‘Bryan Singer’s Accusers Speak Out’

The Atlantic

The Atlantic:

We spent 12 months investigating various lawsuits and allegations against Singer. In total, we spoke with more than 50 sources, including four men who have never before told their stories to reporters. A man we’ll call Eric told us that he was 17 in 1997 when he and Singer had sex at a party at the director’s house; another we’ll call Andy says he was only 15 that same year, when he and Singer had sex in a Beverly Hills mansion. Both men say Singer, who was then in his early 30s, knew they were under 18, the age of consent in California. (They asked The Atlantic to conceal their identity for fear of retaliation, and because they didn’t want certain details about their past made public.)

Mariano Rivera Is a Hall of Famer

Tyler Kepner, writing for The New York Times:

Mariano Rivera, the career saves leader whose elegant efficiency helped the Yankees win five World Series, on Tuesday became the first player ever elected unanimously to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It is bonkers to me that no one else had been elected unanimously before.

Here’s Derek Jeter, writing at The Player’s Tribune:

I heard a stat the other day and it blew my mind:

In human history, more people have walked on the moon than have scored an earned run off of Mariano Rivera in the postseason.

Sounds crazy, right? But it’s true.

According to NASA, 12 people have had the privilege of walking on the moon.

According to Baseball Reference, 11 people have scored an earned run off of Playoff Mo.

And while no statistic could ever truly encapsulate Mariano, I figure this one is as close as we’re going to get. Because I think it really gives you a sense of what sort of greatness we’re dealing with, when it comes to Mo. It’s hard to compare him to other closers — in fact, it’s hard to compare him to other pitchers.

Twitter Launches New Design

Twitter

Twitter has a new web interface:

The social network has started rolling out a previously teased web redesign that, for starters, boasts a much simpler look — the three-column view is gone in favor of a simpler (not to mention more vivid) two-column layout. It’s thankfully about more than cosmetics, even if it doesn’t have everything users might like.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Martin Luther King, Jr

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. day, and I recommend really reading what he wrote and talked about:

My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

Spotify to Introduce “Block/Mute” Feature

Tom Warren, writing at The Verge:

Spotify is getting ready to enable a block feature in its apps to mute artists you don’t want to hear from. Spotify is currently testing the “don’t play this artist” feature in its latest iOS app, and The Verge has been able to test the new block functionality ahead of its release soon. The feature simply lets you block an entire artist from playing, so that songs from the artist will never play from a library, playlist, chart list, or even radio stations on Spotify.

Edgar Wright Talks Future Plans

Baby Driver

Ben Travis, writing at Empire:

Elsewhere, Wright is continuing to work on his documentary about the cult band Sparks, and his previously-mooted Baby Driver sequel is still in the works. “A first draft of Baby Driver 2 exists,” he confirms, adding that it introduces a whole swathe of new characters following the original’s high body-count, and “takes the story further”.

The Inside Story of How We Got Two Warring Fyre Festival Documentaries in the Same Week

The Ringer

Scott Tobias, writing at The Ringer:

Fyre and Fyre Fraud arrive at many of the same conclusions about what happened with the festival, and both documentaries place much of the blame on McFarland, a scam artist who was subsequently sentenced to six years in federal prison for wire fraud. However, the major difference between them is that the Hulu doc has an exclusive interview with McFarland and the Netflix doc does not. In the course of preparing a profile on Chris Smith (American Movie, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond) for The Ringer, coming later this week, I asked Smith on Monday about the Hulu documentary that was released earlier in the day. What he said wound up sparking a kind of ethics-off between the two camps.

Netflix Raising Prices

Michael Liedtke, writing at the Associated Press:

Netflix is raising its U.S. prices by 13 percent to 18 percent, its biggest increase since the company launched its video streaming service 12 years ago.

Its most popular plan will see the largest hike, to $13 per month from $11. That option offers high-definition streaming on up to two different internet-connected devices simultaneously. Even at the higher price, that plan is still a few dollars cheaper than HBO, whose streaming service charges $15 per month.

Bowling for Soup Part Ways With Bassist

Bowling for Soup

Bowling for Soup have parted ways with their bassist, Erik Chandler.

Erik has recently come to the decision, for personal reasons, that touring and being in a band full time has become too much for him. Together, Erik and the band have decided to part ways. This split is on good terms. We will always be Erik’s biggest fan and brother, and support him in his decisions and future endeavors. We also hope that our fans will support him and respect his decision and privacy in all of this as he enters the next chapter in his personal and professional life.

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Christopher McQuarrie Closes Deal to Direct Back-to-Back ‘Mission: Impossible’ Films

Mission Impossible

Chris McQuarrie will be back to direct two new Mission: Impossible movies:

Sources tell Variety that McQuarrie has signed back on to return to write and direct the next two films in the popular franchise. Sources also add that both films would be shot back-to-back — not unlike the final two “Avengers” sequels — in order to take advantage of the popularity of the series, with the first bowing summer 2021 and the second coming out in summer 2022. The release comes in 2021 to avoid conflict with Paramount and Cruise’s next big venture, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Maroon 5 Biggest Act on US Radio in 2018

Maroon 5

Maroon 5 were the biggest act on the radio in 2018:

The band finished 2018 as the biggest act on U.S. radio airwaves, according to Nielsen Music. The group’s catalog of songs collected 8.58 billion audience impressions across all monitored radio stations, from 1.95 million plays of their tunes.

Drake was the second most-heard act on the radio last year, with 8.15 billion in audience impressions, while Imagine Dragons (7.18 billion), Post Malone (7.14 billion) and Ed Sheeran (7.08 billion) rounded out the top five biggest radio acts of 2018.

Founder of Coachella Talks With the LA Times

Coachella

The founder of Coachella talked with the LA Times about a variety of topics, including the controversial “radius clause:”

The radius clause is part of all business to some extent. You can’t put a car dealer every block; a car dealer has a region. These artists generally come back later that year. Sometimes two more times that year. So it’s just a moment of time that there’s a radius clause on that. Ours is more for that first part of the year right before Coachella.

Human beings trying to make a living playing shows, car dealerships, same thing.