The Big Picture - The Best Picture Movie Draft

Episode Date: February 21, 2025

Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan gather to draft films that have been awarded Best Picture at the Academy Awards. This time, they select from six categories: 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, 1990s, 2010s, and Best Picture Loser. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Bill Simmons and I want to tell you about my movie podcast, the rewatchable. We're each week I'm joined by Ringer movie lovers, Chris Ryan, Sean Venasi, Van Lathan, Kyle Brandt, Mallory Rubin. We have a whole bunch of people on. We talk about movies. We can't stop rewatching. And now you can watch us cover these movies on video in the Spotify app. We have covered over 350 movies, including Heat, Goodfellas, Boogie Nights, Pulp Fiction. We have some real heavy hitters coming up here in 2025. Make sure to follow us on Spotify where you can watch every new episode right now. Just head to the rewatchables on Spotify now on video. You hear that?

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Terms and conditions apply. BMO Eclipse Rise Visa Card. Terms and conditions apply. I'm Sean Fennessy. I'm Amanda Dobbin. And this is the Big Picture, a conversation show about best pictures. Chris Ryan, AKA CR, AKA the pod slut is here with us. We're drafting.

Can we talk about his layers? I was, should I not be wearing a jacket in here? It's really cold in this office. It is cold. And it's cold in Los Angeles. Do you think that you're gonna heat over time? Maybe. We'll see.

You're wearing a- I'm heating up like this Oscar race. Wow. Look at you. A new seat and the new segue king. This is a slicker? It's my Premier League manager coat. Oh, yeah, yeah. Your Jose Mourinho look.

Yeah, okay. Okay. Are you here to compete today? I think so, yeah. My knowledge of cinema history goes back way before the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Does it now. You know what I mean? Before heat even. Maybe even back to the dawn of cinema itself.

Would you say that because this is Wellness Week here at The Ringer, and we are technically off all this episode is airing. Right, so it's another pre-recorded classic. Everyone buckle up. Funny how we keep using drafts for that strategy. Do you think of the Oscars as creating a wellness for you? I was thinking about this on the drive in. I'm back in on the Oscars.

Oh, wow. I'm pro. I'm excited. I have a positive attitude. OK. I think it helps that the worst movie is probably not going to win. I think it also helps that we do have a week off kind of dangling in front of us, unless I

get selected for jury duty. And I know. Do you think if I talk about it a lot, that that disqualifies me? It worked for me, as you may recall. Because you're sitting over here, are you doing TikTok hands more or am I... See, no, you're just looking at me more.

Hoping to capture the attention of the camera. Okay. What were my TikTok hands? Just like that. You know how girls like on TikTok, they'll be like... I do because I listen to you recap it on the watch. So... You love a gal on TikTok, don't you?

Yeah, some of my favorite gals. So are you actually on TikTok or it's... On Reels, I get it six months later. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you're also getting some like, original to Instagram content, right? Yes, yes. That's kind of your demo,

is people too old for TikTok. Yeah. Who are still trying to make short form videos. Yeah. In the Academy Awards race this year, we're currently in the place where voting is closed, but the show is still over a week away. So we don't really know, we're in that nether region.

So in an attempt to make content during this period of time, we're doing a draft of best picture winners. Now, Amand and I, frankly, to an unhealthy degree, have devoted a lot of our lives and intellectual capital to the Academy Awards in the last seven years. Do you like actually care about the history of the Oscars? No, the history of the Oscars and its sort of centrality in American culture for the first several decades of its existence is like totally fun to me and it's a great night of television.

I like watching it. What is the first Oscars that you remember? What a wonderful question. It could very well be Rain Man. What year was that? 1989 for 88. That's the one I kind of remember. Okay. And you were, were you watching at home?

Yeah. Like, I mean, it was always like, I think my dad used to go, if I remember correctly. Yeah, sometimes. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. And like, it was a thing. Like, it was also like that this time of year would be, like, right before, I guess it would be before my spring break when I was a kid.

But he would always be very busy. At least this is why he told me. From Christmas. From, like, winter break through, like, March or whatever, you know, because doing Oscars. I'm sure you've said this before, but what is your first Oscar memory? I remember Billy Crystal crashing, you know, but what is your first Oscar memory?

I remember Billy Crystal crashing, you know, doing the English Patient Plane, which would have been... 97? 97. So we were 13. And then the year after that was the Titanic Goodwill Hunting year, 97 into 98. And that was also like the Matt and Ben Press Tour year. So you know, like I was like taping that Oprah special on VHS.

Any driver in the audience? Yes. Yeah. All of that. I'm sure that I watched the Oscars before. Like I remember, you know, I was very invested in Apollo 13. So that was 95. But I think really like like, their Billy Crystal razzmatazz of it all. Okay.

I think mine is probably 92 for 91, which is the Silence of the Lambs year. And I remember this vividly, and I'm sure I've said this before on the show too, but I wasn't allowed to watch the Silence of the Lambs. Was that Billy Crystal being brought out as the Lector? Yes, wearing the Lector mask and being rolled out. Great Oscars in many ways. An incredible lineup that year. But I wasn't allowed to see the movie,

but it was such a phenomenon, and we've now done it twice on the rewatchables at this point, that I asked my uncle, my mom's brother, to explain the entirety of the events of the film. Is that how you got the idea for explaining Barbarian to Amanda? I mean, it was a precursor to podcast.

And he was a teacher like so many people in my family. And so he was very comfortable being like, I will lecture you for 40 minutes. So you were nine years old. He just wrapped. And he told me. He told me. I guess I must have been on the way to 10 at that point.

But he explained the whole movie to me. I think maybe without some of the more evolved sexual politics. Yeah. But he, for the most part, gave me the vibe. And I think I probably got excited about a movie like this being considered prestigious. Yeah. And probably made me really excited.

And then also like when Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump happened, I was like, this is my whole life. Like I have to build my entire life around this experience. And being mad about it. I definitely remember watching Tom Hanks accept the Oscar for Forrest Gump. So, you know, the early 90s. Yes, sure. And him doubling up. Um, I still think it's fun.

I still think it's very silly and, uh, flawed. But I like how it's actually evolved a lot. And we were just talking on an episode a couple weeks ago about how the winners in the last 10 years, I'm like, what the fuck is going on? Like they're just, they're really throwing us a lot of curve balls recently. Do you think you guys enjoy the night more or less

after beginning this sort of professional odyssey of covering it very day to day? Like is it anticlimactic? Just thinking about this at the Super Bowl, you know? I mean, it is, it is a little bit. We were talking with Jack and making plans and the, you know, kind of the anticipation and everything up to the night is sort of the... Your Amelia Perez inspired wardrobe for the year? Yeah, I really need to return that. If I haven't returned that by the time this episode actually airs, then I guess I just own it now. Um, so that's just putting a pin in.

Um, but I still do really like watching it. And you and I were talking about, you know, ideal Superbowl watching, uh, setups and ideal Oscar watching setups. And I, it does feel like it's my Superbowl, you know, and like my team is in the Superbowl every year, except it's the Oscars and they're like very, you know, I need a very specific environment, which somehow does actually include Sean. Sean's like the only person who's allowed to talk to me

during the Oscars. I actually really like how that has evolved. Do you read his tweets while he's sitting next to you? Sometimes, but later. And this year, like I'm probably not going to. In addition to, you know, an un-elected coup or whatever, like, that is a really bad user experience. Like it is just impossible to see tweets at this point,

especially on desktop. So- I just don't use for you. I can't use for you, for you it will make you crazy. I only use for you. Yeah, I just, even my feed, I'm just like, what am I looking at? Interested in lots of other perspectives.

But, you know, most of the time he's working the material in the room. What do you mean? You know, you'll, you will. Did you test drive your tweets? No, no, no, no, no, time out. That's not what I said. I don't do that. I was being nice. No. It may be sprung from a discussion we're having. Yeah.

Or, and I think this is actually a good way of using social media during a live event, which is it should feel like what's in your head. And so you'll say something and then, and then you put it in. That's fine. You know, so I get it live, but I, but I don't feel like it's, you know, I don't feel betrayed by that. That's just part of the process. Yeah.

I'm not road testing material on Amanda, but I do, if I can make Amanda laugh, I do think I've said something funny. That is how I've been grading my life in recent years. I think that the show is still good and still matters each year depending. Best picture as a historical marker is deeply flawed. Like maybe the most flawed popular thing we have

short of national elections. Right. And we've talked about why that is the case for many years and campaigning and the changing of the academy and the way that the ballot works now. Should Best Picture be decided by the electoral college? I don't think anything should be decided by the electoral college personally, but I don't even know how you would mitigate that. Maybe the share that each branch gets should be weighed differently.

It's an interesting idea. I've not heard that suggested before. Who do you think should have the strongest weighting in their direction in the Academy branches? Publicists? Yeah, that's gonna make that joke. That's good. That's funny. To all the publicists listening, you guys are the Academy branches. Publicists? Yeah, I was going to make that joke. That's good, that's funny.

To all the publicists listening, you guys are the least important. And then thank you for all the work that they do. No, they're the nice ones. Well, they have to interact with us. The other ones don't have to. I think that we are not getting better at electing best picture, but we are getting more interesting.

