Category Archives: Censorship

We are the producers of Risk , a documentary film about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.

We unequivocally defend WikiLeaks journalistic right to publish true and newsworthy information.

The Trump administrations threats against WikiLeaks and attacks on press freedom are chilling. As Margaret Sullivan recently argued in the Washington Post, prosecuting WikiLeaks under the Espionage Act would set a dangerous precedent for all journalists.

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We were disturbed, however, to learn that Julian Assange and WikiLeaks sent cease and desist letters to our distributors demanding they stop the release of Risk: We therefore demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all images of the Named Participants and that you desist from this or any other infringement of the rights of the Named Participants in the future.

In WikiLeaks efforts to prevent the distribution of Risk , they are using the very tactics often used against them legal threats, false security claims, underhanded personal attacks, misdirection and with the same intentions: to suppress information and silence speech.

Filmmaker Laura Poitras speaks as former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden is seen on a video conference screen during an award ceremony for the Carl von Ossietzky journalism prize on December 14, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. Adam Berry/Getty

Since 2016, Assange and his lawyers have repeatedly demanded that we remove scenes from the film in which Assange speaks about the two women who made sexual assault allegations against him in 2010 and Swedens investigation which has since been discontinued.

In response to our refusal to remove these scenes, Assange and his lawyers are now claiming that Risk threatens the safety of the staff who consented to being filmed, and furthermore, that we are being sexist by including Assanges own comments about women in the film.

These arguments are not only false, they are a deliberate effort at misdirection.

Risk was filmed over the course of many years, beginning in 2011. Assange and WikiLeaks freely consented to participating in the film, knowing we were making an independent documentary. Neither WikiLeaks nor Assange have any editorial control of Risk. There were individuals who requested from the beginning not to appear in the film, and those requests were respected.

Wikileaks and their lawyers were shown the film before each public screening, most recently inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London on April 1, 2017. Each time, we invited their responses.

WikiLeaks comments have consistently been about image management, including: demands to remove scenes from the film where Assange discusses sexual assault allegations against him; requests to remove images of alcohol bottles in the embassy because Ecuador is a Catholic country and it looks bad; requests to include mentions of WikiLeaks in the 2016 U.S. presidential debates; and, requests to add more scenes with attorney Amal Clooney because she makes WikiLeaks look good.

It is only after we declined to make the changes they tried to impose that WikiLeaks raised objections to Risk . Their attempts to censor the content of the film are an effort to prevent reporting on Assanges own words. They also constitute a saddening break with WikiLeaks own ideals.

Last month, WikiLeaks lawyers published an op-ed saying they object to our editing in the United States. However, Assange has known since 2015 that we were editing in the U.S. In 2016, he signed an agreement to license WikiLeaks own footage to us and raised no objection to mailing a hard drive with footage directly to our editing room in New York City.

WikiLeaks has also repeatedly publicized their participation in Risk , most recently re-tweeting a link to the films trailer on April 10, 2017 (a tweet that has since been deleted), without raising any concerns.

In their cease and desist letter, lawyers for WikiLeaks and Assange state: The unauthorized release of the Film has caused our clients to suffer ongoing irreparable harm, and exponentially increasing damages every time a new viewer sees the Film.

All the participants in Risk agreed for years to be in the film. We have no obligation to seek WikiLeaks or Assanges authorization to release the film. In fact, our rights under the First Amendment are protected precisely because we are engaging in independent journalism. Assange himself has criticized the media for seeking permission from public figures before releasing stories.

Like WikiLeaks, our journalism has been the target of U.S. government investigation, secret grand jury, and threats by elected officials. We fully understand and empathize with the dangers WikiLeaks is facing, and we stand in solidarity with all journalists and publishers around the world currently under attack.

Excerpt from:
Wikileaks Documentary Makers Accuse Assange of Censorship - Newsweek

Grant Berardo, a Wall High School junior, saw his image digitally altered with a plain black T-shirt in his yearbook. Mike Davis

Wall Township High School junior Grant Berardo's T-shirt was digitally altered in the school's yearbook. He wore a Donald Trump campaign shirt for his portrait.(Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Berardo, Jr.)

WALL -The teacher at the center of a censorship scandal in the Wall High School yearbook is a registered Democrat, according to public records.

Susan Parsons, 62, was suspended from her position as a digital media teacher and yearbook adviser on Monday after two students reported their school pictures were altered in the yearbook to remove references to President Donald Trump.

According to the Monmouth County election board, Parsons is a registered Democrat. She voted in the November 2016 general election but public records do not indicate which candidate she voted for.

ICYMI: Wall High teacher suspended over alleged Trump yearbook censorship

MORE INFO: Wall teen's Trump shirt censored in yearbook

But the young Trump supporters believe they were slighted specifically.

Grant Berardo, a junior at the school, took his school pictures wearing a navy blue "Make America Great Again" shirt from the campaign. But in the yearbook, his photo had been digitally altered so it resembled a nondescript black T-shirt, which you can see in the video at the top of the story.

It was Photoshopped," Grant said in an interview on Friday. "I sent it to my mom and dad, just like You wont believe this. I was just overall disappointed.

"I like Trump, but its history too. Wearing that shirt memorializes the time," he said.

Wall High School(Photo: File photo)

According to CNN, Wyatt and Montana Dobrovich-Fago also alleged censorship. The Trump logo on Wyatt's sweater vest in his picture was seemingly cropped out. And a quote attributed to Trump was inexplicably left out of a section dedicated to Montana's role as freshman class president.

Traditionally, class presidents pick a quote to accompany their picture.

