The Mandalorian’s Clone Wars tie-in is the boost Disney Plus needed - The Verge

The Mandalorian’s second season is halfway done and, beyond The Child’s big name reveal, what’s become more apparent as the show goes on is how much it relies on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Audiences turning to The Clone Wars as a way to better understand what’s happening in The Mandalorian or refresh their memories makes sense, but the spike in Clone Wars viewership has an even bigger winner — Disney Plus.

Spoilers below for The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5

Like anything in the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian is rooted in deeper Star Wars lore. It was this week’s episode, however, and the appearance of Ahsoka Tano that finally convinced me to start Clone Wars. And based on data provided to The Verge by Parrot Analytics, I’m not the only person who’s looking to marathon Dave Filoni’s animated series to keep up with The Mandalorian.

The Mandolorian has caused jumps in Clone Wars views before. When The Mandalorian first came out in November 2019, Clone Wars saw its first massive spike. Interest remained high until the second spike in spring 2020 when the seventh season of Clone Wars was released on Disney Plus. It dropped after that, but the show saw a third third spike accompanying The Mandalorian’s second season premiere in October. It’s been trending high ever since, according to the analytics firm.

When looking at data from January 1st, 2017 to present day, the team’s researchers found that by the end of 2019, Clone Wars saw a “level of demand from US audiences that is many factors greater than anything it has experienced before,” according to Samuel Stadler, vice president of marketing at Parrot Analytics.

To put that into additional context, Clone Wars now — a year after The Mandalorian debuted — is over four times as popular as it was before the live-action series came around, according to Parrot (which measures demand by how much time people are spending watching a show through social media, fan ratings, and piracy to calculate overall interest). And while data for Star Wars Rebels wasn’t provided, Google Trends shows a similar spike in interest for the show over the last week, which likely has to do with the big Admiral Thrawn reveal at the end of “The Jedi.”

This makes sense. People sign up for or sign into Disney Plus to watch the wonderful adventures of Grogu (forever Baby Yoda in my mind), and then spend the next several weeks making their way through Clone Wars. For Disney, it’s the best possible outcome. An October report from research firm MoffettNathanson found that daily usage on Disney Plus has declined over the last six months. There have been some spikes in viewership; Hamilton brought in a number of subscribers and convinced people who wouldn’t sign up for Disney Plus to do just that, but getting people to use the platform every single day was getting tougher.

Without being able to flood the streamer with TV shows and film as often as competitors like Netflix, Disney Plus has to rely on opportunities to grow. The uptick in Clone Wars viewership and interest helps to solve part of that problem. The Mandalorian pushes more people every single week to check out Clone Wars — a show with seven seasons — which in turn might encourage fans to revisit one or two of the main Skywalker saga movies.

The interconnected universe is something that Star Wars fans deep into the universe’s lore want more of, and it provides Disney with the perfect opportunity to keep people on the platform when they’re done with an episode of The Mandalorian. With a number of live-action and animated series ordered for Disney Plus, that universe becomes a bigger web that Disney can keep spinning as fans, old and new, remain invested in the bigger Star Wars story.

It’s also how Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige plans to interweave the Marvel Cinematic Universe films with the new shows on Disney Plus. WandaVision, for example, will play into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and there are other reports that characters from other films like Black Widow could end up in the Hawkeye series.

Clearly, Clone Wars and Rebels creator Dave Filoni (an executive producer on The Mandalorian) is writing The Mandalorian into his more expansive Star Wars universe. It’s a good thing for fans of the live-action series — the show has never been better and, as a new fan of Clone Wars, I love catching up with a show I’ve put off for so long. But the newfound and renewed interest is also a major win for Disney in its effort to find a way to steal people’s attention away from other streamers like Netflix and, more importantly, keep it.

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2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Music List: Roddy Ricch, Gabby Barrett, Doja Cat, Saweetie, Lil Baby & More - Billboard

Other music industry figures honored include Gibson Hazard, 24, founder of the creative production collective Hazard Studios, whose special effects-laden music video talents were used by Dr. Dre to pay tribute to late Laker great Kobe Bryant and Lil Nas X for the release of his "Holiday" single and Olivia Rudensky, 24, Miley Cyrus' head of marketing and digital who executive produced the singer's hit quarantine Instagram Live series, Bright Minded: Live With Miley.

