The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

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Film Interviews
Updated Weekly

Sonny Bunch hosts The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, a new podcast featuring interviews with folks who have their finger on the pulse of the entertainment industry during this dynamic—and difficult—time.

6 hrs ago

The Increasing Entanglements of Hollywood and AI

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Ben Fritz of the Wall Street Journal to discuss his exclusive on the partnership between Google and A24 and what it portends for the rest of the studios who are either diving into the world of AI filmmaking or cautiously sitting on the sidelines waiting to see how things shake out.

38 min
19 June

The Mount Rushmore of TV

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by my first guest, the great Richard Rushfield, to talk all things TV. What’s the deal with Fox buying Roku? What does the post-peak-TV era look like? And, perhaps most importantly, who is on the Mount Rushmore of television? All that and more on this week’s episode. Leave your pick for the all-time-top-four TV figures in the comments!

44 min
12 June

The Wild West of 1980s Movie Financing

I’m joined by Peter M. Hoffman this week to discuss his new memoir, Karmic Winds, about his time in Hollywood as the tax lawyer who could figure out how to get movies financed and get people paid. Fans of 1980s action movies will recognize many of the names here, as Hoffman was a key figure in the Golan and Globus empire before becoming CEO of Carolco Pictures during their epic run of films that included Basic Instinct and Terminator 2. We also discussed the way tax laws helped—and then hindered—getting movies made, and Peter’s own unfortunate run-in with IRS authorities. If you want the full story, make sure to check out his book, which goes into much more detail than we had time for here. This episode gets a bit in the weeds about tax law and the such, but I’d love to hear from folks about their favorite Carolco films. One that we touched on very briefly is Jacob’s Ladder, a movie I’ve always found fascinating in part because I don’t think it entirely works. Or at least, it didn’t for me … but Peter’s book highlights the ways in which the film reflects the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which may just be the key to unlocking it all. I’m excited to go back and revisit it with that idea in mind.

41 min
5 June

Bringing 'Day of the Dead' Back to Life

I’m super-excited about this week’s episode, as I’m getting to talk about one of my favorite zombie movies (Day of the Dead) with one of the creators of that film (John Harrison, the first assistant director and composer of its iconic score) and one of the producers at one of my favorite boutique Blu-ray labels (Jeff Roland from Shout Factory/Scream Factory). We talk all about the making of the film, of course, but also the making of this set: one of my favorite special features on the bonus disc is a 30-minute-or-so doc about the actual restoration of this film. How they tracked down the interpositive, what they had to do to get the transfer into shape for a 4K release, how they had to mix the sound, etc. I really cannot recommend this set enough: it comes out June 16, but I strongly recommend picking up a copy now, as these collector’s editions can be hard to keep in stock. Obviously, the fans of Romero’s films are going to want it. But I would pitch it to anyone who appreciates a good piece of archival work: There are documentaries on this thing that will simply help you understand the world of physical media better. Plus a fun new audio commentary featuring Drew McWeeny and Daniel Kraus. And, of course, a pristine new transfer that gives extra depth and definition to all of those scenes set in the underground mines where most of the movie takes place.

59 min
29 May

Three Movies to Prep For Our Viral Apocalypse

Just as a heads up: This episode was posted on the Takes feed over the weekend, but I wanted to make sure and share it with y’all because a.) it was a lot of fun and b.) I did a weirdly large amount of work for it, having to rewatch three films and read a bunch of stuff. But I wanted to make sure you guys heard it in case you haven’t subscribed to the Takes feed. (And if you haven’t, for shame! You’re missing JVL and me riffing on the terrible America 250 concert!)

47 min
22 May

Turning Sex and Dragons Into Streaming Money

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Julia Alexander to discuss her latest piece for Puck on why romantasy—the subgenre of fine literature dedicated to dragons and sex—has had a hard time gaining a foothold on streaming services despite burning up the book charts. We also chatted about Amazon’s advertising ambitions and how it hopes to use its supposedly profitable video division to drive business elsewhere on the site … and whether or not the company is getting so big, it might make sense for the government to force some parts of it to split off. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

51 min
15 May

The Top Ten War Movies

Hey everyone, so: This posted in the Takes feed over the weekend. (You can watch the video on Substack here or YouTube here.) I Just wanted to make sure this episode got into the Bulwark Goes to Hollywood feed in case you don’t subscribe to the Takes feed (though you should!) and also to give everyone a heads up that Mona Charen and I will be doing an episode of her podcast on A Man for All Seasons. You can watch that movie for free on YouTube, so long as you don’t mind ads.

52 min
8 May

Summer Movie Preview!

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Scott Mendelson of The Outside Scoop to preview the summer movie season and address some of the hottest questions in the biz. Why did Netflix push Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie to next year and give it a full(ish) theatrical window? What’s shaping up to be the biggest flop of the summer? Is box office health finally back on the upswing after some down years post-COVID and post-strikes? And what the heck is “Infinity Vision”? All that and more on this week’s episode. Leave your most-anticipated film in the comments!

53 min

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Sonny Bunch hosts The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, a new podcast featuring interviews with folks who have their finger on the pulse of the entertainment industry during this dynamic—and difficult—time.