VF interview: Healing Kanye rift
Swift talks to Vanity Fair about how Jay-Z helped her heal the relationship with West.
I feel like I wasn’t ready to be friends with [West] until I felt like he had some sort of respect for me, and he wasn’t ready to be friends with me until he had some sort of respect for me—so it was the same issue, and we both reached the same place at the same time,” Swift says. “I became friends with Jay Z, and I think it was important, for Jay Z, for Kanye and I to get along. . . . And then Kanye and I both reached a place where he would say really nice things about my music and what I’ve accomplished, and I could ask him how his kid’s doing.
VF interview: Talks about Apple letter
Swift talks about her Apple letter in an interview with Vanity Fair.
I wrote the letter at around four A.M. Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and I’ll write a song and I can’t sleep until I finish it, and it was like that with the letter.
She says she was nervous to post the letter online, after receiving negative feedback for her Wall Street Journal op-ed that had also advocated for fair compensation in the music industry. She says didn’t tell Borchetta, and the only person she ran it through before publishing was her mother
She’s always going to be the one. I just said, ‘I’m really scared of this letter, but I had to write it. I might not post it, but I had to say it.’
She compares Apples’ response with Spotify’s:
Apple treated me like I was a voice of a creative community that they actually cared about. I found it really ironic that the multi-billion-dollar company reacted to criticism with humility, and the start-up with no cash flow reacted to criticism like a corporate machine.
Breitbart interview
Trump talks to Breitbart about the upcoming GOP debate:
I look forward to it. It will be very exciting. I’m looking to treat everybody with great respect which they deserve. I hope we can talk about the issues…I hope we can keep it on a high level. If that doesn’t happen, I’m willing to go to the other route. But I will say the two people who hit me really hard both went down in the polls. And I find that really interesting,and I find it a great honor that that would happen, because in all fairness Lindsey Graham and Perry were really hitting me hard, and they went down in the polls. I am greatly honored by that. I was surprised, to be honest with you.
‘I’m not a debater’
Trump tells ABC News that he is not a debater.
These politicians, I always say, are all talk no action. They debate all the time. I don’t debate, I build. I’ve created tremendous jobs, I’ve created a great company. Maybe my whole life is a debate in a way, but the fact is I’m not a debater, and they are. With that being said, I look forward to it, we’ll see what happens…I don’t think I’m going to be throwing punches. I’m not looking to attack.
On his strong tone:
The tone has to be tougher. If we’re going to stop ISIS, if we’re going to clean up the border and stop what’s happening at the border which is a disaster. I have no doubt that [strong tone] works. I have absolutely no doubt. When you see the other side chopping off heads, waterboarding doesn’t sound very severe.
Stonewall interview
Emmerich discusses the difficulties he faced in filming the gay rights drama Stonewall:
It was a huge challenge to make this movie, and if I had not absolutely wanted it, it would not have happened… It was an uphill battle, but we finally did it.
The film is shot in Montreal.
We wanted to do it in New York on location, and that failed miserably because it was so expensive.
Of the diverse crowd the film depicts:
I think we represented it very well. We have drag queens, lesbians, we have everything in the film because we wanted to portray a broader image of what ‘gay’ means.
Lawyer: ‘Women have responsibility’
Cosby’s layer, Pressley, says it is the responsibility of a sexual assault victim to report it and create evidence of the crime. She says such evidence does not exist in the case against Cosby.
The only way for a woman to get the justice that she seeks — and that, if her allegation is true, that she deserves — is to come forward [soon after the crime]. And even if the reasons that the women did not do that are legitimate ones, what cannot happen — in my opinion, in the United States — is that 40 years later there is a persecution tantamount to a witch hunt where there was no prosecution timely and there was no civil suit timely. And there’s not any testimony or any accusation from any of these women that Mr. Cosby in any way bound them, gagged them, prevented them from coming forward and saying whatever their truth was at the time. That’s not what happened.
Guide: Palmer wanted elephant
Bronkhorst, the guide, says that after killing Cedric, Palmer wanted to hunt an elephant:
We then went back to my place near Hwange. The client asked if we would find him an elephant [whose tusk weighs] larger than 63 pounds, which is a very large elephant, but I told him I would not be able to find one so big, so the client left the next day and went to Bulawayo for the night and then flew out [to Johannesburg] midday the following day.
He also describes the events of Cedric’s hunt:
We set off quite late, with the sun down, and found the carcass of an elephant which we dragged and moved into the long grass and used for bait,” he said. “We then established the ‘tree blind’ [a camouflaged hide made of tree branches and grass]…Once we were established, and it was quiet, we first saw a lioness go past. And then a huge male – Cecil – came into view behind her. He was a magnificent animal…The client then fired using a bow and arrow, and it went away into the long grass. This was about 10 pm…We found it and it was wounded, and the client then shot it, with his bow and arrow, and killed it
He says the hunting party was “devastated” to discover that Cecil was wearing a GPS collar. But instead of turning it in to authorities, Bronkhorst says he panicked, taking the tracking device off and putting it in a tree.
