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  • CES 2020: Samsung Unveils Neon: A Virtual, ‘Artificial Human’ Avatar

    CES 2020: Samsung Unveils Neon: A Virtual, ‘Artificial Human’ Avatar

    Leading up to CES 2020, Samsung teased Neon, an artificial human. Details were sparse, and Samsung said little other than to confirm Neon was an all new endeavor and had nothing to do with their existing AI engine, Bixby.

    At CES 2020, Samsung finally showed what Neon is: a virtual, “artificial human” avatar, according to TechRepublic. Unlike an AI assistant, Neon is not designed to be a source of information, or have the answers to every question put to it. It’s designed to be a personal companion, one that learns and evolves just as a human being would.

    Pranav Mistry, CEO of Neon and head of Samsung’s STAR Labs set out to see if technology and AI could become more human-like. The end result is an AI that “can have conversations and behave like humans, and they will form memories and develop new skills. However, each one is unique, with its own personality that can develop over time.”

    In many ways, the technology sounds similar to S1m0ne, the movie starring Al Pacino about a movie producer who creates a virtual actress. Beyond the science fiction novelty, however, Neon has the potential to be used in a wide range of practical applications, such as interpersonal training or companionship.

    In the meantime, Neon is still several years away from public availability. Until then, we’ll just have to keep talking to Siri and Alexa.

  • Al Pacino: Jennifer Garner Talks ‘Danny Collins’ and Working With Movie Icon

    Al Pacino stars in Danny Collins, which opens Friday in theaters nationwide. Jennifer Garner stars in the film, too, and during a recent interview with the Boston Herald, she discussed both the film and working with Al Pacino.

    “I feel like, well, it’s a lot of work to be Al Pacino. And he very deftly neutralizes that factor when you meet him. He is generally good at putting people at ease,” Jennifer Garner explained. “It looks exhausting to me–not that he makes it look exhausting–but he puts energy into making­ sure everyone feels supported and confident and good and not freaked out by his Al Pacino-ness. He’s not afraid to ask questions or not know the answers. And he’s quiet and complements you.”

    Danny Collins is inspired by a real-life letter the late John Lennon sent to an aspiring folksinger back in 1971. The letter didn’t arrive until more than three decades later. Al Pacino plays the lead role.

    “Danny Collins is anyone taking stock of their own life, anyone looking for a second chance or a fourth chance,” Jennifer Garner explained. She plays the role of Al Pacino’s character’s daughter-in-law.

    She called Al Pacino “a treat,” and said he hosted weekly Saturday afternoon gatherings in his backyard.

    “We would read through all the scenes coming up the next week and we’d improvise, talk, punch holes in it,” she said. “It felt very much like what you’d do in the theater. We talked­ about how we–Annette Bening, Cannavale, Chris­topher Plummer–were a bunch of theater geeks, although they all have way more experience than I do in that world.”

    It definitely sounds like Jennifer Garner got as much–maybe even more–out of working with Al Pacino in Danny Collins than she did starring in the film herself.

    Of course anyone in the film world would likely take a two-bit role in order to learn from someone like Pacino.

  • Jennifer Garner On Working With Al Pacino

    Jennifer Garner recently wrapped, and began promoting, her new movie, Danny Collins.

    The film stars Jennifer Garner as a mother and wife, a role she is pretty secure in.

    Alongside Jennifer Garner, it also stars Al Pacino as her former-rocker father-in-law who has estranged himself from his son. Al Pacino’s character tries to make amends with his family as he ages.

    Seeing Al Pacino as a former rock star is pretty fun, but working with him must have been really fun, especially for Jennifer Garner.

    Recently, in an interview about Danny Collins, Jennifer Garner opened up about what it was like to work with the Hollywood icon.

    Jennifer Garner said she was already on board with doing Danny Collins, but working with Al Pacino made the deal so much sweeter.

    She said, “I met (writer-director) Dan Fogelman before. We have managers in common so I think I’d been spoon-fed to him a little bit. I’d been sold to him certainly and it came my way. The second I read it I thought, ‘This is just a jewel box. This movie is just a beautiful gem.’ And then they said, ‘Al’s doing it,’ and I said, ‘Yep, I’m already doing it so it doesn’t even matter. That’s even better.’”

    Jennifer Garner said the experience she had working with Al Pacino was full of surprises and that watching him work was never boring.

