39 min
BFG Podcast #153: Richard Rushfield - Special guest and columnist for 'The Ankler' discusses the "catastrophic" summer box office and why he hate-watches 'Hacks,' among many other topics Book and Film Globe Podcast
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- Entertainment News
This week, special guest Richard Rushfield, columnist for 'The Ankler' and one of the sharpest observers of the entertainment business, joins host Neal Pollack in the pod dome to discuss this summer's "catastrophic" box office. "What is Garfield to you?" Richard challenges Neal. "Is it not entertainment?" It is, but the summer box office performance for the adult-facing movies has been bad. But, Rushfield posits, in an average summer 'The Fall Guy' and 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' wouldn't be considered disasters, they would be filler movies between blockbusters. But there are problems in the pipelines, studios are consolidating. The "ecosystem" depends on 120 movies a year, but will fall way short of that number.
But the studios have only themselves to blame, Rushfield says. You can't blame the strikes. "It's like saying, I had to do my homework but went to the beach instead, so of course I didn't do my homework. What do you expect?"
Later, Rushfield has praise for Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin and for 'Masters of Air,' and says that he is hate-watching Season 3 of 'Hacks,' though he does like Jean Smart essentially playing Joan Rivers. He finds the rest of the show "amateurish." His aesthetic judgment is golden. Neal also forces Rushfield to talk about 'For All Mankind' on Apple+, which hasn't aired new episodes since January but which Neal has been bingeing much to the chagrin of his wife. Rushfield considers For All Mankind one of the top 5 shows of the streaming era, and Pollack agrees.
Two grumpy old Jewish dads discussing the entertainment industry. It's why podcasts exist! Check it out.
This week, special guest Richard Rushfield, columnist for 'The Ankler' and one of the sharpest observers of the entertainment business, joins host Neal Pollack in the pod dome to discuss this summer's "catastrophic" box office. "What is Garfield to you?" Richard challenges Neal. "Is it not entertainment?" It is, but the summer box office performance for the adult-facing movies has been bad. But, Rushfield posits, in an average summer 'The Fall Guy' and 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' wouldn't be considered disasters, they would be filler movies between blockbusters. But there are problems in the pipelines, studios are consolidating. The "ecosystem" depends on 120 movies a year, but will fall way short of that number.
But the studios have only themselves to blame, Rushfield says. You can't blame the strikes. "It's like saying, I had to do my homework but went to the beach instead, so of course I didn't do my homework. What do you expect?"
Later, Rushfield has praise for Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin and for 'Masters of Air,' and says that he is hate-watching Season 3 of 'Hacks,' though he does like Jean Smart essentially playing Joan Rivers. He finds the rest of the show "amateurish." His aesthetic judgment is golden. Neal also forces Rushfield to talk about 'For All Mankind' on Apple+, which hasn't aired new episodes since January but which Neal has been bingeing much to the chagrin of his wife. Rushfield considers For All Mankind one of the top 5 shows of the streaming era, and Pollack agrees.
Two grumpy old Jewish dads discussing the entertainment industry. It's why podcasts exist! Check it out.
39 min