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This week on the Boxoffice podcast, presented by Christie and CJ Schwan's, Daniel Loria covers CinéShow 2026, speaking to Byron Berkley and inaugural Byron Berkley award winner Todd Halstead. In the sponsor segment, Daniel interviews Christie's Allan Fernandes about Christie's VDR technology. Boxoffice Pro's Chad Kennerk then speaks to Alicia MacDonald, the director of Focus Features' Finding Emily.
"Hot Spot" is a 2026 independent science fiction thriller film directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska. Set in a near-future society ruled by sentient A.I., a private eye (Andrzej Konopka) investigates a murder case only to discover a rebel group capable of undermining the digital overlord. As the detective's identity slowly unravels, his world spirals into a hypnotic meltdown. It also stars Noomi Rapace and Reika Kirishima. Smoczyńska was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open August 21st in theaters from Focus Features. Thank you, and enjoy! https://youtu.be/BTM2la7st8Q Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We're hanging on to summer with the fragrance launches discussed, and in what we're wearing this week, but there is a noticeable change in the weather here in the U.K. There have even been sightings of socks, jackets, cardigans and knee-high boots on the streets! A week ago, such items were unthinkable, but now we're almost looking forward to the seasons changing again. ALMOST, but not quite yet. Not when there's a plethora of new perfume discoveries to delve in to (many of which will prove incredibly versatile in cooler weather anyway, we feel). Quite apart from some exquisite new fragrant finds to welcome Nicola back from holiday with, we've two more of your utterly brilliant Listener Prescriptions to answer, and an exciting update from Madeline – the musician / vineyard worker / medal-winning fighter we helped find new fragrances for last week! In this week's episode we discuss: Jo Malone London Sea Salt & Bergamot‘Plunge into the exhilarating surf of the Celtic Sea. Immersed in the wild waters, every wave carries a fresh minerality. Joining a burst of bergamot, driftwood anchors this sea-salt fresh scent. Experience the untamed beauty of the British coast. Top Note: bergamot(Brightens with its sparkling, citrus freshness) Heart Note: sea salt(The crunchy nature of sea salt accord brings both texture and a sense of freshness and purity to the heart of the fragrance) Base Note: driftwood(Suffused with the saltiness of the sea, this accord brings a light woodiness to the fragrance)' Jo Malone London Iris & White Musk Cologne Intense (recommend to listener in last week's episode seeking clean / soapy iris fragrances!) Harrods ‘The Iris and White Musk Cologne Intense from Jo Malone London is a light and airy scent that's perfect for everyday use. It marries powdery iris with creamy white musk, resulting in a distinctive aroma that's ideal for layering with other fragrances but can also be worn alone.' Ex Nihilo Demon Dancer (Harrods)‘Ex Nihilo recreates the defiant freedom of dance in motion.Inviting you to move to your own rhythm, Ex Nihilo's Demon Dancer is a call for ‘unapologetic self-expression'. Inspired by contemporary dance performance, the fragrance ignites an inner fire through energetic fruity notes that flow with freeing freshness and grounded intensity. Top Notes: rhubarb, bergamot, peppermint, blood orangeHeart Notes: orange blossom, blackcurrantBase Notes: georgywood, akigalawood, ambrofix, musks, tonka bean.' Une Nuit Nomade Sun Bleached ‘Clean Linen Accord • White Flowers • Bergamot •Ambrette AbsoluteMuscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, also known as the White City. The sun drowns the immaculate walls with its rays. It is a bright light that makes eyes squint. Omanis wander the streets, elegantly wearing their dishdashas, a long white tunic decorated with a pom-pom that is delicately dipped in perfume. 'Sun Bleached' is adorned with freshness, in an accord of clean linen, white flowers and a zesty flight of citrus fruits as if biting into a piece of orange, with white musks and sandalwood rounding off its explosiveness.' Connock London Pelago‘A sun-drenched Mediterranean fragrance with bright citrus and aromatic herbs, evoking the warmth of golden afternoons along sunlit shores. Top Notes: orange, bergamot, lemon, mandarin, grapefruit.Heart Notes: rosemary, neroli, petitgrain.Base Notes: amber, vetiver.' Roger & Gallet Neroli Solid Perfume ‘Discover your Néroli Wellbeing Fragrant Water in a new solid format to put on the neck, the neckline and the wrists. An alcohol-free perfume merging soflty with the skin. A new way to boost and facet your trail all day long. Enriched with rose essential oil, known for its relaxing benefits, the solid fragrance is a real caress onto the skin. Its rich and unctuous texture with vegetal waxes encapsulates the olfactive notes and keep the trail longer. A small and nomad format with an addictive gesture, to bring everywhere, wherever you are.' French Cowboy Pear Pavlova‘Almond, Ambrette Seeds, Jasmine, Meringue, Pear, Pink Pepper, Powdery Musk, Vanilla. Ashley Santiago is the youngest perfumer at Givaudan and the co-founder of French Cowboy. California-born with Mexican-Caribbean roots, she honed her craft in Paris, New York & Singapore: blending global flavour with French savoir-faire.' PERFUME PRESCRIPTIONS: Update from Madeline (the musician / vineyard worker / medal-winning fighter from last week's Correspondence Special episode): ‘OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!Suzy and Nicola thankyou so so sooooo much for my prescription!!When I saw that you had dropped a new episode WITH MY NAME IN THE NOTES I screamed!!!! It's perfect perfect PERFECT beyond words.I have already ordered a bottle of the Map Of Hearts Valour and I am currently hunting for samples of the others you both suggested!!I CANNOT wait to let you know how I go, l am so so sooooo excited to try them all!!' (If we don't have time this week: NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE, another Perfume Prescription special?) Jessi - aka @grotesquex_o‘hi suzy and nicola, the day that you answered my cave perfume prescription was one of the best days of my life. i was hiking around the forest on a break at the museum in san francisco where i work, squealing and reveling in our shared zeal! ill remember the feeling forever. although i havent gotten my nose on that perfect perfume you found just yet, my sister and boyfriend know exactly what to get me for Christmas… I'm writing to you humbly with the hope of another perfume prescription. i love cold incense perfumes, and found that my favorites (andrea maack craft and CDG avignon) have a chlorine note (to my nose at least, tho unlisted) that i crave. like the way your skin and hair smell after a swim in the pool, not the smell of sunscreen or tropical fruits that so often characterizes pool culture-inspired perfumes. are there any other cold, chlorinated, incense perfumes you love?' Suzy's Answer: Serge Lutens L'Eau Froide‘By Christopher Sheldrake. The fragrance features Sea water, Pepper, Mint, Musk, Incense, Olibanum, Ginger and Vetiver.'‘"The situation was too hot for me to handle.” or “A chill ran down my spine.” I simply applied a similar concept to an Eau. The hero of this story is a tree during the dog days of summer. If an incision is made in its trunk, "tears of glass" come out. Without air conditioning, the heat would kill it. Frankincense helps this scent preserve an icy cool." - a note from the brand.' Bibbi Swimming Pool‘By Jérôme Epinette. Top notes are mint, basil and Ginger; middle notes are Eucalyptus and Geranium; base notes are Blonde Woods, Grass, White Wood, Ambroxan and Light Amber. You completely forget about time and space when you swim in the pool. The water forces you to go through all the darkest hours and brightest moments of your life. After swimming in the pool, you will be forever changed and have an intense basil-like scent stuck to your skin forever.' Heretic Nosferatu‘SMELLS LIKE: An encounter with an apparition in the cold, damp caves of Count Orlok's castle.'‘In partnership with Nosferatu and Focus Features, Heretic is proud to present Nosferatu Eau de Macabre, a fragrance inspired by the iconic vampire. A chilling scent of wilting lilacs, velvety vegan ambergris and strikes of lightning that fill the air with petrichor and electricity—It's both delicate and hedonistic. Samples available.Top Notes: lilac, ambretteHeart Notes: petrichor, violet absolute, orris concrete, cypriolBASE: vegan ambergris, oudh, labdanum.' Pip:‘Hi Suzie and Nicola. I'm looking for a perfume prescription. I've had a bit of a rollercoaster year, my partner and I were lucky enough to have a little boy together after IVF and it's been a really incredible (though exhausting!) time. One of my oldest and dearest friends died a month before we had him and there's not a day that goes by where I don't think about her. I'm incredibly sad that we never got to share any of our boy mum moments together. She was always so positive though and down to earth, and I want to remember her with happiness, as well as have a comforting fragrance that will make me think of my little boy when he's older and him of me. My memories of my friend when we were growing up together are scented with incense, books and the sticky floors of rock bars! I like vanilla, sandalwood and scents that have a bit of smoke. Thanks so much and thank you for keeping me company on my particularly sleep deprived days, I love listening to you both! Pip x' Suzy's answer: The Perfumer's Story Old Books by Azzi ‘Character: intelligent, eccentric, rock &...
This week, the boys head to Aussie Dave's native Australian Outback (& Adelaide) to discuss 1971's “Walkabout”. The film shows you how easy it is to die in the Australian desert, and we drink while discussing the artistic achievement, even if we didn't all feel the same way about our viewing experiences. John also got us started with a mini-review of “Tony”. Grab a beer and join us! inktr.ee/theloveofcinema - Check out our YouTube page! Our phone number is 646-484-9298. It accepts texts or voice messages. 0:00 Intro; 4:35 “Tony” mini-review; 11:41 1971 Year in Review; 30:29 “Walkabout”: Films of 1971; 1:10:30 What You Been Watching?; 1:17:34 Next Week's Episode Teaser Additional Cast/Crew: Nicholas Roeg, Jenny Agutter, Edward Bond, John Meillon, Luc Roeg, David Gulpilil, Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones, Matt Johnson, Todd Bartels, Lou Howe, Leo Woodall, Stavros Halkias, Michael Jibrin, Monica Raymund, Dagmara Dominczyk. Hosts: Dave Green, Jeff Ostermueller, John Say Edited & Produced by Dave Green. Beer Sponsor: Carlos Barrozo Music Sponsor: Dasein Dasein on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Dasein on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dasein/1637517407 Recommendations: Parenthood, Strange New World, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Stewart Fails To Save The Universe, Until Dawn, Nat Geo The Rescue, Criterion 24/7, Norwegian Pathfinder, detour, Sugar, Cape Fear, The Northman. Additional Tags: Dolby Cinemas, Peter Parker, Stanley Kubrick, Argentina, Spain, England, France, The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan, Moana, Toy Story 5, Focus Features, A24, Curry Barker, The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist, Cul-de-Sac, AI, The New York City Marathon, Apartments, Tenants, AMC, IMAX Issues, Tron, The Dallas Cowboys, Short-term memory loss, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Netflix, AMC Times Square, Academy Awards, BFI, BAFTA, BAFTAS, Adelaide, Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Melbourne, The British, England, The SEC, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, casket maker, Seven Samurai, Roshomon, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Stellan Skarsgard, the matt and mark movie show, The Southern District's Waratah Championship, Night of a Thousand Stars, The Pan Pacific Grand Prix (The Pan Pacifics), Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, David Ellison, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg.
