The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

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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.

5 DAYS AGO

'Andor' and the Accelerationist Moment

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Tony Gilroy to discuss his work on Andor, the hit Disney+ series that’s a prequel to Rogue One but has ambitions beyond telling the backstory of the Death Star. It is, in a very real way, a TV show about our moment and the mounting tension felt throughout the political order: from Imperial troops on the streets of civilian cities attempting to provoke conflict to Luthen Rael’s (Stellan Skarsgård) campaign of violent resistance, one can’t help but draw parallels to this increasingly fraught point in American history.

47 min
5 SEPT

Does America Need a Film Tax Credit?

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Rep. Laura Friedman, the congresswoman from the area we colloquially refer to as “Hollywood,” to discuss her push for a national film tax credit of the sort used by the United Kingdom and other countries to lure production of movies back to the United States. We discuss her career in the TV and film industry before her move into politics, how DC is not unlike Los Angeles, and why the U.S. needs a national film tax credit more than a cost-increasing tariff on movies. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

41 min
29 AUG

How an Alamo Founder Is Reinventing Theaters—Again

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Tim League, one of the founders of the Alamo Drafthouse and the man behind Metro Private Cinemas in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. It’s a pretty cool concept—half fine dining, half private cinema auditorium—and I was excited to discuss the evolution of movie theaters as both viewing and gastronomic experiences. League is planning to open the theater in a few weeks, and they’re accepting reservations now; you can check out the offerings here. If you go, let me know: I’ll be very jealous, as it will likely be a while before I am able to make it up to New York again. But when I do, it’s the first stop on my tour of the city.

40 min
22 AUG

The Wild Career of 'Weapons' Star Toby Huss

On this week’s episode, I’m thrilled to be joined by Toby Huss, star of the summer’s most surprising smash hit, Weapons, as well as the rebooted King of the Hill on Hulu and Americana, in theaters and VOD now. We talked about all those, plus his weird and lovely photography book, American Sugargristle, which you can (and should!) order here. Toward the end of the episode, I went full Chris Farley and did a “Hey, remember The Adventures of Pete and Pete and Carnivale? You were awesome in those” segment. Luckily, Mr. Huss was insightful and, frequently, quite poignant while discussing his work as an artist across multiple disciplines, from acting to music to photography. If you enjoyed the episode—and I hope you did—please share it with a friend!

1h 3m
15 AUG

Ron Howard: The Most Underrated Major Director?

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by New York Magazine’s Bilge Ebiri, who has an enormous, career-spanning interview with Ron Howard in the latest issue. We discussed what makes a Ron Howard movie a “Ron Howard Movie,” the incredibly under-appreciated Thirteen Lives, and that movie about J.D. Vance. And then we talked a bit about his fascinating history of a key element of film technology in the latest issues of Mubi’s quarterly film journal, Notebook. Why is 24 frames per second the accepted frame rate? And why does our eye revolt when the image, paradoxically, gets closer to “reality”? If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!

54 min
1 AUG

Can 'The Naked Gun' Save Hollywood Comedies?

I asked David Poland (read his Substack!) to come on this week to pick his brain about the state of the big studio comedy, a genre that has diminished in recent years as international grosses became more important and a lot of comedy releases shifted to streaming in an effort to reduce advertising costs. Which led to us talking about the states of various genres (including horror and superhero pictures) as well as the state of play around the world. If you learned something this week, I hope you share this episode with a friend!

46 min
25 JUL

The Society-Deforming Spectacle of Jubilee

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Puck media correspondent Julia Alexander to discuss the absurdities of Jubilee. You might not recognize the name of the company but you’ve probably seen some of their clips; most recently, Mehdi Hasan went up against 20 self-described far-right conservatives that resulted in at least one of the participants losing his job after he proudly declared himself an autocrat and downplayed Nazi crimes during the Holocaust. Is this brand of debate spectacle lucrative? Maybe! Is it bad for society? Undoubtedly. We examine why on this week’s episode. If you enjoyed it, please share it with a friend!

50 min
18 JUL

Why Anime Is Taking Over Pop Culture

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Crunchyroll EVP Mitchel Berger to talk about anime’s increasing popularity with those yearning for community. We reference a report on the state of anime several times; you can read it here. The long and the short of it, though, is that anime is increasingly popular with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, which will likely come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the wall of manga in their local Barnes and Noble. From theatrical rollouts in the United States and around the world to the 17-million-subscriber-strong Crunchyroll streaming service to the sold-out Anime Expo in Los Angeles earlier this month, it’s an enormous segment of the market that holds a deep attachment to younger audiences. If you enjoyed this week’s episode, I hope you share it with a friend!

43 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.