Together with
The new Drip King. Hey, Future Party people. ICYMI, Baby Gronk recently got rizzed up by TikTok star Livvy Dunne, potentially making him the new Drip King. IYKYK. If you don’t, you’re probably better off for it. Here’s a field guide to the internet’s latest meme.
In other news… Hollywood braces for its next potential strike, Meta teases a Twitter clone, and Mercedes-Benz gets the greenlight.
Top Trends
YouTube → Talk To Me
Twitter → Steven Spielberg
Google → The Tonys
Reddit → Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
TikTok → “Bye” - Peso Pluma
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ENTERTAINMENT
A SAG-AFTRA strike would shut down Hollywood
The Future. The Hollywood actors union has voted to authorize a strike and could soon hit the picket lines if a deal on a new working contract with the studios (represented by the AMPTP) isn’t reached by the June 30th deadline. If you think the writers strike has disrupted the entertainment industry, just wait until the actors do. Expect the prolonged work stoppage to slam the post-COVID box office recovery to a halt.
Roll credits
Here’s what you can expect from an actors strike, other than the obvious production stoppage:
Actors will cease all marketing and press on upcoming movies — a key aspect of opening a film internationally or on the festival circuit.
They won’t be able to do any reshoots or ADR on projects coming out at the end of this year or early next year.
The production stoppage will disrupt the 2024 release schedule, leading to a lack of movies in theaters (just like COVID).
And forget about any star power at conventions like San Diego Comic-Con.
Deadline reports that studios are already gearing up for a potential strike by moving up press junkets for upcoming movies like Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1 and Barbie.
It’s all about spending those millions in marketing dollars while they matter.
EXPERIENCES
Courtesy of Summit
A Summit at Sea
The Virgin Scarlet Lady (Richard Branson’s new luxurious cruise ship) took off from Miami on May 18th, just after sunset, with two thousand people on board. Why? Summit at Sea, presented by Summit Series, or what veterans call “spring break for CEOs.” While Summit at Sea has already seen three iterations and sailed to many places, this year was extra special. In fact, all of the “Summiters” on board weren't ready for what was a truly transformative experience. We were lucky enough to be there.
SOCIAL MEDIA
The new Big Bird? // Illustration by Kate Walker
Meta shows off its Twitter competitor
The Future. Meta gave its employees a presentation of its Twitter competitor, which is already being coded and will be released sometime soon. While Meta has built a pretty successful business in cloning popular competitors, taking on Twitter — even if it is mired in controversy — may require some novel features that truly make it stand out from the bird app to woo over users.
Sane thoughts
Meta is coming to take Twitter’s nest.
Internally codenamed “Project 92,” The Verge reports that the standalone app may be called “Threads.”
It will be able to populate new profiles with their Instagram info and following automatically.
Profiles will also be interoperable with other platforms via ActivityPub — a decentralized social media protocol that Mastodon also runs on.
Meta chief product officer Chris Cox said it has already onboarded several celebrities, including DJ Slime. The company is also courting Oprah and the Dalai Lama to join, promising the platform will be “sanely run.”
Ouch.
TOGETHER WITH ADVISOR.COM
Feasible $$$ plans
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They've also done away with old-school things like account minimums and commissions. And they offer a flat annual fee so you can make sure they’re working for you (and not vice versa).
TRANSPORTATION
Mercedes gets the green light for a hands-and-eyes free car
The Future. Mercedes-Benz has been permitted by the regulatory body of California to bring its fleet of vehicles equipped with its “hands-off, eyes-off” autonomous driving system to the public. It’s the first of its kind that’s not just ready for the road but for consumers. It may not be as sophisticated as the systems used by rideshare services like Waymo and Cruise, but the rollout might be the first checkpoint to a future where drivers don’t actually need to drive.
Free on the freeways
California just granted Mercedes license for drivers to take their eyes off the road.
The automaker received a permit to sell and lease cars using its Drive Pilot, its Level 3 autonomous driving system.
That means drivers can “watch videos, text or talk to a passenger without watching the road ahead or having their hands on the wheel,” per Techcrunch.
There are stipulations to Drive Pilot’s use. The system can only be used on certain freeways, in daylight, and speeds up to 40mph. Basically, it’s the perfect technology for a traffic jam.
Mercedes has reportedly taken a pretty slow approach to rolling out its Drive Pilot system to the public, applying for permission in every state — whether they need to or not. It’s already used in the company’s home country of Germany, as well as in Nevada.
TOGETHER WITH LALA
“Work until your bank account looks like a phone number.”
Who said the famous line above? Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, that’s who. (If you’re a cinephile, you probably knew the answer in seconds.)
And if you’re a true cinephile, you should know about LALA — the first global digital collectible marketplace that offers royalties from movies and TV shows.
They make it possible for you to own exclusive items from iconic films, kicking off with none other than (cue the drumroll) The Wolf of Wall Street.
LALA doesn’t just expand your memorabilia collection. It also offers access to exclusive content, communities, events, merchandise, and even shares in a fractional revenue stream. Who’s The Wolf of Wall Street, now?
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Netflix’s password crackdown is working in actually turning free users into paid subscribers in the US. Read more → variety
With its stock circling the drain and needing some cash, BuzzFeed is considering selling off Complex Networks. Read more → theinformation
After Disney sent most of Pixar’s movies straight to Disney+ during the pandemic and Lightyear failed to launch at the box office last year, all eyes are on Elemental to see if Pixar can still open an original animated film to pre-COVID numbers. Read more → thr
Fashion & E-Commerce
Meaningful Existence, the fashion and wellness brand founded by Jonah Hill’s alter-ego, Prophet Ezekiel Profit, is Hill’s satirical way of raising awareness about mental health and providing resources. Read more → complex
Data research firm EDITED says that we’re stepping into the gimmicky, ugly shoe era thanks to brands like LOEWE, JW Anderson, and MSCHF — a hilarious slap in the face to the “Quiet Luxury” movement. Read more → hypebeast
Dior is launching its 2023 “Dioriviera” collection at ultra-luxurious destinations like Saint-Tropez, Bali, Seoul, Phuket, Kyoto, Capri, and Beverly Hills. Read more → forbes
Tech, Web3, & AI
The crypto freeze continues with Binance suspending trading the US dollar as banks cut ties with the company due to the SEC lawsuit and Crypto.com closes down its US exchange (although word is that it’ll keep its name on the former Staples Center). Read more → forbes
Louisiana passed a bill that requires people under 18 to receive parental consent to sign up for online accounts, like TikTok and YouTube, and allows parents to cancel their kids’ accounts, including existing ones, whenever they want. Read more → nyt
Horrifying: the FBI is warning that there has been an “uptick” in scammers using deepfake nudes of people to extort them. Read more → theverge
Creator Economy
Creative Juice has launched a members-only community, Juice Club, that will give members “exclusive Club events, personalized funding through Creative Juice’s monetization models, and access to ‘advanced bookkeeping tools.’” Read more → tubefilter
Twitch’s quickly-rescinded new rules for displaying branded content on streams led to the biggest-signup day ever for rival platform Kick. Read more → tubefilter
The Try Guys are putting on a one-night performance of Romeo and Juliet… with a twist — fans will be able to vote on how each scene will end via the interactive streaming platform Kiswe. Read more → tubefilter
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Editing by Nick Comney. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.