News Satire Roundup: August 15th

Sunday, August 15

·        Recap of the Week – Delta variant in the U.S.

o   Great one-liner – “Here in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace, or as Chris Cuomo would say: [utter silence].”

o   Excellent description of the current state of COVID affairs – “Hot Vax Summer has given way to Dipshit Autumn.”

o   I loved John’s response to a news team that felt the need to speak to a Holocaust Center for a quote on why mask mandates aren’t equivalent to the Holocause – “If you don’t already know the answer, you don’t understand either of the things you’re comparing.”

o   John didn’t understand why an anti-masker would discourage his kid (who thinks masks are “cool”) from actually contributing to the public health – “Kids are normally just walking snot-dispensers that run around coughing on doorknobs and sneezing directly into people’s mouths.”

·        And Now This – Treehouse Masters

o   Goofy montage from a reality-show guy who really loves his trees – I laughed at, “There was a little communication between me and the big guy that was like, ‘Let’s do this!’” and, “My tree juices are pumping!”

·        Main Story – Ransonware attacks

o   Very true – “Hold on, is it just me, or did there not used to be a massive ransomware attack every two months?”

o   John went through a few of the many cosmetic forms ransomware can take, from creepy ones with pictures of Jigsaw from Saw to one featuring pictures of “Thomas the Tank Engine shouting, ‘FUCK YOU!’” while demanding “at least 10 nude pics.”

o   John acknowledged that this was hardly the first episode that centered around ways that unscrupulous people screw others over for profit – “This show could easily be called Getting Rich for Sociopaths with John Oliver.”

o   We looked at some of the targets for ransomware attacks, ranging from the Colonial Pipeline to hospitals to random citizens (who can be hacked on everything from their smart thermostats to their app-enabled butt plugs.)

o   The biggest problem, at present, was this – “The costs of ransomware keep getting higher even as, crucially, the barriers for entry keep getting lower.”

o   John examined ways that performing ransomware attacks have gotten easier, mainly through hackers selling ransomware capabilities to novices, cryptocurrency offering a payout without a paper trail, and certain countries offering “safe havens” to hackers.

o   I loved the bit about one victim noting that the ransomware’s customer service team (to walk them through how to pay their ransom) was way more helpful than that of their internet service provider.

o   Even though it felt insufficient, John suggested small security measures people can take to better protect themselves online – “In a world where most people’s doors are unlocked and open, just locking your doors might be a small deterrent.”

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Tony Leung Chiu-wai did press for Shang-Chi! It’s print, not video, but I’ll take it. Really nice interview for Elle Men Singapore. Pulling out some of my favorite quotes:

The admiration for his genius intensifies with the knowledge that the celebrated actor was deliberately kept from background references, and was only given the script a month before filming commenced. “When [Marvel] offered me the role, what they wanted was for me to create a brand new Mandarin, so I got to develop my character along with the filming,” he says. “I’ve never approached Wenwu from a villain’s standpoint. Rather, I tried to explore the reasons that led him to become who he is. He’s a man with history, who craves to be loved. He is also human, and he has a family. As I read [the script], I began to consider the many reasons why he’d turn out the way he is — a sociopath, a narcissist, a bigot.”

I love that they wouldn’t let him look at the comics – Destin Daniel Cretton’s no dummy!

It isn’t too much of a stretch to find Leung caught up in his feels, for his character at hand, at least. Many would agree that his on-screen allure comes from his ability to draw upon expertly suppressed emotion; the kind that subconsciously tugs on heartstrings. Case in point: even a seemingly simple line in the Shang-Chi trailer “Be careful how you speak to me, boy” drips with menace, yet is laced with undertones of fatherly love. Such nuanced evocation can only come with years of experience, and it stems from Leung’s ability to shape fictional characters into people that everyday moviegoers can empathise with. “I feel, in order to convince someone, you must first be a believer yourself. And, to believe in the role you play, you must come up with a backstory that is as detailed as possible,” he says. “What kind of food does he like? What is his upbringing? What would he say when he visits someone at their home? A person that’s just like you and I, who has preferences. You have to be very precise.”

The process is usually a long-drawn one, and Leung is not abashed to admit that. At least a month before filming starts, he’ll be pondering upon and poring through his character 24/7. “I’d run through the script or my character 500 times in my head, adding on even more details,” he shares. “Then suddenly, one day while on set, it’ll be ‘click’ and I’m in character. This is not something you can predict or calculate, but just a habit of mine, I guess.”

I really enjoy getting this glimpse into his process. Great to hear about the master at work!

The sense of excitement for acting brims again during the interview though, as he lets in a little on what’s in the pipelines for work: an English-speaking television series. “Perhaps because I started out with TV, and with the wonderful experience of working with Marvel this time, the idea for such a production seems interesting,” he says. If it all goes well, filming will commence sometime next year in Vancouver. “Think of all that room for creativity!” Leung adds, his face lighting up. It’s as they say, you can grow old but never grow up — and the child-like wonder for his passion is what keeps the actor feeling fulfilled in life.

Say what now?? “An English-speaking television series” filming “sometime next year in Vancouver”?! What is this, tell me everything, when can I see it?? It might’ve taken Leung 39 years to take the plunge into Hollywood, but I guess he’s all in now! Great for us, and it’s something else that bodes well for Shang-Chi – I doubt Leung would be doing more work over here if he hadn’t liked working with Marvel.