The Economics of Indie Distribution
On this week’s episode, I talked to Andrew Ortenberg of Briarcliff Entertainment about distributing tricky movies like The Apprentice and Magazine Dreams. How have the economics of cinematic distribution improved for distributors with the infrastructure in place to handle it? How have the various video-on-demand tiers shifted over the last few years? What should folks keep in mind before they d...
1hr 11m Apr 18, 2025
1hr 11m
Hollywood Imagery's Impact on Politics
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson to discuss her new book about Joan Didion, We Tell Ourselves Stories (https://bookshop.org/p/books/we-tell-ourselves-stories-joan-didion-and-the-american-dream-machine-alissa-wilkinson/21479473?ean=9781324092612&next=t) . I mentioned the book in a newsletter a couple of weeks back, but I wanted to focus on the way...
44m Apr 11, 2025
44m
Bringing Memories of 'Warfare' to Life
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Ray Mendoza, who cowrote and codirected the new A24 movie Warfare with Alex Garland (Civil War, Ex Machina). We discussed the journalistic process of rebuilding the day’s actions portrayed in the film from the memory of those who participated, Mendoza’s work with Garland on Civil War, and the cinematic experience of trying to help people understand what it’...
31m Apr 04, 2025
31m
Dystopian Mediocrity
I am pleased to be rejoined this week by Bobby Miller to discuss his new novel, Situation Nowhere (https://thebobbymiller.com/situationnowhere) . Imagine Brazil by way of Idiocracy but goopier: That’s Situation Nowhere. We talked about some of his influences, the state of our increasingly recursive culture, and why we need to bring back shaming folks for selling out. If you’re in Los Angeles, c...
35m Mar 28, 2025
35m
The Low Culture That Brought Us to Trump
On this week’s episode I’m joined by Ross Benes, the author of the forthcoming book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times (https://bookshop.org/p/books/1999-the-year-low-culture-conquered-america-and-kickstarted-our-bizarre-times-ross-benes/21667128?ean=9780700638574&next=t) . It comes out in a few weeks and I hope you take a gander at it; we spent most ...
36m Mar 21, 2025
36m
The 2000 Election That Changed America (with Jonathan Gruber)
Sonny Bunch sits down with filmmaker Jonathan Gruber to discuss his new documentary, Centered, which explores the life and legacy of Joe Lieberman. As the first Jewish Vice Presidential candidate, Lieberman made history—only to later shake up politics by breaking with his own party. With the film releasing today, they dive into his career, key political battles, and the impact of centrism in mo...
19m Mar 18, 2025
19m
How to Build Your Own Movie Library
A weird question I sometimes get is this: “I want to get into buying movies on disc, Sonny, but I don’t know where to start.” I say it’s weird because the answer seems obvious to me: just buy movies you like to watch! But there are issues I take for granted like formats and resolutions, so I thought it would be useful to talk to Aidan Ryan of the Boston Globe about his recent piece in that news...
38m Mar 15, 2025
38m
The 2025 Stunt Awards!
On this week’s episode, I’m plesaed to be rejoined by Brandon Struessnig to discuss one of my favorite packages of the year, Vulture’s annual stunt awards. Who were the big winners? What were some of the surprises? Just how long did it take George Miller to shoot that war rig sequence in Furiosa anyway? All that and more on this week’s episode. Make sure to check out the winners (https://www.vu...
38m Mar 08, 2025
38m
How to Help Veterans Returning Home
This week I was joined by Jake Rademacher, the director of Brothers After War to talk about his new documentary checking in with folks who have returned from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and how they are reintegrating into society. It’s a powerful and moving documentary, and I highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance, particularly if you have a veteran in your life. You c...
43m Mar 01, 2025
43m
SNL At 50
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by the New York Times’s James Poniewozik to discuss SNL’s (rather lengthy) 50th anniversary celebration. (Here’s a gift link to James’s piece (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/arts/television/greatest-snl-episode-ever.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yk4.vTtq.B_2kq596z5xv&smid=url-share) on his favorite episode of SNL.) We discuss the show, how it has changed, a...
