Episodes
-
Always glad to talk to the Entertainment Strategy Guy (read him here!) about the state of play in the world of streaming and beyond. Among the topics discussed this week: Whether or not F1: The Movie is a hit (and what being a āhitā means for a $200 million original for Apple as opposed to a different type of movie for a different type of studio); whether F1, the sport, is a butts-in-seats phenomenon in the United States; why the streaming wars are tightening and other streaming services are closing the originals gap with Netflix; and how sports rights are going to shake out over the next few years as the ESPN streaming service comes online and regional sports networks start to dwindle. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode, Iām joined by Daniel Dreznerācohost of the Space the Nation podcast with Ana Marie Cox and proprietor of the Dreznerās World Substackāto discuss the eternal popularity of zombies (most recently via the hit movie 28 Years Later, which I reviewed here) and the continued relevance of his book, Theories of International Politics and Zombies, which is now in its third edition. We chatted about the ways different political theories might confront waves of the undead and discussed how this book can help explain basic problems of international relations to even lay audiences. If you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend!
(And, as a bonus, hereās a link to a video starring Dan, me, and Across the Movie Aisleās Alyssa Rosenberg that asked what Star Wars would have looked like if it had been shot in the style of Ken Burnsās Civil War. Enjoy!) -
Missing episodes?
-
On this weekās episode, Iām rejoined by Bart Weiss to discuss the evolution of the iPhone-shot movie from Tangerine to 28 Years Later and his recent book, Smartphone Cinema: Making Great Films with Your Mobile Phone. You have the power to make a movie in the palm of your hand: will you use it? If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode, Iām joined by Lane Brown of New York magazine to discuss his feature on an increasingly rare phenomenon: the film or TV show shot in Los Angeles. From foreign tax credits to the cost of permits, Los Angeles is getting more expensive to shoot in, meaning that more productions are moving out of Los Angeles altogether. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to read Laneās piece. And please, share this with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode, Iām joined by New York Magazine features writer Lila Shapiro to discuss her feature story on the growing utilization of generative AI by Hollywood studios to cut costs and speed up production times. From a party hosted by an AI studio to the work being done by Runway to the growing sense that, hey man, this is just The Future, it seems like AI is, as several folks in the piece put it, āinevitable.ā If you enjoyed this episode or learned something in it, please share it with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode, I strayed a bit from Hollywood to talk to David C. Lowery of the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven about his new album, Fathers, Sons, and Brothers. You can check out the album here and peruse the accompanying Substack here. We had a fascinating chat about how the industry has changed over the last 40 years (for better and worse), how folks discover new music, and how his experiences growing up helped shape his musical tastes and self-conception as an American. If you enjoyed the episode, I hope you check out his album and his Substack. And please share this with a friend!
-
Iām joined by Ann Foley this week to discuss her work as costume designer on the hit HBO show The Last of Us. From sourcing vintage clothes to weaving the infectedās fungal-explosions in with the clothes they were wearing when they died to her graduate school on the sets of Agents of SHIELD, Annās insights into translating the world of the game to the world of the screen are pretty fascinating. At the end of the episode, Ann mentions Ellieās Converse sneakers; you can see what Bella Ramsey scribbled on them here. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
-
Iām joined by Matthew Specktor, author of The Golden Hour: A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood. Part novel, part memoir, and entirely entertaining, Matthewās book is a revealing look at life in Hollywood when youāre not on the A-list but occasionally adjacent to it. In addition to relating the drama that makes any family intriguing, Matthewās book is a keen look at Hollywood in a time of flux, as the rise of the super agencies and the internationalization of the Hollywood studios radically altered the American cinematic landscape. If you enjoyed the episode, I hope you check out his book. And please, share this with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode, Iām joined by Evan Jonigkeit, the star and producer of Henry Johnson. Based on the play of the same name by David Mamet, Henry Johnson is Mametās first film in a dozen years and a beguiling provocation; I greatly enjoyed discussing not only the meaning of the movie with Jonigkeit but also how difficult it is to get a picture like thisāa series of Socratic dialogues, a movie of complex ideas made for adultsāin front of audiences.
