PLAY PODCASTS
While Writers Strike, Special Effects Artists Try To Unionize

While Writers Strike, Special Effects Artists Try To Unionize

It's blockbuster season... why do expensive, CGI-heavy movies often look so meh?

Into It: A Vulture Podcast with Sam Sanders

June 6, 202329m 20s

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (podtrac.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes

‘Across the Spider-Verse’ was an animated feast, but many live-action, CGI-bloated summer blockbusters are visual mush. If you’re tired of lackluster computer-generated special effects, guess what? So are the artists who make them. They’re tired from long shifts and working paycheck to paycheck. VFX workers are some of the few Hollywood creatives who aren’t unionized, and they're scared to speak out against big studios for fear of being blacklisted. Today, Explained guest host Sean Rameswaram talks with New York Magazine’s Chris Lee about a race to the bottom for film quality and working conditions, and what it means to be “pixel f’d.” We also hear from a VFX worker who’s helping push to unionize the industry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices