The Big Picture - The Power of ‘Godzilla Minus One’ and an Awards Season Mega-Mailbag

Episode Date: December 8, 2023

Sean and Amanda react to the surprise box office hit of the weekend, ‘Godzilla Minus One’ (1:00); share preliminary thoughts about ‘Poor Things’ and why it’s seemingly losing steam in the awards races (18:00); and then open up the mailbag to answer your questions on all things Oscar season (32:00). Finally, they update their Best Picture power rankings (1:30:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, what's up? It's Ryan Russillo. I'm the host of the Ryan Russillo show on The Ringer and Spotify. We're a sports podcast. We sprinkle in some other stuff, but here's the thing about our podcast. We work in sports and we still like sports. I know. Crazy, right? But we also like to balance it out a little bit. If I've read a book that I really like, we'll have the author on. We have people from the biggest TV shows, some of the biggest people in movies, writers, actors, all of it. And of course, at the end of every single episode, 20 to 30 minutes on life advice, which is sometimes great and sometimes it isn't. But it's always worth listening to. So make sure you listen and follow The Ryan Rosillo Show on Spotify. 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 Godzilla. I'm Amanda Dobbins. And this is The Big Picture, a conversation show about big beasts, big Bella, and big bold prizes. That was good. That was good. You told me, you came in here, you're like, I don't have a lot of time. And then you went right in with the bits. I love it. I'm ready to have some fun today.

Okay. Let's have some fun on this podcast because, you know, the original plan was to talk about poor things. And we will talk about poor things a little bit because this movie is in limited release this weekend. And it is a very anticipated and exciting new movie from Yorgos Lanthimos starring Emma Stone. Huge contender in the awards race. We will have some awards mailbag questions. We've had an interruption in our programming in the form of a hundred stories tall kaiju. A giant lizard dragon monster conjured from the sea and brought before us in the form of Godzilla minus one.

A new film, an extraordinary film, one of the most fun movie experiences of the year. I've seen the film. Amanda, have you seen the film? I have. What'd you think? I had a great time. While also being slightly emotionally affected. Like, as you said, it is a very fun movie, but it is a Godzilla movie set in post-World War II Japan. And a lot of the themes world war ii and also the family things i mean there's a small child in this as there often is but very very cute small kid um and i was very concerned about her well-being but yeah i this became a sensation kind of a word of mouth sensation

over the weekend made a good amount of money so i I got to go, sometimes my job rules, because I just got to go to the mall at 1 p.m. on a Wednesday and like the Christmas decorations were out and they were just pumping the music. And I wandered around, did a little Christmas shopping, then sat down with a surprisingly full theater at 1 p.m. on a Wednesday. Me as well. To watch Godzilla Minus One, and it ruled. Yeah, I had a very similar experience. I saw it at home hall as well.

I think we were talking about the release schedule and strategy on our last episode about the best movies of the year. And that this past weekend was an overlooked weekend. And that Godzilla Minus One, which is the first Toho-produced Godzilla movie in eight years. And Toho, of course, is the first toho produced godzilla movie in eight years um and toho of course is the studio that was the the origin of godzilla in 1954 and that they hadn't made a movie like

this because they made an agreement of legendary pictures who were going to make the uh wb uh legendary godzilla movies and king kong movies which are are still happening we just saw the trailer uh earlier this week for the new Godzilla X-Con movie. But the period of time that they agreed to not produce the film had lapsed. So of course, they jumped right into production on a new Godzilla movie. They've made, how many have they made? 37. I think Toho has made 33. And this is the 37th Godzilla movie that we've seen. And so this is the studio that really understands the character, that really understands the origin. And of course, it's a Japanese studio. And so they understand how to tell a story like this.

But it is a little different. It is not the rubber foam monster stomping on cheaply made sets. I like those movies a lot. And I rewatched a couple of them last night just to kind of get that energy back. But this is a very sincere, very earnest very uh cleverly mounted and modestly budgeted but really effective war drama and monster movie smashed together yeah and it's a movie about ptsd and it's a movie about that kind of interrogates like the the ethical quandary of the kamikaze pilot during world war ii and what that role

represented to the japanese military and the japanese male identity um and it's also like you said it's a movie about a fan like a makeshift family and it's a also like kind of an oceans 11 style team-up movie yes we're like men who are thrown together have to figure out how to confront this gigantic metaphorical monster right i mean as you said in the doc and as the director takashi yamasaki has said in several interviews there's a real jaws energy absolutely as well yes men on men on a boat men on a boat trying to get something yeah trying to take something down yeah um and i think that a lot of those sequences are staged really well the thing that i think a lot of people who have seen the movie have been saying which i think is true i was curious what your thoughts are on this

godzilla is fucking scary in this movie he is like violent he's like the the anti-benevolent god that he was kind of intended to be from the from the original you know that there's something like like he has no motivation other than just to do like to go where he wants do what he wants and destroy and there's a pitilessness i guess to this godzilla that just makes him different than the kind of camp schlock yeah character that he has become over time i mean the the metaphor or the subtext of godzilla as stand-in for nuclear anxiety, not even anxiety, like deep fear, annihilation, that is like tied to the original genesis

of the character is like, is very palpable. And the director as well has talked about how that was like very intentional. I read an interview where he was like, yeah, in the American movies, Godzilla is like some, has existed forever and is some sort of like Titan, you know, Marvel nonsense, basically. And he's like, no, this is very specific to the time and place in which it was created, which is post-war Japan.

So the monster, like the way the monster moves certainly reflects that and it's also you know last time i think that we talked about a godzilla movie on this podcast which was godzilla versus kong right which was like the heart of the pandemic and i remember just being like it was so sick when they punched each other which like it was so sick when they punched each other like it really was but they're the destruction and the know, it's not two monsters fighting each other in this movie. But the action set pieces have, like, a very different tone. The movie in general has a completely different tone. It is somewhat similar in tone to the Gareth Edwards Godzilla movie from 2014. That movie was played much more.

Which one is that? I mean, there are a lot. It was Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen and Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche. And are there any podcasters in that one?

No podcasters. Nothing glib about that movie. It's really played more like a straight tragedy. And this is more of a historical tragedy in some ways. But it also has like, I mean, I really was like moved

by the final 10 minutes of the movie. It really is like really powerfully done in its conclusion. I think so too. With like one tiny exception, which whatever we can, we don't need to spoil it for people. Well, let's not spoil it for people. I would say it goes like one step too far in the schmaltziness. Interesting. But I was moved by everything else.

And it also just looks really good. Can we talk about how much this movie costs versus, you know, what it looks like? That's been one of the big stories. This has been the year of the $300 million Indiana Jones movie, the $250 million Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania, a lot of the films that have been made this year, $200 million Pixar movies. The exorbitant costs of making Hollywood films has been a story throughout the business this year. And many of those movies did not make back their budgets. And this movie reportedly cost $15 million. And Godzilla looks great.

He looks great. The CGI looks great. He's smashing entire cities. There's a lot of boats, water, like a lot of very difficult things that many far more expensive movies aren't even close to. And also the practical stuff and specifically the clothing is absolutely immaculate and appropriate to the time period. And also I would like many of those

sweaters, which I don't think is what I was supposed to take away from that. But they are really, really beautiful sweaters. Well, the production design of the movie is very, very good. And one of the things that the film emphasizes that other Godzilla films do not emphasize is even though many of those films are operating in the post-war Japan, they're not happening necessarily in the immediacy of the post-war Japan. So like the despair that the people in that nation were feeling

after bombs were dropped and the country had been ravaged after years of combat. You didn't really, we don't really see that in a lot of films that are not dramas. You know, we don't see that

in genre movies too frequently. And the way that it was rendered is really effective in this movie. Dare I say, I thought a little bit about Oppenheimer during this film. Absolutely.

I feel like in some ways they're paired header yeah absolutely there's definitely a connection between those two movies and that is something that i think many critics of oppenheimer suggested was that we didn't see this story from that perspective i i i i noted a critic of oppenheimer even though this is still my week off um you're weak off from criticizing Oppenheimer or criticizing me uh I that's that's actually a great point of isolation because I'm I don't really think I'm criticizing Oppenheimer as much as I'm criticizing you ever when I'm talking about it um and but I just it's important for people at home to understand that I I disagree with that particular line I understand understand why it wasn't shown in this movie but it you know different people making different movies from different perspectives like this is why we go to the movies agreed agreed and that's the thing is i think that there are a lot of

incredible japanese films that are either specifically about nuclear anxiety or nuclear destruction um i was thinking a little bit of uh kurosawa's I Live in Fear while watching this movie, which is a bit about that. Graveyard of the Fireflies, the Studio Ghibli movie is about this. There are a lot of good films that you can recommend about this particular story. Some are told with a genre lens, some are told in a more dramatic

storytelling fashion. A couple of other things I really liked about the movie. Every good Godzilla movie needs good sound design. This movie has excellent sound design. I saw it in IMAX, Dolby. Unbelievable rattling of the chairs. Bob, you haven't seen this yet, right?

I have not, though. I was looking up showtimes as you guys were speaking. Yeah, yeah. For your oral experiences, this is a must. I feel like I'm missing out on the movie event of the year. I feel like I'm a week late to Oppenheimer or Barbie. It's not that.

Everybody in my life has texted me like, when are you going to see Godzilla minus one? I saw this coming. It's because we spend so much time on this show hyping up upcoming releases

and this one kind of caught us unawares, right? I mean, we weren't really planning to cover it on the show. I have liked some stuff that have come in the kind of like minus one

Toho fashion like Shin godzilla came out in 2014. I want to say and was a very good godzilla movie a more modern version of that story But I didn't I didn't expect this to hit this movie might open at number one this weekend That's possible, which is pretty crazy for you know, it's not dubbed It's it's entirely in japanese like it is it that's unusual unusual in the United States of America for something like that to hit. But it's doing it for a reason. That being said, I think some people on Twitter were like,

are you going to redo your top five? It's not in my top five movies of the year. It's a very, very good blockbuster movie. And those are harder and harder to make good. And it's affecting and has depth and also does have a monster. Just absolutely crushing stuff. You know, my husband also saw this movie this weekend. and has depth and is also does have a monster just absolutely crushing stuff you know my

my husband also saw this movie this weekend under complicated circumstances it's like it's too hard to explain but he only saw

half of it and I was like oh where did you see it where did you start and he goes when Godzilla is smashing the town

so it's like still has that despite everything that we have just said it's very elegantly- Like I said, under complicated circumstances and he only saw half of it made it seem like Godzilla broke through the screen and attacked his theater. Wouldn't that be great? That's a good idea for a postmodern Godzilla movie.

