Jennifer's Body" to join the ranks of other unfairly maligned horror greats like "Halloween III: Season of the Witch," but it's official -- "Jennifer's Body" is and has always been, an absolute masterpiece.

Society Really, Really Hated Women In 2009

The response to "Jennifer's Body" was tremendously impacted by the cultural climate of its debut. In the wake of the #FreeBritney movement, there's been a reassessment of the aughts, but many have forgotten just how atrocious of a time it was for women. Edgelord humor ran rampant due to the false sense of anonymity granted by social media, and combined with the welcomed mockery of girl-focused franchises like "Twilight," people were extremely comfortable openly hating women. Paparazzi-driven rags and sites like PerezHilton.com thrived in this era where gossiping about celebrities and mocking their appearances was treated like its own form of currency, and few celebrities were hit with scorn quite like Megan Fox.

The treatment of Fox was so abhorrent that in 2017 The Mary Sue published a piece titled "So...When Are We All Going to Apologize to Megan Fox for What We Let Hollywood Do to Her?" dissecting the way the media warped the narrative around Fox, and made her out to be something she never was. Hollywood painted Fox as a talentless, bratty, hack coasting through on her looks, as if somehow she has any control over the way the public received her. In reality, Fox is and has always been an underappreciated talent, because people struggle to accept that someone with such conventional beauty could have skill outside of physical appeal. It's also important to note that the hatred received by Fox was not exclusive to men, as women hated her just as much, if not more. With the rise of socialite celebrities like Paris Hilton and the early days of Kim Kardashian came a backlash of anti-femme hate, where any woman who dabbled in glamour or high-femme aesthetic were seen as lesser-than, and therefore fair game to ridicule. It was a dark time, and it's no surprise that millennials boast record high numbers of low self-esteem.

Marketing Executives Failed Jennifer's Body

Due to the popularity Megan Fox had with the all-powerful male 18-24 demographic, the studio felt the need to market the film with these viewers in mind, despite the fact "Jennifer's Body" is very much a movie about teen girl friendship and the way women are taken advantage of by men seeking positions of power. Diablo Cody predicted the movie would fail, because it was apparent from the very beginning that it was being mismarketed:

"This movie was extensively focus-grouped which is hell. People hated it. I still have one of the cards. I'll keep it forever. They screened this movie for young men, of course, and the question was 'what would you improve about this movie?' and the guy wrote 'needs moar bewbs' [sic]. That's what we were up against. It makes me sad in retrospect."

Karyn Kusama echoed Cody's sentiments, saying she was concerned that the marketing didn't even include Amanda Seyfried, and when she reached out to remedy the situation, it was not well received. "You know, I tried to be diplomatic, and what I got back was essentially, "Megan hot. Focus on Megan hot," she said. "It, it was just such a strange — it was a dark time." The boys who came out to see "Jennifer's Body" left disappointed that the film was not in line with what the marketing had promised, and the women who would have surely loved the film felt alienated by the marketing, and had no idea what sort of film "Jennifer's Body" actually was. The audience that would have felt seen by this story were left in the dark, and so, "Jennifer's Body" flopped.

Hell Is A Teenage Girl

The conversation around "Jennifer's Body" started to change as micro-communities began to develop online, when suddenly, seemingly lone fans of the film from different parts of the world could find like minded individuals through Twitter and Tumblr, and there was an awakening. The Mary Sue article specifically about Fox started motivating other pop culture analysts to reconsider "Jennifer's Body," and together, a community collectively put the pieces together to figure out what happened with this film, and how to reclaim it. Film writer Jordan Crucchiola interviewed both Kusama and Fox to a sold out crowd at Beyond Fest in order to celebrate the film's 10-year anniversary, the movie fan apparel company Super Yaki released a "Justice for 'Jennifer's Body'" collection, and generations too young to remember the narrative of the aughts found the film organically, loving it without any of the social influence that plagued 2009.

This sleeper cult classic from director Karyn Kusama and screenwriter Diablo Cody infuses the teen horror movie with a dark wit and a subversive feminist sting. pic.twitter.com/h16lt1hdko

— Criterion Channel (@criterionchannl) September 29, 2021

The reclamation of "Jennifer's Body" came with a vengeance, as the queer and women-led movement began a revolution. In 2021, the Criterion Channel tweeted about "Jennifer's Body" calling the film a "sleeper cult classic" eliciting many requests for the film to be considered as part of the coveted Criterion Collection. Of course, there are still those that falsely believe "Jennifer's Body" to be a garbage movie, but as Jennifer Check so wisely stated, "Nice comeback, Hannah Montana. Got any more harsh digs?"

Read this next: The 20 Best 2000s Horror Movies Ranked

The post How Jennifer's Body Became A True Cult Classic appeared first on /Film.

The Fantasia International Film Festival will be roaring back into theatres to celebrate its 26th edition with a dynamic in-person program of screenings, workshops, and launch events running from July 14 through August 3, 2022. We’re proud to present these films in the mammoth Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screens at the Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinéma du Musée and the McCord Museum.

The festival’s full lineup will be announced in late June. In the meantime, Fantasia is excited to reveal a selected first wave of titles and a special Career Achievement Award for a hugely influential Hong Kong artist whose extraordinary work was foundational to the festival’s formation.

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: JOHN WOO

For its 26th edition, Fantasia is proud to honour the groundbreaking Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo with a Career Achievement Award.

With a singular directorial approach, Woo reinvented the conventions of action cinema, its visual language and dramatic codes. Nobody breaks down a sequence like Woo does: his staging is complex, his camera choreographies always elaborate, his mastery of physical performance and stunts unrivaled. His brilliantly original editing patterns are instantly recognizable, as are his slow-motion sequences, employed as much for pathos as to provide poignantly counter-adrenalized flourishes. At the heart of everything, Woo’s films are deeply moral visions, built around themes of friendship and trust with moving sincerity. Following martial arts films such as HAND OF DEATH (1976), LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY (1979) and beloved comedies such as MONEY CRAZY (1977) and PLAIN JANE TO THE RESCUE (1982), Woo made his name with the groundbreaking heroic bloodshed of films such as A BETTER TOMORROW (1986), THE KILLER (1989), BULLET IN THE HEAD (1990) and HARD BOILED (1992).

Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and others became international stars under his watchful eye, and by crafting an action cinema – and a genre – of his own, Woo continues to astonish audiences and filmmakers alike, inspiring legions across the world. In the years following this era, Woo has worked alternately in both Hollywood and China, on further blockbuster classics such as HARD TARGET (1993), FACE/OFF (1997), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II (2000) and epics such as RED CLIFF I & II (2008, 2009), and THE CROSSING I & II (2014, 2015). He is currently hard at work on SILENT NIGHT, an upcoming return to American filmmaking, starring Joel Kinnaman and Kid Cudi. Fantasia is proud to honor John Woo’s legacy.

SATOSHI MIKI’S UNIQUE CREATIVITY SHOWCASED AT FANTASIA 2022 WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF CONVENIENCE STORY AND THE CANADIAN PREMIERE OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEAD KAIJU?

Outstanding filmmaker Satoshi Miki (ADRIFT IN TOKYO) brings us his latest otherworldly adventure. Kato (Ryo Narita, JUST REMEMBERING) is a struggling screenwriter who, one day when stepping out to buy dog food, stumbles into a mysterious convenience store where he discovers he can find anything his heart desires. Satoshi Miki’s CONVENIENCE STORY, which was pitched at the Frontières Co-Production Market, comes full circle with its World Premiere and marks Japan Times film critic Mark Schilling’s debut as a screenwriter.

Miki’s gently eccentric sense of humour further illuminates the festival’s screens with the Canadian Premiere of WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEAD KAIJU?, a sci-fi comedy that brings the Japanese giant-monster genre to a human scale. When a humongous creature dies in a river, authorities choose to use the rotting carcass as a tourist attraction rather than clean up the potential ecological disaster. This political satire in the spirit of DON’T LOOK UP takes a funny and pertinent look at our indifference towards environmental crises. North American Premiere.

RYAN KWANTEN AND J.K. SIMMONS GET GRUESOMELY GLORIOUS

Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”) and J.K. Simmons (WHIPLASH) star in veteran genre journalist, filmmaker, and podcaster Rebekah McKendry’s wickedly funny, mind-bending mix of comedy, horror, sci-fi and gloriously indescribable weirdness. In GLORIOUS, After a breakup, Wes (Kwanten) ends up at a remote rest stop and finds himself locked inside the bathroom with a mysterious figure speaking from an adjacent stall. Soon Wes realizes he has found himself in a nightmare scenario more terrible than he could ever imagine. World Premiere.

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF RODRIGO GUDIÑO’S THE BREACH INAUGURATES FANTASIA’S “SEPTENTRION SHADOWS” SECTION!

Fantasia is proud to announce a new section in the festival’s programming: SEPTENTRION SHADOWS, dedicated to showcasing Canadian cinema that captures the weird, the dangerous, things full of wonder, and (almost) everything in between. Curated by programmer, critic and podcaster Carolyn Mauricette, the section will be launched this summer with the World Premiere of Rodrigo Gudiño’s THE BREACH.

As the founder and president of Rue Morgue Magazine, Rodrigo Gudiño has lived a life immersed in the horror genre. After many years in publishing, he began directing in 2006 and made his debut feature, THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH, in 2012. Now, In Fantasia’s 26th year, he’s back with THE BREACH. This adaptation of Canadian horror author Nick Cutter’s novel, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ian Weir, tells of a mysterious and gruesome death in the forests of Northern Ontario and the chaos that follows. Starring Allan Hawco (REPUBLIC OF DOYLE) and Emily Alatalo (SPARE PARTS), audiences can expect tension, plenty of prosthetic gore, and a score by GUNS N’ ROSES guitar great—and the film’s executive producer— Slash. World Premiere.

A NEW NIGHTMARE VISION FROM ANDY MITTON: THE HARBINGER

Monique (Gabby Beans, HOUSE OF CARDS) leaves her family quarantine to help a friend who’s suffering from terrible nightmares – but she learns too late that the bad dreams are contagious, along with the demon behind them. Award-winning Writer/Director Andy Mitton (THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW, WE GO ON) returns with his unique brand of empathetic supernatural horror. Deeply sad, deeply scary and all-out stunning in its power to probe collective trauma, THE HARBINGER bursts with occult imagination, exploring the anxiety and disorientation of the last few years in ways that only Mitton could. World Premiere.

TAKASHI MIIKE CONCLUDES HIS MOLE SONG TRILOGY WITH THE SAGA’S STRONGEST INSTALLMENT

The dynamic duo of the great Takashi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER) and the brilliant screenwriter Kankuro Kudo (TOO YOUNG TO DIE!) elevate the adventures of the ostentatious mole Reiji to unprecedented levels when the Machiavellian yakuza clan he infiltrated tries to import pasta made entirely of methamphetamines: speed-a-ronis. THE MOLE SONG: FINAL masterfully recreates the extravagant universe of Noboru Takahashi’s manga, with endangered kawaii puppets, dirty jokes, larger-than-life characters, and an unforgettable finale. The stellar cast is led by Tomas Ikuta (GRASSHOPPER), who outdoes himself with an absolutely hilarious physical performance. North American Premiere

MICKEY REECE STRIKES COUNTRY GOLD

George Jones (Ben Hall, MINARI) invites country music superstar Troyal Brooks (Mickey Reece) out on the town in Nashville in 1994 – the night before George is to be cryogenically frozen. At once hilarious and deeply affecting, COUNTRY GOLD is the 29th feature of Oklahoma indie maverick Mickey Reece (CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER, AGNES), reuniting the filmmaker with Hall, who’s never been better. A heartfelt outsider rumination on legacy and what it means to reach the age where one has more to reflect on than to look forward to. World Premiere.

A RADICAL TAKE ON THE EVILS OF PATRIARCHY AND ITS UNDYING LEGACY IN KARIM OUELHAJ’S MEGALOMANIAC

Prolific filmmaker Karim Ouelhaj, Méliès d’Or winner for THE FROZEN EYE (2016), brings us his fourth feature and by far his most savage. His sharp examination of societal anguish blends into this genre-adoring film that no horror devotee would dare miss. Carried by the breathtaking performance of lead actor Eline Schumacher and her descent into insanity, MEGALOMANIAC digs deep into the sordid true story of Belgian serial killer, The Butcher of Mons. MEGALOMANIAC is a nightmare of mystical violence anchored in the reality of female persecution and gendered abuse. World Premiere.

KAPPEI BRINGS JAPANESE COMEDY TO A NEW LEVEL OF PURE APOCALYPTIC FUN

Nostradamus predicted that the world would end in 1999, but he royally screwed up. In 2022, Kappei and his fellow doomsday warriors, isolated and trained since their childhood, must learn to live a “normal” life with great supernatural powers – but no social skills whatsoever. In his feature directorial debut KAPPEI, Takashi Hirano (producer of KAMIKAZE GIRLS) creates a wonderfully whimsical coming-of-age action-comedy with the help of screenwriter Yuichi Tokunaga (FLY ME TO THE SAITAMA) and a devilishly funny performance from Actor Hideaki Ito (LESSON OF THE EVIL, TOKYO VICE). North American Premiere.

A DUTCH BOG, AN ANCIENT HORROR: MOLOCH

MOLOCH is the hotly anticipated feature debut from acclaimed Dutch filmmaker Nico van den Brink. This is his follow-up to his award-winning shorts THE BURDEN (currently being adapted into a feature film co-produced by James Wan and Sam Raimi) and SWEET TOOTH, both of which premiered at Fantasia. Drenched in creeping dread, MOLOCH tells the story of 38-year-old Betriek (Sallie Harmsen, BLADE RUNNER 2049) who lives at the edge of a peat bog in the Northern Netherlands. As inexplicable horrors mount, she gradually becomes convinced that she is being hunted by something ancient. International Premiere.

ANIME REIGNS SUPREME

Vying for ANIME SUPREMACY! is no small feat. The anime industry of Japan is enormous, with 200 new TV shows and two trillion yen in revenue each year. Soft-spoken yet strong-willed anime director Hitomi Saito (Riho Yoshioka) has climbed the ranks, and is now set to direct a series of her own. Meanwhile, the difficult but undeniably brilliant director Chiharu Oji (Tomoya Nakamura) is gunning for his big comeback… and there can be only one number-one! This heartfelt, hilarious and thoroughly researched comedy-drama shows the struggle of making it to the top without compromising on vision, from director and CG animator Kohei Yoshino. North American Premiere.

A CHARMING, BLOODY BLITZKRIEG OF ARGENTINIAN HORROR

Otherworldly demons and magical bloodlines threaten to reshape the world in LEGION, an ingenious Argentinian folk horror powder keg by Fabian Forte (DEAD MAN TELLS HIS OWN TALE). While evil forces descend on Argentina, humanity’s best hope, a once-legendary shaman (Germán De Silva, WILD TALES), is confined to an insane asylum, powerless to avert the demonic resurrection. This outlandishly fun horror/comedy is reminiscent of early Álex de la Iglesia, steeped in cultural vibrancy, ritual magic and a cavalcade of creatures. Canadian Premiere.

NEXT DOOR IS A SURPRISING SINGLE-SET STORY WHERE DARK HUMOUR AND SUSPENSE COEXIST PERFECTLY

Chan-woo is on his fifth attempt to get into the police academy, when his friends make him a strange offer to pay the registration fee in exchange for just one drink at the bar. The next morning, he wakes up hungover in his loud neighbour’s apartment with a corpse lying face down in a pool of blood. With a meticulous script that rewards an observant viewer and an inspired comedic performance by lead actor Oh Dong-min (KINGDOM), writer/director Yeom Ji-ho’s impressive first feature NEXT DOOR delivers an engaging, claustrophobic black comedy reminiscent of Sabu’s classic MONDAY set in a single location. North American Premiere.

FANTASIA UNDERGROUND ANNOUNCES DELIRIOUS 1st SELECTION OF 2022

A microbudget flick with a vastly creative design and twisted story, Alex Philipp’s debut feature ALL JACKED UP AND FULL OF WORMS is a squirmy trip into the depths of arthouse horror cinema. A cavalcade of upcoming performers, as flamboyant and daring as John Waters’ dreamlanders, bring a vibrating excess to their wormhead characters. Inspired by Cassavetes and Hennenlotter, Philips delivers a wriggling, drug-induced creature feature nightmare, TRAINSPOTTING meets BRAIN DAMAGE with a dash of VIDEODROME. Underground filmmaking at its best for a ride to hell. Become one with the dirt! Realise your full potential! Nothing is real and everything is permitted. World Premiere.