And looking back at this exercise, you've got big chunks of history that have a lot of really bland or off winners that do say something about what the academy and the industry was at that time. But you really got to work hard to discover the context. Yeah, I'm sure that's true. I mean, you can kind of, I mean, should we explain what our kind of draft, what we're doing here today? Yeah. Well, in an effort to elongate this project into a two-year drafting strategy, we're drafting from essentially half of the eligible best picture winners. You see what I did? That's really, yeah, you didn't specify that. Just a thought I had, which is-

That's good. That's smart. We're drafting from six categories as always, from this time from decades of best picture winners. So the decades that are eligible for picks are the 1930s, the 50s, the 70s, the 90s, and the 2010s. The sixth category is best picture loser. Now the only films that are eligible in that category are films that were nominated for best picture, but lost in all of those five decades that we're talking through.

One wrinkle. This was developed collectively and I really like this wrinkle. This was a Chris Ryan innovation, but it was good. It was kind of... You threw it out and I was like, ooh, the magic is alive. But you guys were the Glenn Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones of my storm. You tamed it.

You were the twister? Yeah. Am I the... Whoamed it. You were the twister? Yeah. Am I the... Who's who? You're Glenn Powell. Thank you so much. I'm a YouTube influencer. Who likes to drive around in a big truck. A lot of good merch.

So the one wrinkle is that if you... You can select any big picture, best picture loser from that, those given decades, but that can act as a blocker because once that film has been taken, no other movie can be taken from that year, including The Winner. I hadn't thought about it that far into it,

but that's even better. That's really cool. Because some years, the Pickens are slim, and some decades the Pickens are slim. Wait, say that again, because I wasn't listening. Sorry. I was doing... The whole enterprise is listening to each other when making a podcast.

I know, but I was doing a little prep. I'm sorry. You know, I was getting my tabs ready. So, like, if you picked Platoon in 86, which we will not be doing... Because the 80s aren't that... Yeah. No other movie from 1986 would be eligible. Well, Platoon 1, but like... Platoon 1, let's say you are a huge fan of Hannah and her sisters.

I am. Fan of the woodman that you are. And you said, I want to take... And with my first overall pick, Hannah and her sisters. I am. Fan of the wood man that you are. And you said, I want to take in with my first overall pick, Hannah and her sisters in Best Picture Loser. That means not only are Children of a Lesser God, The Mission and A Room of the View off the board, but Platoon is also off the board. Dag.

Okay. So, you know, it's somewhat complicated to play this way and we don't have to for the spirit of collectiveness today and believing in each other and supporting each other, but it's a great idea. Yeah. And maybe it can be applied strategically. Future drafts as well.

Yes. We can start doing a little bit more of blocking and counter-programming. There was a question on a recent mailbag that we didn't get to about, like, what will we do when we run out of drafts? And my response to that is, we're good. Like, I got a lot of ideas.

Like, I'm not really worried about it, just because we ran out of years. You can't remember anything about, like, the times that we spent together? We were talking about our lovely trip to London last year. I couldn't remember anything. You were, and I was just, like, going bit by bit. You knew everything. It was a great time that we all had. No. Anything that's transpired in my personal life

in the last five years is gone. It is like, I can't hold it for more than eight minutes. But did it happen at the Academy Awards in 1938? I can remember it vividly. The reason why I was asking for you to outline the decades is that it is fascinating to look at the arc of film history through the prism of Best picture and see the exact moment where it spins apart, you know?

How do you mean? Maybe not the exact moment, but you go through the 90s and you're just like the best and the brightest. And what a dogfight it was. Right. The movies that won, the movies that lost, the movies that were nominated. It's centrality in American culture.

And then you skip ahead to the tens, and you're like, well, well, well. Yeah, I think something, I have a notable statistic that is related to that, that I think speaks to the broader discussion around the centrality of movies in our lives, which is that from 1997 to 2004, every Best Picture winner grossed at least $100 million at the domestic box office.

That's eight straight years. Since then, 20 years, only five films have done that. That's crazy. Let me name them. Go for it. Since 2004. Okay, so obviously Oppenheimer. Correct. Okay, okay. So obviously Oppenheimer. Correct.

Okay. I was doing this the other day in a movie that I thought was boring, which was just trying to remember all the best picture winners. Now this is just domestic. Oh. Okay.

So let's see. Avatar didn't win. What won in 2009? Instead of Avatar? Yeah. No, no, Hurt Locker won instead of Avatar. What won the next year? This is great podcasting.

Did there's King's Speech that probably didn't? That's in the tens. Yeah, but he said for the next 20 years. So yeah. The King's Speech did. It did. Not only did the King's Speech do it, I believe it is the third highest grossing

best picture winner since 2004. Did Argo make a hundred million? Argo did. Argo and the King's Speech are two of the five. You've also got Oppenheimer, so you've got three of the five. So there's two left here. One you-

Did No Country? No Country for Old Men did not. It earned $74 million, the domestic box office. Now you've got to remember the interesting thing here is almost all of these movies have made over 100 million worldwide. Right. Because the international box office was really strong for a long time, until recently. Okay.

We can talk about that too. But, so you've got two films that are left. Is not Spotlight, not Boyhood, not Birdman. Nope. Let's see. One very obvious one and one that I don't, not birdman. Nope. One very obvious one and one that I don't think you'll get. 2009. That was the, God, what won that year?

Is it, is that one of the years? The award given in 2009 is one of the years. The 2008. So it was for, not for Hurt Locker. Nope. Hurt Locker is the 2007, but given in 2008. So it was for, not for Hurt Locker. Nope. Hurt Locker is the lowest grossing best picture winner of all time, aside from Nomadland and Kota, which we don't count. At that time or in general?

Didn't Hurt Locker make like $60 million? $17 million. It didn't make 60, it made $17 million. In America, yes. It also beat Avatar, which was one of the most financially successful movies ever. Yes. Yeah. Crash in 2005. And then 2006, I don't remember what beat The Queen.

But The Queen. And Devil Wears Prada were that year. 2006 and 2008 are the two years that we're talking about here. Ah, okay. 2006 is a momentous Academy Award win. Um, well, is that, is 2008 Slumdog Millionaire? 2008 Slumdog Millionaire, that is one. And then I don't, 2006.

It didn't make 100 million, did it? It did not. No, so what won Best Picture in 2006? Shame on both of you. Stop it, I am thinking, okay? So the Queen was nominated. You can remember the Queen and not this film. Um, yeah. Oh, The Departed?

The Departed. Yeah, there we go. See? I got there. The Departed. Uh, Slumdog Millionaire grossed $140 million in America and $385 million worldwide. What happened there? What happened with us? We were just like, let's go slumdog millionaire. I mean, it was a worldwide phenomenon.

I mean, obviously an Indian story with Bollywood, a musical, an inspiring movie. Yeah, a variety of things. Most of these movies have been huge over the years. Even, you know, Parasite made $250 million worldwide. Winning Best Picture often certifies your movie. Obviously for the 50 years before the entire industry fell apart,

you would make a certain amount of money all the way up until your nomination. And then if you won, you could then count on another 10, 20, 50 million dollars at the box office. The movies would continue to play after they won or go back into theaters. They don't really do that very well anymore. Although it did help for like Moonlight. Like Moonlight ended up making 65 million worldwide after I think originally opening to like 12 or 13. So anyway. If something like Nora was, let's say wins Best Picture

and then had been in theaters for another eight weeks after that, do you think it would do really well? I'm wondering if that will happen because the truth is is. Isn't it like on demand now? It's not streaming, but it is on VOD. If Anora wins and it is the front runner to win right now, it will be the lowest grossing movie to win best picture at least going back to the 1960s. Like movies like Oliver made $27 million. So Anora would be actually technically smaller than her locker.

It's probably the smallest. Yeah. Correct. Adjusted for inflation, it would definitely be the lowest grossing movie. That being said, it's been in the top five on VOD for weeks now. Yeah. And people are just watching movies differently. So we're taking that into consideration too. I just thought that was an interesting stat

that the winners just don't make a lot of money at the box office because the Academy has kind of changed. The movies that they award has changed. And the way that people watch things. And I think the movies have changed too, right? I mean, like, if you look at the nineties, these are some of the biggest movies of any that those years. And now these are now like those movies now have become IP blockbusters.

You can make the argument like why isn't Dune II more in contention or whatever, but you know. I think I do see the Hurt hurt locker win as a real turning point for a variety of reasons. Not in a bad way. You want them to come back down to five for best picture? It's a good question. What do you think? I don't know, because I do think... Even though I fight with Sean a lot about like the ratings are gone

and we're never gonna get back to the 90s and we have to let go. I think that at least having some movies you've heard of get nominated. I just can't put myself in the head space of somebody who's like, I'm gonna tune in because I watched Dune II and then I'm gonna watch Dune II lose. You know what I mean?

If you would be like- I don't think it's gonna help ratings, but I think at this point you just need people to care what the Oscars are. Yeah. To have even the value of being the best picture winner, give you any, I don't know. Just to, if people don't even,

if they're like, I haven't heard of any of those, so I just, it doesn't even matter. It's sort of like me and the Grammys at this point. I'm like, yeah, yeah, okay. I want to be clear that I have heard of both Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar. And I congratulate them. But you know what I'm saying.

Have you heard of Chappell-Rone? Yes. I told you about Chappell-Rone. No, you didn't. Yes, I did. No, you did not. Oh. You told me about Chappell-Rone.

