Eric Francisco
Associate Entertainment Editor at Esquire. Bylines: Inverse, Rolling Stone, Vulture, THR, IGN, Men's Health, Observer, Daily Beast, GamesRadar, AV Club, Nerdist, Kotaku. Rutgers alum. TCA member. I like my sugar with coffee and cream. boxd.it/7IdbX
- Years ago I sat in a theater and felt Kogonada's Columbus sweep me away. Last month, I had the joy of talking to one of its stars, Haley Lu Richardson, about her new role in the excellent Peacock show Ponies and her reunion with Kogonada. Now on Esquire. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- Ashamed to say I dig movies like Masters of the Universe. I don't even care for the IP, I just love action movies with big swords. But while chuds are losing their shit over a pronouns gag, I'm concerned how the movie wants to appeal to those dudes exclusively. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- I'm generally soft on stories about well-intended everyman losers learning their true heroic potential, but I'm bummed how Masters of the Universe has this awful stench of appeasing the worst guys you know to tell them they don't have to grow up
- Giggling a little more because these are my local theaters. The Brunswick Square theater is really that tiny.
- This went up earlier this week and only sharing it now, but the 2016 throwback trend left me wondering: Why don't we think about 2016 in movies too much? Answer: It was a pretty bad fuckin' year. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoThis is why I find it depressing that people seek out media coverage/criticism from podcasters who have zero journalistic know-how. Just give your (informed) opinion and let the chips fall where they may, don’t do this disingenuous, opportunistic shit
- feels both depressing and inevitable, and the thing i find most fascinating about it is the decision and then commitment to performing wild enthusiasm anyhow. you hate this, and yet you understand the very real monetary benefit of championing it www.outsports.com/2026/1/22/24...
- More than the thrill of watching artists apply their craft, making-of docs inspire people. They let you see how cool it is to make stuff that you'll want to make stuff too. I don't think I'd be writing about movies today if I didn't devour the BTS extras on the Batman Begins DVD over Christmas 2005.
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoThis feels like little consolation at this exact moment, but I've genuinely never been prouder of anything in my entire life than what we did at Inverse. We were always a scrappy little team doing incredible stuff with increasingly less resources. The work we did meant something.
- I fucking love The Rip. But I hate that it's a January Netflix dump. It's not a big crowdpleaser so I doubt its box office prospects, but the ongoing cannibalization of Hollywood is clear in movies like The Rip being buried by the algorithm. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoStill recovering from another heart surgery, I dragged myself to a picket line to back the 15k nurses on strike in NYC, including at my longtime hospital, New York-Presbyterian. www.progressreport.news/p/give-the-s...
- Extremely funny to soundtrack Stellan Skarsgård's Golden Globe win to Usher's "Yeah"
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoRenee Macklin Good's wife, Becca Good, released a statement and it moved me to sobbing tears: archive.is/ur35j
- One of my 2026 resolutions is to post more. Sounds unhealthy I know, but I've been doing work I'm very proud of at Esquire, but between some false modesty and serious insecurities on my part, I didn't think I was worth updating everyone on everything all the time. This year I'm yapping more online.
- A good place to start is with a quick roundup of 25 video games I'm really, really looking forward to later this year. Some obvious heavy hitters are here, like 007 First Light. But Romeo Is a Dead Man, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, and Onimusha have my attention too. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoTCA EOY Spotlight | @ericfrancisco24.bsky.social "As a Star Wars fan with some knowledge of French from high school, my ears perked when I heard the Ghorman language. Lucasfilm enthusiastically pointed me to dialect coach Marina Tyndall, and I learned how #Andor invented a language from scratch."
- Finally solved my computer's TPM issues and upgraded to Windows 11 at last.
- Trying to think about the life and work of Rob Reiner over the cruelty of his death. First time I saw This Is Spinal Tap left me wheezing. I've heard "The Princess Bride is my comfort movie" infinity times. He journeyed through genres and made the best in all of them.
- I freely admit to being a Sorkin dork but The American President ought to be on streaming more www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyGi...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoIn the latest installment of Tokusatsu Now, @ericfrancisco24.bsky.social, @mhwilliams.bsky.social and I chat about Project R.E.D and the other tokusatsu to expect in 2026, but also discuss Kill Bill and Quentin Tarantino’s connection to the genre. Watch the full episode: youtu.be/Dsy0ut7AHwk?...
