S7E12: An Existential Moment
Added 2023-05-09 02:35:00 +0000 UTCBret Easton Ellis discusses the first few days of the WGA strike, is reminded of an emblematic giraffe from the past and talks about an often overlooked Hitchcock movie as he ponders his immediate future in a paralyzed Hollywood.
Comments
“Middle age white men”, Et tu Brutus?
Jorge Espinha
2023-05-24 15:13:38 +0000 UTC100 percent
Matt
2023-05-17 21:59:09 +0000 UTCI live in reality. There is no demand for your labor. Your audience is gone. Its gone because people are fed up with the garbage you pump out. The streaming bubble is burst. There is no revenue to sustain your delusions. The fact you don’t see this is fascinating. Goober mindset.
Sascha Ciezata
2023-05-16 03:16:45 +0000 UTCJesus. You still don’t get it. At this point it’s honestly kind of fascinating.
Jerry Cornelius
2023-05-15 04:58:00 +0000 UTCSorry this is happening to you Phil. Thanks for the valuable insight you’ve brought to this thread.
Sascha Ciezata
2023-05-15 00:54:24 +0000 UTCJerry, did you stop to think that *maybe* if the quality of the work you think is so valuable was better there might be more money to go around? You sound like a total goober.
Sascha Ciezata
2023-05-15 00:53:33 +0000 UTCSascha, the very podcast whose comment section you’re posting on is hosted by a screenwriter. Do you seriously think Bret Easton Ellis is going to make a “woke” series? Does he deserve fair payment for his work? What about all of the decidedly not-woke TV series by Taylor Sheridan, like Yellowstone and The Tulsa King? Do those writers deserve to be fairly compensated for the incredible financial success of their work? Your comments are completely irrelevant to my point. It doesn’t matter if the series or movie is “woke” or not. It doesn’t matter if they’re “good.” This is about profit. If it generates revenue, then its creators should enjoy their fair share of that revenue. Surely you’re capable of understanding that your taste is completely immaterial. My taste in entertainment is ALSO immaterial. Do you get it yet, or should I break out the flash cards? I don’t mind if you think I’m arrogant. You aren’t arguing from a logical or rational position, you’re just angry at the world.
Jerry Cornelius
2023-05-14 20:28:43 +0000 UTCLove these two having conversations - SO much better than the guest episodes. You guys have found a great rhythm lately
Tom
2023-05-14 20:11:03 +0000 UTCJerry sounds reasonable to me, it’s you who sound a little angry and arrogant.
Philip Huntley
2023-05-14 16:34:16 +0000 UTCMaltese Falcon--perfect movie! (and book)
Megan Abbott
2023-05-14 15:04:59 +0000 UTCMaybe there would me more goodwill towards your plight if the quality of the writing and entertainment wasn’t total garbage across the board. Also maybe if you didn’t sound like an angry, arrogant asshole. 🤷🏻♂️
Sascha Ciezata
2023-05-13 23:22:00 +0000 UTCI’m not talking about artistic value or entertainment value. Artistic value is completely subjective and I’m not going to argue with you about which films and series are “good.” I’m talking about the profits created by the shows that you love and the shows you hate. If a series succeeds and creates generous returns for the studio, the writers who made it possible should be fairly compensated. It has nothing to do with your personal feelings (or mine) about the quality of entertainment.
Jerry Cornelius
2023-05-13 22:34:18 +0000 UTC“Extraordinary value they create” - like the woke garbage streaming pumps out and the late nite show left wing propaganda? LMAO.
Sascha Ciezata
2023-05-13 04:02:13 +0000 UTCHenry Miller’s Big Sur is worthwhile.
Brian Rooney
2023-05-12 21:16:25 +0000 UTCGreat episode Adam and 🐝!
Patrick
2023-05-11 23:44:20 +0000 UTCLOGAN ROY DIED?!
FlyingWaffle
2023-05-11 21:21:04 +0000 UTCThank you, Adam, for asking about studio heads’ salaries, even though Bret skipped right past it. Bret completely contradicted himself when discussing the WGA strike. First he said their demands are totally reasonable (that’s the truth), then he said some things they want are fanciful nonsense (because Bret fundamentally misunderstands the concept and strategy of collective bargaining). Which is it, Bret? Is it good for writers to be able to go to the doctor when they’re sick, pay rent and survive the fallow work periods (which are inherently part of the job)? Or are the writers whiny babies? Is it good and reasonable that screenwriting is a middle-class job, like you said? Or should writers live in squalor for love of the game, while the studio heads who don’t create shit take home tens of millions of dollars every year? That’s what you completely ignore. The industry has changed, yes, but there’s no shortage of profits—just check out the exec salaries and bonuses. For the studios to cry poverty is the most nihilistic line of bullshit I’ve ever heard. Just wait until the studios start pumping out AI-generated garbage. Maybe then, when the trough dries up, Americans will make sense of those picket lines. It’s DISASTROUS for “everything to become a gig economy.” The WGA isn’t asking for “consistent work,” they’re asking to be fairly compensated for the extraordinary value they create. Americans need high-quality distractions from the chaos and immiseration of contemporary life. Hollywood needs writers. Writers need a union to safeguard themselves from the rapacious suits. Even you, Bret.
Jerry Cornelius
2023-05-11 17:07:20 +0000 UTCbret said “gay coke” so casual hahah love that
Nick Not Nolte
2023-05-11 17:01:49 +0000 UTCIf I had his PO Box I would personally send him a DVD!
Thomas Edwards
2023-05-11 10:01:48 +0000 UTCBest of the '40s and 50s. Best ever has gotta be somethin' from the '70s or '80s when he had the full range to do his gritty, interesting, character-driven films...say Fat City or Man Who Would Be King or Under the Volcano...
Neil G.
2023-05-11 05:02:23 +0000 UTCFat City!
N.M. Janice.
2023-05-11 02:20:38 +0000 UTCMy mind is blown that Bret has never watched Brideshead. I need a follow up after his viewing!!
Audrey Rouget
2023-05-10 17:49:29 +0000 UTCThe Asphalt Jungle (1950) is John Huston’s best IMO
Paul Richardson
2023-05-10 17:46:40 +0000 UTCIn television, the executive producer/showrunner has been the de facto head writer for as long as I can remember.
Trevor Tillman
2023-05-10 17:36:12 +0000 UTCam going to listen on my run. will say more later, after my run.
richard owain roberts
2023-05-10 17:20:52 +0000 UTCGood insight on the writers strike.
Stevan Popovic
2023-05-10 10:12:07 +0000 UTCYay! Bret read my question around The Quilted Giraffe! I'm not sure he quite understands what nouvelle cuisine is, though. I don't think anyone would describe Chez Panisse as a restaurant serving nouvelle cuisine. And much of what he talks about (the fusion of cuisines from different countries) sounds like, well, fusion cuisine...
David Lowe
2023-05-10 10:12:01 +0000 UTCAwesome episode! Bret was in a great mood and lots of good movie/culture talk!
OSOS
2023-05-09 21:10:58 +0000 UTCOh boy
cms115
2023-05-09 03:01:43 +0000 UTC
