A new private grantmaking initiative dedicated to films about North Korea has launched out of Los Angeles, with an advisory board drawn from documentary filmmaking, journalism, and human rights advocacy.
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Bearing North, founded by entrepreneurs and film investors Blaine Vess and Esther Paik Vess, will award grants to independent filmmakers worldwide at any stage of production. The initiative covers documentary features, narrative features, and short films, with a stated preference for projects brought forward by North Korean defectors.
The founders bring prior involvement in the space: Blaine Vess has served on the board of Liberty in North Korea for more than a decade, and the couple have previously supported North Korea-related documentaries including “I Am Sun Mu,” “Assassins,” and “Beyond Utopia.”
“Some of the films that have most shaped how we understand history arrived decades after the events they depict,” Blaine Vess said. “We created Bearing North because important stories about North Korea are unfolding now, while the people who lived them, the places where they happened, and the perspectives surrounding them are still within reach.”
The initiative’s advisory group includes Matt Tyrnauer, director of “Valentino: The Last Emperor” and “Where’s My Roy Cohn?”; Anna Fifield, journalist and author of “The Great Successor”; Joseph Kim, North Korean defector and author of “Under the Same Sky”; Hannah Song, CEO of Liberty in North Korea; and Sokeel Park, chief strategy officer of Liberty in North Korea.
Bearing North’s first supported project is “School for Defectors,” directed by Jeremy Workman. The documentary tracks students at the Jangdaehyun School in Busan, South Korea – an institution serving North Korean defectors and their families.
“North Korea is often reduced to headlines about missiles and politics,” Blaine Vess said. “Great filmmakers have the ability to show us something much harder to capture: how ordinary people live, hope, adapt, and endure.”
The “Boston” singer walked us through a playlist that includes Thomas Rhett and Elvis Presley for Rolling Stone’s Song Shuffle series
Stella Lefty, who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, has been going to Lollapalooza every summer since she was 15 years old. This year, though, is her first time performing, and it’s been a little discombobulating. “It’s really weird,” Lefty tells Rolling Stone. “I’ve never been to this area of the festival before. Where are we? Where’s GA?”
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Still, it’s her favorite fest, with “the best vibes. The people are so free here,” Lefty says. “Anything goes.” Including having Rolling Stone sift through her listening habits for another round of Rolling Stone’s Song Shuffle series. While Lefty has been making waves in both country and pop with her hit single “Boston,” the first artist that pops up is Elvis Presley and “Hound Dog” — though, to be fair, the King did bring plenty of Southern elements into his sound. Lefty came to Presley a bit later in life, she admits. “I love the way that every single song of his makes me want to dance,” she says.
Next up, Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs.” Written by Stevie Nicks, it details her breakup with bandmate Lindsey Buckingham. Lefty saw Nicks in concert in New Orleans while in college and was predictably moved. “This song, it changes things,” says Lefty. “[Nicks] is liberating as a whole.”
Lefty has also found “guidance” in SZA, whose song “Drew Barrymore” popped up next (“I feel like she sees me”), followed by picks from Calvin Harris (“Summer”) and Thomas Rhett (“After All the Bars Are Closed”). The Justin Bieber-Chance the Rapper collab “Holy” came last, a song that Lefty loves to belt in her car. She also made sure to shout out her current other go-to’s: Audrey Hobert, Jordan Davis, Luke Combs, and “early Taylor [Swift].”
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So what does Lefty think everyone else should have on their playlist? Well, “Boston,” of course, which is currently sitting at Number Four on the Billboard Hot 100. It’ll be on her debut album, Long Way Home, out Aug. 21.
As a Lollapalooza veteran, Lefty also shared plenty of advice for festivalgoers with Rolling Stone. Her don’ts include not braving Lolla with “a boy you have been dating for a month,” and “don’t wear uncomfortable shoes.” Her do’s are straight to the point but no less important. “Come with your best friends,” Lefty says. “And go see your favorite artist.” %!s()
The app now has more than 2 million videos from Vine's original archive.