Yeah, you were just like, you were like, I, you were like, I'm not, I'm out on the pop girlies. And I was like, you didn't check out Chapel Road. I'm not sure if I said it exactly that way. Yeah. And then I thought, and you also are... Can you imagine if music was the thing that broke the Chris and Amanda alliance on the draft episodes

after all this time? I'm just like, taking notes. I remember when Chris was just like, I listen to half of Brad, I'm not Brad. Which is fine, you aren't Brad. But... Did I talk about this? Yes, on the watch.

And you were not into the album. And I... You know who is Brad? Andy. Kamala. Nick Sirianni is Brad, bro. Nick Sirianni is about to have his Brad Summer. If we only had five Best Picture nominees this year,

it's possible that those nominees could have been Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, and Amelia Perez. That would have not been super good for the Oscars, I think. I think not at like, if Wicked was at six, which is not unreasonable, and then No Dune, Part Two, and then all of a sudden, it's a lot of movies people haven't seen.

On the other hand, you and I would probably not have to sit through a wicked opening number, which is allegedly what is going to happen at the Oscars. Well, they denied it. They did? Oh. They did deny it. Now, who knows? That was Matt Bellamy's reporting, Matt.

I believe in the reporting of Matt Bellamy. More than anything wrong, historically, yes. So we'll see what they end up doing. But I think 10 is good. I like 10. The truth is, is that 10 is historically reasonable because that's how it started. You know, in the 1930s, when we talk about,

you know, going back to 27, there were more nominees. They were trying to bring in as many titles as possible. And there are way more movies that are made right now. There's like, you know, 500 films that get released. Yeah. Thousands internationally. So I think that the 10 is working well enough. It felt like it, its impact was felt in a strong way in a year, like last year

where you had Barbie and Oppenheimer getting over the line. And so the ratings went up a little bit because Oppenheimer was so strong. The year before that, I mean, Top Gun made it into the 10. That's something you would have never considered 25 years ago at the Academy Awards. I consider it every day in my home. Using Lieutenant Pete Mitchell to get ratings, but they weren't ever really seriously considering honoring

him. And that's why he didn't show up. As a member of our Armed Forces, he should have. Yeah. Yeah. Would you like to share some more thoughts about the American military right now? You can check out my thoughts on lionesses on the watch.

OK. Yeah, I'm excited to do this. This is a fun exercise. thoughts about the American military right now? You can check out my thoughts on Lioness on the watch. Yeah, I'm excited to do this. This is a fun exercise. Okay. So reminder again, the categories are 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, 1990s, 2010s and best picture loser. Bobby, we need to set the draft order. Yeah. I'm speaking of Pete Mitchell, bad news is I'm moving and so I've packed away the Top Gun hat as well as the tiles.

So we're going with random.org. I did clear the cookies. I went through great effort. I had to re-sign into everything. That does suck, especially when you work for Spotify, so I appreciate you. Yeah, I did that. That's my commitment to the big picture. Consider Face ID. No. Listen, that happened again in another movie. What movie was it recently where someone was just like, face ID and stole,

you know, someone else's as being. Oh, it did. They were dead, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So there, I actually know what it is, but now I don't want it to be a spoiler. So, um, anyway, don't use face ID.

They haven't secured it. Was it Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey that you see Kayleigh's on? Yeah. Okay. What is our order? The order will be Sean Fantasy selecting first overall. Jesus Christ. Amanda Dobbins selecting second and Chris Ryan will select third.

I was thinking, I saw a pitch this to these guys yesterday. I'm vamping for Sean to decide a strategy. Bob, do you think a Rebel pod feed that's just Chris Ryan's Odyssey updates and is me reading updates about casting, locations, practical effects that no one is employing, the honor that he is bestowing upon Unios... Unios? Uh... What is it like? The UNESCO world sites? UNESCO.

You kept saying that. UNIO is the people who own Manchester United. That's my bad. UNESCO. He is honoring UNESCO sites. Uh-huh. He is honoring them. He is honoring them. And I know all about them.

You know what I mean? Like when I was inside the palace, it split. I was like, we're in secret now. It doesn't need to be rival, okay? Like you should just start like, you know, reels, TikTok, short from only on this feed. I will light and shoot every single update. I will do it for you.

Yes, I will. This is how much I believe in your project. My Catherine Diglow. Yeah. She's chasing you through backyards in LA. They say we don't have any great female directors. Wrong. Can you imagine Mandela like a neckerchief on like framing me? I can, yes.

We all can. I can see that. I will say, form wise, I would prefer to hear you go long. I don't want short form content. Oh, no, I'm thinking like, it's like Barbaro, like the daily. Like, every day it's like, I'm Chris Ryan. Today, Christopher Nolan shot in Mykonos. ["MIC-O-NOS"] ["MIC-O-NOS"]

I think it has to be done, though, like not on any of our Spotify sets, though, because that's not the energy. No, we're sending Chris to Mykonos. And then my spinoff, Chris does Mykonos. Yeah. When that's all reality TV at least. I have to live in an authentic Peloponnesian boat for two years.

You're being tackled by the national security at the Parthenon. Uh... The only production detail that I've heard about this movie, which we did discuss at dinner last night, is that Christopher Nolan in a sacred ancient cave is having a paper mache puppet cyclops built to scale? I was, I think I was conflating a couple of different reports and also random tweets that I read before. This is the kind of content you can get from Peloponnesia and me, the CR pod. I can even plot it out for like the first eight months.

I'm like doing it really straightforward and earnestly. And then I go full Project Veritas and start like not believing in things that I'm like showing up in Greece and try to like doorstep Chris Nolan. Like, sir, sir! This is how you finally do the Greece trip. Yeah. And I'll be free to like follow along as your one woman crew, you know?

And it's also finally time for your Mediterranean diet that we've been talking about for years. Oh yeah, Blue Zone dog. Is that what we're dialing up? We're talking about it. Chris and I have been talking about it for about 18 months. We're sort of soft launching it. Yeah, welcome to How I Eat. There's a lot of different research on Blue Zone. It's like, you know how in Sardinia everybody lives, so like they're 101, because they just have olive oil. Are you seriously just about to explain the Mediterranean diet

to him for the first time and you've never heard of this? I know what that is, yeah, but I didn't know what the blue zone was. There are parts of the Earth where people live forever because they have good quality ingredients. Right, because they eat, you know, like olive oil and local, yeah. And they smoke them. Yeah, that's true, and they have wine. Yeah, that's great.

This is true in many societies that don't strictly consume processed food, though. I mean, across Asia, there is a little similar experience. I was worried this pot was going to be boring and it's not. No, no. I'm never worried about that at all. With the first... Let me just ask a question for the room. I've already made my decision, so this won't influence it. But what do you think is the weakest of the decades?

It depends on your levels of familiarity, but I would say the 2010s. The 2010s, that's interesting. Okay. Really? Personally. Even more so than the 1930s. I don't know, there were some pretty good movies in the 1930s. Yeah. I mean, there's pretty good movies in every year, right?

The 2010s is interesting. I mean, I don't... I have my eye on a few movies, but as you know, I don't love... Like we were talking Spotlight the other day, right? A lot of people love that movie. You love that movie. Do you think Spotlight's better than Gone with the Wind? Better? I promise you that I would dog walk you into a Margaret Mitchell conversation last night,

and here you are trying to walk me into one. Uh, you know, Gone with the Wind, what an achievement in production. I love the music. Incredible staging, costumes. A depiction of the South. Please don't look at me. You were born at Tara, right? The estate depicted in the film.

I wonder if they have renamed... There is literally an indie movie theater in Atlanta that was still called the Tara something. I hope they have renamed that. Yeah. I don't have Gone With The Wind on my board Terra something. I hope they have renamed that. Yeah. I don't have Gone with the Wind on my board. Okay. I can admire its achievement.

There's a good crane shot. A good crane shot coming down the stairs? No, of all like the Atlanta, yeah, the Confederate. Oh yeah. Yeah, you know the shot. You like that because you totally honored the men who gave their lives during that struggle. No, I'm just a big frame it up, like Dolly guy, you know?

Yeah, every frame painting. That's what you always say. Okay, well, with my first pick, just to honor the story I was telling, I'll take The Silence of the Lambs in the 1990s. That's a good pick. You know, it's universally a wonderful movie. I think the 90s is weirdly a little weaker than I would have previously thought

when I started doing this exercise. Yeah. The Silence of the Lambs is both a little weaker than I would have previously thought when I started doing this exercise. Yeah. The Silence of the Lambs is both a very serious and compelling film and also just a lot of fun and goofy to talk about, as we've done multiple times over the years. One of Jonathan Demme's many masterpieces. Great performances. The last movie to win the big five.

Best picture, director, actor, Actress, Adapted Screenplay. Do you think that Hopkins should have been in Supporting Actor? Where do you stand on that? I do not care about category fraud. I'm like, I just, I have said this many times, it's fine. He holds the movie. You can't have the movie without him. So I'm fine with him in Actor.

Okay, cool. I wonder what would it take for you to get really upset about that? I think it would probably have to be somebody you really believed in losing something that you thought was category fraud. Can't think of an example of that though. You could say it's a little early to go 1990s.

Yeah, I mean. But I want this to be harmonious. It's also like, it's like in the process of the pod, there's picks that make sense because of where they're gonna go. But then when you see them in a graphic afterwards, you're like, why the fuck did you pick this? Yes. Like in the process of the pod, there's picks that make sense because of where they're going to go. But then when you see them in a graphic afterwards, you're like, why the fuck did you pick this? You know?

