Oscar-winning film directors James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee joined forces with movie theater owners on Sept. 30 in an appeal for financial aid. According to Reuters, in a letter co-signed by over 70 directors and producers to the US Senate and House of Representatives, they said that the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the US film industry.
The letter said that 69 percent of small- and medium-sized movie theaters will be forced to file for bankruptcy or close permanently, and without funds, “Theaters may not survive the impact of the pandemic.” As many as 93 percent of theaters saw their revenues plummet 75 percent or more in the second quarter, compared with the same period of time last year, and about 100,000 people working in the film industry could lose their jobs.
Earlier last week, Cineworld Group, the second-largest movie theater chain in the US, announced plans to close its 536 Regal Cinemas in the US and 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse venues in the UK. The closures are likely to affect around 45,000 employees.
Photo: AFP 照片:法新社
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
奧斯卡名導詹姆斯卡麥隆、馬丁史柯西斯、李安等人,於九月三十日加入電影院業主提出財務紓困的請願。根據路透報導,這封陳情信由七十多位導演和製片所共同簽署,他們上書美國參、眾兩院,表示武漢肺炎)新冠病毒,COVID-19)已重創電影業。
這封陳情信表示,百分之六十九的中小型電影院將被迫申請破產,甚至永久關閉,若沒有政府財務支援,「電影院將無法在疫情衝擊下生存!」高達百分之九十三的電影院跟去年同期相比,在今年第二季虧損達到或超過百分之七十五,約十萬名電影從業人員有可能失業。
上週稍早,美國第二大連鎖影城世界電影集團已宣布,關閉旗下在美國的五百三十六家豪華戲院,及在英國的一百二十七家世界與影屋戲院,關閉計劃將可能影響四萬五千名員工。(台北時報張聖恩)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110