Show Notes
This week I’m joined by Godfrey Cheshire to discuss his new book, Cheshire on Film: Life & Writings. Cheshire is a long-time critic—in addition to writing for Variety and RogerEbert.com, among many other outlets, his stint at the New York Press with Matt Zoller Seitz and Armond White was a legendary run during the golden age of the alt-weeklies and was recently collected in The Press Gang—and his new book highlights a number of his seminal pieces, including interviews with David Lynch and Charlton Heston. But it also functions as a memoir of sorts, a remembrance of a vibrant time in film and film writing that is hard to imagine today. And it serves as a crash course on Iranian and Chinese cinema for those who need one. This is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the world of cinema. You can check out his Substack here. If you’re in North Carolina on September 9, Chesire will be at the Rialto hosting a Q&A and signing books. And New York City residents should make sure to check out Cheshire’s appearance at the IFC Film Center with filmmaker (and Bill and Ted costar) Alex Winter on Monday, September 21. If you make it out there for either of these shows, please say hi from The Bulwark!
More from The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Geoff Edgers of the Washington Post to discuss The Tale of Norm Macdonald and prod Geoff about his forthcoming* book on the great comedian who sadly died in 2021. Geoff wrote one of the defining profiles of Macdonald in 2016 for the Washington Post and appears, briefly, in the new Netflix documentary. (You’ll see him; he’s the one being served a sandwich by Norm’s mom.) But he does not appear as a talking head, as this documentary has no talking heads: It’s a compilation of clips with some voiceover narration provided by Norm himself from the grave! (Or, possibly, the audiobook of his novelistic memoir, Based on a Memoir: Not a True Story.) *In 2028! Very forth. But Geoff’s book on The Police (the band, not the law enforcement) comes out in March of next year. I bet he’ll come back on the show if you ask real nice! He talked to all three members; it’s a really good book, I’m reading it now.
I’m rejoined this week by Matt Roller, the showrunner of Netflix’s Haunted Hotel, to discuss the second season of his hit animated show. We talked about the difficulties of getting a new season done in just one year, how the fandom has reacted to the show (and why he tries to avoid letting the fanfic influence his work), and whether or not season three is on the way. If you haven’t watched Haunted Hotel and are a fan of similar shows like Bob’s Burgers or Futurama, you should really check it out. And if you enjoyed this episode, I hope you share it with a friend!
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Katey Rich and Christopher Rosen, the Prestige Junkies over at The Ankler, to talk about the early days of the Oscar campaign. It’s finally heating up now that we’re hitting awards season and the prestige pictures are making their debuts; you can find our early preferred nominees at the Ankler Pundits landing page. But we cover a ton of ground in this episode, including how early favorites like The Odyssey will hold up, why La Bola Negra may well be Netflix’s best chance for a Best Picture trophy, and whether or not Inde Navarette of Obsession fame has a shot at a nomination. Plus: Wild Horse Nine! You Can See Everything! Fjord! So much to discuss, such little time. But we crammed a lot in for you. Leave your favorites of the year so far in the comments below!
On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by Sean McNulty of The Ankler’s excellent morning newsletter, The Wakeup, to discuss some of the big stories in the news. We start with the Paramount-Skydance/Warner Bros. deal going through its final phases before approval, before heading into some discussion of the federal film tax credits (17:10), and then wrapping up with a discussion of the state of sports rights and plateauing audience numbers there (29:30).
On this week’s episode, I’m joined by V for Vendetta director James McTeigue, whose film is returning to theaters on the first and fifth of November (“Remember, remember!”) via Saga Arts and Fathom Entertainment. We had a really interesting discussion both about the making of the film (I had no idea Hugo Weaving replaced another actor you may well know several weeks into production) and its continued relevance. What was intended as a metaphor for the War on Terror now holds up pretty well in our current age—arguably, much better, given the state of things now compared to then.