Hello and welcome to the bonfire of the vanities episode of Slate Money Goes to the Movies.

I'm Felix Salmon of Axios.

I am a grubby ink-st, wretch hack. I am here with

Emily Peck of Axios, who is also just a normal journalist. Not stained. And we are joined by a true

industry professional here. Taffi Brodosa Akna, you used to be a journalist like us, and now you are a

Hollywood person. And so now you have seen both sides. And so we have to talk about Bonfire of the

vanities because it is the classic example of a movie that, at least when it came out, was

completely hated because a bunch of people read the book and didn't think the movie was as good as the book.

Well, that's true. And I was very confused about it. I actually rewatched it when I was doing a Tom Hanks story in 2019.

I found no real complaint with it.

What?

Mostly because, like, here, there's a very, I have a very complex theory of, I mean,

not a complaint with it, not like a socialist, I mean, I have a socialist complaint

with it, but I didn't have a movie going complaint about it because it just

seemed like, okay, and I said it. And I watched it again. And my husband and I were like, I said,

what's going to happen when I say, when I look these people in the eye and I say, I don't think

this movie is that bad. I agree, by the way, Taffy.

Emily has her jaw on the floor here, but I am with you on this one.

I stopped breathing five minutes ago.

I pulled out my remaining shreds of journalist industry cred.

I texted A.O. Scott, the co-chief critic at the paper where I still work, the New York Times, the Y'am

on leave. And I said, and it was, and I got an answer that made my jaw drop. I said, what's wrong

...