Loves movie-star, over-the-top, kinetic filmmaking (JFK, The Verdict, A Few Good Men) and old-school craft; favors Paul Newman. Willing to admire films he doesn't believe in. Sucker for big speeches and taste-making directors.
Stances
Courtroom drama must be in the courtroom: no legal thrillers, no 12 Angry Men
JFK is a masterpiece despite being hogwash
Winner of the A Few Good Men scene is Tom Cruise
Humor: Mock-legalistic framing and affectionate hyperbole.
Loves the theatrical culture of places like Alamo Drafthouse, pedigreed auteurs (Fincher, Nolan, the Coens), and deep film-history binges. Can't stand corporate pettiness dressed as principle, and thinks The King's Speech beating The Social Network should die in a fire. A sucker for trivia glory and big awards-season structure (wants 75 awards).
Stances
Theaters will survive as a boutique business but wide-scale moviegoing will not last five years
Netflix's lead of finished movies makes it well positioned for the Oscars
Windowing will change and studios will test higher VOD price points
Humor: Mock-grandiose and self-aware, with bits like hosting a five-day awards festival and running out of frame during trivia.
In their words
“There should be 75 awards.” (0:50:42)
“I'm just trying to have a cinematic experience at all times.” (1:06:36)
Loves big, noisy, auteur and genre-bending work: The Lighthouse, Midsommar's ending, Alita and 6 Underground action, Gemini Man, Triple Frontier. Wants more categories and a nine-hour ceremony; adores Paul Walter Hauser and Uncut Gems. Can't stand news-anchor cameos in fiction and Oscar-bait homogeneity.
Stances
Wants more Oscar categories, not fewer
Spider-Man's post-credits scene counts as an ending
Defends Midsommar and The Lighthouse
Wants a casting Oscar and a best first feature
Humor: Cheerfully obsessive and self-mocking about his hobby-horse enthusiasms (the minute-by-minute Lighthouse podcast), with mock-legalistic rule enforcement.
In their words
“I will be starting one of those for the lighthouse.” (0:52:43)
“I personally would like there to be a 9 hours Oscar ceremony.” (0:12:22)
“Have you ever been sewn inside of a bear skin and lit on fire in a giant triangle.” (0:45:39)
Loves Parasite, Marriage Story, Little Women, Uncut Gems and champions Toy Story 4. Prickly toward Joker-style noisy awards bait, wants more fun and weirdness at the Oscars. Sucker for Hark segments and sporting analogies.
Stances
Academy has a taste gap against pop culture and women's stories
He loves The Cabin in the Woods, It Follows and The Witch and likes discussion-making horror like Get Out, but he distrusts elevated-horror branding. He wants to be physically dominated by a horror film, and says he is dead inside and cynical, so he is impressed when a film makes him feel something.
Stances
Get Out is the best horror film of the decade
Elevated horror is an ugly phrase
Horror needs something supernatural or extraordinarily visceral to qualify
Wingard is creative but ultimately disappointing
Humor: Deadpan needler of his guest who takes bits to their end, like the Tim Apple joke.
In their words
“I tend to think there has to be something either supernatural or extraordinarily visceral about the movie to qualify.” (0:10:18)
“I think I'm pretty dead inside and very cynical.” (0:11:46)
Loves big, event-level filmmaking and prizes one great movie over a great season of TV; he is a champion of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and of Tarantino and Anderson. Likes working through discourse and being a guide who tells friends what to see or skip. Has a soft spot for old-fashioned Hollywood comedy and for Mike Nichols.
Stances
One great movie beats prestige TV
Disney's dominance is overwhelming but not to be underestimated (Cameron)
Streaming may hollow out comedies made without theatrical money
Was surprised and moved by Luce
Humor: Dry deadpan teasing of co-hosts with running bits and impressions, such as PTA at D23.
