Kyle Marshall

What’s a technology that you think is overhyped? I’m going to give a sideways answer to this, which is that the venture capital business model needs to be understood as requiring hype. You can go back to the Netscape IPO, and that was the proof point that made venture capital the financial lifeblood of the tech industry. Venture capital looks at valuations and growth, not necessarily at profit or revenue. So you don’t actually have to invest in technology that works, or that even makes a profit, you simply have to have a narrative that is compelling enough to float those valuations. So you see this repetitive and exhausting hype cycle as a feature in this industry. A couple of years ago, you would have been asking me about the metaverse, then last year, you would have asked me about Web3 and crypto, and for each of these inflection points there’s an Andreessen Horowitz manifesto. It’s not simply that one piece of technology is overhyped, it’s that hype is a necessary ingredient of the current business ecosystem of the tech industry. We should examine how often the financial incentive for hype is rewarded without any real social returns, without any meaningful progress in technology, without these tools and services and worlds ever actually manifesting. That’s key to understanding the growing chasm between the narrative of techno-optimists and the reality of our tech-encumbered world.

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In Canada this is known as a Double Double Trouble.

(This joke would kill in a Tim Horton’s.)

Ish

Annual update to my Letterboxd favourites. In order it’s my favourite from last year, a black and white movie, a comedy, and an animated film.

When I studied old film criticism and journalism my absolute favourite headline was when something was said to be “boffo at the box office.”

Sounds like a fruitful year. Hope you crush it!

The last film that I wrote and was produced this year was AFFIRMATION. A horror story about a father who blames his daughter for all the evil in the world. Shot in black and white beautifully by Dante Costello.

Watch here: youtu.be/loNHm5W9MqE

And if you’re a Letterboxd user you can log it.

The 2nd film I wrote was a dramatic monologue performed by a drag queen. Directed by the wonderful Andrew G Cooper and starring the great Ethan Taylor it captures the ethereal nature of being lost in thought

For a short time watch here: youtu.be/Vqvot52B_EI

(You can log this on Letterboxd too.)

Earlier this year I wrote 3 short films that got made. THE ICK was the one I directed.

Yes loosely based on a bad first date but more based on my interest in the way we act online versus real life.

Watch here: youtu.be/eRZmdQP8dC0

(And you can log it on Letterboxd if you’re that kind of freak.)

What the heck is Podular Casting?

Me too! Which seems to be the unpopular opinion.

Often my favourite moments from TV shows come from “filler” episodes

David Lynch is a silly goose

Having watched the entirety of Twin Peaks (including the missing scenes!) over the past two months has left me both drained and creatively inspired. Any other show/movie done that for you?

#davidlynch #twinpeaks

Do you mind telling the story of how you were approached do that? And do you watch the movie or just read the script in order to do it?

What are the most memorable new films you’ve seen this year?

Glad to see you here!

Shocked at how much I loved Wicked considering how the marketing for it made it look like garbage.

Off to the theatre. I wonder what to see…