- lol. lmao. deadline.com/2025/10/netf...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoIt’s hard to not see the Netflix/WB news as a sort of doomsday scenario. The constant mergers and large scale absorptions of brands might be good for business, in theory, but they are bad for art; they are bad for creators; they are bad for preservation. Which makes it bad for us.
- I’m going to miss movie theaters.
- Okay but will the Call of Duty movie have a Zombies DLC?
- At New York Comic Con, seated for a panel moderated by Martin Scorsese.
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoDave Gibbons contribution to the 1988 anthology AARGH!
- For the second time in my career, I've interviewed Justin Lin. Excited to premiere the trailer for Last Days, his first independent movie in almost 20 years, at Esquire. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- I tracked down an entomologist and, ahem, bugged them with questions about Alien: Earth. I've done a lot of cool interviews in the past but this is easily the most fun I've had in a long time. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- Who’s your favorite Jedi? (wrong answers only)
- This would kill as an Act 1 needledrop
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoI don't think a lot of younger folks realize what a bfd #MeToo was, and the deep resentment and anger felt by a certain segment of powerful men at the very idea that they shouldn't have the privilege of abusing and taking advantage of women that they'd always felt entitled to.
- That was the most Disney+ ass trailer, you can't tell me that's for a theatrical movie
- Disney throwing a half-baked Mando trailer to make us forget about Jimmy Kimmel
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoCalling all Guild members, labor allies and anyone who believes in a free country — Join us outside the entrance to ABC's offices at 7 Hudson Square (310 Hudson Street, Manhattan) TOMORROW at 12 PM ET to demand that ABC bring back Jimmy Kimmel Live! RSVP: wgaea.st/kimmel-rally
- Cowards.
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoI wrote about the firing of Alan Sepinwall, which is awful. And I tied it into what's happening all over in the media, why it's scary & what we can do to help. I used my words, but it's definitely Hulk Mo dialed up to 11, if that's a thing you would like to experience: www.moryan.com/on-the-firin...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoEverytime it feels like this industry must surely have hit bottom, oh no here’s a lower place.
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoA Black man and a homeless man were found hanging from trees in Mississippi yesterday, for those who haven’t seen yet because it’s barely made it out of local news.
- My colleagues say All the President's Men and The Candidate, my bros say Captain America: The Winter Soldier, my mom says The Way We Were. But for me, my all-time favorite Robert Redford movie is Barefoot in the Park. Silly, sexy, lovely. Him and Jane Fonda together, nuclear grade chemistry.
- Speaking of, YouTube Premium happens to have a LOT of Robert Redford movies streaming right now, including the aforementioned Barefoot as well as The Candidate, Spy Game, All is Lost, Sneakers, A Walk in the Woods, and The Great Gatsby. Probably more!
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoSome news: yesterday was my last at Rolling Stone. For now, I'm going solo, doing all my TV reviewing, recapping, etc., at my newsletter. I hope you'll consider subscribing. Many more details here:
- It just feels kinda cruel how that counter pops up while people are trying to find the words to thank people
- This Boys and Girls Club/acceptance speech bit is not just awkward but kind of a weird vibe killer, which might be a problem because AWARDS SHOWS ARE A THREE-PLUS-HOUR VIBES EXPERIENCE. #EmmyAwards
- Reposted by Eric Francisco"I just want to say, go birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine," "Hacks" star Hannah Einbinder at the #Emmys
- When I grow up I want to be like Tramell Tillman
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoFeel like I’m going insane with the revisionist history that Charlie Kirk fostered open debate. He chilled speech and his targeting of professors for wrongthink led to threats, harassment, and being forced out of their jobs. His legacy is chilling speech right now, about him
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoThis man will not be fired for calling for the murder of American citizens, yet multiple journalists/reporters/teachers lost their job for accurately reporting things Charlie Kirk actually said and stood for. But it’s the “violent left” that’s the problem
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoHere’s I wrote about gamergate 11 years ago. Almost nobody major in the media got what this was or why it mattered. “Eh, it’s just nerdy Online Drama.” The difference now? The cluelessness remains, fewer publications & reporters—& gamergate took over the country. www.huffpost.com/entry/anita-...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoWhen you publish a website that posts the names and photos of scholars who have written or said things you disagree with and encourage people to surveil and harass them, you are not, in fact, a “free speech” organization.
