The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

Latest Episodes:

What's Up at the Mouse House? Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

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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How to Design an Iconic Movie Mask Jun 16, 2022

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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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Stop Stealing Movies! Jun 09, 2022

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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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Goodbye, Norm Macdonald Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

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 the same time also helped in this regard.) And Geoff’s designation of Macdonald as “Tolstoy in sweatpants” in his obit for the Canadian funnyman is a pretty perfect encapsulation of his charms.

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Where Are the Kids Movies? May 26, 2022

Show notes

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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Summer Movie Preview! 'Top Gun,' Dinos, and Buzz Lightyear, Oh My. May 19, 2022

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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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How Ben Fong Torres Defined a Generation May 12, 2022

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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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The First Draft of (Streaming) History May 05, 2022

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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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Are Casual Filmgoers Finally Coming Back? Apr 28, 2022

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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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How Hollywood Trade Papers Shaped the Movies You Love Apr 21, 2022

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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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