Suzanne Garment, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of “Scandal: The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics” (Times Books)
WASHINGTON — In the wake of the Murphy Brown uproar, Vice President Dan Quayle has delivered another double-barreled commotion. First, in the past 10 days, he has made two more fire-breathing speeches on family values, one to a convention of Southern Baptists and the other to a National Right to Life gathering. Second, he has demonstrated he does not know how to spell potato .
My West Coast sources say politically aware people in the entertainment industry have made up their minds about the vice president’s “values” theme: It will not play in Peoria. Quayle’s distasteful traditionalist fervor, in this view, simply does not reflect the ethics or concerns of most Americans. Besides, how can you take a man seriously who doesn’t know the names of his vegetables?
But Quayle’s critics are kidding themselves, trying to suppress the message by deriding the messenger. They may think the vice president’s misspelling marks him as an irredeemable jerk, but many of his fellow citizens are not so sensitive, and some will even sympathize with him. (Pop quiz: Is it potatos or potatoes ?)
The same critics are surely right in seeing considerable daylight between most Americans’ general moral posture and the pungency of some of Quayle’s stronger words. Nonetheless, the “values” card might not only help the Bush-Quayle reelection effort, it may even play a moderating role in the campaign.
In his speeches, Quayle again criticized the “cultural elite” that “flees from the consequences of its self-indulgence.” But he also expanded on the idea of this elite as an alien force in American life. The country is made up, he said, of “the cultural elite, and the rest of us.” The elite “mock us in the newsrooms, sitcom studios and faculty lounges,” but “we Americans” must “stand up for our values, stand up for America.” The American people are “playing David to the Goliath of the dominant cultural elite,” he exhorted, “but remember the final outcome” of that battle: “The Philistines fled.”
This is unattractive stuff. It says only the people on Quayle’s side of the argument can lay legitimate claim to the label “American.” One of our worst national characteristics in politics is the tendency to read our opponents out of the rolls of American citizenship–and parts of the Quayle speeches serve as fair examples of this nasty habit.
But the recent Quayle sorties, despite the rough language, are not the beginning of a crusade–which would fail–to Puritanize American life. Instead, speeches like his accomplish two other things.
First, such talk shores up the Bush Administration’s base among social conservatives. They are not a majority in America, but they constitute a Peoria in which the vice president’s ideas will play to standing-room-only crowds. Solidifying a core constituency is a prudent thing to do for an electorally weak Administration facing a three-way presidential race. In olden times, national politicians could do this type of cheerleading in obscurity, with their most inflammatory words heard only by the special groups they were addressing. But now, because of modern communications, we are constantly eavesdropping on each other’s private political conversations.
Second, Quayle’s theme promises benefits for the Administration’s campaign even among many who do not share his moral fervor but do share a general unease with TV, movies and a popular culture that seems out of control. Often these are the same people now lured, to the Administration’s discomfort, by the siren song of Ross Perot.
Perot, it is becoming clear, is a strange man. He has displayed an authoritarian temperament in his business and public life and in the preemptory ways he proposes to deal with problems ranging from entitlements to the cost of U.S. troops abroad. He is cavalier about constitutionally rooted civil liberties and about institutions with which the Constitution says a President must share power. The different versions he gives of his own life are starting to make Ronald Reagan’s lapses in this area look trivial and benign.
In short, Perot is dangerous. Moreover, his attitudes do not reflect the considered views of the electorate: Americans of all kinds remain massively attached to the basic features of the American system. Yet Perot maintains his political strength because he has succeeded in presenting himself as the ultimate outsider to a citizenry that has been brought to mistrust all insiders.
We know today’s citizens are increasingly alienated from their government and public officials. Many Americans have come to see today’s politics and government as one vast sinkhole of incompetence and corruption. Even with the large problems our nation faces, this despair is out of proportion.
There is more than one reason for this mistrust, which has been building for a quarter-century. But the “cultural elite” cannot deny having had a hand in shaping it. If popular culture has shaken tradition regarding sexual morality, parts of the elite have also mounted a challenge in the arena of conventional politics.