DISAFFECTED:Trump supporters at the Shore 'want their country back'

TRUMP BUDGET:A guide for the Shore

"I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big," Trump's quote read.

Though none of the students were able to vote in last year's election, they certainly aren't alone in their support of Trump.

Wall is a strongly Republicantown in a strongly Republican county. All five Township Committee members and Monmouth County freeholders are Republican, andthe town is represented by Republicans in the state Senate, Assembly and House of Representatives.

ELSEWHERE: Bleeding liberal blue in red Jackson

Last year, the number of Trump voters nearly doubledthe 5,000 who voted for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. About 61 percent, just over 9,400 voters,in Wall supported Trump.

In Parsons'voting district, 434 people voted for Trump. Just 172 voted for Clinton.

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According to her LinkedIn page, Parsons has worked in the district for 15 years.

On her yearbook class'website within the district homepage, Parsonsincludes "photo editing" as one of the "real world skills" that students learn during yearbook production.

An office manager at the Wall Township Education Association, the district's teacher union, said there was no one there who could comment. Union officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Parsons has not returned multiple calls to her home seeking comment. Nobody answered the door at her listed address in Wall.

In an interview with the New York Post, Parsons said we have never made any action against any political party.

But when asked if she knew who altered the photos, Parsons simply said, Im going to hang up.

Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com

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Trump yearbook censorship: Wall teacher is a registered Democrat - Asbury Park Press

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The Courier-Post 2:46 p.m. ET June 15, 2017

Grant Berardo, a Wall High School junior, saw his image digitally altered with a plain black T-shirt in his yearbook. Mike Davis

Wall Township High School junior Grant Berardo's T-shirt was digitally altered in the school's yearbook.(Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Berardo, Jr.)

Thank you, Courier-Post, for publishing the article Teens T-shirt censored in yearbook about Grant Berardo, the Wall Township High School junior who chose to have his yearbook photo taken while wearing a Trump T-shirt. He was very disappointed when it was Photoshopped and shown in the yearbook with the Trump logo removed. He was not breaking any of the schools dress codes.

Wall school superintendent, Cheryl Dyer, said that she was investigating who was responsible. I was pleased to hear that. In this case, it was discovered later that day that the guilty party allegedly was the adviser of the yearbook and has now been suspended. This only demonstrates how emboldened the snowflakes have become. They may feel that it is their privilege to take it upon themselves, fearing no ill consequences for their actions.

They have taken their cue from the left-wing media, and dictate whatever they choose to show the American people. Where has much of our freedom of speech gone? Or is it only for the left? I can see now why President Donald Trump tweets. It is really one of the few avenues left open for the president to get the truth out to the people.

Mickie Shea

Marlton

Read or Share this story: http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/opinion/readers/2017/06/15/letter-yearbook-censorship-left-wing-gone-amok/400807001/

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LETTER: Yearbook censorship is left-wing gone amok - Courier-Post - Cherry Hill Courier Post

Variety

Facebook Aims to Start Debate on Censorship, Fake News Variety Facebook is getting ready to explain itself. The social media juggernaut kick-started an effort to more openly debate questions of free speech and censorship, false and misleading news and the impact social media has on democracy Thursday, announcing a ... Facebook requests input on hard questions about censorship and ...TechCrunch Facebook wants your inputs regarding censorship, false news, and ...The Tech Portal Hard Questions | Facebook NewsroomFacebook Newsroom Facebook Newsroom all 11 news articles »

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Facebook Aims to Start Debate on Censorship, Fake News - Variety

There a lot of shows that call themselves groundbreaking, but the 13 episodes of Blood Drivereally will test the barriers of speed, tone, and language.

While many shows that would tout themselves as groundbreaking might take that role seriously, Blood Drive takes itself ridiculously. This is part of what makes it so different. Sure, the series from Syfy and Universal Cable Productions takes on such weighty subjects as fracking, corporate greed and police brutality, but it never gets heavy enough to slow the pace, gasps or laughs.

Den of Geek spoke with the driving forces behind Blood Drive before the checkered flag drops. Lead actors Christina Ochoa, Colin Cunningham, and Alan Ritchson parked themselves long enough to discuss characters, themes, and production notes. But they all did it with the enthusiastic giggles of artists given a chance to go full throttle.

They were given the keys to this monstrous machine by the shows creator and writer James Roland, who was getting coffee on shows like Mad Men and Weeds before this, and showrunner John Hlavin, best known for writing the screenplay for Underworld Awakening and episodes of The Shield. Between gales of laughter, heres what they told us.

Den of Geek: Ill be asking this to everyone: How many times did you have to take the driving test before you passed?

James Roland: It was actually who we had to kill. John had me kill somebody.

Did Syfy give you any shit about language? The first episode is called The Fucking Cop and theres one episode called The Fucking Dead. Was there a problem with that? Because when we turn on cable and hit the info button, we see these things.

James: They were cool about it

John Hlavin: That one in particular, because the title we knew we would be on DVRs, we were somewhat concerned but, honestly, Syfy from a content standpoint, really gave us quite a bit of rope. Wouldnt you say, James?

James: Yeah, we talked about it at first, saying uh oh, what are you going to do? It was like real far out. But once they started seeing the cuts and they started getting into it, I remember at one point S&P said something like give us a couple weeks, we need to wrap our heads around this. I think of all the battles they had to fight, that became the one they didnt even have to worry about. So they were pretty great about it. I think were going to be the first, on their network at least, show that doesnt bleep fuck. Thats what I heard, I dont have that confirmed. So, yeah, it was kind of a free-for-all with the language. It was great.

