435 - Kanye Deserves More Credit, Jaafar Jackson’s “Michael” Performance, “Interest Tentpoles” and a Chat with The Napa Boys, Nick Corirossi & Armen Weitzman

435 - Kanye Deserves More Credit, Jaafar Jackson’s “Michael” Performance, “Interest Tentpoles” and a Chat with The Napa Boys, Nick Corirossi & Armen Weitzman

From The MAKE IT Podcast by Chris Barkley & Nicholas Buggs

May 1, 2026 · 1h 48m

About this episode

The episode discusses current events, the success of the Michael Jackson biopic, and insights from indie filmmakers on the challenges of storytelling in Hollywood.

This episode is brought to you by Anthropic. Claude is the AI for minds that don’t stop at good enough—it's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks WITH you, not for you. Ready to tackle bigger problems? Sign up for Claude Pro when you use our link – www.claude.ai/makeit Hello, Hello! In this episode, hosts Chris Barkley and Nicholas Buggs dive into current events ranging from recent political incidents to Kanye West's public apology, before exploring the massive success of the Michael Jackson biopic and what it reveals about Hollywood's "interest tent pole" strategy. They discuss how studios now greenlight films based on search trends and IP rather than storytelling merit, and examine the challenges facing independent filmmakers in today's market. The conversation concludes with insights from indie filmmakers Nick Corirossi and Armen Weitzman about their comedy "The Napa Boys" and how Hollywood has commoditized nostalgia at the expense of genuine storytelling. We also talk about: • The difference between what audiences want (horror) versus what they need (comedy) based on audience polling • How modern filmmaking has lost essential storytelling…

People in this episode

Hosts: Chris Barkley, Nicholas Buggs

Guests: Nick Corirossi, Armen Weitzman

Topics covered

  • Kanye West
  • Michael Jackson biopic
  • Hollywood strategies
  • independent filmmaking
  • nostalgia in media
  • audience preferences

Keywords

  • Kanye West
  • Michael Jackson
  • independent filmmakers
  • nostalgia
  • interest media
  • film production
  • audience polling

Sponsors

Anthropic

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Claude Pro

Books & works: The Napa Boys, Michael

More episodes of The MAKE IT Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The MAKE IT Podcast podcast page.