Hollanov's HudCon

[madeinrome]

Yes Bailey!!! 😊

[fyeahhollanov]

stelviotoronto Guys we have a confession! We had some serious Heated Rivalry at Stelvio last night and had to call @hudsonwilliamsofficial himself to cool everyone down! See what we did there 😏 In all seriousness, thanks for popping in and next time we’ll host a Hudson vs. Cotoletta match. Let’s see how that rivalry goes 😁

[orangejune217]

Responding to change with constancy

A close friend of mine used to be a celebrity publicist. Now she manages several stand-up comedians. I once asked her why, given how rapidly modern society is developing, Hollywood PR tactics remain the same old playbook “simple and crude”.She gave me a simple analysis:

The reason Hollywood PR feels so stubbornly formulaic isn't because the industry is stagnant ，it's precisely because it uses a highly stable underlying philosophy to cope with an extremely volatile environment. Those seemingly unchanged tactics have actually been quietly reshaped at their core.

The underlying logic remains the same: it's all about "story" and "relationships." The foundation of Hollywood PR is narrative control. The core has always been "covering a bad story with a good one."

Conservatism forced by the macro environment: higher risks, smaller budgets. If the logic hasn't changed, why does the approach feel so rigid? Because the environment has become so harsh that "making no mistakes" now matters more than "standing out."

Tactics are "evolving": hiding the ugliness deeper. Precisely because the macro environment has worsened, the specific methods have actually been "upgrading" ，only in ways that are more hidden and more sinister.

The "formulaic feel" of Hollywood PR is, in essence, a defensive uniformity. The industry is going through turbulence — talent drain, frequent lawsuits, budget cuts. Instead of taking risks with new tricks that could backfire, it's safer to retreat into the most secure mode.

We revisited the topic of Hollywood's "homophobia" ： why does Hollywood always present a contradictory state of "progressive illusion" coexisting with a "conservative core"?

Surface-level "progress":

Rainbow flags flying high

On a public level, Hollywood’s LGBTQ+ visibility is indeed very high: · A surge in content: A large number of films and TV shows featuring significant LGBTQ+ characters have emerged, some even winning the Oscar for Best Picture (e.g., Moonlight). · Stars coming out: Popular actors like Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey are open about their sexual orientation — something unimaginable decades ago. · Proactive messaging: Major studios and awards seasons actively promote diversity, which has become a business of "political correctness."

The real "dilemma":

Why are stars afraid to come out?

Yet, in the corners beyond the spotlight, "homophobia" operates in more subtle ways:

The "glass ceiling" of a career Coming out is seen as "career suicide." Actor Ben Whishaw once said that to succeed, one must "conform to the so-called mainstream heterosexual aesthetic" or "present sexuality in a heterosexual way." Lee Pace (The Hobbit) remained silent about his private life until he was effectively outed in 2018. Actor Jack Coleman also admitted after playing a bisexual role that actors who play gay characters often feel the need to "prove themselves" by posing with cigars and family photos.

The "closet" culture still thrives

Comedian Caleb Hearon once pointed out: "People think it's glamorous to be gay in Hollywood, but the truth is they don't want us." He bluntly said that many "straight male idols" people adore are actually gay but afraid to come out. The harsh reality of casting is that openly gay actors are often typecast and confined to playing gay roles.

Why is such an ostensibly open industry so conservative? At its core, it’s driven by money. If an actor comes out as gay, they may lose the chance to play "straight heroes" ， and with that, access to global markets in more conservative regions. Hollywood fears the commercial risk behind the "gay" label. That’s why it can proudly award Moonlight while, behind closed doors, being deeply uncomfortable with an actor’s sexual orientation during auditions.

So it’s always the same formulaic PR tactics to mask deep-rooted homophobia. Nothing new under the sun. It’s been this way for decades. Maybe I’m just used to it by now.

(English isn’t my native language ， it’s my third ，so I hope I’ve made my thoughts clear.)

[misssassy56]

Another submission from your friendly marketing guru. I also submitted: https://www.tumblr.com/misssassy56/818445577242148864/i-work-in-marketing-and-have-a-masters-degree-in

First of all, congratulations to the Fandom.

Seriously.

This morning, while making my coffee before work and doing my usual scroll through Instagram to see what had been posted overnight before I logged into my marketing job at a large company, I noticed something interesting. Fan account after fan account was posting about how beautiful Hudson and Katelyn are together, how happy they look, and what a wonderful couple they make.

And it got me thinking.

An entire weekend of public appearances apparently wasn't enough to convince people that Hudson and Katelyn are the picture of relationship bliss, but one Instagram photo seems to have done the trick.

Let's review.

