Jared Leto plays WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann and Anne Hathaway plays his wife Rebehak in the new Apple TV+ drama “WeCrashed”. The series will chronicle of how the company’s skyrocketed towards a $47 billion valuation in less than a decade, then quickly and dramatically plummeted.
Neumann, who served as CEO for the company from 2010 to 2019 and later resigned was well known for his megalomania and wild pronouncements of ambition. Becoming ‘King of the world’ was not beyond his imagination. According to reports at the time, his “eccentric behavior” was one of the main reasons he was pressured to step down.
The series is part drama for the entertaining over-the-top reenactments of the antics and impulses of Neumann (Leto) and part exploration of the era of insane exploits at start-ups, as well as part love story, showing their crazy ups, downs, best and worst of times while WeWork is being built.
Not the first to tackle this subject matter, after 2021’s WeWork: Or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn, which was a documentary feature, this star driven Apple TV+ series is clearly aimed at being entertaining first, but still is a thoughtful exploration of the excesses and the era that produced them.
Along with the recent trial of Elizabeth Holmes who was found guilty on four out of 11 federal charges relating to her own megalomaniacal fraud spree at billion dollar start-up Theranos, there’s a building oeuvre of film work, such as HBO’s: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley chronicling the era of excess that is still ongoing.
Apple TV+ is also getting in on the Theranos action. In an upcoming release Jennifer Lawrence will again team up with director Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up, also with JLaw), for Bad Blood. Release date is not yet known, only that it will be based on Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by Pulitzer Prize-winner John Carreyrou.
“WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork” will debut its first three episodes on Apple TV+ starting March 18 with new episodes airing every week on Friday.
Above: “Brokeback Mountain” / Photo Credit / Focus Features
Sitting on top of the heap of ultra successful streaming giants Netflix must spend and produce more and more content to keep up with views that binge watch new movie titles and even series as fast as they arrive, it seems. It’s given that the deluge of new arrivals helps to reduce the feeling of frustration that can arise when you are searching for something you have yet to watch, but it feels like hours go by, with little new to consider.
With a large number of new titles coming down the pipeline each month, and spread out in terms of release dates presumably in order to prevent a bulge in the first week, at least there is a chance that something completely new, or at least new to the classic library of titles on the streamer, will pop up in the browsing selection.
But what if you don’t stumble across a great, classic title and it is removed, perhaps permanently, before you had a chance to see it? To help pay for the many new titles that are always being added, and produced from scratch, the library must also be culled on a continuous basis. And as we all know by now, often the older classic titles outshine the more recent productions, sometimes with aging, half interested stars and “direct-to-streaming” titles and directors.
Fortunately, this month the last day falls on a Monday and it also comes in direct proximity to a 3-day weekend for Memorial Day, so we have a bit more time to warn you about what you might want to see, before it’s too late.
Netflix had a huge release of new titles for May 2021, 90 to be exact, that were added to the platform. As the end of the month rapidly nears, 20 titles will be leaving to make space in the budget for the June 2021 arrivals.
Therefore, be sure you don’t miss out on the titles below. We have provided trailers and a synopsis for a few select choices, since they are classic movies boasting high-profile stars. Examples such as Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in “50 First Dates”, “Meryl Street and Amy Adams in “Julie & Julia” and Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway in “Brokeback Mountain” give you a taste and the full list also follows below.
Comedy, Romance, Action, Historical, Horror, Thriller are all on the list.
The list of titles leaving Netflix also includes award-winning films such as: “Milk”, “Miracle” and “The Pursuit of Happyness”.
Below are the titles that will officially be gone from the platform on May 31st at midnight:
Brokeback Mountain
In 1963, rodeo cowboy Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and ranch hand Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) are hired by rancher Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid) as sheep herders in Wyoming. One night on Brokeback Mountain, Jack makes a drunken pass at Ennis that is eventually reciprocated. Though Ennis marries his longtime sweetheart, Alma (Michelle Williams), and Jack marries a fellow rodeo rider (Anne Hathaway), the two men keep up their tortured and sporadic affair over the course of 20 years.
