The Jay & Tony Show Show - Vertically Challenged

142 - Why Is Tom Cruise's Producer Doing Verticals? - Tommy Harper Part 2

Part 2 In Part 2, Jay and Tony venture with Tommy into the wonderfully unhinged business of vertical drama, because apparently producing billion-dollar franchises was not stressful enough. Tommy breaks down why he launched VU, what Hollywood veterans still do not understand about verticals, how budgets, marketing, influencers, AI, and audience behavior are reshaping the game, and why the next great entertainment opportunity may not come from a studio lot, but from a phone screen, a ruthless hook, and several thousand very dramatic seconds of content. Contact: jay@jayandtonyshow.com The Jay and Tony Show: [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/] www.jayandtonyshow.com [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/]

141 - Why Is Tom Cruise's Producer Doing Verticals? - Tommy Harper Part 1

Jay and Tony sit down with Tommy Harper, a guy who somehow went from wrangling extras as a PA on Showgirls to producing Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, Wednesday, and basically half the movies that make the rest of us feel professionally inadequate. In Part 1, Tommy walks through the accidental, slightly insane path from PA-ing alongside Hollywood legends to building a career with Tim Burton, J.J. Abrams, and Tom Cruise, while explaining what actually matters when things gets expensive, the stakes get stupid, and how a random article on a train in Spain sent him down the vertical drama rabbit hole. Contact: jay@jayandtonyshow.com The Jay and Tony Show: [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/] www.jayandtonyshow.com [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/]

140 - Silence of the LLMs - Eddie Yoon Part 2

Jay and Tony continue their conversation with Eddie Yoon as they dive into AI actors, infinity contracts, dead celebrity licensing, fake movie trailers, and the very real possibility that Hollywood may eventually decide physical reality is simply too expensive. They debate whether AI actually democratizes creativity or just hands the keys to a new class of gatekeepers wearing Patagonia vests. Eddie breaks down why every studio is already quietly building AI systems, what happens when machines learn your taste better than you do, and why "creative instinct" may soon be something you license. Contact: jay@jayandtonyshow.com The Jay and Tony Show: [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/] www.jayandtonyshow.com [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/]

139 - Overheard at the LA Vertical Market

Jay ventured to the LA Vertical Market so Tony didn't have to. From AI panic to talks on data-driven storytelling to debates over how to properly carry a woman out of a room, the guys unpack the weird, fascinating, slightly dystopian future of micro dramas. Along the way, they get into China's production of tens of thousands of AI titles a month, the fact that comedy somehow still works, and a world worshiping new technology even though nobody can explain who owns anything anymore. Equal parts industry therapy session and cynical autopsy. Contact: jay@jayandtonyshow.com The Jay and Tony Show: [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/] www.jayandtonyshow.com [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/]

138 - Silence of the LLMs - Eddie Yoon Part 1

Jay and Tony sit down with AI researcher and media analyst Eddie Yoon to dissect the bizarre, thrilling, slightly cursed new era of AI-first creativity, where everyone is pretending there's a rulebook, but everyone's too scared to read it. They dig into why every AI short somehow looks like Bridgerton got trapped in a perfume ad, the coming vertical drama land grab, algorithmic storytelling, and Gen Z's bold decision to skip the whole "learn the craft" portion of the career journey. Contact: jay@jayandtonyshow.com The Jay and Tony Show: [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/] www.jayandtonyshow.com [https://www.jayandtonyshow.com/]