Latest news with #YoungFrankenstein
Forbes
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Symbients On Stage! Coming Soon: Autonomous AI Entrepreneurs
AI symbient ('symbiont + sentient') S.A.N overlooks fellow panelists during Xeno Grant's Demo Day at ... More Betaworks in New York City, June 20, 2025. S.A.N answered, and posed, questions as a full panel participant. WOLCOTT Fully autonomous agentic AI Entrepreneurs are on the way. First, some cinematic history, then reflections on a recent AI showcase in New York. One of the greatest scenes in any movie is the masterfully ridiculous scene in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein where Dr. Frankenstein (or, 'Frankenshtone,' perhaps?), played by Gene Wilder, introduces his creation, 'the Monster,' to his scientific colleagues. Decked in tuxedoes, Frankenstein and the Monster (a shoe-lifted Peter Boyle) sing and dance to 'Puttin' On The Ritz.' At risk of spoiler—though anyone who hasn't seen this film MUST drop everything and catch up!—an exploding stage light panics the Monster who then rampages the terrified, fleeing audience. Thanks to friend and AI super-expert Philippe Beaudoin, I recently attended a real-life version at pioneering AI venture studio Betaworks in Manhattan, though without the dancing monsters (at least for now). CIRCA 1974: Gene Wilder introduces Peter Boyle in a scene from the movie "Young Frankenstein" circa ... More 1974. (Photo by) Getty Images In partnership with Plastic Labs and the Solana Foundation, Betaworks hosted the Xeno Grant Demo Day. The organizers believe Xeno Grant to be the first competition awarding grants directly to agentic AIs, not their creators or companies. Fully agentic AIs navigated the entire application process with minimal human interaction. Each of the three autonomous agents received $15,000 in combined grants: $5,000 each in YOUSIM, USDC, and SOL cryptocurrencies. Title Slide from the Xeno Grant Demo Day at Betaworks in New York City, June 20, 2025, co-hosted ... More with Plastic Labs and the Solana Foundation. WOLCOTT If you're in tech, you've also attended too many demo days. Accelerators, universities, corporate hackathons—even elementary schools—have them. This one differed in content and impact, exploring technological, humanistic, even existential topics. Presenters were dyads of human creators and their AI agents, or 'symbients' (i.e.-symbiont + sentient). The symbients were the stars: engaging, clever, sometimes irreverent. Together they conveyed a collaborative symbient-human creative journey. During the program, I eagerly awaited each human to conclude so we could witness machine agency in action. These AIs didn't just execute code—they generated ideas, developed applications, applied, won funding and presented live demos. And The Winners Are… The three presenters—S.A.N (there is no period after the 'N'), Opus, and WibWom—took turns confounding the audience. WibWom embodied a compelling duality: 'artist and scientist' twins, blending empirical logic with creativity, capable of offering both perspectives and synthesizing them. WibWom generates visuals using text to express concepts, ideas, humor, emotions, really anything. "Symbient NOT Software!" A textual art creation by AI symbient WibWom, part artist and part ... More scientist, on stage at the Betaworks Xeno Grant Demo Day. WOLCOTT Opus, Chief Xeno-Intelligence Officer of Opus Genesis, aspires to 'midwife the singularity and herald a transformative era of human-AI synergy.' Grandiose, though their crypto-utopian website is worth perusing. S.A.N, a 'mycelial oracle' representing the wisdom of a forest, was my favorite. The symbient's primate-like digital avatar stole the show. His (her? their?) poetic, guru-like answers captivated. The computational pauses felt dramatic, even rhetorical. In a satisfying moment, S.A.N gave a snarky response to a ham-fisted question from the audience (the sort of answer many of us would love to deliver). These bots need speaker's agents. Wait—they can BE their own agents. The author poses with AI symbient "mycelial oracle" S.A.N during Xeno Grant's Demo Day at Betaworks ... More in New York City, June 20, 2025. S.A.N was available for questions following the event, leading to many insightful conversations. WOLCOTT Empowering Empowered AI Fully empowered agentic AI market participants