Tom's Top 3: July 9, 2024
Rocky Road, Ice Cream
Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s installment of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays, where I highlight three pieces of content (Podcasts/Shows/Songs/Articles/etc.) that I found interesting or noteworthy from the prior week.
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Let’s get into it:
[Documentary] Netflix - Sly
There are two types of people in this world: those who have worked out with Gonna Fly Now reverberating in their ears, and liars.
Sylvester Stallone is so larger than life, that it’s hard to even imagine the man off the screen. This documentary highlights his flaws and fears, whether it be childhood trauma (and ensuing daddy issues) or the pressure of stardom. While not the best documentary by any means, it shows a different side of Sly (who knew he was a great polo player? - yes, like the horses), and is an entertaining and informative 90 minutes.
I have four main takeaways:
Go All Out
Vying for his big break, Sly focused on writing in order to create the roles he wasn’t getting cast in. He worked as an usher so he could watch movies all day long and wrote 16 screenplays before hitting it big with Rocky. Sly even went as far as painting his windows black to prevent any distractions from his writing (besides coffee and cigarettes, of course). He fully immersed himself in his dream, and made it a reality.
Bet on Yourself
Stallone obviously had a hit on his hands with Rocky, but studios didn’t want him as the star. He was even offered $265,000 (worth close to $1.5 million today) for him to not act in the film. Sly knew this was his chance, and he would rather give it his all and fail than always wonder if he could’ve made it as an actor.
Play to Your Strengths
Sly tried to branch out away from action in an attempt to prevent himself from being one-dimensional. He made off-the-wall films like Paradise Alley and scratch-your-head comedies like Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. I think challenging oneself to experiment outside of one’s comfort zone is a noble endeavor, but Sly ultimately realized he should focus on what he does best. He is a bona fide action star, and doubling down on his strengths (literally and figuratively) got him back on track.
Focus on Family
I thought it was touching how Stallone mentioned that he regretted missing time with his children. He confessed that, at the end of the day, film isn’t real life. A self-described workaholic, he devoted countless hours to playing characters that don’t exist. Family is what’s real, and it sounded like he wanted to make up for lost time. Always a good reminder to put family first.
[Product] Ninja CREAMi
It’s hot here in Seattle. I now realize that air conditioning is a luxury, a luxury I unfortunately lack. Outside of sweating at my desk doing absolutely nothing, one of my favorite things about summer is ice cream. What better way to cool off than with a nice pint, or two, of sweet, tasty goodness.
I love ice cream, but I also love protein. I’ve tried every variety of “guilt-free” or “protein-packed” ice cream, but let’s be real, they all kind of suck. The macros aren’t that great, and they are usually rock hard (unlike my abs after eating a pint, or two, of sweet, tasty goodness).
Enter the Ninja CREAMi. After seeing innumerable TikTok videos of this machine from my girlfriend, I decided to get her one for a birthday present. Turns out, this was also a gift for me. With just protein powder and milk, you can make a muscle-building dessert that actually tastes like dessert. Add in some sugar-free pudding mix and toppings, and say goodbye to choking down protein like Rocky Balboa.
[Podcast] Masters of Scale - Ron Howard: Evolve your vision (Encore)
At first glance, you might be confused about why Ron Howard, the legendary actor-screenwriter-director-producer, would do an interview on this podcast. After all, Reid Hoffman is a tech guy — he was part of the “PayPal Mafia,” founded LinkedIn, and was an initial investor in OpenAI. It turns out, Ron Howard’s career is really one of entrepreneurship and a symbiosis with technology.
Howard wanted creative control, and he went as far as writing his own screenplay and starring in a different film to convince Roger Corman to give him his directorial debut. He would go on to create his own production company alongside Brian Grazer, Imagine Entertainment.
Ron and Brian embraced technology at every turn. They revolutionized CGI with Willow and started the internet-native Pop.com in 1999 (short form content before YouTube). The two even drew inspiration from Y Combinator—a startup incubator famous for breathing life into companies like Stripe, Airbnb, and Instacart—when creating Impact, a producer bootcamp-turned hiring network.
Howard emphasized that technology was always in service of the ultimate mission: to create character-driven entertainment. It was a tool to be used in the creative process. This is reassuring in today’s media landscape, where everyone is retreating to their doomsday shelters in preparation for the imminent AI armageddon.
I’ll leave you with one last thought. In the podcast, Hoffman mentioned Ron and Brian see each other as “Force Multipliers,” bringing their visions to reality. Who in your life is a Force Multiplier? If nobody comes to mind, how could you go about finding that person?
That wraps up this edition of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays. If you know anyone who would like this newsletter, please consider sharing. I’ll be back next week. ✌️