An abrasive homegrown genre-adjacent film that mines West Island alienation for all its worth, THE DIABETIC is the latest low-fi fiction from Mitchell Stafiej (A, THE DEVIL’S TRAP) about how dark and dirty a desperate diabetic’s desolate night out can turn. Shot in 16mm, edited on VHS, only to be converted back to 16mm, Stafiej crafts a grimy underground film the likes of which the West Island has never seen. Co-presented by Les Fantastiques weekends du Cinema QC. World Premiere.

THE CAMERA LUCIDA SECTION UNVEILS FIVE TITLES

Named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine, Tyler Taormina and Jonathan Davies’s LA-based Omnes Films collective unveils two personal fantasias in the Camera Lucida section — dedicated to films at the intersection of genre and arthouse.

HAPPER’S COMET pulls us in with a muddy cob of corn; a sound recorder extended out a window; a stalled car and rollerblades attached to Converses. As we peek into the late night routines of various mysterious characters, time and place creeps in, coalescing around familiar fragments of Americana. Tyler Taormina follows 2018’s askew coming of age film HAM ON RYE with a foreboding midnight mosaic; evoking nocturnal loneliness, drifting uncertainty, and a pang of hope in the darkness. Canadian Premiere.

In TOPOLOGY OF SIRENS, Cas (Courtney Stephens), an academic and amateur musician, moves into her aunt’s old home. The discovery of a mysterious hurdy-gurdy prompts another find: microcassette tapes nestled in the instrument, labeled with cryptic symbols and containing abstract soundscapes. Cas’ detective story begins against the backdrop of a lush California town populated by audiophiles, experimentalists, tinkerers, VJs and collectors. This fantastical, shimmering debut from Jonathan Davies, operates like an airy, sun-kissed subversion of traditional L.A. noirs. Canadian Premiere.

Amanda Kramer invites us to a subversive Primetime Double Feature Spectacular, subverting Beatnik culture and variety shows in one swift, cinematic motion.

In Amanda Kramer’s PLEASE BABY PLEASE, newlyweds Suze (Andrea Riseborough, MANDY) and Arthur (Harry Melling, “The Queen’s Gambit”) are a picture-perfect Beatnik couple. Proud bohemians, they go through life with the certainty of their convictions… until they encounter the Young Gents – a leather-clad gang of greasers that terrorizes their neighborhood with pocket knives and genderbending ways. Soon, our central couple begins questioning their sexuality, and ultimately their relationship. Co-starring Karl Glusman (LOVE) and Demi Moore (GHOST). Canadian Premiere.

Sissy St. Claire (Sophie Von Haselberg) has one dream: making it big! In GIVE ME PITY! she hosts an extravagant variety show, full of gossip, glamour, vanity, and a creeping sense of disillusionment. To top it all off, a hooded man lurks in the wings, threatening to shut it all down. Amanda Kramer’s delightful horror-tinged cringe comedy, is a satirical send-up of American television, propelled by the spectacular performance at its center. North American Premiere.

In JUST REMEMBERING, Teruo (Sosuke Ikematsu, SHOPLIFTERS), a former dancer, is turning 34. Yo (Sairi Ito, ASAKO I & II), his ex-lover, makes a living as a cab driver in a COVID-stricken Tokyo. When she catches a glimpse of her ex on stage, memories flood back in. Inspired by Jarmusch’s classic NIGHT ON EARTH, director Daigo Matsui unspools rom-com conventions and beautifully depicts the ways we construct relationships and process memories. It’s a perfect match for the upset and melancholy of these past few years on Earth. Audience Award, Tokyo IFF 2021. North American Premiere.

STACK FASTER & FEEL THE LOVE

In FAST & FEEL LOVE, we meet Kao (Nat Kitcharit), a 30-year-old who has devoted his entire life to the competitive sport of… cup stacking! But as adulthood looms, his girlfriend Jay (Urassaya Sperbund) dumps him and he finds himself at a crossroads. Following HEART ATTACK (Fantasia 2016), Thai iconoclast Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit returns to the festival with his first “action film.” Quirky and satirical (structured around nods to various blockbuster hits, from FAST & FURIOUS to PARASITE) FAST & FEEL LOVE is a playful, surprising comedy about “competitive adulting!” Canadian Premiere.

DOCS FROM THE EDGE’S FIRST TITLES EXPLORE THE UNDERGROUND WORLD OF PEZ DISPENSERS, AND THE SURPRISING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DAVID LYNCH AND THE WIZARD OF OZ

Alexandre O. Philippe dissects film history like no other documentarian before him. From Monument Valley’s depiction in westerns in THE TAKING, to Hitchcock’s shower scene in 78/52 through Philippe’s lens, every detail is explored and expanded upon for a meditation on Cinema itself. In his latest work, LYNCH/OZ, featuring interviews with film fetishists such as John Waters, David Lowery and Rodney Ascher, Philippe leads us through a maze where the green emerald city and blue velvet curtain intertwine. Over the rainbow and underneath the surface, the story of David Lynch and THE WIZARD OF OZ. Canadian Premiere.

In Bryan Storkel (FIGHT CHURCH) and Amy Bandlien’s new film THE PEZ OUTLAW, the filmmakers explore the adventures of the International Pez Smuggler Steve Glew. This stranger-than-fiction tale of espionage and Wonka-esque whimsy follows the lovable underdog who managed to elude (and royally annoy) the powerful corporation for years and invites us into the heart of the Pez community: an eclectic band of passionate hobbyists that will feel all-too-familiar to most of us festival goers. Who knew true crime documentaries could be this sweet? International Premiere.

AXIS: ACCENT ON ANIMATION FROM ASIA

Korean Animation In The Spotlight

Already explored in literature, comics, and documentary film, the story of Chun Tae-Il, whose ultimate sacrifice galvanized the labour-rights movement in South Korea, is one that still reverberates half a century later. Director Hong Jun-pyo’s historical biography CHUN TAE-IL: A FLAME THAT LIVES ON honours its subject with emotionally charged storytelling and splendid visual craft, mixing tragedy and hope in this South Korean animated feature that will appeal to all age groups. North American Premiere.

Hong’s feature is just part of a special Korean Animation Spotlight at Fantasia 2022. Long overlooked as little more than a factory for Japanese and American cartoons, South Korea has steadily built a national animation community whose films are now among the world’s best, both technically and artistically. Fantasia’s spotlight showcases a slate of brand-new short films as well as retrospectives, a children’s program, and a masterclass with Kim Kangmin, director of the award-winning short KKUM.

•  Presented with the support of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Creative Content Agency, Korean Independent Animation Filmmakers Association, and the Korean Cultural Centre in Canada.

 

Anime From Fairy Tale to Rock Opera

A dark and monstrous creature becomes the guardian of an innocent human child in the affecting gothic anime fairytale THE GIRL FROM THE OTHER SIDE, co-directed by rising talents Yutaro Kubo and Satomi Maiya. The pair world-premiered their short film adaptation of Nagabe’s cult manga at Fantasia 2019, and with this feature they bring the elegant, enigmatic tale of Shiva and Teacher to the screen once again. Canadian Premiere.

Bristling with energy and inspiration, INU-OH, the new feature film from anime radical Masaaki Yuasa (MIND GAME, DEVILMAN CRYBABY) is an absolute tour-de-force. Ancient Japanese history is reimagined as a riotous rock opera, rendered all the more feverish and fantastical by Yuasa’s storytelling panache and astonishing inventiveness, not to mention Taiyo Matsumoto’s amazing character designs. Quebec Premiere.

A Gem of Afro-Caribbean Animation

A mystical kingdom is eternally blessed with life and abundance, but should the princess Opal’s joy be lost and sadness take hold of her heart, darkness and ruin will blight the realm. OPAL, the second feature film from Martinique’s Alain Bidard (BATTLEDREAM CHRONICLE, 2015), is a sumptuous animated fairy tale, filled with a rich Afro-Caribbean sensibility and profound psychological undercurrents, and has already scooped up awards at festivals around the world. Canadian Premiere.

Additional 1st Wave titles:

BABY ASSASSINS (Japan) – Dir: Yugo Sakamoto

Two teenage assassins adjust to being roommates and search for menial part-time jobs while battling a psychopathic yakuza boss and his bratty son and daughter. A double-barrelled blast of action-comedy that teams up stage musical star Akari Takaishi and stuntwoman Ayaori Izawa. Quebec Premiere.

DEADSTREAM (USA) – Dirs: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter

Disgraced and demonetized after a public controversy, a washed up Internet personality tries to win back his followers by livestreaming himself spending one night alone in an abandoned haunted house. Unfortunately, he accidentally pisses off a vengeful spirit. A wild, splatstick cross between EVIL DEAD and the most ill-fated livestream imaginable. Official Selection: SXSW 2022. Canadian Premiere. Check out our review!

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH (Belgium) – Dir: Véronique Jadin

From the absurd to the heartbreaking, Véronique Jadin covers it all in her darkly comedic and surprisingly bloody look at sexism in office culture. The cast pulls out all the stops with its number of insane and nail-biting moments. Official Selection: Tribeca 2022. Canadian Premiere.

INCREDIBLE BUT TRUE (France) – Dir: Quentin Dupieux

Alain and Marie move to a quiet suburb. A mysterious tunnel in the cellar of their new home will turn their lives upside down. An inspired burst of lunacy from Quentin Dupieux (MANDIBLES, DEERSKIN, WRONG), starring Alain Chabat, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel and Anaïs Demoustier. Official Selection: Berlin International Film Festival 2022. North American Premiere.

ON THE LINE (South Korea) – Dir: Kim Sun, Kim Gok

Rarely has an action film managed to generate as much excitement and anxiety as this timely dive into the maze of voice phishing scams, where an ex-detective embarks on a dangerous mission to infiltrate and dismantle a huge cartel of invisible fraudsters. Canadian Premiere.

RESURRECTION (USA) – Dir: Andrew Semans

Rebecca Hall, Tim Roth and Grace Kaufman star in this fiercely absorbing work of psychological horror that explores the twisting emotions of unresolved trauma. You will be shocked. You will be devastated. You will be left frozen in an absolute daze. Official Selection: Sundance 2022. Canadian Premiere. Check out our review!

SHARP STICK (USA) – Dir: Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham’s return to feature filmmaking is an honest, boundary-pushing comedy of sexual discovery that entertains and surprises with its unique tone. Vibrant, with a pitch-perfect cast that includes Kristine Froseth, Taylour Paige, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jon Bernthal, Scott Speedman and the writer/director herself. Official Selection: Sundance 2022. Canadian Premiere.

SPEAK NO EVIL (Denmark) – Dir: Christian Tafdrup

The Danish shocker that pulverized Sundance is coming to Canada. Equal parts smart, dark social satire and a masterclass of dread-building, this singularly squirm-inducing nightmare is going to stay with you for years. Official Selection: Göteborg Film Festival 2022. Canadian Premiere. Check out our review!

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The 26th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will be presented by Videotron in collaboration with Desjardins, and will be made possible thanks to the financial assistance of Telefilm Canada, the Government of Quebec, SODEC, The Ministère des Affaires Municipales et de l’Habitation, Tourisme Québec, the City of Montreal, the Conseil des arts of Montreal and Tourisme Montréal.

A second wave of Fantasia 2022 titles will be announced in early June with the full lineup to be revealed in late June, ticket sales commencing shortly afterwards.

The post [News] Fantasia ’s 26th Edition Announces First Wave of Program appeared first on Nightmarish Conjurings.

No matter the profession, it's hard to say no to the boss. That was certainly the case in the "Happy Days" writers room in 1978. That is when show creator Garry Marshall asked the writers to develop a concept for the next episode that was out of this world. For a show about the idyllic 1950s (albeit through a white, middle-class, Midwest lens), introducing an alien into the show's narrative was a planet-sized challenge.

Selling the concept of an alien landing on Earth and taking Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) back to his planet to study was foreign to a writing team that was rooted in wholesome reality. But somehow, the wild idea — and very limited preparation time — ended up being the saving grace for the writers. Desperate for an actor to play the role of the alien, a little-known comedian named Robin Williams stepped in and not only saved the episode, but spawned an entirely new sitcom from his single performance.

Why Not, They Already 'Jumped The Shark'

As absurd as an alien on the show sounds, the writers were getting desperate for ideas. Season 5 of "Happy Days" started with a three-episode arc where Fonzie is invited to Hollywood to make it big. In "Hollywood: Part 3," Fonzie accepts a challenge to water-ski jump over a shark (all the while in his leather jacket). The episode was so silly it inspired the phrase "jump the shark." Ever since, when a sitcom wears out its originality and ramps up the absurdity, it is said to have "jumped the shark."

By the middle of season 5, show creator Garry Marshall had begun taking advice from his 8-year-old for episode ideas. According to Gizmodo, it was Marshall's son who suggested an alien drop in on Milwaukee and pay a visit to The Fonz, and maybe bring a human back to his home planet of Ork to study. With just days to go until production on the episode, "My Favorite Orkan," the writers had no option other than to run with the idea. Writer Brian Levant told Gizmodo:

"We looked at each other like, 'God, that's the most horrible idea I've ever heard.' We drew straws to see who drew the short straw and had to write the script."

In an interview with the Television Academy, "Happy Days" star Ron Howard said the episode "didn't read so great" and that ABC wanted to throw the episode out. Marshall fought for the episode and won. But there was another problem: They couldn't find anyone willing to play the alien.

Robin Williams Wasn't Supposed To Be Mork

Robin Williams was not the first choice to play the alien Mork, but rather a Hail Mary to save the episode. British actor Roger Rees, who TV audiences might best remember as the smooth-talking millionaire Robin Colcord on "Cheers," was initially cast as Mork. When he dropped out, they turned to Dom DeLuise, who rejected the offer. A third actor also said no upon reading the script. Rehearsals began that week without casting in place for the character that was the inspiration for the episode.

Finally, an associate producer remembered a stand-up comic who included a "spaceman" bit in his act. That comedian was Robin Williams, someone Ron Howard called "a guy that no one knew." The very next day, Williams blew everyone away during rehearsals. Writer Brian Levant told Gizmodo:

"They called us down for the most amazing run-through in the world. We saw one guy who embodied all three Marx Brothers, Chaplin, the Three Stooges, and William F. Buckley in the same body."

The writers quickly revised the script to incorporate ideas Williams brought to the rehearsal. Many of Mork's alien mannerisms, like drinking through his finger, came straight from Williams. The result was an episode so magical it even impressed The Fonz. Henry Winkler would later tell The Guardian: "I'm in the presence of greatness and my job here is to get out of his way." Fan mail and phone calls to ABC followed, and ABC responded by quickly creating a spinoff sitcom for Williams, "Mork & Mindy."

"Mork & Mindy" ran for four seasons and launched Williams in the American pop culture zeitgeist. Rather than jumping the shark, Williams took "the most horrible idea" ever and turned it into one of the most memorable episodes in "Happy Days" history, all the while saying "Nanu Nanu" to television audiences around the world. Or maybe even the entire galaxy, if you include the planet Ork.

Read this next: The 10 Apple TV Shows That Justify A Subscription

The post How Robin Williams Made a 'Horrible' Happy Days Script Worthy of the Mork & Mindy Spinoff appeared first on /Film.

Sam Raimi's career spans a wide array of genres, from the horror-comedy cult classic "The Evil Dead" and its subsequent sequels to well regarded films like "A Simple Plan" and the "Spider-Man" comic book trilogy that made him a household name.  While he's tackled some wildly different material over the years, one mainstay of his career is a long history of collaboration with B-movie legend Bruce Campbell. Their long partnership goes back to Raimi's directorial debut "It's Murder!," and it was cemented in the "Evil Dead" trilogy with Campbell's leading turn as chief Deadite foe Ash Williams. If there's a new Raimi outing, there's a pretty good chance Campbell's somewhere in it, even if it's just a cameo).

The horror-influenced independent superhero film "Darkman," which Raimi directed over a decade before "Spider-Man," is no exception. The film sees Liam Neeson portray scientist Peyton Westlake, who is attacked, burnt with acid, and left for dead. Westlake's life is saved via an experimental scientific process, and with artificial skin, he is able to shift his appearance and get revenge on his attackers. In the process, the scientist takes on a variety of disguises in his quest for vengeance, leaving Raimi what is basically a blank check as for cameo potential. In a new retrospective on the legacy of "Darkman," Bruce Campbell reveals how he was stealthily added into the film, and not just in a closing cameo.

