'Historic' Disney+ streaming launch marred by glitches

News Network
November 13, 2019

Los Angeles, Nov 13: Disney flung open its vast archive with the arrival of its much-hyped new television streaming service Tuesday, but the big launch was marred by glitches which prevented many customers accessing titles from Mickey Mouse cartoons to Star Wars.

The introduction of Disney+ marks a huge bet by the media-entertainment giant, pitching it into direct conflict with on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime which have disrupted the Hollywood media landscape.

It went live overnight on televisions, tablets and smartphones across the US and Canada, featuring thousands of movies and TV episodes from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and National Geographic.

Disney chief Bob Iger called the launch "a historic moment for our company that marks a new era of innovation and creativity." But after a series of posts on social media from users unable to watch, Disney acknowledged problems with the rollout, saying it was due to strong demand.

"The consumer demand for Disney+ has exceeded our high expectations," the company said in a statement. "We are pleased by this incredible response and are working to quickly resolve the current user issue. We appreciate your patience." The real-time web monitoring service Downdetector reported at least 8,000 problems accessing Disney+ by 1400 GMT.

Dozens of Twitter users posted messages about the glitches, some using images of the Disney film "Ralph Breaks the Internet," or the hashtag #DisneyPlusFail. Others complained of long wait times trying to contact technical support.

Excited fans had stayed up until the small hours to be among the first to watch "The Mandalorian," a new live-action Star Wars television series which is among a handful of Disney+ exclusives available at launch.

In early reviews, the Los Angeles Times called the first episode "safe-but-entertaining," describing it as "long on impressive special effects and alien shootouts, and short on a fresh storyline." Vanity Fair praised the pilot's action sequences but found the show "lacking the achingly human element of the 'Star Wars' universe." New episodes will be released each Friday.

Traditional Hollywood studios like Disney until recently have been happy to pocket billions by selling streaming rights for their titles to the likes of Netflix and Amazon. With the launch, Disney will now forgo an estimated $5 billion in revenues from those streaming rights deals, and instead, charge users directly for access to its archive of television and film content.

Disney is undercutting most rivals with a monthly price of $6.99, or $12.99 packaged with Hulu and its sports service ESPN+.

Disney+ will be rolled out to Australia and New Zealand next week, and most of western Europe in March. The company expects to have between 60 million and 90 million subscribers by 2024.

While some of Disney's previous rights deals are yet to expire -- for example, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" remains on Netflix in the US for now -- Disney+ will be the "exclusive streaming home for films released by The Walt Disney Studios in 2019 and beyond," the company said.

Netflix boss Reed Hastings has said that his company welcomes the competition. "I'm not saying we worry about them, we admire them," he told the Dealbook conference in New York last week. "I'll subscribe, they've got great shows." Warner Bros parent company AT&T is following a similar strategy with its May launch of "HBO Max," while Universal Pictures parent Comcast is also set to introduce "Peacock" next year. "Obviously there will be a lot of players out there," said Clark Spencer, president of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

"But I think for us having that depth of that library and the storytelling talents that sit within the studio, it's really gonna be what sets us apart," he told AFP at the recent "Frozen II" world premiere in Los Angeles.

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News Network
June 9,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 9: There’s no denying the fact that Sudeep is one of the most popular and sought-after names in Kannada cinema. The versatile actor has won the love of fans due to his ‘pan-India’ look and impressive selection of roles. A self-made star, he paid his dues before making it big in Sandalwood. The Bachchan actor had, some time ago, told Film Companion that his initial years in the industry were anything but easy.

 The mass hero revealed that his first two movies never saw the light of the day as they were abandoned midway. Following the setback, he finally made his Kannada debut with V Umakanth’s Thayavva and began a new chapter in life. Sadly, the film sank without a trace and was removed from theatres within three days of its release.

“My first two films did not see the light of the day while the third one did not see people,” he added.

Sudeep ultimately tasted success with the 2001 release Huchcha and the rest is history. Over the years, ‘Deepanna’ has starred in several commercially successful movies and proved that he is a certified ‘A-lister’. The star has also made an impact in non-Kannada movies like Rann and Eega, expanding his fanbase big time.

Coming to the present, Sudeep was last seen in the Bollywood biggie Dabangg 3 that did decent business at the box office. The actioner saw him share screen space with Salman Khan, giving fans a reason to rejoice. The cast included Arbaaz Khan and Sonakshi Sinha.

He will be turning his attention to the Kannada biggie Kotigobba 3, the third instalment of the Kotigobba series. The film, directed by Shiva Karthik, is one of the biggest movies of the year. It features Shraddha Das, Madonna Sabastian and Aftab Shivdasani in key roles.  He  will also be seen in the Anup Bhandari-directed Phantom.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Thursday paid tribute to the Indian soldiers who were killed in clashes with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan valley.

The 'Fashion' actor who is currently living in America with her singer husband Nick Jonas took to Twitter to extend support to the families of the fallen soldiers.

"My heart goes out to the soldiers and their families. May God give them the strength to cope with this irreparable loss," she tweeted.

Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops on Monday at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: Actor Anil Kapoor, who next will be seen onscreen in Malang, revealed that he always tells superstar Aamir Khan not to stop working with filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani.

Kapoor was interacting with the media at the trailer launch of Malang along with his co-actors Adtiya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Elli AvRam, film's director Mohit Suri and producers Luv Ranjan, Bhushan Kumar, Ankur Garg and Jay Shewakraman on Monday in Mumbai.

Anil Kapoor has worked with many directors and producers in his 40-year acting career.

Talking about camp culture in the Hindi film industry and praising makers of Malang, Kapoor said, "I feel we need producers like Ankur (Garg) and Luv (Ranjan). I have told Mohit (Suri) to continue doing films with them. I always tell Aamir Khan by calling him on the phone to say that you should not leave Raju Hirani (Rajkumar Hirani). Whenever I see films of both of them, I tell Aamir not to leave him."

He continued, "I feel whenever you make a good team then you should hold on to it. Team is very important and there are certain stars that come together to make something interesting and exciting."

Kapoor gave an example of Hollywood actors and filmmakers while backing his viewpoint.

"If you see Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio they do so many films together. They can work with others, too, but they keep working with each other. There is some magic, obviously. You have to go with the casting but somewhere I feel teams should stand by each other," the actor added.

Malang stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Anil Kapoor and Kunal Khemu in lead roles. It is scheduled to release on February 7.

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