Hi All,
Happy evermore day! Taylor Swift is really doing her best to save 2020. In terms of pandemic creativity, Shakespeare had King Lear, she had folkore and evermore. Big kudos to Jenn and Jacqueline for texting me yesterday morning as soon as this new album was announced. I had a bunch of other things to talk about and a different newsletter drafted, but really I canāt think about anything else.
So before we get into that. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who reached out last week with their own stories and ideas about how to combat that feeling of *not* having it figured out.
I keep saying it, but I really love sending this out and hearing back from you about your favourite things - it helps me keep writing content that I hope connects. I also really want to hear all your thoughts on evermore :)
Okay - letās get into it. Iāve got quite a few things to sayā¦
This week on the blog:
Iāve got nothing for you š¤·āāļø
I know Tay tay is out here writing two studio albums in lockdown and I *should* have time to write a blog post butā¦
Letās put it this way, I really appreciate this tweet from my friend Kristyna:
I was hoping to talk about Godmothered (itās a new v cute movie on Disney+, highly recommend if you want something mindless and fun) but I ended up spending my week researching MBA programs.
Then when Taylorās album came out, I did stay up until midnight to listen to it with the hope of writing something, but I was honestly too tired to write something at 1 am; and then this morning Iāve been listening to webinars from Digi60ās professional development program. So, unfortunately, Iāve been unable to really give Taylor the full consideration she deserves ā¤ļø
But I will hold myself to writing at least two blog posts for you next week. One will 100% be about Taylor Swift. I also have a bunch of ideas percolating and drafts that I will finish that Iām excited about sharing next week. Hold me to it :)
Things to watch this week:
Today is WILD. There is honestly so much stuff to pick from.
On Disney+, High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special is now streaming. If you havenāt seen High School Music: The Musical: The Series - it is fantastic. I wrote about it on the blog at the beginning of quartine. The talent on this show is superb and this holiday special looks great. I will 100% be watching this at some point this weekend. Check out the trailer here.
On Netflix, Giving Voice starts streaming today. Itās a documentary about the August Wilson Monologue Competition. It honestly looks incredible. It won the Festival Favorite award at Sundance this year and from the trailer alone I can see why. There are a lot of heavy hitters involved in this including Viola Davis, John Legend, and Denzel Washington.
Also on Netflix, The Prom premieres today. This is a Tony-nominated musical based on a true story about a group of Broadway stars who descend on a small-town in Indiana to help a girl who was banned from bringing her girlfriend to the prom. This movie version stars James Corden, Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman, and Andrew Rannells. Plus weāve got a new star in Jo Ellen Pellman. Iām really excited to watch this. Watch the trailer here.
On Crave there is a new movie in the Scooby-Doo franchise - this time itās called Scoob! I will be watching this for one reason: Zac Efron. Heās playing Fred. Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez and Amanda Seyfried also star. Check out the trailer here.
So thatās all happening today.
Then on Sunday, things get *truly* wild. If you have not heard, Lifetime has teamed up with KFC (truly) to produce a special āmini-movieā called A Recipe for Seduction. Mario Lopez stars as Colonel Sanders. I wish I was kidding. This is the real description:
āAs the holidays draw near, a young heiress contends with the affections of a suitor handpicked by her mother. When the handsome chef, Harland Sanders, arrives with his secret fried chicken recipe and a dream, he sets in motion a series of events that unravels the motherās devious plans. Will our plucky heiress escape to her wintry happily ever after with Harland at her side, or will she cave to the demands of family and duty?ā
These are the moments Iām embarrassed to say that I work in this industryā¦ but I will 100% be watching this. Watch the trailer here.
On Monday (Dec 14th) weāve got a new dark ballerina tv show. Tiny Pretty Things looks like Black Swan but for teenagers. Think a cross between Step Up and Pretty Little Liars. Iām into it. Bonus points because itās filmed in Toronto (although itās set in Chicago) Watch the trailer here Here and if youāre into it, itās on Netflix.
Plus - for all my Bachelor Nation friends, this your friendly reminder that The Bachelorette starts doubling up episodes this week. Youāll get new episodes on Mondays and Tuesdays. So load up the rosĆ© because weāve got a lot of drama. I honestly have NO clue who is going to win Tayshiaās heart but Iām loving the back end of this season. Once Clare and Dale cleared out, Iād argue that this season became one of the best weāve ever had.