Yeah, Godzilla comes out of the screen to- No, it's actually because physical media failed our friend and what they were supposed to watch didn't pan out. Oh, no. Let's not cast any aspersions on physical media. It's the holiday season, okay? Physical media needs all the help it can get. How did you feel about Oppenheimer 4K selling out? Did you see that?

I just... Did you see that, Bob? They sold out all the 4Ks for Oppenheimer? I did see that. I also saw like a really long conversation in my mentions after sharing the top five about how you can get the physical copy of How to Blow Up a Pipeline, but only in Australia. So you got to fly down. All right.

That might present some format issues if you import it. I've gotten really into foreign distribution on my Blu-rays. Umbrella, that's a wonderful Australian imprint that people should check out. What's wrong? Look at you fighting the battle. It's like you're facing down Godzilla. It's your money. And however you want to spend it is up to you.

I want to introduce myself in every episode of this show as I'm Godzilla. You think I should do that? It was surprising. I don't know whether it'll last over time, but I liked it. I'll give you credit. The first one got me.

Thank you. So it's really fun that this movie is a hit. Yeah. Really quite a year for Japanese film. In fact, I saw Bob shared his top five on Twitter, which people should check out.

And two of those films on his top five were Japanese productions, one of which comes from Vim Vendors, of course not a Japanese filmmaker, but that movie actually is the submission from Japan

for Best International Feature at the Oscars. People are asking us, maybe could Godzilla minus one do anything at the Oscars. People are asking us, maybe, could Godzilla minus one do anything at the Oscars? That's not going to happen this year. And The Boy and the Heron, which we'll talk about on the show next week, too,

also not the Japanese submission, but was on Bob's list. Bob, are you moving to Japan? What if I... That'd be a weird time difference to do this pod. You know, moving from LA to New York, we could make it happen, but moving to Japan,

I don't think we could do that. No, I'm not moving to Japan. Those movies really struck me, really hit hard. I don't know. More Boy and the Heron chat coming soon on the big picture. Do you see Perfect Days yet? No. Okay, I'll loan it to you.

I have a screener. Yeah. There's also, do you have a screener of Fallen Leaves? I don't, but I liked Fallen Leaves a lot. I'll tell you right now. Don't you think I'll like it? It's a good movie for us to talk about. Oh, you don't think I'll like it? I don't know. I don't but I liked Fallen Leaves a lot I'll tell you right I know don't you think I'll like it it's a good movie for us to talk about oh you don't think

I'll like it I don't know I don't know I don't know if you'll get onto the Aki Korismaki wavelength that is a very particular energy

I could do multitudes okay I'm surprising you not to spoil anything but I'm gonna knock your socks off next week in a way that

you don't even know what's coming we have so many we have so many recordings scheduled we have a three episode week next week. Oh my goodness. In a way that you like you don't even know what's coming. We have so many we have so many recordings scheduled that you don't know. We have a three episode week next week.

Yeah. So people should clear the decks. And also we have some we're working ahead a little right? Just Yes we have a very

special episode. Why do you get so uncomfortable when I share with people how we put the big picture together? Um as someone who

loves the meta text I don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole and and ruin everything we are publishing every day from now until the 2024 oscars could you imagine could you imagine you know the demons who are like hey guys just hopped on twitter spaces to talk about the the new i don't know rebel moon trailer like i i can't get to that place. That will be death for me. You think it's coming? I think it's literally on the schedule.

I'll be speaking about the film. I have one ticket to see Rebel Moon in a movie theater at the Egyptian in Los Angeles on the 15th. So if people want to join me, that's where I'll be. Come say hi. We can talk Zack Snyder observing his mention in the film Barbie.

Okay. I admitted to Bob yesterday on a recording that when I saw the film 300, I liked it. Yeah, we were all like, what? We were like 22? We didn't know any better. And then Bob like rightly located. Yeah. What did you do?

And then I did an impression of how Sean probably sounded coming out of it. And it was like interesting, groundbreaking digital animation. The cinematography isushing the vanguard. That bullseye hit me right in the face. It's a great year for Japanese cinema. You Saw Evil does not exist. I haven't seen that yet. It hasn't been released,

but that's also a Japanese film. Yeah. Are they just doing it next year? Released next year, yeah. Because it didn't get the Oscar? I don't know. That probably was a factor. Yeah.

Great film. It is reportedly good. I haven't seen it yet. And then Koryada's, Hirokazu Koryeta's Monster also released last week. And so for the international cinema fans,

there's a lot to choose from at the movie theater right now. So go see Godzilla Minus One. It's really good. Agree. It's funny that it's a December 8th release or December 1st release

and not a July 1st release. It kind of felt like a July 1st release to me. It kind of felt like, honestly, what like Michael Bay was trying to do with some of those like Pearl Harbor well in some ways like Pearl Harbor but you know like that feeling that like Armageddon would give you where it's like really sincere but has good jokes and has great set pieces and you know it isn't quite the same

as that but it was that that that not quite that tone but like that feeling of a vent. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Maybe Roland Emmerich is a better comparison. I think that's a good idea. I was like, I'm really, really hesitant for people to hear Michael Bay and then go see this movie. Even though it is technically impressive in the same way, the vibes are pretty different. Okay. Let's speak briefly about Poor Things.

Okay. So, as I said, this is Yorgos Lanthimos' new film. It's his second feature with Emma Stone. It's written by Tony McNamara, as was The Favourite, their last collaboration. It's based on a novel by Alasdair Gray. And I don't think we're spoiling anything for the audience to say that this is effectively a Frankenstein movie. It's a feminist Frankenstein fable. It's about a woman who has the mind of a child developing and discovering the world.

And it was hotly touted out of the festivals. You saw it in Venice, right? I did. And you saw it in Telluride. And I saw it at Telluride. It had like the real festival moment of like, oh, it's here. Major acclaim. Right.

And also, I mean, Frankenstein is the right comparison, but there are also very obvious Barbie comparisons to be made. And so coming in early September after like six, like the center of the Barbenheimer, what have you. People like, well, here's Prestige Barbie, come to win all the Oscars. Now, I think what we should do is we should have a discreet conversation about the movie that is entirely dedicated in one episode in January, when more people can see the film. Because I think it's in limited release now,

going more wide on the 22nd. By the time we get into 2024, a lot of people have had a chance to see it and weigh in it is a it is a provocative kind of quote-unquote crazy movie um it is a very sexually charged movie it's a movie of extravagant costumes production design and performances um i was just kind of curious if you feel like that energy that we felt around it in september has dimmed some yes of course why do you think that is well a little bit was that you know that that classic a very small group of people can see it but it's not available until december which i think is like a kind of recurring issue do you think that's something that the studio should dispense with now, given the way that the culture operates?

Yes, probably. Which, you know, is, I guess, a bummer for festivals. Or maybe on the flip side, you just... Film festivals everywhere, for everyone. So everyone can go see it. Yeah, well, we have this tricky thing going on now, too, where there are a bunch of movies that people have known about and have been anticipating. American Fiction, All of Us Strangers, Maestro, The Iron Claw, The Color Purple. There are a lot of late December releases.

There are not a lot of releases coming out now wide. Right. And so everyone's kind of sitting on their hands like, do I stay hyped about this? How much do I scream from the rafters about how you have to see it or you don't have to see it? Or do audiences even know? I don't think people know when Poor Things is coming out other than it's in nine theaters this weekend yeah and so the sort of the staggered release you know the platform to release has been under investigation in the last few years especially post-covid and i don't know if that's helping or hurting in this case obviously we

i really want to talk about the meat of the movie but i don't want to have a deep conversation about a movie that a lot of people want to see this one the other thing besides the staggered release and the delay from the festivals is is was the strike and emma stone's inability to like really be out there even though you know and she kind of became the focus of well she's not promoting it but she's attending you know, and she kind of became the focus of, well, she's not promoting it, but she's attending Telluride and she's promoting a short film. And by the way, she looked wonderful at all of those appearances. And, uh, I, the, she was wearing a sort of like a trench coat dress that I just enjoyed. It was apparently Louis Vuitton. So it's out of my price range, but she's been out, but like, can't really be out really be out. And the minute the sack strike was over, it's like, Emma Stone is hosting SNL.

And Emma Stone, you know. So it's one of those things where I'm sure the plan of it and the launch and the scale at which it was made is because then Emma Stone, major movie star, and, like, just incredibly charming individual can go out and promote it. And that has not been the case. Right. movie star and like just incredibly charming individual can go out and promote it and that has not been the case right so maybe now she can like hop back on the horse yeah it seems like she has been yeah she's been doing the same for the curse which is um just magnificent just an extraordinary creation and it is so so crazy to me that she is the star of the show. It's interesting in some ways that these are the two projects that she has opted to make

at this time. After a little bit of time away. She had kids. It's been three or four years since she's really been in a big project. She was in Cruella. Yes, Cruella. I believe she was also in The Croods. Probably The Croods 2.

Oh, okay. Would be my guess if that was the case. Did you see Zombieland 2 Double Tap? I didn't, believe it or not. You saw that, Bob? Big Zombieland guy over here. That's cool. One of our good franchises.

I don't know that it was ever intended to be a franchise, but they were just like, we could make another one because everybody said yes, I guess. Yeah, let's go hang out. I want to hang out with Jesse and Woody. So they did that. That was nice. I briefly forgot that Emma Stone

was even in that movie, like that she even came back for it, which doesn't speak highly of that film. The first Zombieland holds up though. I interviewed the filmmaker Ruben Fleischer about that film on this podcast. That's the kind of work that I'm willing to do. Just want to put that out there.

We appreciate you every day. Do you want me to come forward and be like, I have a Ruben Fleischer interview lined up for this week, Sean. Can I let this one rip? What does that even mean? That would be interesting if you pitch that to me. I'm sure I'd shoot it down, but that's an interesting concept. I'll keep that in my mind.

Bob, did you see Poor Things? Not yet. I haven't had a chance yet. I missed it at New York Film Festival, was bummed about it, and then it's kind of like not really out there so yeah it's tough so we won't go too much further into it

it is worth noting because it is of course a major Oscar contender I thought it would have been fun to pair it with a discussion of Eileen which is a film that first played Sundance which is where you saw it

yes I saw it shortly thereafter based on a novel that I've read the rare case where I've read a novel that a film is based on that wasn't written in like the 1800s that I read in high school. I saw it shortly thereafter based on a novel that I've read, the rare case where I've read a novel that a film is based on that wasn't written in like the 1800s that I read in high school. Otessa Moshfieg, my favorite novelist.

