This Had Oscar Buzz
336 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 17 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 1.1K ratingsA podcast about movies the awards forgot
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Episodes
170 – Holy Smoke (with Jourdain Searles)
November 08, 2021 19:51 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBWe have two exciting returns this week! First, entertainment writer and Bad Romance co-host Jourdain Searles is joining us once again. Second, we return to the work of Jane Campion, this time for 1999′s divisive and sexually charged Holy Smoke. The film premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival with a high pedigree: Campion … Continue reading "170 – Holy Smoke (with Jourdain Searles)"
169 – Suspiria
November 01, 2021 18:05 - 2 hours - 98.9 MB“Volk” intensifies this week, because we’re talking about Luca Guadgnino’s 2018 Suspiria remake! Diverging greatly in style and story from the Dario Argento original, Luca Guadagnino followed up his Oscar success with Call Me By Your Name with this riff on witches, post-WWII Germany, feminine power, and the art of dance. Guadagnino’s mounting pedigree stirred some to expect the … Continue reading "169 – Suspiria"
168 – Never Let Me Go (with Tara Ariano)
October 25, 2021 17:43 - 1 hour - 80.5 MBThis episode, Extra Hot Great co-host Tara Ariano returns to us to talk about another much-requested film, 2010′s Never Let Me Go. An adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s incredibly lauded science fiction novel, the film stars a post-nomination Carey Mulligan opposite Keira Knightley and breakthrough Andrew Garfield as clones raised for the sole purpose of harvesting their … Continue reading "168 – Never Let Me Go (with Tara Ariano)"
167 – The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
October 18, 2021 18:11 - 1 hour - 79.7 MBWe’ll get you a red cap and a speedo for this week’s episode, becuase we’re talking about Wes Anderson for the first time with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The follow-up to Anderson’s first Oscar-nominated film The Royal Tenenbaums put Bill Murray front and center in the year after Murray almost won Best Actor for Lost in Translation. … Continue reading "167 – The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"
166- To Die For
October 11, 2021 19:24 - 1 hour - 83.4 MBNicole Kidman finally joins the THOB Six Timers Club this week with what many consider her first major critical success. In the same year that Kidman had a major blockbuster in Batman Forever, the actress joined forces with Gus Van Sant for satirical Joyce Maynard adaptation To Die For. The film starred Kidman as the … Continue reading "166- To Die For"
BONUS – NYFF We Love You! We REJECT This BLASPHEMY!
October 10, 2021 13:34 - 1 hour - 63.7 MBWe’re back stumping film festivals to bring you this bonus episode on our experience with this year’s New York Film Festival slate! Here Joe reflects on the Oscar potential of The Tragedy of Macbeth and The Power of the Dog, and Chris says Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers features one of Penélope Cruz’s very best performances. We discuss other films in the … Continue reading "BONUS – NYFF We Love You! We REJECT This BLASPHEMY!"
165 – The Counselor
October 04, 2021 19:09 - 1 hour - 83.9 MBThere are few names in modern literature with more prestige than Cormac McCarthy, and his work has been adapted into the likes of Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men. For his first produced original screenplay, he partnered with one of the most prestigious names in movies and our most discussed director, Ridley Scott. Together … Continue reading "165 – The Counselor"
164 – American Pastoral
September 27, 2021 19:21 - 1 hour - 75.9 MBWe’ve talked before about adaptations of Pulitzer Prize winners and films that had disastrous premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival, but perhaps none as disappointing as this week’s film. From one of the most lauded novels of the modern era, American Pastoral had the heaviest burden of expectations and stop-and-start production history. With a … Continue reading "164 – American Pastoral"
163 – The River Wild
September 20, 2021 18:47 - 1 hour - 85.5 MBHow do you get a studio action movie some Oscar buzz? You cast Meryl Streep in the lead role. Starring the beloved actress as a woman whose family is taken captive on a white water rafting vacation, The River Wild was a modest fall hit for director Curtis Hansen and earned Globe nominations for Streep … Continue reading "163 – The River Wild"
BONUS – Another Year, Another TIFF
