Mellinda Hensley

A video documentary where Hayao Miyazaki is saying "I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself"

Happy birthday to the one and only, Hayao Miyazaki.

Listen, let me have my silly little treats, okay?

folks, that's $567 million dollars of stolen wealth from the creatives you love who worked at Warner Brothers. this is so terrifically tragic.

Hey, that’s me!

If you write short scripts, stage plays, (or anything else tbh), submit it to us!

My brain keeps says accessible, but that’s a little clinical. Maybe inviting or magnetic?

: Whelp, my new hobby seems to be watching Jacob Wysocki edits and crying

On July 2nd, Paramount agreed to settle a baseless lawsuit brought against 60 Minutes and CBS News by President Trump for $16 million. On July 15, during a regular show of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colbert went on-air and called the settlement a “big fat bribe” in exchange for a favorable decision on the proposed merger between Paramount and Skydance, a charge currently under investigation in California. Less than 48 hours later, on July 17, Paramount canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a show currently performing first in its timeslot, giving vague references to the program’s “financial performance” as the only explanation. For ten years, the show has been one of the most successful, beloved and profitable programs on CBS, entertaining an audience of millions on late night television, on streaming services and across social media.

Given Paramount’s recent capitulation to President Trump in the CBS News lawsuit, the Writers Guild of America has significant concerns that The Late Show’s cancelation is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval. Cancelations are part of the business, but a corporation terminating a show in bad faith due to explicit or implicit political pressure is dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society. Paramount’s decision comes against a backdrop of relentless attacks on a free press by President Trump, through lawsuits against CBS and ABC, threatened litigation of media organizations with critical coverage and the unconscionable defunding of PBS and NPR.

The Writers Guild of America calls on New York State Attorney General Letitia James, no stranger to prosecuting Trump for illegal business practices, to join California and launch an investigation into potential wrongdoing at Paramount. We call on our elected leaders to hold those responsible to account, to demand answers about why this beloved program was canceled and to assure the public that Colbert and his writers were not censored due to their views or the whims of the President. In the meantime, the Writers Guild of America will support our members at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and across the late-night industry as they speak truth to power and we will explore all potential legal and political avenues to fight for our members in the aftermath of this decision.

The following is a statement from the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) on Paramount’s Decision to Cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”.

I was very proud of the statement put out by the WGA and am so honored to be a part of that union.

I also have no idea where we go from here, but I hope we can work to preserve this form of comedy — it’s worth staying up late for 🧵

So to see a juggernaut like The Late Show getting cancelled, despite having strong ratings and being helmed by Colbert (one of the greatest to do it, imo) feels like getting socked in the heart. I don’t know what it means for the rest of late night, or TV for that matter ⬇️

Even though I haven’t fully taken the jump into late-night, I’m in love with its form, style, and people; I love what it’s taught me as a creative; I love opening monologues, bits, and interviews; and I love how making it happen feels like trying to lasso a moment in time ⬇️

I had the privilege of shadowing TLLS’s director Tim, who had also previously worked in daytime. I felt like a kid again watching it all come together, like I was somehow back on the couch with my mom and behind the camera at the same time ⬇️

I realized that late-night is a genre that shares a lot of that breakneck, seat-of-your-pants production style with daytime. You only have a certain amount of time to get what you need. You hustle, you learn, and if you fuck up, that’s okay — that’s what tomorrow was for ⬇️

On an early visit to LA, I stepped on a set for the first time. It was to see Craig Ferguson, and I loved every minute of it.

Later, when working in daytime, The Late Late Show filmed below us. I hung out down there when I had a minute and gained friends I still have today ⬇️

In college, I’d fall in love with the way journalism intersected with late-night. I watched John Stewart and his crew guide us through elections, controversy, catastrophe, and do their best to make us pay attention, but also keep us from walking directly into traffic ⬇️

When I got a TV in my own room, I watched three things: late-night, Whose Line, and anime.

(Why yes, I was so cool with so many friends)

But even if I didn’t always get the jokes in the opening monologue, I knew it made people laugh. And if they were laughing, they were paying attention ⬇️

: I love late-night TV. It’s a fun, crazy space — the spine that binds the book of my creative life together. I remember the thrill of staying up with my Mom to see The Late Show.

It felt like I was watching something I shouldn’t be.

It felt like New Years every night. 🧵

First up in our Vol. X: “Spring” issue spotlight, we have our fiction section, co-edited by @courtlandavenue.bsky.social & @mellindak.bsky.social w/ Heather Vaughn, featuring stories by Daphne Armbrstet, Jennifer Bannan, Briana Courtney & Valentina Gómez. Read their work: tinyurl.com/ExpoV10Spring!

: I know a Teenjus call when I see one

My friend was doing some video coverage at an HR conference last week and this was one of the slides for a presentation on AI in hiring and recruiting.

From the phrase “AI-first world” to the absolutely unhinged choice of photo, believe me when I say
Y I K E S.

Annnnd another L for journalism

Personally rooting for Journalism at the Kentucky Derby — it may be the only W journalism gets for the next four years 🐎

Oh hell yeah, congrats Guy!!

@expositionreview.bsky.social — I need to know if Francesca had the inside scoop on Haim’s new album this whole time and just didn’t tell us!

Surprise, #Flash405: “Quitting” judged by Expo’s Associate Nonfiction Editor Francesca Spiegel is OPEN!
In the spirit of this round’s theme—and in celebration of 10 years of Expo Review & #AWP25 —we’re *quitting our typical schedule & opening early!
Find details & submit: tinyurl.com/FlashQuitting.

Listen, I just want it to be on the Internet before the finale on the off-chance I’m right about the dumb theory I’ve been forcing on my poor friends for weeks:

The shooter in The White Lotus is a monkey.

Kendrick Lamar has 22 Grammies and a damn Pulitzer if you don’t know who he is that’s a You problem

Gnats are unnoted wheresoe’er they fly,
But eagles gaz’d upon with every eye.

LA does not claim this man — get him outta that damn shirt

The primordial plastic pouch, if you will