11/13/20

This week: Soapy mysteries, Hollywood con artists, and new music from Lil Nas X.

TRENDS THIS WEEK

☞ YouTube: Biden Victory Cold Open - SNL
☞ Letterboxd: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
☞ TikTok: #HolidayCountdown
☞ Spotify: Positions: Ariana Grande
☞ Netflix:  The Queen’s Gambit
☞ Twitter: #Billie

Life & Culture

Spotify is leaning even further into the world of podcasts—and getting access to a treasure trove of listener data in the process. The audio company announced on Tuesday that it’s acquiring Megaphone, one of the biggest podcast hosting companies that helps advertisers target specific audience segments across various podcasts. And obviously, where there is user segmentation, there’s user data. Personally, Spotify is one company that I’m cool with giving my data to—I listen to my Spotify-curated Discover Weekly playlist every week and can’t wait until I get to see the end of year data they share, from my Top 2020 songs playlist to how many hours of music I’ve listened to this past year. I’m definitely curious to see how this style of personalization extends into podcasts in the very near future. 

AMC is going nationwide with its private theater rental program. Movie lovers can rent out a screen at one of AMC’s 600 screening rooms nationwide for as many as 20 people. After testing the program in beta, the exhibitor saw 110,000 inquiries around the country. It’s showing recent titles like TENET for $149 and old classics like SHREK for $99. If you ask me, seeing SHREK on the big screen sounds like an absolute dream, and it’s cool to see theaters getting innovative in their quest to survive this pandemic. 

Lil Nas X is making a comeback almost two years after his genre-mashing EP went insanely viral and Old Town Road was all we heard anywhere and everywhere—for months. He’s had a chill, very Gen-Z-feeling approach to promoting upcoming music, as he’s been teasing upcoming singles on Twitter for months (this one in particular seems like it’s going to be a bop). He’s finally officially putting out a new album, and his newest single “Holiday” came out today. He’ll be promoting the song with a virtual live concert experience with Roblox, a global gaming company, on Saturday. 

Two of the best TikToks I saw this week were this video from one of my favorite series where a man asks strangers what happiness means to them, and this video of a girl discovering an extra, err, roommate living in her ceiling.

—Darlene Kenney, Marketing Assistant


Film 

You guys. YOU GUYS. If there’s one movie that’s been tragically, conspicuously missing from every streamer’s library—until now— it’s the LA-set 90’s masterpiece, BOYZ N THE HOOD. I can get into the obvious reasons why this remains one of the smartest and most timeless films e-v-e-r but I’d rather dare you, reader, to name a movie starring more famous people who were all unknowns at the time. You can’t. So, when you’re done binging THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (as our founder Erik Feig did in one weekend), I highly recommend staying on Netflix to check out John Singleton’s feature directorial debut. It’ll treat you to a baby-faced cast that includes Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fisburne, Morris Chestnut, Angela Bassett, Nia Long, and even a cameo from Singleton himself. You’re welcome in advance.
—Kauveh Khozein Carrera, Creative Executive

TV

Looking for a distraction amidst this most surreal news cycle? Look no further. THE UNDOING has earned its impressive ratings through a deliciously soapy mystery and a committed performance from Nicole Kidman. She effortlessly sells every single twist and turn in a way that reminds me, once more, why she’s one of Hollywood’s best. And the weirdly sexual tension she shares with a winning (and consistently underrated!) Edgar Ramirez? *Mwah*
—Kauveh Khozein Carrera, Creative Executive
 

Video Game

WATCH DOGS: LEGION is the game that got me through last week! It’s such a great release to be able to resist the government and rally communities to fight for freedom in a dystopian London. The most enjoyable part of the game is the fact that literally anyone can join the resistance. One minute you could be playing as a radicalized college sophomore and the next you could be playing as a retired history teacher. They all have different skills that make them indispensable to the cause. If you believe in freedom and fighting for what’s right, this is the game for you!
—Royce Reeves-Darby, Creative Exec
 

Theater 

Tickets are now available for my favorite Zoom theater series, OLD VIC: IN CAMERA. Next up is a production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL starring Andrew Lincoln and written by Jack Thorne. The play will be performed between December 12 and 24, so for anyone (like me) who’s already eager for holiday content, book your tickets now before they sell out! If the production value of their past shows is any indication, this is some of the best Zoom theater you’ll see all year. And since the shows are broadcast at 8pm GMT, they make for perfect afternoon co-viewing for the whole family!

