Good morning. MrBeast’s book with James Patterson, The Most Dangerous Games, is out now—set in a dystopian world where 100 players must compete for $1B.

Hit reply if you want to join our MrBeast Book Club to read it. Statistically, one of us should end up a billionaire.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Today’s lineup:

This week, Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach became GoPro’s largest individual shareholder with 8.5% stake in the camera company. Within days, GoPro was acquired for $285M, more than double its market value. 

The timing has put Fischbach’s investment under a microscope (think: GameStop circa 2021). GoPro’s stock surged between his investment and the acquisition, raising a bigger question: Could this point to more creators investing in “dying public companies” they believe are undervalued?

Here’s how it unfolded: 

The speed and timing of the deal has drawn scrutiny. Some of Fischbach’s fans alleged that he knew about GoPro’s acquisition ahead of time, while others argued that he should have disclosed his ownership stake as part of his sponsored GoPro review.

Fischback has pushed back on both claims:

Looking ahead: Jeff Frommer, investor and founder of creator-brand matching network OWM, expects Fischbach’s move could encourage more creators to either invest in mid-size, undervalued companies, or ask for equity as part of their payment for sponsored gigs. 

“Who should buy an undervalued asset?” Frommer told us. “Should it be a bunch of Wall Street bankers who are gonna strip it down to its bare bones and bring in new management teams? Or can it be someone who understands how to garner attention, how to grow a brand?”

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen several traditional celebrities make their way to YouTube—from athletes to chefs to filmmakers.

Why? “[YouTube] is the main stage,” Samir Chaudry told us. “Celebrities are expanding their capacity to deliver to an audience and to advertisers dramatically.”

Here’s who’s made their YouTube debut →

But this isn’t the first time celebrities have tried making YouTube videos—John Krasinski, Brie Larson, and Hailey Bieber have all dabbled in content creation in the past. So what’s different this time?

“If you look in the past at celebrities who had YouTube channels, the formats were way too high lift, they could never do it on a weekly cadence,” Chaudry said. “If you look at what’s happening now, it’s a clear understanding of the platform.”

Which celebrity do you want to see on YouTube next? Hit reply and let us know.

Sponsored by CTB

Lovett or Leave It is a political satire podcast hosted by former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett. With a podcast that films twice a week in front of a live studio audience, Jon has a lot of moving parts to manage.

That includes fleshing out an ever changing panel of guests—which is why he leans on Central Talent Booking and their 27 years of industry connects.

Just last month, they helped Jon land Daily Show host Josh Johnson. With over 200,000 views, one of Josh’s clips became the pod’s most watched YouTube video in the month of August.

See for yourself why CTB is the go-to booking agency for today’s most influential podcasters and creators. Secure your next standout guest today.

Film creators now have another way to get their movies into theaters—backed by the world’s largest theater chain.

This week, AMC launched Leawood Films, an indie distribution arm that will distribute and market “small to mid-sized” movies that are fully produced and financed.

Why it matters: Typically getting a self-financed or crowdfunded film, like Jonah Feingold’s 31 Candles or Alexandra Robinson’s Meatball, into theaters means finding a distributor, like Universal or A24, to acquire and market it. With Leawood, creators have one more potential buyer connected to AMC. 

Leawood will attend festivals looking for titles alongside studios and indie distributors, though AMC said in a statement that it is not looking to compete with its longstanding studio and distribution partners.