YouTube Videos: Jul 23-29

 

Cold Suit

I would have shrugged off this story before revelations came up. When it comes to sexual allegations, I have a hard time wondering if people are telling the truth. There's no defending Blizzard for this. It has reached Bloomberg, The New York Times, many other news organizations and websites. Stunned to know that this was a couple of years in the making in California suing them for the way they treated employees. Plenty of bad things that you would think was unimaginable.

The company has been accused of being a "frat boy culture." One of the big stories was one of their female employees committing suicide after harassment and a trip when a guy brought butt plugs and lube. Rather heinous. Stories of guys goofing off while women were doing their work. That one sounds like something from a different period of time. Offensive jokes and I would have to guess many other inappropriate things were to have been said. I wouldn't think it's all the guys working at Blizzard, but the ones creating the toxicity might have sunk this company.

If this is two years in the making for California, there has to be much more stuff that went down at Blizzard beyond that period. People that got screwed over. More than just the women. Burnt bridges, regardless of who was in charge. I believe the head of the company made a response about not being aware of it and that caused more ire. So much that many current and former employees signed their names to a statement, blasting the head's thoughts. One of the results was a walkout.

There's a lot that probably will get brought up at some point. This is following a trend of controversies involving gaming. You got the Super Smash Bros. fandom from last year with their tournaments. EVO from last year. Stories of Ubisoft and one of their studios. This can happen to either gender, but the death threats towards several actresses that were in The Last of Us Part II. It has evolved a lot more from what was seen way back in the 80s. There is still that stereotype of being a bit exclusive to guys, but I'd have to imagine there is a decent amount of women playing that you wouldn't have seen 40 years ago.

This is a burn it to the ground and rebuild thing. Blizzard stands to lose a lot in reception and commercial profit. The only thing you can do is boycott if you want to stick it to them. Your choice. But this will take a long time to repair their image. I'm not a legal expert, but I anticipate heavy damages.

Space Flop?

Think we're going to have to say that now. Space Jam: A New Legacy needed a month long run of big weekends to even get close to the supposed 150 million dollar budget. Not reaching 10 million (9.6 million according to Box Office Mojo) is very much a death sentence. You can chalk this up to many factors. The pandemic is too easy of an answer, but some states are rising in cases, making it kind of difficult for some to go to the movies.

But the pandemic is not the only thing holding it back. HBO Max has it for free. As I said in a blog about it being number one last week, this is getting panned. The original was also panned, but not as severely. The first Space Jam's concepts are rather forgettable and you forget the first half unlike something like Rocky where you're engrossed in all of the film. With the sequel, it didn't do anything for critics. LeBron James' being a factor is there, too. What he does off the court and his behavior, this is not the type of guy you're going to have lead a box office.

The original's director, Joe Pytka, talked to TMZ recently and tried to justify why he viewed his film to be better than the sequel. I'm assuming he's had to defend himself a number of times. Yes, there's Bill Murray and Danny DeVito. You have a soundtrack that is very memorable. NBA players that provided funny moments. Big name ones that Michael Jordan competed against. But Pytka doesn't seem to realize that his film is not a masterpiece. There's issues. It has fans, but the fans are not in huge numbers that Warner Brothers was hoping they thought they had.

If the pandemic didn't occur, I'd argue it would have still came up short, but the bleeding wouldn't be so severe. Worldwide, this should make more than the budget, but I'm not seeing this making any kind of profit. It didn't need 150 million dollars. Maybe these studios should stop relying on CGI driven films and look back at the past of why a number of movies did really well and netted them huge profit. This overly expensive films will come back to bite them.

The Effects of Milwaukee

Almost a week later, and the Milwaukee Bucks gave the NBA a shot in the arm. Being down two games to the Phoenix Suns, they won the next four en route to a championship for the first time since 1971. Back then, it was the young sensation, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leading the way. Here, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo and other starters playing defense and making shots count. Here's what helped the league.

