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By Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Content creators across dance, music, sports, fashion, entertainment and education gathered in Hollywood on Thursday for the first U.S. TikTok Awards, featuring Labubu dolls launched from a T-shirt cannon, a giant selfie challenge, skits, and viral moment reenactments. The livestreamed ceremony on TikTok and Tubi, hosted by lifestyle influencer La La Anthony, crowned Keith Lee as “creator of the year” and honored Bretman Rock for “video of the year.” "TikTok provided me a platform to be able to show small businesses around the country," Lee, who creates family and small business content, said on stage while accepting his award. "It's hard to do something for myself, because I always put other people in front of me, but this is for me," he added. Other winners included DJ Paris Hilton, who took home the "muse of the year" award for inspiring others, and Jeremiah Brown, a former "Love Island USA" contestant, who took home the "rising star of the year" award. "A muse doesn't follow trends, we help create them," Hilton said during her acceptance speech on stage. The honor highlighting activism included the “For Good” award, given to Zach, a creator with Down syndrome who shares his life to promote inclusion, and his brother Pat Valentine, who educates audiences about the condition. Near the end of the night, Grammy-winning pop singer Ciara performed a compilation of her most popular songs, including "Goodies," "1,2 Step" and "Level Up." The ceremony marks a significant feat for social media app TikTok, as its Chinese parent company ByteDance, led by CEO Shou Zi Chew, reported on Thursday that a binding agreement has been made with three major investors to sell just over 80% of the company's U.S. assets to American and global investors to avoid a U.S. government ban. “I've been really involved with the opportunities to save TikTok from the very beginning," Alexandra Doten, who makes educational videos for TikTok, told Reuters on the carpet before the show began. "I was in DC talking about it, so I'm just so excited. This platform does so much to spark creativity and to make people smarter and more inspired," she added. The deal is a major step toward resolving years of uncertainty about the short video app's future in the United States since August 2020, when then President Donald Trump first tried unsuccessfully to ban the app that is now used regularly by more than 170 million Americans. The app faced a potential ban in the U.S due to risk of China's government exploiting the platform to spy on Americans and carry out covert influence operations. (Reporting by Danielle Broadway and Alexandra Sarabia; Editing by Stephen Coates)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Content creators across dance, music, sports, fashion, entertainment and education gathered in Hollywood on Thursday for the first U.S. TikTok Awards, featuring Labubu dolls launched from a T-shirt cannon, a giant selfie challenge, skits, and viral moment reenactments. The livestreamed ceremony on TikTok and Tubi, hosted by lifestyle influencer La La Anthony, crowned Keith Lee as “creator of the year” and honored Bretman Rock for “video of the year.” "TikTok provided me a platform to be able to show small businesses around the country," Lee, who creates family and small business content, said on stage while accepting his award. "It's hard to do something for myself, because I always put other people in front of me, but this is for me," he added. Other winners included DJ Paris Hilton, who took home the "muse of the year" award for inspiring others, and Jeremiah Brown, a former "Love Island USA" contestant, who took home the "rising star of the year" award. "A muse doesn't follow trends, we help create them," Hilton said during her acceptance speech on stage. The honor highlighting activism included the “For Good” award, given to Zach, a creator with Down syndrome who shares his life to promote inclusion, and his brother Pat Valentine, who educates audiences about the condition. Near the end of the night, Grammy-winning pop singer Ciara performed a compilation of her most popular songs, including "Goodies," "1,2 Step" and "Level Up." The ceremony marks a significant feat for social media app TikTok, as its Chinese parent company ByteDance, led by CEO Shou Zi Chew, reported on Thursday that a binding agreement has been made with three major investors to sell just over 80% of the company's U.S. assets to American and global investors to avoid a U.S. government ban. “I've been really involved with the opportunities to save TikTok from the very beginning," Alexandra Doten, who makes educational videos for TikTok, told Reuters on the carpet before the show began. "I was in DC talking about it, so I'm just so excited. This platform does so much to spark creativity and to make people smarter and more inspired," she added. The deal is a major step toward resolving years of uncertainty about the short video app's future in the United States since August 2020, when then President Donald Trump first tried unsuccessfully to ban the app that is now used regularly by more than 170 million Americans. The app faced a potential ban in the U.S due to risk of China's government exploiting the platform to spy on Americans and carry out covert influence operations. (Reporting by Danielle Broadway and Alexandra Sarabia; Editing by Stephen Coates)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Disney unit Lucasfilm on Thursday won its bid to throw out a London lawsuit over the use of the likeness of a long-dead actor in a Star Wars spinoff movie. Peter Cushing, who died in 1994, was "resurrected" as Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin for the 2016 film "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" using visual effects and another actor. He had appeared in the original 1977 "Star Wars" film, created by George Lucas, which became one of the most successful film franchises of all time. The movies have collected more than $5 billion in global ticket sales since the release of the first installment in 1977, and spinoffs are still being produced. Cushing had signed a deal with British company Tyburn Film Productions in 1993 to appear in a television film, an agreement Tyburn's lawyers said gave it "the right to be the first to 'resurrect' Mr Cushing by way of visual effects". Tyburn claimed it had lost around 250,000 pounds ($333,725) and sued Lucasfilm and fellow Disney subsidiary Lunak Heavy Industries at London's High Court for alleged unjust enrichment at its expense. Lucasfilm and Lunak, however, said the case was hopeless and unsuccessfully tried to have the case thrown out twice. But the Court of Appeal ruled in their favour on Thursday. Judge Sue Carr said that "it is impossible to identify anything at all that belonged to Tyburn which can be said to have been transferred" to Lucasfilm or Lunak, meaning the case could not continue. Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 0.7491 pounds) (Reporting by Sam Tobin, Editing by Louise Heavens)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Sam Tabahriti LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – British film and television performers have voted overwhelmingly to refuse digital body scans unless they are given stronger protections against artificial intelligence, the actors' union Equity said on Thursday. Digital body scans are increasingly used in film and TV for crowd scenes, stunt work, de-aging and virtual performances. They capture detailed facial and body features to create lifelike so-called digital doubles. Equity said 99.6% of members backed the move in an indicative ballot, with a turnout of 75% among more than 7,700 actors, stunt performers and dancers covered by agreements with trade body PACT, which represents most UK production companies. While the vote is not legally binding, the union warned it could call a statutory strike ballot if talks fail when they resume in January, threatening disruption to productions that account for about 90% of UK film and TV work. PACT, which negotiates with industry unions regarding pay and working conditions, said it had offered Equity AI terms consistent with those in other countries and said it would keep dialogue open as technology evolves. The vote underscores growing global concern over the use of AI to replicate performers' likenesses without consent or extra pay. U.S. actors' union SAG-AFTRA staged a four-month strike in 2023 over similar issues, which was estimated to have cost California more than $6 billion in lost output and forced studios to agree limits on AI use. "We need adequate AI protections which build on, not merely replicate, those agreed after the SAG-AFTRA strike in the USA over two years ago," Paul Fleming, the union's general secretary, said in a statement. Equity said it wants protections including explicit consent, transparency and fair remuneration. "With fresh AI proposals, significant movement on royalties, and a package of modern terms and conditions, PACT and allied producers can turn this around," Fleming added. The British Film Commission, the government agency responsible for supporting international film and TV production, said it would work with both sides to reach a solution. (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by William James)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Sam Tabahriti LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – British film and television performers have voted overwhelmingly to refuse digital body scans unless they are given stronger protections against artificial intelligence, the actors' union Equity said on Thursday. Digital body scans are increasingly used in film and TV for crowd scenes, stunt work, de-aging and virtual performances. They capture detailed facial and body features to create lifelike so-called digital doubles. Equity said 99.6% of members backed the move in an indicative ballot, with a turnout of 75% among more than 7,700 actors, stunt performers and dancers covered by agreements with trade body PACT, which represents most UK production companies. While the vote is not legally binding, the union warned it could call a statutory strike ballot if talks fail when they resume in January, threatening disruption to productions that account for about 90% of UK film and TV work. The vote underscores growing global concern over the use of AI to replicate performers' likenesses without consent or extra pay. U.S. actors' union SAG-AFTRA staged a four-month strike in 2023 over similar issues, which was estimated to have cost California more than $6 billion in lost output and forced studios to agree limits on AI use. "We need adequate AI protections which build on, not merely replicate, those agreed after the SAG-AFTRA strike in the USA over two years ago," Paul Fleming, the union's general secretary, said in a statement. Equity said it wants protections including explicit consent, transparency and fair remuneration. "With fresh AI proposals, significant movement on royalties, and a package of modern terms and conditions, PACT and allied producers can turn this around," Fleming added. (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by William James)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Sam Tabahriti LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – British film and television performers have voted overwhelmingly to refuse digital body scans unless they are given stronger protections against artificial intelligence, the actors' union Equity said on Thursday. Digital body scans are increasingly used in film and TV for crowd scenes, stunt work, de-aging and virtual performances. They capture detailed facial and body features to create lifelike so-called digital doubles. Equity said 99.6% of members backed the move in an indicative ballot, with a turnout of 75% among more than 7,700 actors, stunt performers and dancers covered by agreements with trade body PACT, which represents most UK production companies. While the vote is not legally binding, the union warned it could call a statutory strike ballot if talks fail when they resume in January, threatening disruption to productions that account for about 90% of UK film and TV work. The vote underscores growing global concern over the use of AI to replicate performers' likenesses without consent or extra pay. U.S. actors' union SAG-AFTRA staged a four-month strike in 2023 over similar issues, which was estimated to have cost California more than $6 billion in lost output and forced studios to agree limits on AI use. "We need adequate AI protections which build on, not merely replicate, those agreed after the SAG-AFTRA strike in the USA over two years ago," Paul Fleming, the union's general secretary, said in a statement. Equity said it wants protections including explicit consent, transparency and fair remuneration. "With fresh AI proposals, significant movement on royalties, and a package of modern terms and conditions, PACT and allied producers can turn this around," Fleming added. (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by William James)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Disney unit Lucasfilm on Thursday won its bid to throw out a London lawsuit over the use of the likeness of a long-dead actor in a Star Wars spinoff movie. Peter Cushing, who died in 1994, was "resurrected" as Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin for the 2016 film "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" using visual effects and another actor. He had appeared in the original 1977 "Star Wars" film, created by George Lucas, which became one of the most successful film franchises of all time. The movies have collected more than $5 billion in global ticket sales since the release of the first installment in 1977, and spinoffs are still being produced. Cushing had signed a deal with British company Tyburn Film Productions in 1993 to appear in a television film, an agreement Tyburn's lawyers said gave it "the right to be the first to 'resurrect' Mr Cushing by way of visual effects". Tyburn claimed it had lost around 250,000 pounds ($333,725) and sued Lucasfilm and fellow Disney subsidiary Lunak Heavy Industries at London's High Court for alleged unjust enrichment at its expense. Lucasfilm and Lunak, however, said the case was hopeless and unsuccessfully tried to have the case thrown out twice. But the Court of Appeal ruled in their favour on Thursday. Judge Sue Carr said that "it is impossible to identify anything at all that belonged to Tyburn which can be said to have been transferred" to Lucasfilm or Lunak, meaning the case could not continue. Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 0.7491 pounds) (Reporting by Sam Tobin, Editing by Louise Heavens)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)