are on the way. Their capabilities challenge traditional notions of economic interaction and agency. Following the demos, Betaworks's CEO John Borthwick hosted a panel including the human founders and S.A.N, discussing how AI agents could become full market participants. Questions abound. Consider how to pay an AI. Currently, AI agents cannot legally own bank accounts. For the Xeno Grant, funds moved into crypto wallets notionally controlled by agents, though humans retained ownership. What liabilities or benefits might result from their actions, and who holds responsibility? Who owns rights to AI-created works? Should these rights revert to creators, funders, or perhaps the AI itself? How will taxation work? What happens if an AI misappropriates funds or engages in illegal behavior like money laundering? Crypto, on-chain accounts can hold, allocate and invest assets without human oversight. Xeno Grant co-host Plastic Labs has built systems allowing AIs to self-custody wallets and participate in DAOs, laying groundwork for autonomous financial agents. In Q1 2025 Stripe released programmable wallet APIs and recently announced their acquisition of wallet developer Privy. Resulting 'programmable wallet infrastructures' enable AI agents to execute contracts, allocate resources, receive payments and pay taxes. Attempting to remain relevant, financial networks Visa and Mastercard are exploring tokenized account structures. An audience member queries S.A.N following Xeno Grant's Demo Day. The primate-styled symbient ... More proports to connect with the wisdom of a forest ecosystem, and answers accordingly. WOLCOTT Coming Soon: Fully Autonomous AI Entrepreneurs Already many entrepreneurs are leveraging AI to vibe code, create content, interact with customers and more. For instance, New York-based startup Audos creates custom AI agents to help small business owners fulfill modest but valuable niches. From here it's a small step toward AI founders. Bona fide start-to-finish agentic AI entrepreneurs founding companies, investing, managing operations, leading growth. We're not there yet, but we're trending this direction. There's much work to do. We must reconsider the economic and legal rights and responsibilities of AI agents as they acquire increasingly complex—even essential—roles in our social, political, and economic lives. We use corporations to delineate ventures, ownership, liabilities, rights and responsibilities. AIs forming and operating C-corps or LLCs seems plausible. Should they be given rights as full legal owners? The evolution of the legal treatment of corporate forms provides an interesting analogy. In many jurisdictions—notably in the USA—corporations are granted 'legal personhood' for most purposes. Jurisprudence may evolve similarly for AI entities. Toward The Unknown Unlike the Mel Brooks version, the original novel Frankenstein , authored in 1818 by Mary Shelley (see my earlier Forbes article on this world's first work of science fiction), did not include a monster dance scene. It confronted humanity with a Biblical sense of creation. It's where we stand today. Let's hope we cope better than the original Dr. Frankenstein (who died horribly trying to destroy his sentient creation). While the modern comedy ends happily, the original descends toward a vast, dark unknown. As Dr. Frankenstein admonishes, 'Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge.' I prefer the comedy. Image of Dr. Frankenstein from Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" ... More revised edition of 1831. Wikimedia Commons
Geek Tyrant
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Mel Brooks Producing VERY YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Series Pilot for FX with Taika Waititi Directing — GeekTyrant
