A few years ago, in 2011, in an article for the National Review titled “The Right Kind of Tyrant,” the comedy writer Rob Long pointed out that in the world of business, it’s easy to find bosses who are autocratic, capricious, and demeaning to their subordinates. “There are screamers and throwers and silent-treatment types—all kinds and shapes of cruelty,” he wrote. Long, who is a producer as well as a writer—he earned his most prestigious credit a quarter century ago, on “Cheers”—is one of Hollywood’s declared Republicans. This is a position that necessitates a contrarian streak, and in the article, which was written in praise of the hard-driving style of Steve Jobs, he displayed it. “It’s hard, though, when you reach a certain age, not to instinctively side with the psychopaths,” he wrote.
