This Had Oscar Buzz
319 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1K ratingsA podcast about movies the awards forgot
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Episodes
100 Years, 100… Snubs! – Part Four
May 22, 2023 19:58 - 5 MBThe penultimate episode of our May miniseries is here! And this week, we are returning to a few repeat boot victims and some of our favorite oft-discussed films and performances. This round of snubs and boots includes terrifying bundles of sticks (cough), being 4′8″ and dying, codpieces, visions of the afterlife, lump twins, Mike Leigh … Continue reading "100 Years, 100… Snubs! – Part Four"
100 Years, 100… Snubs! – Part Three
May 15, 2023 18:28 - 2 hours - 130 MBWe’ve got 20 more snubs (plus guest appearances!) on deck for another installment of 100 YEARS, 100… SNUBS!, and this episode is out for blood! We dive into the much discussed 1999 Best Original Song category, two very famous snubs that DON’T make our list, Chris’ early stumping for one highly anticipated performance this year, … Continue reading "100 Years, 100… Snubs! – Part Three"
100 Years, 100… Snubs! – Part Two
May 08, 2023 18:42 - 2 hours - 124 MBOur May miniseries continues this week with 20 more of our picks for the greatest snubs of Oscar history! As we march towards our pick for the single greatest snub of all time we’re talking about early 2000s emo music, Jessica Lange and Charlize Theron as bootable nominees, Beyonce’s trio of performances for nominated songs, … Continue reading "100 Years, 100… Snubs! – Part Two"
100 Years, 100… Snubs! – Part One
May 01, 2023 14:04 - 2 hours - 138 MBIt’s May miniseries time, Garys! And we’re doing something a little different! In 1998, the AFI compiled a list of the 100 greatest American films of all time, and turned the list into a primetime special complete with famous faces and a schmaltzy Trisha Yearwood song. It was such a success, the AFI continued to … Continue reading "100 Years, 100… Snubs! – Part One"
240 – Private Life
April 24, 2023 20:12 - 2 hours - 102 MBWe have another movie we adore to discuss this week! Writer/director Tamara Jenkins has long gaps between films, but has nevertheless delivered an all-killer-no-filler lineup, beginning in the late 1990s with Slums of Beverly Hills and returning a decade later with the Oscar-nominated The Savages. Her next film another decade later, Private Life, starred Kathryn … Continue reading "240 – Private Life"
239 – Young Adult
April 17, 2023 19:52 - 1 hour - 88 MBAfter the Oscar winning success of Juno, 2011 gave us the reunited creative force of screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman, but in a different mode that that heartwarming crowdpleaser. Young Adult cast Charlize Theron, an author and former prom queen who returns to her hometown to win back her high school boyfriend, played … Continue reading "239 – Young Adult"
238 – Mary Magdalene
April 10, 2023 20:25 - 1 hour - 90.2 MBWe talk about awards hopes thwarted by release date pushes, and this week is the mother of all of them. Originally intended as Garth Davis’ speedy follow-up to Lion for Thanksgiving 2017, Mary Magdalene cast Rooney Mara as the biblical woman and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus. The film reexamines Mary Magdalene role among the disciples … Continue reading "238 – Mary Magdalene"
237 – The Last Seduction (with Karina Longworth!)
April 03, 2023 15:27 - 1 hour - 73.4 MBWe are joined by none other than You Must Remember This’ Karina Longworth this week to talk about one of our most unique and most requested Oscar cases. In 1994, The Last Seduction gave a modern riff on classic noir with a sexually frank femme fatale played by Linda Fiorentino who pulls a game of … Continue reading "237 – The Last Seduction (with Karina Longworth!)"
236 – Secret In Their Eyes
March 27, 2023 20:38 - 1 hour - 80.1 MBAfter The Secret in Their Eyes won Argentina and director Juan José Campanella the 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, an American remake emerged with primo screenwriter and director Billy Ray attached. Dropping the The faster than a gritty reboot, the American Secret In Their Eyes not only drew top stars but, in adaptation, turned the original’s … Continue reading "236 – Secret In Their Eyes"
235 – The Upside of Anger
March 20, 2023 20:16 - 1 hour - 90.7 MBEvery prestige actress overdue for an Oscar deserves her showcase, and after three Oscar nominations in under a decade, Joan Allen got hers written and directed by her The Contender costar Mike Binder. The Upside of Anger cast Allen as a mother of four whose husband suddenly abandons her, and she finds boozy solace with … Continue reading "235 – The Upside of Anger"
234 – Dear Evan Hansen (with Adam Grosswirth!)
