Hudson Hawk (with David Hughes)

Hudson Hawk (with David Hughes)

From Unspooled by Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson | Realm

September 3, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

Paul and Amy discuss the ambitious failure of Hudson Hawk with journalist David Hughes.

Paul and Amy embrace an ambitious failure with Hudson Hawk, the gloriously strange Bruce Willis passion project that went from bar-napkin idea to legendary box-office flop. They dig into the movie’s chaotic production with journalist David Hughes to explore the clashing scripts, candy-bar CIA agents, singing cat burglars, and the impossible balancing act of trying to be both cool and completely ridiculous. Was Hudson Hawk simply a bad movie, or a fascinating movie that never found its right version? Paul and Amy (and David!) make the case for taking another look. Check out The Unmaking of Hudson Hawk by David Hughes:https://plumeriapics.co.uk/shop/ols/products/xn--the-unmaking-of-hudson-hawk-by-david-hughes-paperback-pre-order--out-april-1-ml53c You can join the Unspooled conversation on Paul’s Discord at https://discord.gg/ZwtygZGTa6 Follow Paul and Amy on Letterboxd for more of their movie hot takes! https://letterboxd.com/paulscheer/ https://letterboxd.com/theamynicholson/ Paul’s book Joyful Recollections of Trauma is out now! Find it at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/joyful-recollections-of-trauma-paul-scheer Check out more of Paul's writing…

People in this episode

Hosts: Paul Scheer, Amy Nicholson

Guest: David Hughes

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Realm, Letterboxd, HarperCollins, Substack, Unspooled

Books & works: Hudson Hawk, The Unmaking of Hudson Hawk

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