The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

By The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood

What's The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood about?

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.

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The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood episodes:

05.04.2024
The Fall and Rise of 'Scarface'
This week, I’m rejoined by Glenn Kenny to discuss his new book The World Is Yours: The Story of Scarface. Among the topics discussed: What a Scarface directed by Sidney Lumet might have looked like; how the movie secured an...
04.27.2024
Is David Ellison Hollywood's Great Hope?
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by the Los Angeles Times’s Ryan Faughnder (read and sign up for his newsletter here!) to discuss Netflix’s big data change, why some in Hollywood are hoping for David Ellison to take over Paramount...
04.20.2024
The Art of Costume Design
As readers may remember, The Beekeeper has been one of my favorite movies of the year thus far. One thing in particular I loved about it was the costume design: It’s an underappreciated artform, conveying character through clothing, and the...
04.13.2024
From 'Funny or Die' to Western Neo-Noirs
On this week’s show I talked to Rod Blackhurst, the director of the new film Blood for Dust, about … well, a whole bunch of stuff. From his early shorts on the comedy website Funny or Die starring Dave Franco...
04.06.2024
The Best and the Worst of Streaming 2023
I’m very excited to be rejoined by the Entertainment Strategy Guy (subscribe to his newsletter!) to discuss the year in streaming. What were the biggest hits in TV and film? What were the biggest misses? Could linear-like ad-supported streaming services...
03.30.2024
Bringing 'Lousy Carter' to Life
This week I was thrilled to chat with star David Krumholtz and writer-director Bob Byington about their new movie, Lousy Carter. It’s a wide-ranging conversation, touching on topics from shooting during the age of Covid to where Krumholtz was when...
03.23.2024
The 2024 Stunt Awards!
On this week’s episode I’m thrilled to be rejoined by Brandon Struessnig and Bilge Ebiri, who spearhead Vulture’s annual Stunt Awards. We talked about the year’s big winner, John Wick Chapter 4, how folks kind of have to decide for...
03.16.2024
What Does a Film Commissioner Do?
This week I’m honored to be joined by Dallas Film Commissioner Tony Armer to discuss what, precisely, a film commissioner does. On this episode he discusses his own path to getting involved in the film industry, breaks down different kinds...
03.09.2024
'Beetlejuice: The Musical,' Indie Film, and Life on the Road
This week I’m pleased to be joined by Abe Goldfarb, who is currently playing Otho for the touring company of Beetlejuice: The Musical and both starred in and co-directed First Time Caller (which I reviewed here). You may remember a...
03.02.2024
The Nelms Brothers Talk 'Red Right Hand'
A couple years back I had Ian and Eshom Nelms on the show to talk about their new Christmas classic, Fatman. We had a great talk, so I was thrilled when their people reached out to see if I’d like...
02.24.2024
Richard Rushfield's Hollywood Field Guide
On this week’s episode, we have the original Bulwark Goes to Hollywood guest, Richard Rushfield of The Ankler, returning to discuss his fabulous Hollywood Field Guide. How do you assuage actors, reassure writers, and make your way through the rest...
02.17.2024
Julian Schlossberg Returns to Tell More Hollywood Tales!
This week Julian Schlossberg returns to tell more tales of life in the arts. From reading his life story as the narrator of the new audiobook version of his memoir, Try Not to Hold It Against Me, to his work...
02.10.2024
How Piracy Persists on the Internet
This week I’m joined by Karyn Temple, Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association, to discuss how the trade group wages the global war on intellectual property infringement. A couple of months back we...
02.03.2024
What Did Peak TV Let Escape from 'Pandora's Box'?
This week I’m thrilled to be joined by Peter Biskind to discuss his new book, Pandora’s Box: How Guts, Guile, and Greed Upended TV. From the rise of HBO to the streaming boom, how we watch TV—and what gets shown...
01.27.2024
Sundance at 40
Very excited to have James Emanuel Shapiro, President of U.S. distribution at XYZ Films, back on the show with a recap of all the action at Cannes and a discussion about the state of the film festival scene writ large....
01.13.2024
How 'The Family Plan' Became a Hit for Apple
This week, I’m re-joined by David Coggeshall to talk The Family Plan, AppleTV+’s high-concept action-comedy about a dad, Mark Wahlberg, who has to take his family on the run when his past life as a hitman rears its ugly head....
01.06.2024
What's Next in 'The Streaming Wars'
This week, I’m joined by Brandon Katz to talk about Parrot Analytics’s new report on the state of streaming and why the “winner take all” theory of the so-called streaming wars was always a little bit silly. We discuss what...
12.23.2023
Francis Ford Coppola, Visionary
This week I’m joined by Sam Wasson to discuss his new book The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story, which chronicles the making of Apocalypse Now and the rise and fall of Coppola’s revolutionary studio, American Zoetrope. From...
12.16.2023
Whit Stillman on 'Metropolitan,' a Christmas Movie
This week I’m thrilled to be joined by Whit Stillman, the director of, among other features, The Last Days of Disco, Barcelona, and Love and Friendship. He’s on the show today to discuss Metropolitan and the way it has been...
12.09.2023
The Year in the Box Office
On this week’s episode, Scott Mendelson returns to the show to discuss how 2023 shook out at the box office, why niche films and niche audiences became more important than ever to movie theaters, and whether or not studios are...
12.02.2023
From Nicolas Coppola to Nicolas Cage
This week I’m joined by Zach Schonfeld to discuss his new book, How Coppola Became Cage. Zach’s look at the early years of Nicolas Cage’s career is deeply researched, featuring interviews with directors like David Lynch (Wild at Heart), Mike...
11.25.2023
Charlie Chaplin's Life in Exile
This week, I’m rejoined by Scott Eyman, author of Charlie Chaplin Vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided. We discussed the great silent star’s exile from America, how the press and the government conspired against Charlie Chaplin, the personal...
11.18.2023
Why You Can Finally Watch 'Moonlighting' on Streaming
This week I’m joined by Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator and showrunner of Moonlighting, to talk about that series’s long-awaited arrival on streaming. We discussed the show’s creation, the discovery of Bruce Willis, how he and costar Cybil Shepherd kept...
11.11.2023
Stopping Piracy Before It Starts
This week I’m joined by Terri Davies. Terri heads up the Motion Picture Association’s Trusted Partners Network, which helps studios and other partners develop best practices for avoiding leaks of films and TV shows pre-release, from pre- to post-production. We...
11.04.2023
How What We Watch Defines Us