March 13, 2023 23:28 - 2 hours - 110 MBTo settle your post-Oscar hangover, we’re cracking open the Class of 2021 films this week and we’ve invited Muppeturgy co-host Adam Grosswirth to join us. Dear Evan Hansen follows a titular teen battling severe social anxiety, who fabricates a friendship with his bully after he dies by suicide, and faces the consequences of his lie … Continue reading "234 – Dear Evan Hansen (with Adam Grosswirth!)"
233 – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
March 06, 2023 21:37 - 2 hours - 99.9 MBFrom Shakespeare in Love director John Madden and with a bursting prestige-y ensemble, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is one we have been saving. Led by Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, who both had other films in the race in this season, the film follows several seniors who seek fulfillment and romance in India, … Continue reading "233 – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
232 – Waitress
February 27, 2023 21:46 - 2 hours - 99.4 MBWe decided to bring you a slice of joy this week with 2007′s Waitress. Starring Keri Russell as a small town waitress and inventive pie master stuck in a harmful marriage, the heartwarming film would eventually be adapted to the megabit musical with songs from Sara Bareilles. Its beginnings, however, were marked by sadness: in … Continue reading "232 – Waitress"
231 – Force Majeure
February 20, 2023 21:33 - 1 hour - 84.8 MBWe’re taking another dive into the Best International Feature category this week to talk about one of the biggest world cinema successes of the past year, Ruben Östlund. Though he made films before it, 2014 catapulted Östlund with the Cannes premiere of Force Majeure, a dark satire of masculinity, and relationships dynamics, and fight-or-flight impulses. The film … Continue reading "231 – Force Majeure"
230 – Stage Beauty
February 13, 2023 21:29 - 1 hour - 80.6 MBLongtime listeners will know that a special space in our podcast lore is reserved for our first six timer, Claire Danes. This week, we return to her work in the opulent and forgotten Stage Beauty. The film cast Danes as a stage dresser who longs to be an actress in a time when women weren’t … Continue reading "230 – Stage Beauty"
229 – Magic Mike XXL (with Pamela Ribon!)
February 06, 2023 21:35 - 1 hour - 79.8 MBListeners, are you ready to be exalted?! This week, we welcome back author, screenwriter, Listen to Sassy co-host, and now OSCAR NOMINEE Pamela Ribon. And to welcome her back we’re going on a road trip with some exotic male dancers for Magic Mike XXL. The somewhat surprising sequel to the 2012 original (previously discussed on … Continue reading "229 – Magic Mike XXL (with Pamela Ribon!)"
BONUS – Sundancing On My Own
February 01, 2023 23:13 - 1 hour - 49.5 MBAnd we’re backbackback again with a special BONUS episode this week to talk about our experience will the films of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival! The big prize winner for US Dramatic Competition was A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, and Chris was wowed by it. We talk about our shared love for new films … Continue reading "BONUS – Sundancing On My Own"
Class of 2022
January 30, 2023 21:52 - 2 hours - 99.9 MBAn annual ritual returns! We are here to welcome the This Had Oscar Buzz Class of 2022! Off the top of the episode, we celebrate friend and former guest (and, spoiler alert, next week’s guest) Pamela Ribon on her Best Animated Feature Short nomination for My Year of Dicks and lament the To Leslie episode … Continue reading "Class of 2022"
228 – After Hours (with Mitchell Beaupre!)
January 23, 2023 17:23 - 2 hours - 110 MBLetterboxd senior editor and podcast co-host Mitchell Beaupre joins us this week and is bringing their favorite film along, and it’s our oldest film yet: Martin Scorsese’s After Hours. In the mid-80s Scorsese was rebounding from his closest call with Oscar yet in Raging Bull and a first attempt to make The Last Temptation of … Continue reading "228 – After Hours (with Mitchell Beaupre!)"
