Behind the scenes of the Trump movie you almost never saw
Oct 9, 2024
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Gabriel Sherman, a Vanity Fair writer and producer of the movie 'The Apprentice', discusses the tumultuous journey of creating a film about Trump's early career and his relationship with Roy Cohn. He reveals how the movie, seen as a complex and provocative portrayal, faced significant hurdles, including investor conflicts. Meanwhile, Jason Schreier, a Bloomberg reporter, dives into the troubled state of the video game industry, outlining the effects of layoffs, stagnation, and the challenges posed by new technologies while emphasizing the need for serious journalism in gaming.
Gabriel Sherman reveals that 'The Apprentice' serves as a complex portrayal of Trump’s formative years, influenced significantly by his relationship with Roy Cohn.
The podcast discusses the video game industry's troubling state, marked by layoffs and a paradox of record revenue amidst workforce reductions.
Listeners learn about the implications of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, highlighting potential innovation opportunities amid past controversies in development processes.
Deep dives
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Highlights of the T-Mobile Integration
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Breakdown of 'The Apprentice' Film
The film 'The Apprentice' dives into the formative years of Donald Trump during the 1970s and 80s, offering a unique perspective on his evolution. Gabriel Sherman describes it as a fictional yet fact-based dramatization exploring Trump’s relationship with Roy Cohn, his mentor. The film captures the influence Cohn had on Trump's rise by showcasing how their dynamic shaped the image of Trump we recognize today. Notably, high-profile actors like Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong portray these complex characters, adding depth to the narrative.
Challenges in the Video Game Industry
The current state of the video game industry is marked by significant layoffs despite record revenue levels, creating a paradox within the sector. After a boom during the pandemic, companies expanded rapidly, but as the market stabilizes, they've faced widespread workforce reductions. This contraction is partly attributed to consumers' adherence to established games, which diminishes the market for new releases. As companies chase trends with ambitious releases, many struggle to hit expected benchmarks due to shifting consumer habits.
Future of Blizzard Entertainment
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft represents a significant shift in the gaming landscape, particularly for beloved franchise Blizzard Entertainment. This acquisition comes after a tumultuous period involving allegations of workplace misconduct and a corporate restructuring that aimed for tighter control by Activision. There are concerns surrounding how this newfound ownership will impact Blizzard's development processes moving forward. Yet, the merger also opens the door for potential innovation and growth while retaining the successful characteristics that defined Blizzard in the first place.
What do Donald Trump and the video game industry have to do with each other?
Nothing! Yet we’re combining them into a single podcast, anyway.
First up: A chat with Gabriel Sherman, the longtime Vanity Fair reporter who wrote and produced “The Apprentice.” That’s the new Trump biopic that isn’t what you think it is, and is very much worth your time — and which almost never got released in the U.S.
As Sherman tells us, this is a movie that’s a sort of Trump creation myth, centering around his relationship with Roy Cohn, the notorious lawyer/fixer. It’s not an anti-Trump movie in the vein of “Vice”, but it’s also not a flattering story. That makes it hard to understand why Trump-backer Dan Snyder initially backed the production — but less hard to understand why Snyder reportedly wanted to block it once he’d seen it. Sherman walks us through the whole backstory, which is wild even by Hollywood’s standards.
And then we switch gears completely, to talk about the surprisingly troubled state of the video game business, with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. I’m used to seeing conventional media industries struggle in the face of digital disruption — but one of the reasons they are usually struggling is the rise of video games. Yet that industry is undergoing multiple years of brutal layoffs and consolidation. Schreier, whose new book “Play Nice” follows the twisted path of legendary games studio Blizzard Entertainment, tells us how the industry got itself into trouble, and whether it can play its way out of it.