I wish I had taken the collar.
ESpark-Viridian interview
Duffy talks about the partnership between Entrepreneurial Spark and Viridian, to launch hatcheries in India.
We are launching a brand-new 18-month program in ten cities, where entrepreneurs can come, get enabled, have access to mentors, get taught about finance, what it’s like to be an entrepreneur…We’re going to be launching in August. The vision is to create over 10,000 jobs, 60 entrepreneurs in ten centers. Make them all investable. Create a brand-new network of entrepreneurs, that grow together. That have confidence that they can pitch, but have great humility. They understand grassroots and giving back. They understand the value they bring to the communities that they serve and the cities they live in.
Will deport illegal immigrants
Trump says he will deport all illegal immigrants in the country but will allow “the good ones” to reenter the country legally.
Legal status. We got to move ’em out, we’re going to move ’em back in if they’re really good people.
Told to ‘take a nap’
Delevigne has a bad interview with Good Day Sacramento. While discussing her role in Paper Towns, she sarcastically answers the news anchors’ questions. Asked if she read the book:
Delevigne: Uh, no. I never read the book or the script. I kind of winged it. No, of course, [I did.] John Green is an incredible author, so really if you haven’t read his books, you should.
Asked about her lack of enthusiasm:
Delevigne: No, I mean, I’m still very excited. The premiere was last night and it felt like the end of an era, but I’m not any less excited than I was a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I had a bit more energy. It’s the morning.
Anchor: You seem a bit irritated, perhaps it’s just us?
Delevigne No, I think it’s just you.
Anchor: We’ll let you go then, how about that? We’ll let you go and take a nap and maybe have a Red Bull.
No apology
Huckabee refuses to apologize for his remark that Obama’s support of Iran deal is like the holocaust for Israel. He says the remark is appropriate since Iran has called for the destruction of Israel and would carry it out should they develop a nuclear weapon.
Three times I’ve been to Auschwitz. When I talked about the oven door, I have stood at that oven door. I know exactly what it looks like — 1.1 million people killed. For 6000 years Jews have been chased and hunted and killed all over this earth, and when someone in a government says, “We’re going to kill them,” I think by gosh we’ve got to take that seriously. And for the President to act like the only two options are either have a war or take his deal – it’s got .
Discuses VF article
Jenner, Carter and others who worked on the Vanity Fair cover and article talk about their work in a behind-the-scenes short film. Carter:
He was at a stage in his life where he was going to make this seismic change. I thought this cover, if we got it right, with a great image from Annie Leibovitz, you’ve got this incredible cresting political issue of transgender…We brought in the security that we use for the Oscar party, for the Whitehouse Correspondents’ Dinner,” Carter explained. “We had security at the photoshoot, security at the printer.
Jenner:
I’ve basically been inside this house for three months. I haven’t really left. It’s difficult because I can’t go out and be seen by the paparazzi. It was just hell. It was really, really tough on me…It’s been great, so many good people, and love and support. I had this one time where I looked from a distance and I just thought, ‘Oh my god!’ It was the first time I’d ever really seen an image of me, who I am. Over-the-top better than I ever thought I’d ever be, especially at my age. Seeing that image was powerful to me.
Comments on Cruise plane stunt
Pegg and the film’s director, McQuarrie talk about Cruise’s plane stunt in Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation. In the stunt Cruise, as superspy Ethan Hunt, runs along the wing of an Airbus A400 military transport aircraft, then leaps to a side door on the fuselage and hangs on while the aircraft takes off. Pegg:
When you see the movie, you know he survived because he’s been doing press for it and there’s been no national mourning. But when you’re actually on the ground and watching him on the plane, there’s a whole other degree of terror because you don’t know how it will turn out.
McQuarrie says Cruise’s safety and harness were rigorously tested and that the actor had to wear special contact lenses to keep the wind shear from blasting out his eyeballs.
We were never thinking about, ‘Oh my God, he’s going to fall. We were thinking about the rock that was going to kill him on takeoff or the bird strike that was going to kill him or the unexpected acceleration that was going to kill him. Even the tiniest grain is going to get sucked through the propellers and fired back right at Tom. And in one case a piece of debris hit him in the chest and the only thing that was there to absorb it was the safety harness. It was so tiny, it was like a grain of salt, but he said it felt like a bullet was hitting him in the chest. Now if a larger rock hit him in the chest or smaller debris hit him in the face, then the show’s over.
Stunt coordinator:
We could have certainly done (a version of the stunt) with a green screen and giant fans. The studio probably would have been happier. But don’t ever mention the words ‘green screen’ around Tom Cruise.