Doja Cat, 25, was honored for the virality of her hit "Say So," which racked up 18 million video uses, as well as 21-year-old singer/songwriter Conan Gray, whose "Heather" grew from a video challenge to a Billboard Hot 100 hit. 2018 American Idol finalist Barrett made history in June when "I Hope" became the first debut single by a woman to top Billboard's country streaming songs chart. Rapper Lil Baby's protest song written in response to the killing of George Floyd by police, "The Bigger Picture," helped his second album, My Turn, return to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in June; he also launched his own label, 4PF Music.

Rap producer Murda Beatz, 26, earned notice for his work on eight Grammy-nominated albums and more than 20 Billboard No. 1 albums, with hits including Drake's "Nice For What" and Ariana Grande and Doja Cat's "Motive." Chicago rapper Polo G, 21, launched his own label, Only Dreamers Achieve Records, in September in partnership with Columbia Records and played a February benefit concert for his youth basketball team, adolescent depression awareness not-for-profit Erika's Lighthouse and the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago.

Rapper Saweetie, 26, made the list thanks to her 2020 BET award nom for best female hip-hop artist and for founding the jewelry company ICY, as well as her collaborations with David Guetta, Dua Lipa and Wiz Khalifa, among others.

The list also includes:

Ava Max, 26 -- the pop singer released her debut album, Heaven & Hell, this year, with her debut single, "Sweet But Psycho," going triple platinum and racking up more than 600 million YouTube views.

CNCO -- Richard Camacho, 23; Erick Brian Colon, 19; Zabdiel DeJesus, 22; Joel Pimentel, 21; Christopher Velez, 25 -- the members of the Grammy-nominated quintet have earned more than three billion streams and 6.5 billion YouTube views and landed two multi-platinum No. 1 debuts on Billboard's top latin album chart.

G Herbo, 25 -- launched a youth mental health initiative called Swervin' Through Stress, which provides Black young adults with therapy resources.

London on Da Track, 29 -- the producer of Ariana Grande's "Positions," Saweetie's "My Type" and Ricch's "Die Young" also executive produced Summer Walker's acclaimed debut album, Over It.

Bea Miller, 21 -- the X-Factor alumna and daughter of two mothers who has leveraged her platform to talk about LGBTQ+ rights and feminism while rolling up more than a billion streams for her songs and collaborating with 6lack, Jessie Reyez and Snakehips among others.

Tate McRae, 17 -- the youngest member of the class of 2021, Canadian singer/songwriter McRae managed to earn attention from MTV, Billboard and YouTube during quarantine with her hit single "you broke me first," which has more than 250 million streams worldwide to date.

Ingrid Andress, 29 -- honored for co-writing and co-producing every track on her debut album, Lady Like and racking up more than 350 million streams for her single "More Hearts Than Mine." Andress was also just nominated for the 2021 best new artist Grammy and has written songs fro Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX and Fletcher.

William Robillard-Cole, 28 -- founder of publishing/management/record company WRC MGMT, who helped set up six-figure virtual performances for client Kaytranada, with whom he is also a shareholder in the live streaming platform Moment House.

Cynthia Parkhurst, 29 -- founder of music marketing firm Teammate, which makes monthly donations to racial justice and COVID-19 causes.

Aurielle Brooks, 29 -- the attorney at Arrington & Phillips represents artists such as Kevin Gates, Bow Wow and Jeezy and is the VP and general counsel for pioneering record label for photographers, the Collective Gallery.

Brent Faiyaz, 25 -- The Grammy-nominated musician founded his Lost Kids label so he could own and exploit his own masters as an indie artist.

DuMarkus Davis, 25 -- the violinist and entrepreneur's company MusicBuk, which gives students access to musicians for one-on-one virtual lessons, was awarded funding by Google.