This week, the boys got conspiratorial again! We headed to 1974 to give Alan J. Pakula's “The Parallax View” a spin. Starring Warren Beatty, this political thriller about a journalist trying to uncover the secret conspiracy behind a senator's assassination, two of the co-hosts called this movie “great”, and one called it “fucking tragic”. How was there such a divide? Grab a beer and join in. inktr.ee/theloveofcinema - Check out our YouTube page! Our phone number is 646-484-9298. It accepts texts or voice messages. 0:00 Intro; 7:36 1974 Year in Review; 29:45 “The Parallax View”: Films of 1974; 1:17:52 What You Been Watching?; 1:24:50 Next Week's Episode Teaser Additional Cast/Crew: William Daniel, Feeney, Feeny, Gordon Willis, Paula Prentiss, Walter McGinn. Hosts: Dave Green, Jeff Ostermueller, John Say Edited & Produced by Dave Green. Beer Sponsor: Carlos Barrozo Music Sponsor: Dasein Dasein on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Dasein on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dasein/1637517407 Recommendations: Parenthood, Strange New World, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Stewart Fails To Save The Universe, Until Dawn, Nat Geo The Rescue, Criterion 24/7, Norwegian Pathfinder, detour, Sugar, Cape Fear, The Northman. Additional Tags: Dolby Cinemas, Peter Parker, Stanley Kubrick, Argentina, Spain, England, France, The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan, Moana, Toy Story 5, Focus Features, A24, Curry Barker, The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist, Cul-de-Sac, AI, The New York City Marathon, Apartments, Tenants, AMC, IMAX Issues, Tron, The Dallas Cowboys, Short-term memory loss, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Netflix, AMC Times Square, Academy Awards, BFI, BAFTA, BAFTAS, Adelaide, Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Melbourne, The British, England, The SEC, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, casket maker, Seven Samurai, Roshomon, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Stellan Skarsgard, the matt and mark movie show, The Southern District's Waratah Championship, Night of a Thousand Stars, The Pan Pacific Grand Prix (The Pan Pacifics), Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, David Ellison, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg.
David Canfield joins Katey and Chris Rosen to look at the fall offerings from the studio-based indie labels Focus Features, Sony Pictures Classics, and Searchlight Pictures. Then Katey talks to Charles Melton about how he tapped into his Gen Z side — as well as some very endearing cluelessness — to play his character Austin on the Emmy-nominated Beef. 00:00 Intro 01:24 Fall Preview: The Indie Labels 02:42 Searchlight's Big Bet: Wild Horse Nine 08:06 Behemoth Premieres At New York Film Fest 12:27 Sony Classics' Slate: Bunker And Beyond 13:40 John Turturro's Overdue Moment 18:25 Focus And The Obsession Phenomenon 21:53 Can Werewolf Follow Nosferatu? 25:22 Andrew Scott And Elsinore 31:45 Focus's Unsolved Mysteries 33:46 Women Directors 40:18 Next: Charles Melton 41:24 The Dinner That Launched Beef 43:37 Navigating Award Season Meetings 45:14 Directors As Film School 47:24 The Beef Viewing Diet 49:43 Why It's Funny, But Not Funny To Play 51:27 Austin's Dangerous Sweetness 54:22 Codependency, Books And Identity 55:36 Leaving The Role At Work 57:28 Playing Austin Davis 59:45 That Finale: A Happy Marriage? 01:01:47 What Do You Take From Every Role? Subscribe today to Prestige Junkie After Party bonus episodes. Subscribe to the Prestige Junkie newsletter. Follow Katey on Letterboxd. Follow The Ankler.
Don't Kill the Messenger with movie research expert Kevin Goetz
Send Kevin a Text MessageJim Orr is President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution at Universal Pictures. He began his career at Paramount and joined Universal in 2016 after leading distribution at Focus Features and MGM. Brandon Purdie is Executive Vice President and Head of Theatrical Distribution at Angel Studios, the audience-funded studio behind Sound of Freedom, where he helped build a community-driven model that puts greenlight decisions in the hands of its 2.4 million members. Host Kevin Goetz brings the two together for a wide-ranging conversation on how films find audiences in an era of theaters, streaming, VOD, and direct fan engagement.From Del Monte to Distribution (08:41): Orr recounts talking his way into a sales job at Del Monte out of college, then cold-calling studio distribution heads until Paramount hired him on the spot.The Roadshow Era and the First Wide Break (11:36): Orr traces distribution's earliest days, when prints traveled by car with regional reps, through to the thousand-plus theater breaks standard by the time of Star Trek.Content Is Still King (23:02): Both guests agree the movie itself remains the deciding factor in box office success, with Purdie noting a quiet week usually just means there isn't a film people want to see yet.Building Angel Studios from a Membership, Not a Subscription (30:02): Purdie explains Angel's founding principle: no executive can greenlight a film without approval from the Angel Guild, whose members vote on projects and get free tickets to every release.Pay It Forward and the Sound of Freedom Phenomenon (34:06): Purdie details how Angel's "Pay It Forward" ticketing model generated more than $20 million in donated tickets, helping turn Sound of Freedom into a summer 2023 box office surprise.The Green Book Playbook (44:27): Orr points to Green Book as his proudest Universal moment, explaining how a deliberately limited release avoided split grosses and let the film build week over week toward a Best Picture win.What Keeps Them Up at Night, and the Next Five Years (49:26): Purdie names human apathy as Angel's biggest threat. Orr predicts modest theater consolidation and growth in premium formats, while Purdie sees Angel continuing to scale its guild and slate.Host: Kevin GoetzGuests: Jim Orr and Brandon PurdieProducer: Kari CampanoWriters: Kevin Goetz, Darlene Hayman, and Kari CampanoAudio Engineer: Gary Forbes (DG Entertainment)For more information about Jim Orr and Brandon Purdie:Jim Orr (Universal Pictures): https://www.universalpictures.com/leadership-team/?name=jim-orrJim Orr (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-orr-50ab7b8/For more information about Kevin Goetz:- Website: www.KevinGoetz360.com- Audienceology Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Audience-ology/Kevin-Goetz/9781982186678- How to Score in Hollywood: https://www.amazon.com/How-Score-Hollywood-Secrets-Business/dp/198218986X/- Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Substack: @KevinGoetz360- LinkedIn @Kevin Goetz- Screen Engine/ASI Website: www.ScreenEngineASI.com
This week, the boys revisit their most prolific year, 2022! Despite seeing many movies (and pod-ing: check our feed!), we had a blind spot: Ron Howard's incredible real-life suspense movie “Thirteen Lives”, starring Viggo Mortensen, Collin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton. It's available to stream for free (with a sub) on Prime Video, and it's 100% worth your time! Dave and Jeff also give a spoiler-free mini-review of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, and Dave got an advanced look at “One Night Only” and enjoyed it! Grab a beer and tune in. inktr.ee/theloveofcinema - Check out our YouTube page! Our phone number is 646-484-9298. It accepts texts or voice messages. 0:00 Intro; 5:06 “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” mini-review; 8:51 “One Night Only” mini-review; 13:48 2022 Year in Review; 32:41 “Thirteen Lives”: Films of 2022; 01:12:41 What You Been Watching?; 1:19:24 Next Week's Episode Teaser Additional Cast/Crew: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jon Berenthal, Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Monica Barbaro, Callum Turner. Hosts: Dave Green, Jeff Ostermueller, John Say Edited & Produced by Dave Green. Beer Sponsor: Carlos Barrozo Music Sponsor: Dasein Dasein on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Dasein on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dasein/1637517407 Recommendations: Spider Noir, Reptile, A Toxic Love Story, Parenthood, Strange New World, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Stewart Fails To Save The Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Nat Geo The Rescue, Criterion 24/7, Norwegian Pathfinder. Additional Tags: Thai Soccer Team, Scuba Diving, Monsoon Season, Peter Parker, Stanley Kubrick, Argentina, Spain, England, France, The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan, Moana, Toy Story 5, Focus Features, A24, Curry Barker, The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist, Cul-de-Sac, AI, The New York City Marathon, Apartments, Tenants, AMC, IMAX Issues, Tron, The Dallas Cowboys, Short-term memory loss, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Netflix, AMC Times Square, Academy Awards, BFI, BAFTA, BAFTAS, Adelaide, Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Melbourne, The British, England, The SEC, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, casket maker, Seven Samurai, Roshomon, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Stellan Skarsgard, the matt and mark movie show, The Southern District's Waratah Championship, Night of a Thousand Stars, The Pan Pacific Grand Prix (The Pan Pacifics), Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, David Ellison, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg.
Hollywood is not trying to stop a monopoly by blocking the Paramount Skydance merger with Warner Bros. It's trying to protect one.If a monopoly means near-complete control over what gets made, promoted, and rewarded, then much of Hollywood and the cultural institutions around it operate under the ideological consensus of the Left and the Democratic Party. Why do the Obamas have a long-running production deal at Netflix? Why do the Emmys consistently elevate late-night hosts whose politics align with that consensus? Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart? Do you think they'd ever nominate Greg Gutfeld, whose show often tops them all in ratings? If that isn't an ideological monopoly, I don't know what is. Why did major awards shows stay silent on Charlie Kirk? Why did so many artists cancel Kennedy Center appearances after its Trump-era changes, and why did multiple acts drop out of America 250 events?David Ellison and Paramount Skydance are attempting something brave and unprecedented: an outside challenge to that consensus. Their roughly $110 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery would give them control of a major studio, HBO/Max, CNN, and a large portfolio of cable and streaming assets. While there has been some resistance to the biggest mergers in recent history, we've never seen anything like #blockthemerger. Meet the new resistance, same as the old resistance. 12 state attorneys general, including California, have sued to block the deal. The Writers Guild of America has filed its own antitrust lawsuit. SAG-AFTRA has publicly opposed the merger, though it has not joined the litigation. Opposition also includes the Future Film Coalition (which leads the #BlockTheMerger campaign), Democracy Defenders Fund, Committee for the First Amendment, Free Press, the International Documentary Association, and the American Economic Liberties Project, among others. More than 5,600 industry figures have signed an open letter against the deal, including Mark Ruffalo, Jane Fonda, Javier Bardem, Elliot Page, Emma Thompson, Ben Stiller, and Cynthia Nixon.Paramount Skydance has, for now, delayed closing. Can they hold the line under this unprecedented pressure campaign? Hope springs eternal. But you won't read about that point of view in any of the trades. They're a monopoly, too. Most of them are owned by the same entity, Penske Eldridge. Just today, it was announced that the Hollywood Foreign Press, the former owners of the Golden Globes, are suing Jay Penske for $150 million. They are claiming Penske orchestrated their downfall so he could buy the Golden Globes. Jay Penske already owns Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Indiewire, Gold Derby predicting site, Rolling Stone, a virtual monopoly on the awards race from soup to nuts. Gold Derby shapes the nominees, the trades take ads from the studios and the Golden Globes hand out the awards. But wouldn't you know, when Rebecca Keegan wrote a hit piece on me, she did so in the Hollywood Reporter, owned by Penske Eldridge. I was a vocal and prominent critic of Penske's growing monopolistic power on the awards race and one of the few willing to speak out. With one hit piece, the Penske company took out both a competitor for ad money and a pesky nuisance for the brand. That is what you call a monopoly. A Climate of Fear and A Culture of SilenceI found out firsthand how monopolies work in Hollywood when I was canceled in 2024. The day a Hollywood Reporter story labeled me a “MAGA darling,” one studio pulled its ads from my site that day. The last thing they wanted was to be associated with an accused and condemned witch.It was shocking how many of them fell in line in robotic fashion, gripped with fear. The response was swift and uniform. Every writer on my site left to protect their reputations. Friends of fifteen years ended the friendship. My Oscars ticket was revoked. Jane Fonda's Women's Media Center fired me from their annual Oscars report. Screening and party invitations dried up. I was benched on Gold Derby.Worst of all, the lucrative studio ad buys for the Oscars and Emmys vanished. As it all collapsed, I remembered in 2012, an advertising strategist telling me I could be making far more money if I sold the site better. “You have no baggage to speak of,” she'd said.That was true then. I was one of the few independent Oscar sites left, and still am, known around town for being honest to a fault. I stayed independent even as the ad money made life more comfortable for me and my daughter than it had ever been.There was never any question why my career ended in Hollywood: I had been outed as a Trump voter. I was on the wrong side of Hollywood's progressive orthodoxy, and that meant I was