The Big Picture - The 22 Most Anticipated Movies of 2022

Episode Date: January 6, 2022

Amanda and Sean are gearing up for a fun 2022 at the movies … if they can go to the movies. On this episode, they pick their 11 most eagerly awaited films (20:00), discuss Steven Soderbergh’s annual media list (1:00), and break down George Clooney’s new film, ‘The Tender Bar’ (10:00). They also celebrate the life and work of the late filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, who died at 82 this week (17:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Press Box is here to catch you up on the latest media stories. Hosted by Brian Curtis and David Shoemaker, these guys have the insight on the biggest stories you care about. Check out The Press Box on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Get groceries delivered across the GTA from Real Canadian Superstore with PC Express. Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points. Visit superstore.ca to get started.

I'm Sean Fennessy. I'm Amanda Dobbins. And this is The Big Picture, a conversation show about the most anticipated movies of the year. Amanda and I are picking the movies we're most looking forward to in 2022, from Top Guns to Batman. But before we do that, let's talk about a couple of our heroes. The first one, of course, is Steven Soderbergh, one of our favorite filmmakers who released an annual event. It's his scene read list. A couple of days ago, he dropped it. This is the list of all the movies

and TV series and books and sundry things that he engaged with in 2021. Amanda, this is a holiday for us. What'd you think of old Steven's list this year? I do this every year, but let me just reiterate that Steven Soderbergh is the guy for me. This is my king and we know this. And this is true as a filmmaker, but also as a consumer of culture. I was gobsmacked by his list of books because I'm not going to lie. I own 90% of the books on this list. I don't know why Steven Soderbergh's reading interests are also 30 something literary fiction, mostly written by women plus cheesy mystery novels, but that's my taste. And that's also Steven Soderbergh's taste. Like my husband read it and was like, how do we have all of these books? And he was like, are you on some list with Steven Soderbergh? And it's just like, no, it's two people who operate independently in the

world, but like really have a mind meld. And that's me and Steven Soderbergh. I don't know what to say. Are you a threat to Jules Asner and their wonderful marriage? It is funny when you read these to imagine what Jules Asner is doing. As Chris Ryan pointed out, is Jules watching every episode of Dateline? I'm not watching Dateline. If I were with Steven Soderbergh, maybe I would. I'm curious what the appeal is there. Let's shout out a couple of highlights from Soderbergh's list. Obviously, every year I use this as a way to either get a sense of what movies he's watching to prepare for another film or understand what films he thinks are classics.

And there are a number of movies that recur over the years here. Mad Max Fury Road makes another appearance on this list, one of his favorite movies. He's talked about it at length. But then there's also these odd pockets of time. I just want to spend a little time highlighting how Soderbergh spent his Thanksgiving weekend. Okay? Sure. So on November 24th, he watched Only Fans colon Selling Sexy, which I believe is a TV documentary series about Only Fans.

Love it. From the man who made Sex, Lies, and Videotape, how perfect can it be? Yeah, of course he did. Sure. Fantastic. He followed that up the following day with which i believe was thanksgiving day with the beatles get back part one and the south park covid special i did think of you when i read that day absolute fucking king yeah this guy that that's the thing that is wonderful about his taste

is he consumes it all i see myself in a very similar vein it's very important to watch the nine hour beatles film it's also very important to watch the nine-hour Beatles film. It's also very important to watch the South Park COVID special. He followed that up with more Beatles. He watched Alice in the Cities, a movie that I've been thinking about a lot. This is a Wim Wenders movie. It's the first movie in the Wim Wenders travel trilogy. It's a very small inspiration for the name of my daughter, Alice in the Cities, which is about an older bedraggled man going through a city with an eight-year-old girl, a very cute blonde eight-year-old girl, very,

you know, cute, uh, blonde eight-year-old girl. And so I was like, oh, fucking, of course, Steven is, is all about this Vin Vendors movie that I love. Um, and, and then he followed that up with my favorite TV show of 2021, How To With John Wilson. So needless to say, every time I look at this list, I'm, I feel a kinship just like you do. I have not read much of this literary fiction written by women, but in our viewing habits, he and I are very similar. And also cheesy mysteries. Let me just highlight two days. December 9th, he saw the new West Side Story and also read A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz,

which I have also read. It's the late Anthony Horowitz just churns out all these books every year. I mean, they're very cute. I enjoy them. And then what did he do on Christmas Day? He watched A Hard Day's Night. I just... That's his hero. His hero, Richard Lester.

Very special. Yeah, he's the best. Well, if you haven't had a chance to check it out, it's on his website, extension765.com. You can go through all the lists over the years, and if you're just looking for inspiration or something to discover, I feel like I have a handle on almost every movie that's been made by American filmmakers in the last hundred years. And every year he shows me new movies I've never heard of or never thought

to watch. So it's always a treat. Let's go to another hero. Talking about Ben Affleck, new Ben Affleck movie. It's available on Amazon Prime. It's called The Tender Bar. This is a movie that is based on the 2005 memoir by J.R. Moringer. If you are interested in that book, if you've read that book, if you are familiar with J.R.'s work, I encourage you to check out the episode of The Press Box that Brian Curtis recorded last week. A long conversation with J.R., who's a great writer. Interesting book that I also read because I see a bit of myself in J.R.'s story. I'll leave it at that. But this is an adaptation directed by George Clooney,

written by the Academy Award winning screenwriter, William Monaghan. He wrote The Departed. And it's a bit of an old school coming of age story. I would say it has been released somewhat mutedly by the film press. I've been thinking about this, and before we get into the details of it,

I just want to say, I feel like maybe this is my being the Ricardos this year, where I'm like, I know this is not a great film, but there are a lot of things about it that I can't resist. Did you watch The Wonder Years growing up? I certainly did.

Also based on a person who grew up on Long Island. Yes, exactly. I have not seen the remake of The Wonder Years that I believe is currently airing on ABC, but I did watch a lot of Wonder Years growing up. Terrific show. And George Clooney basically made an episode of The Wonder Years, which, sure, I mean, George Clooney has made far worse decisions in the director's chair than remaking an episode of The Wonder Years, sort of, with Ben Affleck. Is it serious cinema? Not really. Is it pleasant? Absolutely. It is. Does it feature like 40 minutes of Ben Affleck just

capping off an absolutely amazing year? Yes, it does. Let's just put a little quick summary around the movie. So it's essentially a story about a young boy who grows up without a father whose father is a disc jockey in New York, who's known as The Voice. And so he has this awareness of his father and he can hear his father, but he has no real relationship with him. And he grows up in this kind of ramshackle house with his mother and his grandfather and his uncle, Uncle Charlie, who is played by Ben Affleck. And Uncle Charlie is a bartender. And the young boy in this film, the JR character, spends a lot of time at that bar. He becomes a man in that bar. He meets a lot of,

I don't know, unseemly but also wizened figures in that space. And he learns about how to talk like a man. He learns about sports. He learns about books. This is one of those literary bars. I always imagine that these places are not real. I spent a lot of time in bars growing up as a kid. My father, police officer, had to go to a lot of cop bars. Not a lot of talk about Charles Dickens in those bars, if I'm being perfectly honest. A lot of talk about the starting lineup for the New York Mets or the New York Knicks. But I thought that this was a very self-conscious attempt to make a nice movie. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with a modest ambition.

You know, the last movie that Clooney directed, The Midnight Sky for Netflix, was a very big and kind of bold science fiction story. It was only about a couple of characters, but it was trying to have as massive a reach as you could possibly have. And this is a way scaled down sort of thing, something that you could clearly pull off during COVID.

And I think it's like, it's not quite a wallpaper movie, but it's close. You know, like, do you have any albums that you put on where you're just like, I don't it's not that you need to zen out, but you need to just like recall a good feeling in your life. It has that kind of a feeling for me. Yeah, it's like I said, I do think it is sort of more watchable at home just like because it has the tv kind of soothing aspects and it did remind me of like the nostalgia of wonder years which by the time i made it to wonder years was was nostalgia i wanted to ask you about the long islandness of it all because my understanding is that the original text is like a very long island text i was told something about trying to get on the 119 train. I don't know whether that means

anything to you. Is that the right time? I don't know what that is. Apparently, that was the central train for making it home before bars closed on Long Island. Oh, that makes sense. Well, there's all sorts of lines on the Long Island Railroad. Yeah, getting to Manhasset, apparently. Yeah, he grew up in Manhasset, which is where I was born, actually. So I've spent plenty of time in Manhasset. And, you know, I think it's like a fairly accurate reflection.