To take the largest example, the national press, since Watergate, has given news consumers an unending stream of political scandal. Yet national politics is, by most measures, far cleaner than it was 25 years ago. But there is no way that newspaper readers and TV viewers absorbing this reportage can escape thinking that today’s politicians are incorrigibly dirty.
The view we get from movies that deal with politics is even darker, ranging from simple corruption to grand conspiracies to steal the presidency from the American people. “The “faculty lounges” that Quayle cited are, like the sitcoms, a mixed bag, but some major university campuses have been seedbeds for critiques of the profound structural racism, sexism and imperialism said to infest our conventional social and political institutions.
Those who have purveyed this radical political disaffection may have hoped it would lead to a more just America. Instead, what they begot was Perot, and they should recognize him as their child.
By pounding away at the theme of the cultural elite vs. America’s traditional values, Quayle is asserting that the Administration should be seen not as a bunch of political insiders but as the champion of all those cultural outsiders who feel denigrated and ignored by the media and popular culture. In other words, he argued that voters should exempt him and President George Bush from the “insider” curse of 1992.
More important, in appealing to traditional values, Quayle took the quickest and most powerful route to generally delegitimizing what have been called the “chattering classes” and casting grave doubt on whatever comes out of their collective mouths. Once people are reminded of how little they trust the “cultural elite,” they can be persuaded to exercise this mistrust in other areas. If members of the elite are insensitive to issues of family values, there is no reason to think them trustworthy on general politics. If they say American politics stinks, they should not be believed any more than they should be trusted on the issue of sex.
But if American politics does not stink in the way Hollywood says it does, then Perot should not get credit for being the outsider who champions the people against the Establishment. To the contrary: Perot can be portrayed as a creature of the cultural elite and its cynical view of American political life. His contempt for other politicians and his insistence on his unique ability to save us are perhaps messages not from the majority of Americans, but from an elitist fringe. Quayle has actually started in on this idea, chiding Perot for not showing sufficient respect for the Constitution.
If this strategy works, the “family values” issue will have tapped into some of the same anti-Establishment voter anger to which Perot appeals and will shake Perot loose from his position as the embodiment of average people’s sentiments. Even for those who do not like some of Quayle’s recent speeches, this is probably a good trade.
Bitcoin’s low speeds and high costs have held back its utility for day-to-day payments and uses. Bitcoin Hyper solves these issues with a Layer 2 solution that enables Bitcoin transactions virtually instantly at little cost.
By connecting Bitcoin’s primary blockchain with a faster processing layer, the platform makes Bitcoin viable for retail payments, microtransactions, and decentralized applications.
Solving Bitcoin’s Speed and Cost Problems
Bitcoin is also subject to two inherent difficulties that hinder it from being used daily. Transactions take time to get an initial confirmation, and merchants must wait for several confirmations before accepting payments. The lag makes Bitcoin unusable in retail checkout scenarios where customers anticipate instantaneous processing.
Second, the limited block space in Bitcoin increases transaction fees at peak times. These are so high that small payments become economically nonsensical. Sending Bitcoin worth $5 is meaningless when the fee is $15 or higher.
Bitcoin Hyper addresses these concerns by building a secondary processing layer that is still connected to Bitcoin’s primary blockchain. When users bridge their Bitcoin to this Layer 2 system, they can make transactions that settle in seconds instead of minutes, with fees in fractions of a cent.
This design maintains Bitcoin’s underlying security model and decentralization while introducing the speed required for coffee shop purchases, content tips, or in-app payments. The users have full control of their funds with the possibility of returning back to the main chain at any time.
By removing these friction points, Bitcoin Hyper expands what’s possible with Bitcoin. The technology turns Bitcoin from primarily a store of value into a practical medium of exchange for everyday situations.
Practical Applications for Everyday Users
Bitcoin Hyper brings several real-world uses that were previously difficult with Bitcoin’s main chain. Retail merchants can now accept Bitcoin payments with immediate confirmation. This removes the awkward waiting period at checkout counters. This speed makes Bitcoin viable for both online stores and physical retail locations where transaction finality matters.