September 19, 2021 18:29 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBChris and Joe are back “at” the Toronto International Film Festival, and as we’re prone to do, we’re bringing you a bonus episode to recap the experience. We review our virtual TIFF experience from home with a quick mention of the films we missed and how this hybrid year has made for a more muted … Continue reading "BONUS – Another Year, Another TIFF"
162 – The Good Dinosaur (with Kyle Amato)
September 13, 2021 19:13 - 1 hour - 91.9 MBWe’re doing something a little different this week and setting our sights on one specific Oscar category: Best Animated Feature. This episode, Kyle Amato joins us to talk about The Good Dinosaur, one of the few box office and critical disappointments in the history of Pixar. The story of a timid dinosaur and the human baby … Continue reading "162 – The Good Dinosaur (with Kyle Amato)"
161 – The Mule
September 06, 2021 22:39 - 1 hour - 70.1 MBMany of Clint Eastwood’s most recent films have arrived in quick turnaround, going from announcement to filming to release in a head-spinningly short amount of time. In 2018, he had one of his fastest productions ever with The Mule, a story of an 80-year-old man estranged from his family who takes on a job hauling drugs … Continue reading "161 – The Mule"
160 – Elizabethtown (with Phil Iscove)
August 30, 2021 20:15 - 1 hour - 94.9 MBJoining us this week is Podcast Like It’s 1999′s Phil Iscove to finally unpack a foundational This Had Oscar Buzz text. After winning an Oscar for Almost Famous and delivering a financially succesful (if extremely divisive) hit in Vanilla Sky, Cameron Crowe decided to return to his roots with Elizabethtown. Starring Orlando Bloom as a … Continue reading "160 – Elizabethtown (with Phil Iscove)"
159 – The House of Mirth
August 23, 2021 17:54 - 1 hour - 83.3 MBThis week, we are looking at the work of director Terence Davies and his 2000 literary adaptation of The House of Mirth. Based on the classic Edith Wharton novel, the film casts Gillian Anderson as Lily Bart, a woman who tragically fails to navigate the cruelties of New York high society at the turn of … Continue reading "159 – The House of Mirth"
158 – Stepmom (with Christina Tucker)
August 16, 2021 18:38 - 1 hour - 92.4 MBIt has to be said that we have been waiting to do Stepmom from the very beginning, and what better excuse to finally dive in to Chris Columbus’ Christmas Day weepy than this week’s special guest Christina Tucker, co-host of the podcast Wait, Is This A Date?. Uniting the 1998 powers of America’s sweetheart Julia Roberts and … Continue reading "158 – Stepmom (with Christina Tucker)"
157 – Woman in Gold
August 09, 2021 20:00 - 1 hour - 201 MBSomehow we have yet to cover a film starring Helen Mirren, but this episode, we rectify that with 2015′s Woman in Gold. Mirren stars in the true story as Maria Altmann, a woman who fled the Nazis and later sought restitution of her very famous family paintings by Gustav Klimt. The film also stars Ryan … Continue reading "157 – Woman in Gold"
156 – A Most Violent Year (with Kevin O’Keeffe)
August 02, 2021 20:00 - 2 hours - 104 MB“This was very disrespectful.” Once again, Kevin O’Keeffe joins us to talk about the one and only Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year. Starring an on-the-rise Oscar Isaac as an emerging entrepreneur in the 1980s trying to avoid crime in dirty business, the film chased Oscar after writer/director J.C. Chandor’s Original Screenplay nomination for his … Continue reading "156 – A Most Violent Year (with Kevin O’Keeffe)"
155 – Moonlight Mile
July 26, 2021 17:53 - 1 hour - 94.9 MBJake Gyllenhaal is the latest to join our Six Timers Club this week with 2002′s Moonlight Mile. Written and directed by Brad Silberling, Gyllenhaal leads the film as a young man living with the parents (played by Susan Sarandon and Dustin Hoffman) of his fiance’s parents in the aftermath of her murder. A light dramedy with … Continue reading "155 – Moonlight Mile"
154 – Battle of the Sexes
July 19, 2021 18:37 - 1 hour - 95.4 MBOne year after winning Best Actress for La La Land, Emma Stone returned with an even better performance but faced even tougher competition. In Battle of the Sexes, the recent winner starred as Billie Jean King as she faced off Bobby Riggs (played by Steve Carell) in the famed titular tennis match. Directed by Little … Continue reading "154 – Battle of the Sexes"
153 – A Thousand Acres
July 12, 2021 22:28 - 1 hour - 85.7 MBIt’s time for yet another long-promised episode in This Had Oscar Buzz lore, and also from a Pulitzer Prize winner! Adapted from Jane Smiley’s novel (which itself was loosely based on Shakespeare’s King Lear), A Thousand Acres cast two-time Oscar winner Jason Robards as one town’s beloved titan farmer and a trio of dynamo actresses … Continue reading "153 – A Thousand Acres"
