In A Fortnite Far, Far Away

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Happy Wednesday, Future Party. If you’re looking to really upgrade your cocktail, the biggest flex might not be top-shelf spirits, but top-shelf ice. Brands in Greenland are selling cubes harvested from its glaciers, and they are not cheap — a pack of six cubes from startup Arctic Ice goes for $100. With the global ice market expected to reach $7.23 billion by 2027, drinking luxury ice may become a fresh trend.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

Star Wars Lands In the World Of Fortnite

Disney and Epic Games are building out their partnership with a new playable Star Wars world and the premiere of a new animated show inside Fortnite.

The Big Play: Last year, Disney made a $1.5 billion investment in Epic as a play to move deeper into the world of video games — the most popular form of entertainment for Gen Z. The new Star Wars launch within Fortnite is not only the Mouse House’s biggest push yet into the space, but it’s also an attempt to create an interactive thread between all things Disney.

Between the Experiences: The Force is strong with Fortnite.

• On May 2nd, Fortnite is starting a new Battle Royale season centered around Star Wars, titled Fortnite: Galactic Battle, which will have several playable characters, items, and Easter eggs from the Disney IP.

• That day, players will also get early access to watch a new animated show, Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, which doesn’t premiere on Disney+ until May 4th. 

• Players can keep battling while watching the show in the background, making it a second-screen experience within the same screen.

The Future: The ultimate goal of the Disney/Epic partnership is to build an entirely new in-game universe with the studio’s IP. Disney experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro said that the ambition is for it “to be a place where all fans can come and interact 365 days a year.”

The Star Wars partnership has a sneaky little feature to get closer to that goal — players will be able to link their Epic Games accounts to their myDisney accounts. In exchange for that data crossover, users will get a special stormtrooper skin for doing so — the first uniform of Disney’s metaverse future.

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Natasha Lyonne Is Directing A Movie With A Little Help From AI

Actress and filmmaker Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face, Russian Doll) is making her directorial debut with Uncanny Valley — a video game-set project that will blend live action and AI.

The Big Picture: By making a movie using AI, Lyonne — a well-respected artist in Hollywood’s creative community — could chart a path for how the film industry might use the cutting-edge (yet controversial) tech in a way that ethically and humanely expands a filmmaker’s vision.

Behind the Scenes: Uncanny Valley is the first movie to come out of Lyonne and Bryn Mooser’s AI studio, Asteria.

• The film, which is “centered on a teenage girl who becomes unmoored by a hugely popular AR video game in a parallel present,” was written by Lyonne and Brit Marling (The OA, A Murder at the End of the World). Both women will also star.

• The game elements will be designed by renowned tech innovator (and infamous tech skeptic) Jaron Lanier, who was an influential thinker at Microsoft Research. He was also a consultant on Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report.

• The production will use an AI system called “Marey,” developed by startup Moonvalley, which is trained exclusively on copyright-cleared data.

• Since the movie is being made independently, it’s still unclear whether it will debut in theaters or on a streaming service.

End Credits: Lyonne described the project as if “Dianne Wiest and Diane Keaton, at their loquacious best, decided to take a journey through The Matrix for sport, only to find themselves holding up an architectural blueprint.” That’s pretty… wild. But it just goes to show how surreal or avant-garde AI-powered filmmaking could get. If the movie turns out great, Lyonne might potentially be the first major filmmaker of the format.

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DEEP DIVES

• Listen: The Town chats with director, producer, and former stuntman David Leitch (The Fall Guy, Bullet Train) about how the Oscars’ new stunt category will work.

• Watch: Forbes sits down with Dominick Kovacs, the founder of AI video startup Colossyan, to discuss how training videos are replacing human actors with AI generations.

• Take: WSJ prepared a quiz to see if you’re tipping less these days… as most people are.

69.1% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Have you gone to a music fest in recent years?

“Honestly, with the horrific things that seem to happen at events, I just keep myself at home and look for highlights on socials.”

“It’s all become too corporate and expensive. Besides, I just can’t stand the crowds anymore.”

“Lining up the time and money is the challenge.”

“Yes! Love them! From Austin City Limits to Stagecoach and Coachella — and more!”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

💰 Kendrick Lamar has become the first rapper to earn $9 million in ticket sales in one night after playing at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

🏈 Former NY Giants quarterback Eli Manning is organizing a bid to take a minority stake in the team.

🎓  Yale University is adding a course on Bad Bunny that will use the artist’s music to explore his cultural impact and what it reveals about the Puerto Rican diaspora.

→ Technology

🛰️ Amazon finally launched its first batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites aboard a rocket created by United Launch Alliance.

🤖 Meta is rolling out a dedicated app for its AI chatbot after integrating the system across its social media apps.

🦉 Duolingo announced that it’ll become an “AI-first” company and start to use chatbots instead of contractors.

→ Fashion / E-commerce

🇺🇸 Walmart is introducing a new program called “Grow with US,” which will help businesses that make products in the US navigate retail logistics.

🛒 OpenAI is adding shopping features — including product recommendations and buy buttons — within ChatGPT.

🥤 Olipop is opening a soda drive-thru in LA, as functional beverages pop in popularity.