The Hollywood Outsider

February 4, 2004. A young genius hits the final key to take the Facebook live, forever changing the fabric of how everyday people interact with each other. In 2010, director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin delivered the definitive story on how Facebook came to be, and Jesse Eisenberg's enigmatic performance captivated the world. But how true was it? Even coding can be fascinating, especially...

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, Tom Cruise is out here promoting the heck out of Digger, his return to dramatic movies after years of action film after action film. This leads to our topic this week: actors taking big swings. Think about established actors who went far outside their comfort zones: Heath Ledger, Bryan Cranston, Matthew McConaughey, and the list goes on and on. We...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we're all a bit peopled out these days, so it's time to talk about our furry friends. With Brad Pitt's Heart of the Beast hitting theaters, what better time than to have a lengthy discussion on dogs in movies and TV?! Benji, Lassie, Old Yeller, Cujo, Scooby-Doo, Snoopy - we have decades of wonderful pups in entertainment. So, why do we love them...

Want to know what new TV shows to watch this Fall? On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, it's time for our Fall TV preview 2025, including our most anticipated new and returning shows on the Fall television schedule. TV has evolved so much, and there are so many options, it becomes overwhelming every year to know what we should be spending our time on. Therefore we rolled up our slee...

What were your favorite moments in entertainment from this past summer? On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we are taking a look back at the past few months and presenting our Summer Entertainment Awards for 2026 and each category is for EITHER movies or TV! What was the best of all of it? Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Obsession, Widow's Bay, The Odyssey, The Sheep Detectives, Cape Fe...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, Aaron finally met his hero, KURT RUSSELL! We discuss what it was like meeting his movie daddy, as well as how the photo op worked at Fan Expo Chicago, Kurt Russell's panel with surprise guests John Carpenter and Keith David, and more.  Also this week, Disney held their own mega-event with D23, so we review all of the news from this huge event inc...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, AI is all the rage... literally. Fans, creators, and everyone with a voice on social media is revolting online against AI. While also, using AI every day. Where is the fine line? What are the pros and cons of AI in entertainment? We dive into this topic this week with limited assistance from ChatGPT. Maybe. Also this week, Ted Lasso returns! But...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we finally get to jump on the hype train and talk a little Spider-Man: Brand New Day! But not before we dive into TV and how streamers keep screwing us over. Are we the problem?  Also this week, Stephen King finally gets a Desperation adaptation worth talking about, Talladega Nights turns 20, reviews of Ice Cream Man and Spidey, and much more. We...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we head back to San Diego to look at Comic-Con 2026 and debate the biggest news to drop out of Hall H and other locales such as: Numerous Marvel updates revolving around Avengers Doomsday, Ghost Rider, Black Panther 3, Reacher, Neagley, Silo, Spaceballs 2, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Mike Flanagan's take on Stephen King's Carrie , DC's Lanterns , and m...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, before you pre-order your 4K copy of The Odyssey , you might want to listen to this episode where we discuss how physical media is dying, digital is the future, and how are we ever going to deal with this? Pros and cons of the continued emergence of digital releases, especially for those of us who have collected movies and TV shows for years.  Th...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, the 2026 Emmy Award nominations are out, so let's break down the major categories and our predictions for whom should and will take home the awards! Also, our spoiler-free review of Evil Dead Burn .  Discussed on this episode (0:00 – 56:31) 2026 Emmy Nominations and Predictions (56:32 – 1:06:49) Review: Evil Dead Burn Please support The Hollywood...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, it's time to get patriotic and discuss what keeps our flag waving when we indulge in entertainment. Patriotic movies and TV are all over the place - Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, Independence Day, everything Michael Bay directs - so what makes us stand at attention and respect the screen? Also, we debate if current events ever affect our...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we are past the quarter century park, so it's time for reflection on television and its impact on us. Ergo, we debate the most rewatchable TV shows of this century. An important note, this does not mean the greatest shows, this means comfort food, television we keep coming back to that is like a warm blanket. Shows like Modern Family, The Office,...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, our topic stems from the topic of Disclosure Day, are aliens really among us? Is it too ridiculous at this point to believe the government could hide such a vast conspiracy? Let's dive in, plus discuss our favorite aliens coming to Earth films.  Also, this week: we reflect on 2026 to this point, hits and misses, but a bit of randomness.  Discusse...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, our topic is a timely one. 2026 is the year YouTubers broke into the mainstream. Earlier this year, Markiplier found fantastic success with bringing his YouTube series Iron Lung to cinemas, and now we have a month full of success stories by YouTube and TikTok creators with the back-to-back wins of Obsession's director Curry Barker and Backrooms c...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, The Mandalorian and Grogu has taken over theaters and it prompted the question: what will it take for us to love Star Wars again? That might seem harsh, but the Force has definitely lost its luster the past few years, especially with so much content diluting our excitement. It's a solid discussion on what we love and loathe about the franchise, a...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, our main topic based on a recent lawsuit from Miami-Dade county officers in regards to the Netflix film, The Rip. That brought us to movie or TV careers that changed our opinions on the actual day-to-day jobs and how entertainment influenced those.  Also this week: Twister turns 30 years old, we review Obsession, and more! Please support The Holl...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, our main topic is the surge of dark nostalgia invading our TVs these days: Wednesday, Riverdale, now Casper, and on and on. So much of what seemed like fun escapism of our youth is now being morphed into darker, edgier, grittier television that loses much of what we loved about them in the first place.  Also this week: Greta Gerwig scores big wit...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, 2026 has finally arrived at the greatest point of every cinephile's annual indulgence, the summer movie season!! This year theaters are trying to kick back into gear with blockbusters like The Odyssey, Toy Story 5, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mortal Kombat II, The Sheep Detectives, Minions and Monsters, The Breadwinner, Ja...

