Chris Yogerst
@chrisyogerst.com
Writer, author, media historian. Columns @ The Hollywood Reporter News/Reviews @ MovieWeb Media studies @ Marquette University Books: The Warner Brothers; Hollywood Hates Hitler… Adventures in the Archive newsletter: chrisyogerst.substack.com
Wrote a bit about @roopikarisam.bsky.social's fantastic book on the history of data and how it's, more often than we may want to think, weaponized against people. chrisyogerst.substack.com/p/data-has-b...
Wrote a bit about @roopikarisam.bsky.social's fantastic book on the history of data and how it's, more often than we may want to think, weaponized against people. chrisyogerst.substack.com/p/data-has-b...
Thrilled to share the cover and pub date for my next book! YIPPEE KI-YAY: "DIE HARD," BRUCE WILLIS, AND THE REINVENTION OF THE ACTION MOVIE — an in-depth look at the origin, production, and legacy of the original 1988 classic, as well as its various sequels and rip-offs — is out 5/11/27!
A powerful read. I've seen this making the rounds and can attest to much of the same things happening where I've worked. Good intentions turn to hypocrisy when administrators just look to check boxes instead of fostering a community of genuine engagement.
Why I Quit the Tenure Track
The insufferable hypocrisy of elite academia
theatlantic.com
Who has seen The Last House? The reviews are terrible, but the film remains irresistible. Why? I try to answer this conundrum for MovieWeb today: movieweb.com/the-last-hou...
The guy who wrote this a week ago, then landed massive tax incentives for LA production, now nukes all that goodwill and threatens to take TWO studio production facilities out of California. Hollywood supervillain energy just leveled up...
Opinion | David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal
The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of CNN.
nytimes.com
Who has seen The Last House? The reviews are terrible, but the film remains irresistible. Why? I try to answer this conundrum for MovieWeb today: movieweb.com/the-last-hou...
MovieWeb did an exclusive interview with David Wain and it looks like there's a possibility of a Wet Hot American Summer reunion. Ted Sarandos even nudged the director to get something moving... Read more: movieweb.com/wet-hot-amer...
For years I've noticed my students increasingly exhausted by the digital world and for good reason. The optimist in me hopes to see the social media world stagnating soon. I live in a neighborhood of kids (and parents) minimally interested in being online. It's glorious.
Why Gen-Z Is Embracing Old Tech: Fighting the Algorithm with Analog
Amid the deluge of AI, young consumers are turning to vinyl records, books in print, film cameras and other tangible vestiges of a pre-smartphone age.
hollywoodreporter.com
For years I've noticed my students increasingly exhausted by the digital world and for good reason. The optimist in me hopes to see the social media world stagnating soon. I live in a neighborhood of kids (and parents) minimally interested in being online. It's glorious.
Why Gen-Z Is Embracing Old Tech: Fighting the Algorithm with Analog
Amid the deluge of AI, young consumers are turning to vinyl records, books in print, film cameras and other tangible vestiges of a pre-smartphone age.
hollywoodreporter.com
I can't imagine the constant state of dread as employees await details of what's to come. Sure, the rhetoric from Ellison is "growth, growth!" but we've seen how this plays out. Every other major merger leads to layoffs and less product. Are their any good counter examples?
Paramount, Warners Bros. Staffers In Limbo and Denial as Merger Deal Drags On
As a lawsuit from 12 states halts David Ellison’s $111 billion deal close until the March trial, both studios are in a holding pattern, with some projects at risk and priorities restricted by deal ter...
hollywoodreporter.com
If you are of a certain age, you knew exactly where you were when you saw The Blair Witch Project for the first time in 1999. This VHS special edition is super fun. I still have the original VHS complete with a second cassette that has the mokumnetary on it. www.cbr.com/the-blair-wi...
Is anyone watching The Idaho Murders on Netflix? It’s so unsettling. I saw the news as it broke, like we all did, but listening to these stories are absolutely horrifying. In an era where true crime hinges on exploitation, I feel this was done very well.
If David Ellison had led with this MONTHS ago, perhaps the narrative would be different. Maybe not, but his silence until now feels like a dismissal of public concerns towards the merger. Sarandos was much better at this game when he was still the leader to buy WBD. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
Opinion | David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal
The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of CNN.
nytimes.com
I made a list of my favorite 20th century war films for MovieWeb. I opened with a sleeper, for fun, and people have thoughts haha. I mean, it's got a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes... movieweb.com/great-war-mo...
The 10 Greatest War Movie Masterpieces of the 20th Century, Ranked
These 20th-century war movies stand the test of time.
movieweb.com
One thing i love about #Locarno is The Retrospective I spoke with Ehsan Khoshbakht, the ever stylish and eloquent curator for Variety variety.com/2026/film/gl...
