Smart glasses can be pretty expensive, but there are some budget ones out there that are still of exceptional quality. The Viture Pro 2 XR/AR glasses are the prime example of this. They come with one crucial feature that stands out among the competition: vision correction. This alone helps out others who might be visually impaired, offering something that other smart glasses can’t. They’re now on sale for $298, which is down from their original $379 price. That’s $80 in savings!
As of September 21, the Viture Pro 2 XR/AR smart glasses are on sale for 21% off. According to CamelCamelCamel, this is the lowest price they’ve been in the past month. So now is the best time to grab a pair if you missed out!
The Viture Pro 2 smart glasses use UltraClarity 3.0 optics to ensure that text, subtitles, and details look clear at every corner of the lens rather than just only the center. Whether you’re looking at documents or playing video games, the image fills up the entire lens and keeps you immersed. They have built-in myopia adjustment dials in both lens, letting you turn them independently. This way, nearsighted users can use the smart glasses without using prescriptions inserts or contacts. On the XR front, these glasses project a 146-inch screen at 120Hz and 1080p resolution, making them perfect for gaming or streaming wherever you go.
Additionally, they’re SGS A+ Eye Care Certified, meaning that the smart glasses will reduce blue light visual fatigue, allowing you to use them for longer. The frame itself is comfortable too. It’s 20% lighter than the predecessor, with a 39% thinner hinge for a more sunglasses-like look. Included in the box are seven different nose-pad sizes so that you can find the perfect fit for you.
Our expert Will Greenwald awarded them an “Outstanding” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The $299 Viture Pro 2 takes the crown for budget-friendly smart glasses by matching the class-leading brightness of pricier rivals while adding built-in vision correction at no extra cost.”
Donald Trump has vowed to appeal a judge’s ruling in the networks’ challenge of his ban on their access to the White House, even though a federal judge has yet to issue a ruling in the case.
Shortly after CNN, Politico and MS NOWfiled suit on Monday against Trump for his ban on their access to the White House, the case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly. Kelly set a hearing for Wednesday on the networks’ motion for a temporary restraining order to prohibit such a ban and restore their correspondents’ credentials.
Trump appointed Kelly in his first term, but the judge ruled in favor of CNN and then-White House correspondent Jim Acosta after the administration pulled his credentials.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, “As expected, Fake News CNN, Politico (Pay back the 8 Million Dollar contribution made by the U.S. Government to keep them afloat!), and MSNOW (formerly known as MSDNC!), have brought suit to gain access to the White House, and your President, ME! They have drawn a great Judge, for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta, who now seems to have disappeared from the Planet. The Judge’s name is Tim Kelly, and he was, sadly, appointed by ‘TRUMP.’ In other words, almost without question and, as usual, we’ll go for appeal because Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown ‘sources,’ shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World.”
In the Acosta case, Kelly ruled that precedent required that the White House give proper notice of a revocation of a credential. In the 1977 D.C. Circuit opinion, Sherrill vs. Knight, the judges ruled that “the protection afforded newsgathering under the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press requires that this access not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons.”
Trump announced his ban on Friday. On Saturday, reporters for CNN, Politico and MS NOW said that they were denied access to the White House when their hard passes no longer worked.
Another Trump appointed federal judge, Trevor McFadden, sided with the Associated Press last year when they sued the administration for banning them from the White House pool and other events. The AP was restricted after it declined to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, as set out in one of Trump’s executive orders.
McFadden wrote in his opinion, “The Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints. The Constitution requires no less.” His decision is under appeal.
In contrast to the AP case, which had to do with being blocked from specific areas of the White House, the three networks were restricted from the grounds entirely.
Trump has also made clear that the ban was over their coverage. Courts have typically required that such restrictions on press freedom serve a compelling government reason for it. In his Truth Social post, Trump wrote that ‘FAKE NEWS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.”
He wrote, “Virtually every story about me, or anything having to do with me, is negative, wrong and, in many cases, DANGEROUS for our Country! No matter how GREAT my Achievements, they trivialize and demean. The fact is, I won all seven Swing States, the Popular Vote, the Electoral College (312 to 226), and the Counties throughout America by 86%, and yet it is reported that I get 94% bad publicity. With such a Crooked and Corrupt Press, how did I win in such a LANDSLIDE? It is because the Media has NO credibility, and that is a very bad thing for our Nation! Why should I have to give “access” to such people? Perhaps Judge Kelly could explain that!”
Kelly has given Trump until Tuesday to respond to the networks’ lawsuit.
U.S. President Donald Trump called the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran “small potatoes.”
Rating:
Context
Some people sharing the quote claimed Trump was specifically referring to the deaths of 18 service members during the conflict. He was in fact referring to the conflict itself.