This J.R. is older than I am. And so his experience of Long Island is a little bit before my time. But it feels pretty familiar. I mean,

going to the beach, going to Mets games, like that's what you do and going to bars in the middle of the day. That's kind of what a lot of the lifestyle is for Long Islanders. One of the reasons I left, honestly, I'm not much of a beach person, as you do. And go to bars in the middle of the day. That's kind of what a lot of the lifestyle is for Long Islanders.

One of the reasons I left, honestly. I'm not much of a beach person, as you know. So I moved all the way out to California. But I thought it was like a pretty good representation of single motherdom and the challenges of single motherdom. And Lily Rae plays the mother figure in the movie. And I have a kind of overwhelming respect for single moms. And you can see that like her engagement with her son, who is this, you know, kind of like aching to be grown and sophisticated kind of kid, but who is trapped in this kind of

fatherless existence. Um, and she's trying to help him, but she doesn't really know how to help him. And she's also trying to just make rent and be able to put food on the table for her kid and kind of working like secretarial jobs. I thought that aspect of it was really good. I thought the movie kind of got away from itself when the J.R. gets a little bit older and then Ty Sheridan kind of takes over as the older version of J.R. And, you know, the book, I think, is quite good about telling J.R.'s story about how he became a journalist and how he sort of went out into the world as an aspiring writer. I don't think the movie seems as interested in that and it doesn't seem to be spending as much time on that stuff. So it's kind of like a little bit of a soggy and muddled second

half. But I've just I really liked the parts of it that were more like young kid growing up on Long Island. Obviously, my biases are on the forefront here. Also, once he grows up and goes to, quote, New York, which was the most Boston, New York of all time. They tried, like at one point he's having coffee on quote West 4th Street. And I was like, sir,

that is not the city of New York. We all know you filmed this in Boston. But anyway, the other problem is that once he moves away from the family, which is kind of like the animating energy of the film, he also moves away from Ben Affleck. And I just have to tell you, this is a tremendous supporting performance.

Your guy shows up, just does movie star stuff, steals every moment from everybody. Real presence, real warmth. It was completely delightful we talk about uh certain movie stars getting older and whether or not they should pivot to a different kind of lane as an actor you know actually last night bill simmons and i were texting about roy scheider the great roy scheider so we're talking about maybe some movies to do on the rewatchables in the future and roy scheider object of fascination for me for just for chris for bill um. It really is what you guys are like, that on just a random weeknight,

you guys are just texting about Roy Scheider. That is what it's like to know these guys. I mean, God bless him. But he waited too long to pivot into character acting. He had kind of a tough 1980s because he got a little too craggy and a little too unbelievable as a credible leading man. Ben Affleck, this year, the last duel,

possibly the funniest performance of 2021. And now this, I think, really genuinely one of the more affecting and effective castings and executions of what is like basically a trope character, you know, like the surrogate father figure who has a lot of wisdom and has a sense of masculinity and is teaching a young boy how to be in the world. It's kind of like a real nice chewy part for a guy in in affleck's range and he crushes it you

know like he's just every time he's on screen you feel like you're in a different movie and i wonder if that's where he's going to go going forward obviously we know deep water is coming and maybe we'll talk a little bit about deep water in this episode but um after deep water i don't know i what what kind of movie star does Ben want to be? Well, he does seem to have a couple of projects like percolating for director mode, which he still wants to do.

Also, does he have to be the Batman again? Is he coming back? I think he has to make an appearance in one more film, but I don't think it's going to be like a real

showcase role. It's not going to be like a Batman's pointing at each other situation um wow well now you've you've sparked my imagination with that i mean imagine the possibilities here we got michael keaton right we got val kilmer we got clooney we got affleck it really is now we got pattinson they should do that not for the comics but just for me you know just put them all in a room? Yeah.

What if rather than pointing at themselves, you stood in the center and they all pointed at you? Would you enjoy that? I would find that overwhelming. Oh, and Bobby just pointed out Christian Bale. Oh, Jesus Christ. Yeah, who we totally disrespect. Well, yeah, some of my Nolan bias coming through there that I had forgotten about the most successful Batman. It is a really extraordinary group of people. I'm a fan of all of them. And then they all had to play like this rinky dink Hamlet anyway, and wear weird suits.

You know, Amanda, just as we were talking about the tender bar, some news came across the transit here that we'd be hugely remiss if we did not mention, which is that the filmmaker, Peter Bogdanovich, one of the most important figures in the new Hollywood, one of my favorite writers and directors, has passed away. Very sadly. Yes. Very sorry to hear it. Bogdanovich, definitely one of those keyhole figures for me, who when I first started seeing his movies and started reading the books that he wrote and some of the books that were written about him, I think turned me on to a lot of movie history from Roger Corman movies to screwball comedies to the great works of John Ford. I would recommend really any of his movies because I think they're all fascinating. But he opens his career with one of the all-time incredible runs.

He makes a very, very small, low-budget kind of thriller Corman picture called Targets in 1968, follows that up in 1971 with The Last Picture Show, which is one of the most celebrated, beloved, and greatest movies ever made. Then he makes What's Up Doc with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neill and just an amazing screwball comedy. And then he makes Paper Moon, a delightful period piece about a father and a daughter starring Ryan O'Neill and his daughter Tatum O'Neill. And then he goes into this fascinating period in the 1970s where he makes a series of flops that have been these objects of fascination and reclamation and cause for concern over the years. Bogdanovich is a not uncomplicated character in movie history. He's somebody who idolized the great men of the 30s, 40s, and 50s, particularly figures like John Ford and Orson Welles, who became a kind of Welles-esque figure himself, married Sybil Shepard, left his wife, Polly Platt. Their relationship famously chronicled in a

brilliant season of Karina Longworth's podcast two years ago. You must remember this. And Bogdanovich has a really long career. He's been, he really made movies. I mean, his last film was 2014. She's funny that way. And he has been this idol to a new generation of filmmakers. You know, the Noah Baumbachs and the Wes Andersons and the Quentin Tarantinos have spoke quite lovingly about the work that Bogdanovich has done. And for me, he's also just a person who's like a great historian. You know, he grew a couple of books that were so impactful for me for realizing the connectivity between what the 30s and 40s filmmakers were doing and how it influenced the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and now into today. He's a, he's a linchpin figure. Um, I would recommend who the devil made it over any of his

books. It's such a good movie about, you know Walshes of the world, the genre filmmakers of the 40s who led the way towards auteur filmmaking in the future. I'm saying a lot of stuff because this is a person who I've thought about a whole hell of a lot. But what are your thoughts on Bogdanovich's passing? I was going to say, obviously, a handful of absolutely stone-cold classics as a filmmaker. But I think particularly to our generation and to those of us who spend a lot of time in front of microphones or other public platforms like bloviating about movies not that he ever did but an early historian an early like film like fan not in the marvel sense but like in the enthusiast sense who certainly made studying and understanding the history and seeking out those directors like a part of his life in a way that probably influenced a lot of

us to be like oh I didn't I didn't know that you could do this I didn't know that studying these things um and and talking about them a lot and being a film historian was also, you know, of like viable way to be. Beyond that, as you said, just like a tremendous figure himself in 70s Hollywood history. I recently reread part of Easy Rider's Raging Bulls, which, you know, as a 70s film document is always exhilarating and has a lot of Peter Bogdanovich in him, but he could both do the work, study the life, and also manage to live some of the life simultaneously. So you got to hand it to him. He managed to do it all. Truly a self-made person, a person who envisioned a life for himself and he sought it out. He tracked down so many filmmakers as a young guy in his 20s writing for Esquire to spend time with

them, to learn from them. He tracked down actors that he wanted to be around and better understand. He famously befriended people like Cary Grant when they were in their 60s and 70s, and he was still in his 20s and 30s. He's an amazing mimic. He could do impressions of people so, so well. He's a great storyteller. There was a TCM podcast about him and his work a few years back as well that I think is worth listening to. I'm sure you've seen him wearing his ascot and his pocket square and his big velvet coat in film history documentaries over the years. He was always available to talk about old Hollywood and to have his work celebrated too. He's got such a unique filmography. Like I think a couple of his movies have really been reclaimed over the years,

particularly St. Jack, a great movie that he made with Ben Gazzara and they all laughed. Um, a 1981 movie that he made with Audrey Hepburn and Gazzara and also features Dorothy Stratton, who was his, his partner,

um, who was tragically murdered. And so he also had this bizarre tabloids experience and this awful experience in his life where he lost someone that he cared for so deeply. So just a massive life, like a huge amount of experience, but at the center of it at all times is movies. He was defined by his own movies, by the movies of others, by his love for the craft, by how he inspired people to go on and make great movies. Just a huge figure. There's very few people that you can compare him to over the last 75 years in American movies. So send the best to those who he survived by and watch his

movies. Spend more time with the Peter Bogdanovich filmography. And read the work or at least read the histories. As you said, a real character, a larger than life figure. And like an end of an era, but really like an end of an era, like two eras ago, you know, who somehow managed to like time travel. So, yeah. So well put.

