Before it was even released, Homecoming was notable for many reasons. For one, it was the new project from Mr. Robot mastermind Sam Esmail. For another, it marked Julia Roberts' first turn leading an episodic television show. And finally, the Amazon original series was one of Hollywood's first big bets on adapting podcasts for the screen. Sam Esmail's Homecoming Is Nothing Like Mr. Robot Where Is Hollywood Looking for Its Next Hit?

Homecoming, the latest series with prestige TV bona fides to come to Amazon, is about as subtle and mysterious as a thriller can get. Based on the podcast of same name, it is, on the surface, about a group of soldiers returned from combat and the facility--called Homecoming--that seeks to treat their PTSD. However, as seen in flash-forwards and tiny cracks in the veneer of each person's story, none of that is what it seems, and everyone's motives and actions are suspect. Where Is Hollywood Looking for Its Next Hit? Mr. Robot Is the Best Hacking Show Yet--But It's Not Perfect The 15 New Fall Shows We're Most Excited About If you know the work of Homecoming showrunner Sam Esmail, this comes as no surprise.

Virtual assistants are increasingly popular and present in our everyday lives: literally with Alexa, Cortana, Holly, and Siri, and fictionally in films Samantha (Her), Joi (Blade Runner 2049) and Marvel's AIs, FRIDAY (Avengers: Infinity War), and Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming). These names demonstrate the assumption that virtual assistants, from SatNav to Siri, will be voiced by a woman. This reinforces gender stereotypes, expectations, and assumptions about the future of artificial intelligence. Fictional male voices do exist, of course, but today they are simply far less common. HAL-9000 is the most famous male-voiced Hollywood AI – a malevolent sentient computer released into the public imagination 50 years ago in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

"War for the Planet of the Apes" took down "Spider-Man: Homecoming" at the North American box office, opening with an estimated $56.5 million in ticket sales. But director Matt Reeves' "War for the Planet of the Apes" pulled away thanks to strong reviews for the third installment of the rebooted "Apes" franchise. Five of the top six at the box office ("Apes," ''Homecoming," ''Baby Driver," ''The Big Sick" and "Wonder Woman") boast Rotten Tomatoes rankings of 92 or better, and the sixth ("Despicable Me 3") was largely received as a solid enough family release. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.

Today, the next generation of self-driving cars is coming, we try to explain the confusing world of Magic Leap's augmented reality and it's the true end of Windows Phone. The 2019 model is the first production car with level-3 autonomy. After a sneak peek of the vehicle parking itself and appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Audi A8 luxury sedan is finally being shown off in all its high-tech glory. Free (with ads).LiquidSky 2.0 beta puts any video game in your Android device The LiquidSky 2.0 beta is live today in the Google Play Store, promising to let you play any game on any Android device via the magic of cloud streaming and a virtual PC setup. Want to cruise around Grand Theft Auto 5 on your Pixel XL? Or maybe you'd rather wreck some fools in Overwatch on your Galaxy Tab S2? That's what this update is all about.

Those were the fighting words Sony Pictures Chairman Tom Rothman threw out in front of hundreds of movie theater owners here Monday night, boasting about the studio's upcoming slate. While Sony unveiled footage from a handful of blockbuster hopefuls -- an adaptation of Stephen King's "Dark Tower," a reboot of the kids' flick "Jumanji" and the new "Spider-Man" flick -- the executive was most bullish about this summer's "Blade Runner 2049." Rothman made his Netflix diss after footage from the new Denis Villeneuve film played, insinuating that the movie's theatrical experience will exceed anything offered on the streaming site. A sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic, this time directed by Villeneuve, the film stars Harrison Ford and "an electrifying young star" -- Rothman's words -- in Ryan Gosling. Dressed in a hoodie and jean jacket, Gosling came out onstage to talk about his experience filming the movie in Budapest last year.