Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Sep 26, 2024
Table of Contents
There’s an art to a good dynamic duo movie. The heroes start out despising each other, circumstances force them to work together, they get in each other’s way for a bit, until begrudgingly they help and accept help from each other. And maybe, just maybe, in the end they care about something other than their lone wolf cool dude status. An interesting plot to hang everything on, a car chase or two, and a couple of big stars? Now you’ve got a good thing going!
George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s latest team-up ‘Wolfs’ is all of the above, with the perfect level of humor and self-seriousness to have some real stakes but remain fun. It’s a movie that rewards viewers who are paying attention and trying to untangle the knot at the center of the plot, but can also be an escapist adventure through the seedier periphery of New York City. The scope of this movie is perfect for Clooney and Pitt to carry, with an interesting cast to build out the world around them. The clichés know that they’re clichéd, but not so much that audiences roll their eyes. There’s a balance to be struck in all aspects of filmmaking, and this movie does it all quite well. If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that ‘Wolfs’ deserved better than to be yanked from wide release and relegated to a streaming service that doesn’t even rank in the top ten. It’s like so many movies that have come before, but it’s something new and fresh on the market right now. If you have a chance to see it before it’s gone, it’s worth a trip to the theater.
Cold open on Margaret (Amy Ryan, who fans of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ will recognize as Jan) having a panic attack over a dead body in her hotel room. Desperate not to tarnish her reputation as district attorney, she calls a number given to her in case she ever needed help, serious help. Clooney picks up, assures her everything is going to be alright, and shortly thereafter appears in her hotel room to make it look like nothing ever even happened. Just as he’s about to get down to business, Pitt walks in. The hotel’s owner (Frances McDormand, never actually seen on screen but very much heard) called him in the same time Margaret called her guy. Fixers work alone, but when two get called to cover up the same incident, these lone wolfs have no choice but to work together. And when the kid (Austin Abrams) who they presumed was dead wakes up? The night goes from frustrating to ever increasingly dangerous, as a run-of-the-mill clean up turns into something much bigger than anyone realized.
‘Wolfs’ is a popcorn movie, I’m not here to deny that. But I am here to advocate for its greatest strength: its ability to walk that fine line between old hat and too busy. There are lots of little details that eagle-eyed viewers will find before they’re openly addressed, and one can construct more of the world of ‘Wolfs’ if they wish based on what’s going on at the edge of the story. Does it matter that this is all taking place around Christmas? No, but there are Christmas lights and music to tell you that’s the time of year, and maybe nod to another action movie set at yuletide. But all of the gangs involved are vaguely eastern European, referred to by nationality and not much else. Clooney and Pitt’s characters are never referred to by name, and are only credited as “Margaret’s Man” and “Pam’s Man”, respectively. The kid doesn’t get a name either! The only named characters either don’t appear on screen at all, or are completely out of the picture within twenty minutes of their first appearance.
But, this doesn’t distract from the story. It actually gives the humor and plot room to breathe. The fixers know what they need to know, and do what they need to do. It doesn’t matter who the drugs belonged to, or what their mutual guy’s name is, or who set up the charade to get them to work together. It doesn’t need to matter. There is plenty of reason to care about these fixers and this kid (especially the kid, Abrams’ monologue performance was extremely impressive) without knowing where they’re from or who they really are. There is plenty of danger implied without knowing exactly why this crime boss doesn’t want his fixers to run into each other. We just get to watch the night play out, unburdened by baggage and homework that has become so integral to some of the most popular franchises of the 21st century. That is so incredibly refreshing in a world of superhero fatigue and sequel madness.
If you were like me and were excited to see ‘Wolfs’ in theaters when you first saw a trailer for it months ago, or even if you weren’t, you were probably surprised when Apple decided to pull the movie from wide release. Instead, ‘Wolfs’ is getting a measly one week limited release prior to its streaming debut on Apple TV+. However, Apple announced essentially in the same breath that they are greenlighting a sequel with director John Watts. If you believe in a movie enough to make a sequel, why pull it from theaters?
From Apple’s perspective, they are making decisions based on the marketplace. ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ didn’t do too hot at the box office, another Apple Studios production distributed by Sony Pictures, despite it being quite good. This pull may reflect that. It doesn’t mean other films won’t get wide releases, especially event films like ‘Napoleon’ and ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’. Anything less than an epic decades in the making? Their future seems a bit foggier.
From an audience and filmmaker perspective, there’s some uncertain mixed messaging going on here. Apple is definitely interested in making high quality, prestige content, there’s no questioning that. But, there seems to be a disconnect between the projects themselves and the decisions that go into the marketing and distribution of their films. The critical response to ‘Wolfs’ had barely broken when the limited release announcement was made. To be fair, had critics been showering this film with praise, this move would make more sense; a limited release creates scarcity, and people would need to subscribe to Apple TV+ to see their latest hot new movie. But reception at the Venice Film Festival was… lukewarm. So, instead, Apple just seems scared to find themselves at the bottom of the box office report.
The advent of streaming cut off the long tail of movies. Physical sales are pretty much negligible when it comes to recouping the cost of making a movie. But, we still have the box office, unless the company making your film decides you don’t anymore. Licensing your film to a streamer after its theatrical run is where the money is at the moment. For now, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon are happy to pay gargantuan amounts of money just to have good content on their platforms, huge upfront fees to assuage actors who won’t get the residuals they’re used to… but what happens when we get to the point in the tech cycle where the disruptors have killed their competition and finally need to be profitable? We are already at that point in the cycle as consumers and viewers, and it’ll be a sad day when we get to that point as filmmakers.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
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