finished.How it started…I started Oscarwatch.com as a single mom with a one-year-old baby living in a studio guest house in Van Nuys, California, in 1999. I was an early web pioneer with a 1200-baud modem and a really good idea. I was already catching the attention of publicists and rocking the boat, as all of us amateurs did back then. We were moving fast and breaking things. Traditional media was not ready. The studios weren't either. They were used to having a monopoly on Oscar FYC ads in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, their bread and butter. Until the blogs came along.By 2006, I was starting to make money because my little site had birthed a big bang of other Oscar sites, and by then even the New York Times had an Oscar blogger, the late great David Carr, who called himself the Carpetbagger.David Carr became a mentor of sorts and encouraged me to sell ads for myself, rather than piggyback off bigger sites. I was working three jobs by then: as a horoscope writer under a pseudonym (Laura Wilde), a janitor working my dad's routes because he was a good guy and knew I needed the money, and a freelance film critic.Right around then, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sued me for trademark infringement, and my site was renamed AwardsDaily.com. Now I was cleared to start making real money.David Carr was horrified that I was working as a janitor while the trades were raking in millions on Oscar ads and encouraged me to start sending out RFPs. But I didn't have to, because before long the studios were sending them to me. My site became so influential that I never really had to pitch to them. They all wanted real estate on my site. Who could ever have imagined that? Certainly not me, someone who got online in 1994 back when no one thought you could make money on the internet.One of the first studios that bought ads was Fox Searchlight, an awards subsidiary of Fox. I called it Big Fox and Little Fox, and both advertised on my site. When I got my first $15,000 just to run ads, I was stunned. That was more money than I had ever seen on a check. I was just kind of faking it, pretending I knew what I was doing, but I really didn't.Of course, it was also about promoting films the studio wanted to place in the Oscar race, and that's still what it's about. It's not exactly pay-to-play, but most of the bloggers making money in the Oscar game are grateful and help keep the advertisers' movies prominent. I did too.I barely noticed in 2019 when Disney bought Fox for $71 billion. The Writers Guild objected to the merger, just as they have to the Paramount Skydance merger with Warner Bros., but there was nowhere near the same amount of public outcry.Trump praised the Disney/Fox merger after having attempted to stop the 2018 merger of AT&T and Time Warner, leading to a trial, but the judge ruled against the Trump administration, and the deal went through. Again, no major public outcry.At some point after 2020, I'd noticed that Disney had stopped advertising on my site. I wrote it off as their shying away from my comments on “gender affirming care” for kids. I'll never know exactly why, but all I do know is that once the merger went through, Fox and Fox Searchlight also stopped advertising. The Paramount/Skydance merger with Warner Bros. is significantly higher and covers more territory than any of the major corporate mergers we've seen as Hollywood reshuffles the deck amid the shift to streaming. Warner Bros. was selling. The only question was whether Netflix or Paramount Skydance would buy it. Both deals would have had the blessing of the Trump administration.But because it's David Ellison and the team that bought CBS, and because Trump is an ally, the Democrats and the Left have turned #BlockTheMerger into another No Kings protest or battle for the “resistance.”After the story about me broke in the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix also stopped advertising. No other studio except Focus Features, an adjunct of Universal, had the courage to run ads on my site. I was now officially blacklisted. Emails to the various studio reps went unanswered.This past year, Paramount bought a modest ad package on my site for the Emmys to celebrate the success of Landman and The Madison. I felt lucky to get it, and it was a sign, at least to me, that Paramount, like Focus Features, was brave enough to take a chance on someone deemed too toxic by the industry.Landman, Taylor Sheridan's Billy Bob Thornton drama, had become one of Paramount+'s biggest hits: its first season averaged 15.8 million viewers in Nielsen's cross-platform ratings and ranked among the top 10 series of the 2024-25 season. Season 2 opened to a Paramount+ record 9.2 million views in its first few days and continued to dominate the streaming charts, at one point leading all multiplatform viewing with more than 14 million. The Madison, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, launched as Sheridan's biggest series debut yet, drawing 8 million views in its first 10 days.But unfortunately, #blockthemerger had bled into the awards ecosystem, which remains a closed loop. Sure enough, when the Emmy nominations arrived, the Paramount shows were completely blanked—even Billy Bob Thornton in Landman and Michelle Pfeiffer in The Madison. Kathy Bates was similarly overlooked for Matlock.If Gold Derby shapes the Emmy nominations, and they do, they have to similarly play ball by blacklisting all Paramount Plus's most popular shows, proving to American audiences that the industry does not care about what they want or what they watch. Sheridan has transformed much of the television landscape, thanks to Paramount Plus. If Paramount buys Warner Bros., they won't be creating a monopoly but breaking one up. The Death RattleI know I should walk away from this industry and give up the site that took me 26 years to build. But I just can't do that. I can't let them win. Now that I've walked in the shoes of the other half of the country, I can clearly see why Hollywood's empire is collapsing. If ratings and box office don't matter, neither do audiences. None of this is about artistic freedom or making better movies or television shows. This is the Left flexing its muscle in an attempt to keep all of Hollywood to itself, to push its ideology on the people, to convert them, to indoctrinate them, to “correct them,” everything but entertaining them. Most of all, though, it is about one man: Donald Trump and their failure to stop him, destroy him, kill him, or exile him and his supporters. This is one of the most exciting times to be living through in American history, but you'd never know it by the movies and TV shows Hollywood pumps out. Their monoculture, their one-sided point of view, has choked the life out of Hollywood. If they could make fun of themselves, if they could humanize their fellow Americans, they might be able to tell stories that resonate with everyone. Maybe, just maybe, they would breathe new life into a decaying organism.But they can't risk it. Like the Democrats who don't trust the people with elections, Hollywood doesn't trust them with the culture.Elon Musk spent $44 billion to take Twitter out of the hands of its previous gatekeepers. Ellison is now trying to pry open a crack in the thick shell of Hollywood's product and return more of it to market forces and all of those people Hollywood left behind. // This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sashastone.com/subscribe
Backrooms is the feature directing debut of Kane Parsons. It is written by Will Soodik and based on Parsons’ YouTube series of the same name, which was inspired by the The Backrooms creepypasta. Backrooms is A24’s highest-grossing movie to date. It is the fifth-highest-grossing independent movie ever made and the second-highest-grossing horror movie of 2026 so far. And: Obsession is the second feature film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. It was made for a reported $750,000, and it has grossed $443 million at the worldwide box office. It is Focus Features’ highest-grossing movie to date. It is the highest-grossing movie with a budget under $1 million ever made and the highest-grossing horror movie of 2026 so far. GUESTS: RS Benedict: A writer and bureaucrat whose fiction and non-fiction has been published in the New Haven Review, Fangoria, Current Affairs, and a bunch of other places Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian; she’s the founder and director of CONNetic Dance and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute Mercy Quaye: Founder and president of The Narrative Project Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week, the boys head back to 1937 to discuss the real OG “A Star Is Born”. Produced by David O. Selznick right before he went into production on “Gone With The Wind”, he hired two Oscar winners, Janet Gaynor and Frederic March, to tell this classic rags-to-riches Hollywood story that inspired three more! Before that conversation, John and Jeff share their spoiler-free thoughts on “The Odyssey”, Christopher Nolan's little indie film based on previously undiscovered source material. inktr.ee/theloveofcinema - Check out our YouTube page! Our phone number is 646-484-9298. It accepts texts or voice messages. 0:00 Intro; 5:52 The Odyssey mini-review; 20:17 1937 Year in Review; 28:22 “A Star is Born”: Films of 1937; 01:02:07 What You Been Watching?; 1:208:26 Next Week's Episode Teaser Additional Cast/Crew: William Wellman, Janet Gaynor, Frederic March, David O. Selznick, Friar Tuck, Andy Devine. Hosts: Dave Green, Jeff Ostermueller, John Say Edited & Produced by Dave Green. Beer Sponsor: Carlos Barrozo Music Sponsor: Dasein Dasein on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Dasein on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dasein/1637517407 Recommendations: Spider Noir, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, The Hunger Games: snakes, Colossal, Cape Fear, The World Cup, Frasier, Marc Merton, Are We Good?, Beef S2, House of the Dragon. Additional Tags: Stanley Kubrick, Argentina, Spain, England, France, The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan, Moana, Toy Story 5, Focus Features, A24, Curry Barker, The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist, Cul-de-Sac, AI, The New York City Marathon, Apartments, Tenants, AMC, IMAX Issues, Tron, The Dallas Cowboys, Short-term memory loss, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Netflix, AMC Times Square, Academy Awards, BFI, BAFTA, BAFTAS, Adelaide, Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Melbourne, The British, England, The SEC, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, casket maker, Seven Samurai, Roshomon, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Stellan Skarsgard, the matt and mark movie show, The Southern District's Waratah Championship, Night of a Thousand Stars, The Pan Pacific Grand Prix (The Pan Pacifics), Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, David Ellison, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg.
For once, women should NOT choose the Bear.Obsession is the runaway horror hit of the year making over $431,000,000 at the global box office meaning this has made over 575 times it's production budget. But so many horror fans have stated that they think this is overhyped and not scary enough to be deemed a modern classic but what is the truth? We discuss our thoughts on the movie including what we loved, what we disliked and the subtext and themes behind this twisted wish tale to settle the debate once and for all!Follow the Complete Guide to Horror Movies podcast on our social channels below.↪ TikTok↪ Twitter↪ Facebook↪ Instagram↪ Subscribe to our YouTube channel↪ Shop our Store!↪ Tip us $5↪ Linktree↪ LetterboxdChapters0:00 Introduction & Obsession Overview1:48 Why Obsession Is 2026's Biggest Horror Film4:03 First Impressions After Watching7:18 Is Obsession Overhyped?10:05 Watching in Cinemas vs Watching at Home13:18 How a $750K Horror Film Made $430 Million15:54 Kari Barker's Direction & Simple Storytelling18:42 Plot Summary Begins (Spoiler Warning)21:12 Bear's Wish Changes Everything24:03 Nikki's Terrifying Transformation26:53 Favourite Scenes Begin29:14 Indie Navarrette Steals the Movie32:47 The Creepiest Nikki Moments36:21 The Car Scene & Iconic Visuals39:15 Comedy Hidden Inside the Horror42:08 Michael Johnson's Performance45:02 Cinematography, Lighting & Sound Design48:36 Breaking Down the Ending52:18 Did Bear Get What He Wanted?55:11 Nikki: Villain, Victim or Both?58:43 The Film's Message About Obsession1:02:15 Consent, Control & Body Autonomy1:06:34 Why the Ending Is So Disturbing1:10:08 Fan Theories & Alternate Interpretations1:13:41 Horror Trivia & Behind-the-Scenes Facts1:17:08 Biggest Strengths of Obsession1:20:36 What Didn't Quite Work1:24:12 Final Ratings1:27:44 Should You Watch Obsession?1:30:18 Horror Fans vs Casual Viewers1:33:07 Final Thoughts & Closing RemarksObsession is a 2025 American supernatural psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. The film follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a music store employee who buys a supernatural toy that grants his wish for his friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to fall in love with him, resulting in horrific consequences. Obsession premiered on September 5, 2025, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where Focus Features acquired the distribution rights for $14–$15 million, the highest price commanded by a genre film in TIFF history, and Jason Blum came on board as an executive producer under Blumhouse Productions. became a sleeper hit, setting multiple box-office records and receiving positive reviews, with Navarrette‘s performance receiving widespread acclaim.It has grossed $430.1 million worldwide and ranks as the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2026.In 2025, Barker said the characters of Obsession are unlikely to appear in another film.In 2026, Barker said he was considering an anthology television series where each episode explores a new character making a wish, or a sequel, for which he has an idea. His next film, Anything but Ghosts, is set in the same shared universe, including a reference to the events of Obsession in the form of a news report.
