issue 196
Hello! Movies on the mind, always. I’ll explain below, but I’m starting a weekly movie club. Fill out this super quick Typeform if you want in. Or reply direct with your name, preferred email, and a classic film you’re embarrassed to say you haven’t seen. You can text me if you’ve got my number. No judgement, low commitment - just watch an indelible movie a week. Perhaps we’ll talk about it as a group, perhaps not. Everyone will be anonymous on bcc. It’ll be a safe space. That’s it. All for fun.
So Tarantino is making the rounds promoting the novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and whenever I listen to him I feel woefully inadequate. The guy is a movie encyclopedia. I am not.
I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t seen most of the stuff he rattles off. A deep shame boils inside me. I’d rather not publicly admit it, but I’ll start with some examples. I watched Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express for the first time in an arthouse theater last week — the legendary filmmaker behind In the Mood for Love.
I’ve never seen Hal Ashby’s Shampoo, nor Pedro Almodóvar’s Talk to Her, Melville’s Le Samouraï, Cronenberg’s Videodrome, del Toro’s Mimic. The list goes on.. please don’t yell at me. But yeah, these are the options for the first week. I’ll probably run a short poll in a separate email for those who opt-in to cast a vote, or at the top of these issues cluing you into the film of the week. Interactive and communal. Joyous.
On the topic of Wong Kar-wai, if you live in Williamsburg/Bushwick, check out the bar Mood Ring. The place takes aesthetic inspiration from his films. The bar is into astrology if that’s your jam, a new religion for so many. It’s not for me, but everyone’s got a vice… I’ll stick with palm readings (I joke). My local watering holes were Easy Lover, Anchored Inn, Jupiter Disco, and you’d most often find me at Yours Sincerely. More recs below. I miss NYC terribly.
Any who, Tarantinto is also starting a podcast with Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction co-writer) where they’ll discuss the days and films of Video Archives. I need to know what they’re talking about, so I promised myself I’d do a better job at divulging in the classics. At least one a week. If you want to join me, please do. Erase your blind spots. Remove choice paralysis.
So yeah you might need a Criterion or Mubi subscription. Some of these you might need to rent for $4 a pop, god forbid. Others might be harder to find… a super early idea percolating here, email if you want to help me organize a “where to stream” database (plus int’l with VPNs) and/or acquire small film libraries ;)
Generational. These are the films that influenced the people who are influencing culture now. They probably inspired your boss and the writer/director you’re ultimately working for. The watch party is ephemeral, but the movie should create a lasting imprint on the mind. A filmmaker’s filmmaker. Cinephile, iconoclasm.
Somewhat related, a friend brought up the recognizability of pop songs along the generations, here’s a great Pudding article on it with some charts and data. Also, most data from new streamer analysis companies is generally BS. Fun facts.
Create memories, inflection points. It was a delight seeing Sam Neill in the 1981 creature feature Possession (wiki) at Syndicated BK, my weekly movie den. A group of us film execs would also go to Videology and watched movies like A Fish Called Wanda and others that were cultural touchstones in the 70s/80s that we all happened to miss. Good times.
There are a host of new venture-backed startups popping up in the space, most geared for books (Bookblub, Literati, Fable)… so maybe a small business will emerge here. I’d give all early (and consistent) members ownership if anything eventuates. Auto-drive. And a special shoutout to the good people over at Le Cinema Club, I’m definitely taking a page from their playbook. Huge fan of their mission.
On top of of all this, the Cannes winners were announced. I’m so fired up for Julia Ducournau’s Titane. Watch her first feature Raw (wiki) if you haven’t yet, proceed with caution if you’re squeamish.
To cap this off, I watch movies to switch on, to get inspired. The artistry of it all. Most people don’t. That’s fine. They go to the telly to get pacified, to turn off after a long day of work and fall into an indulgent stupor of The Office or Parks and Rec. I’d rather not.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Stretch the shelf life. See you next week.