I can bleep out the unconfirmed bit later. So there werent intense production note sessions like the ones between Slink and Heart Enterprises?

James: Theres a lot of fun stuff with that. Almost everything Slink says, I think youre referring specifically to episode three?

Yes.

James: Almost everything thats on those note calls is our twisted variation on actual notes calls. All the stuff with the executives throughout the show, its all based in truth. But also totally focused through our crazy lens.

I love the way you play with censorship. You use visual puns. My favorite is the cops erections. How much leeway are you really giving him?

John: First off, can we just say, please put that in your article, that you have stated that that is your favorite part. The thing is, it made the show feel more salacious than it was. There were times we were covering up things that actually, probably, could have been okay, and there were times we did it to get around things. There were times we were gonna do things that we ended up not doing, but we were having a lot of fun with pulling that ride on that bar, playing with censors. We were very lucky, in this regard, at Syfy and UCP. They were really supportive of the vision of what the show was and how it evolved as we moved forward into a kind of a commentary on what its like to make a television show. They were really gracious about it.

Also, to James point, we were very aware of the fact when they were giving us notes that there was an excellent chance those notes were going to wind up in some form or another coming out of Slinks mouth in a critical, critical way.

James: Later on Slink starts really interacting more with the executives at Heart. We were originally spoofing, giving these Easter Egg references to our executives and we had trouble clearing those names. Then we just said, what are we hiding the salami for? Lets just call them the names of our executives. Then it be became, not to give away too many spoilers, but a lot of those executives dont make it. We were afraid how they would take it. Like, oh my god, are we crossing a line, killing off our executives? And they loved it and then it became a request. They started asking can so and so get in the show? Can you kill this person? They loved it.

Okay, I want to work at Heart Enterprises. What should I put on my resume?

James: The fact that you want to work there alone is almost enough to get you in.

John: Yeah, you probably better talk to your bosses about that.

James: Well, we talked a lot about that. We actually had an ethos for Heart Enterprises, to put a method behind the madness. Cos its so easy to just have a Machiavellian villain, you see this in comic book movies, you think, why are they going about things this way, when it would be more convenient for the sake of plot. We really talked about how, because they are so evil, they dont care if they have a faulty product. If their iPhones blow up and kill ninety people, they say great. Like the same way they did with the Joker from The Dark Knight, where he works for Chaos and goes about things that might actually destroy him just because he has that methodology. Thats what were talking about with Heart. Its about the amount of chaos. Its the collateral damage that makes the company what it is.

At one point we talked about an intern seeing that first day at Heart Enterprises and what it takes to get in. But they literally, youll find this out a little later in the show, they actually do recruit psychos. They talk about their hiring practices. Some of that will be in the show in later episodes.

Will they be working on their dental plan?

James: Exactly. Theyll have to have a good one to keep up.

You mention that Slink is a Machiavellian character, or is he the ultimate company man?

James: Youll have to find out. In the first couple episode one of the things that was fun was putting such a powerful character. Hes a god to the racers. But whos the god to the god? Whos the step above that? We had a lot of fun with that. Whenever you see Slink at Heart Enterprises you get to see people that actually have more power than him, and what thats like. It actually makes him more of a dimensional character, too, than just the standard villain.

John: A lot of what we realized after we cast Colin and started to watch him work that there was a lot more to play in that character. A lot of credit goes to Colin as well for really finding who he was and letting us play with it once we realized that his voice was so specific. He did a truly amazing job bringing that guy to life. Theres a lot of ways he could have gone with that character and he went a way we didnt see coming even though James had written very interesting ideas, he found layers that made him more interesting than we had even thought of. So, many kudos to Colin for that.

Have you ever grossed yourself out with an effect you thought up yourself?

[Evil laughter] James: I wanted really badly, but we couldnt afford it, to make a perfect human rubber filled with strawberry jam to feed into the engine so we could see the whole thing from start to finish. But even what we ended up with was pretty horrible, a man getting his head chewed up. What the show did to Christopher in that chamber, I think in episode 4.

John: Episode 4 was our point of no return.

James: That wasnt an effect but, James Roday directed that episode, some of that was hard to watch.

Yeah, some of the stuff they were throwing up against the walls...

John: Kudos, by the way, to both those actors. They just showed up and fucking grabbed these parts and got inside of them, James was on set the entire time in Cape Town. We were always blown away here in LA, wed get the dailies and there just wasnt a bad performance. Everybody really embraced their roles and James Roday did a great job in bringing them out and capturing them. We were really, from the very first set of dailies, we heard from UCP that day, and Syfy, and they said Holy shit. I dont think they expected it to be as good as we thought could be. And then it was actually better than we all expected.

I love how you go from monster-of-the-week episodes, to changing styles from one style of grindhouse to the next. How did you come up with those dynamics?

James: That was almost an accident. When I pitched the premise to my manager, before it was even written, I phrased it as a grindhouse TV show, Road Trip Through a Grindhouse World, and he lit up and said write that, write that. I had the premise before that but never thought of it in that way. Then it naturally leaned into, if youre going to have a road trip, you might as well have a story of the week. It seemed very natural.

Grindhouse isnt a cinematic movement or genre. It was specifically a place that played exploitation films. Its endless the amount of styles and artistry that was going into that, good or bad. It was a really fertile ground to pick from. So how do we control that? Each week they just drive into a different movie. That seemed to click with everybody. It helped them wrap their heads around the world that we created.

The next challenge was how to fuck people up, especially on a lower budget. Kudos to the crew down there, and our directors, David Straiton really helped form the whole world. David directed four of the 13 episodes. But he was also down there every day as an executive producer and he really worked to form not only the look of the show, but how we went about shooting it, and how we went about creating a different look and a different vibe for each episode.

