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
Are Video Games the New Comic Books?
This week I’m joined by Gene Park, video game reporter at the Washington Post, to talk about the oncoming video game boom and how our current moment feels reminiscent of 2008, when the comic book boo…
00:45:54 |
Sat 01 Apr 2023
How Theatrical Exhibition Helps Stave Off Piracy
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Cinema Foundation President Jackie Brenneman to discuss the group’s new report on the state of the cinema industry. Among the many topics discussed this week are…
00:40:10 |
Sat 25 Mar 2023
Can the Drive-In Survive?
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by April Wright, director of Back to the Drive-In. We discuss the ways in which drive-in theaters kinda-thrived during the pandemic, but also have been hit by some …
00:33:15 |
Sat 18 Mar 2023
The Best Stunts of 2022, Rewarded
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Bilge Ebiri and Brandon Streussnig to talk about Vulture’s enormous feature on the best stunts of 2022. Part celebration of the year in action, part plea for the…
00:50:10 |
Sat 11 Mar 2023
The Drama Behind Hollywood's Biggest Night
This week, I’m joined by Michael Schulman to discuss his new book, Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears. What were some of the ulterior motives for making the Oscars? How did …
00:42:41 |
Sat 04 Mar 2023
Will the WGA Strike? Can It Afford Not To?
This week I’m rejoined by Richard Rushfield—fresh off a nice little profile in Vanity Fair—to talk about the oncoming train of a WGA strike. Seventy days out, Richard put the odds of a work stoppage …
00:32:46 |
Sat 25 Feb 2023
David Thomson on the Magic of Acting
On this week’s episode, Sonny is pleased to welcome David Thomson back to the show to discuss his new book, Acting Naturally: The Magic in Great Performances. In this episode we discuss the difficult…
00:40:57 |
Sat 18 Feb 2023
Theater: You Can Get Rich, But Making a Living Is Hard
I was very excited to get Julian Schlossberg on the show this week to talk about his new book, Try Not to Hold it Against Me: A Producer’s Life, in large part because he is intimately involved with a…
00:47:06 |
Sat 11 Feb 2023
Shawn Ryan on Past WGA Negotiations and the Evolving Business
When I saw that Shawn Ryan—the creator of The Shield,* the hit CBS show S.W.A.T., and the forthcoming Netflix show The Night Agent—had penned a letter to the editor in The Ankler disputing an agent’s…
00:43:45 |
Sat 04 Feb 2023
Producer Dean Devlin Goes (Back) to Space
This week I’m pretty excited to be joined by Dean Devlin, whose work in movies like Universal Soldier, Stargate, and Independence Day I grew up loving. He works mostly in television now on series lik…
00:27:36 |
Sat 28 Jan 2023
PaleyFest's Secret Weapon: Love
This week I’m rejoined by Rene Reyes, Vice President of Public Programming and Festivals at the Paley Center, to talk about PaleyFest 2023. It’s the year’s most entertaining celebration of television…
00:39:46 |
Sat 21 Jan 2023
Scientifically Measuring Movie Love
Kevin Goetz, author of the must-read book Audience-ology, joins me this week to talk about the science of getting audiences to theaters. Can marketing help teach audiences “how” to watch a movie? Why…
00:50:50 |
Sat 14 Jan 2023
The Science of High Frame Rate, Explained
This week, I’m rejoined by Tony Davis of Tessive to talk about the science behind some of the movie magic in James Cameron’s return to Pandora. What is high frame rate? How did we settled on 24 frame…
00:50:10 |
Thu 22 Dec 2022
The Ten Biggest Hollywood Fiascoes of 2022
This week, I'm rejoined by Ryan Faughnder of the Los Angeles Times to discuss his newsletter highlighting the ten biggest Hollywood business fiascoes of the year. From Neil Young's war on Spotify to …
00:36:16 |
Thu 15 Dec 2022
How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood
On this week’s episode I talk to Sean O’Connell, the author of With Great Power: How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood during the Golden Age of Comic Book Blockbusters, about the webslinger’s long and w…
00:34:32 |
Thu 08 Dec 2022
Disney's Parks Make Tons of Money — But Are They in Trouble?
This week I talked to Robbie Whelan of the Wall Street Journal about the not-so-secret cash cow of the Walt Disney empire: the parks. For years now, the joke about Disney has been that it’s a parks a…
00:38:34 |
Thu 01 Dec 2022
How 'The Northman' Transported Us Back in Time
On this week episode I’m pleased to be joined by Simon Abrams, author of the gorgeous new book The Northman: A Call to the Gods. In it, we discuss how the book came about, some of the fascinating tid…
00:35:06 |
Thu 17 Nov 2022
What's the Deal with 'Seinfeld'?
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Julia Alexander of Parrot Analytics and Puck to talk about what’s working, and what’s flopping, in the wild world of streaming. Seinfeld is a huge hit for Netf…
00:49:52 |
Thu 10 Nov 2022
How the Business of Box Office Has Changed Over the Last 15 Years
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by Scott Mendelson. For nearly a decade at Forbes, Scott wrote one of the best, most in-depth looks at the box office on a day-in, day-out basis; he’s now headed to…
00:56:45 |
Thu 03 Nov 2022
The Past, Present, and Future of the Romcom
This week I talk to Scott Meslow about From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy, his critical appreciation of the genre. From When Harry Met Sally to Crazy …
00:46:43 |
Thu 27 Oct 2022
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