Nov 15, 2017

Amazon Studios acquires screenplay about tech billionaires

Kia Kokalitcheva

Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon. Photo: Reed Saxon / AP

Amazon's movie studio has acquired the rights to former New York Times columnist Nick Bilton's "The Bunker," an original screenplay about tech billionaires who take shelter in a luxurious underground bunker after an attack on the U.S., according to Deadline.

Quick take: Hollywood has been increasing fascinated with Silicon Valley, "The Bunker" is the latest attempt at bringing stories from its culture to wider audiences. But these have found mixed success in balancing compelling universal stories with an authentic portrayal of the tech industry's characters and dynamics.

More:

  • Bilton's "Hatching Twitter," his 2013 book about the social media company, is being adapted for TV with Lionsgate. His 2017 book about Silk Road, "American Kingpin," is being made into a movie by Joel and Ethan Coen and Steve Zaillian for Chernin Entertainment.
  • Scott Z. Burns, who is attached to direct and produce "The Bunker," wrote "Contagion" and "The Informant," and wrote and produced "Side Effects."

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Axios

World coronavirus updates: Italy becomes 2nd country to exceed 100,000 cases

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

Spain and Italy extended lockdown deadlines on Monday, as Italy became the second country in the world to surpass 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.

The big picture: COVID-19 cases surged past 755,000 and the death toll topped 36,000 by Monday, per Johns Hopkins data. Italy reported more than 11,500 total deaths.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 14 mins ago - Health
Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 745,308 — Total deaths: 35,307 — Total recoveries: 156,875.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in confirmed cases. Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 143,672 — Total deaths: 2,575 — Total recoveries: 4,865.
  3. Federal government latest: The White House will extend its social distancing guidelines until April 30 — Hospital ship the USNS Comfort arrives in Manhattan.
  4. Business latest: Macy's will furlough the majority of it's workers this week, as the chain's stores remain closed.
  5. World updates: Spain and Italy extend lockdown deadlines while Italy becomes second country to surpass 100,000 confirmed cases.
  6. 🎧 Podcast: Living with the coronavirus
  7. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 35 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Majority of governors order residents to stay home

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

At least 29 state governors have ordered their residents to stay home to promote social distancing and limit community spread from the coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. copes with more than 144,000 positive cases — more than any other country in the world, per Johns Hopkins data.

The big picture: COVID-19 killed over 2,500 people in the U.S. by Monday. That's far fewer than in Italy, where over 10,700 people have died — accounting for a third of the global death toll. The number of people who've recovered from the virus in the U.S. exceeded 4,800.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 41 mins ago - Health