The Million-Dollar Short Film

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Happy Friday, Future Party. How’s this for a fashion vibe shift? The Met announced that next year’s Gala theme will be “extraORDINARY: fashion and the poetics of the everyday.” Yes, the Met Gala is going mid.

Granted, Vogue and fashion icon Anna Wintour were stuck between a rock and a hard place after the original theme honoring designer John Galliano blew up in their faces. So, celebrating everyday tees, jeans, and disposable materials seemed like a safe bet.

Or maybe Wintour is just a big fan of Zoolander like the rest of us.

InTension Industries, a Provo, Utah-based production company with plenty of Hollywood pedigree, has launched a short-film competition that’ll give one lucky winner a million dollars to turn their short into a feature.

The Big Picture: Hollywood is clearly in the midst of a microbudget horror renaissance, with the groundbreaking success of Obsession becoming one of the industry’s biggest conversation starters. If a sub-$1 million film from an unknown can make such a splash, why can’t others? The key may be two-way curation: input from fans and guidance from former studio executives. Essentially, a curated YouTube.

Behind The Scenes: InTension Industries is inviting thriller and horror short-film submissions for “The Million-Dollar $hortcut.”

Final Decision: InTension’s ambition here is to find the next Curry Barker — the YouTuber-turned-breakout director who spent years honing his craft with viral short films, refining his work through fan feedback, and knocking on Hollywood’s door. All those reps paid off when he got the chance to make his first real feature film, Obsession, which made an astonishing $525 million at the box office. That’s unheard of for an indie movie, especially one made on such a tiny budget.

Could anyone have spotted Curry Barker’s potential earlier in his career based on his short films? It’s entirely possible (and used to be a major way directors broke in)... so InTension is hoping to get in on the ground floor with the next promising talent.

Coming Soon: Getting noticed by Hollywood has one of the highest barriers to entry in entertainment, so expect every film-school student and aspiring filmmaker to crash the site for “The Million-Dollar $hortcut.”

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LIV Golf, the upstart golf league into which Saudi Arabia poured $5 billion, is over for good.

Why It (Doesn’t) Hit: LIV Golf was Saudi Arabia’s most high-profile attempt at sportswashing — offering pro golfers vast sums of money and the chance to win even bigger championship purses in exchange for defecting from established circuits like America’s PGA Tour and Europe’s DP World Tour. But with Saudi Arabia seeing little return on its investment (a bit of a trend, tbh), even things that seem too big to fail can suddenly go belly up.

Between The Holes: For LIV Golf, it’s a swing and a miss.

Final Swing: LIV Golf never found the momentum to make money… so the PGA Tour tried to pick up players while the league was on the downswing. It offered players a way back onto the tour, provided they accepted some financial penalties. Only one player, Brooks Koepka, took the offer.

Many top LIV players told WSJ they’d take that offer today… but it no longer appears to be on the table.

The Future: Many pro players who were making nine figures with LIV Golf will now be hitting smaller tours around the world to qualify for the PGA Tour. Expect some fun Challengers-style matchups throughout 2027.

If you’re a decision maker at your company, you need to be on the bleeding edge of, well, everything. But before you go signing up for seminars, conferences, lunch ‘n learns, and all that jazz, just know there’s a far better (and simpler) way: Subscribing to The Deep View.

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58.2% of you voted I’m fine giving and receiving in yesterday’s poll: How do you feel about regifting?

“When it comes to designer items and even jewelry, I prefer secondhand for a better value.”

“Wouldn’t you rather get silverplate than plastic, or silk instead of microfiber?”

“I’ve already purchased dishes (that are no longer manufactured) on Vinted as a Christmas gift for my mom. I’ve also sent my husband my gift wish on Vinted! Feels like I have a thrift store in my pocket!!”

“Generally, I’m fine either way, provided it’s in good condition and an appropriate gift for the recipient, not just someone’s castoff.”

“I would definitely know if something wasn’t bought specifically for me, as I am difficult to buy for and have been a professional gift buyer for nearly 20 years.”

“My favorite regifting story is when my husband’s boss gave us a tabletop clock as a wedding present. He neglected to check the clock itself, or he would’ve noticed a small plaque still attached naming the golf tournament he’d participated in.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🎤 The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn Tour raked in over $1.3 billion, setting a new all-time box office record for a male solo artist.

⭐ The New York Times is in exclusive talks to buy Letterboxd for roughly $330 million.

🎥 Lionsgate and 3 Arts Entertainment are launching a new horror label, Render Road, under manager-producers Luke Maxwell and Will Rowbotham, who rep rising horror talents like Kane Parsons and Dylan Clark.

📉 Data-center concerns following the blue wave in the midterm elections triggered an AI-stock selloff that wiped out $2.3 trillion in market value.

🤖 OpenAI unveiled a new cybersecurity model that’s apparently scarily good at hacking. Great.

🤳 You can now video chat with Meta’s Muse AI agent through its animated avatar.

🥡 Marc Lore’s food-delivery startup, Wonder, has confidentially filed to go public.

👕 Balenciaga creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli is leaving the fashion house after less than 16 months at the helm.

📺 Netflix has tapped former Mattel President and Chief Marketing and Brand Officer Roberto Stanichi as its new VP of Global Consumer Products and Experiences.