In their words
“I still would always, always, always rather have one great movie than an experience like that.” (0:52:42)
“And that's why this is the big picture and not the watch.” (0:52:43)
Loves long things, big-tent Oscar movies (Ford v Ferrari, Once Upon a Time) and the business and career-arc angle of franchises. Skeptical of Tom Hooper and unclear streaming strategies; cares about artists controlling their image. As interviewer he probes how Garfield picks directors.
Stances
Homecoming is long, not boring, and great because of Beyonce the performer
Guava Island lacks a strategic purpose and sits outside Glover's mission
Under the Silver Lake has been slightly mischaracterized in the press
Humor: Self-deprecating wonk who plays his own wounded vanity for laughs and teases Amanda with Star Wars archetypes.
In their words
“I'm a big fan of long things.” (0:05:20)
“I am confused about what the strategic purpose of something like that is.” (0:11:33)
“This is upsetting how you have targeted my feelings.” (1:07:11)
Fennessey likes fun, audience-pleasing superhero movies that do something different and cares about tone and the business of the DCEU. He is curious about process, and is a fan of the filmmakers he interviews. He enjoyed Shazam!, though he found the final fight less effective.
Stances
DC's turn from interconnection to standalone movies is interesting and lower-risk
Shazam!'s first half works better than its punch-up ending
Wants to know how directors communicate what is in their heads
Humor: Dry and teasing, as in his mock-eager 'Can't wait for the trench.'
In their words
“I thought Shazam was a very fun and entertaining movie” (0:01:41)
“I don't think that part was as effective.” (0:05:55)
Loves origin-story craft done efficiently, Ben Mendelsohn, indie directors like Boden and Fleck, and Annette Bening. Bothered by surface-level 90s nostalgia, a rickety Marvel mythology load, and a character too powerful for stakes. Sucker for comic lore and for character actors.
Stances
Captain Marvel is rickety, overstuffed, and does too many jobs
Boden and Fleck taking a big-studio job is understandable, not a sellout
Captain Marvel is too powerful to build tension around
Wonder Woman did the origin story better
Humor: Dry teasing of Amanda's comic-book blind spots and deadpan asides about names like Yon-Rogg.
In their words
“I can't believe Jan Rag is the name of a character that I'm talking about on a podcast.” (0:07:03)
“he is one of my favorite living people.” (0:35:58)
“it's funny to see, you know, the McDonald's Happy Meal version of those movies in a lot of ways.” (0:25:50)
Defends Roma as a masterpiece worth reclaiming, loves Spider-Verse (the self-declared devotee), and takes Avengers: Infinity War seriously. Likes craft people with a through-line (Libatique, Corwin). Cannot stand the Oscars' song performances and the Green Book result.
Stances
Green Book winning is a farce
Bohemian Rhapsody should not be taken as great cinema
Spider-Verse beats Sense and Sensibility
Humor: Deadpan and bit-driven, with running gags like the Close Zone and the jar of cold fusion.
In their words
“I am putting my money down right now that says Spider-Verse better than Sense and Sensibility.” (1:00:25)
“green book winning best picture is a farce.” (0:22:56)
Loves GLOW and big, sincere genre movies, and is a hardcore former WWE kid who still lights up at Beyond the Mat. Treats wrestling movies as an industry phenomenon worth tracking. Is a sucker for lists and double features.
Stances
Fighting with My Family signals a more refined era of movies and wrestling
Rocky is the template for sports films
Wants guests' favorite lists (loves the 500-movie idea)
Humor: Dry, quick teasing, such as his joke about Michael B. Jordan in a Junkyard Dog biopic and Die Hard 8 or a Red Desert remake.
In their words
“I'm a huge fan of that show.” (0:03:35)
“I remember being a such such a hardcore WWE fan when that came out” (0:15:27)
“This is exactly my sort of thing.” (0:51:34)
“imagine Michael B. Jordan signing up for, you know, the junkyard dog biopic right now.” (0:09:47)
Loves a clear narrative and critics' consensus picks; Roma, Beale Street and Spider-Verse are his side. Cannot stand the HFPA and films that claim truth while drawing criticism. Sucker for Queen songs and Mahershala Ali.