Yes. Not that won't happen. You're going to be like, people are going to be like, yes, silence the lambs rules. Right. Right. I won't have to explain why I've chosen Forrest Gump. Yes. Right.

Okay. Well, you're up. Number two pick. I will absolutely be taking it happen one night in the 1930s. God damn it. I mean, you have to. That would have, I'm really... I strongly consider it. Thank you.

Thank you for not taking it from me. I have a personal favorite in this decade. Well, that's great. My personal favorite is one of the great romantic comedies and one of the most influential movies, and also a winner of the Big Five. It is. One of only three?

I feel like there's one that we're forgetting, but anyway. I rewatched part of this movie this morning just to have a nice time. And then I like fast forwarded just for the walls of Jericho. Claudette Colbert only liked to be photographed on one side of her face.

I sympathize. Now you understand why we switched chairs. Well, what if I like to be filmed dead on? That's my preferred angle. This is a magical movie. I love it. I was telling you about the series that, you must remember this is doing right now,

about the old man is still alive, these sort of great filmmakers at the end of their career. Frank Capra was the first episode. And it's amazing what sweet and funny and profound films he made in the 30s and 40s, given what a... unkind fucker he seemed like. Was he really? Yeah. Just some really unseemly stuff.

And a lot of public stuff. And, you know, this is certainly in an era of pre-cancellation and all that, but like... And he seemed like not that person when he was making these movies. And then later in life, kind of soured on a lot of things. But, you know, this is the guy who made Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

And it's a wonderful life. And Capra Est, one of the rare agitival filmmakers. Um, there are three, in fact, three big five winners. It happened one night, Silence of the Lambs, and another movie that is eligible today. Maybe we'll get to it. If we don't, I'll cite it at the end, if I have a memory that is strong enough to do so, which is usually not the case.

Okay, Chris, you've got two picks. Alrighty. Kind of all over the place. I did not anticipate you taking it happened one night, but congratulations. I'm gonna take Unforgiven in the 90s. Ooh. Good.

There's a couple of movies here that I still really like a lot, but Unforgiven is my second favorite best picture winner next to Silence of the Lambs, so I'll grab that while it's still there. Clint Eastwood's supposed to be a capstone on his career in some ways, and then he just kept cranking them out.

Yep, it's been 33 years since this movie came out. It's crazy. Are we like, how many, what's the time span between Unforgiven and the Mule? Uh, that's 2019. So it's 27 years. Wow. That's crazy. Um, I love this movie still.

We recently, enough did it on rewatchables, I think last year. It was probably like five years ago, but okay. Perfect Western, great performances from Hackman and Richard Harris and Morgan Freeman. And so I'll take that in the 90s. And then I got to get, I guess I got to take All Quiet on the Western Front from the 1930s, which is not one that I jam a lot, but did watch in conjunction with Edward Berger's version of it. That was on Netflix a couple years ago,

and was also a Best Picture in the Hunt, Best Picture movie. And this is, you know, quite a good piece of cinema history, if maybe not like a movie-going experience, but is thought of as one of the great anti-war films of all time. I also rewatched it when we did that podcast and was blown away by it. maybe not like a movie going experience, but is thought of as one of the great anti-war films of all time. I also rewatched it when we did that podcast and was blown away by it. I think it's an amazing movie.

I think it's legitimately a five-star classic and sets, absolutely sets the template for war films made by Hollywood. Why don't you trade it, trade Silence of the Lambs to me for All Quiet in the Western Front. You seem like a huge fan. No. Okay. But I do think it's a great movie. And I think if people haven't seen it, it's really interesting

that even back in 1930, that writers and filmmakers and actors were able to like nail down the experience in that storytelling. Very good movie. It's up to you now. I'm gonna take The Godfather Part II in the 70s. 70s are rich. Yeah, I feel weird that I'm getting The Godfather Part Two in the 70s. 70s are rich. Yeah. That's great. I feel weird that I'm getting The Godfather Part Two.

So you think better than Part One? I guess so because I went for it. Yeah, because obviously that's where I will go next. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I think with both, maybe it's just because I have rewatched Part Two a couple times more recently, and I think you can toggle back and forth. Have you ever watched the, was it the linear cut? What is that called?

When it's like, it starts with... Is it the Godfather Legacy? Yeah, right. I really enjoy watching it that way as well. Yeah, where they, we start with Vito. Yeah. No, I haven't. Okay.

I watched them as they were released. As God and Francis Copeland. As, yeah. But probably the best single cinematic Okay. I watched them as they were released. As God and Francis Copeland said. But probably the best single cinematic performance of all time, Pacino, in this one, if you had to pick, amazing, even when he's against Diane Keaton, who is willfully miscast, screaming abortion,

but that's okay, what are you gonna do? She's good at this. This must all end! It was an abortion, Michael. She's very good in the scene in the kitchen when she comes back at the end. Spoiler, I guess. Would you say it's because she is a woman?

Like, because it's a female character in a world where you feel they don't belong? Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah. I'm only watching for the dudes. I mean, The Godfather's great too, but I think... Very generous of you. Yeah, you know what? He did a good job.

FFC, thumbs up. The Godfather chronological cut is called The Godfather Saga. The Godfather Legacy is a TV movie about the making of, I believe. I haven't seen that. I have not. We never really talked about I believe. I haven't seen that. I have not. We haven't really talked about the offer. I watched the whole thing. Will you guys be talking about the studio and this podcast?

Well, it's a TV show. I know. I've seen a few episodes. Can we be invited to talk about it on your podcast? We could do a crossover episode. I never get invited to the watch. That's not true. It's been a long time.

I thank you for my shout out. I caught up. Ooh, ooh. A little something going long time. I thank you for my shout out, I caught up. Um... Ooh, ooh. A little something going on here. A little spikiness. It's uncommon. Sometimes an actor and director, there's a lot of conflict. It's like, we're keeping the energy alive. Absolutely. Yeah.

Kind of Pacino and Friedkin and on the set of Cruising here. Um, I'll take The Godfather. The Godfather would have been my pick over two, Um, I'll take The Godfather. Yeah. The Godfather would have been my pick over two, but you know, we're talking about 50.1% to 49.9% in terms of preference. Uh, I just think it sets the template for the storytelling type. And it's like, if you do watch The Offer, which I would say is a wildly slanted

in the direction of the producer of the film. Um, even then, you can kind of suss out what an amazing and unlikely success story this is and all of the things that Coppola was able to smuggle into the production and story of the film. Um, not least of which is basically shooting it in the darkness and still making it feel incredibly beautiful and deep. And great shot Gordo. Great shot Gordo, obviously inspired by Gordon Willis,

the cinematographer of the movie. I think as somebody who believes that the 70s is the best decade in the history of American movies, I think the winners are like really great and maybe the best winners ever, but still not as great as I want them to be. So I find this category really interesting. Because it's like, Alton's not there or something? Or what is it that you feel like there's not a...

The best pictures don't wind up representing the mood of the... Yeah, it's like not the freekin' movie I would pick, you know? It's not the Jack Nicholson centerpiece that I would pick. It's not the... even the sports movie that I would pick. You know what I mean? Like there's great There's a few variations on what they do, but the Godfather picks are the right picks Those are the dead on perfect picks in that decade. So that's my first one. Okay. I got another pick tough situation here What's tough about it? Well, there's two different decades that want to choose from here. Gone with the Wind and what else?

That's not a decade, that's a film. I mean I'll tell you, it's either the 2010s or it's the 1950s, right? I've got a movie at the top of both of those lists that I absolutely love. And if I don't get them, it's going to be a little disappointing. So I've got to make a choice. And how's your time? I think I'll take Paras parasite. That's what I was wondering Okay, I think I have to because of what you said about the 2010s and in the 1950s

There's a few movies that I have a strong love for The 2010s is a pretty short list of movies. I genuinely love that one. I have I really for example I really think 12 Years a Slave is a great film. It's not a movie that I'm like is in my personal headcanon Parasite is parasite is it's also very strange to look at the 2010s even the winners In a long list of all of these other best picture winners And you're like these are not in the same cat like class is that just a function of time. I don't think so I don't I personally don't think The winners in the 10s could would be nominated in the 90s.

Oh, wow. That's interesting. I think that's personal bias. Maybe. Because I don't know. This came up when we were on the Sam Sander show. He was saying the same thing. He was just like, I remember in 1992, it was like, these are the best movies and everybody agrees and we all want to go see them. We love them together. And I think that's a little bit of what you're getting at too, where it's like, you know, the shape of water was a recent point of discussion.

We were like, what happened here? Why did this movie win over Lady Bird and Get Out and Dunkirk? Like, what actually, why did this happen? Parasite, not the case. Parasite is an interesting win because it was in a year that had a ton of awesome contenders. You know, this is the once upon a time in Hollywood year. Um, 1917 was the front runner all the way up until the moment

when it was revealed that Parasite won. One of the great big picture moments. Is it like getting excited when you were like, cut live? Oh, yeah, that's right. And your voice cracked. Yes, yes. I mean, it was really, really exciting. I think in some ways, the Parasite win is sort of similar to the shape of Water Wind, which is that Bong Joon-ho amongst film fans and people in the industry was really, really, really admired

as a truly original voice and somebody who'd been working hard for a long time. But the movie also had that phenomenon quality of like, this came out of nowhere. And a lot of people were like, I've never seen one movie made in Korea, let alone one of the greatest movies ever made. So, you know, a movie that still I think resonates really deeply and is a lot of fun to watch. And it's back in the news with the forthcoming release

of Mickey 17 next month. So Godfather and Parasite. Yes. Really well done. So I have a pick? Indeed. OK. So I have 50s, 90s, and 2010s.

