The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

On December 28, Netflix Tweeted that over 45 million Netflix accounts (45,037,125 to be exact) had already tuned in to watch Bird Box, the latest Netflix original movie starring Sandra Bullock. That's more than one-third of the 130 million worldwide Netflix account holders.

In 1998, the Copyright Term Extension Act (AKA The Mickey Mouse Protection Act) extended copyright protections by 20 years (from 75 years to 95 years), meaning no new works have entered the public domain for the past 20 years. This year, many literary works will lose their copyright protection. What does this mean? More editions (often less expensive) will be available to readers while writers and artists will be able to create new work based on old classics without infringing on copyright. The downside? As part of the public domain, anyone will be able to sell digital, audio, print, or even sequels and/or spinoffs. It becomes "buyer beware" for readers who are looking for the original version.

Fans of the Blockbuster 2018 A Star is Born remake may enjoy the Netflix documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two. The film focuses on Gaga's off-stage life, especially how she copes with chronic pain and fan expectations.

Netflix has also come out with a choose-your-own-version movie with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Viewers (or players, since the show is more of a streaming "game") choose what the character does next. Choices range from what to eat for breakfast to whether or not to kill other characters. Some have voiced concern over the data collected by Netflix. Is use of the data collected during the movie an invasion of privacy or an innovative way to improve customer service and marketing?