Stances
Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody are not the best of the year
Globes versus critics is a problem for Roma and Star
Academy is lost without a plan
Humor: Mock-outrage escalation and self-aware yelling about a meaningless award show.
In their words
“I don't hate green book.” (0:10:42)
“We have to be able as a society and also as people who freaking vote on awards” (0:14:47)
Loves films that are sincere, meta and inventive, and praises vocal performance and rap on a soundtrack. Quick to dismiss the generic superhero origin slog and the lowered bar of Aquaman. A sucker for comic-book feel and a good casting parlor game.
Stances
Spider-Verse is extraordinary and unlike any animated movie
Origin stories are overdone, but the film subverts the trope
Rooting for it to win best animated feature
Having several Spider-Man continuities is a lot for a weekly film writer
Humor: Dry, self-deprecating, acting the aging man and the adult who tucks in his shirt.
In their words
“It's absolutely fantastic.” (0:01:29)
“I now find myself rooting for it for this strange silly award.” (0:29:24)
Loves Oscar-season contenders and deep conversations with filmmakers; says he just really loved Eighth Grade. Little else is stated in this trailer.
Stances
The Big Picture is moving out of the channel 33 feed into its own feed
Will cover more Oscar contenders and filmmaker interviews
Humor: Brief and promotional; no real jokes in the trailer.
In their words
“We're going to keep bringing you more banter about this year's Oscar contenders and more deep conversations with the filmmakers behind them” (0:00:17)
Loves the lean, tightly-told Spielberg entertainments like Jurassic Park and Raiders, and rates Close Encounters and Schindler's List highly. Is lukewarm on E.T. and Munich and a skeptic of the long-form Spielberg-as-prestige push. A sucker for Tom Cruise talk and Day-Lewis.
Stances
Jaws is the perfect movie
Munich is overrated
E.T. is fine but not a favorite
Close Encounters deserved a higher spot than he gave it
Humor: Dry, needling, and self-aware about the show's habits (Tom Cruise riffs, 'safe space').
In their words
“The more I look at my list, the more boring it feels to me.” (0:18:42)
“Will there ever be a podcast where you and I don't talk about what Tom Cruise should do next?” (1:02:21)
Admires the craft of this film and wants to know how directors build rhythm and performance. Interested in awards, box office and streaming. Ends interviews with a last-great-thing question.
Stances
Curious about how a chamber piece becomes propulsive
Presses on awards and box office
Humor: Dry and light; teases with a superhero question and the Friday sing-along.
In their words
“So no superhero movies coming from you anytime soon?” (0:22:54)
“I will start applying the Friday sing-along.” (0:19:03)
Loves the MCU best and thinks it is the most important film business now. Frames everything in industry terms: genre cycles, infrastructure, risk. Skeptical of DC's lack of voice and Snyder.
Stances
Superhero movies are the only movies of consequence in studios
Marvel's strength is infrastructure and filmmaker choice
Genres are most vulnerable when they seem strongest
Humor: Dry host asides and self-deprecation, like claiming empathy for Scott Summers.
In their words
“what matters is the infrastructure.” (0:55:28)
“are never more vulnerable than when they seem strongest.” (0:55:31)
Loves uncomfortable, unusual comedy and says he really loved Lemon. Draws lines from film to TV (Curb, Atlanta) and reaches for Twin Peaks as a tonal comparison. Likes ending interviews on what people are watching.
Stances
Lemon is awkward, fascinating and deeply unusual
Awkward comedy has evolved from Curb
Humor: Dry, teasing; jabs at the guests and himself.
Interested in directors' careers and the industry's shape; pushes on obsession, failure and reception. Notes how many filmmakers now pitch TV. Knows his jungle-film canon.
Stances
Frames Gray as a great American filmmaker deserving more notice
Curious how the Amazon release and streaming change moviegoing
Humor: Dry and light; mostly a straight interviewer.
