Rian Johnson Gives Love To 2 Glass Onion Proprietors

Rian Johnson decided a shout-out was in order after promotional efforts for Netflix’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery caused local businesses to lose their spot in Google Search. 

Johnson gave love to at least two restaurants in Falmouth, MA, and Charleston, SC, including @GlassOnionSC and GlassOnionDinning.com, last week after both businesses reported losing the coveted top spot in Google due to Netflix’s upcoming sequel to the critically acclaimed Knives Out (2019). 

Johnson wants viewers who love Knives Out to support the organizations impacted by the new release, sharing that even his family frequents one of the Glass Onion locations and are “regular customers.”

Wanna give some love to some wonderfully named small businesses whose google results we’ve messed up for the past few months. @glassonionsc is a lovely looking spot in Charleston. All natural southern food that reflects chef Chris Stewart’s Alabama roots: https://t.co/SLG5N3C06r

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) December 12, 2022

Rian Johnson drew inspiration for Glass Onion from The White Album

Rian Johnson shared that he chose the title for the Knives Out sequel based on a song from The Beatles’ White Album. Apparently, several other people had the same idea.

The small businesses Rian Johnson refers to in his tweets vary from soul food to seafood establishments, but all are fighting the same battle: holding onto their place on Google’s front page.

“If I Googled ‘Glass Onion’ anytime before a couple of months ago, we were almost always on top,” said Josh Christian, owner of the Glass Onion in Mass. “Lately, you definitely have to start typing in ‘Falmouth’ or ‘Cape Cod’ to see anything from us.”

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The cherished “index gold” of having your business featured prominently on Google’s first page is critical to most small businesses. Competing for SEO (search engine optimization) has become so fierce entire industries have budded up as an alternative to traditional internet advertising.

Having been a long-time customer of “Glass Onions,” as Rian Johnson claims to be, the award-winning director took to social to spread awareness.

I want to eat ALL THE PASTA at Glass Onion in Weaverville, NC. The owners Eddie and Natalie do global Italian, and just look at that cozy facade, if I was in town I’d be a regular. https://t.co/00JsJLk2h1

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) December 12, 2022

“It was so generous of him to do that,” Christian added.

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Fortunately, the Glass Onion in Mass doesn’t seem to have seen much of an impact on its foot traffic. Unlike online businesses that rely on Google search traffic as the primary source of new customers, restaurants (while arguably even more challenging to manage and maintain overall) have a bit of an advantage because of a built-in local fanbase and physical location, which may be why Christian doesn’t have any hard feelings about it.

“Lots of restaurants had it before us, and I’m sure other businesses will have it after us,” Christian said.

In any case, #GlassOnion was trending on and off over the weekend because of Rian Johnson’s tweet, which is likely to lead to a unique interest in Glass Onion(s) nationwide. However, if you’re interested in finding a Glass Onion near you, you’ll need to be specific with your search terms. Otherwise, you’ll land on Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which hits Netflix on December 23, 2022.

If you still need to check out the trailer for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, here it is.

Projected Audience Score for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery by Rian Johnson: 88.

Why did Glass Onion receive a projected audience score of 88?

We’re very excited about what Rian Johnson has in store for us. Having not seen Knives Out prior to playing the trailer for Glass Onion, it took a moment for the concept to settle in. However, given the cast involved and the warm reception to Knives Out among critics, coupled with a hell of a career from Rian Johnson, we anticipate Glass Onion delivering a solid experience for Netflix customers.

Glass Onion’s trailer is strong, but audience reception mixed

Pulling in only 81k clicks on 12 million views (.006 turnover ratio), the trailer hasn’t converted clicks as much as you’d like to see for a film like this (which usually impacts the overall score we believe the film has the potential to net). But we decided an exception was in order here, given how under the radar the film has flown leading up to its streaming debut.

In the follow-up to Rian Johnson’s KNIVES OUT, Detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects. Starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, with Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.

Project Audience Score

Streaming This Weekend evaluates trailers based on up to 30 questions and criteria to spot production value in movies. The score is not perfect. In fact, it likely speaks more to the quality of the trailer, which we believe could give us insight into the final film. Here’s an idea of the types of questions we ask of a trailer:

• • Does most of the footage look like it’s from the 3rd act? This could indicate that there isn’t enough good film to put into a two minute trailer.

• • Is the audio filled with replays of songs you’ve heard in other films? Are the sound effects old hat? This could indicate a weak score and low production budget.

• • Are characters, animals, or objects used to point out something that should be interesting without assistance? This could mean the editors didn’t feel confident the shot would grab audiences.

We also incorporate trends from the players involved in the movie. How did the last director’s film do? What project did the writers and producers contribute to last? How were the performers received in their last film? All in all, we incorporate 30 data points or more into our evaluation of the trailer(s). Here are a few results we’ve put together with their final audience scores:

Happy Streaming! 

Are you excited for Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion this week?

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