Entertainment
Fun to play two different characters in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, says Ruffalo
Los Angeles, Oct 9 (IANS) Academy Award-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo, who is set to reprise the role of Bruce Banner/Hulk in Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok”, says it was fun for him to play two different characters.
“In this story Banner’s been basically inside the Hulk for two years when we find him. During this time, all of the traumatic things in his life that have been making him afraid, making him doubtful, making him unable to enjoy his life, have been erased. His neurotransmitters and neuropathways have been completely re-wired. So when he comes awake, he’s like an eight-year-old or 12-year-old boy,” Ruffalo said.
The actor added: “He has the same exuberance and curiosity and wonder. He finally also realizes that he’s free of the Hulk.”
Describing Hulk’s changes, Ruffalo said: “Hulk can be sad or happy. He’s speaking. He’s not only alive because of rage, so we can start to have more geography in the character’s emotional life, his intelligence, what he does, what he eats, if he sleeps — all the questions I’ve been dying to ask for years since playing this part.
“It’s a different Banner and a different Hulk. So I get to play two totally different characters in this movie, which is really fun.”
For Ruffalo, one lasting memory of working on the film was the welcoming ceremony by aboriginal natives at the start of production.
“Taika Waititi, the director, is a Maori. So the people who did the ceremony are his Maori brothers here in Australia. They came to bless the movie. I’ve been to Native American blessings for the climate march in America that we had a couple years ago. They’re always beautiful and sincere and invigorating and lovely and communal,” Ruffalo said.
The actor says he was excited to be part of the welcoming ceremony on this movie.
“There’s a lot of wisdom in that culture that we could carry with us. It was really beautiful and moving. I do feel like we were blessed,” he added.
“Thor: Ragnarok” is set to release on November 3.
–IANS
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Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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