The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood
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.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 42 minutes
- Episodes
- 249
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Does America Need a Film Tax Credit?
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Rep. Laura Friedman, the congresswoman from the area we colloquially refer to as “Hollywood,” to discuss her push for a national film tax credit of the sort used…
00:40:41 |
Fri 05 Sep 2025
How an Alamo Founder Is Reinventing Theaters—Again
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Tim League, one of the founders of the Alamo Drafthouse and the man behind Metro Private Cinemas in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. It’s a pretty cool concept—h…
00:39:41 |
Fri 29 Aug 2025
The Wild Career of 'Weapons' Star Toby Huss
On this week’s episode, I’m thrilled to be joined by Toby Huss, star of the summer’s most surprising smash hit, Weapons, as well as the rebooted King of the Hill on Hulu and Americana, in theaters an…
01:02:41 |
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Ron Howard: The Most Underrated Major Director?
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by New York Magazine’s Bilge Ebiri, who has an enormous, career-spanning interview with Ron Howard in the latest issue. We discussed what makes a Ron Howard movie a…
00:53:57 |
Fri 15 Aug 2025
Can 'The Naked Gun' Save Hollywood Comedies?
I asked David Poland (read his Substack!) to come on this week to pick his brain about the state of the big studio comedy, a genre that has diminished in recent years as international grosses became …
00:46:02 |
Fri 01 Aug 2025
The Society-Deforming Spectacle of Jubilee
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Puck media correspondent Julia Alexander to discuss the absurdities of Jubilee. You might not recognize the name of the company but you’ve probably seen some o…
00:50:07 |
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Why Anime Is Taking Over Pop Culture
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Crunchyroll EVP Mitchel Berger to talk about anime’s increasing popularity with those yearning for community. We reference a report on the state of anime sever…
00:42:31 |
Fri 18 Jul 2025
How 'Sovereign' Tackles a Cult with Compassion
On this week’s episode, I talked to Christian Swegal, the writer-director of the new film Sovereign, about his new film and its focus on the cult-like behavior of the Sovereign Citizen movement. We d…
00:35:33 |
Fri 11 Jul 2025
Is 'F1' a Hit? How Do We Even Judge That?
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…
00:46:02 |
Thu 03 Jul 2025
How Zombies Can Help Explain Political Theory
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Daniel Drezner—cohost of the Space the Nation podcast with Ana Marie Cox and proprietor of the Drezner’s World Substack—to discuss the eternal popularity of zomb…
00:13:55 |
Fri 27 Jun 2025
You Can Make a Movie with Your Phone
On this week’s episode, I’m 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 Y…
00:43:14 |
Fri 20 Jun 2025
Why Productions Are Fleeing Los Angeles
On this week’s episode, I’m 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 t…
00:38:58 |
Fri 13 Jun 2025
How the Studios Are (Quietly) Using AI
On this week’s episode, I’m 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 spe…
00:46:22 |
Fri 06 Jun 2025
A Life in Music
On this week’s 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…
01:04:17 |
Fri 30 May 2025
Clothing 'The Last of Us'
I’m 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 infected’s fungal-explosions in with the clo…
00:28:40 |
Fri 23 May 2025
One Family's Journey Through Hollywood
I’m joined by Matthew Specktor, author of The Golden Hour: A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood. Part novel, part memoir, and entirely entertaining, Matthew’s book is a revealing look at life in …
00:39:12 |
Fri 16 May 2025
How David Mamet Made His First Film in 12 Years
On this week’s episode, I’m 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 Mamet’s first film in a dozen years a…
00:46:45 |
Fri 09 May 2025
The Hidden Art of 'Secret Mall Apartment'
On this week’s episode, I’m 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 d…
00:41:26 |
Fri 02 May 2025
Hollywood Should Rely Less on Overseas Box Office
On this week’s episode I’m rejoined by Scott Mendelson of The Outside Scoop to talk about the state of the box office thus far through 2025. It’s better than 2024—thank you, Minecraft—but not as good…
01:01:02 |
Fri 25 Apr 2025
The Economics of Indie Distribution
On this week’s 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 distribu…
01:11:37 |
Fri 18 Apr 2025
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