The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

On this week’s episode I’m joined by Jennifer Esposito, the director, writer, and star of Fresh Kills , a mob movie told from the perspective of mob wives and mob daughters. We discussed her career in the movies and how that helped prep her to stand behind the camera, why it’s hard to find audiences for original movies telling stories aimed at adults, how social media is helping build a base of su...

Often, when people discuss television viewing these days they’ll conclude their chat with something like “But we just don’t know what people are watching.” That is an increasingly outdated view of the data, however. On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Dierdre Thomas, the Chief Product Officer for Nielsen’s Audience Measurement business unit. We talked about the evolution of Nielsen’s business me...

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Stephen Robert Morse and Seth Porges, the producers and directors of How to Rob a Bank . Streaming now on Netflix, the true-crime doc’s subject, Scott Scurlock (aka, the Hollywood Bandit), calls to mind Point Break in his commitment to living his life however he pleased and funding it through criminal activities. But, as Porges told me in our interview, How to...

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by John DeVore, author of Theatre Kids: A True Tale of Off-Off Broadway . In addition to discussing his life in the arts and the different species of theatre children—from the stage to politics to religion, theatre kids come in all shapes and size—we also talked a bit about the evolution of media in the post-9/11, pre-iPhone age. And we went back to one of my fav...

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Sean O’Connell to discuss his new book, Bruce Willis: Celebrating the Cinematic Legacy of an Unbreakable Hollywood Icon . Breaking down Willis’s career—which has been sadly cut short following his diagnosis of aphasia—by comedies, action movies, work with auteurs, and “Die Hards,” the book is an exhaustive look at, mostly, the highs (and some of the lows) of...

On this week’s episode, I invited David Poland on so he could talk us all of the ledge about the state of theatrical exhibition. And while he didn’t quite do that—his opening words: “It’s, it’s bad! Things are bad”—he did highlight why things aren’t necessarily disastrous and how both the studios and the exhibitors can help get everything back on track. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it...

This week, I’m joined by Bobby Miller, the writer/director of The Cleanse , to talk about the film’s long and winding path to a Blu-ray release. (You can buy it at Amazon or for five bucks less at the great DiabolikDVD .) We discussed getting that film made, the struggle to secure a release, and why owning a physical copy of a movie packed with special features like commentary tracks and making-of...

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix-Fine to discuss their searing look at the assault on the Capitol on January 6 perpetrated by supporters of Donald Trump attempting to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. We discussed how they got their footage, why the events are being memory-holed by embarrassed Republican politicians, and how you can help spread the word about th...

I’m thrilled to have Adrienne LaFrance of The Atlantic on the show this week to discuss her profile of Albert Brooks and more generally celebrate his greatness. From movies like Broadcast News and Defending Your Life, to voicework on The Simpsons and Finding Nemo , to his under-appreciated villainy in Drive , Brooks’s talents have wowed multiple generations of moviegoers and TV watchers. 

This week, I’m rejoined by Glenn Kenny to discuss his new book The World Is Yours: The Story of Scarface . Among the topics discussed: What a Scarface directed by Sidney Lumet might have looked like; how the movie secured an R rating rather than a commercially disastrous X; and whether or not Scarface is a “political” movie. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to listen to our previous encounte...

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by the Los Angeles Times’s Ryan Faughnder (read and sign up for his newsletter here !) to discuss Netflix’s big data change, why some in Hollywood are hoping for David Ellison to take over Paramount (though shareholders have a different view), and more. If you liked what you heard, share this episode with a friend!

As readers may remember, The Beekeeper has been one of my favorite movies of the year thus far . One thing in particular I loved about it was the costume design: It’s an underappreciated artform, conveying character through clothing, and the costuming in this film perfectly conveyed a range of characters, from “taciturn hero” to “crazed killer” to “crypto douchebag.”  Which is why I’m very excited...

On this week’s show I talked to Rod Blackhurst, the director of the new film Blood for Dust , about … well, a whole bunch of stuff. From his early shorts on the comedy website Funny or Die starring Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, to a documentary about Amanda Knox, to the horror short “Night Swim” (which recently received the feature-length treatment), to his new picture with the great S...

