BG

storyteller: journalist. screenwriter. adjunct. actor. director. creator: @irongatesmedia. alum: @uofsc + @columbia. 🎧 TODAY WE ALMOST DIED. estudiando 🇨🇴

[BG @TheBGates]

🚨 It’s here: the pilot episode of my new fictional narrative podcast, TODAY WE ALMOST DIED.

It follows four Brooklyn roommates trapped together in lockdown — and the pandemic is just the beginning of their unraveling.

🎧 Listen: https://t.co/1Fa5gYmQOg
💥 Support: https://t.co/reBc6tG38c

[BG @TheBGates]

I don't understand lying about something that's plainly visible in a viral video.

[David Marcus @BlueBoxDave]

And no, El-Sayed does not say “Yes, absolutely,” to disavowing the Muslim Brotherhood. He says, “Yes, absolutely,” to allowing Tommy his question, but only after Tommy answers Abdul’s first.

[BG @TheBGates]

Thank you for saying that. I teach news literacy to college students, but honestly, I wish everyone could take the course. Social media is full of assumptions that every journalist is out to throw shade or make someone look bad, when really they're just doing their due diligence and seeking out different perspectives. There was nothing shady about that question.

[BG @TheBGates]

Regardless if you’re a fan of AES or not, this was a master class in shutting down someone who was trying to have a moment.

And that walk of shame... icing on the cake.

[Dr. Abdul El-Sayed @AbdulElSayed]

This is Tommy. Tommy had a question about my allegiances. Listen to the end to hear about his.

[philip lewis @Phil_Lewis_]

Students from North Carolina A&T can be seen marching back to their HBCU after voting on the first day of early voting in the state.

The Guilford County Board of Elections voted to remove the school’s on-campus polling site. (video via @tmsimmons) https://t.co/n4qnDQY82k

[BG @TheBGates]

But is an actor staying within their range really a bad thing? Especially now, when every performance gets dissected frame by frame?

Actors can't afford to take risks anymore. Have one or two flops and suddenly you're off every casting list.

Just look at this thread. People have decided MBJ doesn't deserve an Oscar based on a clip from a completely different movie.

I think we need to rethink what an "Oscar-worthy performance" even looks like. As millennials and Gen Z take over the industry, the films they make are going to look very different. Look at Backrooms and Obsession. The guard is already changing, which means we'll start seeing performers who don't fit the old mold of an Oscar winner.

[BG @TheBGates]

Does Stephanie Mills have a current project out, or was this just a random sit down with Jason Lee?

[BG @TheBGates]

@dollfctory @MidnightMonaye @Phil_Lewis_ I am wondering the same.

Truth is, it doesn’t matter how she walked. They would still have made a joke. lol

[BG @TheBGates]

As the movie landscape shifts and millennial and Gen Z actors move into prominence, a lot of people are struggling to see them as great actors. It's not necessarily that the talent isn't there. It's that the way we judge greatness hasn't caught up with this new generation.

Part of it is familiarity. Michael B. Jordan feels very accessible, almost too familiar, because we've watched him grow up. We saw him as a kid on The Wire, then on Friday Night Lights, then in Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther. When you've followed someone's career that closely, it's hard to separate the person from the performance. Add in social media, interviews, and press tours where we see actors being themselves constantly, and the mystique that used to surround movie stars is gone. It's hard to be in awe of someone who feels like a guy you know.

That's why so many of the recent younger Oscar winners, like MBJ, Mikey Madison, Rami Malek, Kieran Culkin, Brie Larson, and Jennifer Lawrence, get labeled as bad or "just okay." We're measuring them against the Denzels, Meryls, and Violas of the world, actors whose legacies were built over decades and who we now view through the lens of their entire careers. That's not a fair comparison. Denzel wasn't "Denzel" after one win either. Greatness looks a lot more obvious in hindsight.

Some of it also comes down to the roles themselves. A lot of these performances are in movies and characters that feel too common, too close to everyday life. There isn't always a big physical transformation, a dramatic weight change, or a heavy accent to point to. Audiences have been trained to equate great acting with visible effort, so when a performance is grounded and natural, people assume the actor is just playing themselves. In reality, making something look effortless is often the hardest thing to do.