This week, the boys get bleak and drink to the nuclear apocalypse- we're talking about “Fail Safe”! Sidney Lumet's 1964 Cold War “what-if” came out the same year as, but a few months after, “Dr. Strangelove…” (previous episode), but ohhhhh man does this movie feel prescient. I mean, no crazy people are in charge of nuclear weapons that can catastrophize global Armageddon, right?? Grab a beer and let's talk about this powerful warning. inktr.ee/theloveofcinema - Check out our YouTube page! Our phone number is 646-484-9298. It accepts texts or voice messages. 0:00 Intro; 11:05 1964 Year in Review; 25:54 “Fail Safe”: Films of 1964; 01:14:53 What You Been Watching?; 1:22:08 Next Week's Episode Teaser Additional Cast/Crew: Walter Matthau, Henry Fonda, J.R. Ewing himself, Larry Hagman, Walter Bernstein adapted the 1962 novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. Hosts: Dave Green, Jeff Ostermueller, John Say Edited & Produced by Dave Green. Beer Sponsor: Carlos Barrozo Music Sponsor: Dasein Dasein on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Dasein on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dasein/1637517407 Recommendations: Spider Noir, The Witness, Beef Season 2, Spider-Noir, Rashomon, The Sheep Detectives, Parenthood, lots of The World Cup, Stargate, Cape Fear, House of the Dragon, Additional Tags: Stanley Kubrick, Argentina, Spain, England, France, The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan, Moana, Toy Story 5, Focus Features, A24, Curry Barker, The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist, Cul-de-Sac, AI, The New York City Marathon, Apartments, Tenants, AMC, IMAX Issues, Tron, The Dallas Cowboys, Short-term memory loss, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Netflix, AMC Times Square, Academy Awards, BFI, BAFTA, BAFTAS, Adelaide, Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Melbourne, The British, England, The SEC, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, casket maker, Seven Samurai, Roshomon, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Stellan Skarsgard, the matt and mark movie show, The Southern District's Waratah Championship, Night of a Thousand Stars, The Pan Pacific Grand Prix (The Pan Pacifics), Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, David Ellison, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg.
The *Sense & Sensibility* trailer has arrived, and we had thoughts!
IS THIS THE MOST UNSETTLING HORROR MOVIE OF THE YEAR?! As audiences dive into Blumhouse's latest wave of psychological horror, Tara Erickson & Paige Kimsey react to Obsession (2026) — a haunting supernatural thriller from writer-director Curry Barker. Mixing intense relationship drama with eerie psychological tension, disturbing imagery, and shocking twists, this Obsession reaction explores a film that's quickly becoming one of the most talked-about horror experiences of the year. Obsession (2026) Reaction (Full Length Watch Along): / thereelrejects In this Obsession reaction, horror movie reaction, and review, Tara & Paige dive into the disturbing journey of Willow, played by One Wish Willow (Creator Camp, Social Currency), whose reality begins to unravel as obsession and supernatural forces take hold. As her world grows increasingly unstable, she's joined by Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette (Superman & Lois, 13 Reasons Why), and Bear, played by Michael Johnston (Teen Wolf, The Orville), as their relationships are pushed to the brink in ways that blur the line between emotional breakdown and something far more sinister. Packed with unforgettable horror moments—including the shocking bottle scene, unsettling body horror, eerie psychological shifts, and the widely discussed scalp twist—Obsession delivers a tense and unpredictable viewing experience. Written and directed by Curry Barker and released through Focus Features, the film stands out for its blend of grounded emotional conflict and escalating supernatural dread. Tara & Paige tackle one of the year's most psychologically intense horror films, breaking down every disturbing twist and unforgettable scare. Follow Tara Erickson: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TaraErickson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taraerickson/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thetaraerickson Follow Paige Kimsey https://www.instagram.com/paige.popcorn?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3DIntense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad: Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Inde Navarrette's work in Obsession is shaping up to be the biggest breakout performance of 2026. Curry Barker's film kicked off its run at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival where Focus Features was smart enough to act fast and scoop up the distribution rights. From there, buzz continued to build at Fantastic Fest 2025, the movie earned one rave review after the next at early screenings, and now the movie hits theaters nationwide with a significant amount of fanfare at its back.Obsession currently sits at a 94% on the Tomatometer, 95% on the Popcornmeter, has an A- CinemaScore, and is already being dubbed a modern horror classic. Yet another Obsession talking point that's gaining more and more traction? Navarrette delivers an awards-worthy performance in the film.Michael Johnston leads Obsession as Bear, a guy with a crush on a girl who doesn't share the same feelings. That girl is Navarrette's Nikki. In an effort to win her over, Bear buys Nikki a novelty gift to give when he confesses his true feelings for her. Trouble is, he doesn't have the courage to go through with it and, instead, uses the gift himself. He wishes that Nikki loves him more than anyone in the world and then snaps his One Wish Willow. Much to Bear's surprise, the Willow works and he gets the girl of his dreams. But, it comes at a cost.What exactly does the One Wish Willow do to Nikki? Navarrette herself broke it down on Collider Ladies Night! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
INDE NAVARRETTE & MICHAEL JOHNSTON STAR IN THE BEST HORROR MOVIE OF THE YEAR! With fans buzzing about Blumhouse's latest psychological thriller, Roxy Striar & Jackie Bonsignore react to Obsession (2026) — from Curry Bake (That's A Bad Idea Youtube Channel) - the chilling supernatural horror film from writer-director Curry Barker. Blending modern relationship drama with escalating psychological terror, shocking body horror, and supernatural twists, this Obsession reaction dives into one of the year's most talked-about horror releases. Obsession (2026) Reaction (Full Length Watch Along): / thereelrejects In this Obsession reaction, horror movie reaction, and review, Roxy & Jackie experience the unsettling story of Willow, played by One Wish Willow (Creator Camp, Social Currency), whose life begins spiraling into increasingly disturbing territory as obsession, paranoia, and supernatural forces blur the line between reality and nightmare. Alongside her is Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette (Superman & Lois, 13 Reasons Why), and Bear, played by Michael Johnston (Teen Wolf, The Orville), as relationships fracture and tensions rise in ways neither the characters nor the audience can fully anticipate. Featuring unforgettable horror sequences, disturbing psychological unraveling, shocking supernatural reveals, and some of the most talked-about moments in recent horror—including the infamous bottle sequence, gruesome body horror, and escalating nightmare imagery—Obsession delivers a tense and unsettling experience that lingers long after the credits roll. Written and directed by Curry Barker and released through Focus Features, the film has quickly become a favorite among horror fans looking for something darker, stranger, and more emotionally raw than a traditional jump-scare movie. Roxy & Jackie break down every unsettling twist, terrifying reveal, and psychological mind game from one of the year's most chilling horror films. Follow Roxy Striar YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@TheWhirlGirls Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roxystriar/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/roxystriar Follow Jackie Bonsignore: https://www.instagram.com/jackiebonsignore/ Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad: Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on the show, we're diving into the biggest headlines from Hollywood. First up, Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into the record books with the best pre-sales in five years—will Brand New Day be the biggest box office hit of the year ahead of Avengers: Doomsday? Then, filmmaker Curry Barker sets his sights on his next original project at Universal Pictures with a high eight figure deal. We also break down Focus Features' early Oscar campaign plans for Obsession, and the surprising news that Amazon MGM has dropped Luca Guadagnino's nearly finished Sam Altman film about an AI CEO. Plus, a sequel to How The Grinch Stole Christmas is in development, and Jim Carrey is reportedly in talks to return. Tune in for all the details and our takes!
