The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood
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Sonny Bunch hosts The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, a new podcast featuring interviews with folks who have their finger on the pulse of the entertainment industry during this dynamic—and difficult—time.
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6 days ago
The Lines that Define our Lives
Before we get started: apologies for the downgrade in my audio quality about 10 minutes into this episode. My computer, unappreciative of the coffee I spilled on it earlier in the week, decided to restart itself mid-recording in protest. It shall be punished greatly.
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This week I’m joined by Brian Abrams, author of “You Talkin’ to Me?”: The Definitive Guide to Iconic Movie Quotes. We discussed how he pared his list down, the research that went into making this more than a mere list of his personal favorites, and the evolution of the iconic movie quote into a versatile form of meme-creation. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Sep 16, 2023
Fantasy Culture and the Flight from Reality
This week I’m rejoined by Jonathan Taplin, author of The End of Reality: How 4 Billionaires Are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto, to discuss the ways in which popular culture may be leading the public down a dark road. Mr. Taplin has previously been on the show to talk about his career in the entertainment business, from tour manager for Bob Dylan to producer of early Martin Scorsese classics Means Streets and The Last Waltz to his early efforts to introduce video streaming, so he knows a thing or two about the ways in which politics is downstream from culture. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Sep 9, 2023
Data Transparency Is a Double-Edged Sword
This week I talk to Ben Dreyfuss, formerly in charge of audience acquisition at Mother Jones and currently the author of the Calm Down Substack, about the promise and the peril of complete data transparency. Ben watched what happened firsthand as data about what readers wanted became more and more available to journalists: how it shaped what was written, and how, and for whom, and how this race for virality wound up decimating the advertising market that newsrooms relied on.
I wanted to talk to Ben about this because I remember living through this data revolution and, while I'm supportive of the labor unions and their desire to get more data about what is successful in order to divvy up a more equitable share of streaming revenue, I’m also nervous about some of the knock-on consequences of full data transparency. Besides, more creatives really should be asking themselves if they want everyone to know precisely how many—or, more likely, how few—people are watching the vast majority of streaming offerings.
If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend! And sign up for Ben’s Substack; it’s a hoot.
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Sep 2, 2023
Erotic Thrillers: Unsung Heroes of Home Video
This week I’m joined by Anthony Penta, director of We Kill for Love, a documentary/film essay about the erotic thriller and its place in the history of cinema. Drawing parallels to film noir and gothic romances, among other genres, Penta traces not only the artistic legacy of We Kill for Love but also the role they played in the early days of home video rentals and pay cable. Hundreds of films melding sex, violence, and sexy violence were produced, yet many of them have all but disappeared, critics dismissing them as little more than softcore pornography and viewers moving on to other forms of titillation. The erotic thriller lives on, but you’ll be a little surprised to see precisely where.
We Kill for Love is available on VOD now. Make sure to rent it after the kiddos have gone to bed, as this is a return to the world of Cinemax After Dark. But I don’t want to leave you thinking it’s lurid: We Kill for Love is a tasteful, informative, and empathetic look back at the genre filled with new interviews with the actors, actresses, producers, and directors of the genre, as well as the critics and academics attempting to impart it with a bit more respectability. I didn’t know I needed a two-and-a-half-hour documentary about erotic thrillers in my life, but I’m glad I have it.
As always, if you enjoyed this episode or learned something about the business of film, please share it with a friend!
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Aug 26, 2023
The Rise and Fall of the Brothers Warner
This week I’m joined by Chris Yogerst to discuss The Warner Brothers, his fascinating new look at the life of Jack, Harry, Sam, and Albert Warner, who collectively formed the Warner Bros. studio. From the technological innovations such as sound pursued by Sam, to the moral case for cinema made by Harry, to the classic mogul behavior of Jack, the journey of the brothers Warner makes for an interesting glimpse into the world of Hollywood. Amongst the topics discussed: how Warner Bros. went to war against the Nazis; labor strife in the 1940s; and the ugly breakup of the family dynasty. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Aug 19, 2023
Why We Need to Know What’s Failing
This week I’m rejoined by The Entertainment Strategy Guy to talk about his two-part series on streaming flops (TV shows here; movies here). If hits pay for the misses, and we know what the hits are, shouldn’t we know what the misses are as well in order to make fewer of them? We discuss his methodology and then examine one buzzy title, Hijack, to see if it’s a hit or a flop and how to think about those terms. We also discuss why sports documentaries tend to underperform and why most mid-to-large-budget movies should either be released theatrically or not made at all. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
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Aug 12, 2023
How to Start a Film Studio in 2023
This week I’m joined by Roy Price, the founder of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, to discuss what it would look like in 2023 to start a brand-new movie studio. Which genres are under-served? What price points should budgets be aimed at? And which audiences are looking for something they aren’t getting from the big studios? We also talk a bit about streaming networks and audience acquisition/retention, and why low-budget horror might wind up being a crowded space in the coming years. If you enjoyed the episode, please share it with a friend!
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Aug 5, 2023
How 2023's Oddest Box Office Hit 'Paid It Forward'
Some backstory to this episode: last month I bought a ticket for Sound of Freedom because I was curious about the year’s most unexpected box office sensation. As the credits rolled, star Jim Caviezel came on the screen and gave a speech to the audience about the importance of theatrical exhibition; it’s the sort of thing you typically see at the start of movies these days, actors and directors thanking audiences for coming to the theater. Here’s the wrinkle: during his speech, Caviezel tells audience members they can “pay it forward,” buy a ticket for someone who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to go. When the QR code allowing audiences to do this came on the screen, a woman who had lingered by the exit when she heard Caviezel talking pulled out her phone, scanned the code, and bought a ticket.
I’ve never seen anything like that in a movie theater. Ever. So I asked Jeffrey Harmon, Angel Studios’s Chief Content Officer, on the show to talk about his studio’s unique business model, how they decide what to fund, and whether or not the pay-it-forward model could work for other types of movies like civil rights dramas. We discussed how the pay-it-forward system impacts the box office (briefly: only tickets that are requested and redeemed count toward the total, which as of this writing stands at $156 million domestic) and what their plans are for international distribution.
As always, if you learned something, I hope you share this episode with a friend.
Finally: I know there’s a lot of controversy swirling around this movie. For reasons I lay out here, I think it’s a fairly serious misstep to describe this as “the QAnon movie,” though I understand why some have misgivings given Jim Caviezel’s statements in the past. But this episode is about the film’s box office business, and as such I hewed pretty closely to that topic. If you’re not interested in that aspect of Sound of Freedom, I understand, but I’d ask you to keep comments on topic if you’d like to discuss this week’s episode.
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Jul 29, 2023
Hollywood's Hopes in China Are Fading
I’m rejoined this week by The Wall Street Journal’s Erich Schwartzel, author of Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy, to talk about Hollywood’s disastrous summer in China, where virtually every American movie released so far has underperformed. We also talk briefly about why Meg 2: The Trench may end up being one of the lone bright spots for Hollywood this year. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Jul 22, 2023
Netflix's Soft Earnings and the 'Barbenheimmer' Juggernaut
On this week’s episode Ryan Faughnder, author of the Wide Shot newsletter, returns to the show to talk about Netflix’s softer-than-expected earnings report, the momentary bright spot at the box office, and the possibility that this strike is going to be going on for quite some time. If you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend!
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Jul 15, 2023
What If Evel Knievel Had Run for President?
This week I’m rejoined by Jake Tapper, who is on the show to discuss his new historical novel All the Demons Are Here, the third book in the Charlie and Margaret Marder Mysteries. It’s a great beach read and works as a standalone, but I still recommend checking out his previous novels as well to get the full scope of of the Marder family’s story. On this episode we discuss how the books have evolved, the research that went into writing them, and which big name is circling an adaptation of The Hellfire Club for a big streamer. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to pick up a copy of Jake’s book. And share this episode with a friend!
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Jul 8, 2023
Hollywood's Perfect Storm
I’m happy to be rejoined by the first (and, perhaps one day, final) Bulwark Goes to Hollywood guest, Richard Rushfield of The Ankler (subscribe today!), to talk about Hollywood’s shaky summer. Nine-figure flops, the collapse of IP, labor woes, c-suite shakeups: it’s a weird time out west. How is the industry going to handle it? And what might the future look like? All that and more on this week’s episode. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend!
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Jul 1, 2023
A Decade of Big Muscles and Bigger Egos
This week I’m joined by Nick de Semlyen, the editor of Empire magazine and author of the new book The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage. We talk Sly, Arnold, Bruce, and the other big names of the 1980s, how the cinematic heroes of the decade dovetailed in a way with the presidency of Ronald Reagan, and how a second-rate Chuck Norris feature may have inspired a revolution. If you enjoyed the episode, check out the book. And share this podcast with a friend!
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Jun 24, 2023
New Doc Examines How Vets Are Recruited by Militias
This week I’m joined by Ken Harbaugh, the producer of Against All Enemies, to discuss his new documentary about the disproportionate number of military and police personnel attracted to extremist groups like the Oath Keepers. How did so many end up at the vanguard of the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6? And what role do lies about elections play in radicalizing this cohort? We also discuss the film’s glowing reception at Tribeca and the work that goes into getting a documentary like this not only produced but also distributed. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Jun 17, 2023
How Universal Found a Brand-New Customer
This week I’m joined by Brooks Barnes of the New York Times to discuss his story on Universal’s efforts to build what amounts to a new release window, the premium video on demand (PVOD) window. For the first time, Brooks has some real numbers, and they’re pretty interesting. For instance, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, pictured above, has made more than $75 million since May 16 despite still being in theaters and being the seventh-highest-grossing film last weekend. You should read the whole thing and then listen to our chat. (Or vice versa.) And if you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend!
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Jun 10, 2023
Just Don't Call it 'Reality' TV
On this week’s show, I’m joined by Arthur Smith, chairman of A. Smith and Co. Productions, the company behind long-running hits like Hell’s Kitchen and American Ninja Warrior. In addition to explaining why he shies away from the label “reality TV,” he’s here to talk about his career and his fascinating new book Reach: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television. Arthur has one of the most interesting careers of anyone I’ve ever spoken to: he got his start at the CBC, working his way up to the head of sports, before moving to Dick Clark’s production company in the States, then getting in on the ground floor at Fox Sports, and then founding A. Smith and Co. where he’s produced shows for the major networks, cable companies, and streamers alike. He’s seen every facet of the business over the last 40-some years and has great insights into how things have changed—and how they’ve stayed the same. If you learned something from this episode and think ot…
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Jun 3, 2023
Tribeca and the Evolution of the Film Festival
This week I’m joined by Cara Cusumano, Festival Director and VP of Programming at the Tribeca Festival, for a wide-ranging chat about the nature of the modern film festival, how a festival’s sense of place can coexist with efforts to make the festival’s programming available to people around the world, and how Tribeca has expanded beyond film into a multimedia extravaganza. We also talked about a subject near and dear to my own heart, as a parent of younger children: What can festivals do to get families more involved and encourage the next generation’s love of film? Tickets for a number of the events Cara and I discussed today are still available at TribecaFilm.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend!