Melanie Martinez, 25 -- the pop star wrote, directed and co-wardrobe designed a 90-minute movie to accompany her second album, K-12, which has more than 70 million YouTube views.

Justin Goldman, 22 -- artist manager (PR1ME SOUND) and founder of JustGold Recordings earned millions for his acts including Flo-Milli and Yung Gravy.

Elliot Grainge, 27 -- Grainge's indie label, 10K Projects has rung up 18 gold and eight platinum-multi-platinum singles for artists including Trippie Redd, Surfaces, Iann Dior and Internet Money, among others.

Ashley Graver, 29 -- the head of creative artist partnerships at Spotify helped launch the company's first AI campaign with The Weeknd and led marketing campaigns for Billie Eilish, Anitta and Megan Thee Stallion, among others.

Lydia Liebman, 29 -- the founder of Lydia Liebman Promotions has represented more than 200 artists and launched two international divisions of her company in 2019.

Lillia Parsa, 27 -- the youngest A&R exec at Universal Music Publishing Group is credited with discovering songwriter Nija Charles and recently signing producers Omer Fedi and Blake Slatkin, co-producers of 24K Golden's "Mood" with Iann Dior.

Jahaan Sweet, 27 -- the Grammy-nominate producer and classically trained pianist has worked with Lil Nas X, Jessie Reyez and the Carters and is best known for production on Kehlani's breakthrough 2015 mixtape You Should Be Here.

Jillian Swirsky, 26 -- the SVP of A&R for Republic Records has produced for Justin Bieber, Nicole Scherzinger and Bow Wow and signed Conan Gray and Lil Tecca.

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Oscar-Nominated ‘Umbrella Academy’ Star Elliot Page Announces He Is Transgender - Variety

Elliot Page, the Oscar-nominated star of “Juno” and Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” has announced he is transgender.

Elliot, formerly known as Ellen Page, addressed his social media followers saying:

“Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life. I feel overwhelming gratitude for the incredible people who have supported me along this journey. I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. I’ve been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community. Thank you for your courage, your generosity and ceaselessly working to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place. I will offer whatever support I can and continue to strive for a more loving and equal society,” he wrote.

“I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive. To all the trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse, and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you, and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better,” Page continued.

Page uses both he/him and they/them pronouns, and describes himself as transgender and non-binary, meaning that his gender identity is neither man nor woman.

Nick Adams, GLAAD’s Director of Transgender Media, said “Elliot Page has given us fantastic characters on-screen, and has been an outspoken advocate for all LGBTQ people. He will now be an inspiration to countless trans and non-binary people. All transgender people deserve the chance to be ourselves and to be accepted for who we are. We celebrate the remarkable Elliot Page today.”

Page broke out from his native Canada in 2005 with the revenge thriller “Hard Candy.” Two years later, he starred in Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody’s landmark indie “Juno,” for which Page received an Academy Award nomination among other accolades.

HIs notable roles include Kitty Pryde in the “X-Men” series, Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” “Whip It!” and Sony’s reboot of “Flatliners.” He has produced and starred in films such as “Tallulah” and “Freeheld,” and last year marked his directorial debut examining environmental racism faced by people of color and the First Nations communities of Canada.

Prior to transition, Page was one of the most visible out gay actors in Hollywood. The Tuesday announcement further enriches his legacy, and adds him to a small but growing number of out trans creators and stars in Hollywood. This includes performers (Laverne Cox, Trace Lysette, Brian Michael Smith) and creators (The Wachowski Sisters, “Transparent” creator Joey Soloway).

Last year, Variety broke the news of the groundbreaking overall content production deal that Netflix signed with Janet Mock, a noted trans storyteller and director of shows like “Pose” and “Hollywood.”

