Peter Bart
Deadline Hollywood
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Past articles by Peter:
Peter Bart: Mel Brooks’ Outrageous ‘History’ Lessons Help Distract From Oscar Week
Mel Brooks' blasphemies on Hulu this week serve as a welcome distraction from the numbing debates that usually dominate Oscar Week, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: In Hollywood Award Season, Voters Have Learned To Distrust The Buzz
The annual Oscar melee always reminds us of this mandate: Never believe the “buzz.” Every important movie arrives with an aura – and it’s usually wrong or misleading. The advance buzz o… → Read More
Peter Bart: Sumner Redstone Wanted To Champion Movies, But His Lust For Power Made Him A “Corporate Monster”
A new book by James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams chronicles the successes and lurid failures of Sumner Redstone, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: Gustavo Dudamel’s Defection Indicative Of A Reignited East Coast-West Coast Rivalry
The classic New York vs. Los Angeles tension is playing out on several fronts at the moment, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: Big Media Honchos Hunt For Ways To Accentuate The Positive In Turbulent Moment
Companies like Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery are working to enhance their image, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: Awards Speeches Could Use An Edit, But So Could Those Marathon Movies
Whether in speeches or the projects generating them, filmmakers and writers classically distrust their editors, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: Golden Globes And “Top Gov” Reveal Depths Of The Culture Chasm
Ron DeSantis' media strategy is the opposite of the one employed by the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: Could Awards-Season Galas Help Cure Hollywood’s Movie Malaise?
The curtain is being raised Thursday night on what looks to be an idiosyncratic festival awards season, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: The State Of Dealmaking In Hollywood Is A Whole New Ballgame, Again
Everything in Hollywood seems to be in a state of negotiation with everyone wanting a bigger piece of the pie, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: Prestige Filmmakers Get Personal This Awards Season, But Are Audiences Responding?
Films telling personal stories in general are failing to awaken strong responses from ticket buyers, Peter Bart writes. → Read More
Peter Bart: James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ Movies Represent Titanic Commitment In A Changing World
James Cameron would argue the Avatar movies represent a cultural force and a prophecy on climate change, not a Marvel-like game plan, Peter Bart says. → Read More
Peter Bart: Pre-Woke Royals Reveled In Hollywood Naughtiness, But The William-And-Kate Show Ducks Family Rivalries
Having just arrived in Los Angeles, Prince Philip faced a covey of reporters with photographers snapping away. “You asked about my mission to America,” he said. “The Queen and I are dedicated to helping the underprivileged. Mind you, we realize that an underprivileged child in Los Angeles is one who doesn’t have his own swimming […] → Read More
Peter Bart: Shakespearean Subplots Threaten Bob Iger’s Second Act
To many, the Magic Kingdom circa 2022 seems a maze of tensions as it tries to mobilize its complex constituencies. → Read More
Peter Bart: ‘She Said’ Team Should Have Investigated Hiring Oscar-Winning ‘Spotlight’ Writer
Tom McCarthy is a clever writer who has drawn audiences to a difficult genre: thrillers about newspapers. 'She Said' should have hired him, Peter Bart argues. → Read More
Gray Frederickson Dies: ‘Godfather’ & ‘Apocalypse Now’ Producer Was 85
Gray Frederickson, one of the busiest and most respected producers and executives of the ‘60s through the ‘80s who worked on 'The Godfather', has died at 85. → Read More
Peter Bart: Upcoming Spielberg, Mendes & Gray Movies Could Teach Newly Troubled Tech Titans Some Old Tricks
Three rite-of-passage movies are vying for attention this week at a moment when the rewards of maturity seem to be offering more gratification than the agonies of youth. Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes and James Gray have delivered candid and poignant coming-of-age dramas dealing with broken marriages, mental health traumas and unwitting encounters with racial inequities, […] → Read More
Peter Bart: Hollywood Might Need To Re-Think Its Agenda & Casting Choices Amid Nation’s Political Ambiguity
Hollywood plays a role in our politics as well as pop culture, and hence would do well to heed the cultural shift reflected in the midterms. The audience is changing -- will movies and TV change also? → Read More
Peter Bart: Hollywood Honchos Are In A Likability Lull, But Does It Really Matter?
I had just arrived at a small dinner party several years ago when a surprise guest, Johnny Carson, seated himself across from me and promptly invoked the dreaded “L” word. “We haven’t met before, so I should explain that I’m not a very ‘likable’ dinner companion,” he advised. “I’m paid to be entertaining on TV, […] → Read More
Peter Bart: Hollywood Studio Protectors Of Old Would Still Have Plenty To Do These Days
He spoke in a raspy monotone that was at once commanding, yet menacing. Howard Strickling officially was the public relations boss of MGM during its heyday, but his real responsibility, he would explain, was protection more than publicity. Strickling’s mission was to nurture the roster of stars under studio contract. If he were around today […] → Read More
Peter Bart: A Coat Of Paint On The Hollywood Sign Can‘t Obscure Industry’s Erosion Of Creative Courage
A team of painters were at work this week restoring the mega-photographed Hollywood sign, a mission that carries a perverse irony. All week I’ve been assaulted by studies and reports describing how Hollywood, the industry town, has essentially surrendered its leadership in the universe of pop culture. The message: The industry has dimmed its vision […] → Read More