152 – De-Lovely
July 05, 2021 17:05 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBBirds do it, bees do it; let’s do it, let’s talk De-Lovely! Reuniting Kevin Kline with his Life As A House director Irwin Winkler, the film casts Kline as the legendary songwriter Cole Porter. Also starring Ashley Judd as his devoted wife Linda, De-Lovely caught attention for its depiction of the Porters’ marriage amid his open homosexuality and … Continue reading "152 – De-Lovely"
151 – Lucy in the Sky
June 28, 2021 18:07 - 1 hour - 86.2 MBWe’ve got another long anticipated episode this week! In 2019, Natalie Portman teamed up with Fargo creator Noah Hawley to bring to the screen a highly fictionalized account of a NASA astronaut who suffered a psychotic break and stalked her lover and co-worker across the country. The more salacious details (namely the urban legend diaper that she … Continue reading "151 – Lucy in the Sky"
150 – The Shipping News
June 21, 2021 18:19 - 1 hour - 94.3 MBWe’re marking a milestone this week with our 150th episode. And for such a momentous occasion, we’re finally digging in to one of the most notorious films of THOB history with Lasse Lasse Hallström’s The Shipping News. Adapted from Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, the film cast Kevin Spacey as a meak man who uproots his … Continue reading "150 – The Shipping News"
149 – The Prize Winner of Defiance, OH
June 14, 2021 17:01 - 1 hour - 90.8 MBCan you believe it’s only our third episode discussing Julianne Moore? This episode we’re diving into the mid-00s period between nominations for Moore with 2005′s The Prize Winner of Defiance, OH. Starring the eventual Oscar winner in the true story of Evelyn Ryan, a mother of ten who supported her family through sweepstakes contests and … Continue reading "149 – The Prize Winner of Defiance, OH"
148 – Concussion
June 07, 2021 20:27 - 1 hour - 76.3 MBFinally, we are telling the truth! In 2015, Will Smith took on another biopic with Concussion as Dr. Bennett Omalu, the forensic pathologist whose research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy experienced by football players found opposition with the NFL. After premiering at AFI Fest, the film received middling reviews and opened on Christmas Day only to … Continue reading "148 – Concussion"
147 – Boy Erased (Focus Features – Part Five)
May 31, 2021 16:34 - 1 hour - 91.2 MBOur Focus Features miniseries comes to a close with 2018′s Boy Erased. Based on the memoir by Garrard Conley, the film stars Lucas Hedges as a young man from a religious family who is subjected to conversion therapy when his parents (played by Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) discover that he is gay. Though sensitively approached … Continue reading "147 – Boy Erased (Focus Features – Part Five)"
146 – The Place Beyond the Pines (Focus Features – Part Four)
May 24, 2021 19:02 - 1 hour - 87.5 MBThis week, our Focus Features miniseries brings us to The Place Beyond the Pines, Derek Dianfrance’s epic, novelistic tale of fathers and sons. The film reunited Cianfrance with his Blue Valentine star Ryan Gosling as a motorcyclist who turns to crime, with consequences that will reverbate across households and generations. After launching at TIFF in 2012, Focus Features … Continue reading "146 – The Place Beyond the Pines (Focus Features – Part Four)"
145 – Lust, Caution (Focus Features – Part Three)
May 17, 2021 20:33 - 1 hour - 84.5 MBWe’ve come to the midpoint of our Focus Features miniseries with a work from a modern master, 2007′s Lust,Caution from Ang Lee. An erotic thriller set in Hong Kong and Shanghai during the Japanese occupation, Lust, Caution follows a breakthrough Tang Wei as Wong Chia-Chi, a woman who joins an assassination plot where she must seducce the target, played … Continue reading "145 – Lust, Caution (Focus Features – Part Three)"
144 – Possession (Focus Features – Part Two)
May 10, 2021 22:17 - 1 hour - 199 MBOur Focus Features miniseries continues with the first official Focus release, 2002′s Possession. Adapted by Neil LaBute from A.S. Byatt’s celebrated novel, the film follows Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart as poetry scholars who fall in love while unearthing a secret love affair between two Victorian poets, played by Jennifer Ehle and Jeremy Northam. The … Continue reading "144 – Possession (Focus Features – Part Two)"
143 – The Muse (Focus Features – Part One)