Bruce Campbell Was Literally The New Liam Neeson

Campbell reveals that, while he didn't get the Darkman part himself, Raimi did find a cheeky way to technically make the actor Darkman in a pivotal moment. In the scene, Neeson laments his transformation to love interest Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand) before donning one final disguise and fleeing into the crowd. He takes one final look back... and it's Bruce Campbell as Darkman's final form (at least until the sequel). As Campbell tells it:

"We had made Evil Dead 2 just before that, and I was not enough of a [acting] commodity for Universal. But Liam Neeson at the time, he did a couple of well-known things in Europe, but I don't think people could have picked him out of a police lineup here. Sam threw me the bone and said, 'Why don't you be the final [in disguise] Darkman.' So, I am Darkman, technically. (laughs)."

In a prior interview for the Irish Film Institute, Campbell also recalls dubbing one of Neeson's Darkman lines in Campbell's (uncredited) time in the film's sound department. He recalls being asked to yell "Julie!" in one particular scene, as well as performing dubbed lines for the censored "Darkman" version intended for the U.S. television broadcast. Campbell explained:

"They knew that I did some of his voices, so I came in and did the television... I did the television version, where you can't swear in American television. So it was... "Oh God no!" became 'No Lord, no, please. Oh Lord, no.'"

Although the voice performance and the disguised visage were done for different purposes and totally separate from his cameo, between the two contributions, we can now say that, from a completely technical standpoint, Bruce Campbell was Darkman in Sam Raimi's early 1990 superhero outing.

Read this next: The 15 Most Anticipated Comic Book Movies And Shows Of 2022, Ranked

The post How Sam Raimi Snuck Bruce Campbell Into Darkman's Cast appeared first on /Film.

Did you know that May 5, 2022, is World Password Day?¹ Created by cybersecurity professionals in 2013 and designated as the first Thursday every May, World Password Day is meant to foster good password habits that help keep our online lives secure. It might seem strange to have a day set aside to honor something almost no one wants to deal with—like having a holiday for filing your income taxes (actually, that might be a good idea). But in today’s world of online work, school, shopping, healthcare, and almost everything else, keeping our accounts secure is more important than ever. Passwords are not only hard to remember and keep track of, but they’re also one of the most common entry points for attackers. In fact, there are 921 password attacks every second—nearly doubling in frequency over the past 12 months.²

But what if you didn’t have to deal with passwords at all? Last fall, we announced that anyone can completely remove the password from their Microsoft account. If you’re like me and happy to ditch passwords completely, read on to learn how Microsoft is making it possible to start enjoying a passwordless life today. Still, we know not everyone is ready to say goodbye to passwords, and it’s not possible for all your online accounts. We’ll also go over some easy ways to improve your password hygiene, as well as share some exciting news from our collaboration with the FIDO Alliance about a new way to sign in without a password.  

Free yourself with passwordless sign-in

Yes, you can now enjoy secure access to your Microsoft account without a password. By using the Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, a security key, or a verification code sent to your phone or email, you can go passwordless with any of your Microsoft apps and services. Just follow these five steps:

1. Download and install Microsoft Authenticator (linked to your personal Microsoft account).
2. Sign in to your Microsoft account.
3. Choose Security. Under Advanced security options, you’ll see Passwordless account in the section titled Additional security.
4. Select Turn on.
5. Approve the notification from Authenticator.

Once you approve the notification, you’ll no longer need a password to access your Microsoft accounts. If you decide you prefer using a password, you can always go back and turn off the passwordless feature. Here at Microsoft, nearly 100 percent of our employees use passwordless options to log into their corporate accounts.

Strengthen security with multifactor authentication

One simple step we can all take to protect our accounts today is adding multifactor authentication, which blocks 99.9 percent of account compromise attacks. The Microsoft Authenticator app is free and provides multiple options for authentication, including time-based one-time passcodes (TOTP), push notifications, and passwordless sign-in—all of which work for any site that supports multifactor authentication. Authenticator is available for Android and iOS and gives you the option to turn two-step verification on or off. For your Microsoft Account, multifactor authentication is usually only needed the first time you sign in or after changing your password. Once your device is recognized, you’ll just need your primary sign-in.

Make sure your password isn’t the weak link

Rather than keeping attackers out, weak passwords often provide a way in. Using and reusing simple passwords across different accounts might make our online life easier, but it also leaves the door open. Attackers regularly scroll social media accounts looking for birthdates, vacation spots, pet names and other personal information they know people use to create easy-to-remember passwords. A recent study found that 68 percent of people use the same password for different accounts.³ For example, once a password and email combination has been compromised, it’s often sold on the dark web for use in additional attacks. As my friend Bret Arsenault, our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) here at Microsoft, likes to say, “Hackers don’t break in, they log in.”

Some basics to remember—make sure your password is:

• At least 12 characters long.
• A combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Not a word that can be found in a dictionary, or the name of a person, product, or organization.
• Completely different from your previous passwords.
• Changed immediately if you suspect it may have been compromised.

Tip: Consider using a password manager. Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Authenticator can create (and remember) strong passwords using Password Generator, and then automatically fill them in when accessing your accounts. Also, keep these other tips in mind:

• Only share personal information in real-time—in person or by phone. (Be careful on social media.)
• Be skeptical of messages with links, especially those asking for personal information.
• Be on guard against messages with attached files, even from people or organizations you trust.
• Enable the lock feature on all your mobile devices (fingerprint, PIN, or facial recognition).
• Ensure all the apps on your device are legitimate (only from your device’s official app store).
• Keep your browser updated, browse in incognito mode, and enable Pop-Up Blocker.
• Use Windows 11 and turn on Tamper Protection to protect your security settings.

Tip: When answering security questions, provide an unrelated answer. For example, Q: “Where were you born?” A: “Green.” This helps throw off attackers who might use information skimmed from your social media accounts to hack your passwords. (Just be sure the unrelated answers are something you’ll remember.)

Passwordless authentication is becoming commonplace

As part of a historic collaboration, the FIDO Alliance, Microsoft, Apple, and Google have announced plans to expand support for a common passwordless sign-in standard. Commonly referred to as passkeys, these multi-device FIDO credentials offer users a platform-native way to safely and quickly sign in to any of their devices without a password. Virtually unable to be phished and available across all your devices, a passkey lets you sign in simply by authenticating with your face, fingerprint, or device PIN.

In addition to a consistent user experience and enhanced security, these new credentials offer two other compelling benefits:

1. Users can automatically access their passkeys on many of their devices without having to re-enroll for each account. Simply authenticate with your platform on your new device and your passkeys will be there ready to use—protecting you against device loss and simplifying device upgrade scenarios.
2. With passkeys on your mobile device, you’re able to sign in to an app or service on nearly any device, regardless of the platform or browser the device is running. For example, users can sign in on a Google Chrome browser that’s running on Microsoft Windows, using a passkey on an Apple device.

These new capabilities are expected to become available across Microsoft, Apple, and Google platforms starting in the next year. This type of Web Authentication (WebAuthn) credential represents a new era of authentication, and we’re thrilled to join the FIDO Alliance and others in the industry in supporting a common standard for a safe, consistent authentication experience. Learn more about this open-standards collaboration and exciting passwordless capabilities coming for Microsoft Azure Active Directory in a blog post from Alex Simons, Vice President, Identity Program Management.

Helping you stay secure year-round

Read more about Microsoft’s journey to provide passwordless authentication in a blog post by Joy Chik, Corporate Vice President of Identity. You can also read the complete guide to setting up your passwordless account with Microsoft, including FAQs and download links. And be sure to visit Security Insider for interviews with cybersecurity thought leaders, news on the latest cyberthreats, and lots more.

To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us at @MSFTSecurity for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.

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¹World Password Day, National Day Calendar.

²According to Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) authentication log data. 2022.

³America’s Password Habits 2021, Security.org. October 1, 2021.

The post This World Password Day consider ditching passwords altogether appeared first on Microsoft Security Blog.

After the end of World War III, humanity will be left scattered and destitute. Colonel Phillip Green will lead a freelance army of eco-terrorists, controlled by drugs, to the slaughter of 37 million people. Nuclear bombs will be dropped, and much of the planet's surface will be seared by radiation. All the governments will have fallen, and torturous kangaroo courts will take the place of truth and justice. People will move into small enclaves throughout the world, modestly enjoying their limited resources and waiting for a proper economic system to restart. 

In the middle of this terror, Earth will also experience its greatest day. On April 5, 2063, an engineer named Zefram Cochran will invent a craft that can, thanks to an energy field capable of warping the fabric of space, fly faster than the speed of light. On the maiden voyage of Cochran's ship, the Phoenix, a passing starship piloted by space aliens will change course to investigate. A cadre of Vulcans will land in Bozeman, Montana and introduce themselves to humans. Humans, realizing they are not alone in the galaxy, will begin a new age of togetherness and peace, understanding they are but new citizens in a much larger community. Over the years, warp technology will be used as the basis of a new age of exploration, allowing humanity to build enormous crafts capable of reaching other planets.

Over the course of the next century, Vulcans will prepare humanity for the next leg in the evolution of their civilization: Traversing the stars. We see the fruits of this, and examples of additional First Contact with alien species, in the new series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

First Contact As An Institution

These details are all laid out explicitly in Jonathan Frakes' 1996 film "Star Trek: First Contact." And, as with all lore introduced in "Star Trek," it became an oft-referred-to part of the franchise's lexicon. More importantly, however, first contact is -- in the grand arc of "Star Trek" -- the origin of Gene Roddenberry's benevolent vision of a peaceful future. 

In the future of "Star Trek," humanity doesn't steadily and instinctually improve as a natural and expected outcropping of its history to date. "Star Trek" is not a story of how Earth nations decided to spontaneously get along, or how humans elected to rid themselves of prejudice merely out of the goodness of their hearts. "Star Trek" argues that humanity is capable of acting that way, yes, but that, when left to our own devices as a species, we lilt toward destruction and entropy. Gene Roddenberry looked out at the world as it was in the 1960s and saw a lot of problems. War, racism, sexual repression. These things were common. And they would not be undone by a starship, a transporter, or a stalwart military captain. 

You'll notice that the optimistic future of "Star Trek" requires a clean slate. Much needs to be destroyed and removed before growth can begin. We needed to prove to ourselves, as a species, that we are capable of self-annihilation before we can build. The future can begin only after we allowed World War III to nearly wipe us out. Only at a moment of weakness, a moment of humility, a moment of shame, will our technical innovation be achieved ... for its own sake. In "First Contact," Cochran admits that he only wanted to achieve space flight as a means of making money. It wasn't until he was in space, looking back at a distant Earth after only flying for a few moments, that he realized the scope of his invention. 

Paired with that innovation during a desperate time was First Contact. It's 2063, and humanity is essentially at its worst, and that was when another species reached out to shake our hands. To see that we were capable of a lot. First Contact was not just a plot point, but the beginning of Roddenberry's optimistic future. Seeing the greatness in ourselves through the eyes of other members in our astral community. First Contact is the "Star Trek" origin story.

First Contact Throughout Trek

Because First Contact was so significant for humanity, it was depicted as a very careful process in future "Star Trek" episodes. Thanks to the franchise's well-known Prime Directive -- the law that forbids Starfleet from interfering in the natural course of a society's development -- the Federation is persnickety about how they introduce themselves to new worlds. Most importantly: The species in question has to be capable of faster-than-light travel. Often -- as depicted in a 1991 "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode called "First Contact" -- Starfleet will send representatives in disguise down to a world that is on the cusp of developing warp flight to ensure that they are united. Are they eager to take to the stars, or are they only incidentally developing space flight while the rest of the planet preps for more war? 

If the Federation finds the species in question is "ready" -- there are no scientific measurements for said readiness, mind you; It appears to be based solely on diplomatic intuition -- they will reveal themselves to the planet. Presumably, this will usher in a new era of peace and togetherness for that planet the same way it did for Earth. The Federation will them begin trade and, in some cases, many, many years of training to assure the species in question won't do anything reckless in the stars. 

That last bit was the premise of "Star Trek: Enterprise." First Contact was in 2063, but the first Starfleet vessel didn't take off for another century. Those 100 years were needed for humanity to rebuild after the war, unify the governments, and gather resources to build the ships.

First Contact between two species that have both already achieved warp flight seems to be little more than a careful, polite, and formal introduction, and can be handled over a viewscreen. There is little concern with sociological evolution or culture taint in these cases. 

Second Contact

Given the number of species seen on "Star Trek," First Contact seems to be common. It's mentioned frequently that Starfleet vessels have First Contact protocols, and, on "Star Trek: Lower Decks," senior officers talk about how much they love doing it. For them, it's a mere perk of the job. 

One of the central gags of "Lower Decks," though, is that the central starship, the U.S.S. Cerritos, is often assigned the least desirable jobs in Starfleet. "Lower Decks" points out that "Star Trek" -- however utopian it may be on paper -- is still full of petty bureaucracy, heavy lifting, and mindless repetitive tasks. As such, "Lower Decks" has introduced the notion of Second Contact. While first introducing yourselves to a new species is thrilling, someone will have to follow up on the promise to begin a cultural exchange. The Cerritos is called in to negotiate trade, open lines of diplomacy, start tracking the new world's culture and the language, and share just enough tech to help them without giving them so much that their society would be tainted. 

The captains get the fun of making a big speech about togetherness, but then someone else has to fly in and start quantity surveying. 

Like most things on "Lower Decks," Second Contact is meant to point out that not everything is "Star Trek" is as easy as an inspirational speech. There's also an overwhelming amount of logistics that goes into it. Second Contact is proof that First Contact carries with it a lot of practical concerns. 

Read this next: 20 Movies About Aliens That You Definitely Need To Watch

The post First Contact in the Star Trek Universe Explained appeared first on /Film.

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GitHub, the code hosting platform used by tens of millions of software developers around the world, announced today that all users who upload code to the site will need to enable one or more forms of two-factor authentication (2FA) by the end of 2023 in order to continue using the platform. The Verge reports: The new policy was announced Wednesday in a blog post by GitHub's chief security officer (CSO) Mike Hanley, which highlighted the Microsoft-owned platform's role in protecting the integrity of the software development process in the face of threats created by bad actors taking over developers' accounts. "The software supply chain starts with the developer," Hanley wrote. "Developer accounts are frequent targets for social engineering and account takeover, and protecting developers from these types of attacks is the first and most critical step toward securing the supply chain." Even though multi-factor authentication provides significant additional protection to online accounts, GitHub's internal research shows that only around 16.5 percent of active users (roughly one in six) currently enable the enhanced security measures on their accounts -- a surprisingly low figure given that the platform's user base should be aware of the risks of password-only protection. By steering these users towards a higher minimum standard of account protection, GitHub hopes to boost the overall security of the software development community as a whole, Hanley told The Verge. "GitHub is in a unique position here, just by virtue of the vast majority of open source and creator communities living on GitHub.com, that we can have a significant positive impact on the security of the overall ecosystem by raising the bar from a security hygiene perspective," Hanley said. "We feel like it's really one of the best ecosystem-wide benefits that we can provide, and we're committed to making sure that we work through any of the challenges or obstacles to making sure that there's successful adoption."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Count Crowley has returned. Writer David Dastmalchian and artist Lukas Ketner's Dark Horse series is no longer about a reluctant monster hunter, but an amateur one. After a long wait and a bit of uncertainty, Dastmalchian is back to writing adventures for his hero, Jerri Bartman, with "Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter." Bartman remains on her road to recovery as she battles werewolves and vampires, and hosts creature features for a local station. 

The comic, which also includes eye-popping work from colorist Lauren Affe, is a passion project for Dastmalchian. It's personal for a variety of reasons for the writer and actor, known for his work in "Dune" and "The Suicide Squad." It's influenced by his own journey with recovery, as well as a love letter to his favorite creature features. Dastmalchian's office is practically a shrine to monsters and loaded with memorabilia. Over a Zoom call from his office, which is more like a museum, Dastmalchian told us about his fandom, the joys of writing "Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter," and what he hopes to achieve in the future. 

'I've Always Been Writing The Big Journey For Jerri'

What else is in your office? Is that a Frazetta cover?

That werewolf Frazetta cover is so good. I love that. I've got a lot of good stuff in here. I love this [Wolf Man model] because my kids made it with me. I used to do models when I was a kid, but my kids got a Frankenstein they did too. That's a Jane Mansfield bubble bath bottle right over there. She used to sell those where she would bottle up her bubble bath and then sell it at grocery store openings to make a buck. I love that kind of stuff. Then our poster for "Animals." Oh, I've got Polka-Dot Man's first appearance in a comic book and my signed Lon Chaney Jr. [print]. 

What a great creative space. 

