Writers Strike, Spider-Verse and Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth will be in Manila on Monday June 5 to promote the sequel to the action movie, “Extraction 2” (no descriptor or further title after a colon). Maybe someone should ask him, “If there were a title after the colon, what would it be?”

A fan event will be held at Mall of Asia, registration opened two weeks before but only a lucky few who were quick on the draw with their email will be able to attend it and catch a special screening. For those who'll miss it, it'll be on Netflix on June 16.

Chris Hemsworth is set to take Manila by storm on Monday to promote Netflix’s ‘Extraction 2.’ NETFLIX PHOTO

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the sequel to the beloved and acclaimed “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (2018) opened this Wednesday. The visuals were easy to sink into eye-candy, like a comic book truly pop out of its pages pulling you in. You got a feel for all the elements and characters on the screen.

For “Across the Spider-Verse” there's now five home dimensions with their own animation styles. Miles Morales' (Earth 1610) uses the style of the first film, Gwen Stacy's (Earth-65) uses bold signature colors and silhouettes reflecting the mood and moment she inhabits. Hailee Steinfeld's Gwen was such a standout, of course she's back as a key part of the story.

For the new characters in the film, Pavitr Prabhakar's Mumbattan (Earth-50101) is “a kaleidoscopic hybrid of Manhattan and Mumbai” while Spider-Punk's world has that punk-era London vibe recalling the collages and photocopies in the graphic design of the era.

Oscar Isaac — who was in a quick cameo at the end of 'Into the Spider-Verse” — is now here to fully inhabit Miguel O'Hara aka Spider-Man 2099. Alan Hawkins, head of character animation describes his future Nueva York (Earth-928) saying, “the world above the ground is very idealized, with great blues and clean lines. Then, the underground sections are inspired by darker versions of the future, like 'Bladerunner.'”

You can catch “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” in cinemas and at the IMAX.

For those following entertainment news, the Writers Strike in the United States has hit its one-month mark. Apart from protesting abbreviated contracts, a lack of residuals from streaming, shrinking writers rooms and shrinking roles in production, they're looking to regulate AI.

Colin Farrell, Neil Gaiman, Mandy Patinkin, Tatiana Maslany, Brandon Routh, Kerry Washington and Fran Drescher (not just “The Nanny” but president of the Screen Actors Guild) has been seen at the pickets.

Justine Bateman warns we are on the cusp of dangerous changes brought about AI — among them “AI-written scripts, digitally scanned actors, films ordered up by the viewer, viewers getting digitally scanned themselves and having themselves inserted into custom films.”

She warns “this is the last time any labor action will be effective in our business. If we don't make strong rules now, they simply won't notice if we strike in three years because at that point, they won't need us.”

There could be drop in original content and new seasons in future, talk shows have already gone dark, while “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” will air 90 minutes in the fall.