Thanks to Peter Bogdanovich for his work. Let's just take a quick break now and we'll get into the next segment. Let's talk about some other movies that uh that we're gonna most likely be checking out i don't think there's any movies on either of our lists that i won't be watching yeah um how'd you find doing this list because i felt like last year was so easy because everything rolled over from 2020 and it was like we just have a freaking bonanza was it easy for you to come up with this list i found it a little hard because you just went through and picked out all the brand name directors and you're like, here's my list. And then you were like, good luck, Amanda,

which is fine. I can get creative. And you know, I'm, I'm excited about some movies other than the letterbox 11 or whatever, but you just, it's like like i don't know if you read through your list it's pretty stupid you're just like here i go well writing my little prestige list what what like when you're excited about something you're excited about something this is about this is about anticipation i am genuinely anticipating all of the movies on my list is it a little bit of a cliche sure am i at peace with with my persona as a movie watcher? Yeah, I am. Okay.

It's not as if your list is like some mind-blowing excavation of profound new filmmaker voices with all due respect. You don't need to be rude. It was just like a little jarring when it came in. And I was like, oh, I see. So all like the Bombac is gone the scorsese's gone the like everything the damien chazelle's gone the sarah polly's gone you could have negotiated with the fincher obviously gone you weren't gonna take the fincher you were that wasn't gonna happen i don't know fincher and fast bender is like so dark that it's almost light again.

Why are you spoiling these lists so hard right now? Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You know, but you asked what my experience was like, and it was like, you know, coming to the buffet table and being like, cool. Sean took all the caviar that was supposed to be a garnish. Well, I left you with some Melba toast is what you're saying. That's just so rude to these wonderful films that you've chosen. I feel like your list is great. No, I'm very excited about them. I'm excited about them. Well, if there's one on my list as we're going through it, what you're saying. That's just so rude to these wonderful films that you've chosen. I feel like your list is great. I'm excited about them.

Well, if there's one on my list as we're going through it, where you're like, this was going to be mine, just say so. You know, we can share. Okay. I'm open to that. Okay. Do you want to start or should I start? Yeah, I'll start. What is my, I don't remember the order.

You also put them in order, which we've never really done before. Let's fucking rank them. What are we doing here? It's a podcast. Just rank that joint. I did. Okay. Speaking of George Clooney, my number 11, Ticket to Paradise.

I don't know if you've heard about this. Written and directed by Al Parker. But what it really matters is that it stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts and is a romantic comedy of sorts. And they've been in Australia filming it over the holidays. Julia Roberts having a great time on the beaches of Australia. Australia has welcomed Julia Roberts and rejected Novak Djokovic, to which I say thank you to the country of Australia.

Your priorities are in order. And yeah, George Clooney and Julia Roberts. I'm pleased. So I seem to recall you being a big fan of Mamma Mia. Here we go again from 2018. Is that true? I did actually have a nice time. I mean, it's not good, but it's pretty funny. And at the end, they have Cher sing Fernando.

Like, I don't know if you don't think that's funny. In the context of a Mamma Mia sequel, then I don't really know what to say to you. Was that all Parker's directorial debut? No, it wasn't. He's directed a couple of other films, but smaller films. And I don't know know what to say to you. Was that all Parker's directorial debut? No, it wasn't. He's directed a couple of other films, but smaller films. And I don't know. Is this my tempo, this movie?

I'm not sure. I do love Clooney and Julia Roberts, but... And we should also say, I mean, there's like some plot about the younger generation that involves Caitlin Dever, who you love. I do love Caitlin Dever. Billy Lord.

So sort of a booksmarine. And then Luca Bravo, who's the hot chef from Emily in Paris, who you love i do love caitlin deaver billy lord so sort of a books marine and then luca bravo who's the hot chef from emily in paris who was just not well served by the second season of emily in paris oh sad people weren't you know i don't think their priorities were in order so i'm glad to see that he has made it to australia with american royalty okay ticket to paradise he's got a plum oct October 21st release date. Yeah. Hopefully by then the movie industry

is not a shambles. Yeah. My number 11 is a movie. It's coming out really freaking soon. It's called The Batman. Speaking of Batman, March 4th, directed by Matt Reeves, coming to you from Warner Brothers Pictures

and not available on HBO Max, unlike so many other Warner Brothers movies over the last 12 months. You know, just really quickly on the Warner Brothers thing, I was looking at some of the data about like which Warner Brothers movies were the most watched on their platform, on the HBO Max platform. And it really was Mortal Kombat and Godzilla versus Kong. Like they have just, that's just the fact. It wasn't Dune. It wasn't Matrix Resurrections. You know, it certainly wasn't Judas and the Black Messiah or King Richard or or reminiscence a movie we never even talked about on this show oh yeah and i don't that makes actually me that makes me feel actually a lot worse about all the other

shit we've been talking about forget about spider-man's box office or whatever mortal combat right that we just have to live in video game world yeah that's what it is what it means it is what it means i i don't love it but i I really did like it when Godzilla punched Kong or Kong punched Godzilla or whatever. That was cool. That was good. The Batman. There's no Godzilla, no Kong there, but there is a Batman. There's also a Riddler and a penguin. And I'm excited about this movie. I mean, I'm like authentically, sincerely like 14 year old me excited about it i i feel like this franchise desperately needed to be shrunk down a bit um especially post zach snyder and i'm a big fan of reeves's movies and i feel like reeves basically pulled off miraculous work by making really good planet of the apes movies

in the 2010s um interviewed him on the show in the past i think he's a really thoughtful guy uh he's been wanting to do this basically his whole life. Usually that works out. Not always, but usually. I've been into the trailers. The cast is incredible. Zoe Kravitz, my guy Paul Dano as the Riddler, that's incredible. Colin Farrell wearing all kinds of latex as the Penguin.

I'm hoping that it's a genuine crime movie. I'm hoping it actually is the thing that they say, which is it's more like heat than it is Batman Forever. We'll see. We'll see. It's like eight hours long. You know, I don't know.

Has a runtime been issued? I thought it was like three hours or something, according to the... I thought we've just given up on editing our movies in general. I can't say I love the idea of a three-hour Batman movie. I would love a two-hour and four-minute Batman movie. That seems like the right length. I mean, the Nolan movies were pretty bulky, too. I feel like the last two in particular were two and a half hours. Yes, they just keep going.

Yeah. Okay, but I mean, what is there to say? I mean, we're going to do multiple episodes about the Batman on the big picture. It's a huge deal. It's arguably the biggest movie of the year. Okay, what's your number 10? It's Don't Worry, Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde and, you know, stars Florence Pugh, who we love, a retro set in the 50s sort of psychological

romantic drama, as I understand it. But more importantly, this is where Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles got together and Harry Styles is in this movie. And just one of those things where you got to see the source text, you know, when something this seismic happens in the celebrity movie star industrial space. It's like and frankly, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which is the Brangelina text, really underrated, even though everyone said they had no chemistry at the time. I think they do. It's a pretty funny movie about marriage. So I'm excited for this movie on its own terms because I did like Booksmart and I'm a huge Florence Pugh fan and a huge Harry Styles fan, actually. But then I just am excited to see what all the fuss is about. A few key figures in this movie that I'm excited about.