A rumor circulated online in September 2026 that U.S. President Donald Trump had called the Iran war, initiated by the United States and Israel in February 2026, “small potatoes.”
Users shared the claim on social media and Reddit. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., shared the purported quote and added, “Tell that to the families of the 18 troops we’ve lost, the hundreds of wounded servicemembers, and the Americans suffering every single day from record high prices.”
The quote was correctly attributed to Trump.
Trump made the statement during a news conference in the Oval Office on Sept. 4, during which he signed executive orders related to the cattle industry.
The news conference was available to view on the White House’s official YouTube channel. The comment in question begins around the 25-minute mark after a reporter referred to Vice President J.D. Vance’s statement that he did not consider the conflict in Iran a war and asked, “Can you explain to the American people if this is not a war, what exactly is it?”
Trump responded (emphasis ours):
A lot of people don’t call it a war. I call it a military conflict. Because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing. We did Venezuela and we did this. In Venezuela we lost nobody, in this we lost 18 people. And in Vietnam we lost 100,000 people, and in other conflicts you lost tens of thousands of people.
Trump continued by elaborating on some of the military operations the United States has enacted since the start of the conflict. He said, “It’s a military conflict, but it’s very intermittent. I could see somebody not calling it a war.”
Asked directly by the same reporter whether he considered the deaths of 18 service members to also be “small potatoes,” Trump said he’d met their families and had gotten “very friendly” with some and again mentioned the number of deceased from past conflicts to compare the size of the numbers.
Some social media posts called out Trump’s comment and claimed he specifically called the number of deceased service members “small potatoes.” In truth, he made the comment about the conflict itself, not specifically the number of service members killed..
We reached out to the White House for further comment on the criticisms of Trump’s statement and will update this article if we receive a response.
The Man Without Fear is heading into one last battle.
The forthcoming third season of Daredevil: Born Again will be its last one, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. The decision comes about two months after the Marvel Studios show’s third season wrapped filming.
The move also comes as Marvel has quietly parted ways with showrunner Dario Scardapane, whose contract was up and was not renewed. The parting of ways is eyebrow-raising as it means that Scardapane is exiting the show in the middle of post-production. It is unclear who will see the show through completion. One source said post-production is the final stages.
Marvel had no comment.
The series has focused on criminal kingpin Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) becoming mayor of New York and then targeting Daredevil and other vigilantes who are in his way. Season two, which ran in the spring, ended with Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil (Charlie Cox), being sent to prison.
Daredevil: Born Again has had a somewhat rocky run since Disney+ revived the series, which initially ran for three seasons on Netflix from 2015-18. Born Again was greenlit in July 2022 for an 18-episode season, with Matt Corman and Chris Ord as head writers.
Production stopped during the 2023 strikes, at which time Marvel decided to do a creative reset. Corman and Ord — who had aimed for a more episodic structure and less dark tone than the Netflix series had — were let go, and Scardapane, a writer and executive producer on Marvel’s Punisher series at Netflix, came aboard as showrunner. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Loki, Moon Knight) also joined the series as directors and executive producers. The initial order was also split into two seasons and ended up as 17 episodes (nine for season one and eight for season two).
Marvel Television has slowly been shaving off the amount of shows it produces for Disney+. Its latest, VisionQuest, the final installment in the WandaVision trilogy and starring Paul Bettany, is due to debut in October. The final season of Daredevil:Born Again is due to come out in 2027, and nothing is seemingly on the books after that. Disney+ also un-renewed Wonder Man after initially picking up a second season.
However, the company continually has three to five live-action shows in development, and sources say it just greenlit a spy thriller referred to as Zodiac. It is unclear to what the title refers, but the most notable Marvel comics reference is to a criminal organization headed by a villain named Scorpio that featured bad guys themed to the constellations. In the comics, it was known for going head-to-head against S.H.I.E.L.D.
In just a few short weeks, Paramount Skydance will complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and in the process become the biggest TV news organization in the world. With NBC News, MS NOW and CNBC now split between multiple companies, the combined CNN and CBS News will be unrivaled in scale, certainly in the U.S, if not the entire world.
But the settlement between Paramount and the state attorneys general throws a wrinkle in that merger: An “Editorial Independence Board” that will have oversight over both news organizations.
What the Editorial Independence Board will do?
The board will create “News Editorial Principles” based on the standards & practices of the two outlets, focused on journalistic integrity, fairness, independence and accuracy.
The board will also resolve “any disputes between CBS News employees, CNN employees, and management of the Combined Entity regarding alleged violations of the News Editorial Principles, as well as “any disputes between CBS News employees, CNN employees, and management of the Combined Entity regarding alleged reporting bias or failure to meet agreed reporting fairness standards.”