50 First Dates
Playboy vet Henry (Adam Sandler) sets his heart on romancing Lucy (Drew Barrymore), but she has short-term memory loss; she can’t remember anything that happened the day before. So every morning, Henry has to woo her again. Her friends and family are very protective, and Henry must convince them that he’s in it for love.
The Help
In 1960s Mississippi, Southern society girl Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns from college with dreams of being a writer. She turns her small town on its ear by choosing to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent white families. Only Aibileen (Viola Davis), the housekeeper of Skeeter’s best friend, will talk at first. But as the pair continue the collaboration, more women decide to come forward, and as it turns out, they have quite a lot to say.
Milk
In 1972, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) and his then-lover Scott Smith leave New York for San Francisco, with Milk determined to accomplish something meaningful in his life. Settling in the Castro District, he opens a camera shop and helps transform the area into a mecca for gays and lesbians. In 1977 he becomes the nation’s first openly gay man elected to a notable public office when he wins a seat on the Board of Supervisors. The following year, Dan White (Josh Brolin) kills Milk in cold blood.
The Pursuit of Happyness
Life is a struggle for single father Chris Gardner (Will Smith). Evicted from their apartment, he and his young son (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) find themselves alone with no place to go. Even though Chris eventually lands a job as an intern at a prestigious brokerage firm, the position pays no money. The pair must live in shelters and endure many hardships, but Chris refuses to give in to despair as he struggles to create a better life for himself and his son.
Act of Valor
All Dogs Go to Heaven
The Blair Witch Project
The Boy
Deliver Us from Eva
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Julie & Julia
Above: “Julia & Julia” / Photo Credit / Columbia Pictures
Marauders
Miracle
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption
Soul Surfer
Striptease
Waiting…
Above: “Striptease” / Photo Credit / Warner Bros. Pictures
Just in case you missed our recent coverage on the intersections of the Climate Crisis, Tech and Entertainment, we’ve compiled a list of articles for you to check out:
Graphic Collage / Lynxotic
Greta Thunberg: Climate Activist focused on Change now, not hopes for an Uncertain Future
Greta Thunberg is a sixteen-year-old Swedish girl who is rapidly becoming a flash point for those in the movement to raise awareness of the global emergency of global warming and climate change.
Photo / Adobe Stock
The Potential of Self-Driving Cars in Entertainment Media: First Foray
While it might be easy to imagine people in self-driving cars perpetually staring at their smart phones or laptops, there is the possibility that entertainment companies could collaborate with vehicle manufacturers to change the very design of vehicles and make car-riding a transmedia experience.
Photo / Apple
iOS 13 Tips: How to Use and Manage the new Share Menu for iPhone and iPadOS
The share menu can vary from app to app, many use it most often from within Safari or the Mail app, however, for this video, we chose the Apple News app as the operations are essentially the same.
Photo / Global Citizen / Ethan Judelson
Leonardo DiCaprio headlines Global Citizens Festival, continues fight to raise awareness of Climate Crisis
Leonardo DiCaprio had made several stances against climate change over the years. The actor spearheaded the issue in his 2016 documentary “Before The Flood” and even used the stage during his long-awaited Oscar acceptance speech to talk about the importance of preserving our natural world. Evidently, the man is a passionate environmentalist.
Graphic Collage / Lynxotic
Tesla and Elon Musk are Smiling: Gas Pumps Out, Charging Stations In
The news here, however is that these are stations that have decided to abandon gas, oil and, presumably, gasoline-based auto maintenance for EV charging and convenience. This is a trend that, hopefully, will accelerate.