First is the two teams. Small market ones, yes, but ones that hadn't seen a Finals. No Warriors, no LeBron James team. Excitement can occur for ones that never sniffed a championship or had, but haven't been at one for as long as Milwaukee did. How about the fact that these weren't super teams, either. Unknowns or stars accompany the guys like Antetokounmpo and Chris Paul. Anyone could play a factor.

The games having an underdog mentality. Milwaukee being down two games, the audience wants to see the "heroes" rise up to the challenge. In doing so, they fixed what was problematic and rebounded to get the championship. A lot of energy to stay in that fight. Phoenix lost some of that mojo after Game 2.  They were in close games, but had didn't take advantage of opportunities late or let Milwaukee crawl back into a game. In the history of Arizona sports, it unfortunately continues a thing where the state has yet to see a championship outside of the Diamondbacks World Series in 2001.

Ratings helped, but not good enough. Compared to last year, these are a big improvement, getting around eight to nearly ten million viewers.  Almost averaging ten million for the whole series. It doesn't come close to reaching 2019. Many factors have played a role. People getting tired of James. The Warriors making it to five straight Finals, winning three. Politics over the last two seasons, especially all the social justice stuff last year. I'd argue players speaking before thinking on social media. Adam Silver not understanding why his league is suffering. The NBA burnt its audience out.

I think this 2021-22 season is going to be an even bigger test. Does Milwaukee winning it bring forth a group of fans to return to watching it? Will Silver keep close eye on what his players do? There's more questions that have to be asked as there is a lot at stake for the NBA. Early prediction, I believe they will see a small improvement, but not by a lot. It all depends on the direction they want to go and any controversies that occur. They can't airball any mistakes.

YouTube Videos: Jul 16-22

 

The Teigen Trap

Watching this unfold is pure karma and entertainment. About two months ago, model Chrissy Teigen was called out for cyberbullying by Courtney Stodden. Stodden received death threats from her in 2011 when she was married at the age of 16 to then 51 year old Doug Hutchison. Other people spoke out of Teigen's bullying, including the mother of actress Lindsay Lohan. For the most part, Teigen is now viewed as a cyberbully. Some retail places not having her cookware anymore. Issuing half assed responses. And she still doesn't understand why she's in the position she is in now.

Go to PageSix.com since they are putting up a valiant effort in detailing the latest news of Teigen. Supposedly she's depressed and feels like things are very rough. One part I'd probably feel bad for is her miscarriage I believe from last year. No one wants to terminate a pregnancy because of that. But that doesn't excuse poor behavior. She's probably pissed deep down that she can't get on social media and continue her bullying crusades. Eventually, she was going to get caught and she did red-handed. I don't think she realized how big this issue was going to be and still be one two months later.

Complaining about being in the "cancel club", yeah, because you made death threats to a teenager. You harassed a ten year old who has had big success on television for the last seven years. Those are just a few people, though. There's probably more that Teigen has went after viciously. This "cancel club" is a taste of her own medicine. If she was 20 years old, I'd let it slide a tiny bit, but would have a firm warning on not continuing this behavior. But at the age of 35/36, that's over the top and childish. The fame got to her head and she didn't learn to control anything.

The fact that PageSix had another article with Stodden speaks volumes. From the article, she has yet to get a direct apology from Teigen and thinks she should donate to anti-bullying charities. Her behavior could have a long lasting effect on her kids at the age of five and three respectively. Someone in public relations is going to have it very rough. If she can change, she has to commit to it, but I don't think she has the heart to do so. Until then, she deserved to be exiled from social. If she still doesn't understand the consequences of her actions, she will never learn a thing.

A Peculiar Top Two July 16

The dust settled and one of the more interesting weekends a few days ago had a new number one film. How they will fare the next weekend is what I'll be curious about. From Box Office Mojo, Space Jam: A New Legacy scored its way to the top with over 31 million dollars, besting Black Widow by over five million. The next closest film was a huge drop with an Escape Room sequel making 8.8 million.

