Swimming with Sharks

Dallas' most famous shoe entrepreneur jumps into Shark Tank as newest judge

Blake Mycoskie is heading back to TV.

Photo courtesy of TOMS

The year 2020 may be the stuff of nightmares, but it's not stopping one Dallas-native entrepreneur from swimming with sharks. TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie will be the newest guest judge on the ABC smash-hit Shark Tank, the network says.

Mycoskie, along with Austin jewelry maven Kendra Scott, will join sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, and Kevin O’Leary in various episodes during the 2020-21 season, according to a release. Since the series is still filming and editing, it's unclear yet exactly which episodes Mycoskie and Scott will appear in, a rep adds.

Mycoskie — who was (technically) born in Arlington and attended SMU before dropping out to start his first business — is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and bestselling author most known for founding TOMS Shoes, the innovative company that shot to success by giving a pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair sold. To date, TOMS Shoes has provided almost 96 million pairs of shoes to children around the globe.

In 2014, after selling half of the company to Bain Capital, Mycoskie stepped down as CEO of TOMS and used half his proceeds to start the Social Entrepreneurship Fund, which helps early startups with core social missions get off the ground. Since then, he has invested in more than 25 social enterprises. His newest company, Madefor, "helps people learn and sustain positive habits and practices that have the greatest impact on their lives," the release says.

It's not Mycokie's first foray into reality TV. In 2001, he and his sister, Paige Mycoskie, competed in the second season of The Amazing Race and finished in third place. He now lives with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Scott will be the only female guest judge on Shark Tank's next season, the release notes. 2020 has been a banner year for her. Earlier this month, the Austin-based entrepreneur was added to the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin — the same university that launched the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (WEL) Institute last semester.

All the while, she's continued to grow her billion-dollar jewelry company, Kendra Scott, and continued on with the philanthropic arm of her business. It appears nothing, not even a pandemic, can slow her down.

"According to a 2018 PitchBook study, Scott is among only 16 women in the United States to carry the title of founder of a company valued at $1 billion," notes the release. "Today, Scott’s company continues to operate out of Austin, Texas, with their state-of-the-art corporate office complete with a design lab and an industry-leading distribution center, both catering to her employees’ career goals and family-life balance."

For viewers who haven't yet dipped their toe in the show's waters, a quick primer: Shark Tank is an Emmy Award-winning reality show where real-life millionaires and billionaires invest in startup businesses and products. Guests come on, pitch their idea, and the sharks can choose whether or not to invest. Among the show's most successful products have been the Squatty Potty, a contraption that helps with bowel movements, and Scrub Daddy, the reusable sponge.

For season 12, which is shooting in Las Vegas, Mycoskie, Scott, and crew will hear pitches from a whole new batch of entrepreneurs. The new season of Shark Tank premieres Friday, October 16. After airing on ABC, new episodes will be added to Hulu the following day.

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Movie Review

Safe cracking is a snap for White Lotus alum Leo Woodall in Tuner

Photo courtesy of Black Bear

Leo Woodall in Tuner.

Of all the ways that movies depict people trying to steal money and other valuables, safe cracking is among the least exciting. By design, it’s a laborious process that only those with a very certain set of skills can do. While clever editing and the right music can enhance scenes of safes being cracked, there’s a reason that the method is among the least used in heist films.

In the new film Tuner, Niki (Leo Woodall) has a job and a condition that just happens to lend itself well to committing that specific crime. He works as an apprentice piano tuner for Harry (Dustin Hoffman), usually doing the hard work while Harry schmoozes the client. Niki is well-suited for the job because he has a rare condition called hyperacusis, which makes him both sensitive to loud noises and able to hear subtle things that others cannot.

When he runs across a trio of criminals trying to break open a safe at a house where he’s tuning a piano, he helps them more out of frustration than avarice. But when Harry goes into the hospital and racks up huge bills, Niki decides to join the group to make some quick money. They soon want more than he’s willing to give, and he must find a way to extricate himself from them without losing himself completely.

Written and directed by documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher (making his narrative feature debut) and co-written by Robert Ramsey, the film has a nice pace to it despite there being relatively little action. Roher and Ramsey spend the first third or so establishing Niki, Harry, and Harry’s wife Marla (Tovah Feldshuh) as characters, letting the audience understand their relationships and how they interact with each other.

The time they devote to the personal storytelling pays dividends when Niki starts to descend into crime, as his divided loyalties - not to mention the danger of the thefts - insert tension into the plot. That stress is heightened even more when Niki starts a relationship with piano student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), as getting closer to her necessitates a series of lies.

There comes a point, though, where the plot stagnates to a degree. Niki’s end goal, if he has one, is never clear, and it’s obvious that it’s only a matter of time before things start to fall apart. After starting strong in their character development, Roher and Ramsey take shortcuts as the film rushes toward its conclusion. This is most notable in a weird argument scene between Niki and Ruthie that comes out of nowhere and seems to serve no purpose in the story.

Woodall, who had a memorable turn in season 2 of The White Lotus, is on the cusp of breaking out, and this understated-but-compelling lead role should help him become an even bigger name in Hollywood. Hoffman has a small role, but he remains as interesting as ever despite the lack of screentime. Liu (Bottoms) is also an up-and-coming actor who should become a star with more roles like this one.

Tuner is a low-key thriller that succeeds because of the way the filmmakers approach the under-used method of robbery. Even if it doesn’t quite reach its potential, the film maintains a high quality throughout thanks to its storytelling and acting.

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Tuner is now playing in theaters.

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