This week I’m joined by Walt Hickey, the author of You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything. Among the many topics discussed on this show: the surprisingly durable effect of Warner Bros.’s merchandising efforts aimed at...
10.28.2023
Zoey Ashe's Life in the (Future) Panopticon
This week I’m rejoined by Jason Pargin to discuss his new novel, Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia, and the ways in which the futuristic panopticon he envisions for Zoey and the other citizens of Tabula Ra$a is a...
10.21.2023
How Siskel and Ebert Got Their Thumbs
I’m joined by Matt Singer this week, author of Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever. The book, out this Tuesday, is a wide-ranging look at the myriad ways in which Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s seminal show—or,...
10.07.2023
How 'Airplane!' Changed Comedy Forever
This week, I’m thrilled to be joined by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker to discuss their new oral history, Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! In this episode we discuss, among other topics, what...
09.30.2023
What the Writers Gained By Striking
This week I’m joined by Elaine Low of The Ankler and its Strikegeist newsletter to talk about the end of the WGA strike and what the writers won, from performance-based residuals on streaming originals to minimum writers room sizes to...
09.23.2023
The Lines that Define our Lives
Before we get started: apologies for the downgrade in my audio quality about 10 minutes into this episode. My computer, unappreciative of the coffee I spilled on it earlier in the week, decided to restart itself mid-recording in protest. It...
09.16.2023
Fantasy Culture and the Flight from Reality
This week I’m rejoined by Jonathan Taplin, author of The End of Reality: How 4 Billionaires Are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto, to discuss the ways in which popular culture may be leading the public...
09.09.2023
Data Transparency Is a Double-Edged Sword
This week I talk to Ben Dreyfuss, formerly in charge of audience acquisition at Mother Jones and currently the author of the Calm Down Substack, about the promise and the peril of complete data transparency. Ben watched what happened firsthand...
09.02.2023
Erotic Thrillers: Unsung Heroes of Home Video
Anthony Penta, director of 'We Kill for Love,' on the history—and present—of an unfairly denigrated genre.
08.26.2023
The Rise and Fall of the Brothers Warner
This week I’m joined by Chris Yogerst to discuss The Warner Brothers, his fascinating new look at the life of Jack, Harry, Sam, and Albert Warner, who collectively formed the Warner Bros. studio. From the technological innovations such as sound...
08.19.2023
Why We Need to Know What’s Failing
The Entertainment Strategy Guy returns to discuss the importance of failure.
08.12.2023
How to Start a Film Studio in 2023
This week I’m joined by Roy Price, the founder of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, to discuss what it would look like in 2023 to start a brand-new movie studio. Which genres are under-served? What price points should budgets be...
08.05.2023
How 2023's Oddest Box Office Hit 'Paid It Forward'
Some backstory to this episode: last month I bought a ticket for Sound of Freedom because I was curious about the year’s most unexpected box office sensation. As the credits rolled, star Jim Caviezel came on the screen and gave a speech...
07.29.2023
Hollywood's Hopes in China Are Fading
I’m rejoined this week by The Wall Street Journal’s Erich Schwartzel, author of Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy, to talk about Hollywood’s disastrous summer in China, where virtually every American movie released so far has underperformed....
07.22.2023
Netflix's Soft Earnings and the 'Barbenheimmer' Juggernaut
On this week’s episode Ryan Faughnder, author of the Wide Shot newsletter, returns to the show to talk about Netflix’s softer-than-expected earnings report, the momentary bright spot at the box office, and the possibility that this strike is going to be...
07.15.2023
What If Evel Knievel Had Run for President?
This week I’m rejoined by Jake Tapper, who is on the show to discuss his new historical novel All the Demons Are Here, the third book in the Charlie and Margaret Marder Mysteries. It’s a great beach read and works as...
07.08.2023
Hollywood's Perfect Storm
I’m happy to be rejoined by the first (and, perhaps one day, final) Bulwark Goes to Hollywood guest, Richard Rushfield of The Ankler (subscribe today!), to talk about Hollywood’s shaky summer. Nine-figure flops, the collapse of IP, labor woes, c-suite...
07.01.2023
A Decade of Big Muscles and Bigger Egos
This week I’m joined by Nick de Semlyen, the editor of Empire magazine and author of the new book The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage. We talk Sly, Arnold, Bruce, and the other big names of...
06.24.2023
New Doc Examines How Vets Are Recruited by Militias
This week I’m joined by Ken Harbaugh, the producer of Against All Enemies, to discuss his new documentary about the disproportionate number of military and police personnel attracted to extremist groups like the Oath Keepers. How did so many end up...
06.17.2023
How Universal Found a Brand-New Customer
This week I’m joined by Brooks Barnes of the New York Times to discuss his story on Universal’s efforts to build what amounts to a new release window, the premium video on demand (PVOD) window. For the first time, Brooks has some...
06.10.2023
Just Don't Call it 'Reality' TV
On this week’s show, I’m joined by Arthur Smith, chairman of A. Smith and Co. Productions, the company behind long-running hits like Hell’s Kitchen and American Ninja Warrior. In addition to explaining why he shies away from the label “reality TV,” he’s here...
06.03.2023
Tribeca and the Evolution of the Film Festival
This week I’m joined by Cara Cusumano, Festival Director and VP of Programming at the Tribeca Festival, for a wide-ranging chat about the nature of the modern film festival, how a festival’s sense of place can coexist with efforts to...
05.27.2023
The Data that Determines What We Watch
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by the Entertainment Strategy Guy to talk about the state of streaming data. What do we know? What don’t we know? Do movies fare better on streaming after getting a theatrical run? How does...
05.20.2023
How Much Free Work Do Writers Do to Get Paid Work?
I am pleased to be joined this week by screenwriter Colby Day to discuss all the unapid work that goes into getting paid work. I loved reading Colby’s diaries of annual pitch meetings and the such for 2021 and 2022, and thought I...
05.13.2023
Is the Superhero Boom Officially Over?
This week I’m rejoined by Scott Mendelson of The Wrap to talk about the state of the box office. Is the comic book boom over? What should we be looking for from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 if we want to...
05.06.2023
How Do You Bring the (Fake) Real Pete Davidson to Life?
This week I’m joined by Judah Miller, showrunner of the new Peacock dramedy Bupkis, to talk about bringing Pete Davidson’s life to the small screen. Bupkis is fascinatingly hard to describe in shorthand, given the way it mixes tones and genres, and also...

