Day: December 11, 2023

Nvidia to Expand Ties with Vietnam, Support AI Development

U.S. chipmaker Nvidia’s chief executive said on Monday the company will expand its partnership with Vietnam’s top tech firms and support the

country in training talent for developing artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.

Nvidia, which has already invested $250 million in Vietnam, has so far partnered with leading tech companies to deploy AI in the cloud, automotive and healthcare industries, a document published by the White House in September showed when Washington upgraded diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

“Vietnam is already our partner as we have millions of clients here,” Jensen Huang, Nvdia’s CEO said at an event in Hanoi in his first visit to the country.

“Vietnam and Nvidia will deepen our relations, with Viettel, FPT, Vingroup, VNG being the partners Nvidia looks to expand partnership with,” Huang said, adding Nvidia would support Vietnam’s artificial training and infrastructure.

Reuters reported last week Nvidia was set to discuss cooperation deals on semiconductors with Vietnamese tech companies and authorities in a meeting on Monday.

Huang’s visit comes at a time when Vietnam is trying to expand into chip designing and possibly chip-making as trade tensions between the United States and China create opportunities for Vietnam in the industry.

At Monday’s event, Vietnam’s investment minister Nguyen Chi Dzung said the country had been preparing mechanisms and incentives to attract investment projects in the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries.

Dzung also asked Nvidia to consider setting up a research and development facility in the country following Huang’s proposal to set up a base in Vietnam, after his meeting with the Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday.

 

more

‘Barbenheimer’ Tipped to Dominate Revamped Golden Globes Nominations

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — the unlikely pair of films that dominated the box office and spawned countless internet memes this summer — are expected to lead the newly revamped Golden Globes when nominations are unveiled Monday.

Collectively dubbed “Barbenheimer” after their theatrical releases happened to fall on the same date, both movies are likely to score highly with voters for the Globes, which kick off Hollywood’s film awards season.

“Barbie” — a vivid, feminist satire about the all-conquering line of plastic dolls — was 2023’s top-grossing movie, earning more than $1.4 billion globally. It is tipped to earn nods for its stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, as well as writer-director Greta Gerwig.

“Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s critically adored drama about the inventor of the nuclear bomb, managed a remarkable $950 million at the box office worldwide.

It should rack up nominations for cast members including Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr, as well as its director.

Organizers of the Globes will hope that the enduring hype and attention surrounding “Barbenheimer,” as well as other popular and acclaimed films such as “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Poor Things,” can shift the focus away from the gala’s recent notoriety.

The Golden Globes have endured a rough few years, after a Los Angeles Times expose in 2021 showed that the awards’ voting body — the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — had no Black members.

That revelation triggered the airing of a wide range of other long-simmering criticisms about the HFPA, including allegations of amateurism and corruption.

Earlier this year, the awards’ assets and trademarks were purchased and overhauled by a group of private investors including US billionaire Todd Boehly, and the HFPA was disbanded.

Hollywood-based former HFPA members have been banned from accepting gifts and will now be paid a salary to vote for their favorite films and shows, while more than 200 non-member (and unpaid) voters from around the world have been added to the Globes mix.

Cedric The Entertainer and Wilmer Valderrama will announce the Globes nominees on “CBS Mornings” from 1330 GMT.

One of the United States’ biggest national television networks, CBS has stepped in to become the new home of the Globes, after long-standing host NBC ended its deal to broadcast the event.

CBS bosses will be hoping for vastly improved ratings, after the 2023 Globes slumped to a new low of just 6.3 million viewers, even as other shows such as the Oscars recovered from pandemic viewership nadirs.

A new category for “best cinematic or box office achievement” has been added, paving the way for nominations for popular films that would not usually earn critical recognition, such as Universal’s $1.3 billion-grossing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” and Marvel superhero film “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3.”

In another seeming bid to honor more household names, the number of nominees in each category has been increased.

A-listers such as Leonardo DiCaprio — the star of Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” — and Emma Stone for her turn in female Frankenstein-esque drama “Poor Things” are also widely expected to score nominations.

Others likely to feature are Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”), Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”), Timothee Chalamet (“Wonka”) and Natalie Portman (“May December.”)

The Globes also honor television, with dramas “Succession” and “The Last Of Us” likely to rack up nods, alongside comedies “The Bear” and “Ted Lasso.”

The 81st Golden Globes ceremony will take place in Beverly Hills on Jan. 7.

more