The board will also monitor “adherence to ethical journalism as defined by journalism industry best practices and to editorial independence, including from the Combined Entity’s ownership and shareholders.”
Notably, the board will only be focused on news and editorial content produced with the intent to be distributed in the U.S., which would be essentially all of CBS’ work, as well as a good chunk of CNN’s work though CNN has a vast international operation as well.
The Editorial Independence Board will report to the corporate board via a chief compliance officer.
Who will be on the board, and how will they be appointed?
The Editorial Independence Board will be appointed by the board of directors for the combined company (that means, effectively, by CEO David Ellison) within 180 days of the deal closing (so, six months or so). Board members will serve for three years, and can only be removed for good cause.
There will be five members of the board, and they must have practiced journalism for at least 10 years, though they can be active journalists or retired. “No more than two (2) Editorial Independence Board Members may be affiliated with the same political party,” the agreement states, suggesting that journalists with some partisan leanings could be permitted.
No member of any government or governmental entity can be appointed to the board, and no government or governmental entity (either federal, state or local) can have approval rights over who is appointed to the board.
“No officer, director, shareholder or non-Journalist employee or contractor of the Combined Entity may be appointed to the Editorial Independence Board,” the agreement states, leaving open the possibility that a journalist working for the company could join the board.
In fact, there are a number of potential candidates already in-house. If CNN and CBS News journalists are permitted to join, it stands to reason that a high profile name or two from each outlet (say, Norah O’Donnell and Jake Tapper) could join. And RedBird Capital, which is David Ellison’s partner in the mega merger, also employees a number of high-profile former journalists on its staff, including former Fox News and CNN anchor Chris Wallace, former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, and former FT editor Matthew Garrahan.
But it will be any signs of obvious partisan appointees that is sure to attract the attention of critics and press freedom groups.
Will the board be able to do anything?
That is far less certain. News Corp., after all, ostensibly has its own board, which was created when Rupert Murdoch took over the company. With a focus on basic standards and practices, and resolving disagreements between journalists and management, it may be more bark than bite. Or there might not even be any bark at all.
TL;DR: This like-new 2021 Apple iPad 9th Gen has 256GB of storage, an A13 Bionic chip, and a 10.2-inch Retina display for $209.99 (MSRP $479).
A tablet doesn’t need the latest hardware to handle everyday work, streaming, browsing, and video calls. This Grade A refurbished 2021 Apple iPad 9th Gen with 256GB of storage is only $209.99 (MSRP $479).
The A13 Bionic chip provides responsive performance for everyday apps, web browsing, and multitasking. And 256GB of built-in storage is another practical advantage. There’s room for apps, documents, photos, videos, and other content without starting with a smaller storage configuration.
For calls, the 12MP Ultra Wide front camera supports Center Stage, which automatically helps keep you in frame. Touch ID provides quick, secure unlocking, and stereo speakers handle audio for calls, music, and shows.
This model connects to the internet via Wi-Fi and offers all-day battery life.
It’s also Grade A refurbished, meaning it arrives in near-mint condition with very minimal to zero scuffing on the case.
Prices subject to change. PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through StackSocial affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.
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After almost a year in the trenches pulling together his historic combination of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, David Ellison has finally emerged victorious. On Monday, the Silicon Valley heir confirmed he’d reached a settlement with a group of state attorneys general, who sued to block the merger over antitrust concerns.
The proposed merger was met with heated opposition by activist groups, top talent like Mark Ruffalo and whispers by Ellison’s legacy media competitors. But groups like the Hollywood labor guilds are celebrating the settlement news, as the staring contest between Ellison and the AGs caused paralysis in development and spending seemingly across the board at both companies.
Here are the cheers, jeers and looming fears of the players involved in “ParaBros”:
WGA The outspoken union acknowledged that their own active litigation against the ParaBros. merger could no longer continue once the state AG’s settled, largely over the cost of duking it out in court.
“We continue to believe the merger will cause damage to writers and the industry at large. Now that the Attorneys General have settled with Paramount, however, as a nonprofit, the WGA must contend with the reality of forging ahead alone, with no backing from government enforcers, with a complex antitrust lawsuit that would cost millions of dollars to pursue through trial. Consequently, we have also settled our lawsuit with an agreement from Paramount to prohibit writer layoffs at CBS News Broadcast for 5 years, and to pay $17.5 million to our health fund along with our attorneys’ fees in the litigation. Though we were not successful in blocking the merger, our advocacy brought more attention to the harms that this merger—and others like it—will cause. We will continue to fight the harms of industry consolidation.
As the number of outlets to sell our work to and the corresponding diversity of programming shrinks, we need industry-wide structural separation between streamers and studios in order to promote competition in programming, like the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules once required in broadcast television. We will continue to fight for these goals.”
DGA The Directors Guild of America highlighted protections that the AG’s negotiated (read a comprehensive list of those here).