—Julia Hammer, Creative Exec
 

Manga

In Heaven’s Animal Design Department, designers create a variety of new animals daily while contending with the unreasonable requests of their client: God. Funny, interesting, and full of useful information, this series answers questions such as, “Why can’t unicorns exist?”, “What makes an animal taste delicious?”, “What’s the most powerful creature in the ocean?”, and “Bird versus snake: Who would win?” HEAVEN’S DESIGN TEAM by Tarako, Hebi Zou, Tsuta Suzuki will make your next trip to the zoo or aquarium 100 times more fun!

This series reads more like a workplace comedy in the vein of MIRACLE WORKERS. The chapters feature a team of angels designing the various creatures of earth. The fun comes by way of the various problems they have to solve for each animal so that it can survive in its unique environment. It’s fun and educational, so if you love animals and manga like me, you’ll enjoy this series. 

—Royce Reeves-Darby, Creative Exec
 

Book

Apologies for doubling up on theater-related recs, but last week I finally got around to reading Isaac Butler and Dan Kois’ oral history of Angels in America, THE WORLD ONLY SPINS FORWARD. The book opens with a history lesson, documenting the origins of the AIDS crisis and how the spread of the disease inspired Tony Kushner to write his first draft of the play (which was over a thousand pages— a fact I can totally believe). Butler and Kois then walk us through the original workshops and productions of the play, followed by the HBO miniseries and subsequent major productions (with lots of fun anecdotes from the actors and major figures involved). The cultural impact of the play shines through on every page. I found the book an incredibly inspiring and important read, especially in light of the past year—art perseveres! 

—Julia Hammer, Creative Exec
 

Podcasts

I cannot stop listening to Campside’s new podcast CHAMELEON: HOLLYWOOD CON QUEEN. The series follows journalists Josh Dean and Vanessa Grigoriadis as they attempt to figure out who was actually responsible for a decade-long con targeting workers at the bottom of the Hollywood power structure. What makes this podcast so compelling is the peculiar nature of the con itself. The con artist masquerades as various powerful female executives in Hollywood and offers day players, trainers, and makeup artists their big break on a high budget movie in Jakarta….all they have to do is get on a plane. But when the plane lands, they quickly discover there is no producer. There is no movie. It’s all a fraud. Which brings us to the central question CHAMELEON tries to answer: Who was going through all this trouble to make a few 100 dollars per con?

—Lucy Putnam, Development Assistant

This indie podcast didn’t get much buzz upon release but WE SHARE THE SAME SKY just came across my radar and has stuck with me. It’s a powerful story of a woman tracing her grandmother’s past through WWII Europe as she leaves her home and flees from Nazis. The series explores how the retelling of family stories becomes history itself and how acts of kindness during war can echo across generations. This scar of history has been examined time and time again, but the podcast layers on a contemporary travel story, which felt like a fresh, relatable way into an intergenerational war story. 

—Erica Beach, Development Assistant
 

Short Film 

PARACHUTE by Katherine Tolentino focuses on Wendy, a Chinese "parachute" high school student in America. Parachute kids are students who are sent to go to school in the US without their parents. She has been living with an American family for three years when a new student from China, Mei-Ling, arrives. The two disagree on how to go about their respective lives in America, which forces each of them to question their place in the world, especially as outsiders in an American high school. Tolentino’s short feels universal even though it's very specific in scope. And just like with any good coming-of-age story, it feels deeply relatable no matter where you come from.

—Bennett Levine, Executive Assistant