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May 27, 2023
The Data that Determines What We Watch
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by the Entertainment Strategy Guy to talk about the state of streaming data. What do we know? What don’t we know? Do movies fare better on streaming after getting a theatrical run? How does the data help determine what we watch? What is the “binge curve”? All that and more on this week’s episode. If you found it illuminating, make sure to sign up for his Substack! And if you enjoyed this episode make sure to share it with a friend!
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May 20, 2023
How Much Free Work Do Writers Do to Get Paid Work?
I am pleased to be joined this week by screenwriter Colby Day to discuss all the unapid work that goes into getting paid work. I loved reading Colby’s diaries of annual pitch meetings and the such for 2021 and 2022, and thought I might share them, and him, with you as a way to help you understand some of the frustrations that writers have with the current state of Hollywood. How many pitches does a writer have to make to land one paying gig? Why does it take an endless amount of time to get paid after drafts have been submitted? How could the strike help alleviate some of these problems? All that and more on this week’s episode. If you enjoyed it, please share with a friend!
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May 13, 2023
Is the Superhero Boom Officially Over?
This week I’m rejoined by Scott Mendelson of The Wrap to talk about the state of the box office. Is the comic book boom over? What should we be looking for from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 if we want to assess the health of Disney’s cash cow? What did Scott make of The Flash at Cinemacon? When will the mid-level movie recover? Why is 2017 a better comparison point than 2019? All that and more on this week’s show! If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend!
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May 6, 2023
How Do You Bring the (Fake) Real Pete Davidson to Life?
This week I’m joined by Judah Miller, showrunner of the new Peacock dramedy Bupkis, to talk about bringing Pete Davidson’s life to the small screen. Bupkis is fascinatingly hard to describe in shorthand, given the way it mixes tones and genres, and also the manner in which it blends Pete Davidson’s ripped-from-the-headlines life with a fictionalized version of his family and day-to-day existence. The first season is streaming in its entirety now on Peacock, and I strongly recommend checking it out: it’s a fascinating portrait of fame in the age of social media and also the business of showbiz. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Apr 29, 2023
What's to Come in 'The Streaming Wars'
This week I’m joined by Matthew Ball, CEO of Epyllion, former global head of strategy for Amazon Studios, and the author of The Metaverse and “The Streaming Book,” which you can read at that link there. And you should read it if you want to understand how we got where we are in the streaming wars, why it’s early yet in the contest between the companies vying for your attention, and where we’re headed as consolidation occurs.
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Apr 22, 2023
Going to the Movies: Still the Best Value Around
This week I’m rejoined by David Herrin of The Quorum—a must-visit site for any amateur or professional box office nerd—to talk about a new study The Quorum put together in partnership with The Cinema Foundation about the value proposition of going to the movies. We talked all sorts of stuff on this episode: why audiences are three times more excited to return to theaters now than they were at the same time last year; how going to the movies stacks up against going to concerts and other out-of-the-home events; the percentage of consumers who get concessions; and why Barbie’s surprisingly high unaided awareness might still be a cause for concern.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
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Apr 15, 2023
Summer Box Office Preview
I’m rejoined this week by Frank Pallotta, formerly of CNN, to preview the summer box office. Have we already seen the year’s biggest movie debut with The Super Mario Bros. Movie? Will audiences show up for big-budget blockbusters like the new Mission: Impossible and Guardians of the Galaxy? Will adults ready for raunchier fare come out for Jennifer Lawrence’s new romcom? Who’s going to win the Battle of July 21, when Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie debut? All that and more on this week’s episode! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
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Apr 8, 2023
Will the WWE-UFC Merger Amp Up the Streaming Arms Race?
This week I’m joined by Sean McNulty of The Ankler to talk about the week’s biggest entertainment news: the merger of the WWE and UFC into a $21 billion sports-entertainment company. But this move is just a piece of the puzzle if you want to understand the complex dance between sports leagues, streaming companies, and cable bundles. Are sports leagues the ultimate “arms dealers” in the streaming wars, moving from company to company as these services try to find content that makes sense for viewers and advertisers alike? Or are teams with revenue tied to regional sports network deals kind of … well, screwed? All this and more—including a chat about the actual king of televised sports; and no, I’m not talking about the NFL—on this week’s show!
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Apr 1, 2023
Are Video Games the New Comic Books?
This week I’m joined by Gene Park, video game reporter at the Washington Post, to talk about the oncoming video game boom and how our current moment feels reminiscent of 2008, when the comic book boom kicked off for real. Yes, there had been comic book successes before that, your Batmans and your Spider-Mans. But 2008 saw the release of The Dark Knight (which smashed opening weekend records) and Iron Man (which inaugurated the single most successful franchise of all time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe), recalibrating how Hollywood thought of superhero cinema. Between The Last of Us’s popularity with critics and audiences alike and projections that The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be one of the highest-grossing movies of the year, it feels like we’re hitting a similar inflection point with video game adaptations.
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Mar 25, 2023
How Theatrical Exhibition Helps Stave Off Piracy
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Cinema Foundation President Jackie Brenneman to discuss the group’s new report on the state of the cinema industry. Among the many topics discussed this week are the ways in which theatrical exhibition help tamp down piracy by keeping pristine copies off the pirating sites, the success of National Cinema Day, how the ongoing domestic box office recovery is tied to increases in wide releases, and the slightly complicated way average ticket prices are calculated. (Exciting news: We now have a new average ticket price, after a couple of years of using 2019 averages! Now all the inflation scolds have new data to deploy.)
If you enjoyed the episode, please share it with a friend!
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Mar 18, 2023
Can the Drive-In Survive?
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by April Wright, director of Back to the Drive-In. We discuss the ways in which drive-in theaters kinda-thrived during the pandemic, but also have been hit by some of the same problems plaguing every industry in the post-pandemic era: labor shortages, supply chain issues, and nonsensical mandates from local governments. Make sure to check out Back to the Drive-In, which is on VOD now. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Mar 11, 2023
The Best Stunts of 2022, Rewarded
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Bilge Ebiri and Brandon Streussnig to talk about Vulture’s enormous feature on the best stunts of 2022. Part celebration of the year in action, part plea for the Oscars to finally recognize stunt performers and performances as a category worthy of notice, the inaugural Stunt Awards is a feast for any lover of action (and action-adjacent) cinema. Among the issues discussed this week are why some professionals think an Oscar for stunts is a bad—even potentially dangerous—idea, how to think about rewarding these performers, and the sad fact that some of the best, most kinetic action you’ll find never makes it to theaters at all. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Mar 4, 2023
The Drama Behind Hollywood's Biggest Night
This week, I’m joined by Michael Schulman to discuss his new book, Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears. What were some of the ulterior motives for making the Oscars? How did the ceremony help break the blacklist? And was Rob Lowe’s duet with Snow White really the worst thing that’s ever happened on the show? Or, you know, in the history of existence? All that and more on this week’s episode. If you enjoyed our chat, make sure to pick up his book and share this episode with a friend!
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Feb 25, 2023
Will the WGA Strike? Can It Afford Not To?
This week I’m rejoined by Richard Rushfield—fresh off a nice little profile in Vanity Fair—to talk about the oncoming train of a WGA strike. Seventy days out, Richard put the odds of a work stoppage at 65 percent. What are the two sides looking for? How might the industry change? And is the fate of civilization itself at stake? All that and more on this week’s episode. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Feb 18, 2023
David Thomson on the Magic of Acting
On this week’s episode, Sonny is pleased to welcome David Thomson back to the show to discuss his new book, Acting Naturally: The Magic in Great Performances. In this episode we discuss the difficulty of describing what, precisely, actors do onscreen; the trickiness of writing about appearances; why Method Acting was the biggest thing since the advent of sound; and why audiences feel uncomfortable when they find out a filmmaker is less-than-perfect in their personal lives. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out Mr. Thomson’s previous appearance to discuss his history of movie directors. And make sure to share the show with a friend!
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Feb 11, 2023
Theater: You Can Get Rich, But Making a Living Is Hard
I was very excited to get Julian Schlossberg on the show this week to talk about his new book, Try Not to Hold it Against Me: A Producer’s Life, in large part because he is intimately involved with a part of showbiz that I do not understand at all, at least financially: Broadway and live theater. But Julian’s career stretches beyond the stage: he booked theaters in New York City where he helped Warren Beatty save McCabe and Mrs. Miller from obscurity; he had a radio show that brought him into the orbit of George C. Scott, among others; and he did some time at Paramount, one of his more frustrating experiences in his career. After you listen, make sure to check out his book; Elaine May, the director of Mikey and Nicky and a comedic power, wrote a very nice (and funny!) introduction for it. And, as always, share this episode with a friend!
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Feb 4, 2023
Shawn Ryan on Past WGA Negotiations and the Evolving Business
When I saw that Shawn Ryan—the creator of The Shield,* the hit CBS show S.W.A.T., and the forthcoming Netflix show The Night Agent—had penned a letter to the editor in The Ankler disputing an agent’s characterizations of past Writers Guild of America negotiations with producers, I knew I had to get him on the show. Ryan, who in addition to running and writing some fantastic TV was also on the WGA negotiating committees in 2007, 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020, shared his thoughts on the state of the business and made a very important point at the end of this interview: It’s not the writers who are saying there’s going to be a strike.
This is a must-listen episode if you want to understand some of the fundamentals of the most important business story in Hollywood in 2023. If you found it illuminating, please share with a friend!
*I feel like you can make a very convincing case that The Shield is roughly as important to the business and artistry of prestige TV as The Sopranos for…
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Jan 28, 2023
Producer Dean Devlin Goes (Back) to Space
This week I’m pretty excited to be joined by Dean Devlin, whose work in movies like Universal Soldier, Stargate, and Independence Day I grew up loving. He works mostly in television now on series like The Librarians and Leverage, and has a new one out on SyFy debuting February 3: The Ark. We talk about his new show, how the business has evolved these last 30 years, and more on this week’s episode. If you enjoyed it, please share it with a friend! And make sure to check out The Ark, new episodes which will also hit Peacock a day after debuting on SyFy.
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Jan 21, 2023
PaleyFest's Secret Weapon: Love
This week I’m rejoined by Rene Reyes, Vice President of Public Programming and Festivals at the Paley Center, to talk about PaleyFest 2023. It’s the year’s most entertaining celebration of television, from prestige cable hits to broadcast mainstays to the wild world of streaming. Tickets are on sale now for this year’s festival, and some of the highlights look great; I’d kill to be able to attend the opening night celebration of The Mandalorian, and I imagine the Yellowstone tickets will go quick if they haven’t disappeared already.
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Jan 14, 2023
Scientifically Measuring Movie Love
Kevin Goetz, author of the must-read book Audience-ology, joins me this week to talk about the science of getting audiences to theaters. Can marketing help teach audiences “how” to watch a movie? Why might studios get excited about something as simple as a reply ratio to a free screening before even a single frame of film has unspooled? And how can you measure … movie love?