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Helena Bonham Carter Thinks The Crown Has a ‘Moral Responsibility’ to Be Labeled As Fiction - Vulture

Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

The United Kingdom’s secretary of culture just got an unlikely new ally. Helena Bonham Carter, who purrs and smokes as The Crown’s second Princess Margaret, has stated in a new podcast interview that she believes the show should work harder to clarify to viewers that “our version” and the “real version” of the British monarchy are vastly different entities, as if all of those behind-closed-palace-doors scenes weren’t obvious signifiers already. “It is dramatized,” she said, per the New York Post. “I do feel very strongly, because I think we have a moral responsibility to say, ‘Hang on guys, this is not … it’s not a drama-doc, we’re making a drama.’ So they are two different entities.” Bonham Carter’s words come days after Oliver Dowden, the aforementioned U.K. secretary, argued that The Crown “should be very clear at the beginning” that it’s a “beautifully produced work of fiction” and not, say, an accurate or Windsor-approved look at how punchable Prince Charles used to be. Because … so punchable.

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Kelly Clarkson's ex Brandon Blackstock seeks $436G in spousal and child support in divorce: reports - Fox News

Kelly Clarkson's ex-husband Brandon Blackstock is reportedly seeking a hefty amount of spousal and child support in their divorce.

The talk show host filed for divorce from Blackstock in June, citing "irreconcilable differences” after nearly seven years of marriage. They share daughter River, 6, and son Remington Alexander, 4.

Clarkson, 38, recently was awarded primary custody of their two kids. People magazine reported that Blackstock, a talent manager, plans to live in Montana while she continues to work and live in Los Angeles.

One of the latest court filings shows that Blackstock is now seeking $436,000 in monthly support from the singer. TMZ, citing court docs, reports that $301,000 of the total Blackstock is asking for would be for spousal support, while the remaining $135,000 would cover child support. 

KELLY CLARKSON AWARDED PRIMARY CUSTODY OF HER CHILDREN AMID ONGOING DIVORCE FROM BRANDON BLACKSTOCK

Blackstock, 43, is also asking for $2 million to cover attorneys' fees, multiple outlets report.

Kelly Clarkson's ex Brandon Blackstock is reportedly seeking $436G in monthly support amid their ongoing divorce. (Amy Sussman/BBMA2020/Getty Images)

The six-figure monthly request reportedly comes amid heightened contention between the exes. The court presiding over the divorce case recently ruled that the "level of conflict between the parents has increased." Documents specifically claimed Clarkson and her estranged ex are dealing with co-parenting problems stemming from "issues of trust," People magazine reported Monday.

KELLY CLARKSON REVEALS HER KIDS ARE RECEIVING THERAPY AMID DIVORCE FROM BRANDON BLACKSTOCK

Following Clarkson's win of primary custody, Blackstock can visit their son and daughter in Los Angeles and he also will be allowed to video chat with them every day. Blackstock will be able to spend Dec. 19 through Christmas at 2 p.m. with the kids. Meanwhile, Clarkson will reunite with them Christmas afternoon through the end of New Year's.

Blackstock also has two children, Savannah and Seth, from a previous marriage.

During a recent episode of her talk show, the Grammy winner seemingly hinted at the reason for her split from Blackstock.

“Even at 38, I feel like I'm always changing and progressing in a good sense, in a good way. And I always want to make sure I'm being the best version of myself," she told her audience. 

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She continued: “My mom has been telling me since I was a kid: You are who you surround yourself with. You want to make sure you're surrounded by people that also want to be the best versions of themselves and also want a good common goal for everyone, not just themselves, right?"

Back in October, Clarkson revealed her children are receiving therapy as a means to cope with the divorce. She said it was a way to protect their "little hearts."

"We have a lot of help as far as therapists or child psychologists cause we want to do it right," said “The Voice” coach.

"I definitely want to do it right," Clarkson added. "Everyone's sad and it’s OK to be sad."

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Clarkson married Blackstock in 2013 after meeting him at a rehearsal for the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2006, People reported. The star was on hand to sing a duet of “What Hurts the Most” with Rascal Flatts. Blackstock was the group’s tour manager at the time.

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Machine Gun Kelly on undergoing therapy for drug abuse: “The commitment to change is inspiring” - NME

Machine Gun Kelly has opened up about undertaking therapy in a bid to beat his past drug abuse issues.

Speaking to Interview magazine, the rapper explained how he is “taking steps” to look after himself.

