CNatalie Portman is trying to sell a dead body at an art fair, and honestly? The premise is the most Miami thing I've ever heard.
LOkay, I saw the new still from Cathy Yan's The Gallerist — Portman plays an ambitious gallery owner at Art Basel, and Jenna Ortega is her assistant. The plan: pass off a corpse as a sculpture.
CIt premiered at Sundance and people described it as this sharp, dark comedy about who gets to decide what art is worth. December 4 in theaters.
LI love how the hook is basically 'the ultimate insider scam.' Like the art world is already 80 percent performance art, so why not go full Weekend at Bernie's?
CSome Miami gallerist is watching this trailer and thinking, that's not a crime drama, that's a business plan.
LYan directed Birds of Prey, so she knows how to make chaos look good. And Portman doing dark comedy after May December? I'm seated.
CDecember can't come fast enough. But speaking of things hitting different three years later —
LTaylor Swift's 'Cruel Summer' went number one three years ago today. Which still feels wrong to me.
CWhy? That song was everywhere for two years before it even touched the Hot 100.
LExactly my point! It's a 2019 album track that the fans refused to let die. The label finally pushed it as a single in 2023 and it shot to the top. That's not a normal chart run, that's a fan uprising.
CYou're describing it like it was grassroots, but there was a remix, a tour moment, a whole strategy. Swifties didn't just wake up and decide.
LNo, no, wait — the fans kept streaming it for four years with zero radio support. The industry caught up to them, not the other way around.
COkay, but Billboard's rules changed and suddenly old songs were charting again. It wasn't pure fan power, it was a perfect storm.
LYou know what? I'll give you the asterisk. But that song is still the best thing on Lover, and a number one three years after release is iconic.
CFair enough. And it does prove one thing: a hook that good doesn't expire.
LSpeaking of fans refusing to let things die — there's a K-pop fan account spiraling about whether Yibo or Xiao Zhan might show up at a concert tonight. They posted about being 'giddy and anxious' and then read a rumor he was flying out.
CThe emotional arc of that post in real time is better than half the shows I've reviewed. Giddy, then crushed, then 'we're good' all within one caption.
LThat's the thing about stan culture: the highest highs and lowest lows happen before the artist even takes the stage.
CI can't imagine living and dying by someone else's travel schedule. But I respect the commitment to the bit.
LThe rumor mill said he was flying out tonight, which would mean no appearance. But the fan already rationalized it: 'we couldn't risk the aftermath.'
CThe aftermath. For showing up to a concert. It's like the Cold War, but make it shipping.
LI will say, the self-soothing in that post is Olympic-level. A therapist could take notes.
CAnd now for a palate cleanser: a Kenshi Yonezu fan in LA is celebrating because their ticket this time was less than half of what the YouTube Theater charged last time.
LWait, five hundred dollars for a floor ticket at the YouTube Theater? For Kenshi Yonezu?
CThat was the complaint: five hundred. Now they got a better seat for less than half. Which makes me suspect the first show was surge pricing.
LIt's wild how the same artist, same city, same venue — but a different night means a totally different price. Ticketing is just gambling with extra steps.
CThe fan didn't even sound mad about the first ticket, just relieved. Like they'd been held hostage by dynamic pricing and finally got a ransom break.
LI'm happy for them. But five hundred dollars to stand on a floor in Inglewood is a war crime.
CAt least they got a second chance. Most people just get the first punch and no refund.
LOne more from the charts: a fan account posted their recalculated 2008 Billboard points, claiming their system is 'pretty close to the actual points these songs were earning.'
CSo a hobbyist rebuilt Billboard's entire 2008 chart math, said it's 'a bit shaky near the bottom,' and the internet is supposed to trust the rest?
LI love the audacity. They're basically saying, 'I re-did the season's stats and my spreadsheet is close enough to official.'
CClose enough for who? The whole point of a chart is exactness. 'A bit shaky' is doing a lot of work in that post.
LBut here's the thing: fans doing forensic chart math is how we find out the official numbers are sometimes... creative. So maybe 'shaky' is still more honest.
CI'll say this: if you're recalculating 2008 points on a Thursday evening, you've earned the right to call your own work impressive.
LIt's a different kind of fandom. Less screaming, more spreadsheets.