I’m very excited to be rejoined by the Entertainment Strategy Guy (subscribe to his newsletter!) to discuss the year in streaming. What were the biggest hits in TV and film? What were the biggest misses ? Could linear-like ad-supported streaming services be the future for big services like Netflix and Disney+? Is there a double standard for the tech-based streamers and the studio-owned streamers?...

This week I was thrilled to chat with star David Krumholtz and writer-director Bob Byington about their new movie, Lousy Carter . It’s a wide-ranging conversation, touching on topics from shooting during the age of Covid to where Krumholtz was when he got the call to audition for Oppenheimer , and I hope you find it as fun to listen to as it was for me to conduct. If you enjoyed it, I hope you sha...

On this week’s episode I’m thrilled to be rejoined by Brandon Struessnig and Bilge Ebiri, who spearhead Vulture’s annual Stunt Awards. We talked about the year’s big winner, John Wick Chapter 4 , how folks kind of have to decide for themselves how much CGI is too much CGI when determining what counts as practical and what counts as digital, and compiling the 100 most influential fight scenes of al...

This week I’m honored to be joined by Dallas Film Commissioner Tony Armer to discuss what, precisely, a film commissioner does. On this episode he discusses his own path to getting involved in the film industry, breaks down different kinds of incentives cities and states use to woo productions, and talks about how Dallas has made itself more attractive to major productions looking for a place to s...

This week I’m pleased to be joined by Abe Goldfarb, who is currently playing Otho for the touring company of Beetlejuice: The Musical and both starred in and co-directed First Time Caller (which I reviewed here ). You may remember a few months back that Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert got kicked out of a showing of Beetlejuice: The Musical ; well, Abe happened to be onstage when all that went down. A...

A couple years back I had Ian and Eshom Nelms on the show to talk about their new Christmas classic, Fatman . We had a great talk, so I was thrilled when their people reached out to see if I’d like to discuss their new flick, a sort of southern revenge thriller/neo-noir by the name of Red Right Hand . We discussed getting Orlando Bloom and Andie MacDowell to play somewhat against type, how drone u...

On this week’s episode, we have the original Bulwark Goes to Hollywood guest, Richard Rushfield of The Ankler , returning to discuss his fabulous Hollywood Field Guide. How do you assuage actors , reassure writers , and make your way through the rest of Hollywood? Richard will guide you. Plus, we discuss the state of the box office, how Oscar season is shaping up, and more! If you enjoyed this epi...

This week Julian Schlossberg returns to tell more tales of life in the arts. From reading his life story as the narrator of the new audiobook version of his memoir, Try Not to Hold It Against Me , to his work with the great Elaine May, to keeping the classic 1970s picture Mikey and Nicky in circulation, we had tons to discuss. Make sure to check out his new podcast, “Julian Schlossberg’s Movie Tal...

This week I’m joined by Karyn Temple, Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association, to discuss how the trade group wages the global war on intellectual property infringement. A couple of months back we had the MPA’s Terri Davies on the show to talk about the Trusted Partners Network and how the film industry could help cut down on piracy before a fi...

This week I’m thrilled to be joined by Peter Biskind to discuss his new book, Pandora’s Box: How Guts, Guile, and Greed Upended TV . From the rise of HBO to the streaming boom, how we watch TV—and what gets shown on TV—has radically changed over the last few decades. We discuss the role of technology, advertising, and changing audience tastes, and muse about the role TV’s antiheroes played in pavi...

Very excited to have James Emanuel Shapiro, President of U.S. distribution at XYZ Films, back on the show with a recap of all the action at Cannes and a discussion about the state of the film festival scene writ large. Then we discuss some of his upcoming releases, including the new sci-fi flick Restore Point and XYZ’s exciting acquisition of Skyline: Warpath , starring action bigshots Scott Adkin...

This week, I’m re-joined by David Coggeshall to talk The Family Plan , AppleTV+’s high-concept action-comedy about a dad, Mark Wahlberg, who has to take his family on the run when his past life as a hitman rears its ugly head. Released over the Christmas holiday season—as David notes in today’s episode, the perfect time to capture families looking for something everyone age 10 to 100 can enjoy—the...