The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

Latest Episodes:

What's to Come in 'The Streaming Wars' Apr 29, 2023

Show notes

This week I’m joined by Matthew Ball, CEO of Epyllion, former global head of strategy for Amazon Studios, and the author of The Metaverseand “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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Going to the Movies: Still the Best Value Around Apr 22, 2023

Show notes

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.

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Summer Box Office Preview Apr 15, 2023

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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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Will the WWE-UFC Merger Amp Up the Streaming Arms Race? Apr 08, 2023

Show notes

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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Are Video Games the New Comic Books? Apr 01, 2023

Show notes

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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How Theatrical Exhibition Helps Stave Off Piracy Mar 25, 2023

Show notes

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.)

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Can the Drive-In Survive? Mar 18, 2023

Show notes

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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The Best Stunts of 2022, Rewarded Mar 11, 2023

Show notes

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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The Drama Behind Hollywood's Biggest Night Mar 04, 2023

Show notes

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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Will the WGA Strike? Can It Afford Not To? Feb 25, 2023

Show notes

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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