It's the best. It's so great. That's Anton Lavey on the cover of Look Magazine in 1971. When you're a collectible-loving nerd like me ... Oh, you know what? Here's a crown jewel. I grew up watching Crematia Mortem's Friday Nightmare in Kansas City. I used to enter all the contests for her show, like a scary story contest, make a Christmas ornament contest. I never won. Then when I became friends years later with Roberta Solomon, I told her about how long I was a fan and everything. She had one prize pack left in her storage with a t-shirt and a signed postcard and a letter from the crypt, and she sent it all to me. I was like, "Awesome."

It's very cool you two became friends given how she inspired the comic.

It's so cool, man. She's a friend of mine now. I am friends, legitimately friends, with Crematia Mortem. Think about that. I am so lucky. I am now friends with so many people who have inspired me, or if I'm not friends with, at least I've gotten to meet and shake the hand of or say thank you to. Before he passed away, I got to spend a lot of time with Stan [Lee]. Now I'm currently friends with and I've gotten to know Jim Lee really well, who's been a huge impact on my life. I got to meet recently Steve Niles, whose writing always had a big effect on me. So many different people, but it's crazy. It's so cool.

So how did you approach an "Amateur Monster Hunter'' differently than "Reluctant Monster Hunter"?

Well, as a writer, keep in mind that there is no break. Do you know what I mean? To me, I've always been writing the big journey for Jerri. I guess if there was a difference in the way I approach it, it's just the difference in the way that you approach act breaks in a play or a screenplay. So this is the next act. This is act two for this part of the story.

Getting into act two of the story meant, how am I going to take the stakes higher? How am I going to deepen Jerri's need for what it is that she must do or learn or acquire for her survival? How, for the audience's sake, can I kick up all the fun and mayhem? For me, the story is just continuing exactly where we left off, but because I did have time with the pandemic and at one point "Count Crowley" was just put on hold. I was devastated, but I kept hanging onto the faith that we would get to do more. I was writing and thinking and had already written a ton of scripts for going into the future. New fears have arisen in me, in our consciousness collectively, that I was able to imbue into the work.

We've now introduced werewolves, and as you're seeing in the new volume, we're getting big into werewolf mythology and how that works. Vampires are now going to be a big part of this. I love that I gave myself this challenge of going, "Nothing we know about werewolves, vampires, or any other monster is true. If a wooden stake, sunlight, holy water, or any other trope that we know of, like garlic, doesn't work against a vampire, what does?" I would tell you in this interview, except it's going to be really fun for you to discover it because it's so hard to kill a vampire. It actually may be impossible. For Jerri to figure that out is going to be a total bitch.

'Count Crowley Connects With All The Things That I Love'

The covers for all these issues really pop. What are some of the influences behind them?

Lucas is such an amazing artist, but he's also a workhorse. The guy lives and breathes to have pen and blood dripping. He just doesn't stop. He does all of my inks, all of my pencils, all of my covers. We just collaborated on another project that just got posted. Did you see that? The Last Podcast On The Left? Do you ever listen to the Last Podcast?

I haven't.

They're publishing a comic book and they took some of their favorite stories that they're publishing into a big book, a graphic novel book. Lucas and I teamed up for one of those stories. So they just posted some of his art on their Instagram today. We have other things that we're cooking up.

Lucas' covers, man. 2.1 is so good. Jerri looks like such a badass, but she still looks like she has no idea what she's doing in her eyes, and that's what I wanted because she's an amateur. She's ready to jump into this and fight tooth and nail, but she doesn't know what she's doing. She's a total amateur and she's going to cause some really major, bad mistakes because that's what amateurs do.

Then when you've seen 2.2, which is gruesome because how we deal with werewolves is pretty gruesome. 2.3 absolutely captures a 1940s classic comic cover, wartime EC, that energy that I wanted. He just nailed it. In fact, he even created a vintage Count Crowley graphic like you would see on an old golden age comic seal, which I tattooed on my arm as soon as I saw it because it was so good.

You have 22, 23 pages with monster mayhem, but also a serious depiction of addiction and recovery. How do you not only talk about but show with Lucas how Jerri struggles with addiction?

Lucas is the perfect partner for that, because he can convey so much in an expression even if the action might be Jerri storming out of a meeting, Jerri going to fight a monster, Jerri trying not to crash her car. There's so much happening in her eyes and in her psychology, just like for all of us as human beings. Lucas won't allow one line to be wasted when it comes to that work that he does around her or any of the other character's eyes, their mouths, what's happening with their faces.

For me, "Count Crowley" connects with all the things that I love, care about, fear, worry about, and want to tell stories about. One of the most important stories is mental health and addiction recovery. I knew that giving Jerri the same internal demons and monsters that I have was going to help me in the writing process, because whenever I'm in doubt about what it is that I need from a scene, from an adventure, from a challenge, I just have to look inside myself.

There's always some metaphorical, if not a direct correlation, between what's happening in her life and what it's like to be someone on the path of recovery. She has a lot of healing to do, man. She's got PTSD from an assault, she has deep wounds from the death of her parents, which we haven't even gotten into yet. We've got her depression, anxiety, and her addiction. As long as her battle with her internal demons is going neck and neck with her battle with the monsters in the world, I feel like it gives me this perfect engine to drive this story because the fuel from one battle feeds the other and the mechanics from another battle she's fighting are what are pumping the engine of the other. We'll go back to this numerous times. I'm now 20 years into my recovery journey.

Congratulations.

Thank you. I am thinking a lot about the stuff that I still have to work on and still have to learn about and Jerri's going to have to do that in the beginning. For me, gaining people's trust was so hard because I had broken so much trust, getting the self confidence to do what I needed to do to take care of myself and my responsibilities was so hard because I had so many bad habits that I had picked up over time. Learning to care enough about myself to do what I needed to do and what was right, that was so hard.

Jerri's having those exact same battles. It's just a little more fun because when she shows up late to a meeting, even if she was doing the right thing -- let's say she was having a major brawl with a vampire -- she's still late to a meeting and people are still doubting her. She's having to confront people's disappointment in her. She can't tell them that she was just trying to stop a vampire. It's really fun.

By the way, I admire your openness about your journey. I do think it helps make people with similar struggles feel less alone.

That's all I want, man. That's the power of story. A well-told story can make you feel a little less alone for a while. So that's the goal.

'I Want To Do This Until I'm As Old As Vincent Price'

For a while you were uncertain if "Count Crowley" would return, so when did you get the good news?

It was so great. We were deep into the pandemic. I never gave up hope. I never gave up on "Count Crowley." Megan Walker, my editor, she was like, "I'm going to keep fighting for Crowley and I know we've got fans out there." I believe it's possible to get it back, but it was hard to get Dark Horse to commit to publishing anything when everything was so uncertain. A lot of the publishing companies were only going to go into publishing their biggest hits, their guaranteed moneymaker.

In the meantime, Megan actually moved. My editor is now working in the development side of Dark Horse Entertainment. She works now on film and TV as well. We had talked a lot about the potential of developing something for film and television. Along with the executive who helps run Dark Horse Productions, Chris Tongue, we started meeting regularly to talk about what that could look like, and we're still meeting and we're still talking about it.

At one point, I'm like, "There are so many more stories to develop, and what can I do to see if there's any way we could get the comic up and running again?" They kept putting in the good word and kept checking in for me. Then one day I got that call from Megan, and [Dark Horse Founder] Mike Richardson said, "It's time. Let's do this." I was so excited. Where was I at the time? I was in either Berlin or Malta, maybe. I was working on a movie called "The Last Voyage Of The Demeter." A movie about Dracula, actually. I was having a hard time. That shoot was hard for me for a lot of reasons, but it was a really difficult, dark time. Getting that news was really awesome.

How far would you want "Count Crowley" to go? Could you see it being like "The Goon" and telling this story for a long time?

"The Goon" is such an inspiration to me. "Criminal McCobb" is another inspiration to me. Those series that have lasted now for decades and continue to come back and resurge. If I had my way right now, tens of thousands of people out there reading this would be like, "Oh yeah." I mean, we'd have this huge fanbase that was strong enough that I could just keep making "Crowley," at least six to 10 issues a year for years to come.

I know where I want to go, but I also am open to making discoveries. I'm going to add things, but right now I've got major monsters that Jerri's going to have to face. I want to do this until I'm as old as Vincent Price. Wherever I'm living when I'm an old man, I want to be surrounded by all my horror memorabilia and still writing "Count Crowley."

I just saw him in "The Baron of Arizona." Are you a fan of that one?

Oh, so great.

He's incredible in that movie.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was truly such a special kind of actor. There are so many actors who've inspired me over my career. Shit, the obvious the Meryl Streeps and the John Cazales. The people that at first really set me on this path were Lon Chaney, Lon Chaney Jr., Boris Karloff, and Vincent Price. I'm a huge fan of Christopher Lee, and I would love to play roles he got to play throughout his career. Those are my heroes.

Speaking of dreams, you keep a list of what you hope to accomplish. What's on that list at the moment?

Well, we are so close to going into production on a feature that I wrote called "Hide Your Eyes," which Erica Scoggins is directing. She's become one of my best friends and she's an incredible voice in the horror and genre space. It's a film that I will be making some announcements about very soon. We have to lock in some things, but we've got this insanely amazing cast that's assembling around it and killer producers. I'm excited about that.

I have two other comic book projects that I'm working on developing. I wrote a feature that I'm super excited about that we found a producer that looks like it's moving forward. As an actor at the moment, I'm getting to play a role in the new Christopher Nolan film, "Oppenheimer," about J. Robert Oppenheimer. The fact that I am getting to reunite with one of my favorite directors and definitely one of the greatest directors of all time, that has been a real joy.

I'm just really honing in on my passion for utilizing the space of genre where science-fiction and horror exists to tell stories that can reflect meaningful questions for me, and at the same time, collaborating with people I love. I am really forging some strong alliances with people who are my dear friends and we're writing and producing together. That is a joy to me.

Life is so short. I just want to spend every day surrounded by people who make me a better person and a better artist, and I feel like I'm really doing that right now. It's an exciting time. Yeah, the kids are doing great. They're total monster kids. My kids are into video games, monsters, and reading. I'm so proud. My kids and I have been reading R.L. Stein's "Find Your Fate: Indiana Jones" books, which I used to collect. We were reading those and just having a great time, man.

Good. Is Polka Cat well?

She's great. I'm surprised she didn't come up here. I try to feed the people their content. I hadn't posted about her in a while and I was getting a lot of messages. I posted some pictures of her the other day. Considering what a major celebrity she is, she's remained humble. She's still super chill. She hasn't gotten a big head. No big ego. I mean, no more big of an ego than any cat has, since they all know that they're the center of the universe.

"Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter #2" available on May 18, 2022. 

Read this next: Every Ridley Scott Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

The post David Dastmalchian Never Wants to Stop Writing Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

From the very first adaptation of Stephen King's fiction -- Brian De Palma's eternally excellent "Carrie" (1976) -- his villains have dug their claws into the collective consciousness, inspiring as many nightmares as the books they're based upon. 

Across film and television, there are King adaptations of all kinds: scary, laughable, faithful to the source material, completely off-the-wall ... if you want King, they've got it. But even the ones that don't necessarily work outside of the books are capable of giving chills like nothing else, to the point that creatures like Pennywise and Cujo are likely what most of us think of when we hear "clown" or "rabid animal." 

With plenty of new Stephen King adaptations headed to big and small screens alike, we've got a list of the 15 scariest Stephen King villains we've ever seen on screen. What's scary to one person is entirely subjective, but there's a pretty wide spread of freaks and horrors here from our world to the next. And given how quickly King pens new spooky tales, it's likely we'll have plenty of new options to consider for the foreseeable future.

Pennywise The Clown, Aka It

Pennywise the Clown may be the most obvious choice for this list, and it's with good reason: this ancient shape-shifter comes from beyond our universe and can take on the form of whatever terrifies us most. A scared human is supposedly a more delectable one, so it's only natural that Pennywise would be the favored appearance for a hungry creature with its sights set on the children of a small town.

Beyond its shape-shifting ability, Pennywise maintains its fresh supply of victims by psychically manipulating the citizens of Derry, Maine. Nobody really seems to notice or care too much about the disappearances of countless children and adults over the hundreds of years following Pennywise's arrival on Earth. It's not until the Loser's Club bands together that the creature truly meets its match.

Portrayed by Tim Curry in the 1990 TV miniseries and Bill Skarsgård in the 2017 feature film (as well as its 2019 sequel), Pennywise's cinematic reign of terror looks poised to continue with reports of a prequel series in the works for HBO Max. 

The Overlook Hotel

While Jack Torrance is the primary antagonist of "The Shining," it's ultimately the Overlook Hotel behind his gradual descent into madness. The site of countless murders and atrocities, the hotel manipulates its guests and manifests horrors for its own gruesome means. 

As famously depicted in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaptation (which King famously dislikes for its creative changes from the source material), the Overlook takes advantage of Jack Torrance's struggles with alcoholism and physical abuse and turns him into an axe-wielding avatar for its murderous desires. It also manifests the ghosts of its former guests and overseers, such as the infamous Grady twins and the bathing woman in room 237.

We won't spoil the gory details, but the Overlook Hotel also returned in Mike Flanagan's 2019 adaptation of King's sequel "Doctor Sleep," in which an adult Danny Torrance returns to the cursed lodgings in order to stop a group of psychic child-killers called the True Knot.

If you're feeling particularly brave, you could always book a weekend at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, which served as the inspiration for the Overlook and was even used as a filming location for Mick Garris' 1997 TV miniseries.

Kurt Barlow

Few on-screen King villains are as iconic as the blood-sucking Kurt Barlow in Tobe Hooper's 1979 miniseries adaptation of "Salem's Lot." Between his classic "Nosferatu"-style appearance and how his supernatural influence quietly eats away the small town of Jerusalem's Lot, Barlow is deservedly one of the most feared depictions of the vampire in cinematic history.

While Hooper's version of Barlow (played by the late Reggie Nalder) is far more outwardly monstrous than in the original novel or the 2004 miniseries, it certainly worked in the film's favor. The shockingly yellow eyes, the scarred and discolored skin, the long and misshapen fangs: Barlow's haunting visage is absolutely devoid of any humanity he may have once had. The handsome, charming gentleman vampire stepped aside for Nalder's manifestation of parasitic evil in the '79 miniseries, and we're (arguably) the better for it. 

There's a brand new feature film adaptation of "Salem's Lot" in the works from "It" and "Annabelle" filmmaker Gary Dauberman, but we're still waiting to find out who will be taking up the fanged mantle of Kurt Barlow for a new generation.

Annie Wilkes

Kathy Bates' obsessive super-fan from "Misery" might not be a prosthetic-clad creature like many on this list, but her outwardly wholesome appearance is all the more disturbing in contrast with the torment she inflicts on author Paul Sheldon.

Wilkes can't believe her luck when she discovers the man she's rescued from a car wreck is her favorite author. Unfortunately for Paul Sheldon, she has a serious bone to pick over his decision to kill off the protagonist of his famous series of romance novels. Trapped by his severe injuries and Wilkes' unstable threats of violence, Sheldon is forced to write a more satisfying continuation of the Misery Chastain novels.

It's no surprise that Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner's 1990 film adaptation. She expertly transitions from quirky to terrifying on a dime, delivering one of the most memorable on-screen King villains of all time. There was also a pretty interesting younger take on the character in the second season of Hulu's now-cancelled series "Castle Rock," in which Wilkes was played by Lizzie Caplan.

Sadistic, unpredictable, and entirely convinced that her actions are justified and rational -- in a modern world of stan culture and obsessive fandoms, Annie Wilkes is perhaps more plausibly scary than ever.

Dwight Renfield

"The Night Flier" might be one of King's more obscure stories, and it's more on the goofy side than it is outright bone-chilling. But Mark Pavia's 1997 film adaptation (starring Miguel Ferrer of "Twin Peaks" fame) went all-in on the special effects for its aviation-enthusiast vampire villain, resulting in one of the most impressively gruesome and unsettling monsters we've had from a King adaptation. And like many King adaptations, it certainly has a cult following.

Dwight Renfield is the on-the-nose pseudonym of a pilot who's rumored to be responsible for a rash of bizarre killings at local airports and airfields. Ferrer's sleazy reporter Richard Dees is assigned to the case, and although he's initially skeptical of the story, it quickly becomes clear that there's plenty of meat on the urban legend's bones.

Although he does have a normal human form, Renfield's ultimate appearance is a truly horrific beast with a flat snout, grotesquely wrinkled flesh, and enormous fangs on the top and bottom of his jaws to feed on the blood of his victims. It's a look far closer to Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" than it is "Salem's Lot," and deservedly lands a spot on our list.