“We congratulate the parties on reaching an agreement that addresses a number of critical concerns related to the Paramount/WBD merger. The AG agreement contains important binding and enforceable commitments that protect theatrical film and television markets and domestic film jobs. Equally important, it brings clarity and stability to the industry during a period of decreased production. We especially thank California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, for their leadership. We intend to continue our discussions with Paramount regarding domestic television production, with a focus on ensuring a competitive and robust marketplace that protects jobs.”
SAG-AFTRA The actors union underscored the power of collective bargaining.
“The settlement of the Attorneys General antitrust lawsuit, announced today, addresses some of our deep concerns about production levels and investment in U.S. production… We will continue to approach our relationship with Paramount with professionalism and the intention to work well together. We hope that the process of engaging with the attorneys general has impressed upon them the fact that in addition to collective bargaining, our members rely on the law to help protect our interests. These are the lowest standards that our employers must meet.All of the companies have the opportunity to exceed their legal obligations and make additional efforts to ensure that our workplaces are healthy and that employers honor our dignity.”
Mark Ruffalo “Task” star Ruffalo is the face of celebrity dissent over the merger, engaging in an ugly back-and-forth with Paramount after promoting what the studio called “antisemitic tropes.”
“Gavin Newsom hands huge win to Trump and his billionaire cronies,” Ruffalo wrote simply on X, referring to California Governor Newsom.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta If Ruffalo is the face of celebrity dissent, then Bonta was the final boss. Ellison’s most vocal opponent said this about his own settlement deal on Monday:
”Today, we have secured a settlement that resolves our antitrust concerns of the Warner Bros./Paramount merger — concerns that the merger will lower output and increase prices — by guaranteeing massive investment in domestic film production and providing enforceable guardrails to help keep cable prices competitive. Let me be clear: This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger. But we believe this settlement, which resolves our antitrust concerns in every market alleged in our case, protects competition and consumer choice, and puts workers’ needs, concerns, and futures first, is the best course of action. When we get down to brass tacks, what we heard over and over from people who would be most directly and immediately impacted by the merger is that what matters most is consistent film output, domestic production, and protecting the livelihoods of workers above and below the line. As such, our settlement provides court-enforceable commitments for more films, an infusion of an additional $1.5 billion into home-grown film production, and protections for workers who are impacted by the merger. There’s no Hollywood without the people who work on and off screen to make the magic happen, and today’s settlement protects workers, jobs, and Hollywood.”
Block the Merger Coalition The advocacy group formed this summer in response to the pending merger went, as predicted, scorched earth:
“We vehemently oppose the agreement to allow David Ellison to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. This is a bad deal for the future of film, entertainment, independent journalism, and a strong democracy in this country. We are disappointed and angry that the interests of average Americans have been trampled to benefit oligarch billionaires.“The Ellisons and other forces arrayed against us, but that didn’t stop us and so many others from standing up. We are proud of what we accomplished, and together, our coalition will keep fighting. From the thousands of leaders in the film and entertainment industry and elected officials, to the hundreds of thousands who joined them to make their voices heard, even in the face of potential retaliation, this was a grassroots movement that proved Americans are not going to take this corruption anymore. That energy is not going away.“This isn’t the last we will hear of the Ellisons or the fallout of this merger – and it’s not the last you will hear from us. Block the Merger was never just about one merger, but about the harms of media consolidation and promoting a diversity of voices. We will continue fighting for accountability and policy reforms to break up and prevent these large conglomerates. This one battle may be over in our efforts to defend democracy, but we won’t stop fighting until we win the war.”
Austin Abrams and Zach Cregger keep knocking them dead.
In 2023, the actor stuck with the writer-director after he lost his initial Weapons cast amid strike-related scheduling chaos. Abrams had attractive opportunities he could have pursued, but he wanted to work with the filmmaker who famously cut, out of nowhere, to Justin Long singing his way down PCH to kick off the second act of Barbarian (2022), the horror film that launched Cregger’s ascent toward becoming the top genre filmmaker working today.
That instinct to see Weapons through paid off handsomely. Abrams delivered a standout performance as an unhoused junkie thief in the critical and commercial hit that would go on to win an Oscar. Cregger then cast him as the lead of his Resident Evil reboot, which has now scored the franchise’s best reviews and highest-grossing opening weekend, taking in $60 million across its first three days.
If Cregger is the belle of the ball right now, then Abrams is the belle of the fall, with his survival thriller Whalefall — directed by Cregger collaborator and fellow genre specialist Brian Duffield — arriving Oct. 16. Between a courier caught in the middle of a zombie virus outbreak and a scuba diver swallowed whole by a sperm whale, both films put Abrams’ respective lead characters, Bryan and Jay, through uniquely harrowing one-man crucibles.