To me, MBJ earned that Oscar. Playing Smoke and Stack, two twins who share a face but have completely different energies, and making you feel the difference between them in every scene, is a real achievement. But because their speaking patterns are so close to how MBJ talks in real life, I think it's difficult for some people to look at that and acknowledge how great of a performance it is. The subtlety gets mistaken for a lack of range, when it's actually the skill.

If we keep dismissing this generation because they feel too familiar or because their work doesn't come with obvious transformations, we're going to miss the fact that some of the great actors of our time are working right now.

[BG @TheBGates]

Whether you liked the film or not, there's this weird giddiness people on social media have when a film flops at the box office, regardless of the subject matter or who's starring in it.

Cynicism has taken over, and I hate that folks can't just experience things on their own without groupthink influencing. You don't have to like the film, and you can point out its flaws in detail, but refusing to see it and trashing it just because of box office numbers is wild.

For example, I liked Kiss of the Spider Woman, and folks were so excited to see it flop.

Ben is right. Keep trashing everything and it's all going to be generic.

Also, folks think they're sticking it to someone like Jennifer Lopez or Tom Cruise, when a failed movie can affect the careers of so many people who worked on it.

[BG @TheBGates]

#OPENTHESCHOOLS

[Complex @Complex]

Angelina Jolie left a handwritten thank you note for hotel staff while filming ‘Maria’ in Greece, and the internet is struggling to figure out what it says.

The note has resurfaced and racked up millions of views, with people trying to decipher every word.

[H/T: lolita]

[BG @TheBGates]

Whether you believe Kelly Clarkson or think she lied doesn't really matter.

What fascinates me is how quickly everyone grabbed a pitchfork and started brawling with strangers like this was the final battle of the class war. Healthcare costs a kidney, gas costs the other kidney, and holding our politicians accountable would make too much sense.

So naturally, the move is to convert all that rage into moral superiority and spend 48 to 72 hours aggressively arguing online about how Kelly Clarkson unleashed her millions of fans on one small, struggling business. Never mind that the loudest critics can't even agree on the charges: did Kelly tank the business, or did she accidentally make it famous?

Her stans aren't innocent, of course. Harassing the store and allegedly doxxing relatives is indefensible.

But Kelly Clarkson, a woman who goes years without any drama, is not some towering symbol of greed that must be toppled for the good of the people. Nor does she have the kind of power to bankrupt a business with a single post.

Everyone needs to take a breath and go outside and touch grass.

[BG @TheBGates]

@alifefilmodic @gregorykennedy (I think) said Art of Play's first response "will be studied by communications professionals for years." Maybe, but the entire saga will definitely be taught as a how-not-to.

Every new chapter is worse that the previous.

[BG @TheBGates]

@Moms_know_ @RollingStone I thought it was just me. lol

[philip lewis @Phil_Lewis_]

Jason Lee announced his resignation as Stockton, California's Vice Mayor

However, city council members rejected his resignation and instead decided to remove Lee’s title https://t.co/TVBu45SqbA’s

[BG @TheBGates]

@MathyuJunior @kingmemp3 @AkilahObviously Again, I think the majority of people know Druski, currently, as a digital creator. I’m sure he will continue to grow and become known for more than that in the future.

Even Rotten Tomatoes’ explainer calls him a digital creator.

[BG @TheBGates]

I think everyone is getting caught up over the phrasing / semantics.

I think, currently, Druski is best known for his digital-first content. And I think it’s a testament to the fact that someone who doesn’t have a major studio deal or show or movie has been invited to host SNL.

When Issa and Quinta hosted they were far more recognizable beyond their digital content. And if we are being very technical, Andy Samberg is the first (former) digital creator host of SNL.

[BG @TheBGates]

Good for Druski!

[Matthew Belloni @MattBelloni]

News: SNL’s first digital creator host is gonna be… https://t.co/5wjdRJRGhx

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

JUST IN: Activity on several major U.S. political subreddits plunges following attacks on Russian data centers.

[BG @TheBGates]

@nypost lol… y’all can’t decide if y’all want him to show up or not.

Weren’t people just yelling about his attendance at the 9/11 memorial ceremony? He wasn’t supposed to attend that but he is supposed to attend the Brooklyn Columbus Day Parade?

Make up y’all’s minds. 🤣

[BG @TheBGates]

@CecredHoney @rare_breduh4 It wouldn’t have been if she didn’t keep getting interrupted. lol