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Joe Rogan, The Joe Rogan Experience, Spotify

Spotify is all-in to keep The Joe Rogan Experience on its streaming platform. Today, the music, podcast, and audiobook platform announced it’s inked a multi-year extension to host Rogan‘s top-rated program. However, rather than make Spotify the only place you can listen to The Joe Rogan Experience, the interview podcast is going non-exclusive, opening the door up for listeners across a spectrum of streaming services.

Other platforms set to host The Joe Rogan Experience include Apple, Amazon, and YouTube. Spotify began laying the groundwork for Rogan to expand his reach in 2023, and now that shift is happening. Instead of letting Rogan roam free, Spotify “will work closely with Joe and his team to continue to maximize the audience of the show across platforms.”

Streaming competitors have kept close watch over the expiration of Rogan’s current deal, which some estimate was for $200 million. Knowing other platforms would poach Rogan without hesitation, Spotify began cutting its existing podcast lineup to retain the chart-topping interviewer. Details about the new contract remain a mystery, though The Wall Street Journal estimates Spotify paid $250 million to stay seated. It’s no mystery why Spotify is determined to stay in business with Rogan. His popularity surged in 2023, with a 45% leap in revenue from the money-making podcast. That’s huge for a show that’s been active since 2013.

The Joe Rogan Experience is a pillar of Spotify’s podcast network. The sometimes controversial program hosts a variety of guests, from high-profile filmmakers and executives to up-and-coming comedians and musicians. If you scroll through the show’s history, you’ll find people like the comedian Bobby Lee, the MMA fighter Joe Pyfer, sex neuroscientist Dr. Debra Soh, and Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan as guests.

What do you think about The Joe Rogan Experience expanding its reach beyond Spotify? Would you prefer to listen to the interview-style podcast on a different platform? Do you have a favorite episode of the long-running show? Is there someone Rogan has yet to interview that you want to guest on the podcast? Feel free to leave your answers to these questions in the comments section below.

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PLOT: An in-depth look at famed Italian Horror director Dario Argento’s life and film career.

REVIEW: There are few filmmakers that can be considered all-time greats, yet Dario Argento is most definitely one of them. From the films he’s made to the filmmakers he’s inspired, it’s evident that the world of horror would be very different without his presence. And Dario Argento Panico does a great job of proving why. A beautifully shot and all-encompassing retrospective provides a unique look at the auteur filmmaker. So if you’ve never experienced his work before then buckle up: you’re in for a ride.

While I was obviously familiar with the works of Argento, I wasn’t aware of his life. So I was consistently blown away by some of the revelations here. Dario having no prior experience before getting behind the camera for the first time is flabbergasting. Mostly because the work that he pulls off is more masterful than you’d expect from a first-timer. There were various factors that contributed to this, with his father Salvatore being the main one. Given that he was such a massive driving force in his life highlights a popular 2024 issue through the lens of the 60s and 70s: nepotism.

Whether it’s Dario himself or his daughter Asia, they were given opportunities due to who they were. This shows the other side of the argument, at least for Dario, as he’s such an auteur, that without his father’s unfettered support, he may not have been able to push the boundaries of the genre as he did. So while it may have been family that got them through the door, it was their own talent that kept them there. While others were questioning his vision, Salvatore stood by him, which just made his vision even stronger.

Still from Dario Argento's Opera.

Regarding the technical side, Panico is very impressive. It’s beautifully shot and the main focus consistently stays on Dario. Too often these career retrospectives end up doing these random detours but thankfully this one works really well. Even the slight shift towards Asia works because it’s done in the context of Dario’s own work. Everyone is spoken to that would need to be, and provide interesting insight. I could have gone for some archive footage of George Romero, given Argento’s impact on Dawn of the Dead, but you can’t win them all.

One aspect that I really loved was Dario’s sister retelling his childhood. There’s been an increasing trend of journalists simply recounting a person’s life based on what they’ve read/studied. It can feel a little surface-level. So it’s nice to get what feels like genuine insight. I also got a lot of entertainment out of Nicolas Winding Refn‘s cocaine comparison regarding Argento’s films. The man has clearly lived an interesting life. There’s a lot of praise being heaped onto the director from all sides so fans should be pleased.