At the Canada Screen Awards, fans noticed there was no red carpet kiss, no red carpet hug, very little visible physical affection, and after the parties Hudson and Katelyn weren't exactly giving "newlyweds at Disneyland" energy. In fact, a lot of the discussion afterward centered on how much more animated Hudson appeared with coworkers than with his girlfriend.

Then came one Instagram photo.

And suddenly fan pages are full of: "Look how happy they are!" "What a beautiful couple!" "Relationship goals!" "They look so in love!"

As someone who works in marketing, I have to tip my hat. The Fandom has accomplished something remarkable: they've managed to make a single still image outweigh an entire weekend's worth of live, unscripted public interactions.

That's not even sarcasm. It's genuinely fascinating.

Because the actual event footage, photos, and eyewitness accounts became secondary. The narrative became the photo.

The fans are now doing the heavy lifting themselves, reinforcing the message that Hudson and Katelyn are happy, stable, and thriving together.

Whether that was intentional or not, it's objectively impressive from a branding perspective.

The lesson?

Sometimes a carefully chosen image isn't powerful because of what's in it.

It's powerful because people enthusiastically fill in the blanks for you.

So once again, congratulations to the Fandom.

You've accomplished something remarkable: you've managed to sell Hudson and Katelyn's relationship as a happy, stable, thriving union based on a couple of strategically placed Instagram photos, despite an entire weekend of public appearances that left many fans debating the exact opposite.

From a marketing perspective, that's impressive.

You successfully communicated a message that Hudson himself never quite managed to communicate through his own actions.

Truly, a team effort.

Welcome back, my lovely anon🥰

It truly is shocking, isn't it? Like we keep talking about this being the worst PR team of all time but if their half-baked attempts just fucking keep working on the masses every time, does it even deserve to be called bad PR? It's bad if people were paying any close attention to anything at all... but I guess they really are not. I'm truly gobsmacked...

I don't know how many more times I need to remind people to just remember what the fuck happened literally 3 days ago in front of our very eyes. There are short memories and there are memories worse than a goddamn goldfish🙄

Please everyone. I fucking beg of yall. Read this. Remember what we witnessed firsthand over the weekend. Remember the fucking Met. Remember it all. Then fucking make your judgements. Please.

[readingkat]

It gets to a point..

The fact that some people rather believe that Hudson is an absolute jerk who treats his " girlfriend " like shit and therefore get angry at him than to be willing to change their minds about K and what role she plays in his life, is everything I need to know about the state of this fandom.

And before people come at me: I am not saying he is perfect or put him on a pedestal. And, since I know people like to say this or play the misogyny card, without even knowing what misogyny actually means 🙃,its also not criticizing K .

But the fact that so many people can see all the tension, his cold behaviour, her annoyance ,the way they both look uncomfortable all the time, but the only conclusion for these people is : Hudson is a jerk, he needs to make a decision, his behaviour gives them the ick, K deserves better.. and yes these are all the things I had to read in the last days.

I think I explained my POV a few times: I think that H and C are a couple and that K is helping them out as a cover up, buffer, beard or whatever you want to call it at this point.

But she only does it, because thanks to shitty DM and that sus tiktok account, they were both put into that situation, because that girlfriend thing blew up immediatly and they were stuck.

But I think both of their behaviour shows that they are absolutely tired of that situation and pretending and thats exactly why they act the way they act .

And also, the way Hudsons treats women in general, how respectful and supportive he always is. I refuse to believe that he would treat his girlfriend like this. There is simply no way.

So maybe, just maybe, Hudsons behaviour and also of course Ks behaviour is based on the fact that they are both stuck in a situation they both do not want to be in and not because Hudson is a shitty person who is just too much of a coward to make a decision ( yep thats exactly what someone said about him) .

And maybe just maybe it is time to change your POV and trust me, from my own experience and from what some mutuals have told me, a lot of things will begin to make a lot more sense, if you let go of the girlfriend perspective.

Because it gets to a point where its just very obvious what is going on.

If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and walks like a duck, maybe it simply is a freaking duck 😉🙃.

[actuallysara]

x: if you were going to play any other part on Heated Rivalry who would you choose?

Robbie: I think Shane. Obviously Hudson does a phenomenal job and I think Shane is a really tough character to play. I think there's a lot of small little micro expressions and stuff like that within there and he does an insane job and I think it'd be a fun challenge. But I'll never be able to surpass his work.

[serenthelioness]

A Moment of Appreciation

I don’t think we spent enough time on this photo from the CSA after party. That nipple is struggling to be free.