Having acted since he was 13, the 30-year-old Abrams is at a loss for words when describing what it means to lead back-to-back major studio movies. He’s equally reluctant to say which role put him through the wringer more.
“Honestly, in certain ways, they’re one and the same. Resident Evil generally had more laughs, just based on the nature of the comedy involved, so that helped lighten the load,” Abrams tells The Hollywood Reporter. “But I feel bad singling either one out as being harder to work on. They were both really challenging.”
(Spoilers ahead.) Cregger’s Resident Evil opens with Abrams’ medical courier juggling an organ delivery and a serious conversation with his girlfriend, Michelle, about her newly discovered pregnancy. He insists he’ll be home in 20 minutes so they can talk face to face, only to dodge the conversation by accepting a last-minute, faraway job that takes him to Raccoon City General Hospital.
While en route, Bryan and Michelle continue their phone call, but he doesn’t offer the most supportive response. Instead, he argues that they should preserve their current status quo. In other words, he’s afraid of the changes that come with growing up and becoming a father. Unsatisfied, Michelle tells him she’s going to stay with a friend and give him some time to reflect on the error of his ways.
Their talk is then interrupted by a bad signal and a woman in the road whom Bryan’s vehicle strikes. He helps the bloodied victim into his car, but a cop quickly pulls him over and takes responsibility for her. The officer’s SUV then flips over in front of Bryan, slowly confirming what viewers have likely already suspected about the sundress-wearing pedestrian. She is actually infected, and Bryan has become caught up in the franchise’s inciting t-virus outbreak.
After trying to offer aid to the now-deceased cop, Bryan uses the officer’s gun to shoot the rabid sundress woman and an infected guard dog at a nearby farm. He then makes his way inside the farmhouse to refuel, reload and call Michelle from the farmer’s landline now that he’s in jeopardy. When a concerned Michelle returns the call, he’s unable to answer because he just killed the infected farmer and blew the head clean off the reanimated pedestrian woman, who is widely believed to be the farmer’s wife. In a key moment, he witnesses their bodies fuse into one monstrous form that is unrelenting in its pursuit of him.
Bryan continues his journey on foot, making his way into a neighboring tunnel filled with abandoned vehicles. An RV blocks his path, so he climbs inside to make his way out through the back. There, he discovers a little girl and tries to help her, unaware that she’s already on the verge of transforming into a zombie. As her condition worsens, she turns on Bryan and sinks her teeth into his arm, forcing him to put her down. He soon crosses paths with two members of the Umbrella Corporation, who explain that a lab leak caused the outbreak. They also disclose that Bryan was tasked with delivering the “neutralizing base” to Umbrella scientists at Raccoon City General to complete an antidote.
After going through a series of even crazier near-death experiences, Bryan eventually arrives at the hospital, where he takes a moment in the parking garage to assess his rapidly spreading infection. Sensing he’s not going to make it, he tries to call Michelle once more, but is again greeted with no cell phone service. Thus, he records an audio message in which he expresses regret over his earlier response to the pregnancy news and that he’d love nothing more than to start a family together. He caps the recording in the most heart-wrenching way possible by saying, “I think you’d be an amazing mom.”
Bryan goes through even more insane scenarios before finally making it to the facility’s lab on the 28th floor. He delivers the key ingredient for the cure in the nick of time, but the bumbling Umbrella scientists fumble the ball on the one-yard line. They can’t finish the concoction before Bryan loses himself to the infection, and he ends up killing them one by one, becoming his own version of the amalgamation monster that has been stalking him since its inception at the farmhouse.
The movie closes with the realization that we’ve been watching an origin story for a Resident Evil monster, one that gamers typically mow down without a second thought to who they were before the outbreak. Thematically, Cregger reinforces the idea that change comes for us all, whether we’re ready for it or not.
“I thought it was crazy and shocking when I first read it. You follow this one guy the whole time, so hopefully you’re enjoying watching him and rooting for him,” Abrams says. “Then to have him not make it is really risky and gutsy, which is what I love about all of Zach’s work. So I was surprised by it, but I also loved that he would take that chance.”
In this age of unremitting test screenings and CinemaScore, downer endings typically score lower, so Abrams appreciates that Cregger and Sony weren’t afraid to figuratively twist the knife in the audience.
“With a lot of movies nowadays, they’re a little too afraid to do something like that — to kill off a character you really like. And if they do, the blow is softened in some way so it doesn’t hurt too much,” Abrams says. “Whereas a lot of older films don’t do that; they just rip your heart out. We’re here to feel, man. We’re here to go through something. So I’m just appreciative that Zach is willing to take a risk like that.”
