@passion56321v2 replied to your post “my hot take is that the first three episodes of hollywood were a lot...”
Honestly, they should have just given Jack's screen time to Rock. While I did like him at times. He was mostly kind of annoying and really didn't add all that much to the story. and they really did do Rock so dirty making him that dumb.
I agree!! There were some nice Jack moments I guess, but he didn’t add much, especially beyond the beginning of it. I was surprised when I was watching and I realized Jack was going to get cast. And then the ~drama~ with his wife became way more central than I wanted it to be, ha.
On top of all that, they didn’t need to make Rock basically bad... at acting? That scene where he does like 100 takes made me want to sink into my couch. It was clearly supposed to be kind of funny, but it just infuriated me.
There were some weird choices. Ryan Murphy wanted to set it in a certain era and even use real life people and moments, but it still felt weirdly disrespectful to have Rock and Vivien Leigh like that, along with some other choices.
Also, I’m going to say something potentially unpopular, but I found the ways in which they had marginalized folks win weirdly tacky at times in a way that didn’t feel like it was in service to marginalized folks? Like you know when same-sex marriage was legalized, and all the straight neoliberals suddenly had their “LOVE WINS” signs? That spirit embodied in a show.
One last thing (and then I promise that I’ll shut up), but Ryan Murphy said he wanted to comment on where Hollywood is now. And I really, really did enjoy the aesthetic of the 40s/50s, but I think what makes it not work is that he wanted the best of both worlds--the commentary of the now with the aesthetic of the 40s/50s. And if he’d committed more to one, I feel like it would have been more successful.