One, my guy Tim Simons. Oh, yeah. Who has a big role in this movie. That's right. I forgot about that. Really exciting. Our pal. Nick Kroll, who I'm Team Kroll. Okay. And Chris Pine. who has a big role in this movie, which is really exciting. Our pal, um,

Nick Kroll, who I'm, I'm team Kroll. Okay. And, and Chris Pine, who, I mean, he's like,

he's the lost chosen one. He's the guy who's like, never figured it out, but who is the greatest. So I'm pretty, I'm excited about this movie too. I feel like it's got great potential. I mean,

we'll see if it's, it looks like it's going to be stylized to a fault, but you know what? When like some haughty male auteur does that, I tend to give them a pass and I would probably give Olivia Wilde a pass for doing the same thing. So I'm looking forward to that one.

And that's in the fall, right? Yes. Okay. My number 10 is a movie that I didn't think would ever happen. Not because I know really anything about this movie, but because I didn't think that the person who made this movie was ever going to make another movie.

The movie I'm talking about is called Tar, and there's an accent over the A. All caps, Tar. If you have not heard of this movie, it's coming from Focus Features on October 7th, and it is directed by a guy named Todd Field, who fans of Eyes Wide Shut may know as Nick Nightingale, the piano player who either

helps or betrays Tom Cruise, depending on your reading of that film, and who has directed two films, both of which I think are incredible, I guess, domestic dramas that also tip into tragic comedy. I'm talking about In the Bedroom and Little Children. I really, really like both of those movies a lot. And Field is considered a extremely serious, deeply artistic person. And one of the reasons why he hasn't made a movie in 15 years is because I think it's been very hard for him to get certain movies off the ground because he really holds to his vision. Tar is happening. I believe it's been shot. It stars Cate Blanchett, which is wonderful news. Also Nina Haas, the German actress who was the star of a great film from 2017 called Phoenix. Also,

Nomi Merlin from Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Hildur Guana-Detir, who did the score for Joker, did the score for this film. A lot of nice parts. I don't really know what this movie's about. I don't really want to know. It's one of those movies where I may

not even watch the trailer because I've been so looking forward to a new Todd Field movie. So that's coming out this fall, I think. I hope. Maybe, probably. Fingers crossed. I feel like we have to put an asterisk over every single thing at this point. We'll see. We're doing our best. We've done that on both of the last two versions of this episode over the last couple of years, and that was the right choice. Hopefully this year is a little bit more normal. Okay, what's nine it's elvis the boslerman elvis biopic listen this could be a disaster let's get that up front it could just be a total disaster but it could also be boslerman doing an elvis biopic in a way that i i am historically a fan of music biopics

when they get things right when they're not too cheesy i also just have to note that tom hanks plays colonel parker i believe he was filming this once again in australia when he contracted covid and started you know it wasn't tom hanks's fault but that's when we all started to take it seriously tom hanks is doing well i'm very blamed covid on tom hanks no i didn't I want again to state my respect for the country of Australia and also Tom Hanks. But Tom Hanks has been in a lot of movies in the last 18 months that we just have not really talked about. I mean, you and I have tried, but they've all gone to Apple and they've been kind of small and confusing if you don't understand like naval warfare. And so I'm glad for that. Tom Hanks is going to be in a, in a big studio movie again,

going for it. Yes. I think we all deserve that. And this could be very fun. Austin Butler is playing Elvis. It, like I said, could be a disaster, but you got to try things, you know? Austin Butler, I feel like is very good casting. He was last seen in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in which he played Tex Watson. And if you just look at a picture of old Austin, you can see where they're going with Elvis. Baz Luhrmann is the most hit or miss filmmaker in the world to me. Yes. Half of his movies, I I think are absolutely captivating and brilliant. And the other half do not work for me at all.

So this is a real, real interesting one. You know, my, um, my stepmom's family is like a huge Elvis fans. They're like one of those families that like goes to Graceland and like has memorabilia and listens to the records all the time so you know when I was a kid growing up and going over to their homes for holidays and things you know not just blue Christmas but like the whole Elvis Christmas experience was always happening

you know I feel like I have a deep understanding of Elvis mania because of my exposure to them and I like Elvis just like any other person does but I'll be curious to know if folks like my step family buy into this. Because Baz, he can be divisive. He takes a hard stance on some of these stories. Romeo and Juliet, that's a vision of a story that a lot of people have come to know. So I'm excited for this one. A perfect vision. I thought you were going to say

that your in-laws were related to, or your stepfamily was related to Elvis somehow. And I was pretty excited about that. That is not the case. Okay. Wouldn't it be great if I was like, my dad is Elvis. I've learned, I've traced my lineage. And in 1978.

And he's still alive. If you became like a total, like unfilled yourself as a total conspiracy, Elvis conspiracy theorist on this podcast in the middle, it'd be great. Sounds like a good bit for when the, when the film comes out. Yeah.

Okay. My next pick is a movie called Women Talking. I remember when I first heard about this movie. I was at the Telluride Film Festival. It was the welcoming introduction. And there were a handful of people who were not able to attend because they were making this movie. This is Sarah Polly's return to filmmaking.

She hasn't made a movie in, gosh, I feel like it's been six or seven years since she made a film. And it's been an even longer period of time since she made a scripted film. This movie is based on Miriam Toe's novel. And it stars Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley. And as soon as I heard about it, I texted you a minute. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because that's Claire F foyer girl jesse buckley my girl francis mcdormand our girl our woman our our queen um i wouldn't say that the

description of this movie has me like vibrating with excitement so here's the premise one evening eight mennonite women climb into a hayloft to conduct a secret meeting for the past two years each of these women and more than 100 other girls in the colony has been repeatedly violated in the night by demons coming to punish them for their sins. Yeah. So that sounds intense. It sure does. It certainly sounds quite metaphorical as well. And claustrophobic. Certainly.

But, you know, this is a movie that's produced by Plan B. That's Brad Pitt, Dee Dee Garner, Jeremy Kleiner's company. They very rarely miss. They have incredible taste. Sarah Polly proved herself to be an incredibly sophisticated and thoughtful filmmaker. Stoked about this movie.

I think it's gonna be really, really good. I think it's gonna be a big deal come this fall. I would have put this on my list, but then it was on your list. You can't argue with that cast, even if I just am imagining them all. I don't totally know

what traditional Mennonite garb is, but I'm just imagining them with hay bales, like for a long period of time and then weird ghosts coming in, but it's fine. It doesn't matter. I trust Sarah Polly and I trust those four actors. I do too.

It doesn't have to be fun to be great. That's the thing there. Keep in mind. Okay. What do you got next? So we have two next. I have bros and I have fire island and i've paired these together because these are two queer romantic comedies that are going to be released bros has a release date in august and

fire island is tbd on on hulu but hopefully it's like a summer thing so bros is directed by nicholas stoller but it is co-written and starring bill Eichner, who I just absolutely love. And I trust him and I miss his comedy. I miss him yelling at people on the street, even though I know that's not something you can really do in a pandemic. So I'm glad he's safe. But very excited that he's getting this opportunity. And obviously, Nicholas Doller has a pretty great history of directing studio-esque comedies that we enjoy. Yes, I agree with you.

And the other is Fire Island, which I will just read you. It is apparently inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which is just like an automatic check for me. I have watched every single and read every single remake, reimagination of Pride and Prejudice ever done, and I will continue to. But so it's written by and starring Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, and Margaret Cho, also co-star. And it's apparently going to be directed by Andrew Ahn, who directed Driveways, which you and I both absolutely loved.

Yeah. So I'm hoping that both of these are sort of the Palm Springs, like happiest season, fun, wherever you watch it, home or, you know, theater or streaming romantic comedies that I miss and that have, when they're done well,

can still bring me great joy, but I'm excited for all of these people. I like it. I'm really excited just for any new Andrew on project. That's really cool. Also, I think is bros is bros an apatow thing yeah i think it is produced by yeah so that that will be a different kind of a flavor but

you're right nicholas stoller has a has a really good track record as a as a director you know so this is the guy who made forgetting sarah marshall and neighbors so he's he's been there before um okay good one or good too i should say okay number eight. You mentioned this before. Damien Chazelle. Damien Chazelle is a new movie. Damien Chazelle. We have forgotten the greatness of the Wunderkind. The guy who made La La Land and The Flesh and First Man. Yeah, it's been three years since First Man. Isn't that crazy?