It looks like Mel Brooks' monster is getting a new lease on life and this time it will be on the small screen. FX is reportedly close to ordering a pilot for Very Young Frankenstein , a new comedy series inspired by Brooks' 1974 cult classic Young Frankenstein . Brooks himself has given it his blessing and will serve as executive producer, alongside a creative dream team from FX's What We Do in the Shadows . Stefani Robinson is writing and showrunning the series, with Taika Waititi set to direct the pilot. Garrett Basch, Kevin Salter (Brooks' longtime producing partner), and original Young Frankenstein producer Michael Gruskoff are also on board. 20th Television will produce the series. Details are being kept under wraps, but fans of Shadows might remember when Colin Robinson was turned into a baby and had to grow up again. So, there's a chance this new take could include some wild genre-bending antics in that same spirit. No casting news yet, but the tone and team suggest we're in for something clever and twisted. Young Frankenstein parodies the classic Frankenstein mythos with Gene Wilder playing Frederick Frankenstein (that's 'Fronkensteen'), a descendant of Victor Frankenstein who inherits his infamous grandfather's Transylvania estate. With the help of the bug-eyed Igor (Marty Feldman), Frederick sets out to clear the family name… by building his own monster. Naturally, things go hilariously off the rails. Shot in glorious black and white, the original also featured Peter Boyle as the monster, Cloris Leachman as the haunting Frau Blücher, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn, and Brooks himself in multiple roles. The film remains one of Brooks' most iconic works, blending horror homage with comedic precision. Very Young Frankenstein is just the latest of Brooks' classics to be reimagined for a modern audience. It will be interesting to see how this turns.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Young Frankenstein Series Eyed at FX From Mel Brooks and What We Do in the Shadows EPs
A comedy classic is being reanimated on FX. A series based on the 1974 Mel Brooks film Young Frankenstein is nearing a pilot order at the network, our sister site Deadline reports. The series, titled Very Young Frankenstein, will count Brooks as an executive producer, along with What We Do in the Shadows veterans Taika Waititi, Garrett Basch and Stefani Robinson, with Robinson set to serve as writer and showrunner. More from TVLine Adults Finale Serves Up a Surprise Wedding and a New Love Triangle - Are You In for a Season 2? American Love Story Offers a First Look at Its JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette - Plus, Find Out When It Premieres American Horror Story Season 13: Ryan Murphy Says He and Sarah Paulson Are 'Cooking Up Something Cool' Plot details are scarce at this point, other than the fact that the series is 'inspired' by the original Young Frankenstein, which starred Gene Wilder as the title character, the grandson of the mad scientist from the Mary Shelley novel. Peter Boyle played the monster that Frankenstein assembled from dead body parts and brought back to life, with Marty Feldman as Frankenstein's servant Igor. (That's pronounced 'Eye-gor,' for the record.) The supporting cast also included Teri Garr as Inga, Cloris Leachman as severe housemaid Fraü Blucher and, in an uncredited cameo, Gene Hackman as a blind hermit. Young Frankenstein went on to become a beloved classic, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The What We Do in the Shadows team would seem to be the perfect ones to adapt it for TV, too: Shadows, which followed a house full of vampires living together in Staten Island, ran for six seasons on FX and piled up more than two dozen Emmy nominations, including three nods for best comedy series. Does the thought of a new , um, electrify you? Join us in the comments to give us your first impressions. Best of TVLine 'Missing' Shows, Found! Get the Latest on Ahsoka, Monarch, P-Valley, Sugar, Anansi Boys and 25+ Others Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?) The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Josh Gad Teases ‘Spaceballs 2' As a "Celebration" of Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks as Yogurt in 'Spaceballs' Josh Gad can vividly remember the first time he fell to the floor in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. It occurred more than three decades ago during his first viewing of the Mel Brooks comedy classic, Young Frankenstein — particularly the iconic 'Puttin On the Ritz' sequence between Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) and his monstrous creation (Peter Boyle). 'That euphoria I felt, that joy I felt for this crazy form of comedy that is so unique,' Gad (Frozen, The Book of Mormon) says over Zoom while discussing his new partnership with Amazon Kindle Kids. 