Screenwriter and author Roger L. Simon gets the same Oscar-screening links as his fellow Hollywood artists.
And he often asks himself one simple question after reading the one-line descriptions.
Why? Why was this made? It’s a question that speaks to his growing apathy toward modern films and concerns over the “woke”-ification of Hollywood.
The scribe behind “Bustin’ Loose,” “Scenes from a Mall” and his Oscar-nominated “Enemies: A Love Story” told the Hollywood in Toto Podcast what he thinks of the year’s biggest hits;
- “Barbie” – “Cute, but too long”
- “Oppenheimer” – “A very impressive piece of work … but what was it, really?”
The film that grabbed him more than any other last year? “It Ain’t Over,” the heartfelt documentary on Yankees legend Yogi Berra, executive produced by the slugger’s granddaughter, Lindsay Berra.
What “Oppenheimer” lacked, says Simon, is something too many movies today don’t have.
It’s the “Why.
The Berra documentary? That’s a different story.
“I remember this man as one of the icons of my youth,” Simon said. “But I didn’t realize what a stupendous person he was. And this documentary that was made by his granddaughter, this had emotional heft, because it was made by a young woman who loved and adored her grandfather and wished us to get that.”
Simon remains one of the rare, openly conservative storytellers in the entertainment field. His resume packs a punch, starting with his Hollywood credits and expanding through his Moses Wine detective series. He also co-founded PJ Media (formerly Pajamas Media) and served on the faculties for The Sundance Institute and the American Film Institute.
His writings have appeared in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and, now, The Epoch Times. The latter is producing documentaries on subjects Hollywood won’t touch, like “The Real Story of Jan. 6.”
“The suspicious actors…meriting further investigation,” said Defense attorney @bradgeyer, who showed evidence of them provoking the police on Jan. 6 in the Epoch Original Documentary, “#TheRealStoryOfJan6 Part 2: The Long Road Home.” Watch now to learn the truth about Jan. 6!
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) January 23, 2024
He’d like to see the company expand into fiction, but the resources aren’t available yet. The goals must be different, too, he contends.
Documentaries can be political, but a good fictional story shouldn’t be brimming with propaganda.
“There’s something we want in a movie, that is not the same [as a documentary]… You don’t want propaganda. You want the human spirit,” he said.
The Daily Wire vowed to deliver just that with movies like “Terror on the Prairie” and “Shut In.” The company’s most recent film, the comedic “Lady Ballers,” is a salvo in the ongoing culture wars, but it’s not technically political.
How would Simon advise a company like The Daily Wire or The Blaze as they steer resources into original stories?
“It’s all about the script. It’s always all about the script. And that’s the sad truth,” he said. “One of the old moguls said, ‘If it’s not on the page it ain’t on the stage.’”
Hear more from Roger L. Simon, including his feud with late media mogul Andrew Breitbart and the behind-the-scenes wrangling that led to Woody Allen’s “Scenes from a Mall” on the full Hollywood in Toto Podcast episode.
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