One more trip to Epstein Island/Did director Curry Barker sell his soul for fame? Photo of Leroy (formerly Harriet) sleeping and Annie looking evil Join us for the 7th Anniversary Livestream Special! June 27st, 2026 10AM PST https://www.youtube.com/@DeadRabbitRadio Patreon (Get ad-free episodes, Patreon Discord Access, and more!) https://www.patreon.com/user?u=18482113 PayPal Donation Link https://tinyurl.com/mrxe36ph MERCH STORE!!! https://tinyurl.com/y8zam4o2 Amazon Wish List https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/28CIOGSFRUXAD?ref_=wl_share Dead Rabbit Radio Archive Episodes https://deadrabbitradio.blogspot.com/2025/07/ episode-archive.html https://archive.ph/UELip Dead Rabbit Radio Recommends Master List https://letterboxd.com/dead_rabbit/list/dead-rabbit-radio-recommends/ Links: EP 835 - Does The CIA Build Haunted Houses? https://deadrabbitradio.libsyn.com/ep-835-cia-ghosts EP 1590 - "She Killed Us": Was An EVP Caught On Police Bodycam? (Epstein episode) https://deadrabbitradio.libsyn.com/ep-1590-she-killed-us-was-an-evp-caught-on-police-bodycam Epstein Files Transparency Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epstein_Files_Transparency_Act The Status of the 9/11 Commission Recommendations https://bipartisanpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CommissionRecommendations.pdf 9/11 Commission Report https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_Commission_Report Piloting a Bipartisan Ship: Strategies and Tactics of the 9/11 Commission https://case.hks.harvard.edu/piloting-a-bipartisan-ship-strategies-and-tactics-of-the-9-11-commission/ THE CHAIR (Award Winning Horror Short Film Directed by Curry Barker) https://youtu.be/mhazCS14Tas?si=DNvq_0dIy8mFdCEV Curry Barker Got His Wish: Inside the 'Obsession' Director's Wild Month (Exclusive) https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/curry-barker-obsession-interview-1236620580/ Terrifying event this morning. (Musician Dream Deal With The Devil story) https://www.reddit.com/r/Thetruthishere/comments/1u3uhbv/terrifying_event_this_morning/ Archive https://archive.ph/ndQHE Curry Barker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_Barker 'Obsession': World's Love Affair With Curry Barker Pic Nears $300M; Scares Away 'Blair Witch Project' As Top Grossing Fest Acquisition Of All-Time – Box Office https://deadline.com/2026/06/box-office-obsession-record-blair-witch-project-get-out-1236955980/ Domestic Box Office For 2026 https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/2026/?ref_=bo_hm_yrdom Obsession has smashed more records to become Focus Features' biggest ever film https://bangpremier.com/story/49/3547001/obsession-has-smashed-more-records-to-become-focus-features-biggest-ever-film Exploding head syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome Morena Baccarin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morena_Baccarin DogMan https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17009348/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_7_nm_0_in_0_q_dogman ------------------------------------------------ Logo Art By Ash Black Opening Song: "Atlantis Attacks" Closing Song: "Bella Royale" Music By Simple Rabbitron 3000 created by Eerbud Thanks to Chris K, Founder Of The Golden Rabbit Brigade Dead Rabbit Archivist Some Weirdo On Twitter AKA Jack YouTube Champ: Stewart Meatball Reddit Champ: TheLast747 The Haunted Mic Arm provided by Chyme Chili Discord Mods: Mason Forever Fluffle: Cantillions, Samson, Gregory Gilbertson, Jenny the Cat http://www.DeadRabbit.com Email: DeadRabbitRadio@gmail.com Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DeadRabbitRadio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@deadrabbitradio Dead Rabbit Radio Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DeadRabbitRadio/ Paranormal News Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanormalNews/ Mailing Address Jason Carpenter PO Box 1363 Hood River, OR 97031 Paranormal, Conspiracy, and True Crime news as it happens! Jason Carpenter breaks the stories they'll be talking about tomorrow, assuming the world doesn't end today. All Contents Of This Podcast Copyright Jason Carpenter 2018 - 2026
If this is your first bonus subscriber-only episode: welcome! We've so much more for you in store, with an extra episode every single week (even when we're on a break from the main podcast).Claggy, sweaty, humid weather: it's the absolute worst for trying to get to sleep in, right? Well in this week's extra episode, we're discussing scents that, once sprayed, seem to instantly lower the temperature and create a cool, calming atmosphere.Do you wear fragrances to sleep (and save some especially for hot weather), or use diffusers, essential oils, or other fragrant ways of staying cool? We'd love to hear about them!Of course these fragrances don't only have to be reserved for humid, sleepless nights - they can be used anytime you need to have an instant refresh or mood-re-setting moment.Here's what we waft when it all gets a bit much…NEOM Super Shower Power Body Wash‘Smells like a fresh mint tea – invigorating and energising. All the flavours that make you feel awake, and alert are blended into this incredible sensorial shower cream: pinging mint, euphoric eucalyptus, cleansing rosemary and empowering coffee. Plus, there's creamy oat milk to add a gorgeous feeling of nourishment and care around you, charging you up for the best start to the day. - Alice du Parcq.'NEOM Squeeze the Day Essential Oil Blend‘Smells like freshly cut and perfectly ripe citrus fruits - juicy and uplifting. The ultimate get-up-and-go blast of sharp-sweet citrus zest, featuring the perfect balance of bitter and tart grapefruit with warm and juicy mandarin. For extra oomph, there's a subtle ping of cooling eucalyptus that radiates through your space – the greatest of all feel-good scents. - Alice du Parcq.'4711:Eau de Cologne‘One of the world's oldest and most famous authentic Eau de Cologne creations, having been produced in Cologne, Germany, since 1792. Known for its iconic blue-and-gold packaging, it is a timeless, unisex citrus-aromatic fragrance loved for its crisp, clean, and immediately refreshing profile.'Top Notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Orange, Peach, and BasilHeart Notes: Lavender and RosemaryBase Notes: Neroli (orange blossom) and Petitgrain+ Eau de Cologne Tissues+ Eau de Cologne Cool StickGuerlain Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca‘A note of fresh herbs sparkling with dew and springtime flowers, energised by a bunch of spearmint leaves and connected by a green tea accord. The fragrance is enlivened by a tonic accord with the aromas of cut grass glistening with dew.'DedCool Mineral Milk‘Your favorite MILK scent on a seaside getaway. The familiar, skin-like musk you love, refreshed with a salty breeze and mineral sparkle. A coastal daydream, bottled.TOP: GOLDEN NECTAR, PASSIONFRUITMIDDLE: COASTAL LAVENDER, OCEAN AIR, MARINE SALTBOTTOM: AMBER MILK, VIRGINIA CEDAR,AUSTRALIAN SANDALWOOD.'Roos & Roos Globulus‘At the top, eucalyptus globulus in two aspects: the essence of the leaves (aromatic) and the extract of the buds (fruity greens) for a lively freshness. In the heart, essence of mint (spicata mint) for a lively spicy burst of cardamom from Guatemala. The green facet is amplified by salviac (smell of sage leaves).In the background the cascalone blows a wind of aquatic freshness, like a morning dew. A crystal moss note (close to oak moss) creates a woody facet. A breeze of lively and minty freshness.'Diptyque Lemongrass & Geranium Body Spray‘A bright, aromatic spray infused with essential oils known to help repel mosquitoes. A limited-edition design inspired by summer water gardens.Lemongrass, geranium and neroli create a vibrant freshness on the skin. On the bottle, geraniums come to life in a design inspired by mosaic tesserae, imagined by Mathilde Jonquière.'HERETIC PARFUM - NOSFERATU‘In partnership with Nosferatu and Focus Features, Heretic is proud to collaborate on a fragrance inspired by the iconic vampire. Cold, pale and pellucid, this fragrance evokes the uneasy chill of encountering an apparition. The fragrance opens with a clap of thunder and downpour of rain, strikes of lightning fill the air with petrichor and electricity. Tangled in the stones of the dark, wet heart chord you will find lilac in vivid a bouquet of cadaverous hues punctuated by inky violet absolute. This floral accord of ether conjures memories of forgotten innocence and love everlasting that give way to the peculiar delights of vegan Ambergris. Soft and velvety the ambergris dances on the skin in a nostalgic waltz that is both delicate and hedonistic. Nosferatu is only in theaters this Christmas. © 2024 Focus Features LLC.'Norfolk Natural Living Magnesium Spray‘Our Magnesium Sleep body spray is…For sleep. For tension. For 3am spirals. Created by a mum who just wanted her child to rest.I didn't set out to launch a magnesium sleep spray — I made this because my daughter couldn't sleep.She wasn't dramatic, just quietly anxious. Her little mind wouldn't switch off. Bedtime became a knot of questions, overthinking, and restlessness. So I blended magnesium with lavender and sweet orange. A gentle, calming spray she could trust—and so could I. It helped her sleep. Properly.And once I saw it worked for her, I started using it too—after long days, before travel, when a migraine threatened, or when my own brain refused to slow down. Now it lives in every bag and on every bedside table. Not just for sleep. For calm.What it doesHelps you fall—and stay—asleep Spray on feet, wrists, or chest. Breathe deeply. Sleep comes easier.Calms anxiety For that wired-at-bedtime feeling, or mid-day overwhelm. A few sprays help settle things down.Relieves muscle tension & restless legs Ideal after workouts, desk days, or long flights.Soothes migraines & tension headaches Apply to neck and temples at the first sign of a flare-up.Supports sleep during perimenopause and menopause Great for night sweats, restless sleep, and general hormonal chaos—no hormones involved.What's in itMagnesium Sulfate – Known to relax muscles, reduce anxiety, and support melatonin production.Lavender Essential Oil – The classic calming scent, soothing and familiar.Sweet Orange Essential Oil – Uplifting and comforting; balances out bedtime anxiety.Nothing synthetic, nothing sticky – Vegan, cruelty-free, and handmade in Norfolk.How to use itFor sleep: 4–6 sprays on wrists, feet, or backs of knees about 20 minutes before bed.For muscle tension: 8–10 sprays, massage into sore areas.For anxiety: Spray on palms, rub, and inhale slowly.For migraines or tension headaches: Apply to back of neck and temples.For children aged 5+: 2–3 sprays after bath or before bed.On-the-go: Use before travel, meetings, or school runs to take the edge off.'
Welcome to Multiverse News, your source for information about all your favorite fictional universes.Everyone's forgotten Peter Parker…or have they? Sony gave us a second full trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the interwebs are buzzing about it. We get longer looks at Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner/Hulk and Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle/Punisher in the film, as well as allusions to the big bad of the movie - though Tom Holland recently said on the press tour that the antagonist has not been figured out yet by fans. Films continue to top each other's openings at the box office this year, with Toy Story 5 having the current title of best opening of the year to the tune of $160 million domestically over the Father's Day weekend. This was also the all-time best opening for the 30-year-old franchise. Disclosure Day took second place this weekend, though Toy Story practically beat its global take in the states alone, and Obsession and Backrooms continue their strong streaks coming in at third and fourth respectively.Universal and Blumhouse's Atomic Monster are jumping on the Curry Barker bandwagon having acquired the young director's third film in a reported eight figure deal. While Universal has been backing Barker, both Obsession and his upcoming film Anything But Ghosts are coming from Focus Features. Blumhouse has produced those same films, but this new move puts the horror powerhouse in a stronger position for film development. To tag onto the box office talk and remind you, Obsession was made for $750,000 and has now made more than $300 million worldwide - making it a tantalizing prospect for Blumhouse.Netflix has opted not to proceed with a second season of The Boroughs, a sci-fi TV series executive produced by Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers. The series debuted its first season last month. Universal and Imagine Entertainment are developing a sequel to 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with Jim Carrey in talks to reprise his role as the classic Dr. Seuss character the Grinch and Ron Howard returning to direct. Manny Jacinto, Emily Mortimer, and Thomasin McKenzie have joined the Season 3 cast of Prime Video's Fallout in recurring roles. In a new interview with Collider, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri revealed that Star Wars creator George Lucas was cast in a small voice part in the upcoming Minions and Monsters because Lucas is a longtime fan of the Despicable Me franchise. Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley is reteaming with Keanu Reeves for a live-action hybrid Lego movie that Cooley will direct and Reeves will star in according to Deadline. Netflix has won the rights to develop Alix E. Harrow's best selling novel The Everlasting and will enter production on a series adaptation immediately according to Variety. The Everlasting is a time loop fantasy novel and was one of the best selling books of last year.Universal Pictures has announced that the next Illumination animated film will be Not Alone, an alien movie starring Timothée Chalamet & Selena Gomez which will release in April of next year. Dylan Clark's reboot of The Blair Witch Project for Lionsgate has landed a release date of September 24, 2027.Legendary has announced that a live action Magic School Bus movie is officially in the works with Elizabeth Banks set to play Ms. Frizzle. Detective Pikachu and Goosebumps director Rob Letterman will helm the feature.