Kurt Dussander

Perhaps in part because of director Bryan Singer's reputation, "Apt Pupil" seems to have fallen by the wayside since its release in 1998. But Ian McKellen's performance as Kurt Dussander -- an elderly German war criminal in hiding whose dark nature is awoken by a teenage neighbor -- is especially disturbing in an age of heightened political extremism and impressionable, embittered youth.

"Apt Pupil" was one of several short stories from King's collection "Different Seasons" to be adapted as a feature film, including tales that became "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand by Me." In this particular story, Dussander served in Hitler's SS during World War II, taking part in the atrocities of Holocaust before fleeing for South America and later the United States in order to avoid prosecution for his war crimes. Taking the false identity of Arthur Denker, Dussander has managed to avoid detection until his past is discovered by a local teenager, Todd Bowden, who blackmails him in return for tales of the atrocities he committed during the war.

What's truly disturbing about Dussander isn't just his past, but how easily he slips back into acts of cruelty and violence -- and how his influence quickly emboldens Bowden's latent dark side. There's little fantasy behind the evil in "Apt Pupil"; the horrors of yesterday don't vanish simply with the passage of time. In the case of Todd Bowden, all it takes is a little push in the right (or wrong) direction.

Mrs. Carmody

For the protagonists of "The Mist," hiding from ultra-dimensional creatures is terrifying enough. But the terror spills over entirely when Marcia Gay Harden's Mrs. Carmody begins to whip the survivors into a religious frenzy in Frank Darabont's fantastic 2007 film adaptation, which is widely considered to be one of the best adaptations of King's work.

Much like "Carrie" matriarch Margaret White, Mrs. Carmody is driven by a passionate and committed religious interpretation of the world around her. When a scientific experiment goes wrong at the local military base, a strange mist is unleashed upon the town below, manifesting all kinds of bizarre creatures. Shoppers at a local supermarket are trapped inside the building, and as paranoia and fear set in, Mrs. Carmody begins to convince others that the mist and its horrors are God's punishment for the sins of our world -- and her followers must help to dish it out.

Marcia Gay Harden's performance as Carmody is phenomenal ; a relentless whirlwind of dogmatic preaching and manipulation of vulnerable survivors. It's equal parts enraging and terrifying to see the protagonists torn between Lovecraftian beasts and their fellow townspeople turning against them. It's a shame the Spike TV series of "The Mist" didn't quite take off in 2017, but Darabont's film was certainly a hard act to follow.

Percy Wetmore

Already proficient in terror as the live-eating Adrian Toomes in "The X-Files," actor Doug Hutchison excelled as cruel and sadistic prison guard Percy Wetmore.

Before "The Mist," writer-director Frank Darabont brought us a feature film adaptation of King's novel "The Green Mile." Starring Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan, the story concerns the miraculous abilities of a death-row inmate (Duncan) at Cold Mountain Penitentiary in the 1930s.

Hutchison portrays corrections officer Percy Wetmore, a sadistic and cold overseer of the titular "Green Mile" cell block. He takes great pleasure in tormenting the inmates, finding every possible way to inflict pain and suffering on them without losing his job. Even worse, Wetmore's behavior is backed by his familial connections, which not only landed him the gig but keep him in the good graces of Cold Mountain's higher-ups.

Even though he gets his just desserts by the end of the film, it's never not tough to watch scenes like the fate of Mr. Jingles and his sabotage of Del's execution by electric chair.

Henry Bowers

Pennywise is undoubtedly the true villain of "It," but the shape-shifting creature certainly has some help from the very town it preys upon.

Local bully Henry Bowers is both the product and executor of human evil in Derry, Maine. An abusive upbringing have resulted in Bowers becoming a sadistic bully in his teen years, leading his own gang and tormenting the youth of Derry. This makes Bowers a ripe vessel for It's campaign of evil against the Loser's Club and the town, manipulating him to act out his darkest tendencies (much like the Overlook Hotel does in "The Shining").

What makes Henry Bowers so scary is not just the fact that he's reminiscent of every small town's notorious troublemaker, but that he's so tragically a perfect human target for Pennywise's chaotic influence. What could have been a promising young man was practically doomed by his father's abuse, long before Pennywise even set his sights on Bowers. With each adaptation of "It," it's fascinating to see the different ways this depiction of generational trauma and violence can be explored.

Gage Creed

One of King's most disturbing on-screen villains is also one of his most tragic. In "Pet Sematary," the Creed family move into a new home and discover the titular graveyard on their property. Despite warnings from neighbor Jud Crandall about dabbling in its strange properties, Louis Creed reanimates their tragically deceased toddler Gage in an act of hubris by burying the child in the cemetery.

Gage is frightening on two levels: the most obvious is his possession by the spirit that lies in the graveyard, leading him on a deadly rampage against the Creed's neighbor Jud Crandall as well as his own parents. The former innocence of Gage is gone, replaced with malicious intent from beyond the grave. But what's truly frightening about Gage is the thought of an act of love for your child turning into an unforgivable nightmare.

The 2019 remake of "Pet Sematary" swapped the roles of Gage and his older sister Ellie -- among other changes from the novel and the original film adaptation -- but Miko Hughes' portrayal of the vengeful Gage in Mary Lambert's 1989 original will never die.

The Space Cowboy

There are plenty of horrifying moments in Mike Flanagan's 2017 adaptation of "Gerald's Game" (we'll never look at handcuffs the same again) but the reveal of the Space Cowboy truly takes the cake.

Depicted on-screen by "Twin Peaks" legend Carel Struycken, Raymond Andrew Joubert (nicknamed The Space Cowboy) is a serial killer whose numerous crimes tick just about every depraved box there is. But his most terrifying act is simply his presence throughout Julie Burlingame's struggle to escape the confines of a pair of handcuffs after her husband dies of a heart attack during some particularly vigorous sex.

While he's capable of murder, cannibalism and other things we'd rather not go too deep into, in "Gerald's Game" the Space Cowboy prefers to watch Julie's torment from the shadows. As Julie's predicament becomes more and more desperate, the lines between what's real and what's not begin to blur, and the entity of the Space Cowboy is all the more haunting. It's a great example of King's ability to combine fears real, imagined and somewhere in-between.

Randall Flagg

There are too many depictions of Randall Flagg to cover across all media here, but that's partly why Flagg is one of King's most beloved antagonists.

An all-powerful, many-faced servant of the Crimson King from the "Dark Tower" series, Flagg is directly and indirectly responsible for many of the terrifying events throughout King's fiction and its many adaptations. And while he might not look so physically imposing in Mick Garris' 1994 TV adaptation of "The Stand" or the more recent CBS miniseries, that's kind of the point. Flagg is charismatic, mysterious, and gains support through his ability to give people exactly what they desire.

He could be described as the King universe's equivalent of the Biblical Satan, but truthfully, Flagg is far more complex than that. He sows discord and chaos across time and space, taking on many forms and names and corrupting everything he touches. His most recent appearances on screens include the 2017 "Dark Tower" film, in which he was played by Matthew McConaughey, and the 2020 miniseries adaptation of "The Stand," in which he was played by Alexander Skarsgård. There's no doubt that Flagg will find his way to our screens again one way or another.

Margaret White

"Carrie" was the first adaptation of King's work, and thanks to Brian De Palma's typically superb direction and lead performances from Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, it's still one of the best to date. Even King himself appears to agree.

Carrie is the repressed daughter of Margaret White, a religious fanatic who has fallen apart after her former husband's departure from the family. Carrie demonstrates an untapped telekinetic ability, which begins to manifest itself in response to bullying by other girls at school. The fanaticism is only intensified when Carrie pushes back against her restrictions, insisting on being allowed to attend the school prom and demonstrating her telekinetic abilities to prove she cannot be controlled.

Piper Laurie delivers a superb portrayal of Margaret, a character who appears merely eccentric to the neighborhood but terrorizes her daughter behind closed doors. Her own trauma is weaponized against Carrie, punishing her for any transgressions by locking her in a closet to pray for forgiveness. Unlike Mrs. Carmody from "The Mist," she's rejected by almost everybody except Carrie, who is torn between wanting her mother's love and being absolutely terrified of the monster she's become. In light of her repressive upbringing, Carrie's fiery vengeance at the film's climax is no surprise.

Cujo

Sure, the threat of Cujo seems a little small-scale when compared to the likes of Pennywise the Clown and Randall Flagg. But this is a good example of how King writes stories that scare on broader and more personal levels: the threat of the beloved family pet.

Cujo and Gage Creed from "Pet Sematary" are alike in that neither is responsible for their monstrous transformations -- in Cujo's case, rabies after being bitten by a diseased bat -- but they're all the more frightening and dangerous for how innocent they once were.

In the 1983 film adaptation, which went through quite a few changes from the novel, Donna Trenton and her son Brett are terrorized by the formerly adorable St. Bernard -- who's understandably still the go-to reference for rabid dogs, even all these years. It's not exactly easy to pull off the special effects for a movie dealing with a dog like Cujo, but director Lewis Teague did a damn fine job in capturing the horrifying transformation of the titular hound: a threat that most owners would struggle to bring themselves to fight back against.

The Slime

There are plenty of fantastic segments to choose from between "Creepshow" and "Creepshow 2," the horror anthology classics featuring stories by King. The oily slime from the second segment of 1987's "Creepshow 2" is beyond explanation -- and that's exactly why it lands a spot on this list.

Adapted from the short story "The Raft" from King's 1985 short story collection "Skeleton Crew," this segment of "Creepshow 2" follows a group of teens who fall prey to a bizarre, all-consuming sludge in the lake they've decided to hang out on. The protagonists are slowly consumed by this formless entity as they hopelessly cling to the lake raft, watching in horror as it toys with them from the water's surface.

It's often the things we don't understand that scare us the most, and for that reason this segment still gives chills even with the campy tone of the "Creepshow" series. Is it hungry? Is it territorial? Where does it come from? Is it alive? None of these questions truly matter when you're trying to find a way back to the shore as your friend is sucked down into the maw of this horrifying villain.

If you're a "Creepshow" fan and haven't yet checked out the Shudder TV revival, keep your horror-loving eyes peeled for the forthcoming third season.

Read this next: All 59 Stephen King Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

The post The 15 Scariest Stephen King Villains We've Seen On Screen appeared first on /Film.

Arguably the most significant "Star Wars" project to come our way in years is just around the corner, as "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is set to debut on Disney+ later this month. The long-awaited series will finally see Ewan McGregor return to a galaxy far, far away as the beloved Jedi, with the actor last taking on the role in "Revenge of the Sith" back in 2005. The character's return raises many questions about what we're going to see and how that will affect how we view the franchise as a whole. So here are some of the most burning questions "Star Wars" fans want to get answers to in the upcoming show.

How Will Owen And Obi-Wan's Relationship Play Out?

Joel Edgerton had the chance to briefly play the part of Luke Skywalker's uncle, Owen Lars, in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy. But Edgerton is getting the chance to flesh out the character a bit more in "Obi-Wan Kenobi," and that presents an interesting opportunity. We don't know a whole lot about the nature of the relationship between Obi-Wan and Owen, but we know they are aware of one another. There is a tiny bit of interaction between the two in the second trailer for the show, and it appears contentious. So, how is this going to be positioned? Are they going to have a respectful understanding of one another? Or is this going to be sour all the way through? Depending on how this plays out, it could color what little we see of Owen in "A New Hope," particularly as it relates to his feelings regarding Ben Kenobi.

Who The Heck Is Kumail Nanjiani Playing?

Kumail Nanjiani, who you may recognize from HBO's "Silicon Valley" and Marvel's "Eternals," is set to expand his impressive resume with a trip to a galaxy far, far away in this show. Yet, almost nothing has been revealed about his character up to this point. The one and only thing we do know is that he is playing a human (or at least something that looks like a human), given the brief shot of him that was included in the show's second trailer. But how exactly does Nanjiani factor in? Is he going to be an ally to McGregor's Obi-Wan? Is he going to be more of an adversary? In an interview with Rolling Stone, Nanjiani said that his "character is supposed to be a little bit intimidated by him." Does that imply Kumail is on the wrong side of the law, working for the Empire? Or is he just specifically scared of Jedi for some reason?

How Will The Inquisitors Translate In Live-Action?

While Darth Vader is indeed going to appear in "Obi-Wan Kenobi," arguably the biggest foes in the show -- at least, if the trailers are to be believed -- will be the Inquisitors. These characters will be new to fans who have only watched live-action "Star Wars" projects so far, but they're familiar to those who enjoy the games, animated shows, or comics. The Inquisitors have appeared in the "Darth Vader" comic book series, "Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order," and "Star Wars Rebels," but are now appearing in the flesh for the first time. Fans have been very happy to point out that the characters in this show don't look exactly like their counterparts in other mediums. But the bigger question is how these figures will be portrayed in the series. Typically, the Inquisitors have been tools that the Empire uses to help hunt down Jedi who escaped extinction. They are very closely associated with Darth Vader, but occupy a unique space as they're not exactly Sith and definitely not Jedi. Many fans of the expanded universe already love the Inquisitors, and that makes it all the more crucial that the translation into live-action sticks the landing.

How Will Darth Vader Be Portrayed?

One of the most pressing questions surrounding this show has to do with the return of Darth Vader. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" takes place ten years after the events of "Revenge of the Sith," which is a point on the timeline that has not been explored for the iconic villain. To make matters even more interesting, Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith," is returning to play Vader properly this time. He got a brief moment at the end of "Episode III," but it is largely remembered for the wrong reasons -- most notably that long, agonizing "No!" that punctuates his transformation from Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader.

So, how exactly is Vader going to be portrayed at this point in time? Will he be closer to the angry, rage-filled "Rogue One" Vader, who is in full control of his powers? Or are we going to see a Vader that is still very much learning how to navigate the Force, as well as his complicated relationship with Palpatine? And of course, there's the question of how his relationship with his former master has evolved in the years since they've seen each other. All of this will surely inform the impending rematch between Obi-Wan and Vader in the show, which is undoubtedly going to be a huge moment for fans.

What Will The Show's Big Surprise Be?

There is almost no point in asking whether or not "Obi-Wan Kenobi" will feature a big surprise, since every "Star Wars" show thus far has included either a big cameo or some sort of major reveal. It feels all but guaranteed that "Obi-Wan" will include something designed to shock fans. But what will the big surprise be? One logical guess would be that Ian McDiarmid will once again return as Palpatine, following his appearance in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." That would make sense, given the nature of his relationship with Darth Vader and the timeline in which the show takes place. Whether it's Palpatine or something else entirely, this series seems poised to deliver a surprise, and that will undoubtedly be a source of great speculation throughout its six-episode run.

Will It Help Or Tarnish A New Hope?

This is a very broad question, but it's perhaps the most important question of all as we await the new show's arrival. "Star Wars: A New Hope" introduced us to both Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi back in 1977, cementing them as two of the most popular characters in all of pop culture for 45 years now. Most crucially, the duel between the two on the Death Star has, up to this point, been positioned as the first time they encountered one another since that fateful day on Mustafar that we saw in "Revenge of the Sith" when master and apprentice became enemies.

This series is, for better or for worse, going to recontextualize "A New Hope" for fans as it relates to these two characters. Whatever plays out between Vader and Obi-Wan here will color how we see those interactions between them in the movie that started it all. Whether or not that adds something to it, like "Rogue One" did for "A New Hope," or takes us out of it when we revisit the original film, remains to be seen.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi" debuts on Disney+ on May 27, 2022.

Read this next: Star Wars Movie Villains Ranked Least To Most Powerful

The post Star Wars Fans Want These Questions Answered in Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared first on /Film.

Researchers at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne have observed a Chinese hacking group taking a trial-and-error approach to abusing antivirus applications for the sideloading of malicious DLLs.

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Some adventure game fans are displeased by the lack of Return to Monkey Island pixel art graphics - in the style of the classic games or creator Ron Gilbert's own Thimbleweed Park - but Gilbert says the team "didn't want to make a retro game" and wanted the art style to be "provocative".

Return to Monkey Island was announced last month, bringing back series creators Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman for an interquel set after the events of Monkey Island 2. In general, the fan response was incredibly positive, but a more recent look at the Return to Monkey Island art style has had some fans upset - especially those hoping it would be pixel art in the style of the first two pirate games.

In a new post on his Grumpy Gamer blog, Ron Gilbert addresses the choice in art direction, which is led by LittleBigPlanet designer Rex Crowle. "Monkey Island 1 and 2 weren't pixel art games," Gilbert says. "They were games using state-of-the-art tech and art... If I had stayed and done Monkey Island 3, it wouldn't have looked like Monkey Island 2."

Warning: major spoilers ahead for the "Moon Knight" season 1 finale.

