The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

Latest Episodes:

How to Write a Best-Selling Political Book Sep 08, 2022

Show notes

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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How Anime Can Help Save Theaters Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

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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Freedom of Expression Under Assault Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

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 on China’s pernicious influence on Hollywood. You can become a member here. The group is celebrating its centenary; the year-long commemoration includes PEN America @ 100: A Century of Defending the Written Word, an exhibit at the New-York Historical Society through Oct. 9; a daylong public symposiumon Sept. 12 called “Words on Fire” in New York with a lineup of literary stars including Margaret Atwood, Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie, Dave Eggers, among others; and Flashpoints, a series of talks on free speech and civil rights in cities nationwide that continues through 2023.

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Meet the (One-Time) 7th-Most-Powerful Man in Wrestling Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

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 a key to understanding modern American political culture. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

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Why Do Streamers Care About More than Eyeballs? Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

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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Convention Life with the Creator of Effin' Birds Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

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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Harvey Weinstein's Enablers Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

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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'John Wick,' Gun-Fu, and the Art of Oral History Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

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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Ron Shelton on the Struggle to Get 'Bull Durham' Made Jul 14, 2022

Show notes

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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Summer Movies Are Back—But Is Trouble on the Horizon? Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

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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