44m Feb 23, 2025
44m
How to Make a Microbudget Movie
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Jake VerKesen—some of you in the comments might know him by his handle, Jake VK—on the long and winding road to turning an idea for a micro-budgeted indie movie like I Agree With You from a dream into a reality. We discuss the paperwork, the delays, the fundraising, the shooting, the food, the editing, and, finally, the showing, that goes into getting an in...
1hr 9m Feb 15, 2025
1hr 9m
Documenting Horror
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined (https://hollywood.thebulwark.com/philip-gelatt) by writer/director Philip Gelatt and novelist Paul Tremblay (author of Horror Movie (https://www.amazon.com/Horror-Movie-Novel-Paul-Tremblay/dp/0063070014/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1735UON9TTJL7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.o_UE59GrbikOvNhrY9yyhKoGp0pLnl9quPMP79nuPjRxojJKQUVRmxeI2huscwAGnGdbnbGVMQtkUreifpfJLBZHn8WmGbREZgayonLbwoQp7...
38m Feb 08, 2025
38m
How Tariffs Will Make Movies More Expensive
On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch is rejoined by Jesse Nelson of DiabolikDVD and Cauldron Films to discuss the state of home video. We get to the tariff discussion around 32 minutes in, but before that, Jesse dispels some of the concerns about Sony’s recent announcement that they’re discontinuing recordable media like Blu-ray, what collectors are looking for from his store, and how he and his...
45m Feb 01, 2025
45m
Why Is Gaming Underperforming Expectations?
On this week’s supersized episode of The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, I’m rejoined by Matthew Ball to discuss his epic examination (https://www.matthewball.co/all/stateofvideogaming2025) of the state of the video game industry and how its growing pains reflect what we’ve seen in other entertainment industries like film. I’d recommend at least scanning his report (you can download the pdf here (ht...
1hr 6m Jan 25, 2025
1hr 6m
Revisiting 'Inglourious Basterds'
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Bill Ryan and Dennis Cozzalio to discuss their contribution to the new Arrow Limited Edition release of Inglourious Basterds on 4K. The booklet features a blog-era (remember blogs?) conversation about the film that occurred when it was initially released, in addition to, among other things, a postcard with a recipe for apple strudel (whip cream NOT optional...
57m Jan 18, 2025
57m
Awards Season in Flux
This week I’m joined by Richard Rushfield and Katey Rich of The Ankler to discuss the state of the awards season post-Golden Globes and in the midst of the Los Angeles fires. (Indeed, Los Angeles resident Richard is in the city to give us an on-the-ground update of the state of things from his perspective. Please excuse any background noise/distortion that you may hear as a result!) We talked a...
49m Jan 11, 2025
49m
The Fascinating Legacy of 'Yacht Rock'
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Steven Hyden, who—in addition to being the author of books on Bruce Springsteen (https://www.amazon.com/There-Was-Nothing-Could-U-S/dp/0306832062/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DxCQMdN3PxateQkDDyNn_mgg6w_87lDeoS0q5-FTuOs3POmHGq-4DmnjitDLegI3Hi17-wuq2yin4chHjb7NTrrF4ZE0hODg8zt1SxSQqp4u4hqOpR01mWmYAFK2J2Zgc2c4OhYwG9L3eugvyqZbzEEoTjS0YlKFsKIBG8WEHeLWbzum4-W7N5o7o...
46m Jan 04, 2025
46m
Everything There Is to Know About Star Wars
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Brandon Wainerdi to discuss DK’s hefty and handsome new reference book, Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy (https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Encyclopedia-Definitive-Galaxy/dp/074409884X/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=BO2RW08ORU57&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.a1t5Pqqhrs3I228mr2nrGDqA3yYUxIc0qkNcwJ6bKb1rcyLfmF5Aabpu48ao9AgINgTrK3tT5H6LCqDqOjtxA...