In their words
“Yeah, Bird of Dream, sure.” (0:07:04)
“You have resisted the urge to make a TV project.” (0:30:24)
“I'm curious that you've partnered with Amazon to release the movie.” (0:26:31)
Calls himself one of America's preeminent Mank defenders and watched it four times in the 2020 Oscar season. Loves Citizen Kane, Paramount in the 70s, and the studio-hand-as-auteur idea. Dislikes Mank-mid takes that he thinks are phony and a Welles-defense posture he calls bullying.
Stances
Mank is a summation of Fincher's worldview and his father's influence
Welles defenders are bullying, not bullied
The Offer is compellingly bad but he finished all ten episodes
Netflix should not be Fincher's only home
Humor: Dry film-critic asides and confessions of excess, like watching Saw X at ten in the morning.
In their words
“I watched it 4 times in the Oscar season of 2020 to 2021.” (0:17:23)
“I don't do drugs.” (0:14:39)
“I not only watched it but I completed it.” (1:06:08)
Their shows' recurring bits
Running bits, not opinions; a critic read aloud is cited, not present.
The Big Picture
Drafts: Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument.
Hall of Fame: A star's or director's best, ranked and argued.
Countdowns: Ranked lists, top five or top ten.
The Rewatchables
Apex Mountain: The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits.
Who Won the Movie: The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off.
The Ebert review: Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show.
Casting what-ifs: Who was almost cast, or who should have been.
Most rewatchable scene: The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels.
Aged best / aged worst: What holds up and what does not.
Picking Nits: The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits.
Double feature: The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick.
Their claims
Showing 701–800 of 1,576 claims.
what-if (recut):
Miami Vice → Michael Mann.
The theatrical cut throws you into the club; Mann's Blu-ray version adds earlier scenes.
“really kind of loves the theatrical cut of Miami Vice because he just throws you into the club.”
unmapped (portal):
Possession → Andrzej Zulawski.
Possession gets so far under your skin that the speaker bought a Zulawski box set to chase more of him.
“but he gets so under your skin in that movie that I kind of wanted to try to go back to that place.”
people (same writers):
Messiah of Evil → Howard the Duck.
Messiah of Evil's writers-directors are best known for Howard the Duck, which it has nothing to do with.
“They are probably best known for working on Howard the Duck”
unmapped (same label):
Messiah of Evil → Miami Blues.
Radiance put out Messiah of Evil; the speaker first got hip to the label buying Miami Blues at Fopp.
“But I bought Miami blues there, which is a really, really good Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Lee movie.”
lineage (influence):
Hayao Miyazaki → Leonardo DiCaprio.
Miyazaki's planet-degradation themes were a critical influence on DiCaprio becoming an environmental activist.
“Miyazaki is one of the critical influences on DiCaprio becoming such an aggressive environmental activists”
unmapped (unusual PGA nominees):
The Zone of Interest → Past Lives.
The PGA, which usually goes mainstream, nominated these two smaller art house movies among its ten.
“It's unusual that films like the zone of interest and past lives that are smaller, intimate, complicated art house movies, really, are nominated among the 10 films here.”
contrast (campaign contrast):
The Color Purple → Origin.
The Color Purple had a big initial response but faded at the box office and lacks a PGA bump, while Origin is getting a late grassroots push.
“that is a film that had an initial huge audience response. The box office is kind of tapered off.”
unmapped (podcast fandom):
Ryan Rosillo → The Rewatchables: JFK.
Sean is a devoted fan of Rosillo's non-sports content, naming The Town and JFK Rewatchables.
“including the town rewatchables, one of like hang his jersey and the rafters for that”
lineage (adaptation recontextualization):
The Zone of Interest → Poor Things.
Five adapted-screenplay nominees are interesting recontextualizations of their sources, and Zone of Interest is the outside contender that is also one.
“The one on the outside, I think, is also a best picture contender that is also a recontextualization, which is the zone of interest.”
unmapped (retrospective momentum):
Perfect Days → Wim Wenders.
Perfect Days is the chalk international-feature pick because Wenders has a huge retrospective at the American Cinematheque.