This is her first novel from 2015. And it stars Thomasin McKenzie and Shea Whigham in Marin, Ireland and my queen Anne Hathaway. It's about a young woman who works in a juvenile detention facility, and she's bored, and she's a little sad, and she's real lonely. She doesn't really know who

she is or what she's doing. Her dad's a drunk. There's weird violence in the community. There's just a grim pallor across this woman's face in life. And then, like the night air, in comes Rebecca, a beautiful woman played by Anne Hathaway, styled sort of like, you know, like Jane Mansfield if she had Joan from Mad Men's personality. You know, like that's really the energy that she's bringing. And at first, we get what feels like a carol-esque yeah you know lesbian romance film and then turns into something completely different sort of but it also starts a little different and i don't really want to spoil it i had not read eileen but i had read other and i had read my year of rest relaxation by otessa moshfig and so i was familiar with that headspace and what you can expect of the characters while not knowing any of the plot and i felt like that

was the right way to be in because pretty early on eileen is like at her job just having some very out there psychosexual fantasies yes and that's just going to be part of the text for you you know and the things get weird in that in a very specific uh isolated kind of you know to the poor things thing like sexually unexpected way that is like just where those people are.

So things are strange before Anne Hathaway. Not strange but just like unique. It's a reality to the entire film where you're sort of like is this happening

inside of her head? Is this a manifestation? Is this a fantasy? We don't totally understand. Thompson McKenzie, of course, probably best known at this point for Last Night in Soho. But an actress who's had a lot of success in the last few years, always kind of plays this like innocent bird-like character. I need her to like take a shift. I need her to try a new register.

Well. She's good at that thing. Yeah. She's amazing in Leave No Trace. Love her in that movie. But. I mean she makes some shifts

in Eileen. She does. That's fair. The movie is worth plugging in for. Yeah. Because it has a final 30 minutes that is

very bracing and surprising. Having read the novel, they do take some, there's some changes from the novel in terms of how they tell the story.

The novel also, very scatological. The Eileen character has some interests that are really gross. That's not really represented in the movie, which I think was

a good choice, actually. I liked this movie. Anne Hathaway has no peer. There's not an actor who I'm like, they're kind of like Anne Hathaway has no peer like there there's not an actor who I'm like they're kind of like Anne Hathaway

yeah that like she she there's one person who does this kind of character and the character changes dramatically

in the movie and when she changes I was like that's why she made the movie you know like that's what she wanted to do she didn't want to be the glamorous gal

in the bar in Boston she wanted to be somebody else I think it's possible she wanted to do. She didn't want to be the glamorous gal in the bar in Boston. She wanted to be somebody else. I think it's possible she wanted to be both. Sure. Maybe the duality was appealing to her,

ultimately. I liked this. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It's William Oldroyd who directed Lady Macbeth, which I think is a better film. I liked it a lot.

It's also an hour and 38 minutes, you know? They just, sometimes you just want to watch something interesting where everyone, like, did their best. You're like, huh, wow, you know, they just sometimes you just want to watch something interesting or everyone like did their best. You're like, huh, well, you know, I enjoyed that. And now I'm moving on with my life.

Yeah. And I've experienced something strange. I wonder if it has deep metaphorical meaning or if it's just a kind of odd thriller. Might ultimately just be that. But it's not a bad thing. No, it's fine. Do you ever get to the end of a film and think to yourself, what is feminism? Does that ever happen for you?

Yeah. Every day. It doesn't have to be at the end of the film. Wake up, go to bed at the end of the night. Do you head on the pillow? That's what Amanda thinks? Yeah. Is that because you're stuck in this boys club?

Sure. Yeah? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You know, and I think about how much time every day I spend either dealing with your bullshit or my son's bullshit or other people's bullshit. Two giants. Two Godzilla-esque figures in your life. I just dodged that straight right there.

It didn't get named. Success. I did. We had a wrap dinner for the wedding wedding scammer last night bobby we really missed you um but you were present because i spent at least like five minutes talking about your and sean's like strange emotional dependence on the mets like at a dinner and like not me i had to talk about you yeah and your subconscious Yamamoto let's go baby like that's where i'm living is just like not even being around you and tending to your

codependent relationship i would say the verb tending is extremely generous on your part i would describe them as barely tolerating and often inflaming. I keep showing up. Yeah. You know? Yes, you're here. That's pretty much all you're doing

is sitting in the chair. Tending to would necessitate hearing us and understanding us and grooming our feelings. Garden that garden. You know what I'm saying? Of all of the things

that we could be putting our emotions into like this, the Mets are like, that's pretty neutral. You know, we could be investing this psychotic energy in worse things probably yeah i agree it just seems like bob called me on january 5th and he was like i'm thinking about going down to dc and i was like no think about the mets off season it's okay you know you haven't you i'm just glad you have an outlet both of you

you think it'll work out this year? spending more and more money? no yeah no definitely not definitely not it's a black hole your entire

you both deflated physically just now? yeah okay it sucks I mean but this is our lot in life okay

but it bonds us together in the trenches of life it has been very helpful for the show. This is how Sean and I connected. It has been helpful for the show. There's no doubt about it. Speaking of Bob helping the show, do you want to have a mailbag? Yeah.

Do you want to have some gummy bears? Oh, wow. Nine out of ten times yes, but not today. I've just had a large breakfast. Okay. That's on you. I just thought mailbagging gummy bears would be fun. It's a great idea.

It's before noon. So? It's on you. I just thought mailbagging gummy bears would be fun. It's a great idea. It's before noon. So? It's after 11. It says it all. The Amanda Dobbins experience. The rules don't suit what you want in the moment. They might have some fruit juice in them. Wow.

Spoken like a true child. They have colors and flavors from real sources. Real fruit juice. I already have an Alice in my life. We're good on that one. Sorry for trying to make this fun. You're saying this won't be a fun conversation about the award season? I just listened.

Cherry, lemon, pineapple gummy bear. Ooh, a pineapple gummy bear. But it doesn't say like pineapple juice. It says like pineapple toxins. It says made with real fruit juice. Okay, nice. Oh, Black Forest quality. Yeah. No free ads, but with real fruit juice. Okay, nice. Oh, Black Forest, quality. Yeah.

No free ads, but I like Black Forest. Okay, fine. I'm a Haribo man myself. Haribo is quality as well. All right, award season mailbag. We're doing this because we, you know, once a month we do a Best Picture Power Rankings. We'll do that at the end of this conversation.

But a lot has transpired in the last couple weeks. The New York Film Critics Circle gave out their awards. Yesterday, the National Board of Review gave out their awards. We've seen the Indie Spirit nominations. AFI just released their list. Would you like me to read it to you? Do you want to try to guess it? Yeah, why don't you guess it?

Okay. Oh, this is intriguing. Okay, AFI usually goes a little bit more mainstream with one or two surprising picks. Is it all American films? I forget if that's a rule or not. I believe in this case that it is. All American films?

Yeah, I think so. Okay. Oppenheimer. Yes. Barbie. Yes. Poor Things. Yes.

Maestro. Yes. American Fiction. Yes. Thatestro. Yes. American Fiction. Yes. That's five out of ten. Yeah. Okay. This is where it gets a little bit more challenging.

Let me see here. Let me see. Let me see. Let me see. Oh, Killers of the Flower Moon, of course. Yes. May, December. Yes.

All of Us Strangers. Yes. All of us strangers. No. But also, isn't that British? Oh, it could be. Yeah. Could be. Past lives. Yes.

We got two more left. Yeah. The color purple. No. Oh, interesting. Air? No. Spider-Verse?

No. Oh, wait, yes. Sorry. Spider-Verse. Sorry. Spider- spider-verse yes okay yeah i was focusing on which one he hasn't said yet uh oh the holdovers did he not say i thought he already said holdovers i don't think he said hold oh you said four things already but not holdovers okay then yeah yes correct good job only one wrong wow no color purple no color purple that's a blow yeah that's related to what we're

talking about here because there are a couple of films that could use a boost by some of these lists color purple i don't think got on nbr yesterday either no but it does have musical or comedy coming category coming up at golden globes which are being released on monday right i have seen that film i am embargoed from speaking about that film um all right that's cool you should just announce you've started doing that where you're just like i'm embargoed from speaking about that film. All right. That's cool. You should just announce. You've started doing that where you're just like, I'm embargoed about talking about this. I'm doing it to annoy you and it's working. So I'm going to keep doing it. Any takeaways from any of these awards?

Anything that was notable? May December is really coming on strong, which I really liked May December as well. Yeah. I think I'm somewhere between you and Wesley on it, but I really liked May December as well. I think I'm somewhere between you and Wesley on it but I really liked it and I have talked about it so much with non-Letterboxd friends.

It hit. It hit. I mean the Netflix of it all. It's a real Netflix plus Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman and just the way

that they marketed it. There's a terrific episode of the Director's Guild podcast where Greg Araki, Todd Haynes' longtime friend, and they're both kind of progenitors of the new queer cinema, he interviews him about the making of May-December. And that struck something in my mind that I thought was so interesting. I hadn't realized that the last four movies that Todd has made,

he didn't write. And that he has made this shift from really in the 90s and early 2000s, one of the preeminent writer directors in American independent film, to kind of a for hire director now. You know, Dark Waters is kind of a for hire movie. May, December is clearly a for hire movie. And he's one of those filmmakers who, I don't know if it's because he doesn't, it's harder for him to get stuff made that he writes, and he's one of those filmmakers who I don't know if it's because he doesn't it's harder for him to get stuff made that he writes or he's not as

inspired recently who knows what it is maybe I can have a chance to ask him soon but we used to have a lot of directors like this

who were like art house hired guns and it's a rare place to get to and this would be an interesting way for him to get recognized

not for like safe or I'm not there or velvet gold mine, but for a movie like this. So I'm, I'm, I mean, I loved it as you know, like I'm, I'm really rooting for it and it's cool.

It's been cool to see really just the drama. I mean, it's just a character piece that is being recognized. There are not a lot of those. Sure. Oppenheimer is a character piece, but it's an event movie. It's a spectacle.

Holdovers and, and made December are really rare these days in this respect and maybe all of us strangers will get there too but there's not a ton of those out there in the world right now even Maestro that's a biopic you know that's a very different kind of a thing just I cannot wait until our Maestro episode me as well yeah as well can I open my gummy bears now yeah please do okay um I guess I wanted to mention a couple of other movies that didn't come up on our end of the year pod two,

which is just, didn't mention The Iron Claw, I guess technically because there's an embargo on that movie. I haven't seen it yet. I'm seeing it next week. We'll be talking about it soon.