Tech
Pratilipi, online storytelling platform in India, raised $48m TC
SongFinch, personalized songs from musicians, raised $2m DMN
Verifi Media, streaming media DRM, raised $4m (Fintage?) MTS
Side Door, DIY concerts in unconventional spaces, raised $3m GAM
Amazon launched Kindle Vella, serialized fiction pay per chapter Input
Tales, interactive story app, raised seed (saw it, hm) Med
Snap acq Vertebrae, AR shopping tools Verge
FB courting digital creators with $1b to spend NYT
Color Factory, Instagrammable pop-ups, raised $10m Verge
Anyone, marketplace for short calls, raised $4m TC
Inshorts, news aggregator in India, raised $60m TC
Fly Machine, virtual concerts, raised $21m Bboard
FB wireless internet partners with Amazon’s Project Kuiper, small sats GW
Genvid, interactive live events and streams, raised $113m Var
Learn Worlds, make and sell online courses, raised $32m LWblog
Tencent patent for digital asset inheritance EG
Cadoo, gamified fitness, raised $1.5m TC
Tencent to buy gaming dev, Sumo, for $1.25b CNBc
Lightyear, procure telco network, raised $13m TC
Stytch, password-less authentication, raised $30m TC
Soona is a virtual photoshoot platform for e-comm (dig) BW
Resolution Games, xr games studio, raised $25m Gama
Peloton plans game where you pedal to a wheel (hmm) Verge
Leap, social learning platform for ppl over 55, raised $3m TC
Nas Academy, platform for creators to launch their own courses, raised $11m TC
Discord acq Sentropy, anti-harassment tech TC
Lacuna, makes “digital twins” of cities, raised $16m TC
Impact, affiliate marketing brand platform, raised $150m TC
Valve introduces Steam Deck, hardware device like Switch Stwtr
Sonarworks, audio apps, raised $6m TEU
Clubhouse allows text messages (cool?) Mash
DaoNao makes it easy to spin up Daos in Wyoming Balajitwtr
Mighty Buildings, 3d printed homes, raised $22m TC
Twitter kills its Fleets, version of Stories Verge
Apple plans buy now pay later option Bberg
MeWe, alternative social network focused on privacy raising Axios
Media
LeBron’s media company, SpringHill, on the block for $750m Info
A24 looking to be acquired for ~$3b
FTC opens up probe on Amazon/MGM deal Verge
Ackman’s Pershing Sq drops UMG SPAC deal THR
Amazon pushing more tools for live creators and shoppers BI
Automattic bought Pocket Casts, NPR had bought Verge
Carlyle to acq LiveU, hardware to broadcast livestreams, for $400m TC
Netflix gets window to stream animated Universal movies Var
Netflix to expand more into games with key hires Bberg
Tribeca acq commercial prod co Missing Pieces Trib
Nflx emails parents what their kids are watching Fastco
TikTok and Vimeo partner for content for SME Adage
Starz pay one deal w/ Uni THR
Twitch streamers make bank with crypto scheme Wired
TED talks partners with Clubhouse Verge
A look at CNN+ Var
ViacomCBS carriage deal w/ Charter includes Paramount+ Stream
Disney to relocate 2k jobs from CA to FL LAT
AT&T preps 5G plans readies XR content AW
Bowlero to get Spac’d in $2.5b deal by WWE presidents Axios
Peloton is the best paying music service w/r/t to music royalties Slate
BBC Sounds launches podcast lab PN
Toyota cancels Olympics ads THR
Darabont to see $200m in AMC lawsuit over Walking Dead participation CNBC
Facebook “rid itself” of racial ad categories (but didn’t really) Markup
Chicken Soup Ent launches a flurry of TVOD/AVOD platforms under Crackle brand PR
Byron Allen acq local network in Flint for $70m cash Cision
Biden says social media disinformation is to blame for covid deaths NYT
China pushes Tencent to give up music label exclusivity Reut
Global Citizen Live scheduled for Sept to combat poverty Dead
Drive Shack, TopGolf rival, raised $10m FOS
Entertainment
Cannes winners (Titane!) IW
Emmy noms IW
*Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers to open Venice Var
HBO orders The Sympathizer series from A24, RDJ, and Park Chan-wook (yes pls) Dead
Rick Rubin pacts with Endeavor Content to expand into film/tv Var
Lionsgate acq 20% of Spyglass (Barber has been thriving) Dead
Neon acq NA rights to Carpignano’s A Chiara Var
Seaview, Playbill, Sony partner on Broadway-themed NFT collectibles Dead