And that's true that First Man was sort of like a late. It was a little overlooked. Yeah. You know? And it hasn't been three. Has it been four years? When did First Man come out out i believe it's 2018 not to spoil any upcoming movie drafts that we might have oh my goodness oh yeah i know yeah you're right it premiered at the venice film

festival on august 29 2018 almost four years since the new damien chazelle movie which is that's kind of painful to think about um obviously he did work on a netflix series in that time yes and then there was a pandemic so babylon is the name of the movie and another movie that i kind of don't want to know too much about but it is essentially is a story of old hollywood and uh it's a so it's a period piece stars uh margot robbie it stars brad pitt it stars uh olivia wilde flea max mckayla catherine waterstona, Catherine Waterston, a lot of bold-faced names. And I don't know. It's a Damien Chazelle movie.

So there's very few filmmakers under 45 for whom new films are an event. And I feel like he is on that short list. Would you agree? Absolutely. Also, did you say that this movie stars Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie? I did. I did say that. Yes.

Okay. Yeah. I mean, I've just been looking at set photos of Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, you know, in period costume, getting in and out of cars. Sign me up. I'm very, very excited. Also, Tobey Maguire is a producer on this movie and is appearing in the movie. So Tobey Maguire back.

Is that a thing? Sure. Good for him. I'm happy for him. I liked what he was up to. Can he survive the scandal of Player X from Molly's Game? Yes, he can. Okay. Well, Babylon, it's a Christmas movie. So that means it's an Oscar movie. Yeah. So expect to hear a lot about this movie over the next 12 months on the big picture. An Oscar movie about old Hollywood starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. This also would have been on my list,

just so everybody knows. You're really, you're a little cranky about this that I nabbed all your faves. It's just, who likes coming in second and just, you know, doing all the leftovers? You don't even eat leftovers, so you can't tell me. I don't.

I'm excited about all the movies on my list. I just want to say I'm also excited for Babylon. Okay. What's your number seven? So I feel like I'm jinxing my number seven because the news of it broke late in the year and it was supposed to start filming in early 2022. Please, I hope that you still get to film. But it is called Beth and Don, and it is a movie written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. So sign me right up. I loved Enough Said. I think Enough Said is like

one of the most underrated movies of the last 10 years. Very excited to see them re-team. Also, I will read you the logline. The film follows Beth, a New York novelist who is in an unbelievably happy marriage to don who loves her and supports her in every way one day when beth overhears him

admitting that he hasn't liked her writing in years it threatens to undo all that's good in their lives so a domestic drama but possibly comedy about julia louis-Dreyfus having a nervous breakdown because she's a novelist and things like just yes, yes, yes. Sign me up. Wait, so Julia Louis-Dreyfus is playing Beth. Who is playing Don? I don't think that they've decided yet. Oh, no. What do you think it should be? Gosh, I haven't really thought about that. Because obviously the incredible pairing in Enough Said was between Julia Louis-Dreyfus

and the late great James Gandolfini. So, you know, you really want somebody who can counterpunch with JLD. Well, it is also a little bit of, is it supposed to work out for these characters? Like, I would argue that it ultimately did. In Enough Said, you were rooting for them, at least. I don't know if it worked out, but you were rooting for them. This may not be that. This may be the opposite.

Or this might be where it's supposed to be like a total smarm bucket. You know, Ben Mendelsohn was the star of the last Nicole Holofcener movie. I wonder if he is in contention. Because, you know, he has a streak of unlikability that might play well in something like this. That's a great one. Nicole Holofcener, one of the great writers and directors. So I'm looking forward to that

too. That's an A24 movie. Okay, I picked two for number seven as well because they're kind of paired in my mind. It's The Fablemans, which is coming out on Thanksgiving weekend from, of course, the great Steven Spielberg. We talked about this a little bit on our Spielberg episode around West Side Story. This is apparently the most personal movie that Spielberg has ever made. In fact, it's very much about his childhood and growing up in the shadow of his parents divorce and his relationship with an uncle who's going to be played by seth rogan in this movie and it is co-written by tony kushner and by steven spielberg this is the first screenplay

credit that steven is taking since the film ai which is also one of his most personal movies seems like a pretty big deal i'm very excited about this uh i think i've been kind of frustrated by the west side story discourse because i'm like you just we need to bow down to this incredible filmmaker when he when he does something like this i find it interesting that at this phase of his life he's deciding to make a movie like this he very rarely makes movies that are overtly autobiographical he tends to shade them in a lot of metaphor and artifice like hook is an is definitely an autobiographical movie but it's also a movie about peter pan um this sounds like something that is pure autobiography and that's

pretty fascinating and letting putting putting your life in kushner's hands is also an interesting test um i'm really really looking forward to this movie uh i'm pairing it with armageddon time which is the forthcoming film from james gray friend of the pod and someone whose movies I think I tend to spend more time thinking about than watching, honestly. They tend to live with me for a long time. This is a movie also about sort of James Gray's coming of age in Queens in the 1970s and 80s and has an amazing cast. Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Strong. Jeremy Strong was working on this film while I'm going through some of that New Yorker profile. Oh, yeah.

And this movie's coming out from Focus. Seems like in the fall, though I'm not totally sure. And it does seem like a little bit of an aspect of this story is sort of like Donald Trump's incursion into new york which is not to say that it's a movie about donald trump i think it's more about what was happening to new york city at this time when james or someone like james was growing up and thinking about the ways in which the city was sort of taken over once again by ill-seeming people um i'm really excited for this. James obviously makes a very,

also a very sort of sophisticated, careful, patient kind of drama. And this one sounds good. I'm looking forward to both of those. I, you know,

it does feel like everybody's doing their Roma now, but that's nice that a generation does their Roma. You're right. There is a, there's a wave of

autobiographical storytelling. What would you, What would your autobiographical film be called? Oh, Jesus. I'm happy for you. Sure. I am happy for you. I'm happy for everybody. Just keep doing what you're trying to do. Yeah. Okay. What's your number six? Knives Out 2. Daniel Craig solving mysteries in Greece? Like, yes. Great. They filmed on location in Greece. I followed Karina Longworth's Instagram story.

Seems like she had a lovely summer. Can't wait to see what they turned out. No arguments from me. Hope everyone gets rich as hell from Netflix. Two thumbs up. I'm good with it. Do you think Netflix is the right place? Is it an even better place for a Knives Out film series?

Yes, because remember actually how Knives Out, I mean, Knives Out did very well at the box office, but it was like top of the streaming charts, especially in early pandemic for a very long time because it was that sort of, I don't want to say low stakes because I think it was like very clever, very well made. Obviously, these whodunits are a special favorite of mine and also Rian Johnson's.

And he makes them with a lot of care. But deeply watchable. And so people actually turn it on at home. Which, not every film has to be that way, but I love a watchable film. So I think it's a watchable film. So I, I think it's a good fit in Netflix. Also Netflix actually sent people somewhere. Once again,

film your movies on location, especially if it's a Greek Island in the summer. Thank you. I can't argue with that. I'm excited for this one too. I think it, the thing is, is like the film was very much designed to be a kind of Hercule Poirot or

Miss Marple sort of story where there's just like a series of mysteries that will be maybe solved, maybe not solved over a period of years. And obviously the production values are significantly higher than like those PBS or BBC films that you like and my wife likes and that I like. Okay. Don't have to be rude about it. We all have our things. I have my stupid Batman movies and you have you know miss marple it's okay um i'm a person eileen's miss marple she is which is like actually a great personality it defines you both

truly uh but uh i think that it is a really good home for them because you could see a world in which you have literally 11 films over 25 years in the Knives Out. Now, whether or not Ryan is directing all of those movies, probably not. I hope he goes on to make other movies as well. That's the only thing about having a successful film that turns into a franchise is then you get a little bit hooked to your franchise. So we spend a lot of time lamenting the films that were not made by great filmmakers. But Knives Out 2 and 3 sounds like a lot of fun. So I hope that's a great trilogy.

I'm happy that he got a vacation. I'm happy that he got a lot of money, hopefully to make the other films mentioned. Can I just say to whoever takes over for Rian Johnson and makes Knives Out 7, which I'll watch no matter what. But like, I do not need the backstory of Benoit Blanc, which is the character that Daniel Craig plays. I don't need you to give me like an origin trauma story for this director.

