English Entertainment
Colors Infinity takes Mr. Robot across 12 countries via Facebook Live
MUMBAI: This week on Facebook Live, fans of the award-winning series MR. ROBOT witnessed a widespread global marketing stunt courtesy Colors Intinity. For the unique, coordinated campaign, the show’s iconic fsociety “hacked” the MR. ROBOT Facebook page between 1.30AM IST and 7.30PM IST on July 8, to issue a global message against Evil Corp and deliver rants from “fsociety members,” who subscribe to the group’s tenets and mission.
The international movement kicked off in the United States and then rolled out across 12 countries including the U.K., Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India — all of which will premiere Mr. Robot’s second season next week.
While the distinct rants are tonally and thematically similar, each propaganda message was customized by country and delivered in the region’s native tongue. All rants began with the same declaration: “Brothers and sisters, we are fsociety,” an expression of their unified mission — and closed with their hope for the future, “Together we can build a new world where we are finally free.”
Following each Facebook Live rant, a two minute clip from the series’ July 14 Season 2 premiere was unveiled to fans. The clip featured a flashback of stars Rami Malek and Martin Wallström minutes before their characters, Elliot and Tyrell Wellick, executed the five/nine hack on Evil Corp.
Viacom18 programming head of English entertainment Hashim D’Souza said, “Passionate fans around the globe have embraced the spirit of MR. ROBOT, and we were excited to have India as part of this phenomenon. The fan fervor and interest in the show inspired us to be part of this coordinated global campaign around the second season premiere. Adding to the excitement, week-on-week fans in India will get to watch their favorite show immediately after its US telecast through Instant Premiere on the channel starting with a 2-hour special premiere episode.”
The multiple award-winning and critically acclaimed drama MR. ROBOT was one of the most buzzed about series of 2015. The second season of Mr. Robot is all set to premiere with two back-to-back episodes on Thursday, July 14 at 12 noon only on Colors Infinity.
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