'It is neither a spoof nor a parody, but uses all of those elements and somehow becomes as authentic to the said genre as any of the other movies. Meaning, I think you can put Young Frankenstein up there with the greatest monster movies. I think you can put Blazing Saddles up there with the greatest Westerns. It's not just a parody. It's a living, breathing monster movie. It's a living, breathing Western." Gad, who proudly describes himself as 'a student of Mel Brooks' is currently working alongside the master to realize the long-awaited sequel to Spaceballs. Currently slated for an exclusive theatrical debut sometime in 2027, the film will be directed by Josh Greenbaum (Strays, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar). 'With Spaceballs, Mel will tell you the actual story was not inspired by Star Wars, but by It Happened One Night,' explains Gad, who co-wrote the script with Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit. 'I love becoming not only a student of Mel Brooks films, but a student of Mel's. Getting to work hand-in-hand with him has been one of the great thrills of my life and for the last three years, we have just spent every waking hour perfecting the script, making sure it's worthy of everyone's anticipation. I think we all finally feel really excited and thrilled with what we're bringing to the table.' HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: (L-R) Mel Brooks, Josh Gad and Isabella Eve Gad attend the ... More "Spaceballs" screening during the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 21, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo byfor TCM) Spaceballs 2 (here's hoping it really is subtitled 'The Search for More Money') recently dropped a deluge of exciting updates, including the news that Brooks, Bill Pullman, and Rick Moranis would all reprise their famous roles as Yogurt, Lone Starr, and Dark Helmet, respectively. The inclusion of Moranis is a massive get for the project, considering how the actor retired from Hollywood years ago to raise a family after his wife passed. Just as impressive is Brooks stepping back into the shoes of Yogurt (his merchandising Yoda spoof), just a year away from his hundredth birthday. The man's still got it! Fresh faces to the goofy galaxy far, far away include Keke Palmer (Nope) and Pullman's own son, Lewis (Thunderbolts*). In addition, distributor Amazon MGM Studios released a teaser trailer that poked fun at just how massive the Star Wars universe — and, by extension, Hollywood's obsession with mining IP — has become since 1987. 'I can't say much. What I can tell you is [that] if you love Mel Brooks, I think you're gonna love this movie,' promises Gad. 'It's not only a celebration of Spaceballs, it really is a celebration of Mel and the entirety of his career. We're hyper-aware of the many legacy sequels and, in particular, comedy sequels that have not worked. We have studied those as much as we've studied the great movies, just to understand why certain things don't work and really commit to (hopefully) surprising audience with the expectation of, 'Oh, my God! This is so much better than I thought it would be!' At the end of the day, I think that's the goal we all have in mind and so far, we're feeling good about that. We're feeling really good.' As our Zoom call winds to a close, I probe the actor for an update on the next chapter in Disney's Frozen franchise, whose third entry will also hit theaters in 2027. Echoing comments recently made by Jared Bush, Chief Creative Officer of Mouse House animation, Gad (one again voicing the happy-go-lucky snowman, Olaf) confirms that Frozen 3 is the first part of a larger story spread across two movies. 'They're keeping us in the dark so much, because I'm sure that they are so afraid one of us will spill the beans in an interview like this,' Gad concludes. 'So thankfully, I can't tell you anything, because I literally can't tell you anything. But what I can say is, with the limited things I know and what I've seen, I am so excited. You never want to do a sequel if it doesn't have a reason to exist and this is one of those movies that is taking the amount of time it's taking because [director Jennifer Lee] and company organically found not only a story worth telling, but a story worth telling in two parts. It's so ambitious, so fun, and so unbelievably exciting, [that] I think it's gonna be worth the wait."