“the chalk pick is perfect days, Vim Vendors, beloved, he's having this huge retrospective at the American Cinema at this moment.”
people (performance vs. film):
Maestro → Bradley Cooper.
Cooper's performance is one of the best things about Maestro, but he is not quite the center of a movie that is afraid of that.
“I love his performance. I think that his performance is one of the best things about it, but, He's not the center of the movie.”
career (career-recognition vote):
The Holdovers → Alexander Payne.
Voters may nominate Payne because they see The Holdovers as the last great Alexander Payne movie, a miracle they do not make anymore.
“this is the last great Alexander Payne movie or something, that's sort of like we gotta, we gotta get him his thing that he deserves.”
unmapped (moviegoing experience):
Mean Girls → Barbie.
Seeing Mean Girls alone in an IMAX theater surrounded by young women in bright colors felt just like seeing Barbie.
unmapped (IP recreation):
Mean Girls → The Lord of the Rings.
The verbatim echoing of the original is compared to how a future remake of Lord of the Rings would recycle its shtick.
“when we see a Lord of the Rings movie, you know, 10 years from now, when they're just like doing the same shtick, like it's kind of like IP recreation in a way.”
lineage (remake):
Mean Girls → Mean Girls.
The new film reuses the original's iconic lines and jokes nearly verbatim, which Sean found a little flat because no joke lands when you know it is coming.
“they really do it verbatim, like, and so that's weird with a joke.”
lineage (remake tolerance):
Mean Girls → Transformers.
Since the host does not give Transformers and Spider-Man grief for echoing earlier versions, he will not give it to Mean Girls.
“I guess if I'm not going to give Transformers and Spider-Man shit about that.”
lineage (generational remake):
Mean Girls → A Star Is Born.
The speaker is fine with a new auteur remaking a beloved thing every 20 years, as with Star Is Born / Star Wars-style retellings, here giving the social-media generation its own Mean Girls.
“every 20 years another Otour comes along and is like, I've got a take on this.”
people (director filmography):
Weekend → All of Us Strangers.
Sean lists Haigh's prior films (Weekend, 45 Years, Lean on Pete) and the HBO series Looking.
“has directed a handful of films, created the looking TV series for HBO, darted weekend, uh, 45 years, lean on Pete.”
people (same director, intimacy):
All of Us Strangers → Weekend.
Haigh has always been direct about sex between two men, and Weekend shows an intimacy you will not find in a common 2024 love story.
“if you just watch Weekend, you can see that there's a level of intimacy that is portrayed in that movie that you won't find in your common, uh, love story in in 2024.”
unmapped (needle drop):
All of Us Strangers → Blur.
Blur's Death of a Party scores the club sequence where the movie tilts toward the truth about Harry.
“and blur, uh, death of a party is played. like an amazing needle drop”
unmapped (needle drop):
All of Us Strangers → Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
The film closes on The Power of Love, one of Haigh's favorite songs, while the bed pulls away into the stars.
“The film closes with uh, Frankie goes to Hollywood's uh, Power of Love.”
contrast (persona contrast):
Andrew Scott → Fleabag.
Scott is known for slick, verbally dexterous, elusive characters like the Hot Priest and Moriarty, which makes his quiet turn here a recontextualization.
“very verbally dexterous, you know, hot priest in Moriarty.”
people (actor range):
All of Us Strangers → Ripley.
Moving from the performative sociopath of Ripley to the recessed, often wordless Adam is one of the biggest leaps between character archetypes.
“I'm not sure if there could be a bigger leap between character archetype than from Ripley to Adam.”
unmapped (audience context):
Bong Joon-ho → Parasite.
Parasite introduced Bong to a huge audience but he makes strange genre films, a concern for Warner.
“Parasite introduced him to a huge new audience, but he makes really unusual genre movies.”
unmapped (gave break):
Michael De Luca → Boogie Nights.
