Tag: Burn Hollywood Burn

Where’s Our Vibe Shift?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It used to be that culture could change a lot just within the course of one decade. As late as the 1980s, early 80s was very different than mid or late 80s. And, yet, it definitely seems as though since 2001, cultural shifts haven’t happened as rapidly.

I’m old enough that if I look back over the last 20 years, I struggle to see how there has been any sort of major vibe shift. Yes, there have been blips of change here and there since 2001, but, in general any cultural changes have been rather subtle.

At some point over the last 20 years, something changed.

Could it have been the advent of social media because of the smartphone? Is that what caused everything to change? It’s all very curious. Or is it possible that we’re really, really overdue for a severe vibe shift.

And as such, maybe 2024 really is it?

Could it be that because of both the Petite Singularity and The Fourth Turning may happen at the same time in late 2024, early 2025 that, unto itself, could be the Vibe Shift that we’ve all been expecting. Maybe?

But it is very curious. Someone should write a 10,000 word New Yorker piece about this shit.

2024: A Perfect Storm

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It definitely seems like everything is going to come to a head in 2024. Developments in AI will combine with the put up or shut up political moment of late 2024 – early 2025 and the fate of the entire world — of all of humanity — could be decided starting in 2024.

I say this because if the US collapses — or even simply peacefully transitions into an America First autocracy — everything is going to be upended. Talk about a New World Order! If the US leaves NATO and aligns itself with other autocratic states like Russia, Hungary and Turkey, then, that, unto itself could prompt WW3 to happen — killing about 1 billion people one way or another.

If America collapses into the chaos of civil war (Reds) or revolution (Blues) the same thing will happen — a billion people will die (at least.) If all of this happens, then the issue of AI will be punted down the road until America figures out of it’s going to become Trumplandia or if we’re going to establish the Third American Republic.

At the moment, it really could go either way. It really the fuck could. No fate but what we make and all that.

But if a Third American Republic is established, THEN the issues of global climate change and AI could be addressed collectively by humans as a species. That, at least, would be the idea endgame.

And, yet, humans are dumb and it could be that not even a New World Order after WW3 could get us to get our act together enough to address, collectively some Big Issues that face Humans.

But, I guess, we’ll see, huh?

I May Participate In The ‘Barbenheimer’ Gimmick On Opening Day

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner


I have the means, motive and opportunity to do the Barbenheimer double-feature gimmick. I am very, very poor at the moment, but it would be fun-interesting to do something so zeitgeisty.

It will, of course, be interesting to see if I can actually watch both movies all the way through. I am notorious for leaving movies soon after they start.

Anyway. It’s intriguing, if nothing else.

A.I. Is Probably Going To ‘Moneyball’ Traditional Hollywood Within 18 Months

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Given the advancements in MidJourney, I just don’t see how human Hollywood escapes being “Moneyballed” by A.I. and the suits within about 18 months. That’s why I think — barring something I can’t predict — the Hollywood strikes currently happening are going to linger far, far longer than any of us are prepared to game out.

All the suits have to do is just sit things out for about 18 months and they endup on top with all of human Hollywood — other than them — being moot. Hollywood will be transformed into suits and programmers.

And that will be just the beginning. Soon enough, you’ll flop down in front of your TV and it will scan your face to produce a TV show or a movie specifically designed for your mood at that particular moment. There will be no mass media at all. No shared reality. No water cooler discussion of the latest binge worthy TV show.

We’ll all have “personal media” tailored to our specific desires at a specific moment. And, if it’s a “Her” like future, it may all be something of a black box. We humans will have no clue as to how it all works.

I’m all for the union’s of Hollywood fighting The Man, but I fear that, in the end, the transformation will be too sudden, too swift for them to do anything about it in real terms.

The humans who actually produce movies in Hollywood at the moment are fucked. And I say this as someone who is trying to write a novel. It could be that soon enough, even novels are all written by A.I.

I dunno. It’s all going to be interesting to see how things unfold.

The Online Political State of Play For the Hollywood Strikes

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

There seem to be three major lines of attack against the two Hollywood unions that are striking by Reply Guys on Twitter.

Your Stuff Sucks Anyway
This is the “anti-woke” argument against the strikes. In essence, the argument goes that Hollywood is a bunch of woke hacks who haven’t entertained MAGA audiences for years, anyway and fuck you, lib. In fact, I’ve seen at least one fucking cocksucker MAGA person say they look forward to the day that Trump can buy up all the bankrupt Hollywood studios.

You’re Overpaid
This argument is very corrosive because it pits the vast majority of actors and writers who aren’t making much money versus the high rollers. People who make this argument don’t understand that the unions set the MINIMUMS for the profession.

You Can’t Stop AI
The last argument is, lulz, AI is coming for Hollywood anyway, just give up. I don’t quite know what to say about this one because in a way it’s right and, yet, I do believe that the looming transformation of Hollywood by AI can be mitigated and / or managed in various ways if the unions know what to demand. But make no mistake — no matter what, Hollywood is about to be “Moneyballed” in a way that it hasn’t felt since the advent of the talkies.