The Space Jam sequel is an interesting one. If I had to guess where it was going to be, it was top five due to nostalgia and a new generation seeing Looney Tunes. You also have the fans of LeBron James, who acted like a shithead with a "Hi haters" tweet after seeing the film reach number one. Like the original it is getting panned and some of James' fans online are acting like Michael Jordan fans are review bombing. It makes no sense at all. A lot of people and critics view the original as a forgettable film. This will be no different. Expect the new generation of kids to like it tremendously like most 90s kids back then.

That said, Space Jam Legacy has a huge uphill battle. The budget is either around 150 million or 185 million. Warner Brothers could be taking a huge bath if this doesn't have huge legs. It needs a good solid month in the States to get close to the budget. I don't think it will happen. The international release dates, I don't know, but that could be the saving grace. Pending the budget and advertising/marketing, this needs to make 400 to 500 million to even be considered a profitable one. Add in the small controversies, it's hard to give it a benefit of the doubt combined with the panned reception. James' haters tweet could bite him given his toxic behavior.

Black Widow could have been seen as a favorite to repeat. There was a headline I saw with movie theaters blaming Disney Plus for why the movie dropped to 25 million dollars. That could be streamed for 30 dollars, similar to what was done with Mulan last year. According to Deadline, the numbers reached 2 million households, which means it made 60 million. That number could be skewed a little bit, but take it as it is. The confidence in going to movie theaters is still a question. If you have a family of four or five, it's better to do your own popcorn and drinks and buy the film off of Plus for 30. At least in theory. Sure, it's not like the movie theater experience, but with a pandemic still going, why should some take that risk?

And this isn't just families that may not see the film in theaters. Right now, it's made just over 210 million worldwide (270 mil, give or take, from Plus) This also had a 200 million dollar budget and my guess of 50 million or more for advertising and marketing. It's going to look a lot more disappointing compared to the Ant-Man sequel though this will make more than that. There's also the Birds of Prey film from DC that I look at a little bit. That film did not have the budget like Widow, but made past it worldwide. You also have people who might be burned out on Marvel and Disney churning out these films. Scarlett Johansson isn't exactly a top billed actress that can lead a box office. They have to hope that the film doesn't drop steeply in its third weekend.

This upcoming weekend will bring in a new G.I. Joe film, Snake Eyes. Also plenty of smaller released films coming out. I can't imagine Space Jam having a strong second weekend and Black Widow could go either way. Maybe studios should learn you don't need 150 to 200 million budgets for most films to do well. 

Shooting in the Outfield

What do you say about a situation like this? How do you comprehend it? Saturday night is one Nationals fans will remember for the wrong reasons. Later stages of the game, switching of sides for who will bat and who will field. Gunshots erupt. Chaos ensues. Players get their families into the clubhouses. Fans told to exit through center field and right field exits as the game got suspended. Scary situation.

Thankfully, Sunday went by without incident, but it makes you think. What is going on in DC? Has mayor Muriel Bowser lost control of keeping things from spiraling downward fast? Nationals Park isn't exactly in the greatest neighborhood from what I remember, but it wasn't like it was in the ghetto. People should be at ease when they go to a game. At least they think they will. Last week had an incident with three potential killers at a hotel near Coors Field. Though the All-Star Game was not their target, bloodshed did not occur.

I'm surprised this happened in DC and not a city like Chicago or Los Angeles. I don't know what can be done to prevent another incident like this from happening. Or at least you hope it doesn't happen again. I honestly think no one is putting any effort to stop crime. I feel like it's only going to get worse until an athlete gets killed. The time to really go after criminals needs to happen now before we see a tragedy amidst many tragedies that go unnoticed. 

YouTube Videos: Jul 9-15

 

YouTube Videos: July 2-8

Xenophobe A. Smith

Another week, another controversy at ESPN. And it's from one who finds himself in a bit of criticism and for past remarks that are both racist and sexist.

