Cordkillers 227 - Stankey Feels Swanky (w/ Nicole Lee)

Directorial backlash, anime on Netflix, and Sony leaked their own movie! All this and more on Cordkillers! With special guest Nicole Lee.

CordKillers: Ep. 227 - Stankey Feels Swanky
Recorded: July 9 2018
Guest: Nicole Lee

Intro Video


Primary Target

  • ‘Logan’ Director James Mangold Warns Against Extreme Fan Backlash
    - James Mangold, who directed Logan, posted on Twitter that fan outrage may drive people away from wanting to be involved with big franchises. "At the point when work writing & directing big franchises has become the emotionally loaded equivalent of writing a new chapter of The Bible (w/ the probable danger of being stoned & called a blasphemer), then a lot of bolder minds r gonna leave these films 2 hacks & corp boards."
  • Christopher McQuarrie wanted to make a Star Wars movie until he got a taste of Star Wars Twitter
    - Christopher McQuarrie was tagged in a tweet by Rian Johnson, recommending folks follow McQuarrie for writing advice. Anti-Last Jedi people flooded both their mentions, leading McQuarrie to reply "My friend, After five minutes of this, I don’t know why you’re still on Twitter. I would have loved to make a Star Wars film someday. I’m cured."


How to Watch

  • AT&T wants to overhaul HBO, says it isn’t profitable enough
    - New WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey has indicated he thinks HBO must broaden focus to stay competitive. According to the New York Times Stankey told staff that HBO needs to increase the amount of time viewers watch HBO. "We need hours a day...It's not hours a week, and it's not hours a month. We need hours a day. You are competing with devices that sit in people's hands that capture their attention every 15 minutes." Stankey also said that he and HBO CEO Richard Plepler hope to produce more without sacrificing HBO's standards. Stankey also said employees are going to have to work harder.
  • Netflix is testing a new 'Ultra' tier of service
    - Some European users have noticed an Ultra tier in options for Netflix plans. The plans have showed up with prices from €16.99 to €19.99 The current top tier is Premium at €13.99. Sometimes the higher price was the same options as premium and other times premium became only 2 simultaneous streams with no HDR. Netflix told CNET it's testing different price points and features to see what customers value.
  • Netflix will remove user reviews from its website next month
    - AND Netflix notified users it will remove user reviews from its service. Netflix says usage of the written reviews has been declining. CNET reports Netflix will stop accepting new reviews on July 30 and remove them sometime in mid-August.
  • Netflix Is Expected to Spend up to $13 Billion on Original Programming
    - A survey last week from Wall Street firm Cowen & Co. found that of 2500 US adults surveyed, 27% of respondents used Netflix most often to watch video, trailed by basic cable at 20%, broadcast TV at 18%, and YouTube at 11%. Netflix had an even bigger lead among adults 18-35, dominating the viewing habits of 40% of respondents in that age group.


What to Watch

  • Ultraman Is Coming to Netflix, Alongside the Return of Castlevania and Aggretsuko
    - At Anime Expo, Netflix announced loads of shows including a renewal of Aggretskuo for 2019 and Castlevania coming October 26. Netflix also announced a sequel to Monster Planet, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle coming July 18 and the series Dragon Pilot coming September 21. And in 2019 the debut of Ultraman from Production IG, Kengan Ashura a middle-age salary man conscripted to fight deadly brawls fro his company and Canon Busters group of quirky robots forced to work together to find a missing princess.
  • Netflix snaps up musical series originally intended for Fox
    - Netflix also ordered 10 episodes of Mixtape, a romantic musical series that Fox piloted but did not green light. The show intertwines love stories from a disparate group of people living in Los Angeles who all apparently sing.


