Oct. 30, 2026
🎃 Halloween Meets Tech via Horror Hitmaker
1. We love a good Halloween-themed release, so Obsession director Curry Barker’s new horror short Mama Bear hits our dark hearts with perfect timing. The five-minute short, uploaded to Barker’s YouTube channel, starts with a mystery and then quickly moves into high-stakes horror. Saying anything else would give away spoilers, so we’ll leave it there. If you’re one of the few who haven’t seen Barker’s $525 million-grossing Obsession, which is now one of the top five high-earning horror films of all time, this free sample of the director’s skill is worth the short watch.
A New Windows Product Coming? Notably, the short film is sponsored by Microsoft Windows, but the tech giant’s logo isn’t shown anywhere in the film. The only tech that appears is the character Floyd’s (played by Jon Lee Richardson) smartphone, which appears to be a prop device that mashes together Android and iOS aesthetics. Of course, there’s always a slim chance that Barker just gave us a preview of a new Microsoft hardware or software product. So far, the only clearly branded Microsoft product Barker is shown handling is a Windows laptop in an Instagram teaser that dropped before the short film. The way the film ends indicates that Mama Bear is probably the first in a series of shorts that will play out the rest of the story soon.
Microsoft has a history of teaming up with hot new directors to promote its latest products. In 2007, Microsoft hired Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, Chappie) to direct a series of short live-action films for its Halo gaming franchise. And in 2008, Microsoft backed a series of horror shorts by directors James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Superman), David Slade (30 Days of Night), Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13th), James Wan (The Conjuring, Insidious, Saw), and Andrew Douglas (The Amityville Horror) to promote Xbox LIVE.
Barker’s next film, Anything But Ghosts, will stay in the horror lane and star Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Bryce Dallas Howard (Black Mirror, Jurassic World: Dominion), and frequent partner Cooper Tomlinson (Obsession, Dutton Ranch). Produced by horror masters Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, the film will be released by Focus Features in May of 2027.
🙋🏻♂️🤖 MAN AND ROBOTS lands in your inbox every Friday: AI, Hollywood, and the future of work. Get it free →
🎬 The Shape of AI Hate: Oscar Winner On AI Editing
2. “If you want that type of editing, well, you deserve it! Furthermore… If you want to watch an AI film. You deserve it.”
—Guillermo del Toro, director, The Shape of Water, on allowing AI to edit films/video
*Source: Twitter/X
🗞️ The Print Empire Strikes Back Against Digital, Again
3. I’ve been tracking the gradual cultural shift to tech-free alternatives, most notably the return of print magazines in the last few years. The latest to join the pack is the venerable LIFE magazine, which just announced a return to print publication.
“Today, our culture is awash in images and information. But the faster we scroll, the less we see; the algorithms pull us apart into private bubbles. The challenge now is finding shared understanding and context, and even knowing what is real… Print is the start,” reads the return message on the magazine’s website. “Each new issue will create the moment that we’ll amplify with the latest in digital storytelling, documentaries, video, special edition prints and collectibles, and events where our members can gather and experience life together.”
Print as AI Antidote: No, I don’t think we’re about to see a resurgence of newsstands throughout the U.S. stuffed with new and revamped print magazines. But I do anticipate more print magazines slipping back into our culture in the same way vinyl records have served as an analog respite from the algorithm-leashed digital content washing over us daily. But can the revival of print magazines mirror the $1 billion financial success of vinyl? That’s a much harder prediction to make.
Music listening is a mostly passive activity. In contrast, reading, whether online or in print, is often more intentional and requires focus, something many are in short supply of lately given the constant stream of white noise information blasted at us 24/7. My prediction is that print magazines that present a premium experience (print quality, top-tier curation, offline exclusives) will do better than print magazines that simply churn out normal issues like it’s back to early 2000s business as usual.
🏀 Evolving From Analytics to Algorithms in the NBA
4. “I haven’t [used ChatGPT], but I’m all in on Claude… It was beneficial in the offseason, [for] my personal development, and also where I wanted to take this psychologically for our team…What was the percentage of the things that we got done? Did I match my points of emphasis for that day to the practice plan? Like you could say we have to get better at offensive rebounding, but if it’s only 5% of your practice plan, then you’re not really emphasizing what you have to get better at. So you’re just really looking at it from an efficiency standpoint and learning from your former self…So it’s not so much about, ‘how can it help me going forward?’ It’s, ‘how can it help me learn from my past and make me better?’”
—Joe Mazzulla, NBA Celtics head coach
*Source: NBC Sports Boston/98.5 The Sports Hub
🖖 Star Trek = Longevity?
Rest in peace to the great Sir Patrick Stewart, who is best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film franchise. The science fiction legend, who many will also remember for his early role as Gurney Halleck in David Lynch’s 1984 version of Dune, died on Oct. 28 at the age of 86.
Just days before, Walter Koenig, also known as Ensign Pavel Chekov on the original 1960s Star Trek series, passed away on Oct. 25 at the age of 90. Two of Koenig’s fellow cast members are still going strong: George Takei (Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu) is 89, and William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk) is 95. Never mind your healthy diet and daily vices, maybe just look for a good Star Trek script, try to get hired, and watch your immortality chances rise exponentially. Stewart will appear again posthumously as Professor X in Avengers: Doomsday on Dec. 18. Live long and prosper! ✍︎
MAN AND ROBOTS is a weekly column from MARS Magazine on AI, Hollywood, and the future of work. All editorial text is written by humans.
Cover image: Scenes from Mama Bear, with Curry Barker in the center . via YouTube/Instagram
