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 and VOD now. We talked about all those, plus his weird and lovely photography book, American Sugargristle, which you can (and should!) order here. Toward the end of the episode, I went full Chris Farley and did a “Hey, remember The Adventures of Pete and Pete and Carnivale? You were awesome in those” segment. Luckily, Mr. Huss was insightful and, frequently, quite poignant while discussing his work as an artist across multiple disciplines, from acting to music to photography. If you enjoyed the episode—and I hope you did—please share it with a friend!
--------
1:02:41
--------
1:02:41
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 “Ron Howard Movie,” the incredibly under-appreciated Thirteen Lives, and that movie about J.D. Vance. And then we talked a bit about his fascinating history of a key element of film technology in the latest issues of Mubi’s quarterly film journal, Notebook. Why is 24 frames per second the accepted frame rate? And why does our eye revolt when the image, paradoxically, gets closer to “reality”? If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
--------
53:57
--------
53:57
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 more important and a lot of comedy releases shifted to streaming in an effort to reduce advertising costs. Which led to us talking about the states of various genres (including horror and superhero pictures) as well as the state of play around the world. If you learned something this week, I hope you share this episode with a friend!
--------
46:02
--------
46:02
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 of their clips; most recently, Mehdi Hasan went up against 20 self-described far-right conservatives that resulted in at least one of the participants losing his job after he proudly declared himself an autocrat and downplayed Nazi crimes during the Holocaust. Is this brand of debate spectacle lucrative? Maybe! Is it bad for society? Undoubtedly. We examine why on this week’s episode. If you enjoyed it, please share it with a friend!
--------
50:07
--------
50:07
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 several times; you can read it here. The long and the short of it, though, is that anime is increasingly popular with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, which will likely come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the wall of manga in their local Barnes and Noble. From theatrical rollouts in the United States and around the world to the 17-million-subscriber-strong Crunchyroll streaming service to the sold-out Anime Expo in Los Angeles earlier this month, it’s an enormous segment of the market that holds a deep attachment to younger audiences. If you enjoyed this week’s episode, I hope you share it with a friend!
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.
México