The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

Chris McKenna on co-writing Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the highest-grossing film in domestic history.

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by the one and only Chris McKenna who, alongside writing partner Erik Sommers, cowrote the highest-grossing film of all time, domesti

A Witness to Film History

This week I’m joined by Godfrey Cheshire to discuss his new book, Cheshire on Film: Life & Writings. Cheshire is a long-time critic—in addition to writing for Variety and

How Copyright Law Is Being Used to Squelch Speech

This week I’m joined by Puck’s Eriq Gardner to discuss his fascinating piece on Warner Bros. efforts to keep a lid on spoilers for their new show, Lanterns, including som

Life Is a Highway: The Terror of ‘It Ends’

This week’s episode is a real treat: I’m joined by Alex Ullom, the 28-year-old writer/director of It Ends, and he provided a real window into the process of getting a low

How the FCC Is Trying to Silence Trump Critics

This week, I’m joined by Robert Corn-Revere. Currently the chief counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Corn-Revere also served as the chief coun

'Sugar' Examines a Different Side of Los Angeles

This week, I’m joined by Sugar showrunner Sam Catlin to discuss the second season of Apple TV’s under-appreciated gem. If you haven’t watched the show, you should; season

Which Directors Have the Most Hollywood Juice?

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Nate Jones of Vulture to discuss his monumental effort to rank the 100 most powerful directors in Hollywood. We discussed how the au

Can Subsidies Bring Film Production Back to the USA?

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Chris Fenton to discuss efforts to pass a federal tax credit that would help reshore American film production and his own made-in-

How the Screen Has Changed Us

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by renowned critic and film historian David Thomson to discuss his new book, A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of Movi

Comcast and NBC Universal Are Breaking Up: What Does That Mean?

This week I’m joined by CNN’s media analyst Brian Stelter to discuss the big news of the week, Comcast’s decision to spin NBC Universal off into a separate company. What

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

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-

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 fin

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 H

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.)

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

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

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

The Fan-Driven Distribution Company

Occasionally, someone will ask me if I think they should invest in a movie. My answer is, invariably, the same: you should only invest in movies you really believe in; yo

Lou Diamond Phillips's Riveting New Film

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Lou Diamond Phillips, who you know from … well, tons of stuff. La Bamba, Young Guns, Longmire, and last year’s best new TV show, The