Latest news with #Symposium
San Francisco Chronicle
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Your client does not own this concept': Bay Area filmmaker fires back at plagiarism accusations
With the high-stakes release of the horror film 'Together' looming, lawyers representing Bay Area filmmaker and actor Dave Franco and his wife and co-star Alison Brie are hitting back against a copyright infringement lawsuit over their buzzy Sundance Film Festival favorite. According to a letter sent to lawyers representing the production company of 'Better Half,' a 2023 film written and directed by Patrick Henry Phelan, attorney Nicolas Jampol asserts that 'Together,' written and directed by Michael Shanks and starring Brie and Franco, is 'not remotely similar.' Both films are about a couple who hook up then become fused together, though 'Better Half' is a romantic comedy, and 'Together,' due for release on July 30, is a body horror film. 'Your client does not own this concept,' Jampol wrote in the May 21 letter, which was obtained by Variety. 'Neither do our clients. It is an unprotectable idea, one that predates all of our clients and has been explored in many films, television shows and other fictional works.' The suit, filed May 13 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, called 'Together' a 'blatant rip-off' of 'Better Half,' complete with a Spice Girls reference and a 'near verbatim' reference to Plato's 'Symposium.' In addition, the plaintiff, StudioFest, alleges that the casting director of 'Better Half' sent the script to Franco and Brie's agents at WME in August 2020 with an offer to star, but were turned down. But in the letter, Jampol noted that Shanks registered a completed draft with the Writers Guild of America in 2019. He also wrote that the reference to the Spice Girls song '2 Become 1' was not surprising, and that the coincidence is unprotectable. In a response to Jampol's letter on Monday, June 9, plaintiffs' attorney Daniel Miller, said that defense 'borders on the ridiculous.' Aside from Franco and Brie, who is also a producer on the project, defendants listed in the suit include Shanks, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment — which represents Franco and Brie — and Neon, the distributor which acquired 'Together' for $17 million out of Sundance. Franco, 39, is the brother of actor James Franco and is an alum of Palo Alto High School. He married Brie, 42, in 2017, and they have co-starred in four movies.
San Francisco Chronicle
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dave Franco and Alison Brie's ‘Together' director calls identity theft lawsuit ‘deeply upsetting'
The director of 'Together,' a new horror film by Bay Area filmmaker Dave Franco and his wife Alison Brie, has spoken up about the copyright infringement lawsuit that it has been embroiled in. 'It's not just a script; it's a reflection of something deeply personal,' the film's director, Michael Shanks, said in a statement released Wednesday, June 18. 'I lost my father at a young age in the same way our main character does, his trauma is rooted in my own. To have this called into question is not only deeply upsetting but entirely untrue.' The lawsuit, filed by production company StudioFest on May 13, claims that the Sundance Film Festival horror is a 'blatant rip-off' of Patrick Henry Phelan's 2023 independent romantic comedy 'Better Half.' Both films center on the concept of a couple being physically fused together, and the suit alleges that several other elements, including a 'near verbatim' reference to Plato's 'Symposium,' were copied. The suit lays out a timeline asserting that Brie and Franco were pitched on 'Better Half' in 2020, and that their agent at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment turned it down. However, Shanks claimed in his statement that he completed the film's first draft in 2019, subsequently registering it to the Writer's Guild of America later that year. After receiving development funding in 2020, he was introduced to Franco in 2022 and pitched the film to him. Shanks described being accused of idea theft as devastating. 'The suggestion not only undermines the work but also attempts to erase the emotional and professional journey I've taken to bring it to life,' he said. Last month, the defendants' attorney Nicolas Jampol asserted the films are 'not remotely similar' in a letter sent to StudioFest, which is behind 'Better Half.' 'Your client does not own this concept,' Jampol wrote in the May 21 letter, which was obtained by Variety. 'Neither do our clients. It is an unprotectable idea, one that predates all of our clients and has been explored in many films, television shows and other fictional works.' Franco, a Palo Alto High School alum and brother of actor James Franco, and Brie are both producers on the project and are among the defendants listed in the suit. Others include Shanks, WME and Neon, the distributor that acquired the film for $17 million. A joint statement from Neon and WME notes that 'the plaintiff is doing nothing more than drumming up 15 minutes of fame for a failed project.' 'Together' is due out July 30.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
IIT Madras, STL launch multi-core fibre testbed at TTDF Symposium
Indian Institute of Technology Madras and optical solutions major STL Technologies have jointly launched a new multi-core fibre (MCF) testbed, with the aim of advancing India's optical communication infrastructure. The facility was inaugurated at the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) Symposium held by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) at the IIT Madras Research Park in Chennai. The infrastructure includes both underground (4.07 km) and aerial (1.20 km) cable installations. The cables incorporate 12 multi-core fibres (four cores each) alongside 12 standard single-mode fibres, and will be open to both academic and industry partners. Essentially a research and development (R&D) platform for testing the capabilities of optical fibres in a controlled environment, the testbed will be used to assess use cases and test component interoperability within the MCF ecosystem, the DoT said in a statement. Speaking at the inaugural session, Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal said India was at a critical juncture in its innovation journey and stressed the need for collaboration and optimal utilisation of the country's resources. He also announced plans for a dedicated portal to facilitate such collaboration. Launched in 2022, TTDF is a government initiative that supports R&D in next-generation telecom technologies, particularly those aimed at bridging the digital divide in rural and remote areas. It has received over 1,300 proposals for R&D funding since its inception. So far, 120 projects have been approved with over ₹500 crore in funding, and more than ₹187 crore has already been disbursed to beneficiaries, including academic institutions, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and startups, the DoT said. Implemented by Digital Bharat Nidhi, TTDF aims to reduce reliance on telecom imports, promote indigenous manufacturing and develop intellectual property in the sector. The TTDF Symposium 2025 was organised to provide a platform for funding beneficiaries to discuss synergies and potential pathways to advance their research and development. The event brought together academics, startups and industry representatives involved in the programme.