Oh, that sneaky old bird! Just when you think Marc Spector and Steven Grant are finally free from the bossy bird-skulled Egyptian god using their body as his avatar, a post-credits scene pops up at the end of "Moon Knight" series finale to reveal Khonshu's back-up plan: a third personality called Jake Lockley.

Jake has actually made his presence felt in "Moon Knight" before, though this is the first time we've been formally introduced to him. In episode 3, Marc blacked out in the middle of a rooftop fight and woke up to find two of the men he'd been fighting dead, and another injured. Steven also denied any knowledge of what had happened to them. Then, in episode 4, as the pair were exploring the psychiatric hospital of their mind, a sarcophagus was spotted in one of the rooms -- indicating that someone else was locked in there with them. 

In episode 6, Jake once again takes over during a climactic battle between Arthur Harrow and the followers of Ammit, and Moon Knight and Layla (who is now empowered as the avatar of the goddess Tawaret). Marc and Steven appear to be losing the battle ... when suddenly another blackout occurs and they find themselves surrounded by wreckage and bodies, with Harrow now too badly injured to fight back. But with Ammit still on the loose, there's no time to dwell: they need to trap the reckless crocodile god in Harrow's body before she can carry on chewing up the souls of Cairo. Then, finally, Marc and Steven can be free from Khonshu. Right?

Jake Lockley Is Here To Do Your Dirty Work

Though Marc and Steven renounce Khonshu and the cool costumes and superpowers that go along with him, the post-credits scene of "Moon Knight" episode 6 confirms that the different personalities in Marc Spector's body each have their own will -- and their own individual deals with Khonshu. Steven, for example, wasn't really an avatar of Khonshu until he made the decision to summon the suit (a dapper get-up that's very different from Marc's caped superhero form). And while the two personalities we've come to know well were set free by Khonshu, the old bird still had a trick up his sleeve.

Jake Lockley is a third personality who is hidden from both Marc and Steven, in the same way that Marc was once hidden from Steven. In Marvel Comics, Jake is a "streetwise cabbie" whose talents include brawling and gathering information. He also spends some time as the dominant personality while living in Mexico, which may explain why Jake speaks Spanish in the credits scene.

Just as Steven Grant's personality was changed up for the "Moon Knight" TV show (in the comics he's a suave and wealthy playboy), Jake has been repurposed as a personality who is more brutal and merciless than Marc, and who takes over when Marc finds himself losing a fight. In contrast to Marc's combative relationship with Khonshu, Jake seems to have fully embraced the moon god. And he's a very useful avatar for Khonshu because, as evidenced by the innocent hospital employees he murdered to break Harrow out, there's no dirty work that Jake can't stomach.

Lurking In The Shadows

At the start of "Moon Knight" episode 6, Marc chooses to leave the Field of Reeds and return to rescue Steven, sharing his own balanced soul with him so that they can both escape the afterlife. But, as seen in the previous episode, Marc and Steven each had individual white hearts representing their souls, which means that Jake has his own one too -- it was simply hidden away. As Khonshu gloats, "[Marc] has no idea how troubled he truly is."

The implications of that are interesting. While Marc and Steven took a pretty thorough tour of their collective memories in episode 5, "Asylum," the childhood death of Marc's younger brother, Randall, was never actually shown. It's possible that Jake Lockley's murderous impulses emerged at an earlier point than Steven, and that the first time Marc remembers dissociating (as a child, in response to his mother's abuse) wasn't actually the first time. Perhaps Marc actually did play an active role in Randall's death, and repressed that part of himself so strongly that Jake can only reemerge on rare occasions. 

It's also possible that Jake took over as the dominant personality during Marc's career as a mercenary; while Marc was shown to have his limits, putting his own life on the line to try and protect Layla's father, Jake appears to have no moral code at all -- which is handy in the hired gun business. He may well have emerged for the first time after the angry teenage Marc left home, and had his own career as an assassin (perhaps operating in Mexico) in the period before Marc met Layla.

One final possibility is that Jake, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is an amalgam of both Jake Lockley and Randall Spector. In the comics, Randall doesn't die in childhood but reemerges as a serial killer called the Hatchet Man, who is killed by Marc (but, in the typical comic book fashion, get retconned back to life). 

In the "Shadowland" storyline, Randall returned as a dark and creepy reflection of Moon Knight called Shadow Knight, with a decaying version of Moon Knight's costume and a similar power set. Since we haven't yet seen what Jake looks like when he summons the suit, and Layla didn't mention seeing a different suit when Jake took over in the final battle, it's possible that Jake's alter ego is Shadow Knight -- just as Marc's is Moon Knight and Steven's is Mr. Knight.

Superheroes fighting their evenly-matched supervillain counterpart is kind of a staple of the MCU (Hulk vs. Abomination, Iron Man vs. Iron Monger, Ant-Man vs. Yellowjacket etc.), so while this is pure speculation for now, it wouldn't be surprising to see Shadow Knight incorporated into the future of "Moon Knight" as Marc Spector's battle with himself continues.

All episodes of "Moon Knight" are now available to watch on Disney+.

Read this next: Every MCU Post-Credits Sequence Ranked From Worst To Best

The post Moon Knight Finale Credits Scene Explained: Khonshu's Back-Up Plan appeared first on /Film.

Long before Michael B. Jordan got to play Killmonger in "Black Panther" or Vince Howard in "Friday Night Lights," he got his first major role as Wallace in season 1 of "The Wire." Described by showrunner David Simon as the "emotional center" of the first season, Wallace is one of the youngest and most innocent members of Avon Barksdale's crew. Although he takes part in the drug trade, he's averse to violence and still has a lot of childlike interests that get him into trouble with the other gang members. After their crew is robbed while Wallace was supposed to be on lookout, fellow drug dealer Bodie (J.D. Williams) finds Wallace obliviously playing around with a toy, and he responds by throwing a beer bottle at Wallace's head. 

The moment where the show really zeroes in on why Wallace is a special character comes at the beginning of the season's sixth episode, where he's seen taking care of a bunch of younger orphans living in his apartment building. Soon afterward he finds out about how Omar's lover, Brandon, who Wallace helped identify to the Barksdale higher-ups, was tortured and killed. The guilt follows him throughout the season, culminating in him turning to the police and telling them about the murder. To keep him safe, the police send Wallace to live with his grandmother in the country. 

But much like how the mob guys on "The Sopranos" can never seem to stay out of New Jersey for an extended period of time, Wallace soon decides to return to his home in Baltimore, not fully understanding how much danger he's putting himself in. He's suspected to be a snitch, and Stringer Bell ends up ordering his death. In one of the show's saddest, most disturbing scenes, Wallace is shot to death by his two friends Bodie (J. D. Williams) and Poot (Tray Chaney).

Wallace's Death Scene

David Simon was sad to kill off Wallace, partly because he was such a sympathetic character and partly because it would mean the end of working with Michael B. Jordan. When Simon knocked on the actor's door to break the news, he told him, "Look, Mike, we love you, everybody loves you, but that's exactly why we have to kill you."

Because Jordan was a minor at the time, his mom was often there on set during his scenes. Even if you know it's fake, watching your son get shot to death can't be a fun time, and it's made worse by how the scene was drawn out and gut-wrenching, even by the standards of "The Wire." Wallace doesn't just get shot; he's given enough time to realize what's happening, and he begs and cries for his friends to spare his life. Wallace's youth is emphasized strongly here, as is that of both Bodie and Poot, who don't want to go through with the murder but feel compelled to do so. Understandably, the performance of the scene was interrupted a few times by Jordan's mother crying. As the actor put it:

"I remember my mom being on set, she's in Video Village and you could just hear her sobbing and crying and stuff like that. It was pretty distracting. I'm like, 'Ma ... Somebody, please just take her off set.' But it was a good time, looking back at it."

The Wire's Tragic Youth

As unpleasant as it was, Wallace's death was necessary for the story "The Wire" was trying to tell. Starting off as a much more complex telling of the standard cops versus criminals narrative, each season expanded its scope until the show became about the city of Baltimore as a whole. Or if you want to go even more big picture, it was about how American institutions resist attempts at reform and fail to protect the most powerless people in society. David Simon's recently returned to HBO with another show, "We Own This City," seeking to make a similar point. 

You can't get any more powerless than the most of the kids we meet on "The Wire." Born into poverty and surrounded by drugs and violence, season 4 in particular makes the argument that most never had a chance of having a successful, peaceful life. Whereas adult drug dealers like D'Angelo Barksdale (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) are old enough to be held entirely responsible for their actions, a kid Wallace's age can only really end up where he did if he was failed massively by the world around him. 

By the time the show ended, "The Wire" had a long list of young characters who could've had a good, long life if they'd been born into different circumstances. Instead they got killed or corrupted not just by the drug trade, but by the police, educational, and political situations that failed to protect them in any meaningful way. Wallace was the show's first of them, and 20 years later his death still stings. 

Read this next: The 18 Best Crime Dramas In TV History

The post Michael B. Jordan's Mother Had to Be Taken Off The Wire Set During This Scene appeared first on /Film.

Lauded as one of the greatest episodes of television ever made, "Pine Barrens" — the 11th episode of the third season of "The Sopranos" — is brilliant in its uncertainty. Following Christopher (Michael Imperioli) and Paulie (Tony Sirico) on a debt collection that turns into a wilderness survival challenge, "Pine Barrens" is significant for many reasons. It's the first of four episodes Steve Buscemi (who also played cousin Tony B. throughout season five) directed for the series. It took 12 days to shoot, an abnormally long shooting period for the show at the time. It also wasn't even filmed in the titular New Jersey woodland where it takes place, a rarity for a show that is regarded for its near-impeccable authenticity (the relocation was to New York's Harriman State Park).

Despite these precarious factors, "Pine Barrens" is a truly exceptional work of serialized storytelling, particularly due to the stones it leaves unturned. The episode does a fantastic job of capturing the eerie, supernatural quality inherent to the area. According to Tim Van Patten, who came up with the concept for the episode:

"My father was a horse player and he used to take me and my brother to Atlantic City. On the way down, he'd always try to make an adventure out of it, so we'd stop off at the Pine Barrens. He'd tell us these crazy stories about the Jersey Devil — half-man and half-beast — living in there. It was a spooky place with a kind of magic in it. So, I was lying in bed and I sort of half-dreamed this idea."

Into The Woods

The episode was never actually going to be shot in the titular woodsy expanse, but shooting in New Jersey was made entirely out of the question. As "Pine Barrens" writer Terence Winter revealed in an oral history conducted by The Ringer:

"At the 11th hour, there was a local politician who came out and made a lot of headlines saying he didn't want 'The Sopranos' shooting in Essex County because it gave a bad name to Italian Americans. The funny coda to that story is that that politician, who happened to be Italian American himself, ended up going to jail for corruption. It's like, you can't make this s*** up."

Nonetheless, the episode is equal parts terrifying and hilarious. Let's dig into what makes this episode so great — including the answer to a question fans have obsessed about for decades.

In the episode, Christopher and Paulie are ordered by Tony to stop by Fair Lawn, New Jersey (coincidentally this SlashFilm writer's hometown) to shake down a man they refer to as "the Russian." When the guy doesn't cough up the cash, the gangsters get violent. After a physical altercation results in the Russian bludgeoned with a floor lamp, Christopher and Paulie fear they've accidentally killed him. Both "made men," they take immediate action. They drive down south to the Pine Barrens hoping to bury the body in its vast wilderness.

When they open the trunk, though, they find the Russian is still kicking. They order him to walk into the forest to dig his own grave, but he instead whacks Christopher and Paulie with the shovel they've (stupidly) armed him with. The gangsters shoot a frenzy of bullets as he runs away, but they're not sure if they actually managed to hit him. They can't find his body — only a dotted trail of blood that abruptly stops in the snow — and begin to fear he could be stalking them. After all, the Russian was totally unperturbed by the bitter, frosty cold. Who knows how long he could survive out there?

The Beauty Of Ambiguity

To make things worse, Christopher and Paulie can't seem to retrace their steps to the car. As the sun begins to set, the two hardened criminals begin to whimper and quiver. Are they still being watched, silently stalked by a cash collection gone wrong? They call Tony for advice, but the poor reception leads to a garbled exchange.

"[The Russian] killed 16 Chechen rebels single-handed, he was with the interior ministry," Tony shouts over the phone when Paulie admits their grave mistake.

"He killed 16 Czechoslovakians," Paulie relays to Christopher in a literal game of telephone. "Guy was an interior decorator."

"His house looked like shit," Christopher earnestly scoffs.

As the episode goes on, tensions come to a head. Christopher and Paulie take shelter in an abandoned van, desperately sucking on ketchup packets to satiate their ravenous appetites (sadly, no comped dinner at Vesuvio's). They're scared witless, and plead once more to Tony to come to their rescue. Luckily, Tony and a neon-clad Bobby (Steven R. Schirripa) manage to find them. However, the Russian is never seen again. It's impossible to know if he's dead or alive, and the mystery had fans wondering if he'd return to exact guerilla-style revenge on the duo until the show's eventual finale. But fans never let go of their curiosity, even when "The Sopranos" creator David Chase urged audiences to allow for the beauty of ambiguity to exist without concrete closure. In an interview on SiriusXM's "The Sam Roberts Show," Chase explained:

"I like to watch entertainment like that. I don't like to have every question answered. I like for there to be possibilities. It's not like, some kind of snotty attitude ... that's the kind of movie I like to go to see. I mean, one of my favorite movies is '2001 [: A Space Odyssey]' — I don't know who that baby in the bubble is."

David Chase Finally Fesses Up

Despite the personal belief, David Chase was worn down by years of unyielding questions regarding the fate of the Russian. As such, he finally gave fans a much-awaited answer.

In the same interview on "The Sam Roberts Show," Chase wearily demystified the Russian's storyline. Although this was never actually depicted or alluded to on "The Sopranos," the show's creator insists this is how the character's life happened to pan out post-Pine Barrens:

"He collapsed and he was found by some Boy Scouts ... Somehow he was carrying a piece of ID, which led them back to his boss, Slava, the Russian guy. He was put in a hospital, and he was completely has massive brain trauma. And he was sent back to Russia."

So there you have it. After years of relentless pestering, the public was finally bestowed with a concrete answer. But honestly, was the revelation truly worth it? At times, we are so obsessed with becoming our favorite piece of media's know-it-all ambassador that we forget to enjoy the gaps in narrative where our own opinions, fears, and hopes might just fill in the spaces for us. Although there's no way to categorize these observations as wholly "right" or "wrong," it does bolster our ability to thoughtfully engage with art, drawing our own individual conclusions without the safety net of a "correct" take.

While Chase tries to articulate this exact thought after he finally answers the hotly debated question, the radio show's host doesn't even miss a beat before asking the next stirring question: "Is Tony dead?"

Chase's lips purse, and he simply looks away. While the mind behind one of the greatest TV shows of all time may have revealed one of the series' most nagging questions, there's no way he'll truly reveal the show's biggest mystery, one that was saved for its gripping, bitter end. But isn't that the beauty of art, that's it's forever open to endless interpretation?

Read this next: The 18 Best Crime Dramas In TV History

The post Whatever Happened To The Russian On The Sopranos? appeared first on /Film.

Microsoft 3D Movie Maker was initially launched in 1995. The program allowed you to place 3-D objects within environments to create films. The software looks dated now, but it was a fun way to play around with 3-D effects back in the day. Now, the classic program has been open sourced by Microsoft. From a report: It appears that a 3D Movie Maker enthusiast was able to convince Microsoft's Scot Hanselman to open source the software by "nerd sniping." That term refers to when a person claims something cannot be done with the aim of someone proving them wrong. "What's the best way to get something done? Nerd-snipe an engineer and tell them it can't be done. I HATE being told something can't be done," said Microsoft's Scott Hanselman.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Techland tweets about more new content coming to Dying Light. Word is tomorrow the zombie game will go back in time with a new Dieselpunk DLC pack. Here's a Dieselpunk Bundle Trailer with a look at...

The sixth and final episode of "Moon Knight" is now available to watch, and woo boy — what a tonal whiplash from the emotional journey we took with Marc/Steven (Oscar Isaac and Oscar Isaac) last week!

Remember that whole Armageddon plot? We left that behind us, more or less, in the last episode to travel with Steven and Marc to the afterlife and into the memories of their past. This week, however, was an action-packed superpowered showdown that reminded us that this series is, indeed, still a Marvel endeavor.

Let's get into it. And warning! Spoilers for the "Moon Knight" finale lie ahead!

'Sometimes We Need The Cold Light Of Death Before We Can See Reality'

Harrow (Ethan Hawke) is back, and he's got some great one-liners like the one above as he works to free Ammit and kill billions. We start the episode with Harrow pulling Marc/Steven's dead body out of the water and taking Ammit's ushabti. The ushabti levels up the cane he's been carrying into a staff with a crocodile head on top, and Harrow is now strong enough to fight the other Egyptian gods and free Ammit. 