Content creators gain access to functional micropayment systems. Writers, artists, and musicians can receive small tips or payments for individual pieces of content without fee concerns. A $0.25 tip becomes economically sensible when the transaction fee is less than a penny.
Gaming platforms benefit from the faster processing speed. Players can make in-game purchases, trade virtual items, or receive rewards without gameplay interruptions. The low fees also support frequent, small-value transactions typical in gaming economies.
Subscription services gain more flexibility with recurring micropayments. Rather than monthly billing, services can charge per use, per minute, or per article. This creates more granular pricing models that better match actual consumption patterns.
For regular Bitcoin users, the platform simplifies splitting bills, sending allowances, or making small transfers between friends and family. These everyday financial activities no longer require calculation of fee economics or waiting for confirmations.
How Bitcoin Hyper’s Technology Works
Bitcoin Hyper operates through a four-part technical system that connects Bitcoin’s main chain with a faster Layer 2 environment. The process begins at the Bridge stage, where users deposit Bitcoin to addresses monitored by the Canonical Bridge. This component tracks Bitcoin block headers and transaction proofs through a smart contract called the Bitcoin Relay Program.
After verification, the system creates an equivalent amount of Bitcoin on Layer 2 in a trustless process. This maintains a strict 1:1 relationship between assets on both layers.
On Layer 2, transactions happen with near-instant finality using Solana’s Virtual Machine (SVM) for processing. This architecture supports not only basic transfers but also complex operations like staking protocols and decentralized trading.
For security, the platform uses zero-knowledge proofs to validate transactions while maintaining privacy. The system periodically commits the Layer 2 state back to Bitcoin’s main chain.
When users want to exit Layer 2, they start a withdrawal request. The system generates cryptographic proofs that get submitted to the Canonical Bridge. After validation, the original Bitcoin is released back to the user’s address on Layer 1.
The HYPER Token Presale
The $HYPER token functions as the native currency of the Bitcoin Hyper ecosystem. Priced at $0.0115 during the presale phase, it powers transactions, governance voting, and staking rewards on the platform. The token’s supply follows a structured distribution with 30% allocated to ongoing development efforts and technical improvements.
The staking program offers a 6,000% annual percentage yield for early participants. This high rate aims to build liquidity and network participation during the launch phase.
Joining the presale follows a simple four-step process. Users first acquire cryptocurrency from their preferred exchange if they don’t already have it. They then visit the Bitcoin Hyper website and connect their wallet using the provided buttons. After selecting their desired amount, they can choose either “Buy” or “Buy and Stake” options, with the latter automatically enrolling tokens in the rewards program.
For those without crypto experience, the platform offers card payment options through supported wallets. The presale has currently raised over $100,000 in presale.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.
May 15 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday banning fluoride in public water, making it the second state to do so.
DeSantis signed SB 700, known as the Farm Bill, during a press conference. The law, which is to go into effect July 1, prohibits local governments from adding fluoride and other “water quality” additives from the water supply.
DeSantis equated the use of fluoride in water — which is heralded as a trusted and tested public health preventative medicine strategy — as “basically forced medication on people.”
“People want to use it on their teeth, great. But it’s readily available now,” he said.
“We have the ability to deliver fluoride through toothpaste and … all these others things. You don’t got to force it and take way people’s choices.”
DeSantis framed the issue as one of “informed consent,” stating “forcing this in the water supply is trying to take that away from people who may want a different decision rather than to have this in water.”
Today I was in Dade City to sign SB 700, which among other things, prevents local governments from injecting fluoride into the water supply.
The bill reached DeSantis after having been overwhelming approved by the state’s House in a 88 to 27 vote late last month and the state’s Senate on April 16 in a 27 to 9 vote.
Florida’s ban comes after Utah in late March became the first state to prohibit fluoride in its public water and as the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health and Human Services review potential health risks associated with the long-held medical practices.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has claimed that fluoride is associated with an assortment of diseases, including cancer, and he called it “an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer IQ loss, neurodevelopment disorders and thyroid disease.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its intention to remove fluoride supplements from the market staring October.