And I have, and it's you that I'm up against. And whatever Sean says, I don't really feel the enmity that is percolating. Between you two? Yeah. He's just trying to be a divisive figure in our work together. That's not true.

I guess that... What else is left in 90s? Let me look at this really quickly because... There's one that I- How is this a conversation? How is that? I mean, I know what I want, but- You're more like, can I pass on it now?

Yeah. But we've already chosen 90s. Oh, you've chosen it too? Oh, OK, great. Then I don't need to do it right now. I could kneecap you. Yeah. You know, if you do that, OK. I feel like you're getting your board.

That's a great point. Would you say? I probably, yes. If he kneecaps me, then I still have another option. So. It's not the best year to kneecap you. Well, I don't know which one you think is a kneecap. then I still have another option. So... It's not the best year to kneecap you. Well, I don't know which one you think is a kneecap.

Ooh, interesting. I could kneecap you. Well, there are actually two options in which you could kneecap you. Yeah. So in that way. Yeah. But so you can't really, because I have two options.

So... Yeah, but one is superior one is superior to the other. I think. I mean, I do as well. Okay, fine. I'll just do, I'll do Titanic. Yeah, I think that's... Oh, that's not what I thought you were picking. Yeah.

Oh, it isn't? No, I thought she was going to take English, English patient. Right. And that would be my other option, but I, I agree that, but if you had taken Good Will Hunting to kneecap me, that would have been a really good pick by you. And also... I agree. That would have been a great draft moment.

Right, see, cause I thought you guys were saying somebody could pick Fargo or Jerry Maguire. That too. That would have been good too. That true. Yeah. Anyway. But if she had passed and that had happened,

she could have just taken Titanic. Yes, exactly. And if he had taken Good Will Hunting, I could have taken English Patience. So it was okay, but I feel good about Titanic. Yeah. And did you consider Braveheart? No? I was big mad at Braveheart all year

because that was the Apollo 13 year. And Sense and Sensibility. Is it my turn? Yeah. Okay. So I need 70s, 50s, and loser, correct? And 10s. 50s... I'll do Bridge on the River Quay. fifties and loser, correct? And tens. Fifties.

I'll do bridge on the river choir. Uh, David Leene's epic, but intimate portrait of the war, finding soldiers wherever they are, even in a prison of war camp and the construction of this bridge from Burma to Thailand that Alec Guinness is, is overseeing and that William Holden is trying to destroy. And just incredible performances. Lean at his non-Lawrence best, I would probably say. This is the first of his two best picture wins.

Yeah. Um, love this movie. Still so jealous that you got to see Lawrence of Arabia. One of the great movie-going experiences of my life. Was going to see it at the American Cinema Tech. When the 70mm Festival comes around next fall, we should make some plans around that. I would like to go. Do you think we could start recording from the van

that's driving around all the reels of 70? We'll make some calls. As you know, I am associated with that movement. You can drive it. You can drive. Once again, I'll be the GoPro in the passenger seat. It'll be a great opportunity for Peloponnesia and me, since we know that several Nolan films will be playing at that festival.

So you have Parasite. You don't have a 2010s? No. There are two good options. For the 2010s? Yeah. You take one, I'll take the other. It's fine. The Oscars. I guess I'll take Orgo. They're fine. What?

What? Wasn't that the 2010s? What are you thinking? Well, I'll take Argo. They're fine. What? What? Wasn't that the 2010s? What are you thinking? Well, I have a choice now. Okay, listen, I love the work of Ben Affleck. I like Argo and I love the work of Ben Affleck. Yeah. So that's great.

Argo is fine. I mean, I don't have a lot of passion for these 2010s movies. Interesting that you've been creating during this period. What does that mean? Well, just that it's become the economy of your opinion in this era, you know? And so maybe you... The 10s? Yeah, I guess so.

That's your rise. My rise is really like a... No, no, no, no, no, no. It was the 2000, right? You were like in these... When was Conclave So Real? It was more... Trump won is when I really started to...

No, no, no. No, I mean like public facing. Like Conclave So Real was a great time for me personally and the nine guys who knew about it. Right, but like that's where the legend starts. Don't... Come on. You know, you were there on the ground floor. I think what I'm trying to communicate is that Chris became

a well-known public opinion haver about culture in the 2010s. And? And so you... You think I picked Argo so that I can... Yeah, they put your face on the logo. You hardened your stance at that time. Our faces are not on the logo.

Oh, I got became less kind of flabby. You know, it's like I've been covering the Eagles for 10 years, I'm no longer a fan of the team. I don't know. You lost your passion. It was me or is it cinema? You know? What do you think? I think it know. I lost your passion. It was me or is it cinema?

You know, what do you think? I think it was cinema, man. I think it was. I think I got hurt too many times in the tens. We talked about this last night, too, about was Iron Man a common good ultimately or did it destroy everything? Amanda sat down and said that. Yeah.

Yeah. No, that's not. Amanda was like. No, I did say I did some kids' updates. I'll have a whispering angel and I want to talk about whether or not Tony Stark... And then we saw a guy at the movies wearing a Philadelphia Eagles Tony Stark jersey.

Yeah. Really? I didn't see that. Chris and I saw that, yeah. And then Chris befriended that man. Really? No. Okay, I was like, where was I? He's doing Odyssey updates with me now.

Damn it. I'm the producer, you have to let me know. Okay. So Argo was your 2010s. Yeah. Okay. I got a person that would require an Argo. I'm okay, I'm fine. Okay, so I think I'm going to do 1950s.

I'm gonna take All About Eve. I'm going to take all about Eve. Surprise you didn't take American in Paris. That was my backup. And I love American in Paris. And we have, especially the I Got Rhythm scene is sort of like my fashion load star in addition to being one of the great cinematic achievements. Even though it did sort of steal all of the, you know,

famously, American in Paris won Best Picture steal all of the, you know, famously American and Paris won Best Picture, Singin' in the Rain was not even nominated. Oh. It's a bit of a controversial Oscar year because it's also the year that Streetcar Named Desire and A Place in the Sun were nominated, which are considered two of the great American movies that have like more of a dark core. So it's like they picked the wrong musical, starring Gene Kelly, and also, you know, streetcar changed movie acting forever. All of that is true. I didn't pick it, but I'm like,

I'm reclaiming American and Paris back, I think we're under appreciating it a little bit. It's like, I mean, it's so beautiful to look at. It's a good movie. And the choreography, and it's a different style of dance that is filmed very beautifully and you don't get to see that much. So, you know, Gene Kelly's River.

But you picked it all about Eve. But I picked it all about Eve because that's one of the best and most influential movies in cinema history. Ever made. Yeah. Just very, like, I don't know, like performances, the concept of Eve.

They're still doing all about Eve-esque stories. The screenwriting, like everything you can just say all about Eve and everyone understands what you're talking about in terms of a person in the world, character development. It's all time. So there we go. I love all about Eve. I definitely had it on my list. So you both have films in the 1950s.

You both have films in the 1930s. You both have films in the 1990s. Yes, and I have a 10. And you have a film in the 10s. Amanda does not. I have a film in the 10s. So I need 30s and 50s. Or I need a blocker.

Not really, doesn't really make sense to block anything in the 2010s for Amanda because she's got two picks because you chose Argo. So that's out. I'm just, let me just work through this here. Sure. Your two picks. And nevermind. Amanda.

Yeah. You're the, you're missing 1970s right now. I'm not worried about that. Because it's either Butch and Sundance or Woodman. So I'll just jump in there. You guys already picked names. Butch and Sundance are not eligible for that category. I know.

I meant the guys. I meant the guys. Do you want to vamp about Woodman while I game theory out the rest of my draft? No. You don't? Okay. Well, for 1930s, I'll take a movie that I was telling you about that I really love, which is Mutiny on the Bounty, which I think is one of the most underrated of the Best Picture winners,

that features like one of my favorite screen performances of all time, Charles Lawton's performance as Captain Bly. When I was a kid, AFI did 100 years, 100 movies, where they ranked according to the American Film Institute and the people that they polled, the most important American movies. This, much like that Silence of the Lambs Academy Awards, is a signal event of my life, because it got me on the path of, like,

absorbing film history. I'm trying to go through the list and watch as much as I could. And I wish I had a copy of that special, which I think aired on CBS, because the clips that they showed of Lawton yelling at Clark Gable after he is marooned off the ship is just electrifying shit. And I always liked this adaptation. There've been many adaptations over the years.

Um, I guess the most recent one is probably Mel Gibson. Oh no, that's K-Muny. Oh, that's K-Muny. Sorry. Um, the, I think it's Mel GibsonMutiny. Oh, that's K-Mutiny, sorry. Yeah. I think it's Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in the late 80s did a version of this called The Mutiny, which is not that great, but I really love this one. So that'll be my 1930s pick.