I mentioned this on the show, but I don’t really listen to a ton of podcasts because I don’t have time, what with all the podcasts I’m doing. But one I do carve out time for is Kevin’s, which is called Don’t Kill the Messenger. A good introductory point is his episode with Jason Blum, I guarantee you’ll learn a lot. Subscribe to it, leave a rating and a review if you have time: it should be far more popular than it is.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! And if you’d prefer to listen on Apple or another podcast service, click here and find your favorite.
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Dec 22, 2022
The Science of High Frame Rate, Explained
This week, I’m rejoined by Tony Davis of Tessive to talk about the science behind some of the movie magic in James Cameron’s return to Pandora. What is high frame rate? How did we settled on 24 frames per second as the “standard” frame rate? Why do European audiences notice the effect less? And why have exhibitors made it so difficult to know which format Avatar: The Way of Water is showing in and which screens it is showing on? All this and more discussed on this week’s episode; if you enjoyed it or learned something, please share it with a friend!
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Dec 15, 2022
The Ten Biggest Hollywood Fiascoes of 2022
This week, I'm rejoined by Ryan Faughnder of the Los Angeles Times to discuss his newsletter highlighting the ten biggest Hollywood business fiascoes of the year. From Neil Young's war on Spotify to The Slap to the shift of focus on streaming profitability, it's been a wild year for businesses trying to navigate difficult business and political waters.
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Dec 8, 2022
How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood
On this week’s episode I talk to Sean O’Connell, the author of With Great Power: How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood during the Golden Age of Comic Book Blockbusters, about the webslinger’s long and winding path to the big screen, early box office dominance, middle-aged faltering, and renewed success under the aegis of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We also discuss the rise of fan culture and the balancing act studios have to play between making movies that work for the masses and movies that work for the hardcore fans. If you have a Spider-fan in your life, send them this episode or pick up Sean’s book as a stocking stuffer!
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Dec 1, 2022
Disney's Parks Make Tons of Money — But Are They in Trouble?
This week I talked to Robbie Whelan of the Wall Street Journal about the not-so-secret cash cow of the Walt Disney empire: the parks. For years now, the joke about Disney has been that it’s a parks and TV company with a movie studio attached to it; as the theatrical business continues to struggle, cord-cutting continues apace, and the streaming side of the business racks up huge losses, the parks are more important than ever. But as Robbie reported, cracks are beginning to show in that fiscal bulwark, and unhappiness over the state of the parks—from investors and, more interestingly, super-fans—is one of several reasons that CEO Bob Chapek was forced out.
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Nov 17, 2022
How 'The Northman' Transported Us Back in Time
On this week episode I’m pleased to be joined by Simon Abrams, author of the gorgeous new book The Northman: A Call to the Gods. In it, we discuss how the book came about, some of the fascinating tidbits he picked up while interviewing cast and crew of the viking epic, and how Robert Eggers helped transport audiences back to both a different time and a different mindset. If you haven’t seen The Northman on the big screen, you really should: it’s monumental in every sense of the world. Folks who live in New York City will have a chance to do just that at the Museum of the Moving Image this Sunday: there’s a double feature of The Northman and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, which Eggers cites as an inspiration for his Viking epic. Sandwiched between the showings will be a book signing. So if you like what you hear here, head over to get a copy of the book! And make sure to share this episode with a friend!
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Nov 10, 2022
What's the Deal with 'Seinfeld'?
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Julia Alexander of Parrot Analytics and Puck to talk about what’s working, and what’s flopping, in the wild world of streaming. Seinfeld is a huge hit for Netflix, particularly with younger audiences. What’s the deal with that? Meanwhile, Peacock made a smart call by adding the Hallmark Channel as a vertical, and Disney+ added a huge number of subs … while also dipping in revenue. Then, we discuss the massive hit that was Hocus Pocus 2 and ask if Disney was right to keep it streaming-exclusive. All this and more on an entertaining and informative episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood. If you learned something, share it with a friend!
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Nov 3, 2022
How the Business of Box Office Has Changed Over the Last 15 Years
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Scott Mendelson. For nearly a decade at Forbes, Scott wrote one of the best, most in-depth looks at the box office on a day-in, day-out basis; he’s now headed to The Wrap where he’ll hang up his box office spurs and write about the industry more broadly. But I wanted to pick his brain about how things have changed since he started doing this way back in 2008 with his Mendelson’s Memos: from the rise of the MCU and the monster opening weekend to the death of the high-concept star-driven vehicle to the pandemic’s acceleration of streaming dominance to the monetary potential of the premium video on demand (PVOD) window, a great deal has changed over his run, and he’s here to provide his insights.
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Oct 27, 2022
The Past, Present, and Future of the Romcom
This week I talk to Scott Meslow about From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy, his critical appreciation of the genre. From When Harry Met Sally to Crazy Rich Asians, with stopovers in the land of raunch-coms like There’s Something About Mary and Brit-roms like Richard Curtis’s oeuvre, to the modern tendency to overthink the genre and why it works (or doesn’t!), Meslow’s book is a thorough examination of the last 30-plus years of onscreen romance. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Oct 20, 2022
Who Won the Summer—and Who Lost?
On this week’s episode, CNN’s Frank Pallotta rejoined the show to talk about horror’s big summer, the winners and losers of summer, the ratings war between House of the Dragon and Rings of Power, and much more. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Oct 13, 2022
Does the 'Perfect Sound' Exist?
On this week’s episode, I talk to The Washington Post’s Geoff Edgers about his latest feature, “The Search for the Perfect Sound.” The boom in vinyl has led to a lot of questions about whether or not the new pressings hitting store shelves at astronomical costs are, you know, any good. Purists are distraught at the very thought of digital techniques being used in the creation of analog sound. Why do some records sound better than others? And how much can it cost to achieve sonic perfection? If this episode left you feeling nostalgic for the stacks of records you grew up spinning, make sure to share it with a similarly inclined friend!
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Oct 6, 2022
How Cult Classic 'John Dies at the End' Kicked Off a Literary Career
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Jason Pargin for a wide-ranging and freewheeling discussion about, among other things, the propriety of jokes about nuclear war, how a cult classic movie kicked off his literary career, and the ways in which social media algorithms have possibly led you to believe that your favorite writers have disappeared and/or died. (As the former executive editor of Cracked dot com, Jason has some experience with this.) Oh, we also talk about his new novel—If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe, out October 18—and why you don’t need to read the three previous books in the series to enjoy it.
That said: I would recommend reading them! The first, John Dies at the End, is probably the easiest to skip since you can get the basics by watching the movie (streaming now on Hulu) but basics are, well, basic, and you don’t want to be Basic, now do you? (You can buy a new copy here and a used copy here). The second, This Book Is Full of Spide…
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Sep 29, 2022
How 'Orphan: First Kill' Beat Expectations
David Coggeshall, the writer and co-producer of Orphan: First Kill, joins Sonny this week to talk about the making of the legacy sequel, the difficulties and opportunities presented by shooting in the midst of the pandemic, and the theatrical vs. streaming debate.
And if you haven’t watched Orphan: First Kill, you can check it out now on Paramount+ or rent it on VOD; I put a spoiler warning up before we got to talking about the plot of the film in-depth, but you should watch it anyway. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Sep 22, 2022
China's Looming Threat to the World of Gaming
On this week’s episode, Sonny broaches the topic of China and gaming with Colin Moriarty, founder and CEO of Last Stand Media, the world's most popular fan-funded games podcast network, co-host of Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast, and 20-year veteran of the gaming industry. Colin has firsthand experience in this realm as a game developer and relays a pretty interesting story about the chilling effect China can have on the art of gaming. Beyond that, there’s much to consider about the dangers of mergers and consolidation. Does the government have a role to play in keeping Chinese Communist Party-controlled firms like Tencent from dominating the gaming space? Should the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States play a firmer role? These are some of the questions we ask, but don’t necessarily have answers for, on this week’s episode. If you found this episode informative and entertaining, please share it with a friend!
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Sep 15, 2022
The NFL: Ratings King
On this week’s episode, Sonny asks Sean McNulty—author of The Ankler’s excellent morning roundup newsletter, The Wakeup—who, exactly, the Emmys are for in an age of audience fracturing. The answer, at least according to the Nielsen ratings, is “very few people.” Many, many more people are watching football, as sports remains the one savior of linear TV (that is: non-streaming, watched-live TV). We also talk about the news out of D23, the weird, aborted push by an activist investor to spin ESPN off of Disney, and much more. If you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend!
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Sep 8, 2022
How to Write a Best-Selling Political Book
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Broadside Books’s Eric Nelson to take a look at a slightly different end of the entertainment industry: political non-fiction. Eric is the editor of Tim Miller’s bestselling book Why We Did It as well as Jared Kushner’s bestselling book Breaking History, so he understands how to appeal to both sides of the book-buying aisle. Almost as importantly, he has heard, and can debunk, just about any myth you can come up with to explain away why a book by someone you don’t like is a bestseller. (Spoiler: The basements of the RNC and DNC are not filled with moldering copies of books by pols.) You’ll learn tons of interesting stuff here (which TV hits matter; what the perfect Amazon review looks like) and, hopefully, come away with a better understanding of just how the book business works. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Sep 1, 2022
How Anime Can Help Save Theaters
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Mitchel Berger, SVP of global commerce at Crunchyroll, about the continually “surprising” success of Crunchyroll’s (and, previously, Funimation’s) anime theatrical releases. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero opened atop the box office a couple of weekends ago with $20 million; last year Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train grossed nearly $50 million during its run. How did Crunchyroll help create and nurture this fandom to the point where they can open a movie on traditionally dead weekends with a fraction of the advertising spend of your typical mid-or-low-budget release? If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Aug 25, 2022
Freedom of Expression Under Assault
On this week’s episode, Sonny steps back from Hollywood a bit to look at the broader state of free expression in America and around the world. PEN America’s Summer Lopez joins the show to discuss a range of topics: from the heinous assault on Salman Rushdie in New York to efforts to pressure libraries to remove books across the United States to foreign oppression of writers and thinkers to concerns over the ability of a handful of Internet-based companies to determine what can be expressed. If you enjoyed this episode and want to help get the word out, please share it with a friend.
A brief plug: I am a member of PEN America and have been so (on and off, mostly dependent on remembering to pay my dues) since the group stood up for the journalists killed during the Charlie Hebdo massacre. They do great work to help shine a light on the limits of free expression around the world; a couple years back, I had PEN’s James Tager on the show a couple years back to talk about their report…
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Aug 18, 2022
Meet the (One-Time) 7th-Most-Powerful Man in Wrestling
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Brian Gewirtz to talk about his tenure as a writer for the WWE. His new book, There's Just One Problem...: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE, is a must-read for anyone interested in the world of “sports entertainment." Brian was there for the rise of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the tail end of the Monday Night Wars, the so-called Attitude Era, and beyond. He suffered through celebrity guest hosts of Monday Night Raw, some great, some terrible. He lived through the real-life beef between John Cena and Dwayne Johnson. And he came out the other side as part of Johnson’s production house, Seven Bucks Productions.