Movie of the Year: 2006BrickThe Brick podcast episode of Movie of the Year arrives just in time to appreciate one of 2006's most audacious genre experiments. Ryan, Mike, and Greg are joined by Pete Wright of TruStory FM to dig into Rian Johnson's neo-noir debut, a film that transplants the hard-boiled world of Dashiell Hammett into the hallways and parking lots of a Southern California high school. Few films from this era take a bigger swing, and fewer still land it this cleanly.About Brick (2006)Brick is a neo-noir mystery thriller written, edited, and directed by Rian Johnson in his feature directorial debut. The film opened in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006, distributed by Focus Features. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan Frye, a teenage loner who pushes his way into the criminal underworld of his high school to investigate the disappearance -- and eventual murder -- of his ex-girlfriend Emily, played by Emilie de Ravin. The supporting cast includes Lukas Haas as the drug kingpin known only as the Pin, Nora Zehetner as the duplicitous Laura, Noah Fleiss as the enforcer Tug, and Richard Roundtree as a vice principal navigating the chaos from the margins.Johnson wrote the first draft in 1997 immediately after graduating from USC School of Cinematic Arts. He spent the next seven years trying to get it made, with every financier asking him to set it in college instead of high school. He ultimately raised approximately $450,000 from friends and family, shot the film in 20 days, and spent three months rehearsing with the cast beforehand. The score -- inventive and deeply atmospheric -- was composed by Johnson's cousin Nathan Johnson using traditional instruments alongside improvised ones including filing cabinets, kitchen utensils, and tack pianos, all recorded on an Apple PowerBook.The film drew on hardboiled classics, particularly the novels of Dashiell Hammett, and won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned three stars from Roger Ebert, who called it a rich source of dialogue and behavior. You can read Ebert's full review at RogerEbert.com. Brick has since become a cult classic and a clear blueprint for Johnson's later work on Knives Out.Find the full cast and crew listing at Brick on IMDb.Guest Panelist: Pete WrightPete Wright is a podcaster, author, educator, and co-founder of TruStory FM, a podcast production network he has built over more than three decades in media. He has logged thousands of episodes across more than three dozen shows covering film, ADHD, creative process, brand storytelling, and the craft of audio production. His work spans journalism, corporate communications, and graduate-level teaching, where he spent fifteen years working with students on storytelling and media production.Among his best-known projects is The Next Reel Film Podcast, a deep-dive film discussion series that serves as his primary film-critical home. He also co-hosts Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast alongside Nikki Kinzer, an award-winning show with over a million annual downloads and 29 seasons of episodes since its 2010 launch. In 2024, Pete and Nikki co-authored Unapologetically ADHD: A Step-by-Step Framework for Everyday Planning on Your Terms, a practical guide grown directly from the podcast's community and themes. His debut science fiction novella, Lattice, was published in 2026. Pete's most recent podcast venture is Headstone, a personal series about legacy, memory, and the stories we leave behind. He is based in Portland, Oregon. This Brick podcast episode marks his first appearance on Movie of the Year.Brick Podcast Discussion: Noir in High SchoolThe central creative gamble of Brick is not simply that it applies film noir conventions to a high school setting. More precisely, it applies them without irony. Johnson made a deliberate choice to play every scene completely straight, and the cast follows his lead without a single wink at the camera. Consequently, the absurdity of the premise becomes the engine of the film's tension rather than its release valve.This Brick podcast opens with a foundational question: does the noir-in-high-school conceit actually work? The genre's grammar depends heavily on power asymmetry, corruption, and the lone investigator operating outside institutional structures. High school provides all three. Brendan's relationship with the vice principal mirrors the classic detective's uneasy truce with law enforcement. The Pin's basement headquarters functions as the smoky back room. The femme fatale and the enforcer play their archetypal roles without adjustment.Johnson drew specifically on the novels of Dashiell Hammett -- particularly the Continental Op stories -- and encouraged his cast to read Hammett rather than watch noir films. He wanted the stylistic choices to come from the source material, not from imitation of existing screen adaptations. That decision gives Brick a distinctive texture. Moreover, the dialogue mixes actual period noir slang with invented high school vernacular in a way that creates its own self-consistent world. As Roger Ebert noted, the story never fully clarifies itself while it unfolds, but it delivers a rich supply of behavior and incident along the way.Genre Bending: What the Brick 2006 Film Is Actually DoingBrick belongs to a specific 2006 moment when genre recombination was operating at a high creative pitch. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang had landed the previous year playing similar games with noir self-awareness. Sin City had arrived with a maximalist visual approach to the same source material. Brick chose a third path: minimal budget, straight-faced commitment, and an insistence that the formal constraints of the genre could do meaningful emotional work if you simply trusted them.The genre-bending discussion on this Brick podcast examines how Johnson uses the noir framework not as homage but as architecture. The structure of a hardboiled mystery -- the inciting mystery, the series of contacts, the betrayal, the revelation -- maps onto adolescent social hierarchies with surprising precision. Furthermore, the paranoia endemic to the genre translates naturally into the heightened social surveillance of high school life, where everyone watches everyone and information is currency.The Spaghetti Western and Anime InfluencesJohnson has cited Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop as visual influences alongside the noir literary tradition. That combination matters, because it explains why Brick never feels purely retro. The film's rhythm and its relationship to violence carry a different energy than classic noir. Notably, Johnson used shoes as a design element for each character, treating footwear as an immediate visual shorthand for who each person is. It's a small detail that reflects how thoroughly he thought through every layer of the film's visual language.Additionally, the score by Nathan Johnson uses invented instruments -- wine-o-phones, tack pianos, kitchen utensils -- to create an atmosphere that nods to classic noir without reproducing it. The result is a film that works as genre exercise, coming-of-age story, and tone poem simultaneously.The Treatment of Women in BrickNoir has always had a complicated relationship with its female characters, and Brick inherits that complication without fully interrogating it. Emily exists primarily as a body -- a mystery to be solved, a loss to be avenged. She drives the entire plot but occupies very little of the film's actual screen time. Laura is more present, but her function remains rooted in the femme fatale archetype: beautiful, manipulative, ultimately revealed as the architect of the tragedy.The Brick podcast addresses this directly. Does Johnson's decision to play the genre completely straight mean he also reproduces its blind spots uncritically? The case for the defense is that Brick is a formal exercise, and the female characters serve genre functions that the film deliberately signals as such. The case against is that signaling an archetype and interrogating it are different things, and Brick largely declines to do the latter.Moreover, the pregnancy subplot -- Emily is pregnant with Tug's child, a revelation that triggers her murder -- adds a layer of consequence to the female characters' bodies that the film handles with notable brevity. It functions as a plot mechanism more than a human reality. The discussion examines how this choice shapes the film's emotional center, which ultimately rests entirely with Brendan's grief and not with Emily's life or Laura's survival.Nevertheless, Nora Zehetner's performance as Laura earns genuine complexity within the constraints the script gives her. The hosts explore whether that performance transcends the archetype or simply executes it with exceptional skill.Rushmore: 2006 It BoysThe Taste Buds carve out space in this episode for a Rushmore segment dedicated to the It Boys of 2006 -- the young male actors whose stars were ascending in that specific cultural moment. Brick arrives at a fascinating point in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's career trajectory, before Inception and The Dark Knight Rises made him a mainstream anchor, when he was still operating in the cult-film
Never listen to ads again! Subscribe now for ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content. Our memories of D-Day usually center on the courage and grit of the infantrymen who stormed the Normandy beaches under German fire. We don't talk much about the weatherman. But without Group Captain James Stagg's forecast, there would have been few heroes to remember from June 6, 1944. In this episode, historian William Hitchcock discusses the riveting new film "Pressure," about the excruciating hours before General Eisenhower greenlit Operation Overlord. Audio excerpts of "Pressure" are from Focus Features. Recommended reading: The Bitter Road to Freedom: A New History of the Liberation of Europe by William Hitchcock
This week, the boys grab some beers and head to post-WWII America to watch nobody give AF about our war heroes in William Wyler's “The Best Years of Our Lives”. The highest-grossing movie since “Gone With The Wind”, this moving account follows several soldiers re-acclimating to civilian life in a world that has moved on without them. Thankless bastards. This movie rules. It's long, but it's awesome. John also talks about “Backrooms”. Grab a beer and join us! linktr.ee/theloveofcinema - Check out our YouTube page! Our phone number is 646-484-9298. It accepts texts or voice messages. 0:00 Intro; 7:15 “Backrooms” mini-review; 16:39 1946 Year in Review; 36:06 “The Best Years of Our Lives”: Films of 1946; 01:24:42 What You Been Watching?; 1:40:49 Next Week's Episode Teaser Additional Cast/Crew: Robert E Sherwood, MacKinlay Kantor, Hugo Friedhofer, Dana Andrews, Gregg Toland, Sharaff, Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O'Donnell, Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Rossell, Gladys George, Roman Bohnen, Kan Parsons, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Soodik, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass. Hosts: Dave Green, Jeff Ostermueller, John Say Edited & Produced by Dave Green. Beer Sponsor: Carlos Barrozo Music Sponsor: Dasein Dasein on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ Dasein on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dasein/1637517407 Recommendations: Widow's Bay, The Lord of The Flies, The Boroughss, The Cloverfield Paradox, Spider Noir, Everybody Wants Some, Bernie, Last Flags Flying, The Worst Person In The World, Oslo October 31st, Out of the Past, Is This Thing On, Song Sung Blue, John Adams Mini Series, NY Knicks, Casablanca, Additional Tags: Bryan Cranston, Kate Hudson, Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, Jack /black, Joachim Trier, Richard Linklater, The Duffer Brothers, Focus Features, A24, Curry Barker, Robert Duvall, Sports Documentary, Bowling, Bette Davis, SZA, Keke Palmer, Amazon Studios, Warner Discovery, Paramount Skydance, Conan O'Brien, Weapons, Sinners, One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, Annapurna Films, Old Man Marley, Home Alone, Shawshenk Redemption, Gordon Ramsay, Thelma Schoonmaker, Stephen King's It, The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist, Cul-de-Sac, AI, The New York City Marathon, Apartments, Tenants, Rent Prices, Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, Amazon, Robotics, AMC, IMAX Issues, Tron, The Dallas Cowboys, Short-term memory loss, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Netflix, AMC Times Square, Tom Cruise, George Clooney, MGM, Amazon Prime, Marvel, Sony, Conclave, Here, Venom: The Last Dance, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, Oscars 2026, Academy Awards, BFI, BAFTA, BAFTAS, British Cinema. England, Vienna, Leopoldstadt, The Golden Globes, Past Lives, Apple Podcasts, West Side Story, Adelaide, Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Melbourne, The British, England, The SEC, Ronald Reagan, Stock Buybacks, Marvel, MCU, DCEU, Film, Movies, Southeast Asia, plague, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, casket maker, Seven Samurai, Roshomon, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, Stellan Skarsgard, the matt and mark movie show.The Southern District's Waratah Championship, Night of a Thousand Stars, The Pan Pacific Grand Prix (The Pan Pacifics), Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, Larry Ellison, David Ellison, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg.
In this week's episode of The Boxoffice Podcast, Daniel Loria, Rebecca Pahle, and Romeo Duchene cover the stellar opening weekend for A24's BACKROOMS and the surging demand for Focus Features' OBSESSION. In our forecasting segment, Romeo Duchene offers the latest tracking for Paramount's SCARY MOVIE (2026) and Amazon MGM's MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. In our feature segment, Rebecca Pahle is joined by Hormel's Tim Bortner and Beth Fehrenbacher (HormelFoodservice.com) for a look at the latest expanded menu options available at the concession stand.
Prepare for a philosophical bloodbath and a few hot takes, because The Filmlosophers are bringing the heat this week! Hosts Eddie and Spencer are joined by the ever-glorious Intern Manager/Managing Intern Amy to tackle a massively jam-packed episode. Before the studio descends into existential chaos, Eddie kicks things off on a lighter note by debuting a brand-new, highly anticipated segment: Reddit Movie Questions. Knowing that the internet is an absolute goldmine of cinematic debates, Eddie pulls a popular prompt from the forums to test the table, asking Spencer and Amy to name a movie that boasts an absolutely flawless first thirty minutes, only to completely fall apart at the finish line. The crew delivers some incredibly spicy and surprising answers that will definitely have listeners yelling at their devices. Once the Reddit dust settles, the Titanic Trio shifts their focus to the indie horror sensation that is currently taking the theatrical world by storm. The team dives into Focus Features' latest hit, Obsession, the highly anticipated feature film from YouTube content creator Curry Barker. The crew breaks down the terrifying premise of a hopeless romantic using the mysterious One Wish Willow to force his crush to love him, praising the harrowing performances and Barker's impressive transition from internet shorts to the silver screen. However, a standard film critique quickly escalates into a feisty, deeply heated debate about the core of the human experience. Taking the film's dark and possessive themes to heart, the hosts find themselves completely clashing over the true nature of humanity. The conversation spirals into a massive philosophical debate over morality itself, begging the ultimate question: does a man become evil at the exact moment he decides to make a poor, selfish decision, or is he fundamentally always evil because the inevitability of making that dark decision was there all along? Ideologies collide, the fundamental outlook on the goodness in people is put to the ultimate test, and the studio captures every ounce of the intellectual carnage. Grab your One Wish Willow and prepare to question your own morality, because it is time to get obsessed!