We were also in a place, I think a lot of shows tell their crews and tell their guest directors, we want your thumb print to be on this show, but they dont really mean it. For us, it was totally the case. I saw a lot of wide-eyed directors down there filled with excitement and fear. They were given the reins artistically. In episode 5 there was a whole set that was built that defies gravity. It switches gravitational pull into different directions. None of that was scripted. The director in that episode worked with the production designer to create this whole concept. He took a scene that was a pretty straightforward scene and turned it into this little miracle, an awesome moment. I dont think theres a lot of shows that give their directors or their department heads creative freedom like that. It just let people off the hook. Our costume designer, Danielle Knox, and our production designer, Andrew Orlando, come from this grindhousy kind of world. They love those kinds of movies so they just pulled it off fast. They really leaned into the challenge of making a 45-minute movie of a different genre every week and god knows how they managed to pull it off.

James: Yes, we talked about Videodrome in the writers room. We talked a lot about Cronenberg. We really described the world as if Roger Corman and David Cronenberg helped god create the world. Because Roger Corman is a visionary in a lot of ways. He gets knocked down a lot because of the quality of his pictures, but a lot of them are better than people give him credit for. I just saw The Man With the X-Ray Eyes at a little festival and its the damnedest film. Even though some of its pretty dated and the low budget.

But then you take Cronenberg who lived in this world of schlocky, weird shit, man, but theres an intelligence to it. No matter how silly it got theres always a gravity that would kind of surprise you, or an imagery that would unsettle you and was very striking. And that was, especially in the side of the world that Christopher [Thomas Dominique] and Aki [Marama Corlett] and Heart Enterprises have, we talked about Cronenberg quite a bit.

I spoke with Corman for the newest Death Race reboot, and he saw it as a social commentary, so Im wondering: The Scar is caused by fracking, is this ultimately ecologically conscious grindhouse?

John: Truthfully, not really as much as you think. I mean were always in the room, certainly thinking about the world at large, but we werent necessarily trying to make an allegory. The number one rule for us was entertain, and if there was a chance to have a little fun with satire, we would lean into that direction. Certainly in the world that James created where gas is extraordinarily expensive, you see that water is being fought over. We never thinking of it as a future dystopia, we were always framed it as a stark vision of 1999.

The fracking thing, at the time of the writing, it was kind of on the decline. It may increase again under the new administration. But we heard all the horror stories of what could happen with fracking. It made a great place to indicate that to be so dependent on these fossil fuels is inherently evil because eventually theyll be gone and then what will happen?

James: The scar also is something that evolved for us.

John: So we put those together. The stuff coming out of the Scar went beyond oil. For the basis of that need to destroy something so you can live for a time in greater comfort, the stuff coming out of the scar was perfect. Its just pure evil. Its selfishness and greed and all those things. Theres nothing altruistic about it. It takes you to your worst place.

James: The concept of fracking, which just personifies the way we treat the world, were hurdling through space on this thing we call our home and were cracking it and breaking it and sucking it dry. I understand why we need oil for stuff like that. Im not crazy, but from the other perspective, its like, what the fuck are we doing? So when we struck upon that idea, even calling it the Scar was intentional. We have to face the fact that weve permanently hurt ourselves. All of that stuff was intentional, but Johns right. Ultimately, theres not much we can do about this, so lets have fun with it.

I also saw commentary in small details, like how the cops make their quotas in teeth. Did that come from living in LA?

James: Yeah, all that stuff, like the cameras being judge, jury and executioner, was from how everyone thought mounted cameras have been shown statistically to make everything better. All the interactions between policemen and civilians go smoother because everyones being watched and everyones on their best behavior. But that could so easily shift, because if one side controls where that data goes, then who is actually watching and who is supervising? We tried to pull all of those things. Things that are actually going on in our world and try and twist it and make it as terrible as possible.

Christina Orchoas great uncle is a Nobel prize-winning biochemist. Were you tempted to go to him for the science behind running a car on human blood?

James: We dont need to go to him. We can go to her, man. Shes one of the smartest people Ive ever met. She had some fun with that. She runs in very elite scientific circles. At least elite by my standards. At some point she actually did have somebody working on whether it was possible, and the answer is no. We always knew that. There is going to be a certain amount of people who watch the show who go its impossible for cars to run on human blood. But its impossible for a person to turn into a wolf and run around during the full moon too. Monsters have always been metaphors and these cars, theyre just the monsters of the show, in many ways. But she totally went down that road too and had a lot of fun with it.

Which character best represents you on the show?

James: John you go first.

John: Oh my god. I guess, probably as the showrunner, when you see Slink arguing with executives or putting up with whatever he puts up with, when we were in the room, those things we discussed. But honestly, all these things came out of Rolands insane head. You wouldnt know that from meeting James, hes the nicest guy in the world, but theres some dark shit up there.

James: My wife always likes to say that I split myself in half and one half was Arthur and the other half was Slink, which is weird. I think Arthur kinds of clings to his morality and his demanding of rules and that chaos shouldnt be going on. Even in the face of impossible odds. Our show is a David and Goliath story and theres no fucking way Goliath would have lost. Lets face it. Its a myth for a reason. I basically took that part of my personality and put it into a body I will never have and that would be Arthur. And all of the writers and key creators of the show are connected with Slink in that kind of way because everybody is scared of this thing that they create. That this thing they put all this work into is going to go out there and everyones going to tear it apart and shit on it or not like it. Try to make it their own. Every artists feels that way when theyre creating something.