I really liked Memory, the Michelle Franco film starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard. Very severe as all Franco movies are. Probably will be enormously divisive. It's about trauma. It's about dementia. It's about abuse. It's a heavy, heavy load, but I liked it a lot. Also forgot to mention Bo's Afraid,

which is really, really good. And I saw John Waters put it at number one on his list. I fucking love John Waters' lists every year. Of course John Waters loves that movie. It's gross, outrageous, hilarious, unsparing. Really, really good movie. And Blackberry 2, which I wonder if more people have seen Blackberry now that AMC Plus made it like a three-part TV series instead of a film. But people should check that one out as well. Didn't Glenn Howerton get nominated for Blackberry?

Independence Spirit Award. Yes, which is a terrific, hilarious performance. So people should check it one out as well. Didn't Glenn Howerton get nominated for Blackberry? Independent Spirit Award. Yes, which is a terrific, hilarious performance. So people should check it out just for that. Okay, those are my summaries. Bob, do you want to do some questions? Sure. Yeah, first question comes from Sam. Which Best Pick nominee stands to benefit most from the end of The Sack Strike?

What do you think about this? I would have said Poor Things and Maestro. But those movies are still not wide release yet. So Emma Stone obviously hosted SNL. Bradley Cooper has launched a cheesesteak truck business in New York. Don't know whether you're up on that. Yeah. And so he was just handing out cheesesteaks.

What's the name of the cheesesteak? I should know. Let me Google this. Bradley Cooper. Is it Coops? Cheesesteak truck. handing out cheesesteaks. What's the name of the cheesesteak? I should know. Let me Google this. Bradley Cooper. Is it Coops? Cheesesteak. Coops cheesesteaks. That's money in the bank.

Book it. It's in New York? Why am I not eating this right now? It is Danny and Coops. Wow. Danny and Coops. Yeah. Bob, you got to go and get us a report.

Sounds good. Gigi Hadid and Irina Shayk both visited, which, you know, they don't... Did they eat the cheesesteak? Gigi Hadid was pictured taking a bite of the cheesecake. That's fucking, that's fake. I mean, I agree with you. Are you sure it wasn't AI? Also, just like that, you know, this is a group of people who are always aware of where the paparazzi are.

Irina Shayk has never had a cheesesteak in her life. Give me a break. I, you know, I don't know. I love a cheesesteak. I think Irina Shayk brought their daughter. So, and I believe the daughter was photographed eating the cheesesteak in my life. Give me a break. You know, I don't know. I love a cheesesteak. I think Irina Shayk brought their daughter. And I believe the daughter was photographed eating the cheesesteak. Bradley Cooper is such a good Philadelphian. He did it with Angelo's Pizzeria, which is a South Philly pizza shop.

But this also, respectfully, to me, sounds like someone was not available, allowed to do interviews for, like, several months and was like, how can I be out in the world when, even if I'm not giving interviews? And so, launching a cheesesteak business. Chris Ryan. Yeah. Last week at 11 p.m. on a Tuesday texted me. Have you seen this? This is me. And it was a video of bradley cooper

appearing on howard stern right and he asked i saw yeah i saw howard well i'm speaking for to the audience now thank you very much howard asked the audience excuse me howard asked bradley cooper would you rather have you win the academy award i think he's framed it as for best picture and best director and best actor for Maestro or won Eagles Super Bowl this year. And no hesitation said Eagles Super Bowl. Like he didn't blink. You can't answer I want the Oscar. Like you literally cannot.

You will never win it. No one will like you. The only PR appropriate, the only socially appropriate answer is the Eagles. We all know this. I like that he didn't blink. Sure. I think tactically you're right. There was only one move.

But the speed with which he just went straight for SB, I respect it. True sports fan. I think that... I mean, it's a level of Philly disease and the Eagles disease that I just can't... I see and I recognize it and I can't get on board with it. But I just also... This is a person who is very good

at being a Hollywood star. He's also very good at making movies. I think he's good at being a Philadelphian. I think that the Philly... I think he's Philly elite, right? Bob, I think that the Philly I think he's Philly elite, right? Bob, I feel like he is. Yeah, he is. Yeah. Yeah, I know. He does all the voiceovers. As a

angsty, bratty Silver Linings playbook, that's like kind of a, it's not a Philadelphia Hall of Fame movie, but it's like I'm a true Philadelphian and this is how we act. He talked about that in the interview. Him in a trash bag running around is what I think of when I think of Philadelphia.

Yeah, I mean, me as well. Don't get me wrong. Philadelphia as a whole and everyone there should be sent to Mars. However, as an East Coast... Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Except for Bobby and Chris and Zach and Nick. That being said, you know, angry, incredibly fortunate, but seeming undermined

all the time East Coast men in their 40s. Like, who can relate? You know, like, I really... No, it's... His energy is very specific and funny. It's profound. And maestro is, like,

a really fascinating expression of some of that. It is. That I'm really excited to talk more about. So aspirational, yeah. So I think as he, like, gets out there and keeps selling the cheesesteaks or whatever and it's available to be seen

I think that that will probably help as well, to me right now it's honestly Oppenheimer and Barbie which are so star driven and those people the machines are in place Cillian Murphy and Margot Robbie did the variety actors

on actors, they're just like everywhere all the time Margot Robbie did the variety Actors on Actors. They're just like everywhere all the time. It's going to be Matt Damon and Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. Those people are actually fun and funny and entertaining. And Downey Jr. I mean, it's like people who are awesome

at being on the campaign trail. So I really think that those movies will benefit greatly. And they're already in pole position. So, okay, what's the next question? Joreen asks, is Charles Melton really going to beat Robert Downey Jr.? Speaking of RDJ.

So, such an interesting thing. I mean, we'll spend three months on this, but this is so fascinating to me, this race. What do you think? It's early. Yep. I believe that RDJ is on the cover of the Vanity Fair awards issue.

Okay. So, that machine is starting, but... That means it started four months ago, right? Yes, but it has been notable how front and center Charles Melton has been. You know, obviously that is like, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit. He won at the New York Critics Circle.

He did. He won at the Gotham Awards. That stuff actually does help, and there's sort of like an early cementing that happens in the acting categories. It's such a great story. May, December, like we both really, really like it. And it seems like a lot of people do too, but we've wondered about it as an awards contender. And this seems like a way to recognize it as an awards contender. So I don't know. I don't know how to bet, but if I were betting, this seems like good value.

Is that what Bill would say? Doesn't it already seem like a conversation we've had on the rewatchables 10 years from now of like, what, how, why didn't, how did RDJ not get that Oscar? Oh,

well in the Oppenheimer year, Charles Melton came along. Hollywood loves an ingenue. What's Charles Melton been doing? Oh, he's in the expendables nine. Like it didn't really work out for him. You know, like you never really know how these things are going to shake out. I's Charles Melton been doing? Oh, he's in The Expendables 9. Like, it didn't really work out for him. You know, like, you never really know how these things are going to shake out.

Oh, that's so rude. I like Charles Melton a lot. They were photographed together, Downey Jr. and Melton, at the Academy Gala, I think earlier this week or maybe last weekend. It was Sunday night. It was Sunday night. Sophia and Kirsten were there. I wasn't invited. I'm sorry about that.

Maybe you should reread Kirsten's letter. One more time for the pod. Not on the pod. Not on the pod. I have very strong ideas. But it was past and future. I mean, it was like looking at an aging mirror in some ways. Charles Milton, you know, in the film as Joe, he's so paunchy and he's so dad bod and he's like in his mid thirties, but he's meant to be like a 52 year old man and in real life he's jacked and got this incredible face I mean he's so he's a beautiful man so handsome yeah so and and you know RDJ is still very handsome too but he's he's he's getting on in years and so it was really funny like it'd be great if Charles Melton went on to an incredibly

accomplished career as an actor but But Hollywood always does this. And who's better? Who cares? Like, you know, it doesn't really matter. Brian Gosling is also incredible in Barbie and so funny and just as deserving. Mark Ruffalo is incredible in Poor Things. Like, that's a really loaded category this year. Paul Meskel might be nominated for All of Us Strangers.

Like, there are a lot of people that are going to be in contention this year. Coleman Domingo in Color Purple. Like, there are a lot of really good performances that are going in supporting. You're right that it's too early to tell. It definitely feels like it could happen, though. This, this, that, those waves start rolling, and then it's hard to stop them. So, we'll see. Okay, what's next, Bob?

Lauren asks, which big contender is most likely to go home empty-handed at the Oscars? Two months ago, I would have said Killers of the Flower Moon, but now I don't think that's the case. I don't think so either. I think that there's not just passion from the critical community, but from the industry for the movie. It seems like things are getting kind of parceled out a bit. It might honestly be poor things. That's what I was thinking as well. Yeah, because I think it probably... Emma Stone is truly wonderful in poor things

and is obviously well-liked, but Best Actress is a very tight category. Supporting, as you mentioned, is very tight, and there are a lot of supporting performances, so maybe they cancel each other out. Tony McNamara in Adapted Screenplay is another obvious one, but I think you rightly pointed out that that might be a core Jefferson spot for American fiction or, you know, that's also where Killers of the Flower Moon is competing.

And for all of the people who hate the adaptation, I actually think it's a pretty amazing adaptation. So and screenplay. So four things, maybe? I don't know. The production design, the costume design, the, you know, Harry, you know, there's a lot. There's a lot. Yeah. I think when people say miss out, they mean the big six or seven awards.

And in that case. I don't know. Like, the Irishman was nominated for 11 things and got... Or not 11, but 10 or 11. Yeah, and got zero. So maybe they mean Irishman. It's definitely possible that it could be Irishman. I think that that's also clearly informing even how we're having this conversation about the film today,

where we don't really know what the energy is on the movie. I liked the movie. Like, I recommend it. It isn't one of my five favorites, but... I was surprised by how much I liked it, actually. I think that's because it was advertised as a Frankenstein movie. And I was like, oh, here we go again. Sean's going to lecture me about, you know, what he read in junior high.

And it's a lot more. I took a read a horror fiction class. It's a lot more dynamic than that, in my opinion. Yeah. Yeah. Well, no, it's not more dynamic than Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It's more dynamic than you talking about what you read in college. That is fair.

What a sad prism for you to view cinema through. That's unfortunate. How do we get you out of that? I don't know. Might be time to step down, Amanda. Start with yourself. Okay. Bob, what's next?

