Friday's Too Good Not To Share: October 23, 2020
Every Friday, I share other great content (with some added context) to dive into over the weekend.
Shonda Rhimes Is Ready to "Own Her S***"
"I am the highest-paid showrunner in television."
It’s took a while for Shonda to own her own story. Ever confident on set but shy in public, she is now ready to step out and show the world what she’s been working on at Netflix.
She was the first of the mega-overall deals for the streaming giant. Netflix dropped $150 million to lure her away from ABC. This interview gives great insight into how undervalued and appreciated some of our creators are even when they are keeping the lights on at huge corporations.
Now, more than three years after her deal was signed, Rhimes, 50, will at last release her first two projects for the service, a documentary about director, choreographer and philanthropist Debbie Allen (dropping Nov. 27) and the period drama Bridgerton (Dec. 25), though neither is her creation. Netflix's roughly 200 million subscribers will have to wait at least a few months longer for Rhimes' baby, Inventing Anna, about the infamous SoHo grifter Anna Sorokin, alias Anna Delvey. That it's taken Rhimes this long to deliver fresh fare has been a source of anxiety for the fiercely competitive creator, who, until now, had been known for her ability to be prolific. "I spend a lot of time going, like, 'We should have made 50 shows by now' " she says, appearing virtually from the library in her Los Angeles home. "And not for the audience so much as, like, 'What do the bosses think?' And I know they don't think I should have made 50 shows by now, but it's very hard for me to not be the perfect storytelling machine."
Read more here.
Early Work
One of the biggest things holding people back from doing great work is the fear of making something lame. And this fear is not an irrational one. Many great projects go through a stage early on where they don't seem very impressive, even to their creators. You have to push through this stage to reach the great work that lies beyond. But many people don't. Most people don't even reach the stage of making something they're embarrassed by, let alone continue past it. They're too frightened even to start.
Paul Grahm, cofounder of Y Combinator and Hacker News, is renowned for his essays and this is a good one.
We’re too fearful of early work and he breaks down ways to overcome that fear. One of my biggest takeaways from the piece is to work on truly ambitious projects. Do things that are important and grand and you won’t worry about the early versions not being beautiful.
Read more here.
Insane Way Bank Robbers Executed Perfect Bank Heist (Stole $20 Million)
This is going to make a great movie one day. I read about this caper in article form but the video graphics add so much more to the story.
Imagine coming up with the perfect plan to rob a bank.
Then imagine putting together the perfect team to pull it off.
Lastly, imagine that you go through with the plan and it works to perfection. You get the money, you don’t hurt anyone, and you get away from the police without a trace.
So how do we know about the details of the robbery and everyone involved?
You’ll just have to watch to find out that answer.
Watch the full video here. [15 minutes]
Leave today better than yesterday ✌️.
My friend released a new EP. Some RnB vibes for your weekend.