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Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Hollywood heavyweights sign letter opposing Paramo …

• Who had it tougher — millennials or boomers?

• The X-odus: Elon’s posting on TikTok and insta

• An astronaut talks about “settling” on the moon

• McDonalds launches ‘refreshers’ to hop on the cold …

• Poll of the day: Which generation had it hardest?

What’s the stock market up to, eh?*

$SPX ( ▲ 1.02% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.63% ) $NDX ( ▲ 1.23% )  

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$WBD ( ▼ 0.18% )  $PSKY ( ▲ 1.04% )  $META ( ▲ 0.74% )  $SPACEX ( 0.0% )  $MCD ( ▼ 0.38% )  $SBUX ( ▲ 0.91% )  $DNKN ( 0.0% )  

Hollywood heavyweights sign letter opposing Paramount’s buyout of Warner Bros.

More than 1,000 of Hollywood's top creative talents are sounding the alarm over Paramount's $PSKY ( ▲ 1.04% ) proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery $WBD ( ▼ 0.18% ) .

In a letter released Monday, A-list stars (including Bryan Cranston, Joaquin Phoenix, and Tiffany Haddish) and directors (like Denis Villeneuve and J.J. Abrams) warned how the deal would devastate an already struggling industry.

"We have witnessed a steep decline in the number of films produced and released, alongside a narrowing of the kinds of stories that are financed and distributed," the letter states. "Increasingly, a small number of powerful entities determine what gets made—and on what terms—leaving creators and independent businesses with fewer viable paths to sustain their work."

The signatories argue the merger will mean "fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs and less choice for audiences."

Paramount pushed back, with a spokeswoman stating the deal will preserve "iconic brands with independent creative leadership—ensuring creators have more avenues for their work, not fewer."

Of course, she’s literally paid to say that.

The letter urges California Attorney General Rob Bonta to scrutinize the deal, declaring: "Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy."

Quote of the Day

Who had it tougher — millennials or boomers?

Thank goodness the Wall Street Journal finally tackled the greatest mystery of our time: Did Boomers or Millennials have it harder? According to their crack analysis, it’s a total toss-up — never mind that Boomers could famously fund their tuition with a minimum-wage summer job, while Millennials basically need to flip a house just to pay off a single semester.

The article graciously admits that college costs "shot up," making student loans a ballooning, crushing burden. But don't worry, economist Constantine Yannelis reassures us that Millennials just "earned less and studied more in their 20s" because they were busy making "large investments in education." Ah yes, "investing" in a system that completely exploded in price compared to 1970.

Then there's housing. Researcher Ana Hernández Kent accurately points out that “housing is the middle class’s wealth engine — and many millennials showed up after the train already left the station.” Yet somehow, author Bobby Duffy still claims that “this sense of two-way resentment is overblown.” Sure, Bobby! Let’s all hold hands and pretend that graduating into massive economic crashes with crippling debt is exactly the same as weathering a 1970s oil crisis.

Tell us how you feel about all this in today’s poll.

The X-odus: Elon’s posting on TikTok and insta

The man who spent $44 billion to turn Twitter into his personal megaphone has suddenly decided that rival platforms aren't so bad after all. Yes, Elon “arm gestures are a specialty of mine” Musk has seemingly joined TikTok and Instagram, the very apps X fiercely competes against.

Why the sudden change of heart? Could it possibly be because SpaceX is gearing up for an initial public offering that requires building massive public hype to raise billions and crown him the world's first trillionaire?

Let’s ignore his 2023 declaration that he quit TikTok because the app's artificial intelligence was "probing" his mind and that it was "rife" with antisemitic content. Tbh he can probably find that on X, though, right?

Let's also conveniently forget his recent admission to Joe Rogan where he was "concerned that Instagram actually leads to more unhappiness, not less.”

