So The Perfectionists – a show on Freeform “about a scandal involving college students striving for excellence by any means necessary” – premiered Saturday night. The pay channel’s president said, “We have the best marketing and PR team in the business, but even I was not sure that they would be able to create a college cheating scandal this big to launch our show. … But we’re very grateful that they did.” – Variety
Category: media
The Sometimes Questionable Ethics Of True-Crime Films
As true-crime podcasts, books, and films explode onto Netflix and many, many other platforms, ethical questions should arise. “It may be impossible to make documentaries or write about horrific crimes without causing someone distress. Should that stay the hand of film-makers?” – The Observer (UK)
CBS Finally Settles Possibly The Final Sumner Redstone-Related Lawsuit
The CBS Corporation’s directors agreed to a payout of $1.25 million for an investor lawsuit over money paid to Redstone after his health deteriorated in 2014. Is this the last lawsuit around Redstone, his daughter Shari Redstone, Viacom, and CBS? Maybe. – Bloomberg
Marvel Has A Not So Great Pattern Thing Going On
And yes, it’s in Captain Marvel too: White superhero, POC sidekick. To be fair, “The characters would probably balk at the classification of ‘sidekick.’ Yet they’re designated by the films as such, by virtue of their stories ultimately working to support the main character’s arc. All of them exist to help the lead work through some issue or trauma and provide logistical backup.” – The Guardian (UK)
Neil deGrasse Tyson Returns To TV After Investigation
One of his accusers “said that this case was ‘always the word of a low-level assistant and a perceived eccentric woman of color against an extremely powerful and wealthy TV personality,’ so she was not at all surprised by the news.” – The New York Times
These Are The Films That Got The Most Buzz At SXSW
Though the movies that won awards were serious, the festival “has turned into something of a testing ground for the hit potential of Hollywood comedies.” – The New York Times
Everyone’s Talking About The Cat In ‘Captain Marvel,’ But He’s Actually Four Different Cats
There are spoilers in this article, just FYI – but not in this excerpt: “In addition to [experienced cat actor] Reggie and another experienced animal actor, Archie (yes, they’re named after Archie Comics characters), Brauner found two more orange tabbies, named Gonzo and Rizzo in a nod to the Muppets, at a shelter. Each one had a specialty.” – The New York Times
Disney Takes Back A Director It Fired For Twitter Jokes
James Gunn’s firing from the Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was controversial because Disney fired him when “two far-right provocateurs, Mike Cernovich and Jack Posobiec, threw a spotlight on the [offensive tweets] — written between 2009 and 2012 — after Mr. Gunn harshly criticized President Trump online.” – The New York Times
Of Critics, Bullies And Trolls – How Do You Tell Which Is Which?
Famous people who spend a lot of time online become especially defensive; experts point to the explosion of social media for the increase in conflating bullies with critics. After all, bullying has been around forever. Now, there are just more opportunities for anyone to weigh in on any subject they want, and it’s far more likely the intended target will see or hear the criticism. – Washington Post
Netflix Says It Will Make More Interactive Content
The studio judges that its “Bandersnatch” project was a success and it’s exploring extending its experiments in letting viewers have more control of the stories they’re watching. But what kinds of stories should these be? – The Guardian