Henry Johnson is available to rent now from the filmās website and is playing in a handful of locations (including a one-night stop at the Aero in Los Angeles and a residency at Bryn Mawr). I hope you check it out. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! -
On this weekās episode, Iām joined by Jeremy Workman, the director and producer of Secret Mall Apartment. We discussed the difficult process of getting your subjects to trust you, the trickiness of distributing an indie documentary in the modern cinematic landscape, and the importance of having a big star like Jesse Eisenberg willing to do a little press for you. The movieās playing in theaters now; you can see if itās in a cinema near you here. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode Iām rejoined by Scott Mendelson of The Outside Scoop to talk about the state of the box office thus far through 2025. Itās better than 2024āthank you, Minecraftābut not as good as 2023. Plus, we delve into some of the discussion surrounding Sinnersās box office, particularly the foreign and domestic splits. Does its strength in North America demonstrate that Hollywood should be less concerned with appealing to foreign audiences and more worried about making big bucks (and better movies) for the homegrown crowd? All that and more on this episode; if you enjoyed it, I hope you share it with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode, I talked to Andrew Ortenberg of Briarcliff Entertainment about distributing tricky movies like The Apprentice and Magazine Dreams. How have the economics of cinematic distribution improved for distributors with the infrastructure in place to handle it? How have the various video-on-demand tiers shifted over the last few years? What should folks keep in mind before they declare a movie a hit or a flop? And why are family movies an under-utilized resource for the indie set? All that and more on this weekās episode. If you enjoyed it, please share it with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode, Iām joined by New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson to discuss her new book about Joan Didion, We Tell Ourselves Stories. I mentioned the book in a newsletter a couple of weeks back, but I wanted to focus on the ways in which the political world has borrowed showbizās penchant for image calibration, from the ways in which issues are decided upon to the means by which politicians decide which voters to target. Didion, of course, was a natural observer of these shifts, having spent years in Hollywood before becoming one of the nationās most interesting political observers. If you enjoyed this episode, I hope you both pick up a copy of Alissaās book and share this with friends!
-
On this weekās episode, Iām joined by Ray Mendoza, who cowrote and codirected the new A24 movie Warfare with Alex Garland (Civil War, Ex Machina). We discussed the journalistic process of rebuilding the dayās actions portrayed in the film from the memory of those who participated, Mendozaās work with Garland on Civil War, and the cinematic experience of trying to help people understand what itās like to go into battle after getting your brain rattled. The movie releases on April 11, and I strongly recommend watching it in a theater to get that fully immersive sonic effect. And if you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend.
-
I am pleased to be rejoined this week by Bobby Miller to discuss his new novel, Situation Nowhere. Imagine Brazil by way of Idiocracy but goopier: Thatās Situation Nowhere. We talked about some of his influences, the state of our increasingly recursive culture, and why we need to bring back shaming folks for selling out. If youāre in Los Angeles, check out Bobbyās event on Saturday at The Redwood Bar! And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. (And listen to last yearās episode with Bobby about the Blu-ray release of his film, The Cleanse.)
-
On this weekās episode Iām joined by Ross Benes, the author of the forthcoming book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times. It comes out in a few weeks and I hope you take a gander at it; we spent most of our time discussing the ways in which professional wrestling and the Insane Clown Posse help explain the phenomenon that is Donald J. Trump and his ascent through the political landscape, but thereās more to the book than that. And if you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend!
-
Sonny Bunch sits down with filmmaker Jonathan Gruber to discuss his new documentary, Centered, which explores the life and legacy of Joe Lieberman. As the first Jewish Vice Presidential candidate, Lieberman made historyāonly to later shake up politics by breaking with his own party. With the film releasing today, they dive into his career, key political battles, and the impact of centrism in modern politics.
-
A weird question I sometimes get is this: āI want to get into buying movies on disc, Sonny, but I donāt know where to start.ā I say itās weird because the answer seems obvious to me: just buy movies you like to watch! But there are issues I take for granted like formats and resolutions, so I thought it would be useful to talk to Aidan Ryan of the Boston Globe about his recent piece in that newspaperās magazine focused on the Gen Z/Young Millennial cohort that has gotten really into collecting movies on disc. From the dollar DVD bins to the high-quality UHD 4K collectors sets put out by the boutique labels, these younger collectors run the gamut. If you have questions of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments and Iāll do my best to answer them. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
-
On this weekās episode, Iām plesaed to be rejoined by Brandon Struessnig to discuss one of my favorite packages of the year, Vultureās annual stunt awards. Who were the big winners? What were some of the surprises? Just how long did it take George Miller to shoot that war rig sequence in Furiosa anyway? All that and more on this weekās episode. Make sure to check out the winners before listening to us discuss them. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
-
This week I was joined by Jake Rademacher, the director of Brothers After War to talk about his new documentary checking in with folks who have returned from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and how they are reintegrating into society. Itās a powerful and moving documentary, and I highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance, particularly if you have a veteran in your life. You can find showtimes nearest you here. And if youāre a veteran, you should still be able to get free tickets to the film by signing up at VetTix.org and searching for Brothers After War. If you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend!
- Show more