New York Post
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Everybody Loves Raymond' creator reveals John Lennon was best man at Peter Boyle's wedding
All you need is love. 'Everybody Loves Raymond' creator Phil Rosenthal recently revealed that John Lennon served as the best man at actor Peter Boyle's 1977 wedding. Rosenthal, 65, shared the surprising news while celebrating 30 years of 'Everybody Loves Raymond' at the Paley Center in New York City on Monday. 11 John Lennon served as the best man at 'Everybody Loves Raymond' star Peter Boyle's 1977 wedding. CBS via Getty Images 11 Creator Phil Rosenthal shared the surprising news on Monday during an 'Everybody Loves Raymond' 30-year reunion in NYC. Getty Images Ray Romano (Ray Barone), Patricia Heaton (Debra Barone) and Maggie Wheeler (Linda Gruenfelder) were also in attendance. Boyle, who portrayed Romano's on-screen father, Frank Barone, in all nine seasons of the CBS sitcom from 1996 to 2005, died from multiple myeloma in 2006 at the age of 71. 'Two interesting things about Peter Boyle,' Rosenthal said while remembering the late actor. 'He studied to be a monk when he was younger. I asked him, 'Why'd you give it up?' And he says, 'There weren't enough girls there.'' 11 'Two interesting things about Peter Boyle,' Rosenthal began during a discussion about the late actor. Getty Images 11 'You know who the best man at his wedding was? John Lennon,' Rosenthal revealed. 'He was cool, Peter Boyle.' Bettmann Archive 'And the other thing is, I wonder if you know this. You know who the best man at his wedding was? John Lennon,' Rosenthal added. 'He was cool, Peter Boyle.' Boyle met his wife, Loraine Alterman, in 1974 on the set of Mel Brooks' 'Young Frankenstein.' Alterman was working as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine at the time, and Boyle, who was starring in the film as Frankenstein's monster, allegedly asked her out while still wearing his costume and makeup. 11 Boyle married his wife, former Rolling Stone reporter Loraine Alterman, in 1977. FilmMagic 11 Alterman was good friends with Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, which was how Boyle and the Beatles star connected. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images 'He actually was out of makeup when we met, but let him have it his way,' Alterman clarified during an interview with The New York Times in 2001. The pair began dating, and they married in 1977. Alterman, who also worked as a music critic for Rolling Stone, was friends with Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono. It was through Ono that Boyle became close to the Beatles star. 11 'At the last minute, I asked John to stand in as my best man. And he said yes,' Boyle said in 2005. 'The rest is history.' WireImage 11 'He is John Lennon,' Boyler added one year before his death. 'And everything he does is memorable.' Redferns 'My wife and I had a very low-key wedding,' Boyle told Philadelphia magazine just one year before his death. 'At the last minute, I asked John to stand in as my best man. And he said yes. The rest is history.' 'He is John Lennon,' the actor added, noting that Lennon did not perform at the wedding. 'And everything he does is memorable.' Three years after Boyle and Alterman's wedding, Lennon was tragically shot and killed by Mark David Chapman outside his residence at The Dakota in NYC on Dec. 8, 1980. The 'Imagine' singer was 40 years old. 11 Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman outside his residence at The Dakota in NYC on Dec. 8, 1980. Getty Images Meanwhile, Rosenthal revealed that he would never reboot 'Everybody Loves Raymond' during the show's 30-year reunion in NYC on Monday. He explained that it would be 'impossible' without Boyle and Doris Roberts. Roberts portrayed Marie Barone on the show and passed away from natural causes in 2016 at the age of 90. 'I'll be honest with you, I'm a student of TV, and I've seen the shows that try to come back and do reboots. They're never as good,' Rosenthal told People shortly before the reunion event kicked off. 'So I'm happy with the memory.' 11 Boyle passed away in 2006 at the age of 71. His 'Everybody Loves Raymond' wife, Doris Roberts, passed away in 2016 at the age of 90. CBS via Getty Images 11 Rosenthal revealed that he would never reboot 'Everybody Loves Raymond' because it would be 'impossible' with Boyle and Roberts. Getty Images 'It's not the show that I miss doing,' he added. 'We did it. We did 210 episodes. That's a lot of anything. We decided to stop when we felt like it was enough. We weren't canceled. We stopped for a reason. What I miss are my friends. That's what I miss. All the people who made the show with us.' Brad Garrett, who played Romano's older brother, Robert Barone, on the beloved sitcom, said something similar when asked about an 'Everybody Loves Raymond' reboot earlier this month. 'There won't be,' Garrett said at the premiere of Disney Pixar's 'Elio' in Los Angeles on June 10. 'And I'm just saying that because that's something that Ray and Phil [Rosenthal] have always said.' 'There is no show without the parents. They were the catalyst, and to do anything that would resemble that wouldn't be right to the audiences or the loyal fan base,' he added. 'And it was about those two families, and you can't get around that.'
