Jacob Oller
@jacoboller.bsky.social
Film Editor at @avclub.com
Video Game Movie Expert
Southerner in Chicago
Video Game Movie Expert
Southerner in Chicago
Pinned
Jacob Oller
@jacoboller.bsky.social
· Oct 17
This is the hardest I've ever known someone didn't watch the thing they were writing about
heartbreaking: the worst person you know just made the exact point you'd expect
February 11, 2026 at 6:40 PM
heartbreaking: the worst person you know just made the exact point you'd expect
Every documentary I've seen about AI features some sweaty tech guy saying this exact thing www.pastemagazine.com/movies/sunda...
February 11, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Every documentary I've seen about AI features some sweaty tech guy saying this exact thing www.pastemagazine.com/movies/sunda...
we asked the people inside the snake oil factory about their potions and elixirs - they say even THEY can't predict all their wonderful effects
Experiments conducted with the A.I. system Claude are producing fascinating results—and raising questions about the nature of selfhood. Gideon Lewis-Kraus reports from inside the company that designed it, Anthropic. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/rOfXjg
February 11, 2026 at 3:10 PM
we asked the people inside the snake oil factory about their potions and elixirs - they say even THEY can't predict all their wonderful effects
We're talking Werner Heisenberg, we're talking Asteroid City, we're talking Twin Peaks: The Return
February 11, 2026 at 2:44 PM
We're talking Werner Heisenberg, we're talking Asteroid City, we're talking Twin Peaks: The Return
there's an international color version of this out there but c'mon why would you second guess Roger Deakins
February 11, 2026 at 2:39 PM
there's an international color version of this out there but c'mon why would you second guess Roger Deakins
For this month's Criterion column, I wrote about a beautifully bleak Coen brothers joint: The Man Who Wasn't There www.avclub.com/cult-of-crit...
Cult Of Criterion: The Man Who Wasn't There
With The Man Who Wasn't There, the Coen brothers tell one of their bleakest cosmic jokes in the language of film noir.
www.avclub.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:36 PM
For this month's Criterion column, I wrote about a beautifully bleak Coen brothers joint: The Man Who Wasn't There www.avclub.com/cult-of-crit...
Reposted by Jacob Oller
That’s about what my calculations were
we crunched some numbers www.avclub.com/melania-budg...
Melania's budget could've paid the salaries of every fired Washington Post employee, three times over
An incomplete breakdown of Jeff Bezos' financial priorities, weighing one piece of propaganda (Melania) against 300 journalists.
www.avclub.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:05 PM
That’s about what my calculations were
this is an imperfect science considering how little is truly disclosed around Hollywood accounting, but it sure SEEMS like Melania is contending with the top 10 or so highest-salaried actors for a single film
![Highest-earning actors for a single production
Actor Film Year Salary Total income Ref.
Robert Downey Jr. Captain America: Civil War 2016 $40,000,000 $40,000,000+ [7]
Will Smith King Richard 2021 $40,000,000 $40,000,000 [19]
Johnny Depp Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 2011 $35,000,000 $55,000,000 [12][13]
Will Smith Emancipation 2022 $35,000,000 $35,000,000 [27]
Keanu Reeves The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions 2003 $30,000,000 $156,000,000 [1]
Mel Gibson Lethal Weapon 4 1998 $30,000,000 $30,000,000 [1]
Leonardo DiCaprio Don't Look Up 2021 $30,000,000 $30,000,000 [20]
Leonardo DiCaprio Killers of the Flower Moon 2023 $30,000,000 $30,000,000 [27]
Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 2003 $29,250,000 $30,000,000+ [nb 3][1]
Robert Downey Jr. Avengers: Endgame 2019 $20,000,000 $75,000,000 [8]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bck7uabvjt4xu5uzn3exzhqj/bafkreiadrlitsiigetkn5eyslbu6xnpw7ulq7vz4dfxgeu44r6uljewu2q@jpeg)
February 10, 2026 at 10:19 PM
this is an imperfect science considering how little is truly disclosed around Hollywood accounting, but it sure SEEMS like Melania is contending with the top 10 or so highest-salaried actors for a single film
I knew the price Bezos paid for Melania was obscene compared to other docs, or to staffing a newspaper with award-winning journalists
but I didn't realize he paid the First Lady the same amount Arnold Schwarzenegger got for coming back for Terminator 3
but I didn't realize he paid the First Lady the same amount Arnold Schwarzenegger got for coming back for Terminator 3
February 10, 2026 at 10:05 PM
I knew the price Bezos paid for Melania was obscene compared to other docs, or to staffing a newspaper with award-winning journalists
but I didn't realize he paid the First Lady the same amount Arnold Schwarzenegger got for coming back for Terminator 3
but I didn't realize he paid the First Lady the same amount Arnold Schwarzenegger got for coming back for Terminator 3
we crunched some numbers www.avclub.com/melania-budg...
