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This Had Oscar Buzz: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Joe and Chris
A podcast about movies the awards forgot
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- 3 days ago1h 50m
412 – The Immigrant
James Gray’s Paper Tiger arrives this week and with it, further hopes that the auteur Gray finally receives his due. So naturally this week we are discussing the urtext of “Justice for James Gray” narratives, his Marion Cotillard-led The Immigrant. Inspired by Gray’s own lineage, the film stars Cotillard as a Polish immigrant who arrives to America and faces exploitation in order to free her sister, given “safe” haven by a pimp burlesque owner (Joaquin Pheonix). Held captive by The Weinstein Company for nearly a year, the film ultimately received a small release but massive critical word of mouth. This week, we talk about the wrangling with Weinstein to release the film as Gray envisioned it and how Gray’s trademark narrative approach avoids storytelling cliches. We also discuss how Cotillard was ultimately nominated this year for Two Days, One Night, Jeremy Renner in franchise overload, and Phoenix’s discomfort at playing some of his character’s cruelties. Topics also include 2014 Best Actress, the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and cinematographer Darius Khondji.
- 1 weeks ago1h 52m
411 – Rounders
For this week’s episode, we’re… dealing (sorry) a late 90s favorite that was meant to be a post-Oscar star vehicle and wound up a box office disappointment. After the Oscar and box office success of Good Will Hunting, the next stop on Matt Damon’s ascent to megastardom was to be Rounders, an NYC-set drama about high-stakes underground poker. Damon starred as a law student who once gave up the game but quit at the insistence of his girlfriend (Gretchen Mol), only to get pulled back in by his no-good childhood friend (Edward Norton). This episode, we talk about the film’s status as a cult favorite of sorts and the film’s palatable brand of machismo. We also discuss Norton’s Oscar nomination in the same year for American History X, Mol’s Vanity Fair It Girl cover, and John Malkovich giving goofy Russian accent. Topics also include Celebrity Poker Showdown, John Turturro in a bathhouse, and (eep) Famke Janssen on Nip/Tuck.
- 2 weeks ago1h 57m
410 – Midsommar
Happy Halloween! Quickly following up his paradigm-shifting Hereditary, Ari Aster took to Sweden for Midsommar. The film stars Florence Pugh as a young woman who follows her boyfriend on a study trip in the wake of a major personal tragedy. As the running-on-fumes romance disintegrates, things get very weird and very sinister in the remote town in which they’re staying. Though the film earned him the vocal respect of the likes of Martin Scorsese, its Oscar chances were swiftly cut short. This episode, we talk about the film’s morbid (and often quite funny) depiction of cult behavior and the backlash against Aster’s cinematic sensibilities. We also talk about Pugh’s Little Women performance in the same year, how the film doesn’t completely spell out what’s happening just offscreen, and the director’s cut that has gained popularity in the year’s since. Topics also include Joe’s current spooky watching, 2019 Best Actress, and Midsommar‘s memeability.
- 3 weeks ago1h 43m
409 – Romance and Cigarettes
Post-Chicago, just about any movie musical was fodder for awards buzz, especially if they boasted a cast as stacked as Romance and Cigarettes. A jukebox musical from the mind of John Turturro, the film stars James Gandolfini as a New York construction worker whose life goes into tumult when he cheats on his wife (Susan Sarandon) with a younger redhead (Kate Winslet). Bizarrely profane and minimally plotted, the film thudded onto the festival scene in 2005 and didn’t see a theatrical release until Turturro self-distributed it in 2007. This episode, we talk about Turturro’s Best Actor chances this season with The Only Living Pickpocket in New York and his under-rewarded career as an actor. We also discuss Gandolfini breaking away from The Sopranos with movies, the film’s strange catalog of disconnected songs, and a punk girl group of Mary-Louise Parker, Mandy Moore, and Aida Turturro. Topics also include Film Forum, the 2005 Venice Film Festival, and Elaine Stritch: At Liberty.
- Oct 12, 20262h 4m
408 – The Russia House
In the years after his Oscar win for The Untouchables, Sean Connery remained a major movie star and box office draw. The latter proved untrue in 1990 when The Russia House fizzled at the holiday box office. Based on the John le Carré novel, the film follows Connery as a publisher pulled into espionage in Russia during perestroika, only to fall in love with an informant’s wife, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. One year after The Fabulous Baker Boys, Pfeiffer earned a Globe nomination for her performance, but Oscar honored neither of these headliners. This episode, we discuss director Fred Schepisi and the Academy’s arms-length relationship with the chillier adaptations of le Carré’s work. We also discuss Connery’s next decade as a major star, Pfeiffer’ on her 10th THOB-day (that’s a To Gillian reference for anyone paying attention)’s extensive THOB history, and director Ken Russell hiding out among the film’s ensemble. Topics also include the 1990 EW Holiday Movie Preview, a Berlin competition lineup with two Best Picture winners, and composer Jerry Goldsmith.
- Oct 5, 20261h 45m
407 – Destroyer
In 2018, we were rooting for the comeback of director Karyn Kusama, emerging with the promising crime thriller Destroyer. Centering on Nicole Kidman playing against type as a grizzled investigator haunted by a previous undercover case gone wrong, the film applies a serpentine structure to its breed of hard boiled LA noir to mixed results. After receiving a mixed reaction on the festival circuit but praise for Kidman’s performance, the film was one of several 2018 Annapurna Pictures films that struggled to gain momentum. This episode, we talk about the strength of Kidman’s performance and the unfortunate fate that met some of Kusama’s films. We also talk about the film’s baffling ending, Sebastian Stan as Kidman’s hot love interest, and Kidman going ham on Bradley Whitford and Tatiana Maslany. Topics also include “deglam” Oscar campaigns, The Invitation, and Kidman’s Golden Globe nomination.
- Sep 28, 20262h 11m
406 – Arsenic and Old Lace (with Emily St. James!)
We have writer Emily St. James back with us this week, so naturally we’re breaking our own record for oldest film discussed on the show (after her episode on Moby Dick)! Based on the Broadway smash comedy, Arsenic and Old Lacewas Frank Capra’s intentional return to comedy after a string of serious movies. Starring Cary Grant as the critic nephew of two aging sisters, the farce unfolds as the aunts reveal they have been offing unmarried travelers and a brother who now looks like Boris Karloff returns to the family. Since the adaptation rights stipulated the film could not open until the Broadway run ended, the film sat on a shelf and was not released until Capra was overseas documenting the war. This episode, we talk about Emily’s new book (with Lauren Theisen) about It’s a Wonderful Life titled Every Time a Bell Rings and the effect of WWII on Capra. We also talk about the Broadway run that actually starred Karloff, Grant’s nomination in the same year for None But The Lonely Heart, and face guy Peter Lorre. Topics also include The Best Years of Our Lives, high school theatre, and queer coding.
- Sep 21, 20262h 53m
2026 TIFF Recap!!
We’re back home from our latest trip to the Toronto International Film Festival! And as always, we’re offering you a buffet of our reactions from a week’s worth of movies that will be coming soon to a theatre near you! We talk about the newest People’s Choice Award winner La Bola Negra, along with the International People’s Choice Award winner (and Best Actor contender for Andrew Scott) Elsinore. Topics also include Julianne Moore earning huge crowd reaction in The Debut, Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine underwhelming us both, our collective favorite of the fest Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care, the TIFF preroll ads, injuries, festival flops, and more!!
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