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An Actor Despairs

An Actor Despairs

By: Ryan M. Perez
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Summary

 An inside look at life in the television and film industry. Join your host Ryan M. Perez as he speaks with actors, directors, and artists more about how the industry works and how to not only survive but to thrive.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan M. Perez Art Entertainment & Performing Arts
Episodes
  • Daniel Bessner Part 2

    Daniel Bessner Part 2
    May 13 2026
    Join your host Ryan M. Perez as he sits down with Daniel Bessner, college professor and host of American Prestige, to discuss the history of Hollywood’s financialization and the decline of the middle class in the entertainment industry. The conversation explores how Hollywood evolved from the studio system of the 1920s-1950s into a gig-based economy following the labor strikes of the 1960s, and eventually into a financialized system dominated by conglomerates, private equity firms, and streaming platforms. Daniel breaks down how deregulation, asset management companies, and the collapse of mass culture transformed the industry, creating growing instability for working artists and reshaping what it means to sustain a career in entertainment today.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • Neil Forsyth

    Neil Forsyth
    May 11 2026
    Join your host Ryan M. Perez as he sits down with Neil Forsyth, creator of Guilt and the new Legends on Netflix, to discuss his journey from growing up in Dundee, Scotland and writing football fanzines to becoming a successful television writer. The conversation explores the making of Legends, his breakthrough into television with Bob Servant, the development of Guilt, his writing process and approach to structure and research, adapting true stories for television, and the challenges facing writers in today’s industry. Neil also reflects on the decline of development funding, the importance of the BBC supporting unique voices, his resistance to AI in the creative process, and what it really takes to build a lasting career in storytelling!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • Daniel Bessner Part 1

    Daniel Bessner Part 1
    May 6 2026

    Part 1 of 2: Join your host Ryan M. Perez as he sits down with Daniel Bessner, college professor and host of American Prestige, to discuss his upbringing in New York, academic journey into U.S. foreign policy and democracy, and his analysis of how entertainment and media shape public understanding of the world. The conversation explores Hollywood’s evolution from a more artist-driven industry in the 1930s and 1940s into a system increasingly aligned with corporate and capitalist values, the decline of mass culture, the rise of gig work in entertainment, and the growing instability facing working artists today.


    https://harpers.org/archive/2024/05/the-life-and-death-of-hollywood-daniel-bessner/


    https://americanprestigepod.com/


    https://danielbessner.com/

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 4 mins
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