‘The Blacklist Was a Plague’: Locarno Retrospective Curator Ehsan Khoshbakht Talks About What We Can Learn From the Intolerance of the Past
This year's retrospective explores one of the most shameful episodes in Hollywood history: the blacklist drawn up during the Red Scare.
variety.com
Well, it’s invoicing day, and since they’re really apparently not going to pay me for something I wrote for them two months ago, I guess today is the day to post about how @vulture.com fucks over its film freelancers. Long (sorry) thread, with receipts:
Vulture@vulture.com · 3mo agoThere are 118 feature films, plus galas, talks, podcast recordings, and more at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Our guide to the movies and events worth lining up for.
If David Ellison had led with this MONTHS ago, perhaps the narrative would be different. Maybe not, but his silence until now feels like a dismissal of public concerns towards the merger. Sarandos was much better at this game when he was still the leader to buy WBD. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
Opinion | David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal
The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of CNN.
nytimes.com
No shortage of parallels between the Hollywood Blacklist, Red Scare, and our current political moment. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
The Hollywood Left and the Blacklist: A Chat With the Curator of Locarno’s Timely Retrospective for the Age of Trump & Co.
Ehsan Khoshbakht explains what Charlie Chaplin, Dorothy Parker, 'High Noon,' noir films, Paul Thomas Anderson and, yes, even The Hollywood Reporter's own past have to do with "Red & Black."
hollywoodreporter.com
Is anyone watching The Idaho Murders on Netflix? It’s so unsettling. I saw the news as it broke, like we all did, but listening to these stories are absolutely horrifying. In an era where true crime hinges on exploitation, I feel this was done very well.
Fantastic Nolan interview by a Chinese PhD student who asks all the best questions, and receives all the best answers about his interpretation of the Odyssey youtu.be/wa4I8Ch2TRo?...
Christopher Nolan talks narrative decisions, film critics and whether he Christianised The Odyssey
YouTube video by Nolan Archives
youtu.be
No shortage of parallels between the Hollywood Blacklist, Red Scare, and our current political moment. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
The Hollywood Left and the Blacklist: A Chat With the Curator of Locarno’s Timely Retrospective for the Age of Trump & Co.
Ehsan Khoshbakht explains what Charlie Chaplin, Dorothy Parker, 'High Noon,' noir films, Paul Thomas Anderson and, yes, even The Hollywood Reporter's own past have to do with "Red & Black."
hollywoodreporter.com
This is a terrific list with some of my underrated favorites (“The Shelter” and “The Obsolete Man”) and my vote for the all-time greatest: “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street.” (But I might’ve made room for “Nothing in the Dark” and “Night of the Meek”…)
The Twilight Zone with Rod Serling
Alt: The Twilight Zone with Rod Serling
static.klipy.com
Chris Yogerst@chrisyogerst.com · 2w agoI'm also happy to build on my research about Rod Serling's battles with the FCC in support of "mature television" that uses for the format to spark conversations and make people think. movieweb.com/greatest-twi...
Had a blast writing about my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone. There are a few that remain so socially and politically relevant six decades later. Serling was not just a great writer but a modern philosopher. @sepinwall.bsky.social @drsepinwall.bsky.social @anneserling.bsky.social
Okay, who is going to write the National Treasure-inspired story about this?!? "...we're gonna steal Nic Cage's new movie..." www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...
Netflix Sued For $105 Million After Hard Drive of Unreleased Nicolas Cage Movie Was Stolen From Its Office
The lawsuit faults Netflix for losing a drive that contained a copy of World War II thriller 'Fortitude.' The company maintains it's not responsible for the loss of the movie, which it says was delive...
hollywoodreporter.com
For anyone who missed my column about last year's doc on Leni Reifenstahl, give it a read. I was impressed but how prescient her journey is and how it mirrors what we're seeing right now with many in the MAGA-verse who will be denying their support for a range of atrocities post 2028.
Chris Yogerst@chrisyogerst.com · 3w agoAndres Veiel is highlighting a lesson for us today by drudging up this story deep into the twenty-first century. We have seen a rise of dangerous extremisim in the US and abroad. When people in power are called out, their responses echo those from Riefenstahl. open.substack.com/pub/chrisyog...
Great list here! Probably not politically relevant, my forever favorite is "Long Live Walter Jameson," mainly because I am perpetually crushed out on Kevin McCarthy (who IRL lived to be 96!) like any proper grandma
Chris Yogerst@chrisyogerst.com · 2w agoHad a blast writing about my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone. There are a few that remain so socially and politically relevant six decades later. Serling was not just a great writer but a modern philosopher. @sepinwall.bsky.social @drsepinwall.bsky.social @anneserling.bsky.social