On this week's episode of The Hollywood Outsider, we dive into CinemaCon 2026, have a little fun with random TV, and discuss recent shows Big Mistakes, Testaments, Malcolm in the Middle revival and more! Discussed on this episode (0:00 – 33:45) 2026 CinemaCon - Sony Begs Theaters, Legend of Zelda finishes, Longlegs continues, and more (33:46 – 1:16:46) Fun with TV (1:16:47 – 1:29:34) Whatcha Been...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we shake things up with 10 Shots of Hollywood - ten topics or games revolving around our favorite subject of movies and TV! Book adaptations, do trailers even work anymore, Kill One Keep One, and a lot more on this very entertaining episode of The HO! Plus, recommendations this week include Darth Maul, The Madison, The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah...

The  SXSW Film and TV Festival is one of the largest of its kind in the world. In a typical year, thousands of fans arrive in downtown Austin, TX to partake in a couple of weeks of great music, technology, and film. For this special episode of The Hollywood Outsider, we take you along for our annual deep dive into the heart of the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival portion, and even further into the fil...

For this special episode, Scott Clark from The Gaming Outsider podcast joins Aaron to breakdown Ryan Gosling's film adaptation of Andy Weir's bestselling novel, Project Hail Mary. The conversation begins spoiler-free before we dive head first into the connections to the book and deviations from the source material. Plus, why the world has fallen in love with Rocky.  Please support The Hollywood Ou...

For this special Oscars 2026 wrap-up, we discuss the events, speeches, and winners of the 98th Annual Academy Awards. Including Conan O'Brien's hosting performance, in-memoriam, one battle after another between Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler, and more. All this and more are up for grabs as we recap this year's Oscars! The Academy Awards (" Oscars ") are the most prestigious awards in filmma...

On this episode of  The Hollywood Outsider podcast, it is time for our own brand of March Madness! Everything is coming up brackets this time of year, so we decided to do our own HO March Madness and determine the Most Rewatchable Movie of the 2000s! This means the first decade, 2000-2009, and we take the Top 16 films as decided by HO HQ, and then break it down, bracket by bracket, until only one...