Across the Movie Aisle

Sonny here. So, as I mentioned at the top of this episode—and as I warned you last week—this week is kind of a nightmare for all of us. Lots going on: I was out of the country; Alyssa was starting a new job; Peter was on the West Coast. So it took us an extra day to coordinate this. But here it is, nearly an hour long … for paying subscribers. The free listeners get the first 45 minutes or so; I had to leave a little something extra for the paying folks, you know? 
Anyway, we hope you enjoy this episode! It was a fun one to tape. Make sure to leave your comments and share it with a friend!

On this week’s episode, I’m very pleased to be rejoined by Kevin Goetz, who is the guru of movie testing to discuss his latest book, How to Score in Hollywood. When you spend nine figures on a film and another eight figures marketing it, you want to know what works for audiences and what doesn’t, and Kevin’s the guy who can help you do that. He believes that nearly every movie—if it’s made for the right price and marketed to the right people—should be able to make money, and he’s happy to explain how his company, Screen Engine/ASI, can help make that hope a reality. Our discussion runs the gamut—from concept testing to post-screening focus groups to some Oscar chatter—and I hope you enjoy.

On this week’s episode, we discuss the silly kerfuffle surrounding Timothee Chalamet’s statement that he hopes movies don’t become a niche entertainment like opera and ballet. Then we review The Bride!, a movie that might force us to create a Madame Web Scale to fully comprehend its badness. Make sure to swing by movieaisle.substack.com on Thursday for our bonus episode. And if you enjoyed this one, please share it with a friend!

On this Tuesday’s episode, the gang discusses the merger of WB and Paramount Skydance. What does it mean for jobs, consumers, and … Batman? Then they review Scream 7. Alyssa’s never seen one of these movies: does she care for it? More importantly: Does she have ANY idea what’s going on? The answer probably won’t shock you! Make sure to swing by movieaisle.substack.com on Thursday for our bonus episode on horny fanfic. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend.

On this week’s episode, the gang takes a look at this op-ed from former Sony head Michael Lynton and tries to figure out why Barack Obama suggested Sony was to blame for its own hack back in 2014. Then they review Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Is it the anti-AI parable we need right now? Or a mushily meatphored bit of non-AI slop? Make sure to swing by movieaisle.substack.com on Thursday for a bonus episode on the season finale of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
One last note: we had some mild technical issues while recording the episode this week (internet problems and the such; I blame all that snow out east) so if the conversation is slightly more disjointed than usual, particularly on the video side of things, well, that’s on the tech gods. Just one more reason not to turn the future over to those jokers, amirite?