De Luca ran New Line and gave PTA his break with Boogie Nights; now runs Warner's films division.
lineage (rumored adaptation):
Paul Thomas Anderson → Thomas Pynchon.
PTA's next film was long rumored to adapt Pynchon's Vineland, set in the 1980s, but this one is contemporary.
“it has been long rumored that his next, his next film is going to be an adaptation of Thomas Pinchin's Vineland.”
people (director identity):
Ferrari → Michael Mann.
An Italian-set film by 'the most American of directors', with Cruz as a more known international actress.
“Ferrari, which is an Italian based film made by Michael Mann, the most American of directors.”
people (actors satirized):
May December → Poor Things.
Sean says he discussed the satirization of actors in May December with the guests, tied to why actors may have overlooked it.
“I actually talked about specifically some of the satirization of actors with Julianne and Todd.”
contrast (awards contrast):
Mark Ruffalo → Willem Dafoe.
Dafoe repeats what he has done before while Ruffalo breaks new ground, so Ruffalo's snub is odder.
people (casting reference):
Willem Dafoe → The Lighthouse.
Dafoe's Godwin is described as a craggy, monstrous creature, a lighthouse meets Shadow of the Vampire.
theme (parallel role):
Mark Ruffalo → Sterling K. Brown.
Both play comic relief who force a realization on the lead, which is why one host wants both recognized.
“Like they're comic relief, but they're also like a critical emotional turning point for the lead character.”
people (collaboration pair):
Emma Stone → Yorgos Lanthimos.
Their partnership (two features, a short, a third coming) is likened to Scorsese and De Niro.
“This is like a Scorsese De Niro thing that is happening.”
lineage (sequel in spirit):
Poor Things → Dogtooth.
Both are about who gets to dictate the rules; Poor Things is described as a sequel to Dogtooth's fathers-and-language themes.
“It's like the sequel to that movie in some ways because the Godwin character”
lineage (influence):
Poor Things → Bride of Frankenstein.
Sean says the Frankenstein novel and the first two Frankenstein movies are major influences on Poor Things.
“the Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein are, like, huge influences on this movie.”
contrast (inversion):
Poor Things → Frankenstein.
Frankenstein is a cautionary tale about science; Poor Things uses its framework to arrive at redemption and closeness.
“There's a lot of other ideas in Frankenstein, but this movie in many ways is the opposite.”
theme (genre translation):
The Favourite → Mean Girls.
Sean praises the Mean Girls reading, then says the film is really about power and lonely futility.
“The favorite is Mean Girls. I think that's super smart reading of that movie”
unmapped (temperament):
Yorgos Lanthimos → Stanley Kubrick.
Sean calls Lanthimos a 'we are all alone' filmmaker in the Kubrick mold, at least until now.
“he is like a Kubrickian, we are all alone kind of filmmaker.”
industry (awards viewership):
May December → The Zone of Interest.
Argues May December is widely seen on Netflix, more than Zone, Anatomy or Past Lives.
“Main December is way more widely seen, in my opinion, than the zone of interest.”
unmapped (creative counterpart):
May December → Safe.
Haynes and Moore's collaboration traces to Moore's Safe audition; it is their fifth film together.
lineage (influence):
Far from Heaven → Douglas Sirk.
Sean asks whether Moore studied Sirk films; Haynes says Far from Heaven derives from other movies and 1950s domestic melodramas.
“do you watch Douglas Cirque films when you're preparing”
theme (theme):
Michael Mann → Ferrari.
Enzo Ferrari, with his department heads and team who report to him, reads as a stand-in for Michael Mann the filmmaker.
fun, about
Napoleon (unmade Kubrick film):
The book 'Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon' is Sean's heaviest book, with phone-book pages holding thousands of pages of documents.
“The book is so big that the pages are almost like telephone book pages.”
fun, about
Tenet:
Sean and Amanda drove about 130 miles round trip to a San Diego drive-in to see Tenet in a heat wave, parked side by side. Amanda left claiming she understood the whole film; they will try to explain it on the pod next week.