Mint
4 days ago
- Science
- Mint
MIT engineers just built a salt-sized chip that could make your phone faster and cooler
What if your next phone call was clearer, your downloads faster, and your battery lasted longer - all thanks to a material smaller than a grain of salt? MIT engineers have just unveiled a breakthrough that could make this a reality, using gallium nitride (GaN) to supercharge the chips inside our devices. For years, GaN has been the gold standard for speed and power in electronics, outshining traditional silicon - especially in high-speed communication and demanding devices. The catch? GaN has always been too expensive and tricky to use in everyday gadgets. But MIT's new fabrication method changes the game. Instead of building whole chips from GaN, the MIT team created thousands of tiny GaN transistors on a single wafer. These are sliced into 'dielets,' each about the size of a grain of salt, and then carefully placed onto a regular silicon chip using a special vacuum tool. The process uses copper instead of costly gold and is done at low temperatures, so it doesn't damage the chips. This makes the method cheap, scalable, and compatible with existing factories - no need for a complete production overhaul. Why does this matter? By using only a tiny amount of GaN, the cost drops dramatically. Spacing these mini GaN transistors across the silicon chip also keeps things cool, helping prevent overheating - a common problem as gadgets get smaller and more powerful. To prove it works, the team built a power amplifier - the part of your phone that boosts your signal. The result? A chip that outperformed today's silicon-only versions, offering stronger signals, faster speeds, and better energy efficiency. For users, this could mean clearer calls, speedier downloads, more reliable wireless, and longer battery life. What's more, the entire process uses standard industry tools and copper, making it easy for chip makers to adopt. The team's new vacuum tool can move and align each dielet with nanometer precision, ensuring perfect placement every time. The research was presented at the IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium in June 2025, a major event for semiconductor innovation. Pradyot Yadav, an MIT graduate student and lead author, explained at the conference, 'We've combined the best of what exists in silicon with the best possible gallium nitride electronics. These hybrid chips can revolutionise many commercial markets.' Looking ahead, this technology could even help power quantum computers, since GaN works better than silicon at the extremely low temperatures those systems require.
New Statesman
4 days ago
- Business
- New Statesman
Letter of the week: The Chancellor of tomorrow
Photo by'My instinct is to fix,' Keir Starmer says (Cover Story, 13 June). And maybe, eventually, having shot itself in the foot, Labour will sort out the winter fuel payments fairly. Maybe, eventually, Starmer will lift the two-child benefit cap, fix disability benefits and PIP payments, help the Waspi women, reform social care and establish overseas aid at 0.7 per cent of GDP. All the stuff that directly improves lives costs money today, but Rachel Reeves is only happy to spend it tomorrow. It all comes back to whether you buy in to Treasury orthodoxy, which, based on neoclassical economics, has delivered poor or no growth. Or the economics of JM Keynes, which during the 'golden age' of capitalism worked for the majority. 'Anything we can actually do we can afford,' he said in the depths of the Second World War. But now Rachel Reeves says: 'If we cannot afford it, we cannot do it,' and she has the purse strings. David Murray, Wallington The Statesman, old and new I have just received my copy of Tom McTague's first edition of the New Statesman as editor, and am enjoying it. The profile of Keir Starmer is excellent. My study of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Unceasing War on Poverty, was published last year. In it I emphasise their role as creators of institutions, from the New Statesman andthe LSE to the Fabian Society, and give a full account of the early years of the paper. So I was impressed by the references in the editorial to the paper's history. Michael Ward, Arundel Unorthodox view Both Anne Applebaum and Maurice Glasman make radical policy suggestions for Keir Starmer (Symposium, 13 June). While Applebaum's seem more realistic, Glasman makes an important point: that the fiefdom of the Treasury is in need of a radical overhaul. Attempts to abolish or circumvent the Treasury and the OBR rather than reform them only end in tears, but the great enemy of flexibility is orthodoxy. Felicity McGowan, Cardigan The real pot hole As we know, the UK's prisons are costing us a ludicrously huge sum each year. (Not surprising, perhaps, since we jail a higher proportion of our populace than any other country in western Europe.) The jails are overcrowded, near to bursting, drowning in drugs, and potentially dangerous prisoners are being let out early. What's the solution? Well here's another 'Idea for Keir' (Symposium, 13 June), and it's an absurdly simple one. Just two words, in fact: 'Legalise cannabis.' Philip Kemp, London Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Power ratings An oft-repeated phrase quoted in Lee Siegel's article (American Affairs, 13 June) about the recent spat between Trump and Musk is that it was between the world's most powerful man and the richest one. While I would not argue about the latter, I wonder if President Xi