U.S. cities have fluoridated their drinking water for decades in a effort to fight tooth decay, with Grand Rapids, Mich., becoming the first to do so in 1945.
The American Dental Association has been a vocal supported of fluoridated tap water amid the controversy and on Thursday published slides to its Facebook account showing that the practice reduces cavities by 25% in both adults and children, and is safe.
Its president, Brett Kessler, said in a statement issued following Utah’s ban that children will be the ones to suffer.
“Community water fluoridation programs save states money, save the federal government money and save people money,” he said. “I urge every dentist and community member to make their voices heard if there are proposals in your area that threaten the oral health of our communities.”
Ian Dury’s son admitted in an interview that he had lost his driving licence after being reported to the authorities by BBC presenter Jeremy Vine
Jeremy Vine’s cycling advocacy has seen many road users slapped with penalties after being caught violating road rules by the BBC star(Image: Getty Images)
Cycling champion and BBC star Jeremy Vine caused the son of a British punk rock legend to lose his driving licence after snapping him engaging in a bad habit while behind the wheel, it has emerged.
The son of Ian Dury, Baxter, revealed the embarrassing information while being interviewed on BBC 6 Music by Huw Stephens. He explained that he had been looking at his phone in a traffic jam when Jeremy Vine cycled past and caught him red-handed.
Ian Dury was an innovator in the late 70s and early 80s’ burgeoning punk rock and new wave genres, frequently troubling government censors with countercultural and suggestive imagery, such as in his UK Number One chart topper ‘Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick.’
Baxter Dury has followed in his father’s footsteps. He was driving to his home in West London from producer Paul Epworth’s studio, where they had been working on his latest album, Albarone, when the BBC star recorded him.
Baxter Dury revealed the embarrassing information in a BBC 6 Music interview
Dury, 53, told Huw Stephens: “Do you know what? This is a tragic story, but I drove there for the first half (of making the record) and then lost my license.”
However, Baxter did not blame Jeremy Vine for reporting him, telling the BBC that he probably deserved it.
Baxter went on to explain: “I got caught in a traffic jam, and Jeremy Vine took a film of me looking at Instagram, which he deserves to, I’m not arguing about (it). “
Realising that Vine could catch him once again, he added: “Shouldn’t probably say that publicly, he’s probably in the other room, isn’t he?”
Ian Dury and the Blockheads in Tyneside, 1979(Image: Evening Gazette)
When the BBC Radio 2 presenter heard that he’d caught Ian Dury’s son red-handed, he shared his love of his father’s work, but did not apologise. He told the Mail: ‘This is very unfortunate. I would like Baxter to know that I love his dad’s music.
‘I’m afraid mobile phone use in cars in London, particularly the posher parts, is an absolute curse. So I am quite tunnel-visioned about it.
‘We have 1700 road deaths a year. Sorry to be serious about it. Best wishes to Baxter.’
Jeremy Vine has recorded countless numbers of drivers flouting road rules over the years, often posting examples on social media to raise awareness of what cyclists face every day. However, last month, he made the surprising decision to stop posting videos after receiving abuse.
The TV presenter has racked up hundreds of millions of views, without making a penny, across various social media platforms, which has also brought with it huge waves of online hate.
He said on X: “I’m stopping my cycling videos. The trolling just got too bad. They have had well over 100 million views but in the end the anger they generate has genuinely upset me.”
Vine also shared the serious death threats made against him for sharing videos of drivers breaking the rules, with online trolls branding him “England’s biggest ***hole” and calling for the Channel 5 debate host to be crushed by a lorry.
After making the decision to quit, the TV star said he would miss the conversations sparked by the videos, which could be about relatively small infractions.
“Some of the biggest videos were actually about the smallest incidents, like someone turning left in front of me,” he said.
“People are happy to discuss it and I actually think that we’d all be safer if we all understood each other. People are going to drive 4x4s in Kensington and whatnot but they need to have a bit of care for me on a bicycle.
“You might be in total control when you pass close by but the person on a bicycle doesn’t know that. I just hope I was part of a dialogue about it.”