Filmmakers! Welcome back to a very special Business of Film edition of The Filmmakers Podcast. Today, we are cutting through the absolute nonsense and delivering a survival guide for how to fund, produce, and sell an independent film in the current market. Host Giles Alderson is joined by an expert powerhouse panel: film industry data analyst Stephen Follows, director-producer and AI tech expert Hilary Shakespeare, independent director-producer Dom Lenoir, and VP of Distribution at Quantify Sales, Dimo Alexandrov. Together, they break down the exact numbers of what sold, why horror and elevated genre remain king, the catastrophic mistakes indie producers are making on the Croisette, and the real impact of AI on the future of cinema. Whether you are prepping a project for production or trying to close a distribution deal, this episode is a mandatory masterclass on how to navigate the international market right now. Come Fully Prepared: Before approaching any sales agent or distributor, you must know your exact budget top-sheet, your realistic cast options, your shoot locations, and your tax credit strategy. Do not pitch an abstract idea; pitch a business plan. The Sweet Spot Budget: The current market "sweet spot" for independent genre films is £1.2M–£1.5M. Going higher requires highly recognizable names; going lower works best in horror where a strong, high-concept hook can carry the film. Horror and Rom-Coms are Leading: Horror and elevated genre films remain the most bulletproof, reliable bets globally. However, romantic comedies are making a significant comeback—particularly book adaptations and projects with established cast members. The Market Moves Early: The traditional Cannes calendar has shifted. A massive portion of business and deal-making was finalized the weekend before the official market doors opened. Start your outreach and schedule your virtual meetings much earlier next year. Personalize or Perish: Sales agents are swamped with generic copy-and-paste pitch emails that don't even mention their company slate. Take the time to research exactly who you are contacting and explain why your project specifically fits their portfolio. Badges Matter Less Than Presence: The most lucrative business deals and connections didn't happen inside the secure zones; they happened in bars, beach parties, and informal networking spots. Even without an official market badge, it is still worth being on the ground. AI is a Tool, Not a Writer: The panel consensus is clear—leverage AI for workflow efficiencies like scheduling, budgeting, localized dubbing, and storyboarding. However, original human voice and lived experiences are the only things that truly make a film connect with an audience. Understand Gen Z: Gen Z is now the largest cinema-going demographic, but their tastes, media consumption, and viewing habits differ drastically from previous generations. You must understand how to market directly to them. Work the Other 360 Days: Cannes is a momentary flashpoint, not a long-term strategy. The filmmakers finding genuine traction are building relationships, sending screeners, and doing Zoom calls all year round. The Follow-Up Strategy: Don't let your market contacts go cold. Connect on LinkedIn or Instagram (read the room on which platform fits best), screenshot their contact info so you don't lose it, and follow up within a few days with a personalized, contextual message.
THE TIM JONES AND CHRIS ARPS SHOW 0:00 SEG 1: SPEAKER'S STUMP SPEECH, brought to you by https://www.hansenstree.com/ “Be Bold. Do Big Things.” and Missouri's August ballot 17:23 SEGMENT 2: SUSIE MOORE, Deputy Managing Editor at RedState.com, co-host of Mike Ferguson in the Morning, and host of RedState Radio, Sundays at 4pm || TOPIC: Top Red State headlines || Supreme Court updates on deadlines, donors, and district maps || Trump might have to remove his name from the Kennedy Centerx.com/SmoosieQredstate.com/author/smoosieq 35:33 SEGMENT 3: "Backrooms" cost $10 million and has made $118 million. The director, Kane Parsons, is 20. It is the biggest movie ever for the studio A24, beating "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once". "Obsession" cost $1 million and has made $150 million. The director, Curry Barker, is 26. It is the biggest movie ever for Focus Features, beating "Downton Abby". "Obsession's" box office has gone up every week since its release 3 weeks ago, which hasn’t happened since E.T. Power Ballad - June 4He-Man - June 4Scary Movie 6 - June 4Disclosure Day - June 11Toy Story 5 - June 18Super Girl - June 25Jackass 5 - June 25The Odyssey - July 16 https://newstalkstl.com/ FOLLOW TIM - https://twitter.com/SpeakerTimJones FOLLOW CHRIS - https://twitter.com/chris_arps 24/7 LIVESTREAM - http://bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMS RUMBLE - https://rumble.com/NewsTalkSTL See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We break down the full cast list for The Batman: Part II, analyzing how the new actors fit into the story, what their presence signals for the tone and direction of the sequel, and what fans can expect next. Also on deck, we give a front-row look at the new Planet of the Apes project in development under director Matt Shakman. We discuss what era or angle the film might explore, how it could fit into the franchise, and what unique vision Shakman could bring. Next up, David Koepp is crafting a Westworld feature for the big screen. We explore potential narratives, how the movie could reboot the 1973 original or translate the TV world to cinema, and what this means for the franchise's future. Ready to laugh? Netflix is developing Grown Ups 3. We chat about what a third installment could look like, how streaming might influence its humor and ensemble dynamics, and what this means for Netflix's comedy slate. In other Netflix news, Brad Pitt's The Adventures of Cliff Booth is getting a two-week IMAX release. We dive into why an immersive, premium-format run matters, what it could mean for the film's box office, and the broader theatrical strategy.What's Matt Damon's next move? Rumors swirl as Matt Damon enters talks for a mysterious new movie from The Daniels at Universal. We speculate on possible genres and plots, the potential collaboration dynamics, and what this could mean for both talents' schedules. Lastly, Focus Features' horror film Obsession is making waves at the box office. We unpack the buzz, audience reception, release strategy, and what this blockbuster tells us about today's horror landscape.Joining in once again is Dustin Rybka, co-host on the soon to be released Back to the Blockbuster spin-off, The Cinema Vault! Strap in! We have you covered on all the latest Hollywood news.
pWotD Episode 3308: Obsession (2025 film) Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.With 203,802 views on Saturday, 23 May 2026 our article of the day is Obsession (2025 film).Obsession is a 2025 American supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. The film follows Bear (played by Michael Johnston), a music store employee who buys a supernatural toy that grants him his wish for his childhood friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to fall in love with him, resulting in horrifying consequences. Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter also appear in supporting roles. Obsession premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025, as part of its Midnight Madness section. It had a theatrical release in the United States on May 15, 2026, by Focus Features. The film received positive reviews and has grossed $75 million worldwide.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 12:27 UTC on Tuesday, 26 May 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Obsession (2025 film) on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm generative Jasmine.
Obsession is a 2025 American supernatural horror film[6] written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. The film follows Bear (played by Michael Johnston), a music store employee who buys a supernatural toy that grants him his wish for his childhood friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to fall in love with him, resulting in horrifying consequences. Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter also appear in supporting roles.Obsession premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025, as part of its Midnight Madness block. It had a theatrical release in the United States on May 15, 2026, by Focus Features. The film received positive reviews and has grossed $44.1 million worldwide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, things get a little intense when Karen Peterson (@KarenMPeterson) and Derek Miranda (@DerekMiranda85) sit down to talk OBSESSION. As always, featured reviews are done in two parts, a NON-SPOILER review with letter grade and brief discussion, followed by a more in depth SPOILER review. PLOT SUMMARY: After breaking the mysterious "One Wish Willow" to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price. Directed and written by: Curry Barker Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter *Clip and image from OBSESSION courtesy of Focus Features. @TheWatchAndTalk (Twitter/Instagram) Letterboxd.com/TheWatchandTalk Facebook.com/TheWatchAndTalk www.TheWatchAndTalk.com TheWatchAndTalk@gmail.com Support the show! www.Patreon.com/TheWatchAndTalk
"Obsession" is a 2025 American supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. The film follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a music store employee who buys a supernatural toy and wishes for his childhood friend, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), to fall in love with him. The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival as part of its Midnight Madness section, where it received positive reviews from critics. Navarrette, Johnston, and Barker were all kind enough to spend some time talking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on May 15th from Focus Features. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Be careful what you wish for, sure. But maybe be even more careful what you confuse for love, because Curry Barker's “Obsession” takes one of horror's oldest tricks and turns it into something queasy, funny, tragic, and deeply uncomfortable. It is the kind of movie that starts with a premise simple enough to fit on a cursed greeting card, then keeps tightening the rope until everyone in the room starts laughing from sheer discomfort. Written, directed, and edited by Barker, “Obsession” follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a music store employee, as his crush on his childhood friend and co-worker, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), leads him to buy a strange object called the One Wish Willow. He wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world. The wish works, which is exactly the problem. The film also stars Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter, and opens in theaters on May 15 from Focus Features.Barker joined The Discourse to discuss the new horror film, which arrives after his micro-budget YouTube breakout “Milk & Serial” and his acclaimed short “The Chair.” The conversation covered the film's uncomfortable festival reactions, the dark emotional machinery behind unearned love, Navarrette's knockout performance, the possibility of more One Wish Willow stories, and his upcoming work on “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Anything But Ghosts.”