Scott wants to know, what is your number one, this isn't going to happen, but I'd love to see it nomination? Well, I'm so buoyed by Spider-Verse on AFI. I think that obviously the Academy is very international, and movies like Anatomy of a Fallen, All of Us Strangers, and a few others are going to be competing, so that's by no means a confirmation,

but there are also a lot of people who really want The Boy and the Heron to get into Best Picture, which would be, you know, it's very unusual for an animated film to get in i'd really like to see that performance wise you have a performance that you really yeah i've got a few actually okay so one's borrowing from another question submitter and also from adam neiman so this is for francis and adam neiman rachel mcadams and are you there god it's me margaret i think that's a good one i also have another rachel this would never happen but but Rachel Sennett and Bottoms.

It was one of the funniest things I've seen this year. Great. We haven't talked about Bottoms at all at the end of the year. Still laugh per minute higher for me than pretty much anything else that I watched. Then I'm just going to throw out Amy Donald for Megan, who is the young woman who played Megan. We need to recognize movement as a high form of acting, and it starts with Amy Donald.

You brought the heat on this question. Thank you so much. Nice work. Those are really good. I can't really compete with those. I would like to see John Magaro from Past Lives

get a little bit of recognition. Oh, he's so good. He's fantastic in this movie. Obviously, Greta Lee is in contention for Best Actress. I just think he's a very special actor.

I also thought Jamie Bell in All of Us Strangers was also terrific. So wonderful. We'd love for him to compete. I don't think he's a very special actor. I also thought Jamie Bell in All of Us Strangers was also terrific. So wonderful, yeah. So I would love for him to compete. I don't think

that's really happening right now. What else? I don't know. I mean, there are, you know, you mentioned Glenn Howerton, right? Like, that's the kind

of thing that like, maybe, maybe that could happen, but I doubt it, so I'm not going to bank on it. I'm trying to think if there's an

international feature I've seen that I've really dug that should compete. There was a question, I think, in here. I don't know if you grabbed that one about documentaries this year. Did you grab that, Bob? I did, yeah. There's one down below.

Kevin asked, has it been a relatively weak year for documentaries? I usually have at least one in my top 20, but not this year. Are there any you all would really like to recommend? Yeah, I usually have one in my top five. I usually do as well. It kind of comes in at the end of the year. You see so many more documentaries than I do. Yeah, I mean, I love docs.

And I watched a doc yesterday called Subject, which was very interesting. It was about people who had appeared in documentaries. Oh, right, right, right, right. The way that their stories were told. And there was a young woman from The Staircase. Arthur Agee from Hoop Dreams was featured. One of the participants from The Square, the Tahrir Square Egyptian uprising.

There were a couple of others. It was very interesting to think about the framing of the film was documentaries have blown up in the last five years. People watch nonfiction like crazy nowadays because of Netflix, because of, you know, the great storytelling that's been happening. But then the movie pivots to these questions of like the ethical responsibility of filmmakers, who has power in certain environments, who gets to tell the stories. You know, some of the suppositions I agree with, some I didn't. I think about this kind of thing a lot for another aspect of my job but um I liked that movie and it did have me thinking about this

question and how neither of us had a doc in our top five you know like all the beauty in the bloodshed was last year where I was like that was one of the the achievements of the movie year in 2022 there was nothing really like that I'm trying to look at what is the top I mean honestly the Beyonce movie but might be my favorite doc this year. And I guess that's sitting somewhere in my top 20 right now. After that, gosh, I mean, grim. This is very rare for me to not have many documentaries in my top 100. The Michael J. Fox film I thought was very good.

It was. Not very many. I don't, why that is, I mean, I have some very cynical reasons as to why. You're looking at a working list of your top 100 right now? Yeah, I've got 76. When will you finalize that? December 31st. Okay. Do you just like want to book some Cal time?

I will be with you in Palm Springs. I know, I was going to say, like, do you literally, like, why don't you reserve some Cal time now? And then the rest of us will take care of your time. I've been doing this for 10 years. My wife knows what's coming. It was really stressful because you just disappeared for three hours at like 2 p.m. And Alice like had some demands and we were all trying to make it work. You know what we say? What?

The great work continues. Okay. All right. We must forge ahead and make our 100. I don't know why. I think docs are in a precarious place. There's been a massive reset in the streaming space. Things got way too expensive.

And frankly, subjects of documentaries have demanded more control and money and power over the films. That has set the star-studded documentary in a complicated place right now. I deal with it every day. It's very hard to make these kinds of films now without full participation from the subjects.

And so that's why that documentary that I watched, Subject, was so interesting. But the quality just feels dispersed. And there weren't a lot of heavy-hitting documentary filmmakers working this year for whatever reason. Whereas we had so many great masters in 2023 making fiction films. That wasn't as much the case this year. But nevertheless, there was some good stuff I probably have to think about a little harder any any any theories for why this is the case maybe just luck of the draw i guess so and or the delay of the pandemic in terms of people being able to like embed and film things you know because for me the documentary that winds up on my end

of your list every year is like a fly on the wall. I can't believe you caught this on tape, whether it's Time or American Factory. But that requires a lot of time spent. And maybe we're just a few years downstream from people not being able to film in person. Yeah, it might be. I feel like the docs that define the year were very star-driven. Yes.

You know, like Michael J. Fox, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pamela Anderson, Albert Brooks, Wham! You know, like Barry Sanders just had a documentary. Beckham. Oh, sure. Oh, my God, I loved Beckham so much. Okay, well, there you go. There's one.

Those are the ones that I think are kind of resonating most for audiences, and that says something about the format right now. Okay. What's the next question, Bob? Wait. Before we move on, for the Love to See It nominations, is Juliet Binoche just not going to get any credit for the taste of things? I don't know.

It's a good question. How many times has she been nominated? She's not even on any of the long list predictions or anything like that. Yeah, that is very weird. It has been 22 years since she's been nominated for an Academy Award. And then Koji Yakusho in Perfect Days, which is not a movie that's going to get a lot of love at the Oscars and is not the kind of performance that really garners a leading actor nomination,

especially in the field this crowded and this like buzzy and loud but is like one of the hardest performances I've seen in a movie this year

I believe he won best actor at Cannes right? I'm fairly certain he did he's amazing in that movie but it's just so quiet

like performances like that never happen like never win unless it's someone at the end of their career and they're being recognized for something more internal.

But those are good shouts. Julia Pinoche, I don't know. It's a great question. I mean, we'll see. IFC is behind it, so maybe they can pull off some crazy campaign. She hosted or co-hosted a cocktail reception at the French Embassy in Los Angeles a few weeks ago and I didn't go. And I was really pissed at myself. You were invited?

Yeah. What would you have worn? You really, you told me you didn't have a lot of time. Okay, let's keep going. What's next? Sam asks, actually Sam demands. Oh dear.

Tell me who has the best picture belt, you cowards. Okay, so let's talk out best picture belt. So who is going to win best picture right now? Is that what that means? I assume that means over the arc of time, what's the last great film that won best picture right now is that what that means i assume that means over the arc of time what's the last great film that won best picture that it will hold the belt through other best picture winners right yes presumably i think this this question is framed in the like ringery

context of like who is holding the belt of all the best things yeah so we'll go through the list 2022 the winner was everything everywhere all at once Yeah, so we'll go through the list. 2022, the winner was Everything Everywhere All at Once. No, the answer is Parasite. I agree. The answer is Parasite. You just want to skip. We're going to make this dramatic for the audience. What are the other wins?

Sean's out of time. We got to move on. It's Parasite. Yeah, the answer is Parasite. I've got 24 minutes here to work with you all. I know. Okay. So not Coda.

Thanks as always for just making so much time for us. You know? I devote so much time to the big picture. Way too much time to the big picture, honestly.

Coda and Nomadland. No. You hate those movies? You said... So Amanda Dobbin says Nomadland sucks. Is that right? I liked Nomadland.

Yeah, I thought it was good. I liked it too. Parasite's better, obviously. Yeah. Honestly, the more interesting question is who did Parasite take it from? I agree with you. Moonlight? Okay.ite's better, obviously. Yeah. Honestly, the more interesting question is, who did Parasite take it from? I agree with you.

Moonlight? Okay. Probably Moonlight. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And who did Moonlight take it from is an even more interesting question.

That is probably No Country for Old Men. Yeah, Spotlight. Spotlight. Oh, Spotlight I missed. And Spotlight probably took it from No Country. And No Country took it from... Damn, no love for the Hurt Locker? Oh, I did like the Hurt Locker.

Sorry. Hurt Locker's good. I don't have the big picture. I'm doing this from memory. This is kind of a... This is a good game down the road. A lot of demand for Trivia Host Sean out there. I told you.

You are very talented and also is the best side of yourself. Okay. You know? So we're just trying to... I'm working. I'm cooking something up. Put you in positions to succeed. Do you know, actually, I have several games planned to bring with me for New Year's, just

so you know. You've mentioned one. You shared one with us. I shared one, but I have another one. Okay. And then maybe a third one up my sleeve. Have you been watching torture porn? How have you been getting inspired recently?

Reading the internet. Okay, cool. All right. Let's do another question robert hogan asks do you watch the red carpet and then a follow-up question here from dj when will the big pick be on the red carpet for the oscars or is that something neither of you are interested in so i thought a lot about this okay okay so the answer to hogan is yes we do watch the red carpet together i think i realized that maybe we should stop because watching the red carpet coverage makes my skin crawl in such a specific, like, third-hand and second-hand embarrassment or third-hand embarrassment way that I'm then in a bad mood for the Oscar ceremony itself. And I think like the last couple of years in particular,

it's been so just saccharine and annoying and awkward, except for when Hugh Grant was like, didn't know who Ashley Graham was and like didn't care. That was incredible. That was incredible. But otherwise, That was one of the funniest things that's happened on television, in the history of television.

But it puts me in such a bad headspace that I think that I'm then, like, way too curmudgeonly when watching the Oscars. That's a fair point. I think I agree. I think I agree. So, this is all to say, like, no, in five million years, I would never want to go on the red carpet. Like, I can't stand whatever that, like, fake energy and, like, all zero exposition is. Like, it's all, all like exposition and nothing it's so so horrifying to me and so like good morning you know los angeles nonsense that said send me to

every party like put me in every single party that was not part of the question well they're asking and i'm volunteering you know sure yeah i think i'd put me on the moon that would be great can nasa get behind that incredible oscars party reporter you know what i'm saying i know you would not of course i would be hammered you'd be no i wouldn't i'm there for lardo uh you just feel like two negronis please to double fist sorry i can't hold my microphone. So I'm not able to report. The red carpet would be a perfect use of Sean's TikTok account. Oh, yeah. We send him there, do some TikTok voice.