If you’re like me, then you might have expected the aforementioned cushion to be a final reveal in which Michelle receives Bryan’s voice memo. Perhaps an unseen moment gave him a bar of service and a long enough opportunity to press send. That potential concluding beat would’ve offered the viewer the comfort of knowing that this now-single mother at least knows Bryan really did love her and the idea of starting a family together. Alas, Bryan not only becomes a monster, but Michelle’s last memory of him is his rather monstrous response to the prospect of having a child together.
“That’s part of the tragedy of it all. It’s so damn sad when you really think about it. She thinks he doesn’t want to have this baby, when he actually does. He realizes, ‘No, I love her. Having a kid isn’t as scary as I thought, and I want to do it with her,’” Abrams says. “So the fact that she’ll never know that is pretty damn tragic. He changed and got better, but no one will ever know about it. There’s something really beautiful and tragic about that.”
Below, during a spoiler conversation with THR, Abrams also discusses the 150-pound blood bag that nearly crushed him during his sprint through snowy Raccoon City.
***
Congrats on the fall of Austin Abrams. The season, not the collapse.
(Laughs.) Thanks, pal.
I watched your A24 Podcast episode with Skyler Gisondo, and you talked about how, growing up, he and Tye Sheridan were your boogeymen at auditions. Well, now that you have two huge studio movies coming out within a month of each other, do you feel like the new boogeyman?
I definitely don’t feel that way. As you get older, you realize that boogeymen don’t really exist in that context. Maybe I’ve got a little bit more of a shot now, but those guys are still such great actors. Have you seen Primetime yet?
Not yet, unfortunately.
See fucking Skyler in Primetime, and then tell me what you think about that.
Mythological framing aside, you’ve been working for more than half your life, and now you’re atop the call sheet. Do you consider this is a new beginning for you as a leading man?
It’s definitely different than it was before, but I don’t feel differently inside. I still feel like I’m trying to push myself and make new things. It’s not some ego trip or something like that.
I last spoke to you toward the tail end of Whalefall photography, so did you basically fly straight to Prague after that wrapped?
It was a really quick turnaround. We extended the Whalefall shoots a little bit, so the window for a break became non-existent. I got out to Prague earlier than I thought to do prep, so it was a very short window.
Austin Abrams stars as Bryan in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil
Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Zach Cregger was very interested in the answer to this question. Between him and Brian Duffield, whose movie made you suffer the most?
(Abramslaughs and squirms in his seat.) Oh, man. Honestly, in certain ways, they’re one and the same. With Whalefall, I don’t know if you’ve ever worn a wetsuit all day long, but the incessant tightening on your skin is somewhat uncomfortable. With Resident Evil, the amount of running, mixed with the exactness needed to get the shot right, and nightshoots — makes it a hard competition. They’re both also filled with a lot of joy. Resident Evil generally had more laughs, just based on the nature of the comedy involved, so that helped lighten the load. But I feel bad singling either one out as being harder to work on. They were both really challenging.
Zach has talked about the 150-pound blood bag that nearly crushed you during the “jumper street” sequence. Were you pretty rattled at the time?
I kind of didn’t notice. It just happened, and then it was done. Personally, I wanted it to be close because that’s better for what we’re trying to make. There were a lot of other takes where it wasn’t as close, or it happened too soon and you didn’t even see it. It wasn’t until doing press that I was like, “Whoa, was it that close? I didn’t realize that.” At the time, you’re just in it. So I’m stoked that it looks close. If anything, I’m excited by it. But I didn’t really feel rattled at the time.
This is the sequence in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil where Abrams, as Bryam, narrowly avoided a falling bloody bag on set.
Courtesy of Everett Collection
I really love your choice to give your medical courier character, Bryan, a feminine scream at times because he generally reacts the way 99 percent of us would in a zombie apocalypse. It’s such a departure from the traditional action hero, who’s expected to not only stay cool under pressure but also look cool while doing it. So was it liberating to not have to be concerned with vanity?
Definitely. I wanted to look like the antithesis of “the cool action hero” as much as I possibly could because that feels the most interesting. I haven’t seen it done as much. Shaun of the Dead lives in that realm as well. There’s a joy in being able to see this guy react naturally to all this crazy shit, and it’s just really interesting to watch. I always thought, How would this dude actually react to this? I just wanted it to feel really real-world. Whereas, if you have someone more experienced, it’s going to be a little less interesting to watch.
One of the parts I really enjoyed is earlier on with the dog. How do you even process a moment like that? What would you think that is? There was a period of time when I was like, Is this an alien?Does he think that these are aliens? That would probably confuse or frustrate audiences if my character was thinking it was aliens [because many of them already know what it is from the games]. But thinking about what it could be was a fun rabbit hole to go down while playing it.