Divine
Divine, the Vine reboot led by one of Twitter's earliest employees, is finally open to anyone who wants to join. A little more than three months after launching its app in invitation-only mode, Divine is eliminating sign-up codes as it looks to draw a new wave of enthusiasts for 6-second videos.
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While not officially affiliated with the much-loved app that folded nearly a decade ago, Divine will feel familiar to fans of the original. It relies on the same 6-second looping video format that once inspired so many memes. The app even has a "classic" feed of clips from Vine's original archive; the company has so far managed to restore more than 2 million original videos. There are other ties to the OG version: Divine is funded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, though the company says he has no equity or ownership in the venture.
nostr protocol (which Dorsey has also funded). And the app aims to offer a safe haven from AI content of any kind. Users can only share videos that were recorded with Divine's in-app camera and the app has built-in AI detection tools for added verification.
The result, according to Divine's creator Evan "Rabble" Henshaw-Plath, is an app with "lots of weird stuff" that is also completely unique. "A whole bunch of what you see on social media is people clipping content and moving it around between things," Henshaw-Plath tells Engadget. "None of the stuff you see on Divine was ever on other platforms before, it was either on Vine originally or it's now on Divine. You're not going to see the same thing that you see on TikTok and Instagram."
Much of Vine's original success was due to the creativity of its creators. But many of those same creators eventually left the app, frustrated that its leaders weren't doing enough to support them. Henshaw-Plath is already thinking about how Divine can provide creators with the kinds of monetization tools that were never available on Vine. "We don't know exactly how it's all going to work, but we do know that as creators grow, as they build an audience, they want the ability to make money," he says.
Divine's public launch comes at a time when there's increasing nostalgia for "old" social media platforms. A brief comment in a recently-released documentary about Myspace has prompted weeks of headlines and speculation about a supposed comeback of the site. (No specific plans have been announced.) Smaller apps have also tried to recreate the vibes and simplicity of early social media. That type nostalgia could benefit Divine as it opens to the public.
Henshaw-Plath suspects some of that nostalgia is driven by the "hope and excitement" once associated with social media. "With Divine, our theory is that part of the problem is that we centralize power in a few people's control," he says. "Our solution is: let's not put ourselves in charge again. Let's bring back the old content. Let's empower people to not have AI slop, and let's design it this way so that it can't be enshittified in the future." %!s()
Sebastian Stan has seemingly confirmed his role as Harvey Dent, AKA Two-Face, in Matt Reeves' long-awaited The Batman: Part 2.
While the Avengers star has previously been linked with the role, both Stan and Reeves have notably refrained from confirming his character definitively. Indeed, back in May, Stan simply said he would play "many roles in this one" — an ambiguous comment that fans took as a reference to Dent's dual personality.
Now, however, in an interview with French outlet Le Journal du Dimanche, Stan has seemingly stated his role as a matter of fact: "[I] can't say anything about The Batman: Part 2," it's reported he said, "where I play Harvey Dent." Dent is, of course, Gotham's heroic district attorney who becomes an adversary to Batman, previously played by Aaron Eckhart in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
Stan, meanwhile, was responding to a wider question about his superhero roles — which he's allowed to say very little about due to the huge secrecy maintained by DC and Marvel around their respective movie productions.
Of course, we know that Stan will next reprise his iconic character of Bucky Barnes in Avengers: Doomsday, though he claimed he had "absolutely no idea" about the movie in general as Marvel withheld many details even from the actors involved in making it.
"Frankly, I have absolutely no idea," Stan said. "Because we didn't have a script. We were just shooting scattered scenes. It's a different way of working, continuous, constantly evolving.
"The producers didn't want us to read it in its entirety, to avoid journalists asking us questions," he laughed.
The Batman: Part 2 is now filming in the U.K., with recent social media posts revealing the filming of a sequence involving Robert Pattinson’s stunt double and some GCPD squad cars in The Birkenhead Tunnel in Liverpool. Set photos have also revealed the film’s new logo. Just this week, the Batmobile turned up in the Scottish city of Glasgow, which will once again double for Gotham City. (Amusingly, the location has also just doubled for New York in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.)