I've had two thoughts about this recently. One, I randomly on YouTube was served the Matthew McConaughey is informed of Sam Shepard's passing on the red carpet video. Do you remember that? Where like he like takes a moment gathers himself and then delivers like a two and a half minute eulogy to the brilliance of sam shepherd like on the spot and i was like wow matthew mcconaughey is a fucking real one um but also that is the most insane thing like why are you delivering like what the fuck when i die it's

crazy if you let anyone know on a red carpet or anywhere else, I'll be really pissed. Hopefully, I'll be able to ask Matthew McConaughey about his reaction to your untimely demise. That would be a very special moment for me. Oscars party reporter Amanda Dobbins has passed. Mr. McConaughey, what are your thoughts? I have enjoyed the letterboxification of the red carpet. All the content now is just, what are your four faves. Like that actually is a good thing.

So many people have such terrible answers for that. But that's revealing. That's fun and revealing. I think also people are getting smart, like hip to it. Like did you see that Julia Roberts gave her four faves this morning? Oh, what are they? Yeah. It was The Triplets of Belleville, the animated film.

Now Voyager, the Bette Davis movie. I'm trying to remember this from memory. there yeah uh it was the triplets of bellville the animated film uh now voyager the betty davis movie i'm trying to remember this from memory my the adventures of milo and otis clearly the like dog movie and the fourth film was a really good pick what was it oh shit bobby can you find it yeah look it up it's not coming up immediately but i will find it but i was like wow these are some deep pulls you know like maher sha Ali picking the Nook of the North, which is considered like the first breakthrough in documentary filmmaking. So it was cool.

That means that there is a publicist assistant somewhere doing their job. And that's preparing them. I'm not saying that the answers are written for them, but if you're walking on a red carpet right now for a movie, you need to know that that question is coming and have four things some answers

are terrible Bob but some are fucking good her fourth movie was The Fall oh The Fall Tarsam's The Fall that's cool

which is just great like that's a great poll so shout out to her alright let's so the next question is actually related to the question you just asked

which I do want to talk about yeah I didn't even know this was happening Brian asks the Oscars are starting at 7 p.m. Eastern now. Will that make the show

any better or more fun? I don't know how it could make it more fun. Why would earlier be more fun? Just because they're crushing it so much and it's so fun as it is, you're saying? No.

Is it starting earlier because they want to give it more time? That was my only concern. It's possible. Without like running into whatever. So that's tough. So that means that the red carpet in LA will start at 3 p.m. Yeah.

Which is early in the day. Not that big of a deal. It's interesting because I had the same thought. If they run 40 minutes over, they don't have to feel as bad and more people will get to the end of the show. But that also means that they're going to be less concerned about trying more people will get to the end of the show. Right, but that also means that they're going to be less concerned about trying to end on time,

which is a real problem. Don't care. You want it to be eight hours? Six hours. Eight hours. Please, no. Saturday and Sunday night. Please, no.

Do it three nights. Some of us people in this world have to edit a whole podcast after that. Well, it might be three podcasts. Friday, Saturday, Sunday night. Like the NFL draft. You guys are not thinking big enough.

We're trying to go places with this show. Why are we even doing this? Why am I devoting all this time? They could take 10 hours if it were actually a good 10 hours. I don't trust these people. Like more time is not going to equal. More clips. More montages.

I love it. What's the next question amy asks if you were given the opportunity to present an award at the oscars what category would you pick and who would you most want to give a trophy to i mean you know the obvious answer for me is best director very excited yeah of course that is that's the correct answer My answer will, in a surprise twist for a minute, I will be presenting the Oscar for best original song to Mark Ronson and Ryan Gosling for I'm Just Ken. And then I have two party dates. I'm trying to picture you trying to talk to Mark Ronson and Ryan Gosling. I don't actually want that because, as you know,

I don't want to interact with anyone who I actually admire in any way. So it would be deeply uncomfortable. That's why we're doing this show together. Oh, shit. Even if you're being nice this week, I'm not being nice to myself. That's okay. Because I know it's underneath. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I don't know what I would say.

I'd be like, hey guys, great song. It's a good call. I'd honestly just start trying to ask them, talk to them about parenting because they're both parents of young children. I guess in the spirit of that, I'd certainly like to have a conversation with Emma Stone.

That would be useful to me as a person. I don't think she's going to win, but maybe she will. Does she deserve it? I don't even know. Save it. Okay, I'll save it. What's next, Bob?

John asks, why do the performers and studios have a say in whether or not a performance is lead or supporting? Shouldn't that just be the Academy's call instead of what they submit as? And then a question in the same vein from Bob. Should there be stricter objective guidelines

to determine whether a performance can compete in the supporting categories? Why don't you also read Marina's? Because it's related. It's a similar anxiety, and we're just going to have like a group, you know, intervention. Marina asked, how are you feeling about Lily Gladstone campaigning in Best Lead Actress? I have mixed feelings and worry it will knock someone out who is a true lead when she would easily win supporting multi-tiered questions that are interesting to talk through i believe that though you can submit someone for a supporting or lead that the academy can vote actors into the other position and i

believe that that has happened before now the way that the voting operates has changed dramatically over the years, but I'm almost certain that there were times when there was at least one time when someone wanted to be a lead but was voted into supporting as a nominee. Now, I can't remember what it was, correct me if I'm wrong, Oscarologists out there. The reason that they do this, obviously, is that this is all a sham and a mockery and that they're making an attempt to win as many awards as possible, unless they are feeding the ego of the performer who feels it is important to be recognized in a certain role. Some of that is symbolic. Some of that is strategic. I don't have as much of a problem with category fraud as our friend Wesley does. He was very irate about this issue when we spoke about it last week on the show. To me, it is something that if I knew nothing

about the Oscars and you presented this to me, I would be as mad as he was, but I've just like accepted after years and years of covering this. Are there any reasons why you think that they do this that I've forgotten or that should be clarified? Why the Oscars operate the way they do or why people... Why the studios do this, why the performers choose this. I think ego management and strategy and trying to win, which is the point of this made-up award ceremony.

I mean, Wesley, I love. He's the world's best living critic, in my opinion, and I like him as a person and I like all of our listeners very much. And like, guys, I just... Category fraud. I can't get my hackles up about it it's this is an incredibly silly made up competitive thing you want to try to win try to win you know I don't care um there is an account Matthew A Stewart on Twitter who does this, he does, he clocks the screen time

data for actors in films. And he's been doing quite a few because this has been a discussion recently. And you want to take any chances, like guesses at the screen time for Leo, Lily, and Robert De Niro in Killers of the Flower Moon. This is a three hour and 26 minute movie. Now, of course, they can share screen time together too. Yeah.o must be over two hours not quite okay close 149 150 is lily 120 something 56 minutes oh okay well does that count all the time that she's just like writhing around i assume so okay uh de niro 102 47 oh interesting okay that should that speaks to the vast cast the the huge ensemble of this movie that i think is a little overlooked in this discussion because

of these three great performances that the film has i the lily gladstone thing in particular i feel really strongly that she should be in Best Lead Actress, not just because she carries the film and you can't look away from her when she's on the screen, but it's like her absence for a large part of the movie is a part of the text of the film in a lot of ways and what the movie is about. And that movie is about that character. I just, you know, like she is at the center of the film. So you guys can numbers it out all you want, but I'm not sweating it. I'm not really sweating it either.

I also don't think screen time is the right way to measure these things. Period. That being said, it's a fun exercise when talking about it. Can I do one more quiz with you on screen time? Sure. I was going to say I love love that and then I was like whatever go ahead this is trivia host

so you gotta I know but this is like real like the not fun part of moneyball analytics stuff you know I just

I mean and it's a little bit to me like the same like you just being like but Superman was released in the summer of 2007 and I'm just like I just fucking am watching a movie.

If that's your impression of, first of all, what happened to just being nice? I have no idea. That's just, you can't help yourself. Because you irritated me because you're just like, it's just like the little like number goblins. And you know what? That was the nerve that struck the deepest chord with listeners,

whether they hated it or loved it. We're making content here. Get your mind around that for a second, for Christ's sake. Well, my content is like just being so fucking irritated with all of you little gremlins and you're counting that I can't be nice to you. Is it because you don't know how to count? Is that the issue? What is, what's really, is it numbers that you have an issue with? I'm really good at math actually. Okay, sure. Cool. You know, what's usually good at math is people who say I'm really good at math. That's a commoner frame.

I was until I chose not to pursue it any further. I wonder if the listeners at home can hear you eating gummy bears for the last 28 minutes. I said I wanted a gummy bear. Bobby, I'm going to pitch this one to you. Screen time for May, December. Guesses? Natalie Portman. What's the total run time?

What is it out of? I believe the film is 126 total. Natalie Portman, 63. She's 71 minutes. Okay. Charles Melton, 39. 46. Julianne Moore?

She's got to be like 65. 34. Oh, wow. Which I thought was fascinating was fascinating bigger impact for me notable okay what's the next question from singing songs to just like doing the instruments for songs it's been the progression over the years um michael asks i've seen people say that it's wrong when best picture and director split and that they should always match do you agree and if so what do you think about the idea

of eliminating the director category and just adding them to the recipients for best picture uh no yeah no i don't think it's wrong i don't think they should eliminate best director i think them splitting is not just a way to reward more people, but to reward different jobs and roles. Best picture is a prize for producers. It's a prize for the people who mounted the movie, whether it be financially or creatively, and who helped to assemble the cast crew and talent behind the camera.

The filmmaker is the person who creatively conceives of the movie and that is a very discreet job it is both a management and a um creative job and so it's rewarding two different things so and i think you can do one better than the other and so it's recognizing that um it's also tradition and a tradition i like and of course i i i valorize filmmakers because i think that they are the heartbeat of cinema. You're a producer. But I produce and producing is hard. I agree with Sean, except that I do feel that we need to change the tradition at the Oscars where the producer accepts the best picture.

I'd be fine with that. And said with respect to the producer sitting across from me and also producers in general, they do a lot of work behind the scenes. It's very hard and requires a very specific skill set, but like it's the, it's just television. It's not good television. It's the least entertaining part of the show and it's the last thing you see and you want to see the director or the you know you everyone gets up on stage which is really nice and then you're seeing all these famous people and someone you've never heard of so yeah i think it's it depends on the winner whether or not this would work you know what i mean no no i think your your point is right um it depends on the win you know when when the departed wins you you want to see Martin Scorsese talk before the show ends.