227 – The Old Man and the Gun
January 16, 2023 18:11 - 2 hours - 106 MBIn 2018, it was reported that Robert Redford would be making his acting swan song with David Lowery’s crime caper The Old Man and the Gun. As the film received its festival debut, those retirement statements were backtracked, but audiences were still given a thoughtful and surprising fable about a real “Redford type” of character and … Continue reading "227 – The Old Man and the Gun"
226 – The Leisure Seeker
January 09, 2023 21:35 - 2 hours - 99.7 MBWhen the 2017 Golden Globe nominations were announce, the question on everyone’s mind was “What the hell is The Leisure Seeker?!” Starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland as an aging couple having one last getaway in their eponymous Winnebago, the film debuted in competition at Venice before also playing a TIFF gala and went entirely under … Continue reading "226 – The Leisure Seeker"
225 – Murder on the Orient Express
January 02, 2023 18:02 - 1 hour - 93.8 MBAll aboard, listeners! This week, we’re looking at Kenneth Branagh’s recent attempts to take on Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot with 2017′s Murder on the Orient Express. Directed by and starring Branagh as the French investigator, the film assembled a gobsmacking assemblage of stars (from Michelle Pfeiffer to Judi Dench to Penelope Cruz to Johnny Depp) … Continue reading "225 – Murder on the Orient Express"
Mailbág: Goodbye 2022
December 26, 2022 15:45 - 2 hours - 116 MBWe are bidding adieu to 2022 with our annual mailbag episode!! We dive into a feast of listener questions, kicked off first with a mini 20th anniversary celebration for The Hours and THOB-adjacent questions about theme parks, Drag Race, and the Emmys. We unpack the current Oscar race, including Cate Blanchett’s default status as the … Continue reading "Mailbág: Goodbye 2022"
224 – The Man in the Iron Mask
December 19, 2022 21:35 - 2 hours - 104 MBAs Titanic continued its months-long reign at the box office, its closest challenger (before Lost in Space would dethrone it, that is) at the multiplex starred none other than one of its star-crossed lovers. Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio owned the box office in the weeks ahead of Titanic’s Best Picture win, pulling double double duty as … Continue reading "224 – The Man in the Iron Mask"
223 – We Bought A Zoo
December 12, 2022 19:56 - 1 hour - 94.5 MBAfter the notorious failure of Elizabethtown, Cameron Crowe took a few years off and attempted to rebound with a warm-hearted family film, 2011’s We Bought A Zoo. The film starred Matt Damon in the very loose true story of a father struggling to raise his two children in the wake of his wife’s death, and finds the … Continue reading "223 – We Bought A Zoo"
222 – Away We Go
December 05, 2022 21:51 - 1 hour - 85.3 MBAfter winning Best Picture and Best Director for his zeitgeist-seizing debut feature American Beauty, Sam Mendes instantly became a director who generate awards chatter no matter the project. In 2009, he took a noticeable tonal downshift with Away We Go, a minor key comedy about a young pregnant couple on a road trip to decide … Continue reading "222 – Away We Go"
221 – The Front Runner
November 28, 2022 22:32 - 2 hours - 106 MBWe’ve previously discussed the work of Jason Reitman with our Men, Women, and Children episode, and this week we have another Reitman bomb: 2018′s The Front Runner. The film features Hugh Jackman as Senator Gary Hart and dramatizes Hart’s failed presidential campaign that was thwarted by an infidelity scandal. Released on Election Day after a very … Continue reading "221 – The Front Runner"
220 – The Lost City of Z (with Katey Rich)
November 21, 2022 22:17 - 2 hours - 116 MBIt wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little tradition, so naturally Vanity Fair’s Katey Rich makes her annual return to us this week to discuss James Gray’s The Lost City of Z. The film had a long pre-production history, including promises of Brad Pitt in the lead, that long positioned it as the film that might … Continue reading "220 – The Lost City of Z (with Katey Rich)"
219 – Always