After a recent delay, The Batman: Part 2 now opens in theaters on February 18, 2028. Avengers: Doomsday, meanwhile, lands on December 18, 2026. Should Bucky survive that, he'll likely also be in Avengers: Secret Wars in December 2027.
As a frequent traveler, I know all the best things to do as soon as you board a cruise ship.
Sharon Fisher
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When I went on my first cruise in 2016, I had no idea how much I'd grow to love this form of travel. But throughout the past decade, I've spent a total of over eight months at sea.
Although I'm now a seasoned pro, I often think back to my first cruise, when I had no idea what to expect or how to take full advantage of the ship's amenities.
Here are six things I think new cruisers should do as soon as they board the ship.
It's important to review the safety protocols right away.
I recommend finding the muster station as soon as you board.
Sharon Fisher
When it comes to cruising, safety is the most important thing. That's why I recommend finding the muster station — where passengers meet if there's a ship-wide emergency — as soon as possible.
Some ships may also have other requirements, like watching a safety video after boarding. If that's the case, it's a good idea to review this information as soon as possible.
Plus, you'll want to find out where your life jackets are located — before you need them.
The rooms on board can be small, so it's a good idea to unpack your belongings.
I never want to come back to a messy room.
Sharon Fisher
It can be tempting to run out and enjoy everything the ship has to offer, but I always unpack as soon as my luggage has arrived.
Unless I splurged on a larger room, it's likely the cabin won't be big enough to leave all my bags piled around.
Plus, I never want to have to come back tired to find my bed covered with stuff.
I also recommend meeting your room steward.
My room steward has left me goodies like chocolate and towel animals.
Sharon Fisher
On typical cruises, each cabin gets a room steward or attendant who's assigned to keep the room clean, grab extra towels and toiletries, and arrange to have anything that's broken fixed.
When cruising, mine usually becomes my best friend. If they don't come to the room to introduce themselves, I like to keep an eye out for them in the hall.
Knowing my steward has come in handy in the past, especially after I've locked myself out of my room, and my kind attendant helped me get back in.
It's a good idea to walk the entire ship.
I like to figure out the ship's layout as soon as I board.
Sharon Fisher
When I first started cruising, I figured out the ship's layout as I went along. However, this meant I missed out on some of the offerings and amenities on board.
For example, I was on my fourth sailing on the same cruise line before I learned that most of the ships had a sauna — something I definitely would've gotten use out of on my Alaskan cruise.
Now, my partner and I have a routine when we get on board: We walk the entire ship to make sure we know what's available. This also gives us the opportunity to pick out the best sections in the theater, choose the nicest bars, and locate the gym.
Plus, it makes it easier to find each other later when we're off doing our own thing. It's easy to get lost on a ship, so taking some time to get acquainted with the layout is important.
Figure out how to get important information on board.
Information may come in the form of a loudspeaker announcement.
Sharon Fisher
During your sailing, you'll likely receive announcements about onboard activities, special offers, and safety alerts.
Depending on the cruise line, this information may come in the form of a daily newsletter, loudspeaker announcements, a mobile app, or some combination of the three. Information about how to stay in the loop will likely be in your room when you arrive.
Schedules change, things happen, and you don't want to miss out on new opportunities, especially if the ship has to cancel a port.
Scope out the best food options.
It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the best food options to fit your needs.
Sharon Fisher
In my opinion, one of the best parts of a cruise is definitely the food. Most ships have several options, some of which are free and others that cost extra. It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the best options to fit your preferences and dietary restrictions.
Plus, in my experience, the buffet tends to get crowded, so I like to look for alternative seating options by the pool or even on an upper deck ahead of time.
This story was originally published on January 19, 2026, and most recently updated on August 18, 2026.
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Sharon Fisher is a contributing writer for Business Insider.
