'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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coastaldigest.com news network
August 3,2020

Mumbai, Aug 3: In a significant statement, Mumbai Police chief Parambar Singh on Monday said that actor Sushant Singh Rajput was “emotionally disturbed” after the death of his ex-manager Disha Salian.

“When he saw his name being linked to Disha Salian’s death on social media, he was emotionally disturbed. He had met Disha Salian only once, he even asked his advocate who she was,” Singh told reporters in Mumbai.

According to him, Sushant Singh Rajput was conscious about what was appearing about him on social media.

Singh also rejected allegations that Mumbai police had not sealed the Bandra duplex flat where the actor ended his life.

“The flat was sealed on June 14 itself (the day of the suicide), the next day, on June 15, forensic teams and doctors visited the flat. Only after that, the flat was unsealed,” Singh said.

The police chief also ruled out that a party was held in the flat on June 13 evening. “We have the CCTV footage of June 13 and 14,” he said.

On the quarantining of Bihar IPS officer Vinay Tiwari in Mumbai, Singh said that he does not have knowledge of this. “The BMC should have knowledge of this. They look into quarantine issues, we do not,” he said.

Singh said that the investigations are ongoing and so far 56 statements have been recorded. “We are in touch with experts, doctors,” he said.

On the bank accounts, he said that during their investigations it has come to light that Rs 4.5 crore was there in the form of deposits.  “We have recorded the statement of his current chartered accountant, former chartered accountant, we have checked the bank statements, ledger,” he said, adding that investigations are still underway.

According to the FIR filed by Sushant Singh Rajput’s father Krishna Kumar Singh in Patna, his son’s money was swindled by his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family members.

“The Mumbai Police is investigating the case thoroughly, from all possible angles, including his family members, friends, doctors and others, besides the details of the financial transactions of Sushant’s bank accounts,” Singh said.

To a query on the name of a prominent Maharashtra politician being dragged in social media, Singh categorically said that the investigations have not shown any such thing.

Singh also said that the Mumbai police had “initially recorded” the statement of the family members. “The statements of father and sisters were recorded on June 16,” he said, however, added that they have not responded to requests later on.

He said that the Mumbai Police has extended all cooperation to the family. “Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister and brother-in-law met our joint commissioner of police. They wanted to go to the Pune bungalow in Pawna area. An assistant commissioner of police accompanied them,” he said.

Who is Disha Salian?

Disha Salian hails from Karnataka’s coastal district of Udupi. She was born in 1992 into a business family background. She reportedly migrated to Mumbai with her family at an early age. 

After completing her education, she worked in the Times of India Group for more than three years. She went on to become the celebrity manager at Media Vantage.

Apart from Sushant, she had great links with many popular celebrities like Bharti Singh, Alisha Panwar, and others.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Almost two months after the demise of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, actor Preity Zinta on Tuesday watched his last film 'Dil Bechara' for the second time and said it was an 'emotional roller coaster'.

The 'Kal Ho Na Ho' actor shared a picture of one of the scenes from the film on Instagram and thanked film director Mukesh Chhabra for doing justice to the 'Kai Po Che!' actor's last film.

"Saw #Dilbechara again Thank you @castingchhabra for doing full justice to Sushant's last movie," she wrote in the caption.
"It was surreal, a tearjerker and an emotional roller coaster all the way," she added.

She also praised Sushant's co-actor Sanjana Sanghi for doing a "fab job" in the film which happens to be her debut flick.

"@sanjanasanghi96 U and the rest of the cast did a fab job. Congratulations to all of you. #Bittersweet #MissU," the 45-year-old actor further wrote.

Produced by Fox Star Studios, 'Dil Bechara' has been adapted from the famous John Green novel 'The Fault In Our Stars.'

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai's Bandra residence on June 14.

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Agencies
July 27,2020

Mumbai, Jul 27: Action director Parvez Khan, known for his work in films like Sriram Raghavan's Andhadhun and Badlapur, died on Monday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 55. 

Parvez, who worked in the industry since 1986, was rushed to Ruby Hospital after he complained of chest pain, his longtime associate Nishant Khan told PTI. "He suffered a major heart attack in the morning. He was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead. He didn't have any health issues but felt chest pain last night," Nishant said.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who worked with Parvez in the National Award winning 2013 drama Shahid, said the action director was extremely skilled. "Just heard that action director Parvez Khan is no more. We had worked together in Shahid where he executed the riots sequence in a single take. Very skilful, energetic and a good man. RIP Parvez. Your voice still rings in my ears," Hansal tweeted. 

Parvez started his career by assisting action director Akbar Bakshi in films like Akshay Kumar's Khiladi (1992), Shah Rukh Khan's Baazigar (1993) and Bobby Deol-starrer Soldier in 1998. It was with Ram Gopal Varma's Ab Tak Chhappan in 2004 that he started working independently and went on to have a long-standing collaboration with filmmaker Sriram Raghavan in films such as Johnny Gaddaar (2007), Saif Ali Khan-starrer Agent Vinod in 2012 and Badlapur, featuring Varun Dhawan. He is survived by wife, son, daughter-in-law and a granddaughter.

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