Skip to main content

Today’s Storystream

Feed refreshed

Cillian Murphy’s coming back for 28 Years Later.

It wasn’t initially clear whether Cillian Murphy might return for Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 28 Years Later. But Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman revealed to Deadline that we can expect to see Murphy show up in a “a surprising way and in a way that grows,” when the movie hits theaters on June 20th, 2025.


96th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals
Photo by Sarah Morris/WireImage
E
External Link
“Pig butchering” scammers arrested for crypto money laundering.

Perhaps of note: their Binance accounts and their Deltec accounts; Deltec was allegedly key in giving FTX secret money to buy Tether. Criminal complaint here.

And though the charges are for laundering at least $73 million, the wallet in question received $341 million between April 2021 and the date of the indictment. Hm!


“The first AI standup comedian powered by 5G.”

After a week of watching AI demos of ChatGPT and Google’s Project Astra, reset with comedian Conner O’Malley’s new special Stand Up Solutions.

O’Malley performs as startup founder Richard Eagleton, pitching an “AI standup comedian” product for an audience of VCs. The unhinged presentation parodies tech bro lingo and exaggerated business promises — which is probably NSFW, especially if you work in Big Tech.


Comedian Conner O’Malley yelling at this AI standup robot on a screen
A
Twitter
One last update for Redfall.

Despite the studio’s closure, Arkane Austin is squeezing out one final update for its vampiric shooter Redfall. This follows the final patch for Hi-Fi Rush from Tango Gameworks, which was also shut down.


A
Twitter
We have Fallout at home.

Post-apocalyptic wastelands are all the rage right now, and soon that will extend to Fortnite. When the game’s Greek mythology season ends next week, it will give way to something that will hopefully make the wait for Fallout 5 a little easier.


There’s a way to get your Uber notifications without putting up with marketing as well.

If you use Uber with an iPhone, you can turn off unwanted marketing notifications — but the feature is a leetle hard to find. Okay, it’s a lot hard to find. John Gruber found it, though: go to Account > Settings > Privacy > Offers and Promos from Uber and tap the word here.  You can then unsubscribe from some or all Uber marketing emails or notifications.


Page saying Manage Offers and Promos from Uber

1/2

Tap on the word “here”...
Screenshot: Uber

The Mac vs. PC war is back on

We might be about to witness Microsoft’s M1 moment.

FromSoftware just debuted their bloodiest monster yet.

FromSoftware’s monster designs have really nailed the inherent horror of living in ambulatory sentient meat sacs and this new one from Shadow of the Erdtree is just...

That is a uterus, y’all and if it means Shadow of the Erdtree will tread the “transformative horrors of childbirth” like Bloodborne did, I am so on board. I cannot wait for June 21st, my uterus is ready.


Image of a monster from Shadow of the Erdtree featuring a feminine looking monster in a gold mask wielding circular blades hunched in a position to resemble a uterus.
Image: Bandai Namco
U
External Link
And this pot of $150 million is for all the bad batteries.

Chevy Bolt owners who were forced to have their battery range nerfed (because of fire risk) might get promised compensation thanks to LG agreeing to pitch in with GM on the relief fund.


J
External Link
EU threatens Microsoft with huge fines over AI concerns.

The European Commission has given Microsoft until May 27th to hand over the information it needs to assess Bing’s generative AI features, or else face fines of up to six percent of the company’s global annual income.

The EU suspects that tools like “Copilot in Bing” and “Image Creator by Designer” may have violated its DSA rules regarding deepfakes, voter manipulation, and ‘hallucinations.’


T
External Link
UK regulators won’t investigate Microsoft’s Mistral AI partnership.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided that Microsoft’s Mistral AI investment “does not qualify for investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002.” The brief statement comes weeks after the CMA signaled it was looking into Microsoft and Amazon’s AI partnerships. Microsoft invested around $16 million into Mistral and also hired a bunch of Inflection AI staff.

Correction: Microsoft’s Mistral investment was around $16 million, not $2.1 billion.


At a Beverly Hills mansion, where an electric truck is your only source of power

GM staged a blackout to demonstrate how EVs can power an entire home — and also shore up our aging grid infrastructure.

J
Youtube
Return of the King (of fan movies).

Remember that 15-year-old Tolkien fan movie that Warner Bros. pulled from YouTube last week for sharing the same name as its upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum title? Well, it’s back!

Adrian Webster, who played Aragorn in the fan-made film, told IGN:

“Perhaps it was an automated copyright block due to the same title. It’s not quite clear. Anyway, we’re happy it’s back online again just now.”


G
External Link
Billionaires urged NYC mayor to sic police on Columbia encampment.

In a WhatsApp groupchat, prominent businessmen discussed how to use their “leverage” to persuade Columbia’s president to call in the NYPD.

Some members, including hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, attended a Zoom meeting with NYC mayor Eric Adams on April 26th. Some participants offered to pay for private investigators to help crack down on protesters, while others promised to donate to Adams’s campaign.


The Verge’s 2024 graduation gift guide

We found all sorts of gadgets and goodies to celebrate the class of 2024, from the practical to the poignant.

Google and OpenAI are racing to rewire the internet

Both companies are competing to build a combination of ChatGPT and Search. Now, it’s a matter of who can out-maneuver the other.

S
Youtube
Neon racing, meet ray tracing.

2003’s Need for Speed: Underground is the latest modded RTX Remix game, with over 1,000 additional light sources and almost completely ray-traced lighting. (Headlight ray tracing is TBD.)

2005’s Most Wanted was more my jam, but this looks great. More about it (and downloadable files) here. Also see: ray traced Half-Life and Half-Life 2, and more listed here.


R
Quote
Looking back on Kim Kardashian’s video game legacy.

From Polygon’s exploration of the “unlikely, lasting place in gaming history” held by Kim Kardashian: Hollywood:

Headley drew Kardashian, and Zabbal illustrated a background, like Beverly Hills — “a postcard for the location,” which he described as not necessarily accurate, but a “lovely broad impression with a tight, cool palette.”

This early art — Headley’s depiction of Kardashian — was what hooked Kardashian herself. “Kim said many times, ‘I saw that they really got me when I saw how they drew me,’” de Masi said.


Kim Kardashian at a desk in the Glu Mobile offices looking over designs for the game, with concept art on the wall behind her
Image: Glu Mobile
C
Twitter
The anjin is probably coming back for even more seasons of Shōgun.

Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks’ Shōgun adaptation was originally meant to conclude after its first season, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, FX and Hulu are keen on keeping the ball rolling with two more seasons.


Megan and The Black Phone’s sequels are getting a slight delay.

Deadline reports that Blumhouse’s follow-ups to Megan (originally due out May 16th) and The Black Phone (originally due out June 27th) have had their premieres pushed back to June 27th and and October 17th, respectively. At least we also know the Five Nights at Freddy’s sequel now has a December 5th, 2025 premiere date.


K
External Link
A judge has ruled that tacos and burritos are sandwiches.

I’d like to have a word with this Indiana judge who just decided, after a years-long legal battle, that tacos and burritos are sandwiches. To be fair, the tacos in Indiana probably look more like sandwiches than the ones in California, but still. Tacos, burritos, hot dogs, they aren’t sandwiches. Argue with the wall, everybody.


R
Quote
That’s a very specific, but understandable, reference.

This editorial suggests one possible future for all of the AI tools we’re seeing:

...it seems just as likely to me that generative A.I. could end up like the Roomba, the mediocre vacuum robot that does a passable job when you are home alone but not if you are expecting guests.

Or when you need to know how to deal with a jammed camera.