In this episode of the Film Ireland podcast, Gemma Creagh catches up with writer/director David Gleeson ahead of the release of his semi-autobiographical feature Once Upon a Time in a Cinema. Growing up in a family-run cinema, he was immersed in the magic of the big screen...an influence that continues to shape his work today. He talks about his unusual start in the industry (including working in oil exploration in the Arctic Circle) and how he made the transition to selling scripts in the US.Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.You can listen on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or watch the original video recording here: https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-director-writer-david-gleeson-once-upon-a-time-in-a-cinemaA dramatic night at the movies meets a powerful love letter to the cinema experience in Once Upon a Time in a Cinema, the new feature from acclaimed filmmaker David Gleeson (Tolkien, Don't Go, The Front Line, Cowboys & Angels). Set over the course of one eventful evening in a cinema in 1980s Ireland, a cinema owner wrestles with the legacy of the past and the challenges of the future in a drama that is funny, wise and rings of authenticity. Featuring a blend of some of Ireland's most-respected actors and exciting new talent, Once Upon a Time in a Cinema, is set over one night at the movies - where the plot twists offscreen are as surprising as any of those onscreen. Renowned Irish actor Colin Morgan (Belfast, Merlin) plays Earl Clancy, the manager of a small-town cinema who is firefighting the Friday night from hell while mulling over the sale of his cinema to a shady politician. Like James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life, his journey leads him to realise his value to the community. Once Upon a Time in a Cinema is in cinemas 1st May 2026.David GleesonBorn to a family of Irish cinema-owners who opened their first theater in 1942, David grew up steeped in all things celluloid. Following a colourful and varied path, including a 5-year stint in oil exploration deep inside the Arctic Circle, Gleeson made his feature film debut as a writer/director with 2003's Cowboys & Angels. A youth comedy/drama set in his native Limerick, Cowboys & Angels was released in cinemas by Buena Vista International (Disney). The film won eight international film awards including Best Screenplay at Newport Beach (U.S.) and two Gold Medal Awards at Giffoni (Italy). The New York Times commented, [the film] 'offers a fresh mix of open-minded intelligence and a heartfelt point of view,' while The Chicago Tribune commented, 'Stack "Cowboys" against most of the fare American studios offer young adults and it's meatier by far'. Gleeson's next film which he also wrote and directed, the crime drama The Front Line, was released in cinemas in 2006 also through Buena Vista Intl. In 2008, Gleeson sold his time travel sci-fi spec screenplay The End of History to Sony Pictures. He followed this up over the next decade with several more spec sales and commissions to studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Fox Searchlight, Focus Features, 20th Century Fox, Mattel Studios and Paramount Pictures. In July 2017, Gleeson wrote and directed Don't Go starring Stephen Dorff and Melissa George. In May 2019, Fox Searchlight Pictures released Tolkien, a Chernin Entertainment production based on Gleeson's original screenplay about the legendary author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien. Now, the semi-autobiographical Once Upon a Time in a Cinema is about to hit cinemas. Gleeson continues to work in wildly different genres and is currently in preproduction on a musical comedy called Violence, Foul Language and Scenes of a Sexual Nature.Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.So make sure to subscribe and listen back! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hablamos de los detalles más importantes presentados por Universal y Focus Features dentro de la CinemaCon
"Lorne" is an American documentary film directed and produced by Morgan Neville about the creator of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels. The film features exclusive, archival, and interview footage of notorious Saturday Night Live personalities, including Tina Fey, Chris Rock, Conan O'Brien, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, John Mulaney, as well as Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Kristen Wiig, Mike Myers, and Paul Simon. Being the private individual he is, this is the closest anyone has come to understanding the real Lorne Michaels, or at least, as close as he will still allow. Neville was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on April 17th by Focus Features. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
for the full episode join the Patreon [patreon.com/fashiongrunge] This is one of those films that hits you like a ton of 'bricks' (ha). When I first saw the trailer on a "Focus Features" DVD I knew this was one that I had to see. In Rian Johnson's directorial debut, this modern film noir weaves quite a knot that slowly unties throughout the course of the story. Joseph Gordon-Levitt carries every scene which reminded me of his other indie films in the early 00s that I loved so much. I get into why this story and visual style reminds me of Donnie Darko, how Focus Features was equivalent to A24 back in the day, the minimal normie yet important fashion, and try to work out the illogical parts of what the hell was actually going on. "Throw one at me if you want, hash head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you." --- Get BONUS episodes on 90s TV and culture (Freaks & Geeks, My So Called Life, Buffy, 90s culture documentaries, and more...) and to support the show join the Patreon! Host: Lauren @lauren_melanie Follow Fashion Grunge PodcastFind more Fashion Grunge on LinktreeJoin me on Substack: The Lo Down: a Fashion Grunge blog/newsletter☕️ Support Fashion Grunge on Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/fashiongrunge
Charlie Tyrell breaks down how The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, this years SXSW Audience Award winner now in theaters from Focus Features, turns an overwhelming, abstract subject into something personal by grounding it in fatherhood. Instead of approaching AI through pure information or fear, the film frames it through the lens of bringing a child into the world, making the stakes immediate, emotional, and human.Co-directed by Daniel Roher, Academy Award winning director of Navalny, and produced by Daniel Kwan, Academy Award winning director of Everything Everywhere All At Once, the filmmaking process was massive and chaotic, built from dozens of interviews, extensive transcripts, and layered animation. The challenge was finding clarity inside that volume while keeping the film engaging and cinematic, reflecting a lineage of documentaries that blend personal narrative with larger ideas. Charlie's past inspirations include Stories We Tell by Sarah Polley and recent films Weapons and 28 Years Later.At its core, AI is already here, already shaping everything, and the real question is who chooses to engage with it. Don't assume someone else will shape the future for you.What Movies Are You Watching?This episode is brought to you by BeastGrip. When you're filming on your phone and need something solid, modular, and built for real productions - including 28 Years Later and Left Handed Girl - BeastGrip's rigs, lenses, and accessories are designed to hold up without slowing you down. If you're ready to level up your mobile workflow, visit BeastGrip.com and use coupon code PASTPRESENTFEATURE for 10 % off. Revival Hub is your guide to specialty screenings in Los Angeles - classics on 35mm, director Q&As, rare restorations, and indie gems you won't find on streaming. We connect moviegoers with over 200 venues across LA, from the major revival houses to the 20-seat microcinemas and more.Visit revivalhub.com to see what's playing this week. Introducing the Past Present Feature Film Festival, a new showcase celebrating cinematic storytelling across time. From bold proof of concept shorts to stand out new films lighting up the circuit, to overlooked features that deserve another look. Sponsored by the Past Present Feature podcast and Leica Camera. Submit now at filmfreeway.com/PastPresentFeatureSupport the showListen to all episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, as well as at www.pastpresentfeature.com. Like, subscribe, and follow us on our socials @pastpresentfeatureThe Past Present Feature Film Festival - Nov. 20-22, 2026 in Hollywood, CA - Submit at filmfreeway.com/PastPresentFeature
"The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist" is a 2026 American documentary film directed by Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell. It is produced by the Academy Award-winning teams behind "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (Daniel Kwan and Jonathan Wang) and "Navalny" (Shane Boris and Diane Becker). The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews for the questions it asked (and answered) about the threat or uses for good in the world about AI, Roher's personal journey of becoming a father while developing the documentary, its editing, and handcrafted animation and artwork made by humans. Roher was kind enough to be our first fully produced in-studio interview and spent a good forty minutes talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is opening in theaters on March 27th from Focus Features. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This episode dives into the glitz and grit of the 2026 Academy Awards: winners celebrated, surprises unveiled, and what the results mean for the future of cinema. We then break down the week's trailer drops—Dune: Part Three, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day, Focus Features' Obsession, and Neon's Hokum—with quick takes on tone, visuals, and potential impact. To close, we offer box office predictions for Project Hail Mary and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. Tune in and share your predictions, too!
[REBROADCAST FROM December 5, 2025] Director and writer Chloé Zhao discusses her film "Hamnet," an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Maggie O'Farrell. The film tells the story of William Shakespeare, his wife Agnes, and the tragic loss of their son Hamnet. The film is nominated in eight categories at this year's Academy Awards. Image: Director Chloé Zhao with actors Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley with on the set of their film HAMNET, a Focus Features release. Credit: Agata Grzybowska / © 2025 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
This week we're excited to present a conversation with Academy Award-nominated actress Lesley Manville as she discusses the new film Midwinter Break with FLC programmer Madeline Whittle. Directed by Polly Findlay and based on the 2017 novel Bernard MacLaverty, Midwinter Break is a stirring meditation on faith, commitment, and the enduring power of love, as a longtime couple takes a life-changing trip to Amsterdam. The film co-stars Academy Award nominee Ciaran Hinds. Midwinter Break is now playing in select theaters,, courtesy of Focus Features.
Focus Features was kind enough to offer me the chance to host a screening of the new film “Midwinter Break,” which many of you in my community attended! Based on the novel Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty, which was edited by podcast guest and author Jill Bialosky, the film “Midwinter Break” paints an intimate portrait of a marriage in its later years. Director Polly Findlay and I discussed the adaptation, how to depict intimate relationships, and the power of stories in all mediums. Watch the movie trailer here. Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens!** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby's Important People! As a Z.I.P., you'll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby's Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
"Hamnet" is a biographical period film directed by Chloé Zhao, who co-wrote the screenplay with Maggie O'Farrell, based on O'Farrell's 2020 novel. The film dramatizes the family life of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, as they cope with the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet. It stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William, alongside Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, and Noah Jupe in supporting roles. The film had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival and received glowing reviews, with Buckley's performance receiving particular praise. The film has received numerous accolades, including winning the Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Buckley at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, and eight nominations at the 98th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Zhao, and Best Actress for Buckley. It was listed among the top ten films of 2025 by the American Film Institute. Zhao, Mescal, and composer Max Richter were all kind enough to spend some time speaking with Next Best Picture Owner & Editor In Chief Matt Neglia, while Ema Sasic got the chance to speak with Jacobi Jupe, production designer Fiona Crombie spoke with Dan Bayer, and Cody Dericks had the opportunity to chat with costume designer Malgosia Turzanska. Please be sure to check out the film, now playing in select theaters from Focus Features and available to watch from home. The film is up for your consideration for the 98th Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Casting, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The sets for the film "Hamnet" included a recreation of the Globe theater and period-accurate homes from 16th century England. Production designer Fiona Crombie discusses her work on the film, which earned her an Oscar nomination. This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series "The Big Picture." Image courtesy of Focus Features
Today on What's My Frame, I'm joined by casting director Leeba Zakharov, a native New Yorker whose career spans more than two decades across film and television. An immigrant raised on the Lower East Side, Leeba's journey into storytelling is deeply personal. She minored in theater at SUNY Albany. Prior to transitioning into casting, she built a foundation in development and acquisitions, serving as an assistant at Miramax and Madstone Films, and later joining Focus Features.Leeba proudly credits legendary casting director Avy Kaufman as a pivotal mentor and someone who instilled in her a lifelong commitment to collaboration, trust, and honoring the vulnerability of actors. That philosophy continues to shape her work today. Bilingual in Russian and English, Leeba brings a culturally nuanced perspective to the stories she helps bring to life.
On the day of Wonder Man, Marvel also gifted us with the teaser trailer for Daredevil: Born Again season two, which will begin on March 24. Our full cast of characters returns, with the teaser even showing Foggy Nelson, and debuts Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones in the MCU. The eight episode second season looks promising and we know a third season is already greenlit.Lucasfilm's first property of 2026 will be the animated series Maul: Shadow Lord. The show's trailer dropped online last Friday to acclaim from fans of Star Wars animation. The eight episode series will premiere with two episodes on April 6 and release two episodes a week leading up to the finale episodes on May 4th - a significant day for Star Wars fandom. The character of Maul debuted in The Phantom Menace and has a storied reputation through other animated properties such as The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.It's Mattel's next outing bringing toys to life on screen as the trailer for Masters of the Universe premiered a few days ago. The popular 1980s franchise is becoming lifelike through performances of Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Jared Leto as Skeletor, and more stars like Idris Elba, Kristen Wiig, and Sasheer Zamata.Christina Hodson has been tapped to write The Brave and the Bold, an upcoming Batman film set in the DCU for DC Studios with Andy Muschietti set to direct. Hodson has several other DC credentials, having worked with Andy Muschietti on The Flash. She also penned the Margot Robbie-led Birds of Prey movie. Her other credits include the 2018 Transformers movie Bumblebee.Max Parker, star of the Netflix series Boots, has joined the cast of Prime Video's God of War adaptation series. Parker will play Heimdall who first appeared in the second God of War game, God of War Ragnarök, as an antagonist.Oscar nominations have been announced and Ryan Coogler's Sinners set a record with 16 total nominations. Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another followed with 13 nominations. Warner Bros. scored 30 nominations in total, tying its record number of nominations set in 2005. Indie distributor Neon and streamer Netflix had 18 noms each, while Focus Features had 13 and A24 had 11. Netflix's Frankenstein, A24's Marty Supreme and Neon's Sentimental Value all garnered nine nominations, while Focus' Hamnet had eight. All are in the marquee Best Picture race joining Sinners, One Battle, Focus' Bugonia, Apple's F1, Neon's The Secret Agent and Netflix's Train Dreams.Illumination and Nintendo's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will now open on Wednesday, April 1 instead of April 3. Illumination also revealed an extended teaser trailer that features the first look at Yoshi.A massive winter storm impacting much of the U.S. is taking a toll on the domestic box office as numerous communities and cities advised citizens to stay home, and more than 400 hundred theaters closed. Overall revenue is expected to fall to the lowest point of the year to date. The weekend's winner is new thriller Mercy, starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson. On Saturday, MGM Amazon Studios reported an estimated $12.6 million opening before the extent of theater closures was known. Overseas, it started off with a promising $11.6 million.AppleTV has renewed Shrinking for a fourth season ahead of its season 3 premiere this week.
"Song Sung Blue" is an American biographical musical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Craig Brewer. It is based on the 2008 documentary film of the same name by Greg Kohs and stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as Mike and Claire Sardina, who performed as the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder. The film had its world premiere at the AFI Film Festival, where it received positive reviews, especially for Kate Hudson's performance, with many calling it the best of her career. She has been nominated for the Golden Globe Award and the Actor Award for Best Lead Actress for her performance in the film. Hudson was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Focus Features. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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