But when Coda wins, no one knows who Sean Heater is. That doesn't mean that she's not worthy of accepting that award, but it wouldn't have the same impact. And so I don't know what the solution is. You know, would the solution be for Emilia Jones to get on stage and sing a Joni Mitchell song to close the show? Probably. That would honestly be a better way to end the show

than to have anyone who produced Coda talk for one and a half minutes and then, you know, cut to Jimmy Kimmel and say goodnight. There is an anti-climax

to the show every year because of that. But, it's an industry award, you know? Like, the Oscars are, it's a club.

No, I understand. But, like, we talk constantly about how fewer and fewer people care about the Oscars, how it is a television program in addition to being an industry thing. And that's an easy way to make better television is to let the notable people speak.

You're right. I'm going to go 10 minutes late to my meeting because I'm just having such a great time with you guys. Do you want a gummy bear now? No, thank you. Okay. But I'd like that because we're just doing such a good job. If we had sucked on this pod, would you be like, I'm cutting this five minutes short? Despite whatever bits may happen on this show, I'm just an incredible supporter of both of you.

I believe in both of you more than almost anybody in my life. So I hope you both recognize that. That's really nice. That's true. Next up, Harvey, do you think an Oscar win is still as impactful as it once was on a film's long-term success and legacy? I thought this was a good question. Yeah, I would say that you might separate long-term success and legacy a little bit. How so?

Well, I mean, I think an Oscar is still a huge deal in terms of people seeing your movie. And you win Best Picture or even get nominated. And there is like the the medium term impact like for the next year people are like, oh, I had never heard of that movie but it won Best Oscar. Right, right, right.

The casual curiosity comes. Sure. And even kind of in historical projects down the road people will seek it out. Good point. On the flip side we spend a lot of time

talking about Oscar travesties and all the ways that the Oscars got it wrong. And you guys do this in Rewatchables where you just like revise the Oscars because I think among certainly Oscar nerds and like film nerds, there is an understanding that they don't always get it right. And it's more of a reflection of the time of the time than the quality of the film so i guess that is a part of legacy but i don't think it necessarily like burnishes a film as one of the great films of all time i think in the short term covet has put a little bit of has dimmedmed the value of the award, which is nothing against the films that have won,

but because the slates were shorter, there were fewer films to choose from. We talked about this a little bit when we talked about Mank, when I talked about it on Blank Check, the Nomadland, we talked about Promising Young Woman, like the kind of like bubble Oscars quality

to that year and even 2021, which was a CODA win and had a couple of really truly, like Drive My Car and Licorice Pizza, a couple of truly great movies, but was still like... That was also the slap year, right? No.

It was. It was the King Richard year, yeah. Right. Yeah. Because it was in 2022. And King Richard, which I like, but it wasn't the greatest thing I'd ever seen. And King Richard, which I like, but like, you know, it wasn't the greatest thing I'd ever seen.

And last year, high highs, Tar, Top Gun Maverick, but also like Elvis, All Clown on the Western Front, which like may as well not exist now,

which like people loved. And I have not had a single conversation about that movie in nine months. So I think that there's a little bit of a hangover from that i was about to sing the score for that but then i uh spared you guys thanks appreciate that welcome you should have a separate there you go should i bring that as a bit can you sing

can you sing top gun sean just mentioned top gun maverick oh it's your go-to your calling card you guys were talking about, I appreciated my best original song, Theory, shout out, on Rewatchables. I don't know if you remember citing that,

but you did. Thank you. And then you guys were talking about how... It was in An Officer and a Gentleman. It was An Officer and a Gentleman,

and this song is a credit song, but they work it into the score. And you were trying to think of a recent example where that happens, and they work the end credits and score and that is in fact

Top Gun Maverick sure that makes sense yeah so I just wanted to let you know in real time thanks

that that was what you were looking for on a podcast set like that you recorded like a month ago yeah next time

I record the rewatchables I'll just FaceTime you and unmute you and you can listen along and then at the end you can tell

me everything that I did or did not get right and then I can patch that in does that sound good okay that'll be a really efficient way I should just start sending you guys voice memos that I did or did not get right. And then I can patch that in. Does that sound good? Okay. That'll be a really efficient way. I should just start sending you guys voice memos after I finish listening to episodes.

I promise I won't delete them immediately. I'm sure that that'll go really well. Do you listen to voice memos? No. I have one friend who sends them and I will listen to them. But otherwise, I just, it's. No. That's.

Juliet also sometimes sends them when like walking and texting, but it's... No. I understand it. That's Zodiac killer behavior. That's not... It's not how I like to communicate. And when I have to like send a voice memo back, I get so awkward. And it's like voicemail anxiety times 10.

Even though I do like actually talk into a microphone pretty regularly for professional reasons. It's like once it's voice memo, I'm just like, ah. I'm going the other way. If you send me a voice memo. Voice memos is kind of famously like not Zodiac Killer behavior. Like the Zodiac Killer was doing the exact opposite. He was sending letters.

Just notes. But voice memos are always like, hello, sir or madam. I've just had a thought that I'd like to share with you. You know, like there's a weird formality to it. And if it's not, if it's too familiar, I'm also annoyed by that too. Where it's just like, what up, dog?

Just sitting here thinking about how awesome He-Man is. Remember when we had He-Man growing up? All right, peace. Like if you send me that, we're out. Like we're not good. We're not friends. Has anyone sent you a voicemail about He-Man? I didn't conjure that for no reason is what I'll say.

Okay. That actually is psycho behavior. Speaking of voice memos, we got a question here from Lab. Which CR would you like to see present an award slash host a ceremony? Wayne Jenkins, Robert Loja, or Skinner Meringue? Okay. Would you accept voice memos if it was just Chris doing impressions? Is that an exception for you?

Honestly, he should just start that business and then he can leave us all behind. So I think you want Wayne Jenkins presenting the award because Chris like gets really winded as the Wayne Jenkins thing's going on. So it would be funny to see him like in front of the microphone,

you know, as he like tries to keep going and just like the physical reality of his existence catches up with the performance. But then I think he could also do Skinner Rink as like, not the host, but the voiceover, you know, being like, Natalie Portman has been nominated four times for her work and this is her second win you know that would be funny uh i want to go like in the cr deep in the cr bag like i want him to go i don't want him to just play the hits you know like not just wayne not just byron mayo skin and meringue like what's a i want him as as bono you know i mean that's that's the one that's a great one that's a great one that's my international

feature presented by Bono. Yeah, like, you know, excuse me, Mr. President of the Academy, you know, like, it's all right there. Anyway. And now to perform her Grammy-nominated disco sensation

Dua Lipa. Skinnamarink director's commentary. Should we do a watch-along for Skinnamarink in the Skinnamarink voices? Babylon. Babylon watch-along for Skidamarink? No. In the Skidamarink voices? Babylon. Babylon watch-along. That's so long.

Babylon's really long. So long and so good. Also, to everybody who is saying to me that Salt Burn is this year's Babylon, no. No, guys. Salt Burn is this year's Don't Worry Darling. It's obvious. Please stop. Please stop besmirching Babylon.

I mean, that is somewhat sexist, but true. It's not because it's obvious please stop please stop besmirching Babylon that is somewhat sexist but true it's not because it's two filmmakers it's because it's two like overhyped overwrought movies that don't have anything

to say is X this year's Babylon is just that's not a good question Babylon is this year's Babylon just go back and watch it again you know

preach that's all I have to say about that question from Emily I'd love your thoughts on if Netflix is ever going to land a best Picture win.

It seems like thus far, the votes have been pretty shoulder to shoulder to keep that streamer specifically out. I don't think that's the reason specifically why every time. I don't think that's accurate. I do think that they have had some unfortunate timing with certain films.

I think that their big horses that they've bet on have been miscalculations in the past. This year's so interesting because May, December, and Maestro, I think are both going to get a lot of love.

And I think they have no chance against Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, Holdovers. Like, those are really the films that I think are really competing right now

for Best Picture. Does that make those films, like, less worthy? I don't know. If the sentiment in the world were a little different in one direction or another, it might,

might've changed. You know, I think Roma not winning is tough. Yeah. That's tough. That was the one. It should have won. It should have won.

And it, I don't know if you want to say like, it's never going to happen. That seems pretty stupid, especially given the state of Hollywood financially right now. But it does feel like that's where things kind of turned and it got away from them a little bit. Yeah. That one in particular felt very backlashy. And there was also the backlash to the Academy's decision making that led to Green Book. And, you know,

that was unfortunate. Roma is a very, very good film. It's wonderful. I think we've kind of, Cuaron hasn't made a movie in a while and I'm thinking about him as much in the culture along with the people that we talk about on the show, but he is in a vaulted tier. He really

is an incredibly special filmmaker and should be recognized in the category like this. So, I don't know. It's too bad. I don't think that it's over for them. I think that they caught a lot of flack during the strikes. I think they were identified

as a villain in that story and that would have worked against them this year regardless of what their slate was. But, you know, I've been very critical of them over the years, but also like, man, they're greenlighting fucking good movies they're paying

15 million dollars to put May December on their service like Maestro's really good like I not a lot of studios are doing that

so I'm not it's not funny to me anymore to be like oh every Netflix movie sucks like if you keep saying that they're only gonna make the movies that suck

Heart of Stone to infinity right don't let them don't do that like we actually have to go out of our way do I wish the killer played 5,000 theaters of course i do but they fucking made it so i don't know i'm i'm i find this question to be a little complicated you want to do one more yeah can we

do the best scene yeah matthew wants to know what was the best singular scene of 2023 damn you don't want to do this as a pod oh we can if you if you want. I mean, I do. I have like 45 nominations. Go, do some. Okay, well, I... Maybe we'll do top 10 at the end of the year. Yeah, we can do top 10. So, then I'll just do... I had a special grouping of what I can best describe as just like fucking shit up in Europe. And so, that includes the Rome sequence from Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning part one Sacre Cur in John Wick 4 and Austerlitz in Napoleon those are good thank you those are very good yeah did I tell you guys the story of when I saw Napoleon and there was a woman I saw it in the greater Philadelphia area and there was a woman behind me and uh every time a cannon went through

the ice she loudly exclaimed oh my god in, in a Philadelphia accent. Oh my God. Bobby, I'm so glad that you brought this up because I've been wanting to follow up with you about your sister's review of Napoleon. And really just to ask whether your sister needs any more friends and if possible, could I apply for one of the open position? I should put you two in contact. It really, really spoke to me on a deep level. My sister's just like

coasting through life, not worried, getting hung up in the facts. Yeah. You know, like what she remembers, she remembers, and she's rocking with it, having a good time.

I'll give you some contenders for my list. Okay. Final five minutes of kills of the Flower Moon. Yeah. Trinity Test. Oppenheimer.