Criticizes EU on immigration
Speaking at a cultural festival in Romania, Hungarian PM Orban, says the European Union is not doing enough to defend citizens from refugees from Africa. Hungary has registered more than 80,000 illegal migrants so far this year, nearly double the number for all of last year, according to official data. Orban says that mass immigration will deteriorate European lifestyles, cultures, and values, and blames illegal migrants for rising crime rates and economic problems.
For us, today Europe is at stake. The survival, disappearance or, more precisely, the transformation beyond recognition of the European citizen’s lifestyle, European values and the European nations. The question now is not only what kind of Europe we Hungarians would like to live in. Rather, will all that we now call Europe exist at all?..It is clear that we can’t filter out the hostile terrorists in the huge crowds. We would like for Europe to keep belonging to the Europeans. We want to preserve the Hungarian Hungary…The really serious threats are arriving not from the war zones … but from the depths of Africa. Northern Africa today can no longer defend Europe from the immense masses of people.
Hindustan Times profile
The Hindustan Times profiles Naik who says that despite his success, he only earns Rs 15,000 a month, and that not a single official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come forward so far to help him.
Despite representing India for 13 years, I don’t get any money for playing cricket. It’s my NGO, Samarthanam, where I work as a sports co-ordinator, which pays me Rs 15,000 as monthly salary. Despite my contribution to Indian cricket over the years, I am still waiting for a government job. The salary I draw is not enough for sustenance.
He says his dream is to meet India batsman Virender Sehwag:
I wish I could meet him one day. I would like to invite Sehwag for the next T20 World Cup.
Discusses follow-on investments
Following Sam Altman’s commitment to offer follow-on investments to all companies that go through Y Combinator, McClure says 500 Startups has a different approach:
We make follow-on investments when we think we are going to make money and we don’t when we don’t think we are going to make money. It’s pretty simple. I think if other investors are worried more about my opinion than they are about the company’s performance, there is already a problem. I recognize it happens but that’s just part of the market. We generally wait until after Demo Day and after they have a term sheet from another investor. Signaling is important before Demo Day but we don’t worry about it after Demo Day.
McClure says 500 Startups does follow-on investments for 20-30% of its companies.
US Weekly interview
Scerbo says that after three movies, she still doesn’t know how to fight off a shark in real life.
Everyone always thinks that we are like the ultimate shark slayers, and we’re like, if Sharknado was real, we would be running in the opposite direction. The way Nova fights them is with all of her weaponry, I don’t usually as Cassie Scerbo carry around half-shotgun, half-sword combined weaponry that I’ve created on my own like Nova! Bombs and crazy things — not really like what I carry in my purse or in the water with me…In these types of movies, the one thing we say is, it’s rated awesome and you can’t think too deep,” Scerbo says. “When you’re making the movie or watching the movie you can’t think logistically, like, how would that actually [work]? That wouldn’t be able to happen; there’s no real plot; it’s just fun and crazy.
Daily Show appearance
President Obama makes his last appearance on The Daily Show before Stewart’s retirement.
I can’t believe you’re leaving before me, I’m going to issue an executive order. Jon Stewart cannot leave the show. It’s being challenged in courts.
Billboard interview
Carter talks about why he started SMASHD Labs to Billboard.
There’s definitely a huge amount of accelerators out there, but there was a void for one that focused on brand, and that’s a space we have a lot of experience at and that makes this unique. Selfishly, it works for the Atom Factory — by being able to put 25 of the smartest entrepreneurs from around the world in your office. We get a lot of value out of that as well…[I want] A diverse team — the crux of my personal mission is to open up entrepreneurship to everybody, so Silicon Valley doesn’t have a patent on innovation. We want to open up the process to people outside of that network — the team would be diverse, hard-working entrepreneurs with technical expertise that are looking to gain traction on their product.
On the importance of data:
There’s always going to be a place for artists — but when you look at what humans have actually done to devalue music, from a pure monetary valuation standpoint, this is the part where our industry needs a lot of help. SoundCloud is worth its $1.5 billion valuation, but there’s no way in the world that SoundCloud should be worth more than The Beatles’ catalog. From a value proposition, we have a huge opportunity to re-value our business… I think the music is undervalued. I think up to this point we’ve done a poor job of valuing our content.
Hackathon Hackers AMA
In an ask-me-anything session with the Hackathon Hackers public Facebook group (link) Altman talks about YC, investment and his daily routine:
When considering a startup for YC, would you say you spend more time getting to know the team, or getting to know the product? The team, but the product is important evidence that the team is good. I need to believe in all 3 of the the team, the product, and that the market will be big in 10 years.
What is your morning ritual: I get up late, have an espresso, and immediately start work. I try to get roughly caught up on email before I leave the house, then if I need to write anything or review a complex deal I do that, and then I head to the office and work on my top few priorities for the day. I try to schedule my meetings in the afternoon.