Just north of Magic Mountain’s roller coasters, hidden within the vast, anonymous industrial parks of Valencia, lies the secret lab where the murderous doll M3GAN was born.
“Born” is putting it a touch dramatically — but only a touch. Though she’s taken on a prankish life of her own since the 2022 runaway horror hit made her dance moves iconic, M3GAN is a product of several teams, primarily the animatronic makeup and design company Morot FX Studio, but also a human actor, 15-year-old Amie Donald, several puppeteers and a swarm of technicians performing in concert like a group of modern dancers.
And while the nondescript row of beige offices I pull up to doesn’t scream “secret lab,” that’s not far off either. Just last night, Christian Bale was here, testing out some face-changing prosthetics for his forthcoming role in “Madden,” about the Oakland Raiders football legend. Nicolas Cage dropped in a day earlier. Both will be returning in the days ahead.
“You want a popcorn?” asks Adrien Morot, 54, the shop’s boyish proprietor in a baseball cap. It’s a Saturday in April — the only available time he has in a typically job-crammed week to show us some of the new work he’s done on “M3GAN 2.0,” due in theaters June 27.
There’s a noticeable pride Morot takes in touring me around his geek’s paradise: a two-level office crammed with shelves of scowling latex heads, furry creatures and a pair of giant gators overlooking it all. You see posters for horror movies like Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving” as well as more elegant, perhaps unlikely gigs: Darren Aronofsky’s “mother!” and the Bale-starring “Vice,” for which the actor was transformed into Dick Cheney. (Morot’s task: turning Steve Carell into Donald Rumsfeld.)
At Morot FX Studio, makeup jobs from the company’s past productions are displayed.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Scattered pizza boxes left on workbenches lend to the air of dorm-room fantasy but Morot is quick to open one up: no leftover slices, only delicate pieces of fabricated skin applications. Pizza boxes are perfect for those.
“I have to admit that, especially for somebody like me that grew up just doing this — this was my hobby, really — there’s never a day where you don’t come into the shop feeling: This is so cool,” Morot says.
Once upon a time, he was a kid in Montreal, horror-obsessed, making his own creations. “F/X,” the deliriously fun 1986 thriller about a special-effects man on the run, is one he watched as a “dumb 16-year-old, very cocky, like a teenager thinking that I was better than everything,” but also a movie he can recount beat for beat.
Also picking her way through the shop is Kathy Tse, Morot’s longtime creative partner and wife. Soft-spoken, with a mind for specifics that complements and protects Morot, her presence immediately makes the space feel more like a serious studio shared by two contemporary artists. She explains that Valencia was “family-friendly” and a better real-estate value.
“Because we have good chemistry — we have trust — we work well together,” Tse, 44, says. “That is so important when you are under duress, under stress. And because of that, they always end up calling us back.”
Morot puts the finishing touches on Brendan Fraser for “The Whale,” work that won his team an Oscar.
(Niko Tavernise / A24)
Hollywood has called back, noticing them in a big way. The Oscar they won for the fleshy organic work they did with Brendan Fraser on “The Whale” is nowhere to be seen. It’s in a closet somewhere, Morot admits, sheepishly.
“Winning an Oscar has never been in the list of accomplishments that I was seeking, truly ever,” he says. “My only goal that I was really dying for was to have one of our creations on the cover of Fangoria magazine. That’s the only thing.” (They line the shop’s business office.)
Tse steers us around to the notion of a certain intimacy they like to work at, a realist aesthetic that might be called the Morot house style.
“What was great about the Oscar that year was how Brendan and Adrien really bonded,” she adds. “They were like brothers, with the constant support and dirty jokes and texts going back and forth. I think that was such a nice, beautiful relationship. To this day, they still text.”
“That’s always how we saw our work,” Morot says. “We’re there to help the actor if we can with what we produce — to help them find the character.”
And with that, the pair take me up to the second level of their shop, followed by their border terrier, Jasper, and there she is, the girl of the hour.