    She said, “Al spent a lot of energy making sure that everyone feels comfortable, everyone feels good and everyone is at ease. It’s a lot of work being Al Pacino, and having everybody put their childhood fantasies and their impressions of you aside. Being Al Pacino is probably exhausting and he’s so gracious about it. He handles that really well. He’s very generous with how he puts out so much love so that you can calm down.”

    Jennifer Garner added, “But he’s also just a vulnerable guy who’s kind of a mess and really funny and disarming. He’s a fascinating, wonderful man and the second you start shooting, he’s so easy in his own skin that you just kind of want to work with him and keep going and going. I didn’t have that much to do with him, unfortunately. I wish I’d had more. But I loved watching him and Bobby [Cannavale] together. I loved watching their off-camera relationship. You can see in every moment that they’re together and where their kind of looking at me and saying, ‘This one’s crazy.’ They’re like an old married couple in a way, or a father and son. They’re really special together. The two of them on the porch, oh, wasn’t that beautiful?”

    Such sweet words from Jennifer Garner on her experience with Al Pacino.

    What do you think working with Al Pacino would be like?

  • Jennifer Garner: ‘Danny Collins’ Press Tour Includes Visit With Jimmy Fallon

    Jennifer Garner has had a very busy week. As part of her Danny Collins press tour she visited Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, and even gave him a friendly warning about children–and a hint at what he can look forward to as the father of two girls.

    Jimmy Fallon is dad to daughters Winnie and Frances, and Jennifer Garner asked him how the older of the two interacts with the younger.

    “She’s good, she loves the little one, and like, kisses her every day,” Fallon said.

    Jennifer Garner told the late night host to enjoy such moments, and warned him that they might not last.

    “Enjoy that. Take pictures, yes. No, I mean, they just have their, you know, they have their moments… You’re driving to school and you kind of hear a yelp. You look in the rearview mirror and there’s just like a pinch happening–a pinch for the ages,” she shared.

    On Wednesday, Jennifer Garner stepped out of ‘mommy mode’ briefly, and put on her incredibly sexy persona as she walked the red carpet at the Danny Collins premiere. She was gorgeous in a black strapless tea-length dress that no doubt made Ben Affleck remember that he did in fact marry a very sexy woman–and not just the mom of his three children.

    Jennifer Garner stars alongside Al Pacino, Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, and Jeremy Renner in Danny Collins. Al Pacino plays an aging rocker in the film–one who receives a long lost letter from the late John Lennon. The film opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, March 20th.

    It’s fun to see different sides of celebrities, and Jennifer Garner is one who doesn’t hide any of the facets of her life. She is first and foremost a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. She showed her very emotional side during a visit to The Today Show where she talked about her mom and sisters.

    Kudos to Jennifer Garner for balancing her life so effectively. She is no doubt a wonderful mom, and as fans will be reminded when they check out Danny Collins this weekend at the movies, she’s a great actress, too.

  • Jennifer Garner Cries Her Heart Of Gold Out On ‘Today’ Show

    Jennifer Garner cried her golden heart out during an interview with Today on Wednesday.

    While promoting her new movie “Danny Collins”, Garner was asked to tell more about her recent Southern Living photo shoot with mom Patricia and sisters Susannah and Melissa. The Hollywood star welled up in reply saying, “There’s nothing like sharing the spotlight or anything else with your sisters and your mom.”

    Today’s host Savannah Guthrie dug deeper into Garner’s feelings as the actress discussed the importance of the photo shoot with her family. “It makes me cry to see their faces,” Garner said. “It’s always fun for me to get my sisters dolled up, and my mom,” she added.

    Garner could not stop crying as she recalled a recent Today feature about the Morales quadruplets whose mother died after giving birth to her four babies. Widowed father Carlos Morales is left to take care of his new born children.

    “I’m sorry! It’s because of those babies and Leah Still, I just watched it and I just can’t take it,” the actress said. “The Today show is too tough for me,” she added.

    Guthrie tried to comfort Garner by saying that the actress “has a heart of gold.” Guthrie also asked about Garner’s three children with actor husband Ben Affleck, who are, according to Garner, “all really good.”

    The Today host even injected “boring topics” including tax day to help the actress take her mind off the things that make her so adorably emotional.

    Today’s Matt Lauer could not help himself from declaring Garner as one of the show’s “best guests ever”.