Photo / Magnolia Pictures
‘Scandalous’: National Inquirer sets the Standard for Questionable News Coverage
If one even notices the title of the film printed in smaller letters in enormous tagline’s shadows, one might expect that “Scandalous” isa movie about conspiracy theories or some great national collusion that ties all of these pop-culture headlines in some absurd way. However, beneath the title on the poster, seemingly hidden, is the film’s subtitle. It reads “The Untold Story Of The National Enquirer.“
Photo / Disney
5 New Trailers just Released: Check out the future fare from Sony, Disney and more
This week had a gaggle of new trailers hitting the street so we decided to choose five to showcase and feature in this post.
Photo / Warner Bros.
Eight Movies Out Now you might have missed
Just in case you missed our coverage of recent films, out now in theaters, we’ve compiled a graphic tour of a few noteworthy (or at least to be considered) titles among them.
Young Environmental Activist Who is less Interested in Hope for the Future, but rather Change in the Present
Her recent speech at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, along with many inspiring voices, was perhaps loudest and most impactful of them all. She is a sixteen-year-old Swedish girl who is rapidly becoming a flash point for those in the movement to raise awareness of the global emergency of global warming and climate change. Her name is Greta Thunberg, and her goal is to evoke immediate change in the way the world is handling the climate crisis.
Born in 2003, Greta Thunberg dropped out of school at the age of fifteen to begin a career in environmental activism. Entirely self-motivated, Thunberg started out by protesting outside of the Swedish parliament building. Since then, she has spoken at Climate Action meetings around the world, criticizing leaders for a lack of effort and campaigning for transformation on behalf of the younger generation.
Greta has gotten the attention of many fellow activists, celebrities, and leaders over the past week, among them are Anne Hathaway, Leonardo DiCaprio, and former President Barak Obama, many of whom have met with her in person and all of whom have expressed their support via social media. This year Time magazine named her a “next generation leader” and many have pointed to her as an inspiring symbol of youth leadership.
Greta Thunberg’s Speech at the U.N. on September 23, 2019
Greta Thunberg’s intention is not to inspire hope, though, and she is not interested in waiting for the “next generation” to solve the environmental issues of today. Her speech from the Climate Action Summit went viral. In it, she cautions leaders not to feel hopeful, and instead urges them to “panic,” react, and change their ways now. She wants people to see the climate crisis for what it is—a crisis.
Urgency in Equal Measure to the Problem at Hand
Her veracious rhetoric is contrary to the diplomatic way that many activists and politicians talk about climate change. Given that we have known about global warming for generations, yet have made very little progress in preventing its effects, the human race may be beyond diplomacy by now. And if we aren’t already, we will be at a tipping point sometime within the young Thunberg’s life.
While many rebellious young people may throw education to the wayside to pursue dreams of becoming celebrities or attaining fortunes, Greta Thunberg simply stumbled into fame, and there is hardly any money attached to the work that she does. Thunberg may be inspiring many of her peers and becoming a face of change, but she is not in it for personal recognition or gratification. The young activist—who is also diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder—simply has an uncontrollable itch to save the world from this impending environmental catastrophe. Uncontrollable, yet absolutely rational.
Haters Hate but the Numbers of Believers is Rising
Despite all of the praise that Greta Thunberg has received, her efforts are not without criticism, particularly from the American far right and even President Trump. Some of her resistors are simply climate change-deniers who do not believe in the scientifically viable phenomena that she is combating. Others, however, scoff Greta for being a no more than a kid filled with teenage pathos that should not be taken seriously. Nevertheless, Thunberg’s speeches are well grounded in scientific evidence and on top of that, her emotions are perhaps reflective of how we should all feel, knowing that consequences for our destruction of the natural world are right around the corner.
In total, although Greta Thunberg is not aiming to evoke hope, but rather direct action when it comes to fighting climate change, we cannot help but applaud her bravery and get a surge of inspiration from her. With any luck, older generations will listen to her as but one among billions of young people who are concerned for the future, and actually do something about the problem. Until then, we salute Greta Thunberg and strive to do whatever we can as individuals to take her message to heart and make her efforts worthwhile.