So Slink was a way to live out those dark desires. We see that in the first trailer, you try to give me notes and Im going to throw a knife in your chest. It sounds creepy to say, but its wish fulfillment. Im friends with all our executives, we have a great working relationship. Its not to say that that obviously is all hyperbole and ridiculousness. But when you like somebody and they hesitate and go, ah, but lets talk about things I dont like, that always sucks. Theres no way that doesnt suck. It makes sense that writers and creators really connect with Slink.

Is there really much difference between making a show like this and working on Shield or Madmen?

John: Well theres a huge budgetary difference. For my part, Im not sure now, the Blood Drive experience was very different. Because every time you have an idea, we have great writers on this show and we would sit in a room together and, normally, when youre writing a show, someone will say oh this is a crazy idea, we could never use this. That was always the idea on Blood Drive we would end up using. There was no boundary to what we could do, as long as we hung on to the narrative of the story, we had a lot of freedom.

The downside to that is, if the canvass is too big, you can end up being a little sloppy. I think we guarded against that by making sure we never did quote unquote gags or went to an easy gag. We always tried to keep it connected to our world. I would say and I dont think this is hyperbole there is nothing like Blood Drive on the air, at least not to my knowledge. And I cant even remember a time when it was. Its sort of a one-hour action-drama with a lot of comedy but its also inside of a genre that for some reason, I dont think even Netflix has a comparison, there nothing that does grindhouse. And James will tell you that when we were premiering this thing at the Egyptian he made the point that was really smart. When youre making a show for this little money its not grindhouse, it forces to you have to make grindhouse decisions. We didnt have the money to shoot certain things so we had to figure it out the way they had to figure it out in the 70s and the 80s, when they didnt have the money.

If you freeze screen the first episode youll see that theres a guy driving early on. It was fairly obviously a male driver with a wig and a goatee, not Christina. And we were going back and forth on what to do and James emailed us and said, hey if this is grindhouse we leave it. You just have to defend your buddy. Like other shows Ive worked on, in terms of another show Im running now, youd would always fix it. You would worry that these little details would ruin the experience but on Blood Drive those little details actually enhance the experience.

James: Well, on those other shows, I was grabbing coffee. But all of that rings true. That was the challenge and the hurdle we faced every week in the writers room was how crazy can we get? Great. We always said lets use the crazy a safety net never as a crutch, because if we fail on a scene its gonna be weird enough with tension to be enjoyable, but you never want to depend on that. you want to try and build up a character-driven scene in the middle of an action sequence just like any other show.

Stunt driving, is it any easier now than it was in the seventies because of the effects they didnt have then?

John: Roland, go ahead.

James: One of the things that saved us was being able to do all the car stuff on a sound stage, but also we knew, even on Madmen. I loved Madmen, and there werent many shows that looked as good as Madmen, and yet when they did driving, and it was green-screen driving you could very much tell that it was green-screen driving. It was the best green screen driving on TV, but it was still green screen driving. We went the other way. We actually used rear projection for the driving and used a videogame engine to generate the exteriors. We could alter the angles of the sun. We could alter everything in that environment around those cars at a reasonable price because we also blew it out and did these cool silver things. So it didnt have to be 100 percent photorealistic David Straiton and our EVP Huroan LEay came up with this amazing way to kind of shoot through glass and these weird filters to give this really cool effect to the inside of the car. That saved our ass.

In the seventies, theyd be shooting this thing for real. With a guy in the back seat with a mounted camera or it you would have to make a process trailer, which takes forever. So, yeah, I think that definitely saved our ass and modern technology saved our ass. We always said that it would. We look at 16 millimeter film through this nostalgic lens and it certainly looks beautiful, but if Corman had a digital camera they would have grabbed it in an instant. As long as the aesthetic was okay, and they didnt care about aesthetic to a certain degree but ultimately it was how do we get this done. We couldnt have made this show if we didnt have modern technology.

I have a sense that the 10 million is a bait and switch. Im afraid to ask, but is the Blood Drive a larger audition that theyre on?

John: Its gonna take you to a place where, we felt when we got to the end of this thing, there were some surprises for us. James came in with a five-year plan for the show and at the end of the season we always get to a more interesting place if it sticks to James original vision. After this whole thing has made its run, lets get on the phone again and talk about it.

Do you remember your first cars?

John: Mine was a 1988 honda Civic. 1980.

James: Better than mine, I dont know year but I had a 3 cylindar Geo Metro, I didnt even know it was possible. It was basically a golf cart.

John: James was in such a daze when he got back from Cape Town, cos he had just gotten a new car that had been in a car in a garage for six months that, the first time you drove it, didnt you crash it?

James: Yeah, I pulled out to the end of the driveway. Looked left, looked right and pulled right in front of somebody, It was a pretty fitting welcome home to America after leaving to film car insanity.

I take it that neither of you were big drag racers.

John: Theres not much drag racing in Clevland, Ohio.

James: I think the reason why we focused on Classic American Cars as much as possible is the artistry, I love them. The Camero is a gorgeous piece of art. Its incredible. Weve gotten away from that, to a certain degree. But also somebody asked me, one of the writers, you must be really into cars and stuff. I said, well, I wrote a show where cars literally destroy the world and then turn into monsters. Car culture is a two headed beast. I love vehicles as much as any other red-blooded American but theres a price for that. The pride that we put into these things literally emit poisons as you drive them., Were seeing the long-term ramifications of that. That was always the metaphor: a beautiful red Camero and when you open the hood, theres something dark underneath.

Blood Drivepremieres on Syfy on June 14th.

