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TOGETHER WITH
It’s Thursday and Roblox CEO David Baszucki wants grownups to get in on the fun. His vision for the platform’s future: “virtual dating, indie movie screenings, and new forms of content such as news and hot topics.”
BEHIND THE CAMERA
TikTok’s top star will make his directorial debut at the Taormina Film Festival
Fans of Khaby Lame and Bella Thorne are in for an exciting summer. TikTok’s most-followed creator and the Game of Love star will both make their directorial debuts at this year’s Taormina Film Festival, where Lame’s short film will be showcased at an “influential shorts” gala headlined by Thorne.
Lame is keeping details about his new film under wraps.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the subject of Lame’s big premiere is still something of a mystery—but we know a little more about Thorne’s first directorial project. The actress, singer, influencer, and entrepreneur will be promoting Paint It Red, a short film based on a screenplay she wrote.
Thorne’s gala, scheduled for Taormina’s Teatro Antico, aims to introduce some of the fresh talent she’s discovered. The Instagram icon (who currently reaches 25 million followers) will also invite established artists and celebrities to her film festival fête. As an aspiring director and an influencer with 158 million TikTok followers, Lame will fit right now.
Taormina Film Festival marks the TikToker’s directorial debut, but it isn’t his first rodeo.
Lame has become a regular presence at film festivals across Europe, and was tapped to judge a short film contest at Cannes in 2022. Luckily for his millions of followers, fans won’t have to wait too long for the Italian funnyman’s latest festival appearance. The 2023 Taormina Film Festival is set to begin on June 23 and will run through July 1.
🔆 SPONSORED 🔆
There’s only one way to level up a Nikon Z Series camera—and it all comes down to the perfect lens
The Nikon Z 30 is more than just a top-of-the-line streaming camera. From its lightweight design to its cutting-edge technology, the Z 30 has everything creators need to capture iconic content, including 4K video, top-tier autofocus, and a flip-out vlogger screen with livestreaming capabilities.
With all those top-of-the-line features, it’s hard to imagine that this camera can get even better—but it can.
Pairing the Z 30’s image stabilization technology with the brand-new NIKKOR Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR lens is *chefs kiss*. The NIKKOR Z DX is the widest APS-C size/DX format zoom lens for Z series cameras, with a compact, lightweight build of approximately 7.3 oz.
HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰
Former NFL punter and current talk show host Pat McAfee has partnered with ESPN to bring The Pat McAfee Show to ESPN, ESPN+, and the ESPN YouTube channel. (Tubefilter)
Does Twitter need Tucker Carlson’s new show to succeed? Find out on the latest episode of Creator Upload. (Tubefilter)
According to Pew Research Center, 60% of adult U.S. Twitter users say they’ve “taken a break” from the platform “for several weeks or more” over the last 12 months. (TechCrunch)
YouTube creator liaison Rene Ritchie has clarified that Google’s new data policy—which includes the deletion of accounts inactive for 2+ years—will not apply to “accounts with YT videos." (Ars Technica)
DATA • CREATORS ON THE RISE 📈
Your favorite TikTok effect was probably designed by this creator
Laura Gouillon has only been making AR effects on TikTok for about a year, but her career in tech has already been an incredible adventure. The effects genius has worked in “cinematic VR filmmaking,” built AR tools as a product manager at Unity, and even collaborated with NASA. Now, she’s an independent creator—and the designer of nearly 200 augmented reality effects.
Chances are, you’ve already seen or heard one of those effects on TikTok.
Since joining TikTok’s in-beta Effect House to build and launch AR tools for TikTokers, Gouillon’s creations have appeared in countless clips; in fact, videos using her creations have now racked up nearly 12 billion views. That success has made Gouillon one of TikTok’s top AR designers and—most recently—landed her a spot on TikTok’s inaugural Asian and Pacific Islander Visionary Voices list:
“It’s just really exciting to know that multicultural creators, they can have an impact in ways they don’t expect, and I’m really excited to see this community be thriving, engaging, and coming together, and celebrating our heritage.”
Of course, creating show-stopping effects isn’t the only way Gouillon entertains her 800,000 TikTok followers. The AR genius says she’s “always been a creator” in her personal life, “whether that’s filmmaking or painting and drawing.” Her TikTok videos reflect that creativity: in fact, when the creator gained her first 150,000 followers, she was still “just making short films and cinematic parodies.” Now, Gouillon says her storytelling and AR-centric content “combines all of those interests in a randomly beautiful way.”
READY TO RUMBLE
Kai Cenat and iShowSpeed are joining forces to host a new program on Rumble
The Kai ‘N Speed Show is coming to Rumble. That snappy title is the name of a new program hosted by Twitch record-breaker Kai Cenat and 18-year-old streamer iShowSpeed (aka Darren Watkins, Jr.). Fans of the iconic duo will know that this isn’t their first time joining forces (or even their first time this spring).
On April 27, iShowSpeed released a music video called “Dogs,” which featured a guest appearance from Cenat. The Kai ‘N Speed Show will be a very different kind of collab: the two streamers plan to host three shows on Rumble per month, with the first broadcast slated for May 26.
The new program is already shaping up to be a wild ride.
A trailer posted to Watkins’ YouTube channel shows the two hosts running from escaped tigers, dodging snakes, and riding horses. We’re guessing those activities are only a fraction of the shenanigans fans will see on The Kai ‘N Speed Show—but the two streamers won’t have to worry about running afoul of Rumble’s community guidelines. In contrast to larger platforms like Twitch (where both Watkins and Cenat have faced bans), Rumble has built a right-leaning community by claiming to be “immune to cancel culture.”
That freewheeling spirit seems to have been an important factor in the development of Cenat and Watkins’ new show:
“Being able to have full creative control was important for us. I’m grateful that we get to do what we always do and combine audiences on a new level with Rumble.”
WATCH THIS 📺
Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s. Could you survive the night (or five)?
Five Nights At Freddy’s has inspired countless Twitch streams, Roblox games, and YouTube videos. Now, the uber-popular video game is coming to the silver screen. The official teaser for that movie dropped this week and the film version of Five Nights At Freddy’s looks just about as spooky as you’d expect.
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort. re