November 14, 2022 21:01 - 1 hour - 89.8 MBAs The Fabelmans is welcomed into theatres and Spielberg nostalgia is about to come back into conversation, we naturally are here to talk about one of his least discussed films: 1989′s Always. Based on the 1943 Victor Fleming film A Guy Named Joe, Always follows an aerial firefighter played by Richard Dreyfuss who dies saving his friend (John Goodman) in a mission, … Continue reading "219 – Always"
218 – The Meddler (with Richard Lawson)
November 07, 2022 21:44 - 1 hour - 81.1 MBVanity Fair’s chief critic Richard Lawson return to us this week to talk about a piece in a trend of films about aging women self-actualizing, Lorene Scafaria’s The Meddler. Starring Susan Sarandon as a widow ingratiating herself to her writer daughter (played by Rose Byrne) and her circle of friends, The Meddler provides a hilarious … Continue reading "218 – The Meddler (with Richard Lawson)"
217 – Mary Reilly
October 31, 2022 21:00 - 1 hour - 93.1 MBHappy Halloween, Garys! Get ready for lots of whispers and accents as we close spooky season with one of our oft-referenced favorites, 1996′s uberflop Mary Reilly. A riff on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale starring Julia Roberts as an Irish maid who falls for both personalities of the mad scientist, the film was … Continue reading "217 – Mary Reilly"
216 – Snowden
October 24, 2022 19:14 - 1 hour - 94.6 MBWelcome all our new CIA listeners, because this week we are talking about 2016′s Snowden. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as controversial whistleblower Edward Snowden, the film follows Snowden’s journey through exposing the surveillance state and his exile to Russia, all while maintaining his relationship with girlfriend Lindsay Mills (played by Shailene Woodley). With Oliver Stone at … Continue reading "216 – Snowden"
215 – Beatriz at Dinner (with Jorge Molina)
October 17, 2022 20:52 - 1 hour - 95.9 MBOn the eve of the return of The White Lotus, we’re taking a look at the Mike White oeuvre with returning guest Jorge Molina and 2017′s Beatriz at Dinner. Starring our beloved Salma Hayek as a holistic masseuse trapped at a toxic dinner party held by her wealthy clients, the film debuted at Sundance and … Continue reading "215 – Beatriz at Dinner (with Jorge Molina)"
214 – Mud (with Roxana Hadadi)
October 10, 2022 21:33 - 1 hour - 91.3 MBWhat’s better than movies like this? Guys being dudes! This week, Vulture television critic Roxana Hadadi joins us to return to the McConaissance with Jeff Nichols’ Mud. Matthew McConaughey stars as the film’s eponymous criminal who befriends a young teenager (played by Ty Sheridan) grappling with the death of his town and his parents’ divorce. The … Continue reading "214 – Mud (with Roxana Hadadi)"
213 – Where’d You Go, Bernadette
October 03, 2022 21:26 - 1 hour - 87.8 MBAs Cate Blanchett inches towards a possible third acting Oscar with this week’s Tár, we look back at the quickly forgotten Where’d You Go, Bernadette. Based on the praised novel by Maria Semple about an eccentric former architect’s disappearance, the film paired Blanchett with director Richard Linklater (and reunited her with actor Billy Crudup, playing her … Continue reading "213 – Where’d You Go, Bernadette"
212 – The Bling Ring (with George Civeris)
September 26, 2022 19:11 - 1 hour - 94.8 MBStaightioLab cohost and Gawker editor George Civeris returns to us this episode, and we’re going to Paris’. In 2013, Sofia Coppola delivered another tale of disaffected youth, this time ripped from gossip column headlines with The Bling Ring. With a post-Harry Potter Emma Watson at the center, the film follows several Los Angeles celeb-obsessed teens … Continue reading "212 – The Bling Ring (with George Civeris)"
Reunited at TIFF!
September 19, 2022 20:18 - 1 hour - 91.4 MBIt’s an annual tradition! Joe and Chris (reunited for the first time in years!) are reporting on the films of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, including this year’s (Not Grolsch) People’s Choice Award winner: Steven Spielberg’s The Fablemans. And we’ve got bets against each other gaining some heat! This episode, we unpack our feelings about some of … Continue reading "Reunited at TIFF!"