Melania's budget could've paid the salaries of every fired Washington Post employee, three times over
An incomplete breakdown of Jeff Bezos' financial priorities, weighing one piece of propaganda (Melania) against 300 journalists.
www.avclub.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:01 PM
we crunched some numbers www.avclub.com/melania-budg...
we've already gotten 300 applications for this! Please get yours in by the end of the week so I can know how much of my life will be devoted to reading cover letters
Extremely exciting news: We're hiring a full-time film critic to come work with me at The A.V. Club!
You probably have an idea if you're qualified for this, but if there's something that's not in the job listing, I'm sure I can answer Qs www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
You probably have an idea if you're qualified for this, but if there's something that's not in the job listing, I'm sure I can answer Qs www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
The A.V. Club hiring Film Critic in Greater Chicago Area | LinkedIn
Posted 8:42:22 PM. The A.V. Club is seeking an experienced Film Critic to join our team of trenchant writers and…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:35 PM
we've already gotten 300 applications for this! Please get yours in by the end of the week so I can know how much of my life will be devoted to reading cover letters
Reposted by Jacob Oller
Wrote about the lovely and odd body-swap movie that asks the question “Would the world treat a nice chair better than your average human woman?” www.avclub.com/by-design-re...
By Design imagines how lovely it would be to simply be a chair
Amanda Kramer's comic body-swapping fantasy By Design is precise, mannered, and warmly kooky. Also, a lady becomes a chair.
www.avclub.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Wrote about the lovely and odd body-swap movie that asks the question “Would the world treat a nice chair better than your average human woman?” www.avclub.com/by-design-re...
Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights has transcended this Garth Marenghi bit and requires something stronger
February 10, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights has transcended this Garth Marenghi bit and requires something stronger
Oh he is referenced in my review's first line. But we've gotten two of these movies this year already and it's only February!!
February 10, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Oh he is referenced in my review's first line. But we've gotten two of these movies this year already and it's only February!!
Need one more movie to complete By Design and A Useful Ghost's "woman becomes a household object" trend piece
February 10, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Need one more movie to complete By Design and A Useful Ghost's "woman becomes a household object" trend piece
Wrote about the lovely and odd body-swap movie that asks the question “Would the world treat a nice chair better than your average human woman?” www.avclub.com/by-design-re...
By Design imagines how lovely it would be to simply be a chair
Amanda Kramer's comic body-swapping fantasy By Design is precise, mannered, and warmly kooky. Also, a lady becomes a chair.
www.avclub.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Wrote about the lovely and odd body-swap movie that asks the question “Would the world treat a nice chair better than your average human woman?” www.avclub.com/by-design-re...
We were perhaps Too Hot To Handle for LinkedIn but the info is here www.avclub.com/hiring-film-...
Join us: The A.V. Club is hiring a Film Critic
Join us: The A.V. Club is hiring a Film Critic
www.avclub.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:48 PM
We were perhaps Too Hot To Handle for LinkedIn but the info is here www.avclub.com/hiring-film-...
Oh yeahhh, and it’s a stampede every time
February 9, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Oh yeahhh, and it’s a stampede every time
I truly can’t remember the last full-time role I saw open up!
February 9, 2026 at 9:43 PM
I truly can’t remember the last full-time role I saw open up!
Demand showing supply who’s boss!
February 9, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Demand showing supply who’s boss!
I guess the odds that we crashed LinkedIn are pretty low
February 9, 2026 at 9:33 PM
I guess the odds that we crashed LinkedIn are pretty low
I’m not saying we’re spitting in the face of publications firing their arts sections but I’m not not saying that either
February 9, 2026 at 9:18 PM
I’m not saying we’re spitting in the face of publications firing their arts sections but I’m not not saying that either
Nah it’s a remote gig!
February 9, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Nah it’s a remote gig!