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Blood Drive Creator Talks Grindhouse, Censorship, Cop Erections - Den of Geek US

Photo credit: Anthony Souffle for Star Tribune

Now that Scaffold has come down andplans for what to do with the wood are underway, several organizations are publicly criticizing the Walker Art Centers actions in the case.

In astatement issued June 9, a group led by the National Coalition Against Censorship took issue with both the outcome and the process by which theWalker agreed to dismantle "Scaffold," which began on Friday, June 2, only seven days after Walker executive director Olga Viso opened public discussion about the sculpture by posting an open letter to the American Indian community.

"The Walkers decision to destroy Scaffold as a way to respond to protests sets an ominous precedent: not only does it weaken the institutions position in future programming but sends a chill over artists and other cultural institutions commitment to creating and exhibiting political, socially relevant work," said the statement from NCAC, which represents more than 50 organizations. The statement also was endorsed by the literary organizationPEN America, the International Association of Art Critics, Observatoire de la libert de cration (France), International Art Rights Advisors, Freemuse defending artistic freedom, Index on Censorship and Stichting In den Vreemde.

Moreover, the statement said, "The hasty decision did not allow for time to obtain meaningful feedback from the broader community or consider various options to respond to the concerns raised by Dakota leaders."

Recognizing theneed for cultural organizations and artists to respond in "creative ways" to such controversies, the coalition had reached out to the Walker, according toJoy Garnett, Arts Advocacy Program Associate at NCAC.

We were in communication with the Walker after the controversy erupted, Garnett said. We decided we might offer our assistance or sounding board we know that these things can be very complex. [The Walker] didnt take our advice to move more slowly. They moved quickly.

The timing of the protests wasinopportune for the Walker, which had planned the sculpture as part of the June 3 reopening of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. It made another fast decision: topush back the openinguntil June 10.

Sam Durants Scaffold was a large wooden-and-steel structure composite of the gallows used in seven U.S.-state sanctioned executions, including the abolitionist John Brown (1859), the Dakota 38 (1862), the Lincoln Conspirators (1865), Saddam Hussein (2006), and several others. Facing starvation, a number of Dakota took up arms in 1862 after being forced onto reservations and cheated out of money they were owed. The six-week U.S.-Dakota War cost the lives of an estimated 600 white settlers and soldiers, and 100 Dakota warriors. The Dakota 38 was the largest mass execution in U.S. history.

Protests over the works placement in the Minneapolis Sculpture Gardenbegan on Friday, May 27after Walker Director Olga Viso posted an open letter to The Circle, an American Indian newspaper in St. Paul.The Walkers decision todismantle and remove the sculpturehappenedthe next day, Saturday May 27. One week later, on Friday, June 2,the piece was dismantledin a ceremony with Dakota elders and spiritual leaders.

The Dakota communityhasput a hold on any proposed burning, taking time to reconvene in-person with elders and spiritual leaders from different parts of North America. They willmeet on June 25to decide what to do with the wood, which is being held in an undisclosed location within the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

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National Coalition Against Censorship criticizes Walker for decision ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Lawless describes how her femme presentation, queer identity and sex work inhibit her access to spaces designated as safe for any one of these intersecting parts of her identity. Photograph: Byron Spencer/Archer Magazine

The cover for Archer Magazines new issue was released this week. We commissioned photographer Byron Spencer to shoot Tilly Lawless, a Sydney-based sex worker and activist, who penned a piece for this issue. Of the images, the one that most encapsulated Archer Magazine and everything we stand for individuality, empowerment, fluidity, authenticity and attitude happened to show one of Lawlesss nipples.

We knew wed have to cover the nipple. Even if we could somehow bypass the censorship laws around visibility on newsstands, which would impact our stockists across Australia, USA, UK and Germany, we would still have the issue of social media. There was no way Facebook, Instagram or Twitter would allow the un-censored cover image to last on their interfaces for long.

So we did what any good editorial team would do: we placed a political message Uncensor me! on a removable sticker over the nipple, giving our readers agency to free Lawlesss nipple. We incorporated a bright-pink sticker into a cover design that was frankly in need of some colour anyway, and then we wrote to a couple of news outlets with a piece about the situation, giving us a larger platform for our message.

We made the best of a bad situation. But the real irony of this enforced censorship lies in Lawlesss article content. Extrapolating on the spaces theme, Lawless describes how her femme presentation, queer identity and sex work inhibit her access to spaces designated as safe for any one of these intersecting parts of her identity. In spaces designated for sex workers, her queer identity is not always welcome. In queer spaces, her line of work can be stigmatised, or else she is excluded for appearing too femme to be a lesbian.

I have given up my search for the perfect space. Instead, Ive moulded my own, with the rage and frustration of being unwelcome in others. Ive smoothed it with my tears of rejection, and then stepped inside it: the one place I can be safe.

Now, our society has dictated that Lawlesss feminine body must be censored before she can grace the cover of a progressive, inclusive and independently-published magazine. Now that, Alanis, is irony. (Im just kidding, Alanis, I love you and I never cared about the song.)

At Archer Magazine, we dont make a lot of compromises on content, but there are rules we need to follow to effectively share the voices we work so hard to amplify.

In a way, these roadblocks offer opportunities to illustrate or interrogate our flawed social system, and the many ideologies that restrict our behaviour, and the decisions we make as members of this society.

Its a reminder to stay vigilant to the stringent guidelines were expected to adhere to, the incessant conditioning that slips beneath our awareness until something shakes us and were awoken to it.

Lawless is one individual who shakes and tears at the binds society uses to contain us. At this roadblock, Im considering where else these binds hold us.