I really can’t recommend Brian’s book enough, and I can’t help but feel like wrestling—with its baby faces (heroes) and heels (villains); with its emphasis on “kayfabe” (that is, playing along with a storyline even though everyone on all sides knows its scripted)—on some level is…
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Aug 11, 2022
Why Do Streamers Care About More than Eyeballs?
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Julia Alexander of Parrot Analytics and Puck to discuss the wild couple of weeks in streaming. From HBO Max to Netflix to Disney+ and unbundling to rebundling, there’s a ton to discuss. Of particular interest to folks interested in how the business of streaming works is Julia’s expertise as a consultant who helps studios and producers understand why streamers like Netflix will renew a show; you won’t want to miss that discussion about 40 minutes in. Spoiler: Eyeballs-captured and hours-watched aren’t the only thing that matters.
This is one of my favorite episodes of the show thus far; if you found it as interesting as I did, make sure to follow Julia on Twitter and read her stuff at Puck. And please share this episode with a friend!
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Aug 4, 2022
Convention Life with the Creator of Effin' Birds
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Aaron Reynolds, creator of Effin’ Birds. Having a daily comic read by half-a-million people is cool and all, but what’s really cool is criss-crossing North America to sell merch featuring that comic and other various designs. Aaron talks about the economics of convention life, how COVID has shaped the way conventions work, what it’s like to have a booth at San Diego Comic Con, the crazy economics of attracting huge stars to cons, and, most importantly, what it was like to be endorsed by pop star Britney Spears on her 41.8-million-follower-strong Instagram account. You can follow Effin’ Birds on Twitter and Instagram and Aaaron on Twitter and Instagram.
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Jul 28, 2022
Harvey Weinstein's Enablers
On this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny is joined by longtime New Yorker writer Ken Auletta, who stops by to discuss his new book Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence. Both a biography of Weinstein and a tick-tock of the trial that ended with the Oscar-winning producer’s imprisonment, Auletta’s new book is a fascinating glimpse at the life and times of a man whose predatory instinct was allowed to go unchecked thanks to the caliber of the movies he made and the way he distributed favors to filmmakers, cultivated journalists, and ingratiated himself to politicians. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to share it with a friend … and pick up a copy of the book! It’s a must-read for anyone who lived through the Miramax era.
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Jul 21, 2022
'John Wick,' Gun-Fu, and the Art of Oral History
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman to discuss their new history of the John Wick franchise, They Shouldn’t Have Killed His Dog: The Complete Uncensored Ass-Kicking Oral History of John Wick, Gun Fu, and the New Age of Action. (Listen to the podcast to hear how to properly announce this title.) In addition to talking John Wick and the history of the action film art form referred to as “Gun Fu,” we talked about the tricky art of authoring a compelling oral history. Believe it or not, it entails more than just cutting and pasting long chunks of interviews into a Word document! If you’re in San Diego for Comic Con this week, make sure to swing by Ed and Mark’s panel on Friday (you can find it on the full convention schedule here), which will be followed by a signing at the Saint Martin’s booth. Tell them I sent you! And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Jul 14, 2022
Ron Shelton on the Struggle to Get 'Bull Durham' Made
On this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny is joined by Ron Shelton, the writer/director of Bull Durham, to talk about his new book on the making of the film, The Church of Baseball. In addition to discussing the fights over casting, the weirdly lackluster response from test audiences, and the movie’s impact on the minor league game writ large, we also chatted about some of Mr. Shelton’s other films like White Men Can’t Jump and Dark Blue.
Make sure to pick up his book; while you’re doing that, the excellent Blu-ray release of Bull Durham is 50 percent off as part of Barnes and Noble’s 50 percent off sale on all Criterion discs. (In the podcast, I also mentioned the Arrow Video release of Dark Blue, but you should only pick it up in the United States if you have a region-free Blu-ray player; luckily it’s streaming on Prime Video right now for free.)
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Jul 7, 2022
Summer Movies Are Back—But Is Trouble on the Horizon?
This week, CNN’s Frank Pallotta rejoins the episode to do a box office victory lap. The movies are back, baby! Older audiences are showing up for Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis; younger audiences are showing up for Minions: The Rise of Gru; and no one’s showing up for Lightyear. Why are the first three hits and the last a miss? What’s the most successful way to sell moviegoing audiences on future movies? And what are theaters going to do over the next few months as COVID-related production slowdowns mean fewer big movies hitting theaters before the Thanksgiving season? All that and more on this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood. If you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend!
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Jun 23, 2022
What's Up at the Mouse House?
On this week’s episode, The Ankler’s Richard Rushfield returns to talk tumult at Disney, what Hollywood might be looking for in a studio head, and how the town is feeling about Netflix. If you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend!
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Jun 16, 2022
How to Design an Iconic Movie Mask
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Jason Baker of Callosum Studios, the house that helped design the sure-to-be-iconic mask from the upcoming horror film The Black Phone. They also discussed designing masks for the WWE, pandemic-related slowdowns, working with FX legend Tom Savini, and Jason’s documentary about said legend, Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini. You can stream that now on Tubi or YouTube or hold off until the special edition Blu-ray drops in October. Make sure to check out Jason’s handiwork in The Black Phone, dropping next week. And if you enjoyed the show share it with a friend!
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Jun 9, 2022
Stop Stealing Movies!
On this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny talks to the CEO of Creative Future, Ruth Vitale, about the costs of piracy. A longtime producer in Hwood, Ruth has seen firsthand the costs of theft on productions big and large, but in an age where stealing a movie or a book or a song is just as easy as popping onto Google and punching in some search terms, how do you convince folks that stealing is, in fact, wrong? And what can the government do to help stop the scourge of Internet-based IP theft? All that and more on this episode of BGTH. If you’ve got any ideas, feel free to leave them in the comments.
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Jun 2, 2022
Goodbye, Norm Macdonald
Over Memorial Day weekend, Netflix released a new stand-up special from Norm Macdonald, who unexpectedly died in September of last year. Unexpected to us and his friends; perhaps more expected to the comedian, who had kept his cancer diagnosis incredibly secret. On the occasion of the release of Norm Macdonald’s “Nothing Special,” Washington Post national arts reporter Geoff Edgers published a new piece featuring interviews with his friends and colleagues about the special and his life’s work. I’m very happy to have Geoff on today to talk about Norm specifically and the art of profiling more generally.
Back in 2016, Geoff wrote a longish feature about Norm that, I think, helped spark something of a reappraisal or reconsideration of his work: though beloved—almost revered—by fellow comedians, Norm had fallen out of the spotlight with normal folks, and this well-read feature reminded them of what they were missing. (The publication of his absolutely brilliant book around t…
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May 26, 2022
Where Are the Kids Movies?
Sonny takes a break from talking to industry experts this week to kvetch about something that’s been bothering him and JVL: Why are theaters so empty of movies for kids? A nearly two-month gap between The Bad Guys and Lightyear feels like studio malpractice; why didn’t Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers get at least a token run in theaters?
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May 19, 2022
Summer Movie Preview! 'Top Gun,' Dinos, and Buzz Lightyear, Oh My.
On this week’s episode, Sonny is rejoined by CNN’s Frank Pallotta to preview summer movie season. Blockbusters, big horror, comic books, and kid-friendly films are coming to the multiplex—but they’re doing so at a slower clip than years past. What’s changed since the pandemic and how is the industry reacting to it? Plus: Netflix, Disney+, and the evolving streaming situation.
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May 12, 2022
How Ben Fong Torres Defined a Generation
This week, Sonny is joined by Suzanne Joe Kai to discuss her documentary, Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong Torres. New to Netflix, her doc is a pleasantly vibrant look at the life and work of Ben Fong Torres, who is best known for his era-defining work at Rolling Stone magazine. This documentary covers that ground—just looking at Torres’s box of archival tapes is enough to make one’s mouth water—as well as his family’s story. How did this child of immigrants who came to the country by skirting anti-Chinese laws become one of the most important musical journalists of his, or any, generation? Listen now to find out. Then go watch the movie! It’s on Netflix now. If you enjoyed the show, share it with a friend!
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May 5, 2022
The First Draft of (Streaming) History
This week, Sonny talks to Dade Hayes, co-author of Binge Times: Inside Hollywood’s Furious Billion-Dollar Battle to Take Down Netflix, about the rise of streaming in the face of technological change and a population forced to stay home thanks to COVID. Among the many topics discussed: how will sports factor into the future of streaming; why are so many of the channels leaning toward ad-based models; and why did everyone think Netflix would be the only man standing when the dust settled? All that and more on this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend!
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Apr 28, 2022
Are Casual Filmgoers Finally Coming Back?
David Herrin of The Quorum—a must-check site for movie-data nerds—joins us live from the corridors of CinemaCon to discuss the mood of theater owners, the vibes of theatergoers, and the state of the industry as we exit the pandemic. If you enjoyed our chat, share it with a friend!
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Apr 21, 2022
How Hollywood Trade Papers Shaped the Movies You Love
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Eric Hoyt, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about his new book on the rise of the Hollywood trade press and how these papers helped shape the movie business as we know it. From covering labor disputes to navigating the waters between big-city and small-town movie houses to engaging in some of the earliest film criticism, the topics covered in this book can help us understand how the movie business evolved into what it is today. You can read the book yourself for free right now by clicking here, and you can check out some of the trade papers examined by Hoyt at the Media History Project, where they are digitizing out-of-copyright publications. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Apr 14, 2022
NATO Head on the Return to Theaters
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by John Fithian, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners, to talk about post-pandemic moviegoing, the evolution of theatrical dining, the excitement of CinemaCon, and the potential of theaters as sites for esports and gaming events—both as spectators and as participants. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Apr 7, 2022
Lloyd Kaufman and a Half-Century of Troma
On this week’s episode, Sonny is very pleased—and a little star struck!—to be joined by Lloyd Kaufman, the mind behind Troma Entertainment, to discuss his latest film, #ShakespearesShitstorm, as well as his 50 years in the business as one of the few truly independent indie filmmakers. Kaufman is probably best known for directing The Toxic Avenger, its sequels, and Tromeo and Juliet, as well as producing Class of Nuke ’Em High. But his company, Troma, has been a hot spring of talent for decades, serving as early homes for James Gunn (The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad), Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park), and Eli Roth (Hostel, Knock Knock).
Warning: This episode contains slightly saltier language than usual, but what else would you expect from a mind whose greatest film prominently involves gym rats running over a kid on a bike for fun?
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Mar 31, 2022
The Nic Cage Book Every Fan Needs to Own
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Keith Phipps about his new book, Age of Cage: Four Decades of Hollywood Through One Singular Career. Looking at the trends of Hollywood through the lens of Nic Cage’s various personae—as an oddball actor catching the tail end of the 70s auteur wave; transitioning to a “normal guy”; hitting action star peaks in the 1990s; and settling into a series of more-interesting-than-they’re-given-credit-for turns on VOD—the book is a useful glimpse at the changing tastes in Hollywood. If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to check out Keith and Scott Tobias’s Substack, The Reveal. And share this with a friend!
