The Bull Sheet #6: Hollywood Goes Indie
Bi-weekly news and updates on what's going on at The Bull's Eye.
Welcome to a new edition of The Bull Sheet—my bi-weekly musings, rants, and personal reflections on film, writing, journalism, and everything happening with The Bull’s Eye.
So that was fun, wasn’t it? The Oscars, I mean.
In the last Bull Sheet, I dared to share some predictions on who I thought would win, and I even joined a Norwegian podcast to throw a few out there. So, let’s see how I did, shall we?
Well, I didn’t get many right—but honestly, I’m glad I didn’t. I’ll explain why in a minute, but if you want to check out my original predictions, you can find them in the previous edition of The Bull Sheet.
I did get a few, though. Best Animated Feature went to the incredible Flow, which we also awarded a Golden Globe earlier this year. For Costume Design, the Oscar went to Wicked, a film I didn’t fall for as hard as some of my friends. In fact, I’ve been “yelled at” on social media for giving it a good score while admitting it wasn’t to my personal taste. Apparently, appreciating a film’s craft while acknowledging it’s not for you is a concept some people struggle with—but I digress.
Best Original Song was an easy one. Emilia Pérez didn’t have the smoothest awards season thanks to the media circus and controversy surrounding Karla Sofía Gascón, but Zoë Saldaña’s performance of El Mal in the film was fantastic. The songwriters’ thank-you speech? Not so much.
The other two I got right were both for the phenomenal Dune: Part Two, which, at the time of writing, I’ve only seen once—back at the press screening. I’ve been meaning to do a proper rewatch of both of Villeneuve’s Dune films for a while now, so I should probably get to that before the screeners for 2025 start flooding my inbox.
Anyway, as expected, Dune: Part Two won for both Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.
All in all, it was a pretty standard, forgettable Oscar night—except for one thing: it was an amazing year for independent, low-budget films. Both Anora and The Brutalist won big, and both were well-deserved. Seeing those kinds of films break through is a real inspiration for screenwriters working on their own passion projects. And after getting back to screenwriting myself over the last couple of years, that gives me a little hope. So I’m glad I was mistaken on so many of my predictions this year, and that it was a night to celebrate indie film.
Speaking of screenwriting, I want to mention the new Screenwriting Section here on The Bull’s Eye. This is where you can follow my screenwriting projects—moving forward, I’ll be publishing articles, thoughts on characters and story, progress reports, and even scenes from the screenplay I’m currently working on.
Since this is a Section—Substack’s way of saying a separate newsletter—you’ll need to subscribe to it separately if you want to follow along. So if you're interested in the creative side of film and TV and want to join me on this screenwriting journey, sign up.
You can find the Screenwriting Section here or at the top of the main page.
Status on articles
The last couple of weeks have been a bit quieter than usual, but that’s just how things go sometimes. As I mentioned, I’ve been focused on writing my screenplay and setting up the Screenwriting Section here on the site.
That said, you may have seen a review or two pop up recently—like my take on Boiling Point, which I posted as a bit of prep for director Philip Barantini’s upcoming Netflix miniseries, Adolescence, shot in much the same style—all in one shot!
Next up is my review of Netflix’s adaptation of Swedish illustrator and author Simon Stålenhag’s The Electric State. It’s a visually stunning, action-packed sci-fi road trip. It might not fully tap into all of Stålenhag’s themes, but it’s still a highly enjoyable watch.
Looking ahead, I’m still working on my Star Wars article, which has somehow spiraled into a full series—each piece exploring a different entry in the franchise. The working title for the series? An Optimist’s Guide to (title).
I’ll also have some guest writers coming in soon, including a review of The Wheel of Time Season 3. I’d review it myself, but I have to admit, I’m struggling a bit with that series. And if I’m very lucky, I’ll also have a guest piece on Anora, this year’s Best Picture Oscar winner, exploring how sex workers are portrayed in film and TV. At least, that’s the concept—let’s see where it lands.
And that’s a wrap!
So stay tuned. Much more to come.
Until next time!