Dario Argento in Dario Argento: Panico (2024).

But if you hoping for some criticism of Argento’s career then you’re probably going to have to look elsewhere. This is simply 98 minutes of pure praise. Even Argento’s latter career, which is marred with terrible film after terrible film, is simply glossed over. Because of this, it feels like a little bit of the truth is missing. While I certainly understand the respectful approach taken, I do think more could have been addressed. Then there’s the Asia Argento of it all that just adds an air of unease to her segments.

In the end, there’s a lot to like about Dario Argento Panico. While some films are glossed over a little too quickly, that’s expected for a man with such a filmography. I’d argue it’s been over 30 years since we’ve gotten a good film from him, so sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of the director he once was. This was proof as to why Argento left the impact that he did. From films such as Suspiria to Deep Red, he made some of the most interesting films in all of Italian Horror but it’s evident that his biggest accomplishment was the many lives he touched along the way.

DARIO ARGENTO PANICO IS STREAMING ON SHUDDER ON FEBRUARY 2ND, 2024.

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The post Dario Argento Panico Review appeared first on JoBlo.

Season 2 of the HBO series adaptation of the video game The Last of Us is expected to start filming in Vancouver, Canada sometime in February, and we’ve previously heard that returning stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are going to be joined in the cast by new additions Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart and No One Will Save You) as Abby Anderson, a major character from the video game who is described as being “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved”; Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold and Sweet Girl) as Ellie’s new romantic interest Dina; and Young Mazino of Beef as Jesse, “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.” (Jesse also happens to be Dina’s ex.) Now Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Schitt’s Creek Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara – who will be seen in the long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice later this year – is also in talks to join the cast. Details on the character she’ll be playing have not been revealed.

O’Hara actually confirmed the casting news herself during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, where she also mentioned that her son is a set dresser on the show.

The story of the The Last of Us video game is set years after a fungal plague wiped out much of humanity, transforming most into vicious zombie-like monsters, the story follows Joel, who’s living in a militarized quarantine zone. He has a close relationship with Tess, who operates in the black market of this community. Together, they’ve become known by the local criminal underworld for their ruthlessness. On a mission to reclaim their stolen guns, they run into the leader of the Fireflies, a resistance group, who tasks them with smuggling a young girl named Ellie out of the zone. This mission soon becomes much more than they were prepared for. 

For the HBO series, Pedro Pascal plays Joel, who is “tormented by past trauma and failure. He must trek across a pandemic-ravaged America, all the while protecting a girl who represents the last hope of humanity”. He is joined in the cast by Bella Ramsey as Ellie, “an orphan who has never known anything but a ravaged planet and who struggles to balance her instinct for anger and defiance with her need for connection and belonging… as well as the newfound reality that she may be the key to saving the world”; Anna Torv as Tess, “a smuggler and hardened survivor in a post-pandemic world”; Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy, “a former soldier who hasn’t lost his sense of idealism and hope for a better world”; Merle Dandridge as Marlene, “the head of the Fireflies, a resistance movement struggling for freedom against an oppressive military regime”; Nico Parker as Joel’s daughter Sarah; Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, “a rebel in a quarantine zone”; Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett as Bill and Frank, “two post-pandemic survivalists living alone in their own isolated town”; and Storm Reid as Ellie’s best friend Riley.

Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who did the motion-capture performances for Joel and Ellie in the video game, are also in the cast of the show. Baker plays James, “a senior member of a group of settlers who must fight to keep their community alive in the face of increasingly brutal odds.” Baker also hosts a podcast that serves as a companion to the TV series. Johnson’s character is Anna, “a pregnant woman, alone and on the run, who must give birth under the most terrifying of circumstances.”

What do you think of Catherine O’Hara joining the cast of The Last of Us season 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Catherine O'Hara

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