might have something to say about the former. John Palfreyman, Coupar Angus Tongue twisters Oh, Mr Marr, you are so right about the prevalent 'wooden tongues' of the Prime Minister, his Chancellor et al (Politics, 13 June). But I would add the 'forked tongue' behind the U-turn of the winter fuel allowance. Seemingly it is possible now because of the vast improvement of this country's fiscal fortunes and nothing to do with a frit government, spooked by a resurgent Nigel Farage and Reform UK. Judith Daniels, Great Yarmouh Catastrophising To use Andrew Marr's phrase in last week's issue, is the government's 'catastrophic problem' its inability to communicate or is it the severity of its 'catastrophic' inheritance from the Tories for which no words, not even 'black hole', are adequate? Or is it possibly both? Colin Richards, Spark Bridge Literary fictions James Marriott seems to have benefited greatly from his English degree, as he writes with passion, clarity and a deft command of textual evidence (The New Society, 13 June). As an English teacher, I feel compelled to observe that he is perhaps a little too metaphorical and hyperbolic, however. Certainly he does English a grave disservice when he claims that the great mansions of learning have been ransacked and vandalised. It's true that literary study has lost prestige and funding, and fewer students (especially boys) are signing up across A-level and degree courses. But, despite its reduced circumstances, the subject remains in rude health. If Marriott were to visit the sixth form at which I teach, he would find about one-fifth of our students choose to throw themselves into the business of grappling with Toni Morrison, Alice Munro and John Keats with real gusto. Why? Because their books are as rough-edged, ambiguous and fraught with cultural politics as the world that floods their senses through their screens every day. In his book, Stefan Collini warns against those who make 'loose assumptions' about literary study. I recommend Marriott brush up his close-reading skills and take another look. Collini's book catalogues what an extraordinarily inventive and fertile field of study English has been to date, and quite clearly refuses to call time on it. Freddie Baveystock, London A Bleak outlook In his review of Literature and Learning by Stefan Collini, James Marriot writes that'the fewer people actually read Charles Dickens and George Eliot, the more their exalted place in the cannon seems like the conspiracy of an establishment minority'. I have just been rereading Dickens's Bleak House. In chapter five, some of the main characters go on a morning walk through London where they meet Miss Flite, who suffers from severe mental illness because of the delay and oppression of the law. She keeps caged birds in her room: 'I can't allow them to sing much, for I find my mind confused by the idea that they are singing, while I am following the arguments in court.' The compassion and moral imagination shown by Dickens and the way in which Miss Flite's suffering is intimately related to the cruelty and indifference of the legal system remain as relevant, profound and revolutionary now as when Bleak House was written. That we have lost the attention to attend to such riches is tragically true, and we urgently need a rediscovery of the sacred nature of literature. Revd Ben Brown, Lewes Terms of abuse It is good news that Keir Starmer has announced a national inquiry into sex abuse. The evasion of this overdue investigation only handed to the far right, including Elon Musk, the ability to claim a cover-up was in place. However the terms of reference will be crucial, and it would hand the initiative to the hard right if it was confined to immigrant areas. The reality is that major institutions are rife with sex abuse and the lessons of Jimmy Savile's abusive behaviour have yet to be learned. However, the most serious abuse is conducted within the churches, including the Church of England. The difference between the senior clergy and other failures of those in authority is their position in parliament. The Bishops Spiritual must now face the music. Lawmakers cannot be law-breakers. Trevor Fisher, Stafford A call to alms I was struck by Will Dunn's insightful comparison of George Osborne and David Cameron with Thomas Cromwell and Henry Vlll respectively (Cover Story, 16 May). Both political pairings were responsible for the austerity vandalism which wrecked communities. As Dunn points out, the Catholic monasteries provided much-needed 'alms, food, shelter, education and medicine' before they were wantonly destroyed. Similarly, from 2010 the welfare state and its associated institutions (schools, libraries, museums, youth clubs, swimming pools, SureStart centres, etc) were systematically dismantled to serve an ideological imperative. Our local hospital has now taken on the same role as those monasteries. Apart from the warmth, shelter and medicine it offers, it is the one place where anyone, irrespective of race, colour, creed, sex or status, can receive unconditional care, compassion and, dare I say it, love and understanding from dedicated healthcare professionals. But hospitals alone cannot continue do the unconditional heavy lifting that is the responsibility of the welfare state, the wider community and a governing political class. Paul Grosch, Plymouth Write to letters@ We reserve the right to edit letters [See also: English literature's last stand] Related This article appears in the 18 Jun 2025 issue of the New Statesman, Warlord
