Not every site needs to report on a Pope's death
Uh, Variety... stay in your lane.
Pope Francis died yesterday, aged 88. Frankly, I just couldn’t believe it was true when I first saw the news alert come through on my phone.
Thankfully the news was corroborated by the MUST-VISIT papal news destinations Variety Australia…
And TV Insider…
Maybe I am being snide suggesting that maybe these entertainment news sites should stick to reporting entertainment. Or maybe I am forgetting that Pope Francis was a cast member when Models Inc launched back in 1994?
The right way to cover the news is to file stories like THR are doing here, which is a good TV-focused way into the news story.
I was actually wondering this, so the THR article was actually pretty informative:
When a pope dies, there is a built-in mourning period of 15-20 days. OK, so technically the mourning period is nine days long, but it does not officially begin until four to six days after the pope’s passing, which is when the body is moved to St. Peter’s Basilica so the public can pay their respects. Burial comes later.
A conclave of the College of Cardinals to select a new pope can commence immediately after those roughly two to three weeks. (Only cardinals under 80 years old, known as the cardinal electors, can participate and vote.)
To be fair to proper Variety site, it did also run stories about Martin Scorsese making comment. And this one which is a round-up of celebrities Instagram posts about the death of Pope Francis. It was interesting to see all the celebrities posting photos of meeting the Pope, like this one with Leo:
But a bit weird was this X post from Russell Crowe:
No picture with Pope Francis, Rusty? Of all the celebrities who should have met with him. After all…
(Seriously, The Pope’s Exorcist would make for a great double feature with Conclave…)
Paul Rudd picks up the Nintendo controller again
Years before breaking out in films like Clueless and Romeo + Juliet, Paul Rudd starred in a 1991 Super Nintendo ad.
In a cute bit of marketing for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, they have dressed up Rudd in the same outfit and the same hair for this promo video:
It’s funny enough and nobody is embarrassing themselves here. But, it just plays a bit too much like a meta joke that nobody will remember the reference for unless they are an uber Rudd fan or read an article about it on a site like Polygon.
Part of me wishes they had just committed entirely to the bit and either had filmed the commercial shot for shot, or took it a step even further and did a making-of in the spirit of the Adult Swim Greatest Event in Television History stunts they did annually for a few years.
Here’s the third one in which Adam Scott (who had previously recreated the opening titles of Simon & Simon with Jon Hamm and Hart To Hart with Amy Poehler - unfortunately the full episodes of those Greatest Event in Television History’s aren’t available on YouTube, but the recreations are) is paired alongside Paul Rudd to recreate the opening titles of Bosom Buddies:
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News Desk
Carlton Cuse (Lost co-showrunner) and TV writer son Nick Cuse (The Leftovers, Station Eleven) are working on a Star Wars TV show together - no other details are known. Read: Variety
A new Miami Vice movie is reportedly in the works with Joseph Kosinski set to direct. Like Star Trek, Miami Vice makes more sense as a TV show. Why not reboot it for television if one must bother with this? Read: Dark Horizons
APAC viewership of Netflix movies is up by 20%. Apparently Netflix viewers watch an average of seven movies a month, which seems like a surprisingly high number? Read: Deadline
ReelRoom is an app for the Apple VisionPro that lets users display the box art on virtual shelves for movies they own. Read: UploadVR
WWE: Unreal is a 10-episode reality show coming to Netflix set inside the writers room of the absolutely real wrestling league. Read: THR
A wild new rule for those voting for the nominated Academy Awards: They need to have actually seen every nominated film if they are to vote in a category. I would like to see the Academy go a step further and reveal what percentage of eligible voters participated in each category. Read: The Wrap
Trailer Park
Bet debuts May 15 on Netflix.
At a private school where gambling determines social status, a mysterious new student with a tragic past is shaking things up - and betting on revenge.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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THR also ran a story on “where you can stream Conclave”. The movie, not the upcoming event…