We don't need to serialize. I mean, for this detective, we don't need to serialize it. Let him show up and solve ridiculous crimes in a ridiculous accent and then go home. So you're saying don't don't skyfall benoit blanc okay don't you don't have to be rude about it well think about what you're saying good no but but yes basically i am okay um at least until that was movie 30 right yes but it was movie was it movie two no it's movie three for craig right okay so i don't know craig he's pretty good at revealing the inner turmoil of mysterious men but respectfully we're not really investigating

you know england and empire and post-war identity and like mothers and and what have you in knives out we're solving murders, mostly by rich people. Aren't we though? Isn't it all about mothers? You know, that's what I'm thinking these days. Oh my God, I can't right now. I'm keeping it low stakes. I'm okay with some things being low stakes,

is what I'm saying. Here's my version of high stakes. Number six, The Killer, directed by David Fincher, starring Michael Fassbender. Theoretically a movie about a killer, I think based on the the title that's all i can surmise uh this movie does not have a release date i don't know if it will be a 2022 movie i'm praying to god it is a 2022 movie um david fincher is making a movie about a killer starring one of our favorite actors for netflix that's all the information i have i I will be lined up on my couch the day it is released.

I will go to as many screenings of it as I can. I'm so eagerly anticipating this movie. I have it on number six on my list only because I just don't know if it's going to come out this year. I think if it had a release date locked onto it, it would be number one. Maybe number two behind my number one, but it's right there near the

top because of how much I dig what Fincher does. We'll see. I mean, another movie that I don't want anything spoiled for me but also i will read everything ever written about it and i will watch every youtube analysis of the strategies that he deployed to make this movie i'm i'm stoked i'm really really really excited about the fact that he is making a movie like this can you imagine how fucked up this movie could be i it's like i yearn fast bender who is one of my favorite actors. But like. And I mean this as a compliment.

Like has access to the darkness. You know. Oh truly. And Fincher. And a killer. I. Wow. Okay.

It will be uncomfortable. But also I'm like so uncomfortable. That I'm excited. I yearn for the perversion. That's where I'm at. With all Fincher material. And you know. Fassbender has not worked a lot in the last few years.

That's right, because he's been at like an F1 racer, I think. I think he's been a, has he been a father to a daughter as well? I feel like he and Alicia Vikander have been raising a child. They are. It's not confirmed whether he's a girl dad or a boy dad. Interesting. They've managed to hide that. They hid it for almost a year

and finally were, I believe, you know, paparazzi photographed on one of Alicia Vikander's sets. And then there are a lot of photos of Michael Fassbender like pushing a stroller around like very happily, which is very sweet.

But I don't know whether he is like embraced girl dad as a lifestyle. I'd like to respect his privacy in that respect. And also, I'm glad he's back in movies. You know, Alicia Vikander underrated, I thought in 2021. It's just so good in the Green Knight.

She had two different parts in the Green Knight. Yeah. I thought she was very effective in that movie. I hope she comes back to making a lot of movies again. I miss her in movies. Okay. What's your number five? It's called The Eternal Daughter.

It's written and directed by joanna hogg and once again tilda swinton is is in this film and i think that this was like a secret we made this movie in the pandemic and it was shot in wales and there's something about a ghost and i don't really care if joanna hogg and tilda swinton just like got together and made a movie during the pandemic i'm'm interested. Me too. I really love Joanna Hawks films. She mentioned this very briefly when we spoke over in the fall and she seems very excited about it.

And I believe it is not quite the same autobiographical text that the last couple of souvenir movies were. Souvenir part two, did it get enough love? I don't think so. Also, I was very distressed to see Mark Ronson, the, you know, music producer and person who I admire very much,

tweeting about asking whether he should watch Souvenir Part 1 before he saw Souvenir Part 2. Mark Ronson, yes. That's iconic. Please watch. Please watch both of them. They're very good together. And I do think you have the time. That is elite yeah is mark ronson smart he's smart he is smart i will like his work but and i just need him to watch

both of them i think he'll like both of them my number five is a movie that's come up on the show in the past it's been a few years since it came up. It's called Everything Everywhere All at Once. And I would say that this is the trailer phenomenon of 2022 thus far. It's a movie directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who are known as Daniels. They are the filmmakers who made Swiss Army Man. And I interviewed Scheinert a couple of years ago for a movie that he wrote and directed called The Death of Dick Long. And he pitched this movie to me on the pod and i thought he was punking me he was describing it i think i literally was like

what do you that's not real is it because he's you know he has a comic persona i would say uh it's a science fiction movie it's a multiversal movie and it's a movie that stars Michelle Yeoh and the trailer puts Dr. Strange to shame is what I would say uh I thought about putting Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Magnus on my list and then I was like how how could I possibly do that with this movie coming so in addition to Michelle Yeoh uh Harry Shum Jr. uh James the great James Hong um from um from big trouble in little china jamie lee curtis number of other people appear in this film um it's another movie that i don't want to spoil for me too much but it's a science fiction story about uh identity over time and it spans it seems like it spans centuries and these are two two of the most creative filmmakers on the planet two people who are really trying to push the limits of what a conventional feature film format can be. It's premiering at the South by Southwest

Film Festival on March 11th, and then it's coming out March 25th. So 10 weeks, pretty soon, pretty excited. This is one of those where I really enjoyed the trailer. And I was also like, oh, do I have already seen too much? Maybe I just want to go and call, which that's an unwinnable situation, right? It is. the movies and you do need to have a trailer with this level of excitement, but I don't want to know anymore. This trailer's got 5 million views on YouTube already, which is a lot for a movie starring Michelle Yeoh about the multiverse from May 24. There's going to be some interest in it, which is pretty exciting. So I'm stoked on this one. Okay. What do you got? Number four.

Number four. We've talked about it before, but I just wanted to give it some extra space since none of you have been able to see it. It's the worst person in the world, which was my favorite movie of last year. Sean's number two. It did technically come out last year, but it's being released by neon in February. I'm direct by a country or just the Norwegian. Yes. Norwegian Francis. um direct by a country or uh just the norwegian yes norwegian francis ha and i just can't wait for everyone to be able to see it so this is just a reminder to please go see this film i hope this

strategy by neon works and people do show up to see it i do worry that they missed the window a little bit um i'd love to have a long conversation with you about it on the show i just don't know if we're ever going to get to a moment where enough people have checked it out until it goes to Hulu or whatever Neon's output deal is. But highest possible recommendation. Definitely, clearly one of the best movies of the last year and a really interesting final chapter in the Oslo trilogy that Schreier has been working on since, gosh, way back in like, I think 2008 is when those films started.

So great pick. Okay, my number four, you alluded to it earlier I think 2008 is when those films started. So great pick. Okay, my number four, you alluded to it earlier, Noah Baumbach's White Noise. This is an adaptation of the Don DeLillo novel, one of my favorite novels of all time. This is a film that in a surprising bit of casting is bringing

in Adam Driver to play Professor Jack Gladney. I will say that I've read White Noise twice, and I don't think I ever really thought of a Driver-esque figure as Jack Gladney, nor did I necessarily think of Greta Gerwig as Babette Gladney. I definitely thought of both of these characters as significantly older. And then I think about it, and I'm like, okay, well, Greta Gerwig is 38, and Adam Driver is 38, and I'm 39. And Greta Gerwig is 38 and Adam Driver's 38 and I'm 39 and are the

characters in White Noise my age yeah it's it's upsetting when you catch up to the fictional characters that you read as a young person had this experience recently with old sex in the city episodes very different uh setting but same thing I was like oh god they're younger than me now that's pretty terrifying the last time I can remember a moment like this is when I started realizing that the athletes that I loved on the teams that I root for were significantly younger than me. We're like six, seven, nine, 10 years younger than me. And I was like, okay, my relationship emotionally to this has to change a little bit at least because I'm now mad at kids and i'm not a kid anymore and

this is a little different but it's not that different from that kind of cultural relationship that you have to certain movies and stories you know this is a very complex uh book about um a professor of hitler studies who goes on a trip with his uh four kids and is sort of like attacked in a way by this airborne toxic event there's sort of like a cloud of terror that hovers over them in the world and it's a very scary book in a way it's a very elusive book it's a book that is really about your imagination and the kind of like anxiety that is wrought through middle age so this sounds like a big swing for Noah. You know, Noah makes movies that tend to be fairly domesticated and localized. And this one is in a way, but it's also pretty big in terms of its reach.