May 03, 2021 16:14 - 1 hour - 84.1 MBWe’re kicking off our May miniseries on Focus Features with the winner of our Listeners’ Choice poll, 1999′s The Muse. To kick things off, we’re looking at how Focus was birthed from the previous companies of USA Films, October Films, Gramercy Pictures and Good Machine. Written and directed by Albert Brooks, The Muse stars Sharon Stone as the … Continue reading "143 – The Muse (Focus Features – Part One)"
142 – Friends with Money
April 26, 2021 20:11 - 1 hour - 85.5 MBThis episode, we are returning to the career of the great Nicole Holofcener with 2006′s enesemble comedy Friends With Money. The film stars Jennifer Aniston as the housemaid friend to three wealthy women played by Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, and Frances McDormand, and studies class and friendship with the kind of wit and grace that’s made … Continue reading "142 – Friends with Money"
141 – Carlito’s Way
April 19, 2021 19:47 - 1 hour - 83 MBWe return to the filmography of Brian DePalma this week with 1993′s Carlito’s Way. The film reunited DePalma with his Scarface star Al Pacino as Carlito Brigante, a former criminal struggling to go straight after his release from prison and his shady circle that keeps pulling him back in. Released the year after Pacino’s long-awaited … Continue reading "141 – Carlito’s Way"
140 – A Home At The End Of The World
April 12, 2021 17:09 - 2 hours - 98.1 MBAfter the success of The Hours in 2002, author Michael Cunningham was a hot commodity in prestige cinema. At the same time, Colin Farrell emerged as the next big thing and was seemingly inescapable at the movies. The two converged in 2004 for A Home at the End of the World, an adaptation of Cunningham’s novel delivered by … Continue reading "140 – A Home At The End Of The World"
139 – Carnage
April 05, 2021 20:03 - 1 hour - 92.7 MBAfter becoming a Broadway sensation, landing the Tony Award for Best Play and lead acting nominations for each member of its acting quartet (including a win for Marcia Gay Harden), Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage looked primed to become yet another stage-to-screen adaptation with Oscar in its sights. But when the movie version arrived, it eschewed the … Continue reading "139 – Carnage"
138 – All the King’s Men
March 29, 2021 19:48 - 1 hour - 70.5 MBWe’re finally getting around to one of the most notorious of aughts era failed awards plays, Steven Zaillian’s All the King’s Men. A remake of the former Best Picture winner and originally heavily predicted in the 2005 season, the adaptation was unceremoniously punted into the following year. The next September, the film had a disastrous debut … Continue reading "138 – All the King’s Men"
Class of 2020
March 28, 2021 17:36 - 1 hour - 83.6 MBIt’s finally here: our This Had Oscar Buzz Class of 2020! Even in a COVID-impacted Oscar year that saw a longer eligibility calendar and much fewer trips to the theatre, we still have a slew of movies with Oscar hopes that were left out in the cold on nomination morning. And we are here to … Continue reading "Class of 2020"
137 – Live By Night
March 22, 2021 20:25 - 1 hour - 80.5 MBAfter landing a Best Picture winner that famously left him without a Best Director nomination for Argo, Ben Affleck made his director-star return in 2016 with Denis Lehane adaptation Live By Night. Affleck cast himself as a criminal caught between the Irish and Italian mobs in Tampa (with an ensemble that included Chris Messina, Zoe Saldana, and … Continue reading "137 – Live By Night"
136 – White Oleander (with Nathaniel Rogers)
March 15, 2021 20:13 - 1 hour - 89.9 MBPfor this week’s episode, we’ve invited The Film Experience creator and Michelle Pfeiffer superpfan Nathaniel Rogers back to discuss one of our listeners most requested films, 2002′s White Oleander. Based on the beloved novel by Janet Fitch, the film stars Allison Lohman as the teenage Astrid, who is plunged into the foster care system after … Continue reading "136 – White Oleander (with Nathaniel Rogers)"
135 – The House of the Spirits
March 08, 2021 18:03 - 1 hour - 83.3 MBBy today’s standards, this week’s film stands out for its gobsmacking cast of Meryl streep, Gleen Close, Jeremy Irons, Antonio Banderas, and Winona Ryder. But back in the 90s, The House of the Spirits caught attention as both an adaptation of Isabel Allende’s beloved novel and the biggest acquisition Miramax had ever landed. Set over decades in … Continue reading "135 – The House of the Spirits"
134 – Big Eyes (with Jorge Molina)
March 01, 2021 20:03 - 2 hours - 102 MBAfter years of cast announcements, a biopic of painter Margaret Keane escaped development hell thanks to director Tim Burton and Oscar hopeful Amy Adams with 2014′s Big Eyes. A departure from Burton’s late-career big-budget preexisting IP efforts, the film promised a showcase for Adams that could earn her that elusive Oscar after her previous five … Continue reading "134 – Big Eyes (with Jorge Molina)"
