Hollywood’s Blockbuster Crisis
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Daniel Bessner discusses what corporate monopolies are doing to the dream factory.
The Nation Podcasts
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Hollywood’s Blockbuster Crisis | Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Jeet Heer and Daniel Bessner discuss what corporate monopolies are doing to the dream factory.
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People at a movie theater.
(Sean Gallup / Getty Images)The summer season has started with a fizzle for Hollywood, as expected hits like The Fall Guy, and Furioso have far underperformed their expectations. This isn’t a matter of a few films. Over the last few years, Hollywood is discovering that audiences are no longer reliably willing to buy tickets for the action adventure franchises that are the mainstay of the film industry. In particular, the once-dominant superhero genre is now fizzling. Adding to the troubles of Tinsel Town is the fact that streaming services, long touted as the future revenue model for the industry, are being squeezed by falling profits and rising interest rates.
Historian Daniel Bessner wrote a lengthy survey of Hollywood’s woes for the May issue of Harper’s Magazine. His account gives particular focus to political economy: the way government regulations and unions once made Hollywood a hospitable home for culture workers and how this has been undermined by the rise of private equity and monopolies. Daniel joins the podcast to talk about the movie industry and its discontents.
The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
The Making of Chuck Schumer w/ David Klion | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
By helping the Republicans pass a spending bill that made no compromises with the Democrats and extend Donald Trump’s power over the government, Chuck Schumer has made himself widely unpopular in his own party. Anger at Schumer is so intense that he had to cancel parts of his tour to promote his new book Antisemitism in America: A Warning. David Klion, Nation columnist and frequent guest on the podcast, reviewed this volume for The Baffler. He joins to podcast to discuss both the book and the making of Chuck Schumer.
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