“The movie ended and she said, I get it. I know everything that happened.”
fun, about
Chadwick Boseman:
Sean rewatched Black Panther the night before, saying it lived up to unprecedented anticipation, which never happens in mainstream culture.
fun, about
Mulan:
Controversy: filmed in Xinjiang, where Muslims are held in mass internment camps; lead Yifei Liu's Hong Kong police tweet triggered #BoycottMulan.
“was filmed in uh, Jinjiang, the region in China, where uh, Muslims have been detained in mass internment camps.”
fun, about
Cruella:
Sean reads the logline: a 1970s London fashion designer obsessed with dogskins, especially Dalmatians; Amanda and Jason react with horror.
“young fashion designer Cruella DeVille becomes obsessed with dogs skins, especially Dalmatians, until she eventually becomes a ruthless and terrifying legend.”
fun, about
The Little Mermaid (upcoming live action remake):
Casting rundown: Halle Bailey as Ariel, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, plus voices Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay; King Triton is described as xenophobic toward humans.
“Ariel's overprotective father and the king of Atlantica, who is xenophobic towards humans.”
fun, about
Trolls World Tour:
Parents reportedly rented the 48-hour 19.99 title three weekends running; the hosts bless parents and hope kids learned respect for country as well as rock and pop.
“I had people anecdotally tell me that they rented the movie 3 weekends in a row.”
fun, about
The Great Moment:
Host watched Preston Sturges's late biopic about William Morton, inventor of ether, during a pandemic film-history bender.
“I watched Preston Sturgis's The Great Moment last night about William Morton, the inventor of ether, who revolutionized dentistry.”
fun, about
David Fincher:
Netflix is betting on a black-and-white, no-movie-star historical drama because studios have not funded Fincher in 7 or 8 years.
“studios haven't been giving David Fincher money to make movies for the last 7 or 8 years for a reason.”
fun, about
Netflix and the Egyptian Theatre:
Netflix bought the Egyptian and was refurbishing the Paris Theater; a host reads the moves as overtures to older Academy members.
“those overtures were made to ingratiate themselves to the older members of the academy”
fun, about
Alamo Drafthouse:
A six-hour evening: movie, whiskey cocktail, fries, rent a video from the same filmmaker at their video store, beer and trivia, which AMC does not offer.
“And that is a 6 hour evening in a movie palace that AMC is not offering.”
fun, about
Academy Awards:
From 24 awards to 23 by merging sound; one host wants 75 awards and a five-day festival; another wants best first feature and best breakthrough.
“There should be 75 awards. This should be a 5 day festival of handing out awards.”
fun, about
Stunt Oscar:
A host zags on the stunt category: everyone demands it without knowing why, while still wanting to honor stunt work with an honorary award; joke pitch: Zoom Stunt Oscars with DVDs held up.
“Everybody needs to just settle down with pretending that they really like stunts in movies.”
fun, about
Twilight Zone: The Movie:
An episode of the Shudder series Cursed covers the 1982 set death of Vic Morrow and two children in a helicopter stunt; Landis was acquitted.
“A helicopter crashed during a stunt and Vic Morrow, Jennifer Jason Lee's father, was killed along with 2 children during the making of this movie”
fun, about
Incredible Hulk / Iron Man:
Trivia win: the two characters in the first two MCU films, Hulk and Iron Man, earned the team points after a host sprinted out of frame.
“It's the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man, you fools.”
fun, about
Postponed films:
Sean tracks 18 postponed undated films that could drop when theaters reopen, listing New Mutants, Promising Young Woman, Bad Trip, The High Note, Run, Military Wives, Greyhound and Malignant.
“there have been 18 movies that have been postponed and are undated at the moment.”
fun, about
Alita: Battle Angel:
Sean watches strangers watch Alita on planes and tracks the actors he recognizes; the 15-minute motorball fight keeps breaking for exposition and restarting.
“I watched people watch it on the plane and then at some point I just took kept track of like the actors I could recognize.”
fun, about
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum:
The dog-fight sequence took six months to design and train, and director Chad Stahelski told this podcast it was the hardest thing he had done. Wins best action sequence.
