Bryan Goldberg is the owner and CEO of BDG, a company that owns websites like Inverse, Mic and Bustle. If this is the first time you're seeing the name Bryan Goldberg, here's a story--with the words "Self-Satisfied Shitlord" in the headline--that can get you up to speed.
What that Splinter (RIP Splinter, long live Discourse) post doesn't mention, though, is that Goldberg is also a big Napoleon guy. Huge Napoleon guy. He loves the guy--who died in 1821--so much, in fact, that two years ago he paid $1.4 million for one of the French Emperor's hats.
As the CEO of a media company that owns 11 different brands, Goldberg employs a ton of people who would be more than qualified to review a movie. It would be, in some cases, their actual job. That's exactly what happens for every other movie that hits theatres, but when it comes to Ridley Scott's Napoleon biopic, BDG wanted to try something a little different.
Inverse, maybe BDG's most well-known site, published a Napoleon review earlier today. Written by Siddhant Adlakha--a professional film critic--it's largely positive, saying it "depicts a despot’s ambition while taking surprising creative detours". Weirdly, though, it is not the only Napoleon review on the site.
Last week, a different review was published. This one wasn't so positive, leading with the headline "Ridley Scott's Epic Vision Is No Match for Napoleon’s Immense Legacy". Unlike today's review, this one was not written by a professional film critic. It was written by Bryan Goldberg, the CEO of BDG.
If you think that's a red flag, please note the author bio at the bottom of the review:
Bryan Goldberg, the CEO of BDG (Inverse is part of the BDG family), is one of the aforementioned Napoleon history buffs who has long been an admirer and booster of the historical impact of the former Emperor of France. He is the owner of one of Napoleon's infamous felt and beaver fur bicorne hats — which he keeps in temperature-controlled confines for posterity, and maybe to wear at his wedding.