133 – The Other Boleyn Girl
February 22, 2021 20:23 - 1 hour - 84.3 MBHeavily anticipated by Oscar predictors in fall 2007, Justin Chadwick’s historical fiction The Other Boleyn Girl paired Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johnasson as their Oscar stars were rising. But when the film was rescheduled into early 2008, all signs pointed towards a disappointment that the film ultimately proved to be. With Eric Bana as King … Continue reading "133 – The Other Boleyn Girl"
132 – Promised Land
February 15, 2021 20:52 - 1 hour - 87.6 MBMost remembered as “that movie about fracking”, this week we are talking about 2012′s Promised Land. Originally developed and written by John Krasinski and Dave Eggers, the film began as a potential directing vehicle for Matt Damon before the star brought on his Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant to take the reins. Damon stars … Continue reading "132 – Promised Land"
131 – Tea with Mussolini
February 08, 2021 21:20 - 1 hour - 82.2 MBNo matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t keep pushing this movie aside – and Tea with Mussolini breaks through for this episode for you! The film is one of Cher’s few post-Oscar films and stars the icon opposite acting legends Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Lily Tomlin – all cast as ex-pat women raising … Continue reading "131 – Tea with Mussolini"
BONUS – Sundancing at Lughnasa
February 05, 2021 14:01 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBWe’re bringing you a special BONUS episode to talk about all the goings on at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival! Chris and Joe both just participated in the virtual festival and have some exciting films to talk about. First, we discuss the few films eligible in this current Oscar season, including the one with (we … Continue reading "BONUS – Sundancing at Lughnasa"
130 – The Station Agent
February 01, 2021 16:17 - 1 hour - 78.4 MBFor this episode, we’re returning to 2003 with the film that almost won the Listeners’ Choice for our previous 2003 miniseries: Tom McCarthy’s The Station Agent. Starring Peter Dinklage in his breakout role as Finn, a loner who inherits a vacant train station in rural New Jersey and reluctantly makes a small circle of friends with … Continue reading "130 – The Station Agent"
129 – When A Man Loves A Woman
January 25, 2021 20:51 - 1 hour - 181 MBFor our third episode on Meg Ryan, we’re going back to 1994 with When A Man Loves a Woman. One year after her megasmash in Sleepless in Seattle, the film stars Ryan as a woman entering recovery for alcoholism and Andy Garcia as her husband struggling to find normalcy. Though the film was a critical and box … Continue reading "129 – When A Man Loves A Woman"
128 – Cats
January 18, 2021 19:10 - 2 hours - 103 MBIt’s time to finally talk about such serious things as digital fur technology and the perils of tribalism – you’ve been begging for it, we’re finally talking about Cats. Our first Class of 2019 film discussed on the podcast, Cats was announced to the immediate revulsion of many, but Oscar predictors saw some possibility thanks to the participation … Continue reading "128 – Cats"
127 – Conviction
January 11, 2021 22:15 - 2 hours - 100 MBThis episode, we’re looking at 2010′s Conviction starring Hilary Swank as Betty Anne Waters, a real life Massachusetts woman who earned a law degree to fight for the innocense of her brother wrongly convicted of murder. With a cast that includes Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher, and Sam Rockwell as Betty’s jailed brother Kenny, the film received a … Continue reading "127 – Conviction"
126 – Reservation Road
January 04, 2021 19:44 - 1 hour - 85.2 MBFor our first episode of the new year, we’re taking things back to the very This Had Oscar Buzz beginning. Back when this old podcast was just a single service Tumblr, the first THOB entry was 2007′s Reservation Road, a domestic drama starring Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly as a family mourning the loss of a … Continue reading "126 – Reservation Road"
Mailbag Fishing In The Yemen
December 28, 2020 18:34 - 2 hours - 111 MBHappy New Year, listeners! To close out 2020, we’ve compiled all of your questions for this special mailbag episode! We kick things off by surveying the state of the current, pandemic-delayed Oscar race including First Cow’s win with New York critics. the New York Times’ 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century list, and how the … Continue reading "Mailbag Fishing In The Yemen"