Video: A Long Rant About The Absence Of Spicy Content In Hollywood Movies

Enjoy

The Latest ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movie Is Great — But Comically Sexless

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I really enjoyed Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1, but it was hilarious how sexless it was. There was just no sex — at all — in the movie. There were a few coy crotch shots of Hayley Atwell (fully clothed) as she struggled to get from one part of a train to another.

ALSO there was a point the movie where there SHOULD have been a sex scene….and…nothing. We went from canoodling to just a scene of people gyrating around at a party. It’s very strange. I mean, you have Rachel Ferguson who has a simmering sexuality that gives you the sense that she’s always down to fuck — in real life! — and….nothing.

I have to note how sexxy Ms. Ferguson is. The woman has no game face and she always seems just about to ask if you want to sleep with her. She’s gorgeous and deserves some sort of Body Heat-type erotic thriller to be in. But in this Mission: Impossible movie…nothing. Totally sexless. No T and no A in regards to Ms. Ferguson.

Ugh. What is wrong with us?

I suppose that it’s at least possible that once it becomes a lot more difficult to for young people to see porn online that maybe, just maybe we might see more sex in Hollywood movies. But, of course, there is a very narrow window of opportunity — AI generated movies will soon enough make the very notion of human-generated recorded media rather quaint and moot.

But I do like the latest Mission: Impossible movie. It’s really good, despite the lack of sex. The third act is very entertaining.

A Butterfly Effect?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I am always looking for weird ways that changes in society can change other aspects and I think it’s at least possible that all these laws regulating porn online might cause some unexpected changes.

For instance, is it possible that if it’s a lot more difficult for young people to see porn online, that we might have an uptick in raunchy movies? Or even maybe Playboy might increase in cultural relevancy? Or something like that? Something whereby some of the shitty developments in our culture might be fixed because there’s not a constant stream of easily-accessible porn online?

Or not.

Maybe I’m overthinking this too much. Maybe what I’m noticing says more about me being an old man than something that is easily fixable by the butterfly effect. But it would be nice if maybe some of the fun of pop culture that has been drained out of it because of the “woke mind virus” came back.

I don’t blame the rise of “woke” culture for the lack of T&A and general fun in pop culture, but I’m kind of desperate. It would be nice to have the joy that was found in 80s and 90s American pop culture come back in a big way.

But, like I said, maybe this is it. Maybe we’re in a real life Black Mirror episode where we can never have any T&A in raunchy movies and we’ll just drift into a future where all of our movies are either superhero movies or the occasional low budget horror movie.

SAG-AFTRA & WGA Need To Hold The Line Against A.I.

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

While the DGA may have folded, the SGA-AFTRA and WGA need to hold the line when it comes to the studios and the use of AI. If they don’t get concrete, specific carveouts for humans in the recorded arts….that’s all she wrote. Hollywood as we know it will burn to the ground and if you want any form of human-generated entertainment, you’re going to have to go to Broadway.

You would have to be a clueless, shortsighted fool not to see where AI is going at the moment. MidJourney already is very close to crossing the uncanny valley. Turn those still images into video and use ChatGPT6 (or whatever) to make an totally digital movie and there won’t be any need for humans in the recorded arts at all.

The only humans making a living from recorded entertainment will be, well, the suits. They will hire AI programmers and that’s it. And, in the end, there’s a chance that video games and Hollywood will fuse into “immersive personal media” where everyone “plays” their recorded entertainment using an Apple Vision Pro.

That definitely seems to be our future at the moment — unless, of course, SAG and WGA hold the line and cause real pain for the Hollywood studios. Of course, there is a real risk that Hollywood studios have the high ground and all they have to do is just wait until AI technology reaches the point until no humans are needed.

It could happen within 18 months.

It will be interesting to see how things work out. If nothing else, Broadway stars might become what Hollywood stars are today — talk about a black mirror episode!

Overthinking Dua Lipa’s ‘Naked Dress’ & Her Desire To Be A Hollywood Actress

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Any rumination on Dua Lipa’s “naked dress” has to put it in context. For all the buzz around the dress, it’s not THAT naked. Don’t get me wrong, it’s rather revealing — and gorgeous just like Lipa herself — but other women, like Kate Moss and Rihanna, have shown more sheer skin in public in real terms.

To me, the point of the dress is to generate buzz….in Hollywood. Lipa is telling Hollywood directors that she’s ready for her closeup because she’s not afraid of showing T&A on the big screen. Which, of course, reminds me of how Tay-Tay will probably never get her EGOT because if she showed ANY T&A, her fan base of liberal white women would grow so enraged that that would break the Internet.

Dipa has perfected the art of being sexxy in a way where she doesn’t actually show what people think she’s showing. If she’s not wearing a skin-tight Mugler one-piece that has some skin tone stripes to it, she’s grinding on a mic stand in a very covering faux mini-skirt.

And, in real terms, she’s barely showing areola and it’s very clear that she’s wearing a very-wide thong under the dress. If she was really in a naked dress, all there would be in covering of her mons pubis would be a lot of strategic dress sparkles.

So, like I said, to me, this naked dress’ true audience is Hollywood, not us nerds. She’s trying to take her career to the next level by being an actress. She’s already in the Barbie movie, so it would make a lot of sense for her to push with all her might fully into being a full-blown movie star.