In the ’90s, politicians began blaming video games like Mortal Kombat and Doom for real-world violence, and shooter games have remained a recurring scapegoat ever since. But I wonder if Zach is making a counterargument with this movie. Near the end, when Bryan successfully fires his last bullet, he screams, “Video games!” as a way of crediting them for his survival to that point. Do you see that moment as a suggestion that generations of people have actually learned problem-solving, survival skills and vigilance from playing these games?
Maybe, yeah. Growing up, the general vibe in the air, at least from parents, is you’re wasting your time playing video games. So to have the character triumphantly proclaim how much video games have helped him in that make-or-break moment is pretty funny. You’d have to ask Zach if he’s trying to say something deeper there, but it’s a funny little thing.
Austin Abrams as Bryan in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil.
Dušan Martinček/Sony Pictures
Zach told me that he cut out as many jokes as possible because test audiences deemed the movie to be “too funny.” The movie is still a riot, but were you bummed to see any of those other comedic moments go?
There were a lot of [deleted] moments that cracked us up. There were also a lot of moments that we never filmed. We were like, “This is the SNL version of this movie. We can’t film that. That’s too ridiculous.” I don’t know if I can remember any of those scenarios off the top of my head, but there were moments. They weren’t jokes that I could tell you right now and you’d think they were funny. They were more situational.
The emotional message Bryan records for Michelle is your finest work in the film, and if that monologue wasn’t challenging enough, you then had to go straight into this deliberately embarrassing cry so that Cregger’s voice on the intercom could sell the situational humor. Was that dynamic shift difficult to pull off?
Not really. Zach and I both understood the needle we were trying to thread there. I also knew the edit would help with the comedic shift. When Zach goes out into the wide shot, that helps with the transition into the comedic aspect. So it didn’t feel too intimidating.
As far as Michelle goes, Zach’s wife, Sara Paxton, voiced the character, but I heard you suggested the photo of her for Bryan’s iPhone. Is it safe to ask who that is?
She’s a friend. We wanted a photo of me and her to represent Bryan and Michelle more tangibly.
The partial look at someone in a red shirt is you?
Yeah, that’s me and my friend in the original photo. But then, on the day, someone cropped the photo on the phone to be just her. So the original plan went out the window.
Austin Abrams stars as Bryan in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil
Courtesy of Sony Pictures
I was not expecting the ending to go that way.
What were you thinking?
I figured Bryan wouldn’t make it out alive, but at the very least, I thought the lab would have some kind of cell signal booster so he could text his voice message to Michelle. If nothing else, I wanted her to know that the father of her baby was truly a good man. Anyway, what was your first reaction when you read that Bryan wouldn’t be cured and would instead become his own amalgamation of bodies?
I’ve been living with it for a while now, but I thought it was crazy and shocking when I first read it. I love that Zach takes those risks. You follow this one guy the whole time, so hopefully you’re enjoying watching him and rooting for him. Then to have him not make it is really risky and gutsy, which is what I love about all of Zach’s work. So I was surprised by it, but I also loved that he would take that chance.
With a lot of movies nowadays, they’re a little too afraid to do something like that — to kill off a character you really like. And if they do, the blow is softened in some way so it doesn’t hurt too much. Whereas a lot of older films don’t do that; they just rip your heart out. We’re here to feel, man. We’re here to go through something. So I’m just appreciative that Zach is willing to take a risk like that.
You used the phrase “soften the blow,” and that’s precisely what I was anticipating. I thought the movie would cut from Bryan’s snowball of body parts to Michelle’s phone, and she’d receive his voice message before the credits rolled. Do you remember if you expected some kind of button involving Michelle?
I don’t remember if I did, but who knows? Maybe he sent his voice memo while going up the staircase, and it’s just something we didn’t get to see.
One of my colleagues saw the ending as a kind of karmic consequence for Bryan not initially supporting his pregnant girlfriend. But along the way, he helps the sundress woman he hit with his car, rushes to aid the cop, tries to save the little girl in the RV and honors his commitment to get the package to Raccoon City General. So I see it less as Bryan deserving his fate and more as a reminder that a zombie outbreak is indiscriminate. How do you see it?
I wouldn’t say he deserved his fate, especially when you see him turn it around toward the end. That’s part of the tragedy of it all. It’s so damn sad when you really think about it. He leaves this voice note for his girlfriend, and maybe they’ll find his phone and somehow get it to her. But she thinks he doesn’t want to have this baby, when he actually does. He realizes, “No, I love her. Having a kid isn’t as scary as I thought, and I want to do it with her.” So the fact that she’ll never know that is pretty damn tragic. He changed and got better, but no one will ever know about it. There’s something really beautiful and tragic about that.