How would we behave, if we were allowed to look and act like any mesh of genders, ages, sexualities, life situations and cultures, without the guidebook were threatened with, day after day? How would women behave if we werent conditioned from birth to stay hyper-aware of how were perceived by the male gaze?

Crucially, how would our creative pursuits differ if we had freedom to express our message, as long as it was respectful and thoughtful?

Archer Magazine aims to do all these things, and even we are bound occasionally. That doesnt mean we wont put up a fight. We need to keep battling, and use restriction and censorship as a platform for argument and dissent.

As Lawless writes in her piece for Archer Magazine #8: Im used to having to build my own spaces, by tooth and nail, stiletto and pen. A small space clawed out of an unforgiving, formidable cli.

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How an exposed nipple forced us to think about safe spaces and censorship - The Guardian

Sony is giving away clean versions of itsmovies, as a free extra, in a blatant cash-grab. The free part makes it sound like the company isdoing us a favor; you dont have to watch it but its there if you want it.

That sounds great when you think of it in terms of watching Spider-Man 2 with my child. The website, Clean Versions, reveals that there are seven instances of language removed from the edited version. Awesome, now I dont have to worry about bad language when I watch the movie with my kid right?

That may sound like a solution, but whats the problem? Who needs movies that have already been made to retroactively be made safe for kid-viewing?

Sony is taking something meant for public consumption and, instead of rating it for what it is, changing it so that it can be rated for maximum profit. A representative for Adam McKay, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, intimated that the director wouldnt have agreed to anything like that when he made movies for Sony.

Judd Apatow isnt too keen on the idea either:

You wouldnt snap Davids penis off so that your child could gain a greater appreciation of the human form without being exposed to male genitalia youd find a different piece of art to show them until you felt it was appropriate for them to see Michelangelos work for what it is.

Only the artist responsible for a pieces creation can change the art without destroying it. After that, every change brings it one step removed from the original. Movies may often be released with different versions, but again the distinction is that these are agreed to ahead of time.

The artists who create the movies deserve to be aware of how their work is being interpreted for audiences. Sony is wrong here, for no other reason than creating new versions of movies without consulting the creators beforehand. Whether you think Step-Brothers is art or not is up to you.

Read next: Microsoft AI sets Ms. Pac-Man record in latest blow to human superiority

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Sony's movie censorship initiative is a middle finger to art - TNW

USA Today Network Mike Davis, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press Published 9:31 p.m. ET June 12, 2017 | Updated 9:44 p.m. ET June 12, 2017

Grant Berardo, a Wall High School junior, saw his image digitally altered with a plain black T-shirt in his yearbook. Mike Davis

Wall Township High School junior Grant Berardo's T-shirt was digitally altered in the school's yearbook. He wore a Donald Trump campaign shirt for his portrait.(Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Berardo, Jr.)

WALL, N.J. The Wall High School teacher and adviser of the yearbook club has been suspended due to alleged censorship of images and quotes by students supporting President Trump.

Superintendent Cheryl Dyer said Monday that the teacher, who she declined to name, was suspended "pending further disciplinary action" from the school board.

On the high school's website, the yearbook club's adviser is listed as Susan Parsons. According to public records, she collected an$87,950 salary last year.

"I don't have definitive answers to all of my questions yet, but I knew enough at this point to get board approval to take that action," Dyer said.

Related:

Teen's Trump T-shirt censored in yearbook photo

Fact check: No, Neil Gorsuch didnt start a fascism club in high school

Dyer declined to identify what disciplinary action could be taken. Termination would require the board to file tenure charges against her.

According to her LinkedIn page, Parsons has worked in the district for 15 years.

On her yearbook class's website within the district homepage, Parsonsincludes "photo editing" as one of the "real world skills" that students learn during yearbook production.

She did not return a call to her home seeking comment.In an interview with the New York Post, she said we have never made any action against any political party.

But when asked if she knew who altered the photos, Parsons simply said, Im going to hang up.

Wall Township High School junior Grant Berardo's T-shirt was digitally altered in the school's yearbook. He wore a Donald Trump campaign shirt for his portrait.(Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Berardo, Jr.)

There have been three reported instances of censorship in the yearbook, all revolving around students supporting Trump.

Grant Berardo, a junior at the school, took his school pictures wearing a navy blue "Make America Great Again" shirt from the campaign. But in the yearbook, his photo had been digitally altered so it resembled a nondescript black T-shirt, which you can see in the video at top of the story.

It was Photoshopped," Grant said in an interview on Friday. "I sent it to my mom and dad, just like You wont believe this. I was just overall disappointed.

"I like Trump, but its history too. Wearing that shirt memorializes the time," he said.

According to CNN, a brother and sister at the school also alleged censorship. Wyatt Debrovich-Fago wore a sweater vest in his picture with a Trump campaign logo, but it was seemingly cropped out of the photo.

His sister, Montana, served as president of the school's freshman class. That role usually comes with a quote next to a picture, and Montana selected: "I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big."

"I want to know who thought it was OK to do this," Janet Dobrovich-Fago, the teens' mother, told CNN. "I want the school to seek disciplinary action and to be held accountable."

In a statement released Sunday night, Wall school board President Allison Connolly said the board "found the allegations of wrongdoing disturbing and take the charge that students have had their free speech rights infringed upon very seriously."

Wall High School(Photo: File photo)

In a previous interview, Dyer saidthe only reason a student's image would be altered isif itwasin violation of the dress code clothing referencingdrugs, alcohol or violence. Political messages are "absolutely not" a violation, she said.

A spokesman for Jostens, the companythat takes the photographs and prints the yearbooks, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

It's not immediately clear whether the change was made by someone from the school district or photography company.

