movies
Joe Mantegna’s ‘The Friendly’ First Feature Adapted By Vertical Studio
EXCLUSIVE: Joe Mantegna‘s The Friendly has become the first feature film to be adapted as a vertical video using interactive studio app HighFive.
The indie pic, which was first distributed in 2024, has been converted using what Highfiv creators Jason Strickman and Kumbáli Satori describe as a creative tool for filmmakers that has a “Swiss army knife of AI features.” The pic was made made available on Tubi and Prime Video as a transactional download on February 1 before being converted.
Criminal Minds and The Simpsons actor Mantegna starred in the film alongside Jessie Borrego, Casey Deidrick, Elpidia Carrillo and Daniela Nieves. Strickland was the director. Billed as a romantic drama and based on a true story, it deals with PTSD, mental health and a dog that saves the day.
“It was a pleasure working with director Jason Strickland and the wonderful cast and crew on The Friendly,” said Mantegna. The film’s mission to raise awareness and support for our U.S. military is something near and dear to me.”
HighFive is billed as the first interactive vertical video studio built for phones and handheld devices. in effect, it allows features to be repurposed for the microdrama viewer, but also also for them to switch into a wider format. The app has debuted a horror-themed season, ParanorMALL, as a showcase of the tech, which was first unveiled nearly three months ago.
Strickland and Satori claim the app can create vertical and immersive experiences that save up to 65% of movie budgets.
Strickland was a child actor in Blosom and The Secret Life of Alex Mack before becoming a producer and director. His In The Light Productions worked with Satori’s HigherKey to devlop the conversion system. “Technology may shape the future of filmmaking, but human emotion will always be the heart of it,” he said.
Satori engineered HigherKey’s proprietary computing and intelligence platform, which the company says can restore legacy films to true 4K resolution and intelligently reconstruct composition, motion, and narrative focus. Strickland suggested the tech was expanded to fully transform movies into vertical format.
“We are creating technology that allows creatives to be creative,” he Satori.
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movies
Disney Names New Consumer Products Marketing Chief As Division Moves Under Studios
Disney has tapped 20-year company veteran Joss Hastings as Senior Vice President, Marketing, Disney Consumer Products reporting jointly to the media giant’s Chief Marketing Officer Asad Ayaz and Disney Consumer Products President Lisa Baldzicki. The appointment follows the recent announcement that Consumer Products will shift from Disney Experiences into Disney Entertainment – Studios.
Hastings, who has worked across consumer products, digital, music, parks and gaming, will lead marketing for the DCP business globally across teams to grow the business, strengthen Disney brands and connect with consumers, working closely with TWDC franchise, studio and business partners.
The longtime Mouse executive was previously VP, Marketing Strategy, and is replacing SVP of global marketing for Disney Consumer Products, Ron Faris, but with a new remit given the shift.
Recently she led Disney’s global Formula 1 partnership and delivered activations that expanded Mickey & Friends’ reach and relevance (including an event at the Las Vegas Grand Prix); a sold-out Gentle Monster collaboration at the Shanghai Grand Prix; and the expansion of the partnership into F1 Academy to capitalize on the growing momentum behind women’s sports.
She spearheaded a collaboration with Vogue where designers from around the world reinterpreted Mickey Mouse through the lens of their favorite era in support of the brand’s 100th anniversary celebration. She’s worked with major brands from LEGO to Lululemon to Gucci and developed award-wining campaigns including Dream Big, Princess, and Force Friday.
“Joss is one of those rare marketers who knows how to turn a big creative idea into something that connects with consumers, shows up in culture and drives the business. She knows Disney, our brands and our fans incredibly well, and has an outstanding track record of bringing teams and partners together on work that breaks through,” Ayaz said. “As Consumer Products enters this next chapter, I can’t think of a better leader to take its marketing forward.”
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movies
‘The Last House’ Debuts At Number One On Netflix Top Ten
After bowing on the platform last week, the Netflix and Chernin thriller The Last House has landed at number one on the Netflix Top Ten with 27.1 million views. That number comes as the fifth best opening for a Netflix original movie in 2026, Chernin now has two of the top original films to release this year on the platform, with Apex opening with 38.2 million views when it bowed in April.
Starring Greta Lee and Wagner Moura and directed by Louis Leterrier, the film follows a family of four are suddenly sealed inside their home with no way out, and must work together to survive against both their dwindling resources and the mysterious, looming threat that is keeping them trapped.
The film caught headlines last week following its viral marketing campaign leading up to the films premiere where the streamer had a man living in a billboard on Sunset Blvd. August 6 through Saturday, August 8. The stunt drew the eyes of not just the West Hollywoood residents and commuters, but social media as well just as the film was opening over the weekend.
As for Chernin, the film joins not only Apex but the company’s hit Man on Fire series starrring Yahya Abdul-Mateen III, which also debuted at number one when it bowed this past April.
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movies
Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato on Camp Rock 3, New Gen Disney Stars
The Jonas Brothers are going back to their Disney roots, both executive producing and reprising their Camp Rock roles in the franchise’s third film.
Camp Rock 3 sees the brothers’ band Connect 3 returning to the camp to look for a new opening act for their tour. This means a whole new cast of campers — led by Malachi Barton and Liamani Segura — are introduced, along with a cameo appearance from fellow O.G. star Demi Lovato (who also serves as an EP).
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the film’s L.A. premiere on Monday, Joe Jonas said that in shooting scenes with Lovato, they “both were looking at these new campers kind of pinching ourselves like wow, this is a pretty wild full circle moment. We’ve all lived so much life and to be where we are today and to create something like this, Camp Rock 3, as producers, wearing the producer hat, I think we were like, ‘This is kind of wild.’”
Walking the carpet alongside Nick Jonas and Kevin Jonas, Joe also weighed in on getting to know the next generation of Disney stars, and how different it is now than when the brothers were first getting famous.
“I don’t envy anybody that’s doing this now, there’s probably a lot more scrutiny,” Joe noted. “Things happen a lot faster, and with that you also have an opportunity to kind of explain yourself quicker; when we were starting, we didn’t have a lot of options — just kind of hope that the article isn’t about you. Now you can at least go on your TikTok and say, ‘Hey guys, I didn’t say that’ or whatever it is.”
Joe Jonas also emphasized that there are more resources now to speak to professionals and get support from the studio, and “we also wanted to make sure that we were running a safe space on set. That was one of our priorities when we signed up to do this, we were like, ‘We want these kids to feel comfortable,’ because ultimately we remember what it was like and it can be a lot of pressure. They’re about to be shot out of a cannon into stardom, so we wish them the best and we hope they’re surrounded by love and care.”
Lovato said she also offered the new stars plenty of advice, telling them that “this is going to be a whirlwind and make sure to take breaks if you need them; it’s so important to protect your mental health, and to soak it up and to have fun. That’s the most important part.”
The pop star explained that returning to Camp Rock almost two decades after the sequel was “really healing for me,” as “Camp Rock has meant so much to so many people and it’s meant so much to me; this was the beginning of my journey in this industry and [my character] Mitchie will always have a huge, special place in my heart.”
Camp Rock 3 premieres Thursday on Disney Channel and the next day on Disney+.
Tiffany Taylor contributed to this report.
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