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Mar 24, 2022
No One's Seen the Best Picture Frontrunners. Does It Matter?
This week, Sonny talks to the Los Angeles Times’s Ryan Faughnder about a new poll showing that Coda and The Power of the Dog, the frontrunners for the Best Picture Oscar at this weekend’s Academy Awards, have been seen by just four and six percent of entertainment consumers, respectively. Then they discuss the walkout at Disney over the Mouse House CEO’s failure to speak up more vocally against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, as well as charges of hypocrisy that ethnic cleansing in China didn’t spark similar protests. And, finally, they talk about Amazon’s purchase of MGM and what that means for James Bond and Prime Video. If you enjoy the episode, share it with a friend!
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Mar 17, 2022
Why the 'Head of Story' at One of Hollywood's Biggest Agencies Writes His Own
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Adam Novak, head of story at one of the biggest agencies in Hollywood, WME. Adam is also the author of the novel Rat Park, out this week, as well as three other novels. Adam discusses his three-plus decades in the industry as a script reader for stars like Bruce Willis and directors like John McTiernan. What’s the role of a good reader in Hollywood? How do they help serve their clients and the world of entertainment writ large? And then Sonny and Adam discuss Adam’s novels and the intricate universe he’s woven around the fictional Omniscence agency.
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Mar 10, 2022
A Crucial Film to Understand Ukraine's Struggle
Sonny is joined this week by Andrea Chalupa, the screenwriter of Mr. Jones, the true story of Gareth Jones’s efforts to bring the horrifying reality of the Stalin-made famine in Ukraine that killed between 3.3 and 3.9 million people. They talk about getting that film written and financed, the response to it, and how best to push back against Russian disinformation via the arts.
Mr. Jones is streaming now on Hulu and is a must-watch for anyone who wants to understand why Ukraine is fighting tooth and nail against reabsorption into the nascent Russian empire. After you watch Mr. Jones, make sure to sign up for the online panel this Friday with director Agnieszka Holland, star James Norton, and the folks at the Kyiv Independent; proceeds go to support both the Independent and Ukrainian nonprofit Proliska.
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Mar 3, 2022
Would You Pay More to see 'The Batman'?
On this week’s episode, CNN media reporter Frank Pallotta returns to the show to talk about studios boycotting Russia, why AMC is charging you a little more too see The Batman (but not a little less to see Dog), and Disney’s decision to put Turning Red directly on Disney+. Plus: Oscars talk!
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Feb 24, 2022
The Art of Editing
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to George Folsey Jr about his career as an editor. From the blaxploitation classics Black Caesar and Hammer to the great comedies of the 1970s and 1980s like Animal House and The Blues Brothers to assists on classics like Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger and cult classics like Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body, Folsey has had a hand in a number of the movies you love.
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Feb 17, 2022
Can a Lawsuit Against WB Slow the Streaming Tide?
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Deadline’s Dominic Patten to talk about Village Roadshow’s lawsuit against Warner Bros. for killing the profitability of the Matrix franchise, the newly filed wrongful death suit against Alec Baldwin, and the Super Bowl’s big (but maybe not surprisingly big?) ratings. You can see Dominic’s archive here and follow him on Twitter here. And if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Feb 10, 2022
How to Get Your Script on The Black List
On this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny Bunch is joined by John Zaozirny of literary management company Bellevue Productions. You can see John’s bona fide’s here, but his clients have written scripts set up with virtually every major studio. Bellevue has had 42 screenplays make the last seven Black Lists—an important compilation of un-produced screenplays voted on by people in the filmmaking business—and he details some of his strategies for securing those spots on this show. Sonny and John also talked about the decline of the spec script market, the difference between agents and managers, and a host of other topics. If you enjoyed the show, make sure to share it with a friend!
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Feb 3, 2022
How Is Chinese Soft Power Reshaping Entertainment?
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Erich Schwartzel, author of Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy. Erich’s book is a fairly exhaustive look at the sweep of Chinese influence on Hollywood, from Mao’s shutting the industry out during the Cultural Revolution to the return of blockbusters to the fact that Chinese investment funded the very recliners you sit on in theaters. We also talked about Chinese censorship of American films, American censorship of American films out of fear of losing Chinese marketshare, and the weird ways studios have exerted influence in the country. (Did you know Disney runs a chain of English schools in the country? You will after listening to this!)
If you’re interested in the business of Hollywood, Erich’s book is a must-own. And this episode is a must-listen! You cannot understand the current business climate in Hollywood without understanding the influence the biggest movie market in the world has on Amer…
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Jan 28, 2022
Janice Min on the Future of Entertainment Media
This week on the show, Sonny is joined by Janice Min, who has teamed up with BGTH favorite Richard Rushfield to beef up Richard’s fabulous newsletter, The Ankler. Sonny and Janice discussed her career from US Weekly to the Hollywood Reporter to the wild world of Substack newsletters, how the Hollywood trades are defying the death of advertising, their strategy for spinoff newsletters, and why the folks at Y Combinator reached out to her and Richard about the potential of The Ankler to become a billion-dollar property. It’s a fascinating, in-depth look into the business, and the future, of entertainment reporting.
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Jan 20, 2022
Programming TV's Most Beloved Festival
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch talks to Rene Reyes, the Paley Center for Media’s Vice President of Public Programming and Festivals. Among other duties, Rene plans the much-loved PaleyFest LA, which has panels featuring some of the biggest and most critically acclaimed shows on television. We talked about the joys (and COVID-related challenges) of in-person festivals and ran through some of the panels that will take place at this year’s event. You can see this year’s full lineup here; highlights include panels on Hacks, black-ish, and a salute to the NCIS franchise. Paley Center members can buy tickets now and they go on sale to the general public tomorrow.
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Jan 13, 2022
How Audiences Reshape the Movies You Love
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Kevin Goetz of Screen Engine/ASI and the author of Audienceology: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love. Kevin is one of the masters of the art of audience testing, that stressful period of time in a film’s life when it leaves the loving arms of its director and enters the world for approval by the folks who will be paying to see it. Sonny and Kevin discussed how audiences are chosen, what the screening process is like, how COVID has changed how all this works, and a few examples of how movies have been helped by the screening process over the years. Make sure to read Kevin’s book if you want a fuller understanding of one of the most important, and least visible, steps of a film’s distribution.
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Jan 6, 2022
'The Spine of Night' and the Business of Animation
Sonny is joined by Philip Gelatt this week. In addition to talking about the art of rotoscoping and the years-long effort to get his new film The Spine of Night made, and then released, we also discuss the state of animation more broadly in America and beyond. As a script adapter on Love, Death + Robots, Netflix’s hit animated anthology, he has a lot of experience and wisdom to share in this realm. And if you’re curious about The Spine of Night, check out the trailer here. Full disclosure: it’s not safe for work and not safe for kids. But it is pretty great, especially if you’re into cult classics like Heavy Metal and Ralph Bakshi’s animated Lord of the Rings adaptation.
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Dec 30, 2021
'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Co-Writer Chris McKenna
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Chris McKenna who, along with his writing partner Erik Sommers, wrote Spider-Man: No Way Home, which has grossed about $1.2 billion around the world … so far. In this in-depth interview, Chris discusses how a blockbuster of this nature gets made, from pitch meetings to brainstorming sessions to rewrites during the shoot to additional photography to tightening the ship following test screenings. We also talk a bit about the state of the business and why it’ll be a real bummer if the theatrical experience dies off. Plus, we learn that a very special Spider-Villain is a listener of this podcast! (Or, well, has listened to AN episode.)
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Dec 16, 2021
The Greatest Movie Ever Made Hits 4K
Last month the Criterion Collection kicked off its new 4K lineup with what is, arguably, the greatest movie ever made: Citizen Kane. And the disc is absolutely loaded with special features, including a rarely seen BBC documentary on the making of the movie, multiple commentary tracks, and numerous interviews—including one with film historian Farran Smith Nehme. She joined Sonny to talk about Citizen Kane, how it got made, how William Randolph Hearst tried to smother it in the crib, and why it’s considered to be one of the great films. We also talked about her new Substack, which you can check out here, and the transformation of blogs into newsletters.
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Dec 10, 2021
Tim Miller and Sonny Talk 'Don't Look Up'
Special bonus episode this week, as The Bulwark’s Tim Miller stops by to talk about Don’t Look Up, the new satire from Adam McKay (Vice, Step Brothers), as well as how it felt to return to the multiplex and take in some movies. (You can read Sonny’s review of Don’t Look Up and Red Rocket, two films that are very much about the last five or six years of American life, at The Bulwark's website.) If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a friend!
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Dec 9, 2021
All I Want for Christmas Are ... HDMI Cables?
On this week’s episode, Tony Davis of Tessive returns to the show just in time for Christmas to walk you through the upgrades and lateral movements you need to be thinking about if you have home theater gear on your Christmas wishlist. We discuss HDR formats (what’s the difference between Dolby Vision and HDR10, and does it really matter?), why movies and TV shows on Amazon look so bad (hint: they’re compressed to death), and why you desperately need to upgrade those HDMI cables (because we can’t have nice things, that’s why).
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Dec 2, 2021
Tracking—And Recapturing—Movie Audiences
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to David Herrin the CEO and founder of The Quorum, a film research firm that has done something rather remarkable in making tracking data available to the public in the same way that box office data is available to the public. “Tracking” numbers are the data points used by studios to help determine how a film will perform in theaters, and The Quorum is building a hearty database for movie nerds to dive into. In addition to discussing The Quorum’s new study examining why audiences are hesitant to return to theaters—spoiler: cost and COVID remain the two biggest factors—we also chat about the state of the business and what’s likely to come. I encourage you to poke around at The Quorum’s website if you’re a fan of sites like Box Office Mojo; there’s all sorts of interesting stuff there. And share this post with a friend if you enjoyed our chat!
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Nov 18, 2021
A Century of Black Cinema
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Wil Haygood, author of the new book Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World. Haygood’s book is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about largely forgotten trailblazers such as Oscar Micheaux, better-known figures like Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, the controversies over movies as diverse as The Birth of a Nation and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, the odd fate of Porgy and Bess, and so much more. Colorization is both breezy and in-depth—the best sort of popular history—and our conversation only scratched the surface of his book. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
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Nov 11, 2021
Hollywood Goes to War: The Film Industry's Response to World War II
On this week's episode, Sonny is joined by Christian Blauvelt, author of Hollywood Victory: The Movies, Stars, and Stories of World War II. From the pre-war skittishness of the big studios about alienating German markets—and potentially alienating an isolationist homefront, pre-Pearl Harbor—to the wartime efforts to raise funds and produce works of art that inspired Americans to resist the fascist menace, Christian's book tells a wide-ranging and fascinating story.