And also we're living through a freaking pandemic. And so it's quite a time to be telling white noise on screen. I don't think that this can go totally wrong because I trust everyone involved, but it's definitely everyone's taking a risk. Everyone is outside their comfort zone. So I'm very curious about it. I mean, you say Noah Baumbach, Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, like sign me up no matter what, but it is, I'm, I'm, I'm curious. It should be interesting. Uh, I'm very curious as well. That's also a Netflix movie. No release date at the moment. Okay, what's your number three?

My number three is She Said, which is the adaptation of the nonfiction book by Jodi Kantor and Megan Tuohy, who broke the Harvey Weinstein scandal for the New York Times and wrote what I thought was an extremely compelling book about that experience, but really honestly about investigative journalism. I just really recommend it. And it is being made into a movie starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan, directed

by Maria Schrader, who did Unorthodox, which is a Netflix miniseries that I haven't seen, but a lot of people really love. I watched it. It was very well made. Yeah. And this is another Plan B project. And as you said, I really trust their taste. And I, like you, really love journalism films. And I also think that this is very interesting source material and very curious how they take on all the aspects of the movie industry within a movie itself. You know, it could always go wrong, but I like everyone involved and I am, I'm excited if it's like all the president's men ask. Great. It feels like, it feels like the kind of movie that we say they don't make movies like this anymore. So

it's exciting that it's happening and it just like an adult drama about true life events with some narrative propulsion and some great performances is exciting. You know, Maria Schrader made a film last year, which I still have not seen yet. It's called I'm Your Man. It stars Dan Stevens. It's a German film that has actually been shortlisted for Best International Feature. There's a decent chance it gets in. So I at some point you and i are gonna have to watch this movie um it's available on vod i just for whatever reason have not gotten around to it it's and it's dan stevens performing in german um as a as a robot actually um i think he's like i think he's a pleasure robot yeah that sounds right um but so she's coming off of a successful project and you know she was an actress for many years and has

very been considered a filmmaker to watch for a little while so this is a big big effort for her okay my number three is the northman directed by robert eggers director of the lighthouse director of the witch one of my favorite living filmmakers this is his biggest movie yet by far. It is a Viking saga starring Alexander Skarsgård with the best trailer of 2022, 2021. You know, I already shared a hark on this. I don't need to scream and yell. I just think this movie is going to kick ass and is also going to be it's also going to let down a certain brand of movie fan that is expecting all-out warfare for two hours because robert eggers makes very unusual very historically accurate very often slow and

odd films the lighthouse is a very odd film it is extremely effective and brilliantly made but it is not Mad Max Fury Road. And so I think I just want to caveat that here and say, and I don't even know if you'll ever watch this movie, Amanda. But, you know, when Chris and I sit down to watch it, we're going to be prepared for something off kilter despite its hardcore action seeming circumstances. Do you think that this is one where people got really jacked for the trailer and then they're going to sit down and watch Robert Eggers movie and be like, wait, what's going on? That's what I'm saying. Yeah. I think that that's in play. Not for me. Not for you. You'll love it. I'm very, very excited. You know, I think it was Adam Naiman who pointed out that Eggers has a lot to live up to if he's going to match Nicholas

Winding Refn's Valhalla Rising, the Mads mickelson viking movie which is incredibly violent and incredibly strange that sounds like a killer double feature we should program that at the the sean and amanda movie theater okay would you come out for that script that double screening sure okay great yeah thanks thanks for supporting me just as long as i have bathroom access i I'm there. Okay. What's your number two? My, which is the Bradley Cooper, Leonard Bernstein movie. I hope this comes out this year. This is undated. I mean, it's been in the works forever. And I'm fascinated to see what Bradley Cooper does with the life of Leonard Bernstein.

One of the most important figures in American music and classical music in the last hundred years. This story is apparently centered around his marriage, which I think was also colorful, as I would understand it. And maybe it was not the total, maybe there were things going on outside his marriage

and Leonard Bernstein's personal life. We'll put it that way, but his wife is going to be played by Carrie Mulligan, who I love Jeremy strong. Also in this one as a biographer, which is always a great framing device, in my opinion.

And I just, a star is born was really good. A star is born was really good. And I do sort of trust Bradley Cooper to figure some things out especially in a music film or at least I want to see him try so I'm looking forward to it I I'm fascinated by Bradley's journey as a filmmaker and his desire to um to render great men you know like that is something that is really important to him. So I'm excited about it as well. Four Netflix movies on our list.

Pretty good. I think that's the most out of any studio that we've got here. My number two is a movie called Nope. Comes to us from Jordan Peele. The great Jordan Peele, who's made two movies himself, Us and Get Out.

I don't know anything about this movie other than Daniel Kaluuya's in it and Kiki Palmer's in it. And speaking of clouds, I think in the poster, there's a giant cloud hanging over a town, not unlike the giant cloud hanging over the town in white noise. I expect a kind of horror thriller in the vein of the previous two films that Jordan Peele has made. Jordan Peele, like Damien Chazelle, is one of those directors who is under 45, who when he makes a movie, it is an event. Is Jordan Peele under 45? Let me cross-check that. He might be right in that zone. Jordan Peele is 42 years old. Shout out to him. Oh, that's good.

That makes me feel a lot worse about my accomplishments in life. No, I think it's always nice when people are a few years older. Beyonce is always going to be a few years older than me. And she's still thriving. So if Beyonce can do it, I can do something. That's a lot to live up to, Beyonce. I find it comforting. I'm just like, it's okay. Some people still matter, even as they age.

Nope will be a sensation. Nope is also a... This is like in the zone for for birthday movie for me and you july 15th yes you know this could be you know big noisy dinner afterwards um let me pull up my spreadsheet hang on one second it was weird i think i like nope better than whatever you suggested oh well, July 29th this year is Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson.

Right. The Rock. Absolutely not. Are you not interested in that? No. It's directed by Yom Colet-Sara, the filmmaker behind

Jungle Cruise. Sure. Your milestone birthday, you can see that one by yourself. Could you imagine if I spent my 40th birthday alone watching Black Adam?

Yes, I can. I honestly probably will do that. That's so sad. What have I become? It's so sad. Black Adam is not on my list. There's not,

I don't see any other strong candidates there. I mean, Bullet Train is also coming out on July 15th. A movie that did not make my list. It's an honorable mention, but the new Brad Pitt action thriller from David Leitch, that could be up there. July 15th is going to rock.

That's going to be dope. Bullet Train and Nope on the same day. I'm, I'm excited. I'm fired up. Okay. What's your number one? Okay.

Oh, just we're going to do a lot here. So I think this is the third year running. And Bobby, if you'd like to cue in the music at any time, you should feel free. But this is the third year running that I've had Top Gun 2 on my most anticipated movies of 2022 list. It has to be, right? Because it was supposed to come out in 2020. Was it not? Yeah.

I remember us being in that, in one of the studios on the Sunset Gower lot, like the one without any windows. You remember that one? Yes. I'm doing this list and me asking Bobby to play the song the first time. January 17th, 2020. What's your next movie? Speaking of just giving in to movies, Top Gun Maverick.

Yes. Let's go. I don't know. I'd like to have fun at the movies. It's the summer. Most effective trailer I've seen in a year. Miles Teller, Glenn Powell. Great.

Play the music really loud. Bobby, you just like play the theme song really loud right now for 10 seconds. And that's all I have to say about this movie. That was pre-pandemic. Then last year I begged. January 7th, 2021. Okay. what's next on your list what is next on my list oh yeah we already talked about this can we just let's just play the theme song let's just play the theme song very

loudly and then i will just speak here about how i am looking forward to Top Gun Maverick. And I enjoy very... Then there was like a cruel moment this summer where I thought I was going to see it. And can I just... Can we be really real right now? Yeah, let's be really real. So the biggest obstacle in my day-to-day life right now, the biggest thing confronting me in my domestic life

is that my husband has seen this movie and I have not. Like, Zach zach is that really the biggest obstacle well there too yeah this is guys good time to mention i forgot that i was gonna do this um but it is still even though as sean alluded to and as many of you suspected i am having a baby very soon which is very exciting exciting. Yes. Yes. This is exactly how I wanted to share this with people in the middle of like me begging to see Top Gun 2. Yeah, I am. Very soon, the doctor says, and I'm very excited and everything's good.