Shohei Ohtani has been a must watch for this year. Power hitter and a pitcher is a good combo. A Bo Jackson type of thing but only doing one sport. He always has a translator with him and that did not sit well with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith (hate using the initial in his name). Smith basically went xenophobic on the Angels star this past Monday and said along the line of baseball being better if he spoke English. A lot of people on social media and within the sports world ripped him for those comments and rightfully so. He has since "apologized", but it adds another stain to past controversies.

Domestic violence is real. I do think there are ones who will fake it, but the Ray Rice incident in 2014 was real. The ex-Raven now is in a better place from reports. But Smith was downplaying why this was a big incident and saying some rather spicy takes that resulted in ESPN suspending him for a week. He's also said very sexist things towards a number of women. Whether it's Ayesha Curry, the US Women's soccer team, or even UFC and MMA women fighters, he puts himself in the crosshairs. Unfortunately, it's a ratings grabber.

Baseball definitely needs fixing. Question is, I'm not sure where you start. Market Ohtani. Get people to recognize some of these big name players that aren't the 70 year olds hooked on Viagra commercials. Ban the shift. Showcase more of the up and comers. There's not an easy solution.

I honestly question if Smith is knowledgeable about non-NBA sports. His football takes are bad. He makes it easy to know he doesn't follow a lick of baseball. ESPN keeps letting him off the hook. I don't know if they are afraid of punishing him because of various reasons, but something has to happen now. I can see him getting fired. I can literally see him saying something even worse. Disney and ESPN need to grow a spine and have a discussion with him. With all the stuff regarding Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor, all it is doing is making it easy to ditch the worldwide leader in sports. Ohtani is here to stay for now.

Geeks and Jocks: Bonus Episode 3

A special bonus episode

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Bonus-Episode-3-e14dalk

USA Change: Psych at 15

I do miss when the USA Network wasn't the Dick Wolf network.  They aired their share of movies (they're getting better now, but don't hold your breath on that) and showed respect for a number of original shows. There was WWE, The 4400, and Monk. A couple others but that was it. Kind of falling on the wayside given their past of having tons of original programming. But then you get to Psych, which celebrated 15 years on July 7th. It was a breath of fresh air and a quality show that was like Monk, but with their own takes. Without it, you don't see USA take chances on other pilots.

Created by Steve Franks (his only other credit is Big Daddy), it helped the network. The series focused on Shawn Spencer, a very intelligent man with a photographic memory thanks to his policeman father to look for the very fine details. He reports a crime and unfortunately taken to custody because it involved two criminals. To get out of it, he fakes that he is a psychic. Cue eight years of solving many crimes and going along for the ride. It's comedy enough for the pilot. But it grew and grew. Why did it get the following that it wound up getting?

Part of it I think is that it's not ultra serious. Look at prime time TV. Everyone wanted the next Law and Order or CSI show. There are serious crimes in Psych, but it's much more lighter toned. You get comfortable with the main characters and their pros and cons. Development is seen throughout it and the writers were able to cobble out many humorous moments. But it's not all being a joke. It picked and chose when to be serious, when to crack out the joke. Not 100 percent accuracy, but it landed more than splat. It didn't go overboard with references compared to some shows (cough Family Guy cough)

There is a charm to the show, which is why it has continued on since ending the last episode in 2014. Two films with a third one on the way. Universal knows it owes a lot to the cast and crew of Psych and the cult fanbase that has welcomed it in open arms. It is very much like a Twin Peaks in terms of love, which is fitting given they did an episode in tribute of it. I could go on about more, but I'd like to do a favorite seasons blog of it. Give it some credit at the very least. It made USA more lively and exciting when it wasn't bombarded with Law and Order reruns. 