[sunnypeachyy]

Connor Storrie | Interview Magazine

[dailyhudsonwilliams]

Hudson and Supinder Wraich at the Canadian Screen Awards (via fabiandicorcia)

[twiddlingthumbs]

He really was missing his emotional support person in life that night 🥺

X

[whitebuttondowns]

and there will be more of #this in season 2. let’s all live

[serenthelioness]

Chaotic Kings

[brazilianwolfbird]

Food for thought...

The Long Game, chapter 23

[piningandslowburns]

Let me emotionally destroy you with this reminder of what actually happened in the book 😭

“He’d needed to pull over while driving home that night because he hadn’t been able to see the road through his tears. He’d been so confused and scared and devastated. He should have been going home with Rose, his gorgeous movie star girlfriend, not crying on the side of the road, alone in his car, over an obnoxious Russian hockey player.”

[shoresys]

Hudson "Too Canadian to Take A Compliment" Williams

[odetohudcon]

🔮 moon’s relationship 🔮

1. hudson’s true self in relationship: 8 of swords - might be feeling confined or stuck in the position. a sense of helplessness or maybe even anxiety when thinking about the relationship or his role in it. possibly even feeling powerless like he is unable to change anything. sense of burden or feeling tied to something. but there is also something internal to this helplessness or stuck feeling. almost as if in a sense he is allowing himself to stay in this position, possibly fear of change or due to an obligation.

2. katelyn’s true self in relationship: king of cups rx - repressed emotions. instability. perhaps even a bit of immaturity when it comes to relationship or her role in the relationship. there could be moodiness or cattiness in her attitude when it comes to this. feelings towards relationship and her role in relationship could lead to manipulative tendencies if the energy is acted upon. possible using feelings as a weapon or tool in the relationship. but theres also a repression so not everything is outright and truthful.

3. how katelyn sees hudson: 9 of cups - hudson may be bringing some form of fulfillment or contentment to her through the relationship. sense of satisfaction here. also a hint of smugness here. something about being seen with him gives her a certain satisfaction, possibly even feeling better or above others because of it. this sounds so wrong to be typing out but she may even view him as like a prize won.

4. how hudson sees katelyn: queen of wands - views her as someone confident or bold. sensual attraction. may see her as someone who has a fierce or fiery personality. sense of caution when it comes with this, a bit like maybe he thinks she has a bit of a temper. certain quiet authority. may think she gets her way. may see her as assertive and passionate.

5. past relationship: hanged man - waiting. blocks. pause. it honestly does not feel like a solid relationship. not built on sturdy foundations. with the past sensing a lot of hesitation around it or that maybe not even that serious of a commitment. something that could have been in flux. back and forth. almost like someone couldnt make up their mind about the relationship. theres something unanswered about this. feeling of being in limbo. nothing progressing. getting someone was hesitating big time when it came to this relationship.

6. current relationship: the moon - going through a time of uncertainty. emotional blocks or hesitations. lack of clarity. truth being withheld or distorted. not fully being honest with each other, perhaps a lack of communication. things beneath are not what they appear on the surface. possibility of deception occurring. something being hidden.

7. future relationship: knight of wands rx - possible fickle future relationship if things dont get restored. possible burnout occurring. things could become reckless. someone may do something out of impulse that could cause harm to the other. instability and emotional immaturity energy arising here. sensing loosing tempers. possibility for harsh words or verbal fights.

8. next steps: the hermit - time to step out of situation and move into external action. calling for a reconnect. to build a line of communication. unable to move forward or move on while stuck in self imposed isolation or refusing to allow inner energies to become external actions.

9. descriptive cards for relationship:

risk, ruled by saturn in aries - possible regret over decision, ambition, self-will, pushing to a position of power.

riches, ruled by saturn in capricorn - conclusion of an arrangement or deal, ambition, duty, perseverance.

extremism, ruled by mercury in scorpio - change, verbal outbursts, drastic change of opinion, reappraisal of life to overcome an unsolvable situation.

10. advice from universe: south node - “don’t let your past hold you back” situation has become unhealthy or even toxic. feeling stuck. time to be released and let go. unhealthy attachment. staying feels easier. staying is stopping possible achievement coming their way.

11. top card of deck: 3 of swords - heartbreak. emotional pain. betrayal. hurt and disappointment. painful realization of a relationship.

**the king of cups is my indicator card for c. i found it a little interesting that h sees k as as the reversed of this. (quite literally viewing her as the opposite of c’s energy)

[hollandar]

HEATED RIVALRY — DAY 1

Recalling the first day of filming, Tierney says that after seeing the pair excel in the emotional wringer, his own “nerves were out the window, I knew I could throw anything at those guys.”

sources:

GMA / TEEN VOGUE / TIMID