In an interview, Joseph BerardoJr. Grant's father called for the school to recall the yearbooks and reissue new ones with the unaltered photo. He said he would consider legal action if that doesnt happen.

From my perspective, I dont understand the censorship, Berardo said.I think it was probably politically motivated. It was inherently offensive to somebody and they made a decision to Photoshop it and without discussion, which is the worst part."

The problem would be "equally" as egregious if images of clothing supporting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton also had been altered, Berardo said.

What are you doing? Dont you go to school to debate this stuff at the collegiate level, at the high school level, asked Berardo. Whats frustrating to me is that this was the first election he took interest in, but what message did the school send?

Follow Mike Davis on Twitter:@byMikeDavis

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The Egyptian authorities have shifted their onslaught against media freedom to the digital sphere, blocking access to more than 40 news sites without justification in recent weeks, in an attempt to eliminate the countrys last remaining spaces for criticism and free expression, said Amnesty International.

At least 63 websites have been blocked in total since 24 May according to the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, including 48 news sites. Mada Masr, an independent news site which regularly published news and analysis deeply critical of the authorities was among the first to be blocked. Most recently on 11 June the Egyptian news sites Albedaiah, run by independent journalist Khaled al Balshy, Elbadil and Bawabit Yanair were blocked. Access to the global online publishing platform Medium was also cut off on 10 June.

The latest clampdown on digital media is further evidence of Egypts age-old police state tactics in motion. Even in the darkest days of the repressive Mubarak era the authorities didnt cut off access to all independent news sites, said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty Internationals North Africa Campaigns director.

With this move the Egyptian authorities seem to be targeting the few remaining spaces for free expression in the country. It shows just how determined the authorities are to prevent Egyptians from accessing independent reporting, analysis and opinion about Egypt. The authorities must immediately stop arbitrarily blocking news websites.

With this move the Egyptian authorities seem to be targeting the few remaining spaces for free expression in the country

On 24 May, state media announced that Egyptian authorities had blocked a group of websitesincluding the prominent independent news platforms Mada Masr, Daily News Egypt, Elborsa and Masr Al Arabia. The authorities failed to provide any evidence of illegal activity or to clarify the legal basis for the decision. Instead officials made vague statements to the media saying this was in connection with publishing false information and supporting terrorism.

On 25 May, Egyptian newspapers published reports citing a sovereign agency (a term usually used to refer to Egyptian intelligence agencies) justifying the move on the grounds of combating terrorism and accusing Qatar of supporting some of the blocked websites, again without providing evidence.

Amnesty International has reviewed the list of blocked websites. The majority are news sites but the list also includes sites where VPN and TOR, which can be used to access blocked sites, can be downloaded. Amnesty International was able to identify only one website connected to groups that use or advocate violence.

Many of the sites that have been blocked had served as a refuge for Egypts remaining critical voices who no longer are allowed to appear on TV or in the print media, which have been firmly in the grip of the state since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power.

The independent news and analysis website Mada Masr is known for unflinchingly exposing human rights violations committed by the Egyptian authorities in recent years, including arbitrary detention, unfair trials, the crackdown on human rights NGOs, extrajudicial executions and the use of the death penalty.

The sites editor-in-chief, Lina Attallah, told Amnesty International that she believes the site was blocked because it publishes well-researched investigations based on verified information. We publish what authorities dont want people to read, she said.

The Egyptian government appears to be exploiting recent violent attacks by armed groups in the country to crack down on the remaining free space and silence critical voices. Once again the authorities are using national security grounds to justify outright repression, said Najia Bounaim.

Instead of attacking critical and independent voices Egypt should respect the obligations enshrined in its own constitution and in international law not to impose arbitrary restrictions on freedom of expression and to protect the right of everyone to seek, receive and share information.

Once again the authorities are using national security grounds to justify outright repression

The governments decision to block these websites also flouts Egypts constitution, which prohibits censorship of the media, except at times of war and military mobilization, and protects freedom of expression and press freedom both in print and digital formats. The constitution also upholds the right of all citizens to use telecommunication tools and methods.

The legal grounds and authority the government has used to block these sites is ambiguous and it remains unclear whether emergency law provisions were applied. There are, however, a number of Egyptian laws that can be used to censor the media and the internet, on the grounds of national security.

After the bombing of two churches in Tanta and Alexandria in April 2017, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency. An hour later, the authorities confiscated that days edition of Albawaba newspaper, which demanded that the Minister of Interior be held accountable for failing to prevent the bombing.

Under emergency laws, the authorities have broad powers to impose surveillance and censorship on media. On 10 April, the head of the Egyptian parliament, Dr Ali Abdelal announced that these laws will extend to social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. He added that these platforms were being used as means of communication between terrorists and warned that online offenders would face prosecution.

The vaguely worded articles of Egypts counterterrorism law also allow punishments of up to 15 years in prison for establishing a website for the purpose of promoting terrorist ideas and grant the authorities the power to block websites suspected of promoting terrorism.

Two of the blocked websites, Daily News Egypt and Elborsa, belong to the Business News Company, which is licensed by the government. In November 2016, the government froze the companys assets under the pretext that it belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood, without providing evidence to support this claim. The papers 230 staff have not received their salaries since.

Representatives of many of the websites affected have filed complaints with the Press Syndicate, the National Council for Media, the Ministry Communications and the Public Prosecutor, but so far received no response. Mada Masr has filed an appeal against the decision to block its website before an administrative court, but it has not yet heard the appeal.

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Dozens of news sites blocked as Egypt ramps up digital censorship - Amnesty International