Vocal about Comic Book Adaptation

I'm a lot more critical towards comic book films. Specifically Marvel. If you like that stuff, fine. But understand why others are getting frustrated at them overtaking movie theaters. The big test for the company will be how Black Widow performs. There is some vocal opinion from actor Stephen Dorff, who worked on Blade back in 1998. He unloaded a bit on the film and Marvel in general. Hardly the first, but won't be the last.

I think with the influx of these films and their success the last 12 years or maybe more, studios are looking for that big slice. They think superhero films can sustain the industry along with horror, sci-fi, and animated films. There are plenty of films that aren't those types and it fluctuates on whether these help drive the box office or falter. Steven Spielberg was a bit critical towards these. Martin Scorsese in 2019 understood why people enjoy them, but did not consider them cinema. I'm sure deep down some have similar mindsets.

Even a guy like Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk back in the 70s, was a little critical in a jab towards Marvel. More so the reliance on CGI. There is a point, but I'll get to this. With CGI, you can do things that weren't possible back in 1977. I can also get why Ferrigno is not huge on it since studios rely on this a lot instead of trying some things naturally. Do these films really need 200 million dollar budgets?

We're unfortunately past the days where different films were number one for its respective year. You won't see a Top Gun, a Beverly Hills Cop, or a Home Alone like you did back in the 80s and 90s.. I think Dorff wants to see people try seeing other films and expanding their horizon compared to seeing only Marvel films or comic stuff in general. People could pull the jealousy card, but I don't see it as jealousy. These are corporate factory made popcorn flicks that are practically brain dead films. Eventually, people will burn out from these. You'll still see some of these do well, but I see a future where some will flop and there will be bigger risk.

I'm not sure if this will get more vocal, but as much as we need popcorn flicks, we need more original material.  Like I said, this weekend will be a huge test for Marvel and Disney.

ESPN Implosion

Where do you start on this? I've never seen ESPN to this level of animosity. An article from The New York Times put out a thing they found of footage of the sports channel's reporter, Rachel Nichols, from last year. When it came time to return and do the NBA stuff, she wasn't hosting Countdown. Instead, it was given to another reporter, Maria Taylor. A camera was on and Nichols vented about the network trying to make its case for diversity. I don't think she was upset about Taylor herself, but at the time it was recorded, you can get why consequences could happen. Some have defended her. Some have ripped her.

While I do think Nichols should be aware of her surroundings like everyone should, it makes ESPN look very fake. To be honest, I don't see anything special about her as a reporter. I think Taylor isn't special either. Not worth the supposed 8 million a year she is alleged to be demanding. I'd like to know who pulled the trigger to have Taylor as the host at the last possible moment. This does feel like a need to be "more diverse" for the wrong reasons. There's a way to do inclusion organically, but this was not it. Even for a guy like Stephen Jackson, who has a messed up mind and has said nasty antisemitism, has called ESPN out for that decision. That speaks to how bad they have handled things and why people are tuning out along with the political focus.

Nichols has done sports for a very long time. At least two decades worth.  I can sort of understand why she was bothered about getting the shaft. Taylor I only see do college sports, but has for almost a decade on the big stage after five years with the SEC Network. If you want to do this properly, you have to pass the torch in some manner. There was nothing necessary for ESPN to make a sudden change. Why not have both? For all the crying about lack of women and minorities, you get both of them together and maybe make them co-hosts. That would have been much better.

In the midst of this, reports are coming out now that Nichols has been replaced by reporter Malika Andrews for sideline reporting. Supposedly to put more focus on the Finals. In short term, maybe, but that draws more attention to ESPN and continuing to make themselves look bad with their intentions. Hopefully Andrews doesn't get berated all that much. But overall, the network's main NBA people stink to high heaven. You have Jay Williams with his take on the Boston Celtics coaching history and his "I was hacked" response getting shut down by almost everybody. While bad, it pales to Jalen Rose and his thoughts on Kevin Love making the Olympic team. It's not good, and that's just a small sample size.