Thought about You Can't Take It With You, another movie that I really like. Yeah, you know, it's good, but I also rewatched it as like a backup. And then I was like, I would prefer to be watching it happen one night. Yeah, you already got the better, the superior camera. Yeah, and it does feel like the Academy was just sort of in a groove of like,

okay, the Frank Capra romantic comedy. Gets to be the best picture, yeah. Yeah, it gets that this is what we're doing. Uni on the Bounty. I guess it was the best film of that year. You need 1950s? So I need 1950s. To me, there's only one pick.

And it's on the waterfront. Julia Kazan's incredible adaptation of Bud Schulberg's story about a boxer and some gangsters in Hoboken, New Jersey and the loss of the soul of America. Wouldn't you say? Yeah. Incredible Karl Malden performance as the priest, right? He gets really upset on behalf of... Do you think in our relationship, am I more of the Steiger and you're more of the Brando? I hope so. But you're older than me. you're more of the Brando? I hope so.

But you're older than me. Steiger's older than Brando? Yeah, he's the big brother. Uh, I think I have a more youthful spirit than you though. Interesting. Yeah. Don't you? I do, yeah.

I'm still out here doing stuff, you know what I mean? Like what? Like boxing? Like going to see Cameron Winter, you know what I mean? You've cited your attendance at the Cameron Winter concert to me this week nine times. Nine times. One man goes to one concert, wants to be, wants his hand shaken for that attendance. Uh, you know, on the waterfront, um,

I do think kind of changed the conscience of American movie making. Ilya Kazan also somewhat... Unfortunately, I think using that film to communicate about why he did certain things in terms of House on American activities and what it means to be a rat and what it means to be an informer and what it means to be cornered. He still doesn't get applauded, right?

Yes, he's a very controversial figure. Yeah, Ed Harris still is just like, nope. Yes, but he was a hell of a movie maker and it's a great movie. Okay, Amanda. In Best Picture Loser, I will take a film called The Social Network. Which is available. It's great. I mean, this one, like the best picture, like Loser, there are so many good ones.

And we didn't really explore the blocking thing. So then it's just kind of like so many of our favorite movies that got nominated and did not win. But the social network is eligible and that's a good film. It's a great movie. Do you like it more than Inception? I do. Do you? Yeah.

It's pretty tight. Pretty tight. It's pretty tight. You don't think it's pretty tight? Oh, you don't like Inception. That's right. How would you? That was like you were... I love you so much. I am producing, filming, editing.

Or have you taken yourself out of the director? I'm doing all of it. Uh-huh. But? You know, your Christopher Nolan min... Bit? Series. I was about to say mini series, but why limit it? Um, I think Inception is good. It's not good on the social network.

And I stand, and I have stood with you for the most part against his insanity. I'm just saying you take the phone call. You have the meeting. With whom? It's a bill-ism. You have the meeting about whether Inception's better than the social network. Who are you meeting with? I can't give you my answer right now. Me? No. about whether Inception's better than The Social Network. Who's meeting with? I can't give you my answer right now. Me and, and, uh, like the grand poobahs of Hollywood.

We just sit down and we talk it out. Ha ha. Those poobahs are sitting right here. Me, QT. Yeah, yeah. Uh, PTA. Uh-huh. Spielberg.

QT has weighed in on this. He likes Inception, I bet. Not as much as The Social Network. I believe he said The Social Network is the best movie of the decade. I'm just trying to throw an idea out. It's good content. Inception. Could you just explain it to me?

Just from the very beginning. Yeah. You want me to explain it from the very beginning? Yep. Right now. Do it in 90 seconds. And then end this video. I can't do that.

Yes, you can. Go. Come on. But that's what it has to do with whether it's better social network. I'm starting the clock. Go. Don Cobb is a dream thief. He goes into people's subconscious while they're dreaming, extracts their secrets, usually for corporate gain. Okay.

And then he reveals that he has been, like, basically exiled from home, wherever that is, presumably America, because of some job he pulled and the death of his wife, Mal, Maul, Mal, right? Maul. Yeah. I forgot that. He died in limbo.

Yes. Which is a layer of the subconscious dreamscape, but one last job. I forgot that that was her name. Will get him home to his children. Thank you. Who are being raised by Michael Caine? Yeah.

Yeah, I think he's co-parenting. And then there's the meme of like, why can't Leo, like Michael Caine just bring the children to France or whatever. Well, also, but the kids don't have faces. What's up with that? You know what I mean? What is up with it? Could you explain it?

Well, they might not be, they might not exist. Oh. Did they die or were they never alive? They're figments. They're figments of his subconscious. Were they ever alive? I don't think so, personally. Okay.

I think they were children born in lim I don't think so, personally. OK. I think they were children born in limbo and thus not real, you know? Uh, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy are wearing incredible jackets and doing amazing stuff with gravity. And the world folds over on itself. And then Your Majesty's Seizures service happens.

Yeah, yeah, they do the skiing. Yeah. But shooting. And then. So are you skiing in social network? And then. I's Seizures... Yeah, yeah, they do the skiing. Yeah, but shooting. And then... Is there any skiing in social network? And then they slow down La Vie en Rose, or is it Je ne Grette Rien? I think it's Je ne Grette Rien. You're just getting your pee off, confused because of Marion.

Wa-wa-wa-wa. La Vie en Rose was also... The biopic was released around this Oscar time. She was cooking. Yeah, and she gave the great Oscar speech of, it is true that there are angels in this city tonight. Did you see that she recently apologized for her performance as Talia Al Ghul? I thought you were about to say she apologized for something else.

What were her thoughts on 9-11? She said that she realizes now that her death scene was not adequate. Yeah. Not adequate. She was just like, sometimes you just can't find the right position. And she's like, it doesn't happen. She's like, it sucks. I screwed it up.

I sucked in that scene. Could you do an impression of her apologizing for that scene? Okay. What is on... Bob, do you think Inception is better than Social Network? No. Is this sweet? Yeah.

I am. I am. I you think Inception is better than Social Network? No. I am. I am, yeah. I do think Inception is good though. I'm with you on that. Very brave. Yeah, I know it's good. I would take the call, however, I would not Nico Harrison the situation and trade.

I think Patrick Dumont convenes his decision makers to talk about whether or not Inception is better than Social Network. You taking Inception over Social Network does have strong AD for Luca vibes. I like how we're just retconning it. He didn't actually take Inception. I didn't do that. I fucked up and took Argo. But I didn't really even fuck up. I just took it too early.

You liked Argo because it was about Hollywood. Is that what it was? I mean, it's a classic best picture winner, isn't it? It is. A classic best picture winner, isn't it? It is. A classic best picture speech. Yeah. Marriage is hard. Yeah.

Two, 18 months later, divorced. Argo is based on a true story. Yeah. It's about getting a team together to make something. Yes. And it is... It also pushes the boundaries of fact or fiction. Let me ask you this, what'd you think about Ben Affleck not being included in the five directors

for best director that year? Did you think it was a crime? Who else was in, who was nominated that year? Marion Cotillard for her YouTube comments. Steven Spielberg for Lincoln, which did not win. Oh, that's crazy. Yeah, Argo. I've been trying to get Lincoln on re that's crazy. Yeah, Argo...

I've been trying to get Lincoln on rewatching this. You picked Argo instead of Lincoln. Did you hear Chris and I tell the story about us being at Yee Rustic on like a Wednesday night, and there were like 40 TVs in the bar? Wasn't it after Romulus? No, we went to go see Gladiator 2. That's right. And then Chris, God bless him, at like 10, 15 p.m.

after the two hours and 40 minutes of Gladiator 2, he was like, you want to go get a drink? And I was like, I really shouldn't because I'm going to be up in six hours. But he did it. But I did go out. We went to Ye Rustic Inn, which we used to go to all the time in the 2010s and never go to anymore.

We walk in, 40 televisions on, they're all playing NBA games. Except for one television in the center of the bar, which is attuned to TCM showing a screening of Lincoln. And Chris and I stopped talking. And we were just like, watch Tommy Lee Jones cook with a wig on. And I honestly so moved. Get amendments passed.

And I understood everything with no dialogue. We couldn't hear the film. But I knew exactly what was happening and where we were in the movie. And we were so touched. And then like four or five days later, we were in the movie. The plane, the seat front test, yeah. And we were so touched. And then like four or five days later, we were on the rewatchables and we just started bullying Bill about Lincoln,

but then he didn't say anything. I did hear that, yeah. And we really... The 40th anniversary of Witness has come and gone. Oh no, did you send your note? No, I asked you to pass the message along. Oh yeah, I didn't do that. Sorry about that. Well, technically we're still in the...

No, now it's two weeks when this airs. Do you like Witness? I love Witness. Do you think it's great? Yeah, I think it's really good. Okay. I think I said to Amanda, it's top eight Peter Weir. So? Is it better than Mosquito Coast, do you think?

I love that movie, but it is better than that movie. But I love that movie. Do you think it's better than Master and Commander? No. Do you think it's better than Master and Commander? No. Do you think it's better than White Squall? Yes. No, that's Ridley Scott. That's Ridley Scott. No, he had a boat movie though. Mosquito Coast. Let me see if I can do it off the top of my head. Okay.

Picnic and Hanging Rock. It's not better than Picnic and Hanging Rock. The Last Wave. The Last Wave. Fearless. I love Fearless. Great movie. Just drives into a wall listening to you too. Because you can't die.

