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Welcome back to our VIP video series "Off the Beaten Path," featuring my friend Christian Toto of Hollywood in Toto! Christian and I start off our week by discussing stories and ideas that may fly under our radar, in culture, politics, sports, and more. Plus, Christian previews his latest podcast at HiT.
How can we adequately address the cultural earthquake of the departure of Harry and Meghan Sussex from the US? Christian and Ed try to recall the last time the un-royal pair were relevant in American culture, and end up stumped. Perhaps that's why they are going back to the UK, but after their campaign to paint Harry's family and UK society as raaaacist, what kind of welcome will they get from the royals ... and from the media? And is this just a ploy to generate more material for later victim-platforming? Ed has some advice to pass along to royals and servants alike.
Also: Have we reached Peak Royal in American culture? If so, why?
We may have reached Peak Ruffalo as well. Marvel Cinematic Universe star Mark Ruffalo objects to the Paramount-Warner merger, which can be a rational subject for debate. Ruffalo objected to it by tying it to Israel and the purported "genocide" in Gaza, which is otherwise known as What You Get For Starting Wars For 20 Years. It also has literally nothing to do with the merger, a fact pointed out by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Will Ruffalo suffer any career consequences at Disney, the same studio that fired Gina Carano for offering a much less controversial political opinion? Christian and Ed hope for a market reaction rather than a blacklist, but don't see much hope for either.
We also discuss Hasan Piker and the rise of socialism as we veer a little more toward the beaten path, but we then shift back to films. Christian offers his view of the summer's winners and losers, including Obsession, which Ed has not seen but wishes to do so soon. We discuss M. Night Shyamalan's career for a bit, including the films Devil and Old, both of which Ed recommends. And in between these discussions, Ed reveals some news about his own artistic efforts.
Watch it all and join us in the comments!