- Reposted by Eric Francisco[This post could not be retrieved]
- How do young men see the world? For #TheLongWalk, I had the thrill of talking to Garrett Wareing and Charlie Plummer about their collection of photos they snapped during production. I'm proud to help share them with the world. Now on Esquire. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoThis is also the exact vibe of Charlie Kirk obituaries. Nary a mention of how he said he’d hypothetically force his daughter to deliver her rapist’s baby at age 10
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoHere’s why Power Rangers fell apart relatively quickly into its existence. For the full episode with myself, @ericfrancisco24.bsky.social, @agreenriver.bsky.social and @mhwilliams.bsky.social, talking about the Rise and Fall of #PowerRangers, click here: youtu.be/NX-MeRpvg0A?...
- Went to see Oasis earlier this week in my home state. It was a religious experience. My latest for Esquire: www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoMorning
- The delay on [REDACTED] is wild because it's honestly pretty fuckin' awesome
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoLAPD choppers are a malignant nuisance. They're harbingers of surveillance, operated *continuously*—yet the city's own data show they raise stress, impair cognition and burn 100,000s of gallons of gas. The best part? there's no evidence they deter or reduce crime at all. It's time to ground them.
- As a massive fan of Shane Black, I jumped at the chance to talk to him about his latest film Play Dirty, which breaks a long dry spell from directing after seven long years. My interview with Black, plus the exclusive trailer debut for Play Dirty, now on Esquire. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
- Reposted by Eric Francisco🚨TOKUSATSU NOW🚨 On the inaugural episode of the show, @ericfrancisco24.bsky.social blows the minds of me, @agreenriver.bsky.social, and @mhwilliams.bsky.social by revealing the true origins of Marvel's America Chavez. Check the replies for details! Full video: youtu.be/FC3aobcCXAc?...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoAs a metaphor for the relationship between Fox News and the Trump administration this is a little too on the nose
- Writing about Alien: Earth, an explainer about The Five, bribing my editor to use this photo
- FIVE bad boys with the power to rock you blowin' your mind so you gotta get into FIVE, whatcha waitin' FOUR, if you wanna THREE, TWO, ONE, let's do it
- For a long time when I met people and told them what I do for a living, I used to frame it as, "What you do for fun, I do for work!" I'm stopping that. Work is work period, and what we do demands skill and scholarship. If everyone could do it, they would and not have AI do it for them.
- Criticism isn't ranting and raving. It's taking into account history and artistic nuance and a wealth of knowledge that the vast majority of people don't even bother themselves to understand. You can miss me with that "those who can't, critique" bullshit either, because you can't do it either.
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoThe missing piece of the equation explaining why so many critic positions are being eliminated is the little AI summaries at the top of Google results, which reduced click-throughs drastically. Once again, a tech company has stolen human labor and monetized it and doesn't care about the impact.
- Reposted by Eric Francisco
I genuinely do think a realignment in how we produce film criticism and get people to engage with it is going to have to happen. I just don't know what that looks like, especially as an overall interest in arts and culture, much less expertise, seems in steep decline in this country. - Reposted by Eric FranciscoMaybe it’s because I’m a state legislator, but I’m worried about the under reaction here. She didn’t spend the night on the House floor. She’s being DETAINED AGAINST HER WILL BY REPUBLICANS UNTIL SHE FOLLOWS THEIR ORDERS. This is 🦇 💩
- Unreal to say this but, I interviewed Tony Hawk about the endurance of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater—the highs, lows, and whatever the future holds. Childhood fulfilled, full circle moment, etc. Ironic that words fail to explain what this means to me, but I've got 2400+ of them anyway. Now on Esquire.
- Reposted by Eric Franciscojesus christ
- A bucket list dream interview of mine publishes tomorrow. Beyond thrilled.
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoThere are seven types of people on social media.
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoReading this @gqmagazine.bsky.social profile of Hasan Piker and oh my god this paragraph just made me feel like the cryptkeeper www.gq.com/story/hasan-...
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoIt’s genuinely insane that this technology is even legal, let alone that it’s being shoved down our throats from every possible angle
- Reposted by Eric FranciscoThe only remotely wise thing I can say is to directly support outlets that are still writing thoughtful, eloquent criticism. Shell out a few $ for a subscription to those who offer it, hit the free sites with your traffic, share good pieces here and elsewhere. It's a tiny thing, but it's something.
