I loved this line from Matt Zoller Seitz's review of Succession. Comparing the show's Roy family to apex predators, he writes: "We’re learning about how the monsters live and reproduce and dominate us, generation after generation." (Vulture)
Netflix has committed $200 million to the upcoming Scorsese movie The Irishman, making it "the most expensive adult drama in recent history." (WSJ)
If I had known Avengers: Endgame begins with the song "Dear Mr. Fantasy" by Traffic and features an obscure Kinks song off of Everybody's In Show-Biz I would have seen it in theaters. Music supervisor Dave Jordan should be a household name after all those Marvel movies. (Variety)
Everyone loves Quibi. So far. "Per knowledgeable dealmakers, Quibi is paying anywhere from $6 million to $15 million for scripted, film-like "Lighthouses." Unscripted "Quick Bites" and current-events-focused "Daily Essentials" from patrons including NBC News cost significantly less." (THR)
This Lion King-related headline is fucking insanely depressing: "When Melissa and Stephen realised they had a 'one of a kind' Lion King Woolworths Ooshie they advertised it for sale in exchange for much-needed water. However, after relentless abuse, Stephen destroyed the valuable Ooshie LIVE on air in protest of online trolls." (Twitter)
Embarrassing things
If you search the word "queen" on Spotify, Beyoncé shows up. Not embarrassing: if you search "boss," Rick Ross appears above Bruce Springsteen on Apple Music. (Twitter)
Even though he had highly anticipated news about his band to share on the podcast, Maynard James Keenan from Tool and Joe Rogan spend the first five minutes of their interview talking about falcons. (YouTube)
Jake Paul is basically wrestling now. (The Verge)
This TV anchor is embarrassing me. (TikTok)
Kanye's 50-foot-tall wooden dome structures look like The Wicker Man. (Daily Mail)
A Chinese vlogger's face slipped off. (BBC)
Surveying the scene at the Instagram influencer beach party, I think this name is already taken: "The self-proclaimed 'Brat pack' consisted of about seven boys and a couple of girls, all of whom star in shows on Brat, a digital-first teen-entertainment company that produces web series for YouTube." (The Atlantic)
Doing better than you think
Nickelodeon has a good TikTok. (TikTok)
Spotify's podcasts business are a bright spot of its most recent quarterly earnings report. "The company said tens of millions of users are now streaming podcasts on the platform on a monthly basis, with its overall podcast audience growing more than 50% from the previous quarter and nearly doubling since the beginning of the year." (WSJ)
Apparently the movie How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days is considered a classic? It's getting rebooted for Quibi. Whatever. If you had asked me a week ago if this movie came out in 2003 or 2013, I don't know if I would have answered you correctly. (Vulture)
Indian rapper Badshah broke YouTube's views record with 75 million views in one day, "eclipsing a mark set by Korean boy band BTS in April." (Bloomberg)
People who write things
Jia Tolentino's media tour is a who's who of today's most desirable column appearances. Promoting her new book, she was featured in Top Shelf, Grub Street Diet and By The Book.
This absolutely brutal teardown of management is coming from inside the house. (Deadspin)
Gawker's zombie lurch continues. (NYPost)