Neon takes US rights to Joachim Trier’s Worst Person in the World (!) Var
A24 orders Michael R Jackson horror with Square Peg (Ari Aster) producing Dead
Fox orders singing competition show full of avatars (where are my royalties DDtwtr??) THR
Beau Flynn and New Line team on home invasion thriller Prowl THR
Magnolia takes US rights to Anais in Love Var
Dinklage stikes first look tv deal w/ eOne Var
Julio Torres plans comedy film at A24 w/ Fruit Tree producing THR
HBO developing more GoT spinoffs (brand dilution?) THR
Bleeker St / ShivHans US rights to Golda THR
SPC takes a bunch of territories on Compartment No 6 THR
Albert Hughes to direct John Wick prequel series THR
Janicza to direct Kindred for FX, based on Octavia Butler book Var
Netflix and Gold House partner to support API stories (wrote about issue 124) THR
Space Jam gets NFT’d Var
A24 to make Zola avail for PVOD 3 weeks after theatrical debut Var
Netflix orders more from Moonbug, children’s entertainment TF
Meghan and Harry set animated series at Netflix THR
Amzn drops the Nic Cage Tiger King series Thr
Netflix opens NYC studio Bberg
TCA Award noms Var
Collaborative
History of the meaning of infrastructure Atlantic
VCs looking to invest in digital content creators (many will lose their hat, but they’re already doing that anyway) NYT
The rise of synthetic speech as voice actors MIT
Brain implants help mute ppl speak (!!) WSJ
Annette trailer YT
Morgan Neville used speech synthesis to recreate Bourdain’s voice (his attitude is abhorrent) MBtwtr
Musician Holly Herndon launches music creator DAO JWtwtr
Blue Bayou trailer YT
MG Siegler on a movie search directory product (agree) Med
Wes Anderson’s French Dispatch teaser clip YT
Comic book writers and artists on getting stiffed by the industry THr
Tarantino starting a Video Archives podcast with Avery (omg yes) ScR
Damien Hirst lists thousands of artworks as NFTs (surprised he wasn’t earlier, the guy is a bit of shyster) Bberg
Interview with the co-heads of UTA marketing Digiday
Netflix fires execs based on Slack message (you are being watched) THR
Songcamp’s Elektra crowdfund Mirror
Shortform share-able audio trend, startup coverage of the space Verge
Military to roll out anti-aging pill (?!) GEN
Lil Nas X profile NYT
Deep dive on Planet, geospatial intel set to go public Nana
Peppa Pig has kids acting British WSJ
1972 MIT study shows societal collapse is going as scheduled Vice
Short interview with Kevin Mayer CNBC
NFTs and copyright issues Decrypt
Print book sales up this H1 PW
The history of scicomm Massci
Jason Sudeikis profile GQ
The slow return of Broadway and theatre Med
Life lessons from Debbie Harry Interview
Europe plans fossil fuel rollback alternative NYT
Cryptophunks instead of punks Med
Laura Clinton on the identity investment Med
MIT robot helps old ppl get dressed (fashionably?) Fastco
Podcast w/ Steve Nuttall on sports rights Unof
TikTok partners with mall provider for dances (and issue 168) FashUK
Profile on the Spotify lawyer taking on Apple Bberg
Niel Robertson on creator advertising, all about conversion NRss
Cousins trailer presented by Array (kiwi film) YT
Giant high tides and moons set on course for mid 2030s NPR
Chris Dixon on the rise of NFT sales CDtwtr
White paper on generating synthetic data in Unity with computer vision PDF
Science and storytelling to effect change Massci
Companies using ocean’s power to harness electricity Nana
Rockwater report on digital creators leveraging sports (boxing) and social RW
Jackson Palmer (dogecoin creator) not into crypto, politically JPtwtr
Monitoring cross-platform content performance in SEA Nielsen
The ubiquity of facial recog Vox
Sweet Girl trailer YT
Deadpool and Korg react to Free Guy (smart) YT
Mara Veitch and St Vincent interview
Vice’s next chapter Dead
A look at whatever happened to IBM Watson NYt
Roxanne Gay op-ed on why ppl are so mean online NYT
HBO Max sponsors latest VFX react video (think I posted one of their first vids here) YT
Reebock and Jurassic Park partner for sneaker drop (ok, might need in on this) Coll
Ethereum propaganda doc raised $2m in crowdfund (insane) CD
Packy McKormick on raising his $8m fund from a newsletter PMblog
Ian Fleming profile NR