50m Dec 21, 2024
50m
Bringing Novels Into the Internet Age
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by novelist and Broadway producer Michael Wolk to discuss his new interactive novel, Devil’s Game. You can check it out yourself here (https://try.devilsgame.com/) ; it’s an interesting mix of web-first design and apocalyptic airport thriller. We talked about what drove him to write this novel and also discussed the state of Broadway and live theater more gene...
30m Dec 14, 2024
30m
The Copyrighted Material Being Used to Train AI
On this week’s episode, I talked to Alex Reisner about his pieces in The Atlantic highlighting the copyrighted material being hoovered into large language models to help AI chatbots simulate human speech. If you’re a screenwriter and would like to see which of your work has been appropriated to aid in the effort, click here; he has assembled a searchable database (https://www.theatlantic.com/te...
40m Dec 07, 2024
40m
Comcast Is Spinning Off Its Cable Assets: What Does that Mean?
This week I’m rejoined by Sean McNulty of The Ankler’s morning roundup newsletter, The Wakeup (https://substack.com/home/post/p-151883030) , to discuss the big news in cable land: ComcastNBCUniversal’s decision to spin (most of!) their cable properties into a new, separate company, called SpinCo for now. What does this mean for MSNBC, USA, and the rest of the impacted channels? Why is Bravo sta...
40m Nov 23, 2024
40m
Melding Video Games and TV Shows
This week I’m thrilled to be joined by Jacob Navok, the CEO of Genvid Entertainment, to discuss his company’s new partnership with DC Comics, DC Heroes United. A combination mobile game and Justice League television show, DC Heroes United is a fascinating hybrid entertainment experience, one that Navok has been working on in various forms for years now. The first 20 minutes or so of the show a...
59m Nov 16, 2024
59m
The Christmas Movie Industrial Complex
This week I’m joined by Russell Hainline, the screenwriter of the forthcoming Netflix original Hot Frosty as well as a whole bunch of Hallmark original Christmas movies (including last year’s The Santa Summit and the forthcoming The Santa Class). I asked him on today to talk about the burgeoning market for Christmas movies on channels like Hallmark and streaming services like Netflix, and we ha...
53m Nov 09, 2024
53m
Alfred Hitchcock, Master of Fear and Desire
This week I’m joined by Mark Cousins, the writer and director of the new documentary, My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock. We talked about his movie’s unorthodox presentation, why Hitchcock remains eternally relevant, and how he puts together his incredible video essays. (If you’ve never seen his The Story of Film: An Odyssey, you really should.) And then he turned the tables on me with some closing qu...
34m Nov 02, 2024
34m
The Four Horsemen of the Media Apocalypse
Good show, long show today with the Entertainment Strategy Guy (subscribe to his Substack here (https://entertainment.substack.com/) ). I’m going to offer up timestamps here, which I don’t usually do, because there’s a ton of stuff covered in this podcast. Amongst the topics we discussed: Marvel vs. DC in the TV realm (:40); Tulsa King’s status as a surprise hit for Paramount+ (11:40); what th...
1hr 3m Oct 26, 2024
1hr 3m
A Second Look at 'Caligula'
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Thomas Negovan, who oversaw the reconstruction of Caligula: The Ultimate Cut. Combing through 96 hours of the original negatives, Tom rebuilt the film from the ground up in order to bring it closer in line with the vision of writer Gore Vidal, director Tinto Brass, and star Malcolm McDowell. We discussed some of the technical challenges of tracking down sou...
46m Oct 19, 2024
46m
The Movie Donald Trump Doesn't Want You to See
I’m joined by Gabriel Sherman, the writer of The Apprentice, on this week’s episode. Sebastian Stan plays Donald Trump in this movie in theaters now about the future president’s relationship with noted legal fixer and possible evil supervillain Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). The movie’s path to distribution is almost as interesting as the film itself: following production and a decent response at Ca...
42m Oct 12, 2024
42m
Why Is It So Hard to Find Something to Watch on Streaming?