And thank you to everyone who's been so kind. And also, this is a way of saying I might not be on all the podcasts for all of the movies we just talked about. Maybe none of them. Who knows? Well, but here's the thing. I need to be on the Top Gun 2 podcast. Okay. of the podcast for all of the movies we just talked about maybe none of them who knows well but here's the thing i need to be on the top gun 2 podcast okay and i need paramount to help me out this is just like this is me standing up and saying i am just one woman growing another human

desperate to see this movie and you guys let my husband see it last summer and okay let's be very real my husband was invited because he also works in the industry and he works for dq and and people get to see movies at different times because production schedules are on different times and everyone's doing their job and it's great but i really needed to see top gun 2 last summer i had a very difficult first trimester and i begged Zach to take me along and he tried so hard and he was denied. And I like cried harder than I've ever cried because once again, I was really pregnant and sick. And I was just like, I've been throwing up for two months. Can you please just get me into this movie? And it didn't happen. And now

I'm nervous it's going to happen again. And I'm not going to be able to see top gun 2 the only movie i care about so paramount if you are listening tom cruise if you are listening please please let me see your movie this year it's been a three year journey all i want is to see this movie this is this is just unbelievable What a collision of the personal and the professional for you. I just, I just, I'm like a really pregnant lady who wants to see people flying jets really fast. Like, I don't know what else to say at this point. Please help. I believe in you. First of all, I promise you, I promise you that me and Bobby and Chris Ryan will not record a six-hour podcast without you about this movie. I promise you. But I don't know how I'm going to see it because then there's going to be this person

and that I have to take care of. Yeah. Zach's got to watch this freaking baby. So you can see Top Gun. He has seen it already. I guess we've divided child care responsibilities. Yeah, exactly. He can have an afternoon with the baby by himself.

Trust me, I've done it. It's fucking hard. So he better buckle up. But can you imagine being Zach being like, sorry sorry i have to go see top gun 2 by myself and leaving just like a weeping woman at home being like no i mean all i wanted was to see glenn powell you just described like every tuesday night for me when i go to a meeting and aileen is like are you seriously leaving again are you seriously going out again again sean so i can relate it's tough nothing on the order

of magnitude of Top Gun Maverick, obviously. That is truly an event. I hope they release this movie. Who the fuck knows, man? There's a million things going on right now. You know, Paramount

is one of those companies that every six weeks somebody's like, is this company going to be sold? Is this company going to be part of a new conglomeration? I'm so upset. We also don't have

Mission Impossible. I know. Well, I thought when you earmarked this, we would kind of add MI7 to it come out. Well, I thought when you earmarked this, we would kind of add MI7 to it as well. Because I mean, to me, for me personally, I'm much more excited about the new Mission Impossible than Top Gun Maverick. I'll be honest. I am not a huge Top Gun person. I don't hate it. I obviously like it a lot. It's not the time to share that with me, Sean. We need to focus on getting me into seeing Top Gun 2. That's your only goal for this year. Okay? Okay.

I have two goals. You have one. Well, what's the... Like, what is the concern here? That they're not actually going to, like, have a screening for it? That they're going to push the release date to 2023? All of the above. Okay. And somehow I'll miss the screening because I don't have, you know, my childcare set up.

And then it'll get bumped. That's what happened. Zach went to see it and then they were like, no, no, we're not releasing this movie for another year. Is it important that you see it before people or just that you see it?

Well, I don't want to be the last person to see it. Also, I think they're really missing out on a major asset, which is me being psyched about this movie. This is another thing. Is that a major asset? Me being excited about something? Yes. It doesn't happen that often, as you know.

Well, that's certainly true. And I would be. And also the risk they took letting my husband see it by himself. My husband, who famously went to see Creed and was like, nah, not that good. Yeah. Just dragging him here. You know what? No, it's okay. You're going to be parenting a child together, nah, not that good. Yeah. Just dragging him here. You know what? No, it's okay.

You're going to be parenting a child together. He's been really wonderful. You have to be on the same team. This is important. We're very excited and I'm very excited to have a kid with him. And I just, if we could resolve the Top Gun 2 issue

before this kid shows up, I think that would really help everyone. I've been telling you this for months and months, but congratulations. This is just so exciting. Thank you. I love that that is actually everyone. I've been telling you this for months and months, but congratulations. This is just so exciting. It is. Thank you. It is.

I love that that is actually how I made this announcement, but we're thrilled. We're very excited. And I sort of can't believe what's happening because it's Milwaukee physics experiment at this point, but it's really exciting. And I will miss everyone. We're going to try to bank some episodes

and I will try to come back when I can, but I'm lucky enough to be offered leave and I will miss everyone we're going to try to bank some episodes and I will try to come back when I can but I'm lucky enough to be offered leave and and I will be taking it so so thank you to everybody and thank you to you Sean I am excited to join Girl Dad Club it's uh it's a it's a it's an unusual team I'm excited for you to join as well we'll have a lot more to bond over on this pod in the future as well so you'll definitely be back and hopefully very very soon. It's pretty weird for me to now share a number one movie after you sharing this world shaking news

that is completely changing your life. But that's how it should go. That's honestly like how we should share it with the world. From your new child to my father, Martin Scorsese, we're going Killers of the Flower Moon is my number one movie.

Also a movie I'm not totally sure is coming out in 2022, but it feels like it's going to. This movie stars Jesse Plemons and Leonardo DiCaprio. It's based on the incredible David Grand book and it's being made by Apple. It's apparently $275 million worth of

movie or some crazy number like that, which sounds like a lot for a movie about Oklahoma in the 19th century, but we'll see um it's a you know it's a very complicated kind of true crime slash uh historical genocidal you know u.s government tale about um the native peoples living in oklahoma at the time sort of something that they were promised and something that is taken away from them and it's very very dramatic story life and death is kind of a high stakes tale.

And it's Martin Scorsese making a period piece with Leo. So sign me up. This also would have been on my list, but you took it away from me and my child. So we just had to talk about Top Gun 2 instead. You should refer to everything as me and my child going forward. That's literally what's happening right now. Yeah, yeah. It's more than you know.

Those are our lists. And that's Amanda's big news. How many people do you think just like tuned out like in the last 10 minutes of the pod and then you're going to disappear for a couple months and then what happens? We're going to find out. And I'm excited to know who actually listens to the end of the big picture. That's sort of a fun one. It's a big test.

Let me also just say like a lot of people have already like sort of guessed it. They've sussed it out. And been so kind. It's really nice. It's a very nice thing to share with people. And if there's anyone who I know in my life who I forgot to tell you, I'm really sorry. But also tough way to find out. Listen to the pod. I haven't been great. I haven't really known how to tell people I wasn't going to do an Instagram post, you know? Yeah. Like I tried to avoid all that stuff,. To the point where like, I, I, I vanished from the show for a little while. Didn't explain what the hell happened. Yeah. But it's also like, I just still kind of feel like I'm in a 90210 episode, you know? Like there's no way to say like I'm pregnant without

just being like, Oh no, what are we going to do? Don't tell mom and dad. Uh, but unfortunately this pregnancy feels like a teen pregnancy. I'm about to be mom and dad so I'm I'm working through it in real time it's a process well I'm very happy for you I'm very happy for both of you guys

and I'm I'm happy for movies and all the movies your child is going to get to see with you yes at home

this is the thing please just show me movies at home I'm going to be stuck and pretty bored so thank you to all the studios well Amanda thank you this was fun thank you to pretty bored. So thank you to all the studios. Well, Amanda, thank you. This was fun. Thank you to our producer, Bobby Wagner. Thank you to Amanda's unborn child for all their work on this podcast. Tune in next week when we will finally be doing

the much promised licorice pizza episode. We're actually going to dive deep. I wanted to give people an extra week to see this movie in movie theaters because Spider-Man has been running rampant throughout the theatrical experience. So if you really want to hear us go deep on licorice pizza, me, Amanda, Chris Ryan, Wozni Lambre, we're doing it next week on The Big Picture. Go check the film out and listen to the episode. We will see you then. Thank you.