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Nov 4, 2021
'The Beta Test' Director Jim Cummings on Indie Life
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Jim Cummings, whose new feature The Beta Test drops on VOD and in select theaters Friday, Nov. 5. In addition to discussing his few film and its acidic take on the dispute between talent agencies and the WGA, Jim also talks about landing a featured role in Halloween Kills, how he financed and distributed his first feature, Thunder Road, and his horror-comedy The Wolf of Snow Hollow (which topped Sonny’s best-of list in 2020). If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
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Oct 28, 2021
What Does a 'Buy' Button Really Mean in the Digital Age?
When you click “buy” on a digital product at Amazon or Apple, as opposed to “rent,” what do you think that means? Most folks think of it like buying a physical copy of a thing: they can sell it or pass it down to heirs. But as Aaron Perzanowski, a professor at Case Western, notes in his sit-down with Sonny Bunch, that’s not really the case: you’re just buying a license to a thing. And if that license to Amazon or Apple ends? Well, so does your access to the thing you think you “bought.” On this week’s Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny discusses the tricky nature of ownership in an increasingly digital world—and what you need to know before you click “Buy.” If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a friend!
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Oct 22, 2021
Netflix's Big Week
This week on The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, CNN’s Frank Pallotta rejoins Sonny to talk about Netflix’s big week! New subscriber numbers, new data numbers, and a newly controversial gloss to the biggest thing in entertainment. Plus, we talk a bit about Halloween Kills, Dune, and the impact of streaming on box office numbers. If you enjoyed the show, share it with a friend!
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Oct 14, 2021
The Business of Sports Ads
Ryan Faughnder of the Los Angeles Times’s Wide Shot newsletter rejoins the show this week to discuss the boon—and burden—of sports betting ads. What are some of the rewards, and the risks, of this enormous advertising market? We also discussed Squid Game and Netflix’s efforts to internationalize entertainment as well as the age-old debate: subtitling versus dubbing. Make sure to sign up for Ryan’s newsletter (it’s free!) and if you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend!
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Oct 7, 2021
Scott Eyman on Daryl F. Zanuck and 20th Century Fox
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Scott Eyman about his new book, 20th Century Fox: Darryl F. Zanuck and the Creation of the Modern Film Studio. Zanuck’s reign as a Hollywood mogul ran through nearly every major technological and business innovation Hollywood saw in the first half of the 20th century and beyond, and Mr. Eyman’s book paints a compelling portrait of a producer as both businessman and artist. You can pick up a copy wherever books are sold (here’s an Amazon link for ease’s sake), and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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Oct 1, 2021
Scott Tobias on the Business of Film Criticism
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Scott Tobias, formerly of The AV Club and The Dissolve, about his new Substack endeavor with Keith Phipps, The Reveal, as well as the evolving world of film criticism. With so many local newspapers cutting back on movie reviewers for budgetary reasons and so many websites merely hitting the most popular of topics to generate clicks, it’s interesting—and, frankly, heartening—to see Substack using their Pro program to help critics like Tobias and Phipps (along with Ty Burr and Jerry Saltz) stand up their own newsletters to chase their own idiosyncratic interests. Can the “Thousand True Fans” theorem save the world of interesting film writing?
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Sep 16, 2021
Rod Lurie Part 2: 'The Outpost'
Welcome back to the show! Please check out last week’s episode if you missed it; Rod Lurie (The Contender, The Last Castle) had a ton of great stories about transitioning from the Army to the world of film criticism to the world of filmmaking. This week we talked about shooting The Outpost: the difficulty of bringing such a sensitive story to the big screen and trying to decide what to cut and what to keep; shooting the film in Bulgaria; and casting actors like Caleb Landry Jones and Scott Eastwood in key roles. For more on The Outpost, make sure to check out my interview with the author of the source book, Jake Tapper. And please share this episode with a friend if you enjoyed it!
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Sep 9, 2021
Rod Lurie on Breaking Into the Biz
This week (and next week!) Sonny talks to Rod Lurie, the director of The Contender, The Last Castle, and The Outpost, among other films and television shows. This week’s episode is all about Rod’s early efforts to break into the business, from Army officer to film critic to writer/director. He tells a great story about his first meeting with Bill Paxton, fills us in on the difficulty of getting funding for just about anything (spoiler: you’re always one actor away from a green light), and the difference between being a showrunner and a director-for-hire on a TV series. Make sure to tune in next week when we talk about The Outpost. And if you enjoy this episode, please share it with a friend!
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Sep 2, 2021
CinemaCon in Twilight
Richard Rushfield, proprietor of The Ankler, returns to the show this week to fill us in on the declining fortunes of CinemaCon in an age of streamers and theater-threatening diseases. We also discuss low-budget horror and why studios seem loathe to fill their slate with surefire hits in addition to checking in on the minions celebrating the downfall of Mike Richards, Jeopardy scourge.
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Aug 26, 2021
Jake Tapper on Afghanistan War Classic 'The Outpost'
On this week’s episode Sonny is joined by Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and author of The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, to talk about his book on Combat Outpost Keating and its adaptation into the defining movie of the Afghanistan War by Rod Lurie. Why did the book expand from coverage of the rare battle that saw two living Medal of Honor winners emerge to a book about the life an ill-advised and ill-placed outpost in the wilds of Afghanistan? How did the troops feel about American attention, or lack thereof, to the war effort? And what was it like seeing the story brought to life for viewers on screens big and small? After listening to the show, make sure to watch the movie (it’s on Netflix now!) and please: read the book. As the child of a military family, I can assure you it’s both heartrending and, occasionally, more than a little infuriating. But it’s a must-read to understand the War in Afghanistan from a soldier’s-level view.
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Aug 19, 2021
Zak Penn on 'Free Guy,' Writing Villains, and the Fate of 'PCU'
Very excited to have on Zak Penn this week, who, in addition to being one of the writers of Free Guy, is also a credited writer on a series of HBO classics from my younger days: Last Action Hero, PCU, and Behind Enemy Lines, among others. On this episode we talked a lot about Free Guy and the state of Hollywood’s internal struggle between IP-branded ventures and original films, but we also dove into some of his other work: What happened with the writing of Last Action Hero, the first script Penn sold; the gratifying legacy of PCU as a cult classic and the oddity of its unavailability now; and why X-Men: The Last Stand gets a bad rap. It’s a super-sized episode because we had a ton of ground to cover; if you enjoy what you hear, please share it with a friend! If this episode does well maybe we can convince the studio swells to put out that 4K Blu-ray collector’s set of PCU we’ve all been clamoring for.
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Aug 12, 2021
Matthew Belloni on the Changing Ways Hollywood Gets Paid
This week, Sonny is joined by Matthew Belloni, author of the newsletter “What I’m Hearing” for the exciting new web publication Puck.news. Formerly an entertainment lawyer and editor for The Hollywood Reporter, Matt joins the show today to talk about Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit, the ways in which streaming economics are upending traditional compensation packages, and Disney’s new “socialism.” Are the days of superstar show runners earning hundreds of millions over? And what lies ahead for actors and audiences alike? We discuss all this and more, and if you enjoy this episode, I really cannot recommend Matt’s newsletter enough: I always learn something new when I read it, which is the nicest thing I can say about anyone’s newsletter.
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Aug 5, 2021
Clayton Childress Explains How Taste and Status Reinforce Each Other
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Clayton Childress, an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Sociology of University of Toronto who studies taste, decision, and meaning making in the creation, production, and reception of culture. Clayton is on to discuss a recent study he coauthored with Shyon Baumann, Craig M. Rawlings, and Jean-François Nault about the strange ways elite tastes have both grown more inclusive and more exclusive. What does it mean that those with more education say they enjoy every genre (e.g., horror) but only certain films within that genre (e.g., A24’s horror films like Hereditary or The Witch)? And what does that mean for studios trying to figure out what to make—and what to market?
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Jul 29, 2021
Ray Subers on Polling Moviegoers
On this episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny talks to Ray Subers, a vice president at NRG, which has helped Hollywood studios with polling about movies for decades. Currently, NRG’s most interesting and informative efforts have to do with polling audiences on their comfort levels with going back to theaters during the age of COVID and its variants. How are audiences feeling right now as case numbers surge? How nervous is Hollywood? Also: If you’ve ever wondered how movie studios figure out the “tracking” numbers—that is, the awareness levels for upcoming movies—that help them decide on release dates and advertising strategies, Ray’s the guy to listen to. It’s a fascinating science with stakes that involve tens of millions of dollars every single week.
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Jul 22, 2021
John Mass on the Future of Content
This week Sonny is joined by John Mass, Executive Vice President of Content Partners, LLC, to talk about the business of acquiring intellectual property and figuring out how to make the business side of show business work. We had a great chat about the future of streaming, the shifting world of windows, and the (potentially limited) future of physical media. Content Partners is the leading independent owner of major studio distributed films, televisions shows, and related participations with over 500 studio release films and more than 3,000 hours of television. The company owns many notable titles, such as 13 Going on 30, Black Hawk Down, Black Swan, and is co-owner of the CSI franchise.
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Jul 15, 2021
Ryan Faughnder on How Valuable You Are (to Streaming Companies)
This week on The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny talks to the Los Angeles Times’s Ryan Faughnder about arr-poo (that is, RPU, or revenue per user) and how such calculations figure into the value of a subscriber, as well as all sorts of other topics. Make sure to subscribe to Ryan’s newsletter (it’s free!) if you’re into the whole “business of Hollywood” thing, which you are since you’re listening to this show. And if you enjoy this episode, share it with your friends! Everyone loves getting a new podcast to listen to.
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Jul 9, 2021
Richard Rushfield on the Latest Hollywood News
On this week’s episode we ask a very important question of The Ankler’s Richard Rushfield: Is Vin Diesel a star? Really, what does it mean to be a star these days anyway? How are the streaming wars shaping up? What’s the deal with Universal’s new pay window? And how beloved is Quentin Tarantino? All this and more on this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood.
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Jul 1, 2021
James White on Restoring Movies for Arrow Films
This week, Sonny talks to James White, the Head of Restoration at Arrow Films. On this episode, we dive into the tricky nature of rescuing older films and getting them ready for appreciation on Blu-ray and UHD 4K. What is the actual mechanical process of restoring a film like? Beyond getting elements like the original negatives, how does James work with directors and cinematographers to make sure the color timing is right? What’s the deal with film grain? All that and more on this week’s episode!
By happy coincidence, Arrow happens to be having a sale right now. (I didn’t plan this, I swear!) But if you’re an American and own an out-of-region player, make sure to check out Arrow’s site for some great deals; Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, pictured above, is just £8, as is Time Bandits, about which James had a very funny story toward the end of this week’s pod. (Eight pounds is roughly eleven dollars at the moment, so it’s a good deal.) If you don’t have an out-of…
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Jun 17, 2021
Summer Reading!
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch is joined by Bulwark contributor Bill Ryan and Turner Classic Movie writer Greg Ferrara to talk about some of their favorite film books. This episode was inspired in part by a recurring question Sonny gets about books that can help people better understand film or become better film writers.
Obviously, you should listen to the episode; we wouldn’t be sending it to you otherwise. But here’s a cheat sheet with links to the recommended titles. (Pro tip: I’ve linked to Amazon pages, but do yourself a favor and check out the used prices if you want to save some money. Often you’ll find offerings that are “like new” at huge discounts that have little more than a remainder mark. I’ve managed to build a pretty decent library at a fraction of the price by searching for used books.)