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Parrot Analytics’s Brandon Katz to discuss a vexing issues for streaming channels and audiences alike: why do the services have such a difficult time helping people find more things on the service to watch? Our chat is based in part on his column in the Observer (https://observer.com/2024/10/steaming-subscriber-acquisition-retention/) , and you should rea...
40m Oct 05, 2024
40m
Devo's Groundbreaking Work
This week I’m talking to a friend here in Dallas, Bart Weiss, about the Ernie Kovacs Award taking place this weekend at the Texas Theatre. This year’s honoree is Jerry Casale from the band Devo, and we’re discussing his work both with the band and as a pioneer of the music video artform. Check out the links above for tickets to the various events (the screening tonight is going to be pretty fun...
39m Sep 28, 2024
39m
How Social Media Is Warping Our Sense of Everything
NOTE: This is the correct audio file! Apologies, crossed my Audioboom streams the first time around. On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Jason Pargin to discuss his latest novel, I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom, a standalone comic adventure about life in the age of interconnectivity. It’s out Tuesday; you can preorder it now (https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Worry-About-T...
1hr 5m Sep 21, 2024
1hr 5m
The Death of a Community
This week I’m joined by Amy Nicholson, the director of the documentary Happy Campers, which is now available for rental or purchase (https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/happy-campers/umc.cmc.1wbry0j8sznr6amgs6s4vn24s) on VOD at Apple. We discussed the ragtag oceanside community Amy documented, how she came to find herself in a position to tell their story, and some of the stranger reactions to the fi...
55m Sep 14, 2024
55m
Will Rogers and the American Spirit
This week I talked to Steven Watts about his new book, Citizen Cowboy: Will Rogers and the American People (https://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Cowboy-Rogers-American-People/dp/1108495931/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9YX1A8N84YK1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tITCE7t7xH4GE8B17YzERDIyB97EH3J4pp85-1kL1zJBSma2Z9FB1xbablU2myAU.rh_LCDVJxtW61shUy3Kqb85re3sKSqoFs7SLeWd3m1E&dib_tag=se&keywords=citizen+cowboy+will+rogers+and+the+amer...
39m Sep 07, 2024
39m
John Magary on the Art of Editing
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by John Magary, editor of the new film Between the Temples. We discuss how he got into the editing business, the role of the editor in building the rhythm and flow of a picture, the aesthetic choices an editor can make in shaping the meaning of a movie, and a little about his work with the Criterion Channel. If you enjoyed this episode, try to find a theater p...
56m Aug 31, 2024
56m
The Social Media Trap for Teens
My guest this week is Valentina El Harizi, an 18-year-old first-time filmmaker who has an entry at the DIFF Shorts Film Festival. (If you get this email early enough and happen to live in the Dallas area, you can head over to the Angelika Film Center Dallas on Mockingbird Lane and catch the film; the “High School Shorts” program starts at 3PM local time. (https://diffshorts2024.eventive.org/sch...
39m Aug 24, 2024
39m
Disney's Future Is the Past
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Robbie Whelan, who covers the wide world of Disney for the Wall Street Journal. We talked about all the stuff Disney rolled out at D23 (Sequels! Theme park additions! New Cruise ships!) and discussed the ways in which the softness in Disney’s “Experiences” division (which includes, among other endeavors, the theme parks) may suggest general economic softnes...
48m Aug 17, 2024
48m
Brad Thor's World of Intrigue
This week I met with novelist (and Bulwark+ member!) Brad Thor in a shadowy location (upstairs at Dallas’s magnificent flagship Half Price Books (https://www.hpb.com/) ) to discuss his latest book of international intrigue, Shadow of Doubt (https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Doubt-Thriller-Scot-Harvath-ebook/dp/B0CL5DFTPW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JXBEEE9AQIOZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.c4T9OTNx2K_iV7f3GNrJOaikdZERZXJ...