ESPN needs to burn to the ground, rebuild and retool as a whole in terms of journalism, especially with their NBA people. We should be talking about what could be a good Finals for two teams who haven't had much experience in winning a championship. Instead, we're talking about political and racial pandering because a network think that's much more important than having intellectual discussion to matchups. There's a lot of work to be done to have diversity, but this ain't it. Continuing to shoot themselves in the foot makes them look worse. I don't know if Jimmy Pitaro can fix any of this, but he better think fast.

Fireworks Danger

This one will be quick somewhat. Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks got struck by a firework and passed away yesterday. It's not the first time for an incident to occur with a sports star. Jason Pierre-Paul lost part of one of his hands in 2015. July 4th is supposed to be something nice to celebrate. For some, it means getting boozed up and shooting fireworks in their yard. That is a combination that should never happen.

In regards to this Kivlenieks incident, shouldn't these athletes be aware of their surroundings? This isn't his fault or anything, but it's the kind of thing that creates all sorts of dread. Even if it was someone you don't know, what if it kills a citizen? A child? You have to go into that scenario and assume the worst can always happen. I have neighbors who are rather arrogant and almost seem oblivious to the dangers of fireworks with having about 20 or so people over. Can't expect everything to go smoothly.

What makes people inconsiderate is not understanding people who have pets. Dogs can get terrified of hearing the sounds of fireworks. I'd also bring up anyone involved in war. One guy I worked with back in 2016 was a Vietnam vet. Fireworks one night triggered a PTSD and he was very upset. Know the people around you before you start shooting off that stuff. There can be fun to be had for July 4th, but a little safety can go a long way.

Columbus loses a guy that could have been their future starter behind the net. Maybe we should start issuing licenses to shoot fireworks and have them in a spot where they can't get tilted towards someone.

YouTube Videos: Jun 25-Jul 2

 

A Dark Emulation Scene

This week is a very dark one for the emulation scene if what is said is true. I've never been a huge fan of bsnes/higan, which is a Super NES emulator that strived for accuracy and making all games work. SNES9x I thought was a better one. But that doesn't mean anything for the time being as the guy who created higan has supposedly passed away via suicide. Near/byuu took his own life and fingers are being pointed towards online bullies that harassed him and make things worse for him and anyone close to him. It has upset a lot of people involved in gaming and the emulation scene.

Online bullying is not new. It has grown out of control in the last ten years or so. Controversial figures, teenagers, anyone can be a target, whether it's real criticism or straight up harassment. In the realm of people getting picked on, I feel like that's more from teenagers who feel that the whole world is against them. But this can also apply to adults as well. Near was the target of a group that has been in the spotlight at points for other types of tragedies. There were things about him such as being non-binary and several other things that no one will realize.

Near had been working on emulation for over 15 years. The dedication from that is a huge welcome. If only others would do that for stuff like Sega Saturn and obscure systems that don't get enough love. But the dedication has also lead to people who flat out hate the guy. I would have to wager that it got so severe that he lost it mentally. You act in ways you typically don't do. It wouldn't surprise me if he had depression. Unfortunately, that is still a stigma whenever mental health comes into play. Nothing ever gets done and almost always when it's too little, too late. While a different situation, this feels a lot like what happened with comedian Robin Williams. Top of their game and then they end their life. No one to help them or to even see a doctor.

Also unfortunate is the online bullies getting doxxed. Groups can get pissed, but fighting fire with fire was a very bad idea. The best way to fight back is to go after the people in charge of running those types of sites and create a huge stink. Some question if Near even passed away. There was a confirmation made by someone close him that it did happen. Some have suggested punishments for the future. That won't happen. I look at it as huge legal issues since anyone around the world can say anything and laws are different everywhere.

The best anyone could potentially do is to talk to a suicide helpline or speak to doctors. Maybe we can stop making mental health and depression so taboo. Let's make more people aware of this. Very unfortunate with what happened to Near. The best we can do is celebrate the efforts made to make emulation much better. A lot has changed since 2004 and if not for people like him, the scene would not have thrived.