Welcome to Scott Mendelson's The Outside Scoop

Consider this an introductory post which I should have written before I actually started actual analysis/punditry posts.

What is The Outside Scoop?

Well, it’s a new Substack run by Scott Mendelson, infamous film journalist, kill-joy movie critic and bloviating box office pundit. Yes, I’m taking the plunge and hoping for the best. This site will be free throughout December before going at least somewhat paywalled in early 2024. Kids, cats and nonstop supplies of Zevia soda cans are expensive.

What will your valuable legal tender provide?  

This will be a regular run of deep-dive analysis and (when applicable) deadpan commentary. Think box office punditry, film reviews, news analysis and think pieces. It’ll hopefully go beyond conventional wisdom about what films succeed and why (spoiler: it’s usually not about online-only controversies). It’ll hopefully correctly predict industry trends (like Disney undercutting their key brands to boost streaming or China losing interest in Hollywood films) years before they happen. It'll also hold at least some truth to power but always in the form of tough love and learn-from-your-mistakes affirmation rather than above-it-all scorn.  

How often will you publish?

The first step will be finding a balance between not wanting every piece to be an epic poem but also not spamming subscribers with half a dozen emails per day, so please be patient on that front. I may send major stories via email while leaving brief news hits — which won’t be paywalled — on the site for those who stop in.

I’m aiming for some semi-regular podcast content as well, but I don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver.  

I also need to make sure I have time to watch the films I write about. I also don’t want to be in a situation where I’m neglecting my family because a new trailer arrived online or a must-cover news bite has just dropped.

My motto is going to try to be “It can wait.” This means if you want my specific thoughts on a piece of news, a trailer or a movie for review, you’ll hopefully be willing to wait until after the kids' holiday concert, after I take my wife to lunch or after I get back from the latest 3-hour Indian action epic.  

In a nutshell…

If you’ve liked reading me at Mendelson’s Memos, Forbes’ The Ticket Booth and TheWrap Pro, this is the next place for that. I hope you’ll join me for what’s coming. I obviously hope some of you pay for the privilege of reading and listening to everything. Celsius cans and Bai Bubbles bottles are not cheap and heaven forbid, I just drink water. But, with all due respect, that should go without saying. The more paying subscribers I have, the more time I’ll have to spend on deeper-dive material (like interviews) or taking field trips to check out that weird new theater format (remember those Cinepolis Jr. playground theaters?) which may not move the needle in terms of traffic or user bumps.

Anyway, that’s the pitch. As Mickey Mouse once said, come inside, it’s fun inside. I hope to see you around. 

For those who care, I can be found on “Twitter/X”, “Facebook/Meta” and “Bluesky,” but I may start popping up on Threads, Instagram (no thirst traps, I promise) and TikTok (no… uh… whatever the kids do on TikTok). If you pop up on social media, be nice, especially on Facebook as my family can see that stuff.

In the meantime, pop in, have fun, pay up and please go see Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom so I don’t have to eat crow in my first few weeks at this new venture.