53m Aug 10, 2024
53m
Documenting the Rise of Nazism
I’m joined this week by Thomas Doherty, Brandeis professor and author of Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939 (https://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Hitler-1933-1939-Film-Culture/dp/0231163924) , and Maria Elena de las Carreras, lecturer in film studies at the UCLA School of Film and Television, at the CSUN Department of Cinema and Television Arts,* to talk about the recent restoration and Blu-ray releas...
54m Jul 27, 2024
54m
Ryan Faughnder on Paramount's Big Changes
This week I’m being rejoined by the Los Angeles Times’s Ryan Faughnder to discuss the sale of Paramount to David Ellison. What does this mean for the various arms of Viacom? Then we discussed the collapse of Redbox and the state of the box office. If you enjoyed this episode, please sign up for Ryan’s newsletter, The Wide Shot, here (https://membership.latimes.com/newsletters/?sfmc_id=65206da67...
36m Jul 20, 2024
36m
Jennifer Esposito on 'Fresh Kills'
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 ...
43m Jul 13, 2024
43m
Nielsen's Ratings Evolution
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...
36m Jul 06, 2024
36m
Documenting 'How to Rob a Bank'
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 ...
32m Jun 29, 2024
32m
We're All 'Theatre Kids'
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by John DeVore, author of Theatre Kids: A True Tale of Off-Off Broadway (https://www.amazon.com/Theatre-Kids-John-DeVore/dp/1493077767) . 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 ...
45m Jun 22, 2024
45m
Celebrating Bruce Willis
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 (https://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Willis-Celebrating-Cinematic-Unbreakable/dp/1493076337) . Breaking down Willis’s career—which has been sadly cut short following his diagnosis of aphasia—by comedies, action movies, work with auteurs, and “D...
36m Jun 15, 2024
36m
Don't Panic About Movie Theaters (Yet)
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...
55m Jun 08, 2024
55m
Bobby Miller on his film, 'The Cleanse,' finally getting a Blu-ray release.
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 (https://www.amazon.com/Cleanse-Blu-Ray-Bobby-Miller/dp/B0D1W17568/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GGHDU3UGZ1VG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SNv4TctnisxKypsqhAM7Ng7WDa8Dn3HP7cz25vQmuyk.hH6j4894awqKPdXoKrP6ynn-vcEWunvjpnYZxXpCBFA&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+cl...
35m May 24, 2024
35m
Documenting January 6
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...
51m May 18, 2024
51m
On the Great Albert Brooks
I’m thrilled to have Adrienne LaFrance of The Atlantic on the show this week to discuss her profile of Albert Brooks (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/06/albert-brooks-movies-defending-my-life/678213/) 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 villa...
34m May 11, 2024
34m
The Fall and Rise of 'Scarface'
This week, I’m rejoined by Glenn Kenny to discuss his new book The World Is Yours: The Story of Scarface (https://www.amazon.com/World-Yours-Story-Scarface/dp/1335449620/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OEP6QDK7Z45Z&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wytYG_nGXi0ZUkcA7Ge2QDlnLHDRWFAP0H-Cae5CqLVMtaMH24iYYP1Fn7ajcu2frDCGd6uhap5VPlD94KrBCmYO3-OIpjweH5FLOCUeG8hBIB-3jawsL74T8JmZ9Lvi6NAFyoSIeOqcVawtofosPftoZiLQZOA3-Gkyz1FvwQ7s9tV-UX4V...
48m May 04, 2024
48m
Is David Ellison Hollywood's Great Hope?
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by the Los Angeles Times’s Ryan Faughnder (read and sign up for his newsletter here (https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/newsletter/2024-04-23/netflix-is-changing-how-it-reports-subscriber-numbers-what-that-says-about-the-streaming-wars-the-wide-shot) !) to discuss Netflix’s big data change, why some in Hollywood are hoping for David Ellison ...
30m Apr 27, 2024
30m
The Art of Costume Design
As readers may remember, The Beekeeper has been one of my favorite movies of the year thus far (https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-beekeeper-review) . 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...
40m Apr 20, 2024
40m