NOTE: IF YOU WANT THE LINKS HEAD OVER TO THE SUBSTACK: bulwarkhollywood.thebulwark.com
Greg’s Picks
Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait, by Kendra Bean
Steven…
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Jun 10, 2021
Jonathan Taplin on Working With Dylan, Scorsese, and the Rolling Stones
(Note: This is a two-episode week since apparently I did not upload this episode to Apple last week. But if you're listening via the Substack, you would've gotten it fine! The lesson, as always: sign up for the Substack!) Sonny is joined by Jonathan Taplin to discuss his new must-read book, The Magic Years: Scenes from a Rock-and-Roll Life. Jon was there when Dylan went electric; he was there when Martin Scorsese needed some cash to get his first early classic, Mean Streets, made; and he was there when the Stones needed someone to do the art for Exile on Main Street. He’s spent more than 50 years in the business of culture and has a great deal of insight into all the ways in which the business of art has changed over the years. And he has tons of stories to share, including one we didn’t get to on this show about a literal fight with Harvey Weinstein (you’ll have to get the book for that one). If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend who will also dig it.
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Jun 10, 2021
James Emanuel Shapiro on Cannes and the Business of Film Festivals
On this week’s episode, James Emanuel Shapiro returns to the show to talk about the return of Cannes and what it’s like to be on the business side of a film festival. We all know about the great premieres and the fancy parties, but what about the actual business of these festivals, the markets where films are bought and sold? Plus, we’ll talk about Amazon’s purchase of MGM and, at the end, James shares some interesting data about Prime Video and iTunes’s relative place in the transactional VOD market.
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May 27, 2021
Frank Pallotta on the MGM/Amazon Deal, F9 in China, and the Summer Movie Season
CNN Media Reporter Frank Pallotta returns to the show to talk about a huge week in movie business news. Amazon has acquired MGM (and half of James Bond) for $8.45 billion. Summer movie season has kicked off in China, with the release of F9 and kicks off this weekend in America with A Quiet Place 2: what do new benchmarks for success look like? All this and more on a news-and-analysis packed episode. If you found the episode interesting and informative, please subscribe to Bulwark+ to help keep the show sustainable and share it with a friend! A recommendation from a friend remains the best way to grow a podcast’s audience.
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May 20, 2021
Eddie Muller on TCM, Film Noir, and the HFPA's Charitable Work
This week Sonny is joined by Eddie Muller, the host of TCM’s “Noir Alley” and the founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation. We discussed the Foundation’s reliance on the Golden Globes for the funding it procures to help restore long-lost film noirs to something approaching their original condition. We also talked about the world of film restoration more generally and Eddie offered up some picks for those looking to dive into the world of film noir. And make sure to pick up Eddie’s newly revised and expanded edition of Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir. I’ve already ordered my copy!
And please: If there’s a noir lover in your life—or someone you hope to convert into a noir lover—make sure to share this episode with them. Just click that little button and pass it along; they’ll surely thank you for it.
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May 13, 2021
Jon Finkel on 1996's sports movies and athletes on sports cinema
This week Sonny is joined by Jon Finkel, author of 1996: A Biography: Reliving the Legend-Packed, Dynasty-Stacked, Most Iconic Sports Year Ever. This is a movie podcast, not a sports podcast, so I understand if you’re confused. But 1996 was also notable for having some great sports movies (Jerry Maguire, Tin Cup) and some … not-so-great sports movies (The Fan, Space Jam). Plus: Happy Gilmore! We also talked about how athletes perceive their portrayals onscreen and had a quick lightning round about which classic sports flicks are better. Some controversial choices in that segment, I guarantee you; Hoosiers fans should feel forewarned.
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May 6, 2021
Jesse Nelson of Diabolik DVD Discusses the Boutique Blu-ray Biz
This week Sonny is pleased to be joined by Jesse Nelson, the co-owner of Diabolik DVD and Cauldron Films. Diabolik is one of the best places to pick up boutique Blu-ray discs from outlets like Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow, and Shout/Scream Factory, and he had a number of interesting thoughts about the state of the physical media industry. We also talked a bit about his own label, Cauldron Films, which released a wonderful Blu-ray set of the pictured movie: American Rickshaw. If you’re a fan of physical media or have one in your life, make sure to share this episode with them!
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Apr 29, 2021
Chris Fenton on China, the Oscars, and the MCU
Chris Fenton, author of Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, & American Business, returns to the show to talk about China’s influence on Hollywood, and vice versa. Why is the Chinese Communist Party censoring news about Chloe Zhao’s historic win on Oscar night? Should Disney be worried about the fact that she’s the director on the forthcoming MCU tentpole, The Eternals? What to make of recent misfires in the Middle Kingdom like Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon? And why did the CCP not really care that Hong Kong got destroyed by Godzilla and King Kong? All this and more on this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood! If you enjoy the chat, please hit that button below and share this post with a friend who also loves talking about movies! They’ll thank you later, trust me.
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Apr 22, 2021
Nicholas Jarecki on 'Crisis,' Opioids, Releasing a Movie During COVID, and Armie Hammer
Nicholas Jarecki—the writer and director of the opioid crisis thriller Crisis—talks to Sonny about the making and casting of Crisis, the evolving international market for feature films, and the difficulties of promoting a movie when one of the actors is undergoing a PR crisis of his own. We also talk a bit about the evolving nature of film criticism, how one researches a project about drugs while tens of thousands are dying from overdoses, and more. If you enjoy the show, please share it with a friend! Podcasts need love too.
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Apr 16, 2021
Megan Ganz on 'Mythic Quest' and Comedies in the Covid Age
This week Sonny is joined by Megan Ganz, an executive producer and creator of Mythic Quest, AppleTV+’s workplace comedy about life at the studio behind an MMORPG. Megan has worked on a number of great shows, including It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Community, so it was fun to pick her brain about the differences in production cycles on a network, basic cable, and streaming service, as well as what it’s like to produce a big show like this in the age of Covid. (Spoiler: It’s tricky!) If you aren’t watching Mythic Quest, you should be. And if you know someone who does watch that, or Always Sunny or Community, but doesn’t listen to this podcast for some reason, please share it with them! Hopefully they’ll find it entertaining and informative.
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Apr 8, 2021
Richard Rushfield on Scott Rudin, Bad Boss, and More!
The show’s first ever guest, Richard Rushfield, returns to the program to discuss all sorts of stuff. Super-Producer Scott Rudin: bad boss, or something worse? What went down with Ray Fisher and Warner Bros.? Are theaters coming back? What’s the industry hoping for in terms of Oscars viewership? All this and more on this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood!
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Apr 1, 2021
David Thomson on His 'History of Movie Directors'
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to David Thomson about his new book, A Light in the Dark: A History of Movie Directors. The book is a look at the evolution of the very idea of a “director,” from the workmanlike efforts out of studio system craftsmen to the auteur theory to the world of TV, where directors get very little notice and writers get all the glory. It’s a personal history, in a way—you see who Thomson enjoys and who he respects—as well as an economic history. The business of building up directors is a fascinating one, given all the financial and social and artistic imperatives that come with identifying a singular vision and person as the author of a massive project like a feature film.
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Mar 26, 2021
Sean O'Connell on the Grassroots Efforts to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut
Snyder Cut week at the Bulwark wraps up with Sean O’Connell, author of Release the Snyder Cut: The Crazy True Story Behind the Fight that Saved Zack Snyder’s Justice League. We talk about his new book, the social media campaign that not only secured the release of Zack Snyder’s four-hour version of Justice League but also raised more than half a million dollars for suicide prevention charities, and how the rise of streaming helped ensure this film could be released at all.
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Mar 18, 2021
Tom Shone on Christopher Nolan
This week, Sonny is joined by Tom Shone, film critic for the Sunday Times, to talk about his recent book The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan. The book is a must-own if you’re a fan of Nolan, as Shone spent hours with the director of The Dark Knight trilogy, Memento, and Inception. On this episode we talk about influences on Nolan’s work like Jorge Luis Borges (whose collected fiction is also a must-own for those looking to understand the director), how fatherhood has influenced his work, and the politics of The Dark Knight.
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Mar 11, 2021
Mike Malloy on the Business of Blu-ray Supplements
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Mike Malloy about the home video landscape, what it’s like to make supplements for specialty Blu-ray purveyors, and the world of tough-guy cinema writ large. Mike began as a film journalist for newspapers, magazines and the occasional book. After the decline of print media, he moved into filmmaking with larger projects like his EUROCRIME! documentary. But with budgets hard to come by, he has lately settled into the groove of producing—and appearing in—bonus content for Blu-Rays. You can find his YouTube channel here and his Instagram account here.
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Mar 4, 2021
Scott Feinberg on the Business of Hollywood Awards Season
This week Scott Feinberg, the Hollywood Reporter’s awards columnist and host of the excellent podcast Awards Chatter, joins Sonny to talk about the business of awards season. How corrupt are the Golden Globes? What could improve them? And Sonny asks Scott about his absolute favorite part of Oscars season: The Brutally Honest Oscar Voter Ballots! All this and more on this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood.
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Feb 25, 2021
Abraham Riesman on the Rise (and Fall) of Stan Lee
Joining Sonny on this week’s episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood is Abraham Riesman, the author of the excellent new biography True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee. We discuss the long-running fight for credit between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as well as Lee’s greatest contribution to the world: the character of Stan Lee, a catchphrase-spouting mascot whose ability to connect with fans and create a sense of community helped shape the idea of fandom to this day. For more on Riesman and his book, make sure to check out his website, abrahamriesman.com.
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Feb 18, 2021
Harold Mintz on the Past, Present, and Future of CinemaScore
This week on The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny is very excited to have the president of CinemaScore, Harold Mintz, on the show. CinemaScore is the fantastically useful company that polls opening weekend moviegoers for their grades on new releases, and it’s a more accurate and unbiased measure of audience opinion than just about any other easily available metric.
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Feb 11, 2021
Alan Zilberman on life as a critic during awards season
Alan Zilberman, a critic for the Washington City Paper and the Washington Post, joins Sonny Bunch for a very special episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood in which the two discuss life as a part-time film critic during awards season. Both Sonny and Alan are members of the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association, and both Sonny and Alan slaved away on our annual year-end nominations for the WAFCA awards. No one knows the struggles we’ve seen—until now! What’s it like to have to watch multiple movies a day in order to futilely try to impact an award that’s just going to go to an Oscar frontrunner anyway? How are the awards in 2020 different from the awards in almost every other year? Why is everyone so in love with Nomadland anyway?
