What Does a 'Buy' Button Really Mean in the Digital Age?

October 28th, 2021  |  37 mins 6 secs

When you click “buy” on a digital product at Amazon or Apple, as opposed to “rent,” what do you think that means? Most folks think of it like buying a physical copy of a thing: they can sell it or pass it down to heirs. But as Aaron Perzanowski, a professor at Case Western, notes in his sit-down with Sonny Bunch, that’s not really the case: you’re just buying a license to a thing. And if that license to Amazon or Apple ends? Well, so does your access to the thing you think you “bought.” On this week’s Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny discusses the tricky nature of ownership in an increasingly digital world—and what you need to know before you click “Buy.” If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a friend!

Netflix's Big Week

October 22nd, 2021  |  37 mins 23 secs

CNN's Frank Pallotta joins the show to talk Netflix's numbers, Dave Chappelle, and the box office-streaming conundrum.

The Business of Sports Ads

October 14th, 2021  |  30 mins 54 secs

Ryan Faughnder of the Los Angeles Times’s Wide Shot newsletter rejoins the show this week to discuss the boon—and burden—of sports betting ads. What are some of the rewards, and the risks, of this enormous advertising market? We also discussed Squid Game and Netflix’s efforts to internationalize entertainment as well as the age-old debate: subtitling versus dubbing. Make sure to sign up for Ryan’s newsletter (it’s free!) and if you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend!

Scott Eyman on Daryl F. Zanuck and 20th Century Fox

October 7th, 2021  |  36 mins 15 secs

On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Scott Eyman about his new book, 20th Century Fox: Darryl F. Zanuck and the Creation of the Modern Film Studio. Zanuck’s reign as a Hollywood mogul ran through nearly every major technological and business innovation Hollywood saw in the first half of the 20th century and beyond, and Mr. Eyman’s book paints a compelling portrait of a producer as both businessman and artist. You can pick up a copy wherever books are sold (here’s an Amazon link for ease’s sake), and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Scott Tobias on the Business of Film Criticism

October 1st, 2021  |  39 mins 27 secs

On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Scott Tobias, formerly of The AV Club and The Dissolve, about his new Substack endeavor with Keith Phipps, The Reveal, as well as the evolving world of film criticism. With so many local newspapers cutting back on movie reviewers for budgetary reasons and so many websites merely hitting the most popular of topics to generate clicks, it’s interesting—and, frankly, heartening—to see Substack using their Pro program to help critics like Tobias and Phipps (along with Ty Burr and Jerry Saltz) stand up their own newsletters to chase their own idiosyncratic interests. Can the “Thousand True Fans” theorem save the world of interesting film writing?

Rod Lurie Part 2: 'The Outpost'

September 16th, 2021  |  37 mins 56 secs

Welcome back to the show! Please check out last week’s episode if you missed it; Rod Lurie (The Contender, The Last Castle) had a ton of great stories about transitioning from the Army to the world of film criticism to the world of filmmaking. This week we talked about shooting The Outpost: the difficulty of bringing such a sensitive story to the big screen and trying to decide what to cut and what to keep; shooting the film in Bulgaria; and casting actors like Caleb Landry Jones and Scott Eastwood in key roles. For more on The Outpost, make sure to check out my interview with the author of the source book, Jake Tapper. And please share this episode with a friend if you enjoyed it!

Rod Lurie on Breaking Into the Biz

September 9th, 2021  |  35 mins 13 secs

This week (and next week!) Sonny talks to Rod Lurie, the director of The Contender, The Last Castle, and The Outpost, among other films and television shows. This week’s episode is all about Rod’s early efforts to break into the business, from Army officer to film critic to writer/director. He tells a great story about his first meeting with Bill Paxton, fills us in on the difficulty of getting funding for just about anything (spoiler: you’re always one actor away from a green light), and the difference between being a showrunner and a director-for-hire on a TV series. Make sure to tune in next week when we talk about The Outpost. And if you enjoy this episode, please share it with a friend!

CinemaCon in Twilight

September 2nd, 2021  |  30 mins 59 secs

Plus: Richard Rushfield on Mike Richards's minions and their delight in his demise.

Jake Tapper on Afghanistan War Classic 'The Outpost'

August 26th, 2021  |  34 mins 58 secs

On this week’s episode Sonny is joined by Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and author of The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, to talk about his book on Combat Outpost Keating and its adaptation into the defining movie of the Afghanistan War by Rod Lurie. Why did the book expand from coverage of the rare battle that saw two living Medal of Honor winners emerge to a book about the life an ill-advised and ill-placed outpost in the wilds of Afghanistan? How did the troops feel about American attention, or lack thereof, to the war effort? And what was it like seeing the story brought to life for viewers on screens big and small? After listening to the show, make sure to watch the movie (it’s on Netflix now!) and please: read the book. As the child of a military family, I can assure you it’s both heartrending and, occasionally, more than a little infuriating. But it’s a must-read to understand the War in Afghanistan from a soldier’s-level view.

Zak Penn on 'Free Guy,' Writing Villains, and the Fate of 'PCU'

August 19th, 2021  |  58 mins 4 secs

Matthew Belloni on the Changing Ways Hollywood Gets Paid

August 12th, 2021  |  32 mins 5 secs

This week, Sonny is joined by Matthew Belloni, author of the newsletter “What I’m Hearing” for the exciting new web publication Puck.news. Formerly an entertainment lawyer and editor for The Hollywood Reporter, Matt joins the show today to talk about Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit, the ways in which streaming economics are upending traditional compensation packages, and Disney’s new “socialism.” Are the days of superstar show runners earning hundreds of millions over? And what lies ahead for actors and audiences alike? We discuss all this and more, and if you enjoy this episode, I really cannot recommend Matt’s newsletter enough: I always learn something new when I read it, which is the nicest thing I can say about anyone’s newsletter.

Clayton Childress Explains How Taste and Status Reinforce Each Other

August 5th, 2021  |  37 mins 34 secs

On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Clayton Childress, an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Sociology of University of Toronto who studies taste, decision, and meaning making in the creation, production, and reception of culture. Clayton is on to discuss a recent study he coauthored with Shyon Baumann, Craig M. Rawlings, and Jean-François Nault about the strange ways elite tastes have both grown more inclusive and more exclusive. What does it mean that those with more education say they enjoy every genre (e.g., horror) but only certain films within that genre (e.g., A24’s horror films like Hereditary or The Witch)? And what does that mean for studios trying to figure out what to make—and what to market?