Instead, bask in the glory of his new verified TikTok account, which debuted with a slick promotional supercut of his companies captioned "Ad Astra," which is Latin for “I’m an idiot” “to the stars.” Over on Instagram, his temporarily verified profile humbly declared, "I like building things."

Song of the Day: Lady Gaga, Doechii, ‘Runway’

"Runway," a collaboration between Lady Gaga and Doechii, is the lead single for the soundtrack of “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” It’s basically a cheaper version of “Vogue” by Madonna, but don’t think that means I don’t like it — because I love it.

An astronaut talks about “settling” on the moon

Colonel Chris Hadfield, a retired astronaut and mustachioed former commander of the International Space Station, calls the recent Artemis II mission "an amazing, amazing flight," but he doesn't shy away from the risk involved.

He noted that the flight was "extremely dangerous" because it was the first crewed flight of both the rocket and the spaceship, where the astronauts "fired their engine and left and went to the moon and no way to turn around for six or seven days". Despite the challenges, Hadfield reports that the mission was "perfection," with the vehicle being "immaculate."

Beyond the technical success, Hadfield believes the flight’s true impact was "the humanity of the flight, the sharing of the human experience.” When asked about the crew's experience, he described them as initially feeling "mostly anticipation because the real purpose of the flight was to get to the moon," followed by being "overwhelmed." The crew captured everything by "recording it, talking about it, taking pictures of it,” he said.

Artemis II represents a monumental shift from previous programs. Hadfield explains, “we have now gone through the exploration phase, which was Apollo...but now the technology has gotten significantly better and we're transitioning from exploration to settlement.” He compares this new era of space travel to the rise of the automobile: "You need to look at space transportation in a similar light." Just as the world moved from horses to cars, cheap access to space will lead to a rapid transition, making this an essential time in human history, he said.

McDonalds launches ‘refreshers’ to hop on the cold drinks bandwagon

Warm up your Instagram filters because McDonald's $MCD ( ▼ 0.38% ) has finally discovered the "refresher", which is what we used to call a cold, fruity drink. Starting in May, the fast-food giant will graciously bless us with brightly hued, fruity drinks and even "dirty sodas" topped with whipped foam, specifically designed to look pretty online. As Alyssa Buetikofer, McDonald's chief marketing officer, astutely pointed out, “They come in vibrant colors. They are very Instagrammable.”

You understand why I had to put this story below our efforts to colonize the moon, right?

Why the sudden pivot from burgers to neon liquids? Well, McDonald's needs something high-margin to squeeze cash out of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, especially since their regular food profits are getting squeezed by climbing expenses. McDonald's beverage head Charlie Newberger noted, “It’s clearly a very attractive category, and we’re not the only ones who see it.”

Of course, nobody actually knows what a refresher is. Datassential trendologist Claire Conaghan admits, “It is almost easier to say what a refresher is not...it is whatever we decide it to be.” Still, McDonald's is banking on this vague, highly profitable sugar water to compete with Starbucks $SBUX ( ▲ 0.91% ) and Dunkin' $DNKN ( 0.0% ) , who have been doing this for years and nowadays, sell more cold drinks than hot ones.

McDonald's even had to shrink their boba pearls to fit their existing straws, creatively renaming them "bursties." Franchisee Scott Rodrick boldly proclaimed, “we may be late to the party, but we are the most interesting guest.”

Free yourself from advertising forever!

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes.

Poll of the day: Which generation had it hardest?

Poll of the day: Touchdown!

We asked: Do you think the NFL is overpriced for TV viewers?

You answered:

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No! I love paying $280 for NFL Sunday ticket and another $30 a month for ESPN so I can watch the highlights with Chris Berman and Booger McFarland. (27)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ I would like the NFL to be cheaper, but I am also realistic that, if your lowest paid rookie earns $885,000 a year, it's got to be paid for somehow. (148)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes. I think the NFL is a price-gouging, evil organization, and the Department of Justice should nail them to the wall. (319)

494 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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