Harrow heads out, and Layla (May Calamawy) comes out of hiding, tearfully goes to Marc/Steven's dead body, and picks up the MacGuffin scarab that Harrow left on his chest. Layla is sad, of course, but she knows she needs to stop Harrow any way she can.

To that end, Layla sneaks onto Harrow's motorcade and is looking for any opportunity to stop Harrow. She thinks she has a chance when the motorcade runs into blockade and Harrow unleashes Ammit's "justice" on the officers. (Harrow has another great line here: "I don't need to show you papers. You need to show us your soul." I feel like he must have been practicing these lines in the mirror for months and was eagerly waiting to unleash them along with Ammit's wrath on the world.)

Layla is about to attack Harrow with a knife when the hippo Egyptian goddess Tawaret starts talking to her through dead bodies. She's telling Layla to hold off and wait for Marc to come back from the dead. She also urges Layla to free Khonshu and become her avatar. Layla is like, thanks, but no thanks and continues to stay with Harrow's caravan as they head to the Great Pyramid of Giza where the gods and their avatars hang out.

Your Scales Lack Balance

At the pyramid, the other avatars are none too happy that Harrow's coming to release Ammit from her little stone statue. The avatars of the other gods put up a fight but Harrow prevails, breaks Ammit's statue, and frees her. After five episodes, we finally get to see Ammit in action — and it's no surprise that she's very big and takes the form of a bipedal crocodile. 

"To whom do I owe my gratitude?" Ammit asks, revealing that being entombed for 2,000 years hasn't stopped her from using proper grammar. Harrow takes the credit and Ammit ultimately makes him her avatar even though his scales aren't balanced.

Layla, meanwhile, frees Khonshu from his own little stone statue. Khonshu asks Layla to be his avatar and she wisely tells him to f*** off. Khonshu goes off to confront Ammit, and the two gods have a little bit of a debate before fighting each other.

Meanwhile, we finally head back to Marc, who we left last episode in the Field of Reeds. Marc is there with Tawaret, who tells him that his scales are balanced and his heart is full. Marc feels peace, but he can't leave Steven stranded on the sandsea of the Duat. And so he leaves paradise to save Steven.

It's here we get the most emotionally and poignant moment of the episode — Marc tells Steven that the only reason he survived was because of Steven, and that he wasn't going to abandon him now, given that Steven never abandoned him. "You are the only real superpower I ever had," a choked-up Marc tells Steven before he also freezes. Marc's speech apparently moved Osiris as well as this viewer, and the god's gates to the mortal realm open as Marc and Steven unfreeze.

We Come As A Package Deal Now

Marc/Steven wake up back in their body in the tomb of Alexander the Great. Back in the Great Pyramid, Khonshu senses Marc's presence and rushes off to make him his avatar once again.

Marc and Steven have become close during their time in the afterlife, however, and the two personalities shift freely in their shared body. Steven calls Khonshu a silly bird and tells the Egyptian god of the Moon that the new deal is they're done being his avatar once they stop Ammit.

Khonshu agrees (a bit too readily, I might add), and uses his moon magic to have Marc/Steven fly to the pyramid, which is pretty cool. Meanwhile, inside the pyramid, Layla agrees to be Tawaret's avatar after Osiris' dying avatar tells her they need to bind Ammit in a mortal body in order to confine her.

From here on out, it's a full-on superhero battle. Harrow goes to the top of the pyramid and gives all his followers the ability to judge/kill people. They begin to do so, and Ammit becomes larger than the pyramid itself. Khonshu and Marc are having none of it, however, and they each attack their counterparts. Khonshu is big now too, and he and Ammit face off in the Egyptian desert in Godzilla vs. Kong fashion.

Layla is now Tawaret's avatar, however, and she gets her own kick-ass outfit (replete with wings!) and helps Marc against Harrow. Layla is awesome here, and I loved the moment when one of the people she saves in Cairo asks her if she is an Egyptian superhero. She definitely is. And a better one, dare I say, than Marc.

So What, This Is What Reality Looks Like?

Harrow gets the upper hand, however, and as Marc is going down, he (and we) blackout. We cut back to pretty much everyone dead and Harrow unconscious. Marc/Steven's third personality strikes again!

Marc/Steven and Layla take Harrow back to the pyramid and cast the spell that will trap crocodile Ammit into his body. It works, and Khonshu orders Marc to kill them both. Marc, however, refuses, and Khonshu appears to accept this and fades away, apparently taking his moon powers away from Marc/Steven as he does so.

Marc/Steven pass out, and we find ourselves back in the asylum with Steven asking Harrow about the nature of reality. Was this whole season of "Moon Knight" just a delusion? (Is that why we didn't see any connections to other characters in the MCU?)

Marc asks Dr. Harrow what it means if they believe reality is something different than this doctor's office. Harrow shrugs and walks away, his shoes leaving streaks of blood — a callback to the series' cold open where he puts crushed glass in them because the pain makes him holy, or whatever.

Steven and Marc realize this asylum isn't their reality (or at least they choose to believe so) and wake up back in Steven's flat, replete with Engelbert Humperdinck's "A Man Without Love" on the soundtrack. Marc and Steven are now there together (there are even two fishes!) — they get up and then promptly fall flat on their face, forgetting they were tied to the bed.

And That's It! Except, Of Course, For One More Sequence

This ending is unsatisfying to me, but at least we have an additional scene to at least address some of the show's lingering questions. In this final sequence, we're in another asylum tinged with yellow light. Harrow is a patient here, and a man takes him out of the facility in a wheelchair.

We know something's not on the up and up when we get a quick cut of a bloody body behind the facility's front desk. And we know things really aren't hunky-dory when Harrow gets thrown into a limousine that houses Khonshu decked out in a business suit.

Khonshu is still a total jerk and reveals to Harrow what was pretty obvious to us already — there's a third personality sharing mind=space with Marc and Steven, and this guy has no qualms about murder.

Khonshu introduces us to Jake Lockley, another one of Marc's personalities from the comics. Jake says some words in Spanish and then offs Harrow and, presumably, Ammit.

And now the show's really over, folks! And I have to admit the ending left me hanging — I wasn't ready to leave Marc/Steven/Jake and Layla.

Will there be more "Moon Knight" installments in the MCU? It's not clear yet. If there is, however, I hope they focus on where this season was the strongest — when it focused on Marc/Steven's personal journey and struggles. The interiority of this show was a different approach to storytelling than we often see in the MCU, and I hope we get to see more stories in this vein as the MCU continues to expand.

Other Thoughts

• So is there going to be another season of this show? I hope so, because I found this ending to be largely unsatisfying. Yes, Marc/Steven have a closed character arc and have now accepted each other, blah blah blah. That's something, I admit, but I still wanted more and the final sequence with Jake definitely leaves the door open for more story.
• Speaking of Jake, I thought for sure we saw him a bit last episode when Marc was talking to Dr. Harrow in the asylum and rapidly switches from believing he had made everything up to attacking Harrow with a pyramid paperweight. Jake, however, appears to speak Spanish, though he certainly can be bilingual I suppose.
• There were some fun fight scenes in this episode, which is a good thing I suppose since the whole episode was basically a fight scene. Special call out to Layla, however, and to Steven as Mr. Knight embracing his badassery.
• This show had almost no connections/references to other happenings in the MCU, and I kinda liked that. 

All six episodes of "Moon Knight" are now streaming on Disney+.

Read this next: 14 Sequels That Truly Didn't Need To Happen

The post The Action-Packed Moon Knight Finale Gives Us Major Battles and Lingering Questions appeared first on /Film.

May 5, 2022, is World Password Day, a day we all use to create awareness around password security. At Microsoft, we choose to celebrate replacing passwords with better and more secure ways to sign in. I can’t think of a better person at Microsoft to represent this journey than Libby Brown, a senior product manager leading our efforts to keep Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) customers more secure with passwordless solutions.

Here’s what I love about Libby’s story: her career has followed a winding path that ended up being the best possible path to the role she has today. Early on, she switched from engineering to public policy and then worked in publishing, product marketing, training, release management, and now product management. She’s spent time at a small publishing firm, at a startup, and at Microsoft. She pushed her way past every career hiccup, and as she moved forward, she gained experience that would later be relevant to her work in ways she had never anticipated.

Today, Libby is in a technical role, calling on everything she’s learned throughout her education and career to build usable experiences that make technology easier for businesses of all sizes. Her focus on usability is crucial; we’ve learned the hard way that unless security experiences are easy for IT administrators to deploy and manage, and easy for users to adopt, people will be reluctant to use them. Our goal is to make passwordless authentication even easier to use than passwords, which are hard to remember and far less secure. With her varied background working on an array of products for an array of different audiences, Libby is the perfect person to lead this charge.

Libby’s interview with Eric Sachs has been edited for clarity and length. We’ve included two video snippets of the interview recording so you can learn more about her unique career journey and perspectives.

Eric: I have three young daughters myself, and none of them has gotten interested in computers yet. How did you first get interested in them growing up?

Libby: I was pretty lucky. My older brother was interested in computers, so from the very earliest days, we had a Timex Sinclair computer—with a little chiclet keyboard and programs that saved to a cassette tape—and also an early Apple. I had the opportunity to attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Northern Virginia which had just graduated its first class. Computers were just something in the background, from an early age, that I used. I recognize now, though, that I was pretty lucky to have that.

Eric: What did you decide to study in college after you had that opportunity in high school?

Libby: In high school, you take those career “What do you want to do?” questionnaires. My answers always led to engineering, so I attended Duke University to study mechanical engineering. It was an interesting time, but I realized I just did not care if you took a piece of metal and bent it where it would break. It wasn’t the kind of problem-solving that I liked. So, I looked around, took a couple of public policy courses—which turned out to be a different type of systemic problem solving—and ended up majoring in that.

Eric: You eventually got back to computers, so what was the next time you encountered technology?

Libby: After Duke, I returned to Washington, D.C., to get involved in public policy. My first job was for a small publishing company called Congressional Quarterly. They produced daily, weekly, monthly, and annual publications on what Congress was doing. My first job involved researching legislation and entering it into a database. With the year 2000, we needed to upgrade those databases, including how researchers entered the data and how customers pulled the data and were presented with it. I started doing things like designing what that screen would look like, what the website would look like, and designing the queries to pull the data for legislative reports. Little did I know at the time, that’s what I would be doing 20 some years later, just with different challenges, but still focusing on that foundational user experience, running those systems, and designing great opportunities and spaces for users.

Once we made it past the year 2000, we launched the Congressional Quarterly Website. It won a bunch of awards that year for being one of the newest, best magazine tools online. But also keep in mind, this was in the heyday of Web 2.0. Red Herring magazine was 300 pages thick, with information on all these great Web 2.0 companies and the future of e-commerce. Congressional Quarterly was a pretty small business. I realized I needed more scope and scale to succeed in this new world, so I decided to get my MBA. 

I chose Vanderbilt University because they had leading researchers in Web 2.0 e-commerce. I studied both information technology and strategy. This led me to think about how businesses take advantage of technology and use it to gain competitive advantage, which became the underlying thread to the rest of my tech career.

Video description: Libby describes her first role at Microsoft.

Eric: So, after business school, you came into Microsoft initially as a Product Manager for one of the company’s publishing arms, left for a startup, and then returned. What was different, and what worked well for you, when you came back?

Libby: I came back for a fun startup-like team within Microsoft called Office Live Small Business. We were working to give small businesses a free custom domain name with Hotmail mailboxes on the backend and a Microsoft SharePoint site they could easily customize to market to their customers. While our product was successful, other technologies were coming online, including Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint moving to the cloud, so we needed to reconcile that. Since we had experience with small businesses and users, our team pivoted to building the user and admin portals for what became Microsoft Office 365. Being part of that transition was a fun time.

Eric: Well, you had quite a journey to get there, but now you’ve been a product manager for a while at Microsoft. How did you end up in the identity team then, dealing with passwords?

Libby: Sometimes I’m not quite sure how I got here myself, but through a series of reorganizations, I found myself doing a weird set of roles around financial compliance for our commerce platform. I learned all about Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, payment card industry (PCI), and other interesting spaces, but it was not an area that I enjoyed. So, I reached out to my wide corporate network. As a product manager at Microsoft, you want to keep those connections active, and I was doing my, “Hey, what’s happening in your space of the company?” interviews with a bunch of friends and former coworkers. One of them happened to work in identity as the program manager lead for the Microsoft Authenticator app, and we realized that I had a lot of applicable skills. I joined that team in 2016.

Eric: I have to admit, I’m a little jealous because your current project’s very focused on passwordless authentication. What about your unique background do you think helps you with this particular challenge?

Libby: We wanted to make the experience of two-step verification easier for Microsoft consumers. As you know, not many people were comfortable with two-step verification, especially in 2016. They didn’t quite understand a password plus something else, whether that something else was an SMS code or a push notification to your phone. Then we said, well, if we can do password plus “push,” why can’t we just do the push and tie it to the device? We’d create a super easy experience of entering your username and responding to a notification on your phone. That got a lot of attention and traction.

And we were also working to build the same type of experience for work and school accounts in Azure AD. Given my background, I asked questions from an organizational standpoint about keeping our customers more secure. How can they make sure that their business is doing what it needs to do—without having to worry about those attacks? Creating a great user experience so employees can easily make that strong authentication gesture to be safe really helps the overall security posture of the company itself.

Video description: Libby explains how usability enhances security.

Eric: It’s pretty exciting. In the passwordless area, the FIDO Alliance recently published a white paper about passkeys. Part of it is about using a mobile phone to help sign in to other devices like a Microsoft Windows desktop. Can you explain a bit more about why that is so important? Windows devices and mobile phones have built-in biometrics—why can’t that just solve all problems and make all passwords go away?

Libby: Passwords have been in our systems now since the 1960s. It’s going to take us a little while to kill them off. But multidevice credentials, which some refer to as passkeys, really are that next thing that will enable us to do that. Most of us have a mobile device in our hands for the better part of the day, and we’re working to take advantage of the native biometrics on that device, whether it’s touch ID or face ID, or the Windows Hello gesture that you might use on your PC. We’re trying to use the native gesture on that device that everyone is familiar with, backed by this modern use of public-key cryptography to keep you secure.

Then I can use my phone as a passkey to sign in on my phone or to another device such as my Windows PC, or the Mac at my mom’s house, and it’s just seamless and ubiquitous. And when you think about the companies that have been involved—whether that’s Microsoft, Apple, Google—we’ve been in this from the very beginning and now we’re looking at more than six billion devices being able to use these standards-based multidevice credentials. When you look at those numbers and that scope and scale, it’s just pretty mind-boggling how we can transform in the next few years.

Eric: Cool! All of us who use passwords, which is just about everybody, want to thank you for taking on the password challenge and it certainly seems like your very unique career path makes you uniquely qualified for this challenge. I can’t wait to see where you lead us next on the passwordless journey.

Libby: Thanks, Eric.

Learn more

Help protect your organization with Microsoft’s complete identity and access management solution.

Learn more about Azure AD.

To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us at @MSFTSecurity for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.

The post How a senior product manager is leading the passwordless movement at Microsoft appeared first on Microsoft Security Blog.

This video of MAGA rapper J.R. Majewski is not a trailer for an Idiocracy sequel. It's a campaign video by and for the GOP congressional nominee for Ohio's District 9.

In 2021, Majewski turned his lawn into a giant mural of Trump's face. — Read the rest

May the Fourth has come to be synonymous with Christmas for a lot of "Star Wars" fans, mostly because it's one of the rare times the fandom is spoiled by Lucasfilm. True to form, the brand spankin' trailer for the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series has been released, giving fans even more to look forward to when the first two episodes drop on May 27. This new, "official" trailer builds on all the suspense that the series' first teaser introduced a few months ago. For all the tantalizing clips of new characters, battles, and locations, quite a bit is still left to the imagination.

"Kenobi," obviously, sees the return of our titular Jedi Master 10 years after the fall of his padawan, Anakin Skywalker, and the Jedi purge that followed. Democracy died, an empire took its place, and now Obi-Wan lives in hiding among the dunes of Tatooine, watching over the first of Skywalker's two kids. Kenobi's self-imposed exile will soon be interrupted by the Inquisitors, a group of Sith interns tasked with hunting down the remaining Jedi once and for all. 

This undoubtedly puts Obi-Wan, his force-sensitive ward, and a number of other characters in immediate danger. But what else is in store for our former Jedi Knight? Let's break down the most interesting moments of the new trailer to find out.