What's The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood about?

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The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood episodes:

The Fall and Rise of 'Scarface'

Is David Ellison Hollywood's Great Hope?

The Art of Costume Design

From 'Funny or Die' to Western Neo-Noirs

The Best and the Worst of Streaming 2023

Bringing 'Lousy Carter' to Life

The 2024 Stunt Awards!

What Does a Film Commissioner Do?

'Beetlejuice: The Musical,' Indie Film, and Life on the Road

The Nelms Brothers Talk 'Red Right Hand'

Richard Rushfield's Hollywood Field Guide

Julian Schlossberg Returns to Tell More Hollywood Tales!

How Piracy Persists on the Internet

What Did Peak TV Let Escape from 'Pandora's Box'?

Sundance at 40

How 'The Family Plan' Became a Hit for Apple

What's Next in 'The Streaming Wars'

Francis Ford Coppola, Visionary

Whit Stillman on 'Metropolitan,' a Christmas Movie

The Year in the Box Office

From Nicolas Coppola to Nicolas Cage

Charlie Chaplin's Life in Exile

Why You Can Finally Watch 'Moonlighting' on Streaming

Stopping Piracy Before It Starts

How What We Watch Defines Us

Zoey Ashe's Life in the (Future) Panopticon

How Siskel and Ebert Got Their Thumbs

How 'Airplane!' Changed Comedy Forever

What the Writers Gained By Striking

The Lines that Define our Lives

Fantasy Culture and the Flight from Reality

Data Transparency Is a Double-Edged Sword

Erotic Thrillers: Unsung Heroes of Home Video

The Rise and Fall of the Brothers Warner

Why We Need to Know What’s Failing

How to Start a Film Studio in 2023

How 2023's Oddest Box Office Hit 'Paid It Forward'

Hollywood's Hopes in China Are Fading

Netflix's Soft Earnings and the 'Barbenheimmer' Juggernaut

What If Evel Knievel Had Run for President?

Hollywood's Perfect Storm

A Decade of Big Muscles and Bigger Egos

New Doc Examines How Vets Are Recruited by Militias

How Universal Found a Brand-New Customer

Just Don't Call it 'Reality' TV

Tribeca and the Evolution of the Film Festival

The Data that Determines What We Watch

How Much Free Work Do Writers Do to Get Paid Work?

Is the Superhero Boom Officially Over?

How Do You Bring the (Fake) Real Pete Davidson to Life?