What We're Watching


Front Lines

  • TiVo CEO leaves to join Liberty Global as CTO after less than a year with the DVR maker
    - TiVo CEO Enrique Rodriguez is leaving the company for a role at Liberty Global, where he will become its CTO. Rodriguez joined Tivo in November 2017. Raghu Rau, who is on TiVo’s board, has been named the interim president and CEO of the company. Rodriguez will keep an advisory role.Jessica
  • Sony posted a whole movie to YouTube instead of the trailer
    - Oh human error is sure funny. Sony posted the entire direct-to-DV movie "Khali the Killer" to its YouTube channel 9 months after it hit retail. The funny thing is, the title of the video was "Official Red Band Trailer". OOPS!
  • UK job ad indicates Amazon wants to bring TV advertising and free TV channels to Prime
    - An Amazon job posting in the UK is seeking a Head of Free to Air TV & Advertising. After people noticed it, Amazon changed it to “Head of Prime Video Channels Free To Air TV & Advertising TV Partner Channels.” and then changed again to “Head of Prime Video Partner Channels”. The description said "This individual will be responsible for widening the content range with the development of free and advertising-funded channels... and act as internal champion for free-to-air and advertising funded content." Some expect this relates to Premier League soccer running on Prime next year for free, with traditional commercials running during the matches.
  • MoviePass subscribers will now pay surcharges for popular showtimes
    - MoviePass surge pricing has gone into effect, saying, “movies that are high in demand for title, date, or time of day will be impacted.” Movies in the app will display a red lightning icon when they are in peak pricing and a gray icon when they are approaching peak pricing status. The amounts and conditions of the increase are not noted. One example showed Avengers: Infinity War costing $4.43 extra to see at 7 PM. Subscribers can waive one peak pricing fee per month.
  • Microsoft may be making a Movies & TV app for iOS and Android
    - Sources told Windows Central that Microsoft is working on a Movies and TV app for iOs and Android. Microsoft has been developing versions of its mobile apps like Edge and Launcher for iOS and Android, so it would fit in that pattern.

Dispatches from the Front

Hey guys,

We paid $160 per month for cable and a “sports package” through Spectrum. We cut the cord and only spend around $60 per month for our services (Sling, Hulu, Philo). We do not count Netflix or Amazon in the calculations because we already had those services prior.

We also got a Tablo 4 tuner OTA device and multiple Rokus. So we had to wait 10 months or so to effectively see the gains. But we are now operating on a savings of $100 a month. Truthfully, cable is easier. With the streaming services, we have to think about which service has the channel we want to watch. Is anyone else in the house watching? Buffering issues with one service so switch over to another, etc. etc. etc.

With cable you can just turn on and go to the channel [package] you want with ease. ... I look forward to the day that one service will give me a list of every channel that exists and allows me to check the box for each channel I want and then quote me a price. I pay and bleep-blop-boop I’ve got one service to rule them all. ...

Anyways, thanks for all the information and entertainment you guys provide. I’ve been a long time Cord Killers listener. And I’ve pretty much gotten into the entire Diamond Club stable of podcasts. Cord Killers was my gateway drug into DTNS/Night Attack/Weird Things/PoliticsPoliticsPolitics. I’ve long lived under the belief to not buy the cow when you get the milk for free. But you know what? I’m thinking about heading over to patreon and buying me some cows.

Cheers,
- Keith 

 

 

 

 

Hey guys! Some good news for Canadian cordcutters. I got a call from my ISP (TELUS) with a new steaming offer. It’s called PIK tv, it has live video like cable but streamed on your phone, tablet or computer with an option to buy an android box if need be. It’s $10/ month with up to 23 regional channels, 5 extras to add on and a few “premium” channels that are add on subscriptions. Looks like we are finally getting some services like you guys south of us!

- Ian

 

 

 

 

Hi Brian and Tom,

As I was listening to Brian's description of his ideal "pop culture sherpa" experience, my only thought was, "This sounds exhausting. I definitely don't want this."

I agree that this is not what services like DC Universe is up to. I think instead they see successful services like Amazon Prime that bundle a bunch of separate media subscription services together. Amazon probably finds that it's easy to offer more "services" that seem to provide more value, even though most customers don't actually use all services on offer.

- Alan

 

 

 

 

Hey employees and guest host,

I don't know what you're talking about regarding the last Indiana Jones movie, I can still remember when I saw it in the theater and will remember the experience till the day I die. It might be because of the in-theater experience that I had. I saw it at the now closed Ziegfield Theater in midtown Manhattan. A great old movie palace, plus there was this guy that had the striking resemblance to Paul McCartney sitting in my row. Then the movie ended, and this guy spoke to his wife, and he even had an English accent. Huh, this guy could be a shorter Paul McCartney. And then literally everyone else gawked at him once out in the lobby, because it was actually Paul McCartney.

I watched a random movie with a freaking Beatle!

I've never gone back to watch it, but I do have a foggy recollection that there was a flying refrigerator that Indiana Jones was inside for some reason, but that couldn't have been, because that doesn't make a lick of sense.

Keep up the good work,
Your boss

- Sean


Links

2018 Summer Movie Draft
patreon.com/cordkillers

Bryce CastilloComment