Other things to check out:
Weāve got *BIG* industry drama this week. Get your popcornā¦
To catch you up - last week Warner Bros announced that its slate for 2021 would start streaming on HBOMax for 31 days the same day they hit theaters. The average at-home person might think that this makes sense - itās a pandemic and no one really wants to go to the theatres right now - but weāre talking millions (maybe billions) of dollars at stake. This is a major deal and folks in the biz are *not* happy. Legendary Entertainment, the production company that co-financed Dune (ft. my fav TimothĆ©e Chalamet) and Godzilla vs. Kong may sue Warner Bros. Plus Christopher Nolan is furious that this might forever disrupt the system. When I say the industry is buzzing - I mean itās everywhere. Itās all over all the Facebook groups (the industry has a few major ones), Twitter, and of course all over Deadline, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. Plus The Directors Guild of America is just got involved. They released their letter of dissent. Itās very messy and Iāll be watching.
In Canadaās screen industry - there is a big fight going down about Telefilm and itās Fast Track Program. Again, for the average-at-home person, itās easy to say that people donāt really care about Canadian feature films. But this is exactly what the industry wants to be changed. Now had a great article about it a few weeks ago, then The National Post did a story. Then on Monday, Directorās Guild of Canada President Warren P. Sonoda released a public letter on his Twitter account encouraging the re-envisioning and modernization of Telefilm that was undersigned by a lot of big names. For the record, I think this program needs to go.
AND THEN - Disney had a marathon of announcements at their investorās day yesterday. There are honestly so many things going on at Disney that I donāt even know where to start. If you want to read ALL the announcements the best way to do it is by reading through this long twitter thread. I think highlights for me include Only Murders in the Building, The Dropout, Big Shot, Peter Pan & Wendy, Turning Red and Lightyearā¦ plus Iām very curious about the Kardashians new deal. Iām not personally a Star Wars fan - but for all of you who are, I feel like you will have a field day with all the news. Like I said - overwhelmed by the amount of news.
I have no idea if youāre interested in how content gets made and how it gets to you - but these two industry stories are both incredibly important. If you are into this stuff let me know, maybe Iāll do a full blog post with some thoughtsā¦
Also in industry *drama* - The Hollywood Reporter had a massive feature this week on the fall of Johnny Depp. His self-made explosion is a long read, but a good one.
Switching gears and making a hard left - My holiday advert of the week comes from Australia and features synchro swimming Santas. As a former synchro swimmer - I adore this and I have to say, the Santaās are good. Watch it here.
Google released its annual āyear in searchā video for 2020. I normally love these videos - this was not as good as in past years, which sucks because I think this year had so much emotional content to work with.
In music - Taylor. But also this:
The Arkells released a fun new music video for their Holiday tune Pub Crawl featuring the *it"* coat of the season. The song and video are both great. Watch it here.
Ariana Grande is joining all the cool kids and is releasing a doc/concert. Herās is called excuse me, I love you. The trailer looks great. I will 100% watch it when it comes out on Dec 21st.
Shawn Mendes did one of Vanity Fairās local slang videos. Itās pretty incredible. He talks about being a snowbird (v accurate) and tells the world what Pioneer Village is. Watch him try to explain the Durham Region Transit system here.
Is anyone still watching Riverdale? If yes, there is a new trailer out for S5. It looks like they are finally going to switch up Archie+Veronica and Jughead+Betty and finally get Archie+Betty together. Iām here for it. Might start rewatching.
Finally - Iāve seen a few really good short docs this week and there are two I want to point out.
1 - Alexi Pappas tells a compelling story about mental health and athletes for the New York Times. Itās a must watch.
2 - CBC Gem released all the Creative Relief fund projects this week. For those of you who donāt know, I was shortlisted for this project but ultimately didnāt get selected. After seeing the final docs Iām a) in awe I was seriously considered next to them and b) in awe of what theyāve created. They are all fantastic, but one highlight to draw your attention to - Last Night at the Strip Club. It is amazing. Watch it here.
Have a great evermore weekend,
-Paula