211 – Mermaids
September 12, 2022 14:11 - 1 hour - 78.9 MBWe’ve got a personal favorite coming to you today starring one of our most beloved icons! After winning her Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck, Cher then conquered the world with the album Heart of Stone, and didn’t return to the cinema until 1990′s Mermaids. With Cher as a mother of two rebuking societal expectations, the … Continue reading "211 – Mermaids"
210 – 25th Hour
September 05, 2022 21:18 - 1 hour - 88 MBWe talk about a lot of films dealing with the social and political aftermath of 9/11 but few like this week’s episode: Spike Lee’s 25th Hour. Filmed in New York City in the months after and adapted by David Benioff from his own novel, the film captures that dysphoria while following a drug dealer played … Continue reading "210 – 25th Hour"
209 – A Walk on the Moon (with Tara Ariano)
August 29, 2022 19:43 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBThis week, Tara Ariano returns to us to talk about a forgotten and quite lovely independent film from 1999, A Walk on the Moon. The first feature directed by actor Tony Goldwyn, the film stars Diane Lane as a late 1960s housewife who has a sexual awakening with a hippie blouse salesman (played by Viggo … Continue reading "209 – A Walk on the Moon (with Tara Ariano)"
208 – This Is Where I Leave You
August 22, 2022 19:59 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBIt’s time to sit shiva with a slew of stars and 2014′s This Is Where I Leave You. Adapted from Jonathan Tropper from his own novel and directed by Night at the Museum’s Shawn Levy, the film casts Jason Bateman as a man whose life falls apart at the hour of his father’s death. His … Continue reading "208 – This Is Where I Leave You"
207 – Life Itself (with Billy Ray Brewton)
August 15, 2022 22:34 - 2 hours - 103 MBWe don’t know if we’re equipped to episode this much, but here we are. A bomb so fiery, we brought host of The Incinerator podcast host Billy Ray Brewton to help us unpack it all: 2018′s Life Itself. From This Is Us’ Dan Fogelman, the film assembles a large ensemble including Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, … Continue reading "207 – Life Itself (with Billy Ray Brewton)"
206 – Infamous
August 08, 2022 21:20 - 1 hour - 72.3 MBBefore Bennett Miller’s Capote even arrived and made a steamroll Best Actor winner out of Philip Seymour Hoffman, there was an entire other Truman Capote biopic in the can. Charting the same portion of the legendary and controversial writer’s life as he wrote In Cold Blood, 2006′s Infamous cast Toby Jones as Capote along with … Continue reading "206 – Infamous"
205 – The Four Feathers
August 01, 2022 19:48 - 1 hour - 69.1 MBLong-time listeners of the podcast will recognize this week’s episode as one promised from the very beginning! In 2002, The Four Feathers arrived with major Oscar follow-up and star-on-the-rise pedigree. The film was Shekhar Kapur’s directorial follow-up to the Oscar anointed (and Cate Blanchett launching) Elizabeth, and starred three of the biggest young would-be megastars … Continue reading "205 – The Four Feathers"
204 – A Prairie Home Companion (with Clay Keller)
July 25, 2022 19:59 - 2 hours - 126 MBAn episode long teased has finally arrived. Screen Drafts co-host (and proud Minnesotan) Clay Keller joins us to discuss the final film from beloved auteur Robert Altman, 2006′s A Prairie Home Companion. Based on and set within the eponymous radio show, the film follows the backstage goings-on during the show’s fictionalized final live recording, with … Continue reading "204 – A Prairie Home Companion (with Clay Keller)"
203 – Martha Marcy May Marlene
July 18, 2022 20:03 - 2 hours - 101 MBOne of the major stories out of 2011′s Sundance Film Festival was the arrival of Elizabeth Olsen, a new actress who just happened to be the younger sibling of the Olsen twins. In Sean Durkin’s debut Martha Marcy May Marlene, Olsen stars as a young woman who escapes a cult and copes with her fractured … Continue reading "203 – Martha Marcy May Marlene"
202 – Us
July 11, 2022 20:07 - 1 hour - 91.7 MBFew filmmaking ascents have been as exciting and heralded as Jordan Peele’s with the arrival of Get Out in 2017. After creating lasting cultural importance and winning the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, Peele’s follow-up was one of the most eagerly awaited films before it was even announced. And in early 2019, the follow-up would be … Continue reading "202 – Us"
201 – How Do You Know
July 04, 2022 15:26 - 1 hour - 79 MBWhile not known for their love for comedies, the Academy has often proven a fan for the works of James L. Brooks. This week, we’re talking about his (likely) final film, the 2010 flop How Do You Know. The film stars Reese Witherspoon as a softball player grappling with the end of her career while … Continue reading "201 – How Do You Know"
200 – Gloria Bell
June 27, 2022 20:23 - 2 hours - 118 MBWe’ve made it to 200 episodes! And as long-time listeners are aware, there are few THOB-eligible films as beloved as Gloria Bell. In 2013, Sebastián Lelio delivered Gloria, a delightful Chilean character study of the everyday life of a single woman entering middle age played by an incandescent Paulina García. When Julianne Moore approached Lelio about … Continue reading "200 – Gloria Bell"
199 – Shutter Island
June 20, 2022 14:52 - 1 hour - 86.9 MBThis episode, we return to the work of director Martin Scorsese, with one of his very few films to receive zero Oscar nominations, 2010′s Shutter Island. The film was Scorsese’s highly anticipate follow-up to The Departed after finally securing his overdue Oscar win, and reunited him with that film’s star Leonardo DiCaprio. Adapted from Dennis … Continue reading "199 – Shutter Island"