A Warning

Things kick off with the Inquisitors doing what they do best: inquisition, of course. An unknown ship seems like it's heading for the planet Daiyu, a brand-new location that "Kenobi" writers have described as having "a Hong Kong feel." Other clips throughout the trailer show Kenobi on Daiyu as well, so it's the general consensus that the Inquisitors have tracked him there. What's he doing there? That remains to be seen, but it's nice to get off Tatooine for a little while.

We also see three core Inquisitors — Reva (Moses Ingram), the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and the Fifth Brother (Sung Kang) — making the rounds on Tatooine, too. Over this, Obi-Wan delivers a warning: "They're coming. Stay hidden, or we will not survive." He's definitely referring to the Inquisitors, and the threat they pose to anyone who follows the Jedi path. Is it possible that Kenobi is recording a message to the Jedi who survived the purge, similar to the warning he sent out during Order 66? It'd be cool to see that speech in live-action, but it's more likely that he's speaking to another familiar character...

Return Of Uncle Owen

Yes, everybody's least favorite uncle is back. Joel Edgerton is reprising his role as Owen Lars, Anakin Skywalker's step-brother and Luke's official guardian. Fans of the "Star Wars" Extended Universe know that Uncle Owen isn't exactly the best father figure to Luke. He regularly admonishes the kid for daydreaming and puts him to work on their moisture farm from a pretty early age. He doesn't have the best reputation in the fandom for these reason, but his intentions (for the most part) are admirable: his main concern is to protect Luke from Anakin's fate. Unfortunately, that means keeping Luke as far away from Obi-Wan as possible — and "Kenobi" will likely be exploring this tension in depth.

In the new trailer, Owen and Obi-Wan seem to debate Luke's future. "When the time comes," Obi-Wan insists, "he must be trained." It's surprising that Obi-Wan would risk exposing Luke to Darth Vader and the Inquisitors by training him — especially given his track record, a fact that Owen is quick to point out.

"Like you trained his father?" he asks Obi-Wan. Naturally, there's not much he can say in his defense.

Notably, this is the first time that the two characters have really interacted in live-action. Their exchange also mirrors a conversation from Marvel Comics' "Star Wars" #15, where Uncle Owen's opinion of Obi-Wan is not nearly so restrained:

"I'm not gonna let you warp the boy like you did his father," Owen tells Obi-Wan. "Haven't you murdered enough Skywalkers already, Kenobi?" That's gotta sting. Hopefully in the series, he'll be keeping things more civil.

'You Still Want Kenobi?'

It seems like the Inquisitors — Reva, especially — are set on hunting down Kenobi. She and her fellow Inquisitors are seen at the Fortress Inquisitorius, surveying a map of some sort. Is Reva following orders from Darth Vader himself, or pursuing a more personal ambition? Either way, Sung Kang's Fifth Brother doesn't see the point. "You still want Kenobi?" he asks via voice-over. "He's gone."

This doesn't discourage Reva. Following their exchange, a trio of ships launch from the fortress on Nur and head off into space. Judging by the size of the craft — and the faint sounds of a transmission in the background — they're definitely Imperial probe droids. The Inquisitors can't be everywhere at once, after all.

Next we see Reva on Daiyu, in a shot similar to her appearance there from the teaser trailer. "Maybe you've been looking in the wrong places," she tells the Fifth Brother. The probe droids have likely led her to find Obi-Wan on this planet, and it seems like a good chunk of action will take place there.

Here Comes The Heat

From here, things get pretty serious. Obi-Wan is clearly a major threat to whatever the Emperor's got going on, but the Empire can't stop him alone, which means that he's now wanted by Inquisitors and bounty hunters alike. We see his bounty as it's uploading, the particulars detailed in Aurebesh. His offense: "High treason."

As for the price he's fetching, it will apparently be determined "upon capture," meaning that bounty hunters can essentially set their own terms. If they can catch him, that is.

"I want every bounty hunter and low-life to squeeze him," Reva says, as we watch Obi-Wan face off against no less than four potential hunters. One of his adversaries might just be 4-LOM, a protocol droid turned bounty hunter that appeared briefly in "Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back." 

Obi-Wan is pretty much on his own against a now-endless number of foes. He's also without his trusty lightsaber for the first time, which means a lot of the combat is hand-to-hand. Surprisingly, Kenobi holds his own pretty well, especially in a two-on-one fight against a Zabrak (a member of Maul's species) and another hooded figure. 

Who's That Guy?

In addition to a lot of Inquisitors walking to and fro in various locations, a few more money shots of some Obi-centered action (he's using a blaster, people!), and some great shots of Reva wielding her lightsaber, we've also been treated to some new faces. Kumail Nanjiani's yet-unidentified character makes his first appearance in the trailer, looking measurably frightened by something just off-screen. Rumors have swirled that Nanjiani will be playing a grown-up version of Kitster, Anakin's buddy from Tatooine, for a quite a while. But judging from his hooded outer shirt and the white kimono-style frock underneath, it's equally likely that he could be a Jedi in hiding.

We've also gotten another glimpse of that mysterious droid from the first teaser. It was last seen facing off with a stormtrooper, and here the droid trades some unfriendly fire with a small squad of them. They're definitely not on the Empire's side, but does that mean they're working with the fledgling Rebel Alliance?

The Moment We've Been Waiting For

The trailer also brings Obi-Wan face to face with — or at least within shouting distance of — Reva. It seems the Inquisitor really does track the Jedi to Daiyu. "You can't run, Obi-Wan," she tells him. "You can't escape him!"

The "him" in question is none other than Darth Vader, who is assembling his iconic suit in various clips throughout the end of the trailer. One of the last things we hear (and see) is the unforgettable sound of his respirator, and the red and green buttons of his suit lighting up. 

Duel Of The Fates, Redux

Judging by the begrudging acceptance on Obi-Wan's face, it's clear he knows that he can't run from Vader forever. Their rematch has been years in the making, and it's one of the biggest things fans are looking forward to seeing in the new series.

But more than that, "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is sure to explore the toll that Anakin's fall took on his master in more ways than one. Kenobi's guilt and his shame concerning his failure will be felt throughout the series, and as exciting as it is knowing that Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor will be reuniting for the first time in 20-odd years, it's going to feel equally great seeing McGregor really dig into what makes his character tick.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi" premieres on May 27, 2022 on Disney+.

Read this next: Star Wars Movie Villains Ranked Least To Most Powerful

The post Obi-Wan Kenobi Trailer Breakdown: Vader's Back, Baby appeared first on /Film.

"Ozark" Season 4: Part 2 has finally arrived, capping off the perilous money-laundering saga of the Byrde family. After a quick weekend binger of the final seven episodes, fans have had less than a week for the finale to sink in — which means it's already time to start pondering about a sequel series! What kind of audience would we be if the word "spin-off" didn't immediately follow the credits? Luckily, showrunner Chris Mundy has already beat us to the punch by answering the question in a post-finale discussion with Netflix. When asked if the final season sets the table for more, Mundy responded:

"That's kind of a trick question. I love this world. But it was really important to me, and all of us who were making the show, to have it be complete and not do anything that would be tilted toward this being set up so we could stay in this world. If [a spin-off] could happen on its own, then great, because it's a world that I really love. But we did four — kind of, five — seasons, 44 episodes. And I want them to feel like a whole, not like they were built to go somewhere else. But it's been the last six years of my life, and it's been a lot of fun. So doing more inside this world would almost certainly be a blast."

This isn't the first time Mundy has taken this stance, brushing the question off but not entirely dismissing the possibility of more from the world of "Ozark." When he spoke to THR in January, Mundy said, "never say never" and added, "​​it's certainly something that's been floated by various people." The world of "Ozark" certainly offers plenty of material that's ripe for exploration. Despite starting out as your average suburban nuclear family, the Byrdes become a fascinating bunch to watch as they evolve, revealing the darkest depths of themselves. They're just the tip of the iceberg though — the show also expands to show off various criminal operations with a cast of characters each looking to thrive in their own ways. 

We've seen the internals of Navarro's drug cartel and peeked at the complicated nature of the FBI. When it comes to characters, whether they be the newly introduced private investigator Mel Sattem (Adam Rothenberg) or long-timers like Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner), "Ozark" tosses in flashbacks and backstory enough to flesh out their stories and help us make sense of them. This is a virtue of the show that makes it wonderfully expansive, but it also means there isn't much ground left unexplored. "Ozark" tells a very complete story and offers all the background info we need, so it's hard to see where a spin-off would come in ... But in the age of undying IP, it's certainly not impossible.

The rest of this post contains SPOILERS for the ending of "Ozark."

The Next Chapter Of Ozark

Now, if you've already seen the ending of "Ozark," I know exactly what you're thinking — "Ozark" spinoff? Who the hell is left?! The Byrdes arrived to the Ozarks and brought chaos with them. When at least they departed in "A Hard Way To Go," they didn't leave very much in their wake. They managed to take down most of their enemies across the seasons, accidentally led to the downfall of various allies, and by the end, it kinda feels like the community population is starting to dwindle. They've buried pastors, sheriffs, and innocent locals alike. One possibility would be for a spinoff focusing on the community they leave behind, but other than Rachel and the kindly funeral director (whose business must be booming), there wouldn't be too much to delve into.

The obvious spinoff route for this show was always Ruth Langmore, arguably the show's most compelling (and tortured) character. Ruth was a criminal long before the Byrdes sunk their talons in, but her life changes drastically under Marty's tutelage. By the later seasons, she begins to break free from both her past and the Byrde family, as she considers ways to build something of her own. The prospect of seeing where Ruth goes from there — with her wit, criminal experience, and complex moral compass — was always a point of fascination. As she takes over the Missouri Belle in the final season and starts construction on a house, she's well on her way to becoming a legitimate power in the Ozarks. Plus, she starts moving forward from the ghosts of her past with her cousin Three and what the show hints is a budding relationships with (of all people) Frank Cosgrove Jr. (Joseph Sikora). When Sikora spoke to EW about season 4, he hinted at this possibility himself, noting the evolution of their character dynamic. 

 "Him and Ruth, I mean, do I sense a spin-off there? There's some love growing in the air. Let's see if Frank Jr. survives the season first."

Turns out Frank Jr wasn't the only one to worry about. The "Ozark" finale rendered this route impossible with Ruth's tragic death. With Ruth out of the picture, what's left? Maybe a slapstick comedy about the trials and tribulations of Baby Zeke, as the infant is passed from one insane tragedy to the next. Or an exceptionally bleak look at what Rachel will do next, weighed down by the guilt of a murder and being tied to a criminal enterprise without Ruth by her side. The Byrdes have some compelling prospects themselves — they get to go on and be midwestern royalty, now that they're out of the cartel business and back in Chicago. A sequel series could see Wendy navigating politics like the cutthroat shark we know her to be — but if we stick with the Byrde family, it wouldn't really be a spinoff. And anyway, their story has such a perfect final shot (pun intended) that a follow-up could dull the impact. But consider this — what if instead of flashing forward, "Ozark" delves into the past?

Ozark's Potential Spin-Off Routes

On the prequel front, "Ozark" has introduced a lot of possibilities, but there's definitely one that stands above all the others. First, let's make some eliminations. The Byrde past has been pretty deftly explored in flashbacks and the main storyline of the series — while it could be fun to see the courting of Wendy and Marty Byrde (with Wendy as a young politician and Marty as a... mild-mannered financial advisor) there's not much to learn that we haven't already seen in action. Another possibility is the Langmore family, but that also feels like territory the show has already covered. They have a pretty straightforward criminal past and we've already seen their family dynamic at work. Unless a spinoff went way back to introduce some Langmores we've never met, there's not much that's new. Personally, the Navarro cartel doesn't seem like a terribly interesting route to go but could at least offer some Narcos-like drama for those interested. And as for the Snells, we've already seen the major beats but they could always steal the "Yellowstone" prequel route and show the very beginnings of the Snell family legacy.

The best possibility lies with a character we haven't seen in many seasons — our old friend, Buddy. A rare "Ozark" character with much-untapped potential, Buddy Dieker aka Jimmy Smalls (Harris Yulin) has an entire past that includes being a war hero, a chopper pilot, and a great negotiator for the Kansas City Mob. When we meet him, those adventures are long past and he's just a cranky old man with health issues who really enjoys skinny dipping. He lends the Byrdes a helping hand on more than a few occasions and has a major influence on Jonah, but he's a small fraction of their story overall — making him the perfect subject for a spinoff. Better Call Buddy, anyone?

Read this next: Shows Like Breaking Bad That You Can Binge Watch Today

The post Ozark Showrunner Chris Mundy Leaves the Door Open for Possible Spin-Offs appeared first on /Film.

For about as long as Chrome OS has existed, gaming has been one of its most notable Achilles' heels. Most Chromebooks have lower-power hardware, and the OS is built on web technology, so playing AAA titles found on Windows has simply not been an option. The rise of cloud-based gaming services like Google's own Stadia have helped the situation, but perhaps the biggest advance in Chromebook gaming came in late March, when Google announced that Valve's Steam platform was in an early alpha phase on Chrome OS. Just as you can on Windows, Mac and Linux, this lets you download and install games from the vast Steam catalog. As a Chromebook fan who also loves a good game, I had to give this a shot.

So Google provided me with one of the seven Chromebooks that can run Steam, an ASUS Chromebook CX9 with Intel's 11th-generation Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space. These are hefty specs for a Chromebook, but Google specified that Steam required a device with at least a Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. While Steam may eventually work with lower-powered devices, it's clear that many Chromebooks simply won't be able to cut it. But if you do have the right hardware, the Steam experience is pretty good, so long as you keep your expectations in check.

I didn’t have any problems getting Steam installed, but it’s a lot more complicated than setting it up on a Windows computer. You'll need to switch your Chromebook to the Dev channel, so don't do this on a machine you rely on for daily use. After that, you'll need to enable a specific flag in Chrome and type a few commands into the Chrome OS Crosh terminal. Once that's done, Steam will download to your machine, at which point you can login and start downloading games.

Right off the bat, any game that is supported in Steam for Linux can be installed without any compatibility issues. As I'm a massive Half-Life fan, the first two games I tried out were Valve's own Half-Life 2 and Portal 2 — two old games that don't require powerful hardware. Both, unsurprisingly, played like a charm. There were rare frame rate drops, but the experience felt identical to playing them on Windows or on a Mac.

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I decided to get crazy and install 2018's God of War, originally released for the PS4 and ported to Windows in January of this year. It was a totally unplayable slideshow. That's no surprise, though, as God of War calls for either NVIDIA's GTX 960 or AMD's R9 290X graphics cards with 4GB of memory. The Chromebook's integrated Intel Iris X graphics aren't in the same league. This is no real knock on the Chromebook, though, because a Windows machine with the same specs wouldn't be able to run God of War, either. I was mostly surprised that I was able to install it at all.

To install games like God of War, or any other titles that don’t have a native Linux version, you’ll need to turn on the experimental Steam Play compatibility tools. Once I did that, though, I could install just about any game I came across. Obviously, demanding games like God of War aren't going to work, but there are still tons of titles in the Steam library that are worth checking out. Both Hades and Cuphead ran flawlessly, and Fallout 4 worked pretty well too. It wasn’t as smooth as the other games I tried, but the first few hours were definitely playable.

The main catch is that the first time you run games using compatibility tools, they’re extremely slow to load. Steam has to "process Vulkan shaders" for a lot of titles, and this can take five to ten minutes or more on some games (like Fallout 4). Fortunately, this only happens the first time you launch a particular title.

Most of the games I tried were from Google's own list of recommended titles that had been tested on Chrome OS, and those experiences were almost all solid. The one game my Chromebook couldn't quite keep up with was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Google recommended playing that one with graphics on low, and said that only Chromebooks with an i7 processor would work. Even then, frame rates and control responsiveness was poor enough that I didn't want to play after a few minutes.

While Google and Valve will certainly improve the Steam experience from this early alpha, it's fair to say that Chrome OS will never be the place to play cutting-edge games. Chromebooks just aren't built with that kind of hardware.

But, Steam's library is vast, and there are thousands of titles across any genre that you can think of. Bringing that catalog to Chrome OS is a huge step forward for those who love games but don't necessarily need to play Cyberpunk 2077 with settings on high. Whether it's for replaying older classics like Portal 2 or trying newer releases like Hades, Steam for Chrome OS vastly expands the gaming you can do on a Chromebook. And if you really want to play The Witcher 3 or God of War, a streaming service like NVIDIA's GeForce Now can plug the gap. So far, the alpha build of Steam for Chrome OS is promising, and I hope that Google and Valve can make it work on more Chromebooks before long.