Who runs culture? The fans do.

Lionsgate has started hiring the same TikTok fan editors who once remixed its movies without permission. LOVE TO SEE THIS! These creators are now shaping official campaigns for films like Twilight and Creed. Instead of trying to imitate fandom, the studio is paying it directly. They’re inviting the fans who already speak the internet’s visual language to translate movie marketing into something that feels alive.

It’s a striking inversion of power. For years, studios tried to control the message. Now, they’re learning that the message spreads better when fans are the messengers. The most authentic stories come from inside the crowd. | Variety

Formula E is what happens when racing goes electric. The fans skew younger, more climate-conscious, and more online. At its center is Ellie Norman, the former Formula 1 marketer who helped turn that sport into a global cultural force. Now she’s trying to prove that fandom comes from meaning.

Her plan is to meet audiences where they already are. This year, her team launched Evo Sessions, a social experiment that paired fashion and tech creators with Formula E drivers, generating hundreds of millions of views and pulling in new fans who might never have tuned in. For anyone trying to build a fandom: give people a world they want to belong to, not just a show to watch. | Marketing Brew

Elizabeth Olsen has never been a fan of anything in her entire life…until she became a Dodgers fan. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in full Dodgers gear after the team’s second consecutive World Series win, she described how becoming a baseball obsessive helped her finally get what it means to be a fan.

I’ll be writing about this more next week but I’m noticing a shift in fans/fandom where someone loves a “team” or a “cast” or a “story” and then evolves into loving each individual character, player, and person. It strengthens the fan’s adoration. Elizabeth mentions this in the interview and how she has yelled (encouragingly) to Dodgers players during a game. | Variety, submitted by reader John

In the Alien and Predator fandoms, a familiar split has emerged. Some fans want to preserve the eerie restraint of the originals and the monsters you barely saw. Others welcome the new wave of world-building, from Predator: Badlands to Alien: Earth, where the stories are bigger, brighter, and more human (I’ve watched both).

For me, it’s easy to see the divide. The old films thrived on mystery; the new ones offer reinterpreted mythology. One side wants to keep the dark corners intact, the other wants to turn the lights on and explore. Even if fans disagree, they’re headed to the forums to discuss. And that keeps the fandom alive. | r/LV426

A new report from Vevo suggests that music fandom is one of the best mirrors for who we are and what else we love. Fans who obsess over artists are also more likely to dive deep into film, fashion, sports, and gaming. The study found that nearly 70 percent of fans feel music connects them to the world, and that devotion often extends into what they buy, wear, and watch.

If you’re trying to build a fandom, remember that music isn’t just background noise. It’s a signal. The same curiosity that sends someone down a Spotify rabbit hole is what drives them to collect merch, stream live events, and form communities. | Variety

A new essay from UPROXX makes the case that the future of fandom isn’t about reach, it’s about proximity. The strongest cultural moments now happen when creators and brands meet fans inside their worlds, not from above them. I agree with this x 100000. Cardi B promoted her latest album through subway announcements, drone drops, and meme art. Daft Punk reunited inside Fortnite, creating a virtual encore that bridged generations. I’m having this conversation a lot with my clients.

My advice (and has been for years) fans don’t follow culture, they make it. Step into their spaces, speak their language, and you won’t just catch their attention…you’ll move with them. Read this book if you want to dive deeper into this concept. I have extra copies (I ordered 20 from the author)! Reply to this email with your mailing address and I’ll ship it to the first 3 people!

Nearly five decades after A New Hope, parts of the Star Wars fandom are still debating who the galaxy is “for.” Lucasfilm announced Eyes Like Stars, a new young adult romance novel set in the universe. Some fans had issue, assuming the focus on love stories was a ploy to attract women, as if women hadn’t been here all along. From Leia to Padmé to Rey, female characters and creators have always shaped Star Wars, even when the fandom didn’t fully see them.

What this moment exposes is how fandom evolves unevenly. Romance has been part of the series since Han and Leia’s “I love you” / “I know,” yet it is now treated like a threat instead of history. The real story is not about making Star Wars for anyone new. It is about acknowledging that its galaxy was never built for one audience to begin with. | Screen Rant

While finishing her latest album, Florence Welch found herself comfort-watching season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She even considered naming the record Season 6. In an interview with CBS Mornings, she said she relates to Buffy’s pull between superhuman purpose and human longing. “That sense that she has to do these crazy superhuman feats and just wants to be a normal high school girl,” Welch said. “I get this. I understand this.”

Fans and artists alike use stories to locate themselves in the world, finding meaning through someone else’s mythology. | CBS Mornings on IG

A Vox essay charts how “foodie culture” went from niche obsession to mainstream fandom. Once a subculture defined by curiosity, privilege, and a hunger for authenticity, it turned chefs into rock stars, food TV into appointment viewing, and the internet into an endless tasting menu. Along the way, the term foodie collapsed under its own weight, replaced by a broader truth: we are all fans now!!! | Vox, submitted by reader Bethany

Do you have a fan story, idea, or connection I should know about? Reply to this email! I’d love to hear it.