“I took 6 months to design and train the dogs to execute this fight.”
fun, about
Spider-Man: Far From Home:
Sean argues the post-credits scene (J.K. Simmons outing Peter Parker on a Times Square screen) is the best ending of 2019 because the theater erupted; Amanda calls it a teaser, not an ending.
“That was the loudest vocal reaction I had heard to a movie in 2019.”
fun, about
Midsommar:
Sean defends the ending by asking whether anyone has been sewn inside a bear skin and lit on fire in a giant triangle; Midsommar also wins best meme inspiration and Halloween costumes.
“Have you ever been sewn inside of a bear skin and lit on fire in a giant triangle.”
fun, about
The Lighthouse:
Sean is so devoted he'll launch a minute-by-minute Lighthouse podcast alone in a lighthouse; Amanda calls him an A24-merch-bro Reddit nerd and says Eggers shows his work too much.
“what you are is a Reddit nerd, bro, and you hate this. I believe what I said was A24 merch, bro.”
fun, about
Richard Jewell:
Paul Walter Hauser was a guest and recited A Few Good Men past the code red, continuing through the officer on deck; Sean says he can do it too.
“He started doing like this, the extended a few good men recitation, like we had done, the normal code red stuff, and then he just kept going”
fun, about
Richard Jewell:
Hauser's home scene with Kathy Bates sells the age of the relationship with comfort alone, and the film cooks whenever Jewell, Rockwell and Bates share a room.
“these 3 people are amazingly comfortable with each other.”
fun, about
Blair Witch (The Woods):
Sean says its last 30 minutes are the most scared he has ever been in a theater, though he doesn't think the film is good.
“the last 30 minutes of Blair Witch is the most scared I think I may have ever been in a movie theater”
fun, about
Soul / Inside Out:
Sean can only remember Inside Out as a drawing and confuses its Sadness creature with Tina Fey's Soul; Amanda saw it in a theater.
“No, I saw that in a movie theater. Really? Yeah, I just couldn't remember anything about it because it's a drawing.”
fun, about
Paul Thomas Anderson / Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:
Sean riffs on the DGA podcast, where PTA gushed about Brad Pitt, and impersonates him on the Moana bit.
“Because Paul Thomas Anderson is being like, Quentin, fucking Brad. In this movie.”
fun, about
Fleabag / Succession vs Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:
Sean says that's why the show is The Big Picture and not The Watch: he would take one great movie over Fleabag.
“And that's why this is the big picture and not the watch.”
fun, about
Captain Marvel:
The 90s signaling: a never-worn Guns N' Roses T-shirt, and Carol stealing a Nine Inch Nails shirt off a mannequin as a metaphor for the film.
“steals a 9 inch nails t-shirt and a leather jacket off of a mannequin outside of a boutique.”
fun, about
Captain Marvel:
The big fight scene is set to No Doubt's Just a Girl while she punches Jude Law, which Sean finds cute and clever but ham-handed.
“certainly the chorus of that song makes it fit when she's punching Jude Law on the face repeatedly.”
fun, about
The Ringer office:
A Ringer Slack prompt for the most 90s song stopped work for an hour; Dan Devine said Smells Like Teen Spirit immediately.
“Dan Devine gave immediately, which was smells like teen spirit.”
fun, about
Guardians of the Galaxy:
Amanda knows Guardians only as the raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper, and Sean suggests she go by Amanda the Accuser.
“perhaps you should go by Amanda the accuser in future podcasts.”
fun, about
Captain Marvel:
Opening weekend benchmark: less than $150 million would be called a disappointment, even though few can open a movie on name alone.
“less than $150000000 in the opening weekend would be considered a relative disappointment for a Marvel movie like this”
fun, about
Kingdom Come:
Sean explains the Alex Ross series, set 50 or 60 years later with an older Batman in a wheelchair and gray-streaked Wonder Woman, calling it very melodramatic.