![foofaraw[+] beta logo](https://assets.buttondown.email/images/7d362fab-dd9e-4bb2-be58-7bfa3e184fc6.png)
[+] 15 Feb 2024
This is the beta of foofaraw[+], the temporary home of something new.
Thanks for coming along for the ride, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for how it can be improved.
I think the format here is coming along nicely so far. Working to find a balance between skimability/visibility/legibility, while also organzing in a way that makes sense and providing space for analysis and commentary.
Two things I’ve been thinking about providing through a [+] subscription are:
a full schedule / calendar of releases
a tailored review aggregator
I did a pretty extensive calendar in Notion for 2022 TV and Movies, that I found super useful for myself, but ran into issues/limitations trying to extend it out into the future. The goal would be to make something just as useful, but likely simpler to both read and manage.
I’ll touch on the review aggregator idea in more detail at a later point in time, but I’ve been thinking a lot about Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Letterboxd, etc. and how those scores are calculated, what they mean, and how people use them.
I think there is a way to build a database-like feature that helps people sort through all of that noise and says, if you like foofaraw type things (A24, Image Comics, indie music, etc.) these are other things you’d like—pulling reviews/data in from a more selective list of trusted sources/reviewers, and being less binary with the judgement from those reviews.
Both of these are pretty big undertakings next to what I’m already doing with foofaraw and [+] so there’s nothing coming in the forseeable future, just some ideas I’ll be thinking about and tinkering with to see if anything comes from them.
Top of the News
Sasquatch Sunset — Trailer
This made it’s way to TIV already, but I had to lead with it here as well.
I compared it to the Daniels’ Swiss Army Man and the rock scene from Everything Everywhere All at Once—given it’s over-the-top humor and (seemingly) no dialogue.
Comes from Nathan and David Zellner whose work I am not familiar with.
It stars Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg in full sasquatch costumes and make-up, which is hilarious in itself.
I said Dream Scenario was going to be last year’s Everything Everywhere, which wasn’t completely accurate as it won’t win awards, but in terms of style, vibe, creativity, and (mostly) reception, I feel good about that (I still haven’t seen it myself though…) So I’m going to go out on a tiny limb and say Sasquatch Sunset will be this years version of that.
Chris Estrada Comedy ‘This Fool’ Canceled at Hulu – The Hollywood Reporter
This is a huge bummer. They really hit their stride with season two.
I kind of get it as me and my wife let it sit for awhile after release until we knocked it out in a week.
I do think this is a problem with dropping an entire season at once though. No matter how much you market it, it falls by the wayside too quickly and people don’t get enough opportunities to talk about it if it’s good. Which was evidenced in this here newsletter.
Excited to see what Estrada does next. Hopefully the fact it was well reviewed will help him find his next project.
Six months in, journalist-owned tech publication 404 Media is profitable | Nieman Journalism Lab
Really great news. The big caveat being, I don’t think you can truly say it’s sustainable until you see how the turnover is after a year. How many people renew vs cancel and how many can you add in the meantime.
Still the likes of Defector, Aftermath, and 404 are super impressive and I really want to see them suceed. Still waiting for the Pitchfork version…
Bret Easton Ellis announces his debut film, an LA horror titled Relapse | Dazed
Wild.
This will be starring Joseph Quinn of Stranger Things and the future Johnny Storm.
How Showmax, an African streaming service, dethroned Netflix - Rest of World
This is very cool to see and I wish we’d see more of this across the globe.
Showmax has licensed HBO and has the exlcusive streaming rights to the Premier League.
Comcast has a 30% stake and their investment helped accelerate Showmax from a technological standpoint.
It’d be very cool to see the Defectorization of streaming. I know that’d never happen given the costs and the hit ratio in production—there’s just so much sterilization in production these days. I want more experiments, more unique takes, more unique perspectives.
12 months of NBA League Pass for free — Threads
I cancelled my League Pass early in the season this year due to the Chicago streams having too many technical difficulties. This will get me through the rest of the year and half of next year for free, which is stellar. Hopefully those technical issues are sorted out now.
The Sympathizer | Official Teaser 2 | Max
HBO has a whole slate of new shows forthcoming and few are as exciting as this.
I still don’t love the idea of Robert Downey Jr. pulling an Eddie Murphy, playing multiple roles. A) I think it’s mostly a corny idea to do in the first place, and B) I think it takes attention away from this story and the featured Asian cast.
I had this as my 8th most anticipated show for 2024 and that still feels right to me.
Castings
Bizness
Xbox
Microsoft is slowly building to a future where ‘every screen is an Xbox’
Microsoft teases next-gen Xbox with “largest technical leap” and new “unique” hardware
Some More
Liev Schreiber Backs Ukraine Documentary, Release Set Ahead of Feb.22 – The Hollywood Reporter
The most civilized place to look at news online? It might be Reddit - Columbia Journalism Review
Jennifer Lopez Talks 'This Is Me ... Now' Musical Film, Bennifer Love Story
Future topics:
Pricing
Posting to separate website
Calling out gift articles
Naming conventions
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