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Ari Mattes

Lecturer in Media Studies, University of Notre Dame Australia

I received a PhD from the English department of the University of Sydney for my thesis, Action! America: The Impulse to Action in American Literature and Film.

Oscars 2025: who will likely win, who should win, and who barely deserves to be there

Mar 02, 2025 16:43 pm UTC| Insights & Views Entertainment

Weve probably all had a moment when we stopped taking the Oscars too seriously. For me, it was when Denzel Washington won best actor for Training Day (2001), a crime film in which he displays virtually none of his acting...

At $300m, Jules Verne-inspired Nautilus is the most expensive Australian-made show. But Disney+ was right to dump it

Oct 25, 2024 12:04 pm UTC| Entertainment

Investing in film and TV productions is a risky venture. Even the best directors and producers are just a flop away from ruining their careers. So if a company owns the intellectual property to a popular material, or if...

I watched some 40 films at this year’s Sydney Film Festival. Here are my top five picks – and one hilarious flop

Jun 20, 2024 05:39 am UTC| Entertainment

This years Sydney Film Festivals rich offerings of films more than compensated for the minor technical issues that led to some screenings being interrupted. Out of the 40-odd films I saw, here are my top five, along...

Classic Aussie cinema and new twists on old classics: our picks of December streaming

Dec 04, 2023 12:33 pm UTC| Entertainment

At a time when it feels like it can be impossible to keep up with all the different streaming platforms both in time and in money the appearance of a new platform that breaks through the noise is something...

Monolith considers the cultural and social implications of new technology, without overdoing it

Oct 27, 2023 15:07 pm UTC| Technology

This review may contain spoilers. One of the socially redeeming features of mass media has always been its communal aspect, the fact people are drawn together into a shared experience based on network programming. Of...

All the cinema (and sequels) we have to look forward to in 2023

Dec 30, 2022 10:21 am UTC| Entertainment

Well, this might be because it is at least when it comes to the American cinematic media ecology, with the majority of the most-hyped Hollywood films for 2023 being sequels and reboots. One would be forgiven for giving...

From Dune to The Power of the Dog: our predictions for the Oscars 2022 best picture

Mar 27, 2022 14:11 pm UTC| Entertainment

There were some extraordinary films released in 2021: Ninja Thybergs Pleasure, an electric neon romp through the porn world, Ildikó Enyedis period epic, The Story of My Wife, Paul Verhoevens nun-film,...

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Economy

KOSPI Plunges Over 8% as U.S.-Iran War Sparks Global Risk Aversion and Profit-Taking

South Koreas KOSPI index tumbled sharply on Wednesday, falling more than 8% and triggering a temporary halt in stock trading as investors reacted to escalating geopolitical tensions and rising energy prices linked to the...

China Factory Activity Surges to Five-Year High as Demand Boosts Manufacturing PMI

Chinas manufacturing sector showed strong momentum in February, with factory activity expanding at the fastest pace since December 2020, supported by stronger domestic and overseas demand. A private-sector survey released...

Gold Prices Rebound in Asia as U.S.–Iran Tensions Support Safe-Haven Demand

Gold prices moved higher during Asian trading on Wednesday, recovering some of the sharp losses from the previous session as investors reassessed demand for safe-haven assets amid escalating geopolitical tensions between...

Asian Markets Slide as Middle East Conflict Sparks Oil Price Surge and Inflation Fears

Asian financial markets fell sharply on Wednesday as investors rushed to reduce exposure to previously crowded trades in gold and semiconductor stocks. The market downturn was driven by escalating concerns that a widening...

Dollar Hits Three-Month High as Middle East Conflict Drives Energy Prices and Market Volatility

The U.S. dollar surged to a three-month high during early Asian trading on Wednesday as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed investors away from the euro and toward safe-haven assets. The growing conflict...

Politics

Michael Whatley Wins North Carolina GOP Senate Primary, Setting Up High-Stakes Battle With Roy Cooper

Michael Whatley, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has won the Republican primary for North Carolinas open U.S. Senate seat, according to media projections. The victory positions Whatley for a closely watched...

U.S. Officials Review Tencent’s Stakes in Epic Games, Riot Games Over Security Concerns

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly evaluating whether Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) should be allowed to keep its ownership stakes in several major video game...

U.S. Begins Charter Evacuations as Iran Conflict Disrupts Middle East Air Travel

The United States has begun facilitating charter evacuation flights for American citizens stranded across the Middle East after the escalating U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran severely disrupted global aviation and...

U.S. Preparing Possible Corruption Charges Against Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing a potential criminal case against Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez as part of broader efforts to increase U.S. leverage over Venezuelas government, according to...

Trump Defends Extended U.S.-Israel Military Campaign Against Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump has defended the ongoing U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran, signaling that the conflict could last longer than initially expected. The operation, which began with coordinated...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Defense Contractors Move to Drop Anthropic AI After Trump Administration Ban

Major U.S. defense contractors are expected to remove Anthropics AI tools from their supply chains following a directive from the Trump administration, even though legal experts say the ban could face serious challenges in...

OpenAI Explores New Code-Hosting Platform to Reduce Dependence on GitHub

OpenAI is reportedly developing a new code-hosting platform that could eventually compete with Microsofts GitHub, according to a recent report citing sources familiar with the initiative. The project is still in its early...

Facebook Outage Disrupts Thousands of Users Across the United States

Meta Platforms Facebook experienced a widespread outage on Tuesday that affected thousands of users across the United States, according to data from Downdetector.com, a website that tracks service disruptions for major...

Lockheed Martin Secures $1.9B U.S. Air Force Contract for C-130J Training and Maintenance Systems

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has secured a $1.9 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to support the C-130J Maintenance and Training System IV (JMATS IV)...

OpenAI and U.S. Defense Department Update Agreement to Clarify AI Usage Terms

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company is working with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to update their existing agreement, reinforcing clear boundaries around how OpenAIs technology, including ChatGPT, can...