Allison Williams and an animatronic M3GAN in a scene from the movie “M3GAN 2.0,” directed by Gerard Johnstone.
(Universal Pictures)
“M3GAN 2.0” is exactly the sequel fans will be wanting. It embraces the essential ridiculousness of the concept — a vicious AI in the robotic body of a pissed-off tween — as well as the folly of tech bros who would move fast and break things before heeding some fairly obvious warnings.
It’s more of a comedy. The laughs are constant (yes, M3GAN sings another of her awkward songs). Also, reading the room, the filmmakers realize that we’ve come to love her and want to root for her. To that end, she’s been turned into something of a force for good, drafted into doing battle against a military-grade AI called Amelia, also built into the body of a young woman.
For the sake of our visit, Morot and Tse have set up two full-size M3GANs, one from the first movie, another from the upcoming film, the latter more muscular and a good several inches taller. That change was motivated by the realities of their human actor.
“Amie, she keeps growing so quickly and within a year grew over two inches,” Tse says. “The first one she was yay high and then six months later, she grew. We had to readjust all of our dolls.”
Says Morot, “She is such a joy to work with — a real trouper. And I think that everybody was enamored with her and it just made sense to bring her back in the second movie. So I think that the script was altered or adapted to make sure that she would fit within the story.”
One of the several M3GAN masks at Morot FX Studio.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
When M3GAN is running or doing one of her viral swirly-arm dances, it’s performed by Donald, a young actor from New Zealand, wearing a mask designed by Team Morot. He shows me the mold. “That’s her face on the inside,” he says. “That’s a negative impression of her face. It’s quite heavy, actually.”
But when it’s a medium shot or close-up, you’re seeing an animatronic puppet operated by several people. Usually Morot is working the mechanisms in the eyes and lubricating them — he can speak excitedly at length about “eyeball pivot” — while Tse is manipulating arms and doing a fair amount of hand-acting.
“In my naiveté, I never quite understood just how much this was basically an elevated Muppet movie,” says “M3GAN” director Gerard Johnstone, calling from the editing suite at Blumhouse’s post-production facility in Koreatown, where he’s finalizing the sequel’s cut. He remembers learning about Morot and Tse’s skills in 2019 before the pandemic hit and being convinced by their commitment to lifelike illusion.
“I found that hugely inspiring,” the director says. “I thought, Why are we making something that looks like a toy when these guys can make things that look human? Wouldn’t that be really fun if we went further into the uncanny valley than we’ve ever gone before? And Adrien and Kathy were the perfect people to partner up with on that.”
Tse’s M3GAN designs, these days rendered by a phalanx of digital printers (a single head can take up to 50 hours), became proof of concept and helped green-light the first film, not an everyday occurrence.
In the room with us in Valencia, the dolls eyes’ are hypnotic, carrying a trace of malevolence. “There’s a presence,” Tse offers.
“I thought, Why are we making something that looks like a toy when these guys can make things that look human?” says “M3GAN 2.0” director Gerard Johnstone. “Wouldn’t that be really fun if we went further into the uncanny valley than we’ve ever gone before?”
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Watching them finesse each strand of M3GAN’s hair, every neck tilt and eye motion for our photo shoot, Morot and Tse look like nothing more than devoted stage parents, grooming a promising theater kid. It’s a natural thought that begs an obvious question.
“Oh, for sure,” Tse agrees, owning up to parental affection for her creations. “Look how we care about our dolls. There’s so much pride and you’re protective of making sure that they look good, that they’re well cared for.”
The pair have a 20-year relationship, tying the knot around the time they were working on the first “M3GAN,” a watershed moment for them.
“I was a young flower at the time when we first met,” Tse says without a trace of sarcasm. “He was doing a film and I was just graduating from university. I was working in banking and we met that way. So he was already working in film and he brought me into it, actually.”
“I could have went into banking,” Morot cracks.
Morot and Tse operating animatronics on the set of the first “M3GAN.”
(Geoffrey Short / Universal Pictures)
In each other, they found kindred spirits of perfectionism, going on to corner the Montreal makeup market, which was then booming with Hollywood shoots. Years of work came without days off or vacations.