For the full list of WAFCA winners and nominees, go here: http://wafca.com/awards/index.htm You’ll notice a disturbing absence of both Fatman and The Wolf of Snow Hollow from the nominees. It’s like most critics can’t recognize great…
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Feb 4, 2021
Glenn Kenny on 'Goodfellas,' Martin Scorsese, and the Business of Movie Books
This week’s guest is Glenn Kenny, the author of the excellent new book Made Men: The Story of Goodfellas. Glenn is is a film critic whose work appears in the New York Times and Roger Ebert dot com. He has also written for The Current, Rolling Stone, the Village Voice, the New York Daily news, Playboy, Film Comment, and other publications. In addition to Made Men, Glenn is the author of Robert De Niro: Anatomy of an Actor and the editor of an excellent collection of essays about Star Wars, A Galaxy Not So Far Away.
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Jan 28, 2021
Frank Pallotta on the State of Streaming
On this episode, Sonny talks to CNN’s Frank Pallotta about the state of streaming. What does it mean that the WWE Network is headed to the Peacock? Are HBO Max’s conversion numbers good enough? Why is Disney trying to charge people $30 to rent a cartoon? All this and more on this week’s episode.
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Jan 21, 2021
Peter Labuza on Antitrust, Hollywood, and Big Tech
This week Sonny is joined by Peter Labuza to talk about the past, present, and future of antitrust as it relates to Hollywood. In an age of consolidation and technological advance, how will the end of the Paramount Decrees influence what happens in filmmaking? Peter is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California, where he also earned his PhD in Cinema and Media Studies. His research explores the legal, financial, and political history of creative industries.
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Jan 14, 2021
Chris McKenna on 'Community' and Writing for TV and Movies
This week on The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny is joined by Chris McKenna. Chris was the co-showrunner on NBC’s (and later Yahoo’s) Community, earning an Emmy nomination for his classic episode “Remedial Chaos Theory.” He’s also the co-writer of the most recent series of Spider-Man films, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and Lego Batman. On this week’s podcast, he discusses the differences between writing for TV and movies, his winding path to screenwriting success, and what it’s like to work with the great Chevy Chase.
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Dec 31, 2020
David C. Lowery on Making Money by Making Music
On this episode of the Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, David C. Lowery — the singer and guitarist for the bands Camper van Beethoven and Cracker — talks to Sonny Bunch about the economics of the music business, the difficulties of making a living as a middle class musician, and why what’s happening in the world of movies may resemble what happened to the music business in the early 2000s. How does TikTok resemble Spotify, and what dangers does it present to the world? Most importantly: How much would it cost Sonny to license the opening riff of “Teen Angst,” the hit song on Cracker’s debut album, “Cracker”? (Spoiler: way too much for Sonny to be able to afford.)
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Dec 17, 2020
James Emanuel Shapiro on the Epic WB/HBO Max Brouhaha
On this week’s episode, James Emanuel Shapiro, the COO of Drafthouse Films who started the analytics department at the Alamo Drafthouse and also works as a distribution consultant, talks with Sonny about the epic, amazing, spectacular, disastrous mess that is the decision made by Warner Bros. to release their whole 2021 slate on HBO Max and in theaters simultaneously. Will theaters play ball? Does a shrinking window mean Netflix originals might show up on big screens owned by AMC, Regal, and Cinemark? Will anyone want to work with Warners ever again? All this and more will be discussed on this week’s episode!
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Dec 10, 2020
The Nelms Brothers on 'Fatman,' Casting Mel Gibson, and Sequel Plans?
Sonny talks this week to Ian and Eshom Nelms, the fraternal directorial team behind 'Fatman,' about the circuitous path to making that film, the vagaries of indie economics and budgeting, the clash between critics and audiences on the film, and the possibility of a sequel on the horizon after its surprisingly strong VOD performance. There’s some spoiler-y conversation in the last 10 minutes or so of the show, so you should rent the movie before listening if that sort of thing bothers you!
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Dec 3, 2020
Tony Davis Returns! Why Does Your TV Look Better Than Most Theaters?
You may remember Tony Davis as the guy who explained to us why popcorn grease is destroying movie theater projectors. (He also had lots of interesting thoughts on 3D and the economics of the theater business, but mostly, judging by responses I received: popcorn grease.) He’s back this week to explain why the home theater set you can build in your home looks about as good as a standard (read: non-IMAX or Dolby) theater. (Whether or not it sounds as good is a separate issue.) And he has a few suggestions for theater owners as to how they could step up their game.
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Nov 19, 2020
Alison Macor on screenwriting 'Top Gun' and 'Batman'
Sonny talks to the Austin-based Alison Macor this week about the life and times of Warren Skaaren this week. Skaaren’s battles with the studios and the Writer’s Guild to get proper credit for his work on Top Gun, Batman, Beverly Hills Cop 2, and Beetlejuice are the subject of her excellent book, Rewrite Man. Consider picking it up after listening to this podcast; it’s a quick read and a great view into a professional script doctor’s process.
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Nov 12, 2020
Derek Dye on Family Video and saving our video stores
This week Sonny talks to Derek Dye, the Senior Brand Manager for Highland Ventures, which is the parent company of the iconic Family Video brand. The chain is spearheading the #SaveTheVideoStore campaign, which hopes to raise awareness for those remaining stores. Derek and Sonny discuss the difficulties of operating a video store in general, the extra hardships created by a lack of new content coming from Hollywood, and a good way to save a few bucks while you build up your home video library. Plus: Stranger Things, which will feature the store in their forthcoming season!
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Nov 5, 2020
Alyssa Rosenberg and Peter Suderman on post-Trump cultural coverage
This week, Sonny talks to Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post) and Peter Suderman (Reason Magazine), his old friends from Across the Movie Aisle, about the world of movies and movie writing post-Trump. Is Christopher Nolan right that Hollywood studios should be looking to foreign box office dollars? Does Netflix have buyer's remorse about their mega-deals with super-producers? And now that The Trump Show is coming to a close, will the world of cultural writing be able to focus a bit more on, you know, the culture?
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Oct 29, 2020
Shannon Moore on Movie PR in the Age of COVID
This week on the show, Sonny talks to Shannon Moore, the Director of Field Marketing at Allied Global Marketing’s Washington, DC office. Sonny’s been a working film critic for 15 years or so, and the first question he always gets—after “What’s your favorite movie?” which he refuses to answer on general principle—is “How do you see the movies? Do you, like, get a private screening?” So he decided to have Shannon on to talk about this and other facets of marketing movies.
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Oct 22, 2020
Natalie Metzger on producing indie films in the age of COVID
Sonny is joined today by Natalie Metzger, VP of development and production at Vanishing Angle. She is a Spirit Award nominated producer whose credits include GREENER GRASS, THUNDER ROAD, THE ROBBERY, and THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW. Metzger is currently in post-production on Josh Ruben’s horror comedy WEREWOLVES WITHIN (Ubisoft), Jim Cummings’ thriller THE BETA TEST, and Sean Mullin’s baseball documentary IT AIN’T OVER. Metzger’s feature directing credits include AT&T original documentary ALONE IN THE GAME (AFI Docs, Outfest) and healthcare documentary SPECIAL BLOOD, which won the Dolores Huerta Award for Best Director at the Long Beach Indie Festival and Best Feature Documentary at California Women’s Film Festival.
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Oct 15, 2020
Mark Graham on How to Decide What to Watch
This week, Sonny is joined by Mark Graham, the Editor-in-Chief of Decider, a website dedicated to helping solve one of society's most pressing and important issues: What movies and shows should I watch? They discuss how Mark and his team decide what to cover for Decider and why, looking at the ways in which non-traditional audience metrics can help determine what’s worth writing about. Plus! Mark offers up some tips for would-be freelancers on getting your work published.
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Oct 8, 2020
Phil Contrino on movie theaters and cinema safety
Sonny is joined this week by Phil Contrino, the Director of Media and Research for the National Association of Theatre Owners. Topics of discussion include the state of the movie theater business (spoiler: it’s kind of dire at the moment, given news that Regal’s U.S. screens are shuttering again), the relative safety of moviegoing as opposed to dining out or attending church (spoiler: it’s much safer!), and what role the government might play in helping ensure theaters don’t go out of business.
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Oct 1, 2020
Zack Stentz on Camp Cretaceous, Rim of the World, and Netflix
This week, Sonny talks to Zack Stentz (“X-Men: First Class,” “Thor,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) about his work with Netflix on the film “Rim of the World” and the hit new show, “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.” What’s it like pitching the service that has everything? How is the world of TV evolving as different streaming services aim for different markets? And how can filmmakers working with kids protect them from being exploited?
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Sep 24, 2020
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood With Chris Yogerst
This week, on the Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny talks to Chris Yogerst about his new book, “Hollywood Hates Hitler: Jew-Baiting, Anti-Nazism, and the Senate Investigation into Warmongering in Motion Pictures.” Chris is an assistant professor of communication at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the department of Arts & Humanities. He has written for the Washington Post, Hollywood Reporter, and most frequently at the Los Angeles Review of Books.
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Sep 17, 2020
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood with Chris Fenton
This week, Sonny talks to “Feeding the Dragon” author Chris Fenton. For seventeen years, Fenton served as president of DMG Entertainment Motion Picture Group and GM of DMG North America, internationally orchestrating the creative and business activities of DMG—a multi-billion dollar global media company headquartered in Beijing. He is currently CEO of Media Capital Technologies and a Trustee of the US-Asia Institute.
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Sep 10, 2020
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood with Gerry Daly
This week, Sonny talks to Gerry Daly, who has 15 years experience in home entertainment sales, including 13 years with 20thCentury Fox, working in Category Management. Also, at one time was an elections & politics blogger with a fairly sizeable audience, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Post.
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Sep 3, 2020
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood with David Guglielmo
Sonny Bunch talks to David Guglielmo, who in only a few years has cast over 20 feature films, including the critically acclaimed THE STANDOFF AT SPARROW CREEK as well as the upcoming RUN HIDE FIGHT, premiering at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. Additionally Guglielmo writes, directs, and produces his own independent films such as NO WAY TO LIVE and HOSPITALITY.
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Aug 27, 2020
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood with James Shapiro
Sonny is joined today by James Emanuel Shapiro, who has been an executive in the entertainment industry for 20 years working in home video entertainment, exhibition festival programming and in distribution. He most recently worked at the Alamo Drafthouse where he started their analytics department and contributed to Alamo forming their internal booking department.
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Aug 20, 2020
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood with James Tager
Sonny Bunch talks to PEN America’s James Tager, the lead author of PEN’s new report, “Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing,” to talk about the ways in which China uses the levers of business to ensure that Hollywood’s products reflect the Communist Party line.
Special Guest: James Tager.
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Aug 13, 2020
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood with Tony Davis
This week on The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny talks to Tessive founder Tony Davis, who until last year headed the technology group at RealD, the company that enables 3D movie presentation in over 30,000 theaters around the world, about 3D’s successes, failures, and future in an uncertain exhibition landscape
Special Guest: Tony Davis.
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Aug 5, 2020
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood with Richard Rushfield
In the inaugural episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny Bunch talks to Richard Rushfield about Disney’s decision to charge for early access to MULAN, the future of streaming, and the death of theaters.
Special Guest: Richard Rushfield.
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