The IP onslaught is boring
“The Devil Wears Temu” — sorry, “The Devil Wears Prada 2" — is just the latest Hollywood regurgitation
D'oh!
Dearest newsletter friends: I somehow accidentally sent out two newsletters today — one of which is unfinished (the one I did not mean to send out). Today’s...
"The Pitt" vs. its fandom
Why is the show's vocal fandom putting "The Pitt's" characters on trial to be deemed “good” or “bad"?
A screenwriter defends their use of AI
But if the only way a screenwriter can manage their time is by using AI, is it really a profession worth pursuing?
Is anyone capable of having a normal conversation about Harry and Meghan?
Variety recently ran a story with the headline: Inside Meghan and Harry’s Falling Out With Netflix — and Why the Royal Couple Is Struggling in Hollywood
Should amoral characters pay for their crimes?
Audiences might be unintentionally pining for the days of the Hays Code, or maybe they're responding to something else.
Is it possible to make a film about The Beatles that doesn’t play like parody?
Weirdly enough, the 1978 Eric Idle comedy "The Rutles" feels like the definitive take.
To pretend the entertainment industry is not affected by politics is to live in a fiction of one’s own making
And why Stephen Colbert has more fortitude than most celebrities at the moment.
Is Hollywood becoming conservative?
Spoiler: No. Because it always was.
The dirty little secret is that many podcasts are just (poorly executed) talk shows by another name
The evolution of the podcast is really the de-evolution of not only radio but TV as well
It’s rare when Hollywood takes a thoughtful look at the immigrant experience
It's as timely as ever to revisit 1984's "Moscow on the Hudson" starring Robin Williams, as well as 2008's "Sugar"
“The Way We Were” vs. the way we are now
Where are the Katie Moroskys of Hollywood? Why is everyone such a Hubbell instead?
Why does nobody wear glasses on screen anymore?
People who wear glasses are everywhere in real life. So why isn’t that true on screen?
To stay or not to stay for a movie's end credits
To my surprise, some audiences ascribe a moral component to watching the closing credits
How do we watch what’s on our screens?
Are we losing the skill to engage with long-form storytelling?
“Wedding Crashers” is a 20-year-comedy that still works despite a few key reasons it shouldn’t
There's such a buoyancy and playfulness, despite one very dicy storyline, and somehow it still works
Women at work
From "9 to 5" to "The Devil Wears Prada," movies about working women have bangers for title sequences
The state of Hollywood bodies
Celebrities are human beings. But they are also selling us something. Right now, that's thinness.
What is integrity, anyway?!
From Harry Potter to Fox News, celebrities are all too happy to cash a check
The hollowness of Hollywood’s rich people stories
TV and film of the moment aren't going to galvanize anyone. But stories closer to home just might.