Dead Poets Society. Yeah. The Way Back. The Truman Show. Mm-hmm. There's one more. Oh, Master and Commander. Did he make another boat movie? And then for me comes Witness.

You were doing them ranking? That wasn't the ranking, but those are the You were doing them ranking? That was a ranking? That was for a lot of people, except for a weird jump he made, and then he was like, Witness is not as good as these, a bunch of these. Those are the seven that I would put before Witness. If Witness starred Paul Giamatti, would you think it was that good?

No, but it is... Listen. When this is in the world, our thoughts about Red Hulk will also be in the world. Uh-huh. And I spent some time last night watching my wonderful Harrison Ford. Your beautiful boy. My beautiful boy. And just being like, this is, this is a disgrace. On a Peloton.

Yeah. That, I mean, that was kind of funny. It wasn't that funny. That's the thing. But it like, it wasn't even that funny. They just like put him on a Peloton. Anyway, you know what? Once upon a time, Harrison Ford is a movie star. And if you don't know how to use him, you fucked up.

And Peter Weir didn't fuck up. Is it my turn? I believe it is. I agree with you. I think Witness is great. It doesn't depict Philadelphia police in the greatest of lights. Well, maybe it's just honest filmmaking.

Witness is of course nominated for Best Picture. Teaches you how to build a house, but in the 80s. In the 1970s? In 1970s, I'm gonna take The Sting. Okay. Interesting. It's a real cuck pick. Because we didn't take any at all. My parents tried to make me watch The Sting when I was like eight.

Do you not like The Sting? No, I love The Sting, but once again, eight is too young to watch The Sting. I just watch The Sting the most out of all these movies. It's just like, show me Star Wars. So you think, this is really interesting. The Sting is obviously great, like a lot of fun. Tremendously entertaining movie. Uh-huh. And you know, you get why, it was sort of like they didn't totally recognize

Butch Cassidy and they needed to maybe go out of their way to acknowledge this movie that everyone agreed was a great time at the movies. But was not like important. But is, it's not really about anything. You know, it's just an adventure movie. And Oscars often, though not always, attempts to award.

I think I'm picking movies I like, rather than movies that are like the best, best pictures. I'm not criticizing you. I think that's true. I would say... Andy Hall and Deer Hunter are probably more important films. French Connection, even, maybe, is a more important film. That was gonna be my question, is do you think this over the Deer Hunter?

I've definitely seen this 20 times more than the Deer Hunter. I think I've seen the Deer Hunter like five times. I've seen it staying like a hundred times. The Deer Hunter is quite long. It is quite long. My dad just likes to watch the first half. Not an easy sit.

Your dad just likes the Pennsylvania stuff? Yeah. Seriously, for his 70th... This is better than Zing. I just like the second half. He watched the first half of the Deer Hunter and had pancakes for dinner. That's cool. Shout out my dad. What a legend. Again, the Deer Hunter, another movie that I'm like,

when you're making comparisons to The Brutal Meryl Streep's great in that. What a legend. Again, The Deer Hunter, another movie that I'm like, when you're making comparisons to The Brutalist, these movies have so much in common. They're so similar. The bifurcation, the crazy stuff in the second half. Why is he saying that, as if you've been denying him that The Deer Hunter is important to The Brutalist? No, cause I think I'm always...

He's been, no, he's just like The Brutalist, The Brutalist, you know? And he knows I got him a little, so. Well, no, I like the pushback. I think when I- I said that the first half of it was transcendent. And then I had some notes. What did we quote you saying?

I haven't been able to- No, it's living rent-free in my head. Which I think users of the internet will understand that isn't like 100% an endorsement. And Brutalist Industries has commodified that full quote. That's fine. You know? No, the point I was gonna make with the Deer Hunter is, whenever people are like,

did that character really have to do that at the end of The Brutalist? I'm like, have you seen the end of The Deer Hunter? The guy's playing fucking Russian roulette and he won't leave Vietnam. Like, this is, what are you talking about? This is what movies do. Crazy shit happens in the second half of movies

that makes us have emotional catharsis. Anyway, that's why I find like all of those criticisms super lame. I digress. That was not a criticism of your criticisms. I would have taken the deer hunter over the sting, but the sting's great. The sting is great.

Robert Redford and Paul Newman and George Ray Hills, caper about a con they're pulling in the 19... 20s? Well, not the roaring 20s. I think it's the depressions, the 30s. When's the prohibition happening? 20s 19... 20s? Well, not the roaring 20s. I think it's the depressions, the 30s. When's the prohibition happening? 20s into the 30s? Set in 1936.

There you go. Andy Hall is very high up there. French Connection is very high up there. I like Kramer versus Kramer. But for my loser... Well, quickly before you move on, the third film that won the big five is also in the 1970s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Yeah. Yeah. For... Louise Fletcher, Nicholson, Milos Forman. Picture screenplay. For a loser, I'll take Goodfellas. 1990. It's a good pick. It's a good one.

Among my favorite two or three films. And tragic that this did not win. It's an abomination. Among my favorite two or three films. And tragic that this did not win. It's an abomination. Maybe the great... I think it's a good pick because it's one of the greatest crimes in Oscar history. It's particularly amusing now because both Open Range and the Horizon films are gonna end up being better than Dances with Wolves.

And we really rushed to anoint Kevin as the great cinematic visionary. Open range is fire. I know. We can't go back to the Kevin Costner thing right now. We can't relive it. It is not only fire, it's hot fire. Did you see all the streets?

They're just, they're talking about Horizon Part 2. I know. I was with you on the night when I was like, I had a ticket. Yeah, but that was like an original like, oh, people are too close to this. But the reviews are strong. Yeah, it's going to be great. I'm so pumped and it's never coming out. What if this is like the true reinvention

of avant-garde independent cinema? It's like taking our files or our reels of Horizon Part II and going around the country and showing it in people's, like, garages and stuff. Yeah, road showing it. Yeah, independently. That sounds good to me. Is that your next podcast? I would like it to be.

Are you hoping for me to direct and light that for you? I don't think you have respect for my face, so I'm not sure that I want you to light me. I... That's not true. You don't have respect for your face. I'm trying to get you to cut back on exfoliating, you know? You think you exfoliate too much? He exfoliates every time he's in the shower,

which is every day. That's too much to do that, right? Yeah, thank you. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, my skin is clear. I don't know what you're talking about. It's like green.

No, it's not just about- I moisturize. Everyone who is listening, who knows about these things, is screaming a little, because we want what's good for you. What actually is happening to me? Like what is the...

You're damaging your skin barrier. Yeah, you're over exfoliating and you're making it like, you know, weak and sad. And you could have, you only need to exfoliate once or twice a week. Well, like what is actually, what's bad that I'm doing? Like, what's the downside? You're just like literally putting, you're scraping off your skin at an aggressive rate.

What's gonna happen that's bad? You ever see scanners? Yeah. I think I'm just waiting for like a medical issue here. No. Does it make it more exposed to the sun? Like, I'm not, I don't care how I look anyway. So what. Does it make it more exposed to the sun? Like, I'm not, I don't care how I look anyway.

So what is really... Then why are you exfoliating? I don't go in the sun. Like, but why are you... Because I want my skin, I want to be clean. Like, I don't want to have like blemishes. Right. But actually your skin can be over exfoliated

and then like start over producing oil to try to rehydrate it in order to... I gotta tell you something, that's not happening. Okay, I just... I'm beating the system. It's too much irritation, redness. Perhaps we should consider that I am the skinfluencer in this equation. Yeah, that's true.

And that I have landed on a new methodology. Are you using like St. Ives? Like what are you using? You look like a little bit of like a... You look down your nose a little bit at some of our favorite drugstore brands. You know that? I feel like you took a shot at me for using Old Spice once, and I was like, Old Spice got me through high school.

Well, Old Spice is, you know... I got laid for the first time wearing Old Spice. Stay in your lane. Chick's Dig Old Spice, right? I think it's Nivea is the brand. Okay. I mean, St. Ives is like notory. That was like a product of our use. But that is like actually just like plastic beads that are just like scratching your skin and scarring them. So that's bad. I use drugstore products every single day. I use Cetaphil and I use Seraphy. So, each shit.

I like those products as well. No, I like those products both, but I just feel like sometimes I'll be like, oh yeah, I use this and you're just like, oh my God, Chris, like you're gonna die tomorrow. Well, it's just Old Spice, like you are no longer 17 or whatever. In terms of my sense?

Or when you got laid for the first time, which I don't need to know. Why don't you recap that night for us? So a man wakes up, puts on some Old Spice. This guy would do incredible numbers if I did that. Never mind. I just, you know, at some point we need to act our age, but that's okay. I act my age. I have like different...

But so you're still wearing Old Spice? Yeah. If it ain't broke, that's fine. But I switch up the scent every once in a while. Okay. Like a like volcano, Fiji,, go like volcano What's wrong that What was today I think I'm on a Fiji run And how would you describe it guys smell bad? I?

Also like sometimes I put on a little bit of like a tobacco cologne, but then I overwhelm myself for the scent But then I overwhelm myself with dissent. I'm like... You okay? Um, sort of circling back. We have another pod to record immediately after this, so... Did you make a pick? Yeah, I took good photos. Yeah, now what are you doing?