But they knew a relocation to Los Angeles was inevitable. In the 1990s, Morot had given the town a shot, apprenticing with other designers, learning his craft and drinking in the city until he needed to move back to Canada for family reasons.
“I was really bummed when I had to move back,” he says. “For me, L.A. always felt like home. When I landed here at 21, I was like, oh, my God, everything is here.”
It’s not lost on them that their specialty has come to represent something increasingly rare: an actual craft with an emphasis on real-world tactility in a moment when digital spurts of blood are becoming the norm. Prosthetic makeup effects have become a last stand, a bastion of the old ways.
“This is a massive extinction of the entire movie industry,” Morot says, alarmed. “We’re losing the human process behind it. That’s going to be a tragedy because we’re going to lose the communal experience of movies. We’re already there with all the streaming platforms and YouTube, where people are all on their own, silo-watching. There’s no longer the watercooler discussion about what show is in right now because everybody’s watching their own thing.”
Tse strikes a more pragmatic tone. “I think you have to in a way embrace it,” she says of AI. “Some parts of the industry will unfortunately lose work, but then you’ll have to find your way into another area.”
Morot, right, and Tse prepare a metallic M3GAN for action in “M3GAN 2.0.”
(Geoffrey Short / Universal Pictures)
“M3GAN” and “M3GAN 2.0,” for all their enjoyable sci-fi nuttiness, are expressly about these questions of AI’s prominence. They may be horror movies with training wheels, but they’re also teaching PG-13 audiences to maintain a healthy skepticism about the future. Their lineage goes back to “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the prescient 1970 nightmare “Colossus: The Forbin Project,” about two AIs that take over the world’s nuclear arsenal, a plot that reemerges in the new “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.”
“The reason I did ‘M3GAN’ was out of frustration as a parent,” says Johnstone. “I was bringing my children up in this age of devices and trying to figure out where the balance lies and seeing everyone around me kind of accept it and thinking, Wait, there’s got to be a middle ground here. Why aren’t schools having a conversation?”
If Morot and Tse, both at the bleeding edge of their field, end up making AI palatable for a younger generation, with M3GAN as their mascot, they’re at least doing it the old-school way, with tools that inspired them from the start. They’ve brought out a mechanical head for me to see — it’s actually the first doll they ever built (just without the skin) and it has a rather large speaking cameo in the new movie: an unsettling scene about rebuilding in an underground bunker and saving the world before it’s too late.
“We were lucky,” Tse says — by which she means, lucky that they saved this prototype for the moment. The glistening jawline and lidless eyes are giving unmistakable Terminator vibes. Morot cradles the head, still that boy dreaming of Fangoria covers.
It’s the kind of thing you hold onto in a lab in Valencia.
TheBridgertonicon, 32, packed on the PDA with the gorgeous model, 24,making a loving public appearance just two days after going Instagram official reported The Mail.
Luke, who plays Colin Bridgerton on the show, opted for a classic black suit and an unbuttoned matching shirt.
Antonia shimmered beside him in a sculpted mono-shoulder purple long length gown.
The Netflix icon appeared in very happy spirits as he was snapped and spoke to TV fans on his way inside the event.
Much like her famous boyfriend, Antonia is also in the entertainment industry.
The talented star is in fact a dancer, who has worked on some top TV shows, she has performed on both Dancing on Ice and Greece’s Got Talent.
Antonia is also an Influencer and boasts nearly 16K followers and she was first linked to Luke last year.
During tonight’s awards ceremony, the Bafta reality prize went to Channel 4‘s The Jury: Murder Trial, beating the hit BBC psychological series The Traitors.
Luke Newton’s girlfriend Antonia Roumelioti looks super hot as she shows off her dance moves
Ariyon Bakare has won the best supporting actor gong at the Bafta TV Awards for his role playing Morris De La Roux in BBC drama Mr Loverman.
The BBC also won the sport award for its coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics and an award in the live coverage category for Glastonbury Festival.
Best specialist factual went to BBC Two‘s Atomic People, which heard from those who witnessed the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
