Netflix's 2018 Year in Review Reveals the Biggest & Best Binges

From Alan Orange over at TV Web: 

Netflix had quite a few break out stars in 2018, all of which are celebrated here. At the top of the list is the new Fab Five from their revived version of Queer Eye. As a group, they're great. But the single most celebrated person in Netflix's past 12 months is Lana Condor, the lead in the phenomenon To All The Boys I've Loved Before. She is on par with Joel Courtney, who starred in The Kissing Booth. Both of those YA romantic comedies scored as two of the most watched items on Netflix this year. People truly fell in love with these movies, and they are just as, or perhaps even more popular than some of the big releases that wound up in theaters this year.

Joel at the 2018 GQ Men of the Year Party

Joel attended the 2018 GQ Men of the Year Party on Thursday 6 Dec 2018 in Beverly Hills. 

Thank you, Just Jared Jr for these excellent photos! 

Mind Blowing Facts with Joel Courtney

PSA. 

It’s the Movie Hit of the Summer: Why ‘The Kissing Booth’ Clicked

From the NY Times: 

It may be one of this summer’s most popular movies, but “The Kissing Booth” is not playing at a theater near you. Netflix released the teen rom-com on its streaming service with little fanfare in May, and it quickly swelled into a stealth sensation.

“Fans found it, liked it, and decided to pass it on to other people,” said Vince Marcello, the film’s writer and director. “You can run commercials, you can do all the conventional stuff, but none of it is as powerful as people on their Twitter feeds saying, ‘Oh my God, check this out, it gave me all the feels.’”

Netflix specializes in the soft sell, expecting viewers to stumble across its original films while scrolling through menus of suggestions. “We weren’t aggressively marketing the film,” said Ian Bricke, the service’s director of independent film. “But when people find a movie like this on Netflix, they feel like they’ve discovered it for themselves, and there’s a degree of ownership and investment that translates into word of mouth.”

This user-generated strategy seems fitting given the D.I.Y. origins of “The Kissing Booth.” In 2011, Beth Reekles, a 15-year-old in Wales, started posting chapters of the story on Wattpad, an online platform that allows amateur writers to read and comment on one another’s work.

“It was easier to share it with total strangers online than people I knew,” Ms. Reekles, now 23, said in an email. “I was — and still am — quite self-conscious about my writing.”

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“The Kissing Booth” Sequel: Everything We Know About the Possible Movie

From Teen Vogue: 

Audiences have fallen in love with The Kissing Booth, the Beth Reekles's Wattpad short story turned YA novel and most recently adapted into a wildly-popular Netflix Original starring Joey King, Joel Courtney, and Jacob Elordi. It's become one of the most buzzed-about high school romantic comedies of the year since its release in May.

Haven’t watched The Kissing Booth yet? Somehow managed to avoid spoilers online? Here’s a quick synopsis. Originally published on Wattpad by Beth when she was only 15 years old, the story follows Elle Evans (Joey) and her best friend Lee (Joel) as they navigate their junior year in high school. Elle shares everything with Lee: cheeseburgers, a passion for Dance Dance Revolution, a lifetime of childhood memories, and plenty of embarrassing moments. But there’s one secret she can’t tell him: she’s in love with his motorcycle-riding, leather-jacket-wearing older brother, Noah (Jacob).

Don’t get us wrong, the movie isn’t perfect. We’re taking serious issue with the ambiguous ending, in which Noah flies off to college without so much as a backward glance. (Okay, yes, Elle specifically asked him not to turn around for a final wave goodbye, but still!). The point is: plenty of fans have been asking if they'll be getting a Kissing Booth sequel. We’re emotionally invested in these characters, and we’re dying to spend more time with them.

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