Okay. Opening scene of the Flower Moon. Yeah. Trinity Test. Oppenheimer. Okay. Opening scene of Taste of Things. Yeah. The Brute sequence in The Killer. Oh, yeah. I knew you were

going to say that. The fight in Anatomy of a Fall. Hmm. And the ending of Past Lives. Yeah, obviously the ending of Past Lives.

But I wasn't going to... First of all... Did we ruin the episode? I didn't... This is not something on the schedule. It just seemed like a good idea. Okay, well, if we're going to do it... Well, there's one from All of Us Strangers

that people haven't seen yet, so I don't want to... But it does feature Jamie Bell. Yeah. Parker Posey in Bo is Afraid. Oh, great. The Margot Robbie scene in Asteroid City. I had that on my list, too.

Break My Soul in Renaissance. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That Margot Robbie scene in Asteroid City. I had that on my list too. Break My Soul in Renaissance. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's incredible. And the next life scene in Killers of the Flower Moon. You know, someone made a very strong observation about this that I really liked, which was that part of the pain of the Molly character, I thought this was so smart, I'm'm sorry I can't remember who said this is that when we see

Molly's mom pass on she has that incredible you know move into the afterlife the Osage afterlife where she sees her ancestors but when she buries

buries her child she has a traditional Catholic burial and there's no recognition of Osage heritage or of going on in that way

and that like the like desecration and discontinuation of that culture by doing that and showing that i hadn't put those two things together before i thought that was very smart yeah um what a movie i just unreal great film on vod right now people can pay money and they can watch killers of the far moon i hope that they do uh this was fun bob thank you wait can

i throw out can i throw out one yeah Yeah, of course. The argument in Ferrari? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, the Penelope. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. To be continued on Ferrari.

That one sticks with me. Ferrari Oscars? Nah. Well, we'll talk through it together. Let's do the power rankings. Oh, okay. I forgot we had to do this. I'm going to throw some names at you.

Tell me where you think they are in the top 10. Okay. May, December. I think it's, we had it at eight last time. I think eight is a good spot for it. American Fiction. I think, it's still not out. You've seen this?

Yeah, I have. And we'll talk more about it. I'm excited to talk about it. I think you could maybe put Barbie at four, American Fiction at five, and Poor Things at six. I like that. Okay. I think that's right. Okay. You're leaving the top three as is? I think Oppenheimer is still number one right now.

We had Holdovers at two and Killers of the Flower Moon 3. Killers is experiencing the year-end critical bump because we all loved it. Is it just an illusion? Is it just a critical illusion? We are also paid to watch movies and thus have the time, quite literally, to watch this three-and-a-half-hour masterpiece multiple times. And many people have not had that opportunity. So... The Holdovers is a very brief two hours and 13 minutes. You know, Chris loved it.

When Chris came in and was just like, Holdovers is number six. I was like, great. The boomers logged on. And... Chris is not a boomer. I love Chris so much. Me too. It's not a boomer.

That's my guy. You know, he's firmly Gen X'd. Chris is not a boomer I love Chris so much me too it's not a boomer don't don't that's my guy you know he's firmly Gen X and now to present his Christmas masterpiece it's the Holdovers

director Alexander Payne you have any regrets about the Holdovers episode? no I don't I think that we said our truth, which was that we really admired it.

And there was like a little bit of like disconnect. Maybe it's honestly just more on your end than on mine. I think I, I could have been more clear about what I liked about it. I, maybe it's just like the, the mean mom thing. Oh,

wow. Is mean mom supplanting mean pod guy on this podcast? No, no, no, no. That like, you you know the big reveal in that movie it's like oh his mom's mean like okay oh it's more complicated i didn't i

didn't read it that way i hear what you're saying but i didn't yeah i was just kind of like okay no but she's not mean she like hurt she had her life destroyed right but you know then she's just sitting there with tate donovan and it's a handsome fellow yeah i mean seems like a very chill dude in that movie. Very cool guy, Tate Donovan is playing. What an absolutely brutal call to get. Where it's like, Tate, we've got a part for you. It's the new Alexander Payne movie.

He's like, Alexander Payne, you say? Director of Sideways? I'm listening. Well, you're going to play the biggest shitheel in New England for three minutes. Sign me up. I believe that Holdovers takes place in the greater OC universe. You think that's his father from the OC?

Well, that... How do you get to California? Same guy. Same guy. Same guy. Same guy. But he's older in the 70s than he would be in the...

I don't know. Don't poke holes in this. Is he his own looper? It's multiversal. All right. That's how I'll get around it. Holdovers is multiversal. Got it. Check. I I'll get around it. Holdovers is multiversal. Got it.

Check. I think you're right. Holdover is still a two. Killer is a three. It's holdovers at one. No. Okay. I like it.

I don't think it should win best picture, but I like it. I like it too. Do I love it? Not so much, but I like it. For the purposes of your mania. Yeah. What makes you crazier, Oppenheimer or Holdover's winning? Oh, wow.

Well, you know, I'm working on acceptance as well. All right. That's a fact. News to me. Not with you. Let me tell you. You do this all the time. You're like, I've just been giving a lot of thought to empathy as a concept and it's like literally everyone else you'll never get it but that's like that's

that's our thing cool you know you need someone to keep you on your toes um no so christopher nolan is gonna win best director for appenheimer i just like feel pretty certain about that yeah i don't know I don't know I feel like the sands are shifting I don't know I I thought that very very clearly like two months ago I was like man maybe even a sweep like I thought it was gonna be coming on so strong but now it's just it's been around for a really long time and they may want to do what you were describing earlier like disperse it among a bunch of people right well do i feel that he's gonna win best director and i don't i don't know whether he'll also get best picture and it seems unlikely that it'll double double yeah so it'll

it'll be fine okay either way here's we need to do the rest of the list should we do past lives at seven maestro at nine or do you want to do keep going and I definitely think Anatomy of a Fall should be a ten intriguing okay it's really Anatomy of a Fall season

is coming and again that is like it's the critics time of the year everyone does their lists but also it's an international

voting body and I it's been winning at you think it's bumping the zone of interest I do I think it it won at the zone of interest? I do.

I think it won at the British Independent Film Awards, I believe. It's more, as we said earlier this week, more entertaining in some ways, even though it's a very serious film. Right. Also, the thing that Adam Neiman said about how if Anatomy of Fall is a Palme d'Or winner, Basic Instinct should have won the Nobel is the funniest thing that's happened I just don't agree

I know but that was the funniest thing that's been said on this podcast and I just we're handing out end of the year awards and so that is my

end of the year award for Adam Adam cuts with a sharp knife yeah you know it's very true that blade is always sharpened

don't really know what he was talking about with Oppenheimer but shout out to him I love that guy. He was like, everybody loves it, so I don't.

I'm like, what? Come on, dog. These are movies. They're made for everybody. That's not a valence. Don't get that. Okay. You got two more spots,

nine and seven. I said I think we should do Past Lives at seven and Maestro at nine, but that's just reflecting the fact that Maestro is not out yet. Maestro is coming for the top five. Maestro is 9 but that's also that's just reflecting the fact that Maestro is not out yet. Maestro is coming

for the top 5. Maestro is coming but this is a living document. Yeah, it's hard. I can't talk about Color Purple but I think Color Purple is going in.

You do? I do. Okay. Yeah. Oh, alright. Well, I haven't seen it yet unfortunately. My instinct would be

to replace Anatomy of a Fall with Color Purple. Interesting. And I'm not done with Zone of Interest yet either. And I don't know what, I think it takes past lives to spot right now. That's my instinct. But this is good. This is like a good collaboration.

I mean, you know, maybe we can split the difference here. Maybe we, yeah, my instinct is that the Color Purple achieves something that nothing else here achieves. And it does also have the opportunity at the golden globes to kind of which it's not going away pushes musical and comedy stuff but i if anything i think our list is too american right now which is why i'm pushing for anatomy of a fall i think i i think i see zone of interest going Past Lives is. If we're talking about A24 prestige releases. Can I tell you some feedback I've gotten on our best films of the year list? Certainly. Many people being like, thank God you put Past Lives

on your list. What's wrong with everyone else? Did you get that feedback from Greta Lee? No. But Greta Lee, you're welcome. And you continue to look wonderful at all of your events. I recently told someone, I told a group of people that I would, if I had to start a studio with five filmmakers, one of them would be Celine Song. Yeah. Because I think she has the makings of a genuinely commercial artist. You told your future employer that? No, I did not. No.

Anything we should talk about? But I said that and then the next day it was announced that Celine Song would be making a romantic dramedy modeled after the films of James L. Brooks.

And I was like, this is exactly what we need. This is what we deserve and what we need. And also we need another James L. Brooks movie and we're getting one.

Wonderful. And I read that it was because he had to be strong-armed into making a Simpsons movie. And so the way that he negotiated that to make a Simpsons movie sequel was to make his own feature film, which is just fucking awesome. James L. Brooks, the fucking man. Okay. This was a fun pod.

Thank you, guys. What was the resolution here? Are we leaving Color Purple at number 10 and Past Lives at number 7 for now? I think so. I think that's our negotiation. Reasonable? Anatomy of a Fall. Snub.

Snub. Anatomy of a Fall will get a full examination on next Wednesday's show. But on Monday's show, we're talking in-depth. This is way too American. That's all I have to say.

You might be right. I know. You might be right. That's fine. I'm used to it it's november no it's no it's december it's december it's getting closer we only have next week we're talking about the golden globe nomination so it's coming that's right so on monday's episode golden globe noms out 5 a.m pacific are you serious i believe so 5 a.m pacific so we'll

be recording immediately after they're announced, right? 5.22 a.m. Will you be there, Amanda? Bob's flying out. He's going to serve you coffee and tea in your bedroom. You're bored. Ready to record? This is the one time that the time difference would help me,

and you're going to make me fly out for it? Sorry. No. Bob, stay where you are. Okay, great. So we'll talk about that very quickly. We'll run through those nominations. And then we have an expansive conversation about Leave the World Behind,

which is the new Sam Esmail film. Our friend Sam Esmail, who wrote and directed an adaptation of the acclaimed novel, a novel that Amanda loves. It'll be on Netflix. It stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali,

Ethan Hawke, Mahala Harold. Pretty fucking good. I recommend people watch this film. I do as well. Also, we spoil it in the conversation yes so watch the movie watch the movie good movie good movie okay honestly go see it in the theater well that would be dope too if you can if you can pack that we all had the chance to do that and it was well worth it all right we'll see you next week thank you Thank you.