Movies
[Toys] Dear Shelf Space, Please Make Room For These Universal Monsters…
The newest assortment of Universal Monsters action figures is out now at Toys”R”Us and is coming soon to comic shops and specialty stores, as well as an all-new figure of the greatest monster hunter of all time, reports Figures, who also shares some new pack shots.
Currently at Toys “R” Us are two brand-new 7-inch-scale action figures: Frankenstein’s Monster as he appears in Son of Frankenstein, and a super-poseable version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Both feature entirely new sculpts by Jean St. Jean, and both come packaged on a blister card with a small display base. Additionally, the Monster comes with the prosthetic arm of Inspector Krogh.
As a bonus, hanging alongside the Creature and Monster is Diamond Select Toys’ original take on the famous monster hunter, Van Helsing! Also sculpted by St. Jean, Van Helsing stands around 7 inches tall, and comes armed with an axe, a sword, a crossbow and a rifle, all of which can be carried on his back.
If you don’t have a Toys”R”Us near you, adds the site, all three figures are also coming to your local comic shop in Deluxe Select versions. On September 17th, the Universal Monsters Select editions of the Monster and Creature arrive, and each comes with a larger diorama base. The Monster’s base replicates the laboratory wreckage from the end of the film, and the Creature comes with an undersea rock formation, complete with tropical fish and a human skull.
The Select version of Van Helsing includes a cemetery base, featuring two headstones and a female vampire rising from the grave. All three Select figures come packaged in larger, display-ready Select packaging, which has spine artwork for easy shelf reference.
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
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