JD Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ tops Amazon book and Netflix film charts following Trump’s VP appointment
CNN
Eight years after its publication, JD Vance’s book has found its way back onto the bestseller lists, thanks to his appointment as Donald Trump’s running mate.
In 2016, a venture capitalist and Yale law graduate named JD Vance published a memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” The instant bestseller turned Vance into a media star and was later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film directed by Ron Howard. Eight years after its publication, Vance’s book has found its way back onto the bestseller lists, thanks to his appointment as Donald Trump’s running mate. Less than 24 hours after Trump announced Vance was his vice-presidential pick, “Hillbilly Elegy” shot to the top of Amazon’s bestselling books. On Tuesday, the 2020 film adaptation of “Hillbilly Elegy,” starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams, was the 6th most-watched movie on Netflix’s Top 10 in the US, as seen on the streamer’s platform. Viewership of “Hillbilly Elegy” increased by 1,179% on Netflix compared to the day before Vance’s VP bid, according to research from Luminate, which adds that the film was watched for 19.2 million minutes on Monday, jumping from the 1.5 million minutes the movie was watched on Sunday when rumors were swirling of Vance’s appointment. When the “Hillbilly Elegy” film first debuted, it launched to mostly negative reviews and was largely panned by critics, though Close and Adams received praise for their performances portraying Vance’s grandmother and mother, respectively, as well as the actor Gabriel Basso, who played a younger version of Vance. Close notably was nominated for “Hillbilly Elegy” at both the Oscars and the Razzie Awards, which is the ceremony that infamously honors the worst in cinema every year.
Nippon Steel is expected to re-file its application for a national security review by American regulators of its $15 billion takeover bid of US Steel, sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday, buying Japan’s largest steelmaker an additional 90 days to close its acquisition of an American rival after political opposition emerged in an election year.
So far, the attacks that targeted Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah members through their pagers have had devastating consequences. At least nine people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed, and at least 2,800 were wounded. Over 150 of those injured are in critical condition, according to the Lebanese health minister.