    Garner will star alongside veteran actor Al Pacino in the 2015 comedy-drama “Danny Collins”. The film is an adaptation of the life of ageing rocker Danny Collins who decided to change the course of his life after receiving a long-undelivered letter from the late John Lennon.  “Danny Collins” is directed by Dan Fogelman.

  • Al Pacino May Star In A Future Marvel Movie

    It’s no secret that screen legend Al Pacino is a big fan of Guardians of The Galaxy. Earlier this year, Pacino talked about how much he loved the film after seeing it with his children.  In an interview with MTV.com during the Toronto International Film Festival, the Scarface star simply said, “I’m ready to go to Marvel.” Well, it seems Marvel is ready for Pacino as well. In an episode of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Pacino revealed that he has met with Marvel executives for a possible role in future films.

    “I’ve met with the Marvel guy,” said Pacino, talking about the studio’s president Kevin Feige. “It’s a Marvel how things happen.” He joked. “I would imagine that either there’s something he feels is right for me…” Pacino was then interrupted by a phone call, with the actor joking that it’s probably Marvel’s people telling him to keep quiet. He said, “Every time we talk about Marvel, that’s what happens.”

    Pacino also talked more about his love for Guardians of The Galaxy, admitting that he was surprised that he enjoyed it as much as he did. According to the actor, he just wanted to go see something where he could just “shut his brain off” while his children watched. “But with this movie, I was taken up,” he said. “It was inventive, funny, and strong in sound and music. The production of it, the ingenuity of it… I was really impressed.”

    Pacino was also surprised that people were making a big deal about him being vocal about his love for Guardians of The Galaxy. “Why wouldn’t I like a movie like that, appreciate a movie like that? I’m not necessarily going to be in it, but there’s value to it,” he said.

    Marvel recently revealed their upcoming slate of movies which includes three Avengers films as well as a sequel to Guardians of The Galaxy.

  • Al Pacino Calls the Late Mike Nichols the ‘Greatest Director I Ever Worked With’

    Al Pacino called Mike Nichols, who died suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 83, the “greatest director” he ever worked with.

    That is high praise considering Pacino has worked with some of the greatest directors of all time, including Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone and Steven Soderbergh.

    Pacino told Us Weekly Thursday while promoting his movie The Humbling at New York City’s 21 Club that the news of Nichols’ death came as a shock.

    “Oh, man. It just knocked me out,” said Pacino. “I’m not over the shock yet. Not that I ever will be. The shock of it is so much, it’s hard to talk about it right now. It’s hard to believe.”

    The Godfather actor worked with Nichols in 2003 on the HBO miniseries Angels in America. Both the actor and the EGOT-winning director won Emmys for the project. Pacino won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, and Nichols won for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Dramatic Special.

    The 74-year-old actor praised the legendary director, calling him the “greatest director.”

    “I loved him so,” Pacino told Us. “He was my friend, and he was the greatest director I ever worked with. He was.”

    Pacino told The Hollywood Reporter he also considered Nichols a friend.

    “I loved Mike. I worked with him, and he was a friend,” he said.

    Director Barry Levinson, who directed Pacino in The Humbling and was with Pacino at the luncheon, concurred.

    “His work is exceptional, and he’s one of those guys that has an impact as a director in this business,” said Levinson. “He was a man that could handle comedy and drama in an effortless fashion, and he took some risks.”

  • Pacino As Paterno: It’s Happening, De Palma To Direct

    Al Pacino has played some pretty varied–and controversial–characters over the years, but the news of his latest project is taking some by surprise.

    Director Brian De Palma will helm a film about disgraced football coach Joe Paterno, and he and producer Edward R. Pressman say they can’t think of a better man to play Paterno than Pacino. As of now, the film has a working title of “Happy Valley” but is in very early stages.

    “Happy Valley reunites the Scarface and Carlito’s Way team of De Palma & Pacino for the third time and I can’t think of a better duo to tell this story of a complex, intensely righteous man who was brought down by his own tragic flaw,” Pressman said.

    It’s unclear just how much of the film will focus on the Penn State scandal or if Jerry Sandusky will play a big part in the movie, but both seem inevitable. Of course, if the movie does focus more on Paterno’s football accomplishments–including being the winningest coach in college football history and having a statue erected in his honor–it will also most likely show the bitter end, when he was ultimately found to be guilty of covering up Sandusky’s sex crimes and had his titles stripped from him posthumously.