What am I doing? Yeah, I took good photos. Yeah, now what are you doing? What am I doing? Oh, 2010s. I'm gonna take Moonlight. Which, as like when we talk about the history of Best Picture, we talk about the last 10 years, Sean writes like a whole thing. That was mean and I'm not trying to be mean.

I really still am stuck on Fiji, Old Spice. Sean writes a whole thing? What are you talking about? You... The night that Moodline won, best picture, you wrote a piece that was like, this is a new Academy, this is changing the way that we understand best picture. And that has been just kind of a turning point, I think, in our understanding and like...

This shows... I think that's true. And I agree with you. Not always right, but that time I was. Since we always, we talk about it in the historical terms so often that I think we forget what a wonderful movie it is. Agreed. True. And beautiful and the experience of...

I mean, that Mahershala Ali scene in the water the first time, you know, and giving us Barry Jenkins as a filmmaker, it wasn't his first film, but that first time, you know, and giving us Barry Jenkins as a filmmaker. It wasn't his first film, but that kind of, you know, sets him on his path to Beale Street and to Underground Railroad and to other live action. And to Mufasa, Poland, the Lion King. Sure. Which I'll have you know has turned out

to be quite a box office success after its initial underperformance. It is kind of the greatest showman of this year. Okay. Anyway, Moonlight, beautiful film. I love it, yeah. Augustus Bader, what's that cream? Oh, Augustus Bader. I use that. I think.

Do you, which one? The one that comes in like the little like dark blue cream. You use the rich cream? Yeah, I mean, they all come in the dark blue the little like dark blue cream. You use the rich cream? Yeah, I mean they all come in the dark blue. That's the packaging. So you use the rich cream? Yeah, I think so. Really? On my face.

Do you like it? Yeah. I have been thinking about, I'm almost done with my ventner's daughter and I was thinking about upgrading it. And sometimes I use Drunken Elephant. No, you use that a lot. That's like your product.

But is the rich cream, are you borrowing it from Phoebe? Oh, my wife keeps all this stuff, yeah. It's just like you can have this, it's in a bottle. But the drunk elephant is yours. Yeah. Yeah, okay. That's exciting. Augusta and Spader was the cream in Challengers.

I recall the name. And they also made the Sophia lip balm. So I'm done? You're done and you're done. Yeah. And you have Loser. And you have like all this cinema to pick from. You have the entire history of movies to choose.

I'm sure you'll be very cool about it and not a read-a-list of 85 to 100 films. I only have 26 listed here. What do you mean? OK, 26. You can read them. Read them. No.

I... Can I guess? I was getting comfortable. I was ready. Go ahead. You can guess? I was getting comfortable. I was ready. Go ahead. Uh, you can guess. Get out. Nope.

Well, now I feel a 2010s has been taken, so I'd like to choose something from an era that was not already selected. So you chose 1990 and she chose 2010s, so maybe I should go to a different decade, right? So 30s, 50s, 70s. Oh, 70s. All day long. Let's go. Network? It's on the long list. All the President's. All day long, let's go. Network? It's on the long list. All the President's Men?

It's on the long list. That was almost what I did. Would have been a good one. Thank you. Perfect film. I agree. If I had to choose a Nicholson movie from this era, it would be Chinatown. But you can't have Chinatown because I did Godfather Part 2.

That's right. Apocalypse Now? Uh, Apocalypse Now is on the list. MASH. Are there other Altmans I would have nominated for best picture? Sorry, Big Shot. Okay. I think MASH is cool.

I think it's a cool movie. I know why it was a phenomenon. I get it. It is just, it's not in my upper crust of Altman favorites personally. Okay. Jaws? Jaws? I mean, you could. Now I'm going 50s.

What about Star Wars? Dog Day Afternoon? Coming Home? Coming Home, like, my favorite ending in the 1970s. I mean, I know what you should do. What about The Gay Divorce? No. You know what I should do?

Yeah. What should I do? Well, why don't you make a decision, and then I'll tell you whether it was the right one? Fellowship of the Ring? Ha ha ha ha. Is that... I don't think that's eligible. Is it not?

Well, it's 2000s, isn't it? Oh. Fellowship of the Ring, uh, it was 2001, so we're not drafting from that time. Do you think you and I should do a Lord of the Rings pod? A lot of people are asking for it. But I mean, like, every film. Like, it's just me and... Just me and... Nothing personal.

Just me and you. It's really fine. Because of what those films have meant to our friendship. But what if we just did a pod? You can't do it this year. Listen, I'm just... I'm sorry I'm stepping in to just marshal your time. Because I have a lot of pods planned.

Yeah, because you were, like, panic texting yesterday about the number of podcasts, and also you keep being like, I need a... I need a, you pods planned. Yeah, because you were like panic texting yesterday about the number of podcasts and also you keep being like, I need a, you know, sabbatical. I need a sabbatical. His sabbatical will be recapping the Hobbit movies with me. Okay. That would be a joy. Once again, I'm available to light and direct. I just want to spend somewhere between one and 14 hours talking about the desolation of Smaug with Chris.

Is that Smaug? Is that how we're pronouncing it? I think so, yeah. He has a little vulnerability right here on his belly. Benedict Cumberbatch's best performance. And who's that guy? The guy that's the river dweller? Who's that dude?

Not sure. I saw Becoming Led Zeppelin yesterday, as you guys know. And there's like a pretty extended period where Robert Plant talks about writing the lyrics to Ramble on. And during the film, the like, it cuts to archival footage of a man opening the Lord of the Rings. And showing us a drawing, a pencil drawing of Mordor.

Which of course is cited in the song. Anyway, I think I will choose... uh, Barry Lyndon. Eh. Okay, that's what I wanted. Uh, Barry Lyndon, directed by Stanley Kubrick. One of the most beautiful and striking movies ever made. Amanda's never seen it, so she doesn't know

what she's talking about. I've seen Barry Lyndon. I like painterly things. They used real candlelight. Awesome. Okay? What about the fucking Wizard of Oz? Put your money where your mouth is. Um... Do you think that Inception's better than Barry Lyndon? No.

Uh... I thought about The Wizard of Oz. Okay. You can come see it's on my list. I love The Wizard of Oz. One of my favorite movies of all time. But, um... I didn't want to give Wicked anymore shine, so I opted against it. I feel like we need to quiet the wicked people right now. Okay. Tell them to settle down.

So that's it. Draft's done. We agree. We learned a lot about deodorant in this discussion. We learned a lot about skincare. Agent Grease. Chris's virginity. No, we didn't really learn anything about that. We did. We learned a lot about it.

I just said that that... You said you still have your virginity? What did you say? I said, I guess I have a signature scent. Okay, and it's just Old Spice. It's variations on Old Spice's powerful anti-perspirant deodorant. Okay. Your All Spice brand is Testicular Musk?

Is that what you said? Honestly, that's fucking beneath you. What's beneath me? What? You're all spice brand is testicular musk. Is that what you said? Honestly, that's fucking beneath you. What's beneath me? What do you mean? No, mine is a, it's a timber or Fiji or volcano. Or there was some like Northwest Passage. What are the set notes in volcano?

Smoke. Okay. Yeah. Well sure. Yeah. It's made of real lava. Does Old Spice do a natural deodorant yet? I don't know it was in volcano. Smoke. Okay. Yeah. Well, sure. Yeah, it's made of real lava. Does Old Space do a natural deodorant yet? I don't know. I'm way past that point.

Oh, okay. Guys, let's recap. I had the first pick, so I'll recap first. In 1930s, I chose Mutiny on the Bounty. In 1950s, On the Waterfront. In 1970s, The Godfather. In 1990s, The Silence of the Lambs. In 2010s, Parasite. And in Best Picture The Godfather, in 1990s The Silence of the Lambs, in 2010s Parasite,

and in Best Picture Loser, I chose Barry Lyndon. I just remember his little vulnerability on this show. Smelled. In 1930s I took All Quiet on the Western Front, in 1950s I took Bridge on the River Quay, in 1970s I took The Sting, in 1990s I took Unforgiven, in the 2010s I took Ar on the River Kwai. In 1970s, I took The Sting. In 1990s, I took Unforgiven. In the 2010s, I took Argo and got shit for it. And for Loser, I took Goodfellas. I initially was like, I fucked this draft up.

Maybe I should get myself a little bit more serious about these things. And now I think I did a good job. Okay. Yeah. Came all the way back around. Uh-huh, I see. And I also think I introduced a lot of ideas to the show. Cool. Very proud of you. I have to think I introduced a lot of ideas to the show. Cool.

Very proud of you. I have to do this without laughing, and I really have the giggles. Okay. In 1930s, I took, it happened one night in 1950s. I took All About Eve in the 1970s. The Godfather, part two. In 1990s, Titanic.

In the 2010s, Moonlight. And Best Picture Loser, The Social Network. I think you probably won. Yeah, absolutely. Is, Moonlight, and Best Picture Loser, The Social Network. I think you probably won. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, who can say? You know, we let you have your board. It's OK. It's nothing. Not personal.

It's not personal. It's out of love. You don't need to be a dick about it. You don't know what you need, which is to sometimes be calm on a two-recording day. Thank you so much to Jack Sanders for his work on this episode. And to Bobby Wagner, our producer. Thank you, Chris. Thank you. You are the best.

I try to just contribute where I can. Um, next week on the show, we're running back the alternative Oscars. Wesley Morris will return. We'll see you then.