“Currently, my drug of choice is happiness and commitment to the art, rather than commitment to a vice that I believed made the art,” MGK said.

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“I had my first therapy session… That’s the first time I ever went, ‘Hey, I need to separate these two people’, which is Machine Gun Kelly and (my real name) Colson Baker. The dichotomy is too intense for me.”

He also spoke of his hopes that undergoing therapy will have a positive impact on his own family.

“The tools that I’ve been given to start with seem helpful, I think,” he said.

Travis Barker played a major part in MGK wanting to change his lifestyle. CREDIT: Tommaso Boddi/WireImage

“I’m still kind of ripping my hair out: ‘Why am I not changing overnight? How am I supposed to meditate for 10 minutes when I can’t even sit in my own brain for two minutes without distracting myself by doing something?’ That’s really hard. But the commitment to change is inspiring, and I think will reverberate through the universe and definitely through my family.”

When asked who inspired the change, MGK said that Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker played a major part after they met on the set of the movie Midnight In The Switchgrass.

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“Travis Barker has been huge in the process of grounding me, because he’s lived it… It’s much different than a priest or something, where I’m like, ‘How can you relate to me…?’ With Travis, it’s like, ‘I know for a fact that you went through what I’m going through’,” he said.

“And then obviously, when you have a partner sitting there with you on those dark nights when you’re sweating and not being able to figure out why you’re so in your head, to help you get out of your head and put it in perspective, that really, really helps.”

Meanwhile, Machine Gun Kelly hasrevealed that he wants to release another album at some point next year.

Elsewhere in the broadcast, MGK revealed to fans that his ‘Tickets To My Downfall’ musical will come out “early December, I think [the] first week of December”. He told NME last month that filming for the “pop-punk Grease” had already wrapped.

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Princess Diana's butler Paul Burrell responds to divisive The Crown scenes - digitalspy.com

The Crown's fourth season has gone down a right royal treat with viewers, but how much of the Netflix series is actually accurate? Amid the recent debate, Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell has weighed in.

Addressing a number of pivotal moments in the latest season of the drama, Burrell – who you may remember from the early years of I'm a Celebrity – has commented on certain scenes he deems to have been embellished.

Calling the depiction of Prince Charles and Diana's relationship "pretty close to the truth", Burrell told The Sun that Josh O'Connor's portrayal of the future king is similar to what he "saw behind closed doors."

Des WillieNetflix

Related: What The Crown season 4 leaves out about Diana's early life

"Josh O'Connor plays Prince Charles as a rather uncaring, cold person," Paul said. "And I'm afraid that's what I saw behind closed doors.

"He was married to probably the most beautiful woman in the world. But he didn't look after her, and that's what comes across in The Crown."

Claiming that The Crown's version of events relating to their marriage does have some validity, he added: "Diana said to me, 'I thought when I got married that my husband would be there for me, to care for me, to support me, to encourage me, but he isn't.'

Anwar HusseinGetty Images

Related: The Crown was denied filming access to Princess Diana's Althorp home by her brother

"People that jump up and say, 'Well, that's not factual', well, that's pretty close to the truth."

Of course, no-one really knows how truthful The Crown is beyond the Royal Family and courtiers. After all, the Netflix series is not a documentary, and creative license is part of what makes it so irresistible.

However, the research that goes into the show is extensive and, whether towing the official party line or delving a little further into real-life speculation, much of what we see – even if disputed – is based on something, as Digital Spy breaks down here.

The Crown seasons 1-4 are now streaming on Netflix, while seasons 1-3 are also available on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Crown - Season 1 & 2 [DVD] [2018]

Sony Pictures Entertainment/Left Bank Pictures amazon.co.uk

£19.99

The Crown: The Inside History (volume 1) by Robert Lacey

Blink Publishing amazon.co.uk

£14.95

The Crown - Season 03 [DVD] [2020]

Sony Pictures Entertainment/Left Bank Pictures amazon.co.uk

£24.99

The Crown: The Inside History (Volume 2) by Robert Lacey

Blink Publishing amazon.co.uk

£7.00

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