Austin Abrams, Andrea Miltnerova and Johnno Wilson in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil
Dušan Martinček/Sony Pictures
In Weapons, Alden Ehrenreich’s character told James to get out of town, and bad things happened when he didn’t listen. In Gangster Squad, Ryan Gosling told your shoeshiner to go home, and bad things happened when he didn’t listen. In ResidentEvil, Michelle told Bryan to come home, and bad things happened when he didn’t listen. Nobody in The Line listened, and bad things happened to your fraternity pledge. Your characters need to start listening, don’t they?
(Laughs.) Yeah, you’re right. They’ve got a little bit too much lint in their ears. But if they listened, these movies would be a lot less interesting.
Touché. Just out of curiosity, have you read Zach’s script called The Flood?
No, I’m staying away from it because I want to be able to watch it without knowing anything.
From Wolfs and Weapons to Whalefall and Resident Evil, you’ve spent the last few years running for your life on screen. Looking ahead, have you asked your agent to find you something calm, soothing and relaxing?
(Laughs.) Yeah, I need a movie that’s like a lullaby — where the heart of it rocks you to sleep. Can we make a movie like that? But it all depends. A lot of it comes down to the filmmaker and what ends up coming my way. So I don’t want to talk too much about what might be next, but we’ll see.
*** Resident Evil is now playing in movie theaters nationwide.
It’s officially the last New Music Friday of the summer, and artists did not play when it came to dropping fresh bangers. From A-list names and collaborations to highly anticipated albums, get your playlist ready and let’s have some musical fun.
Maluma & Shakira – AGUA
Shakira and Maluma reunite on “Agua,” their first major collaboration since 2018’s “Clandestino.” It marks their first merengue together, and they did not miss. The Colombian superstars turn up the heat and show off their chemistry and sexual energy in the spicy music video. Shakira looks incredible, per usual, as she flaunts her amazing body and signature dance moves.
CA7RIEL, Paco Amoroso, PinkPantheress, Fred again..–Sexy Magic
CA7RIEL, Paco Amoroso, PinkPantheress, and Fred again come together for “Sexy Magic,” which is featured on the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack. CA7RIEL and Paco Amoroso are on fire, scoring 7 nominations at the Latin GRAMMYS, the second most after producer Edgar Barrera.
Piso 21, Micro TDH & Gangsta – Segunda Cita
Piso 21, Micro TDH & Gangsta will have you feeling flirty and ready for date night with “Segunda Cita.” It’s a powerhouse collaboration with all the artists seamlessly blending their sounds. It includes a sweet moment with Micro TDH celebrating their first collab with Piso 21, “Te VI’s” initiation into the billions club on Spotify.
Michelle Maciel – espresso martini
Mexican singer-songwriter Michelle Macielbegins a new chapter with her album La Gloria, a 13-track project that explores love, personal growth, and experimentation while blending corridos, reggaetón, and boleros. The album’s focus track, “Dolencias,” featuring Ana Gloria, brings the two artists together for a fun, dance floor-ready collaboration that highlights Maciel’s ability to move between genres.
Zulia – Birkin
Following the release of his album Ya No Me Importa Si Nadie Me Escucha, Venezuelan rising star Zulia drops “Birkin.” The singer has one of the most unique voices in music, with bold, sensual lyrics, and a smooth sound.
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Guaynaa- SE PARECE AL PAI
Puerto Rican singer Guaynaa gets into his salsa swag with “SE PARECE AL PAI.” The catchy track has incredible instrumentals, an infectious melody, and lyrics inspired by his own life as a father. It stars his wife, Lele Pons, and their daughter, Eloísa.
Rodrigo y Gabriela – Somos Como Tú
GRAMMY-winning Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela release their new album OurHome. They step into new territory with “Somos Como Tú,” their first-ever song featuring lyrics and vocals. The track explores migration, displacement, and the connections that unite people across cultures, marking a new chapter for the duo as they continue to expand beyond their signature acoustic sound.
Feid, Bad Gyal – DE DIOR XL
After postponing its release, Feid drops his new EP, EL GREEN PRINT: La Saga (Disc 2) – EL CLUB DE LAS 19 FLORES, the next chapter of his Green Print era. It includes collaborations with Vicente García, El Americano 4KT and Pirlo, Divino and Baby Ranks, Icon, Yandel, and Spanish star Bad Gyal.
Elvis Crespo, beele – PA´BAILAR
The one and only Elvis Crespo adds another collaboration with the new generation, this time with Beele. The genre-blending track has merengue, urban, and pop sounds with exciting instrumentals that will have you ready to move your hips.
MILEY – Let’s Get Married
Miley’s highly anticipated album Bass Persuades is here, and it’s beautiful. It’s the first album since dropping Cyrus and shows off the multifaceted sides of the singer. “Let’s Get Married” is a gorgeous track dedicated to her fiancé, Maxx Morando, and comes with an intimate music video starring the couple.
