Hot and Bothered

Vanessa Zoltan and Hannah McGregor meet as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve to record this week’s episode of Hot and Bothered, all about When Harry Met Sally . We’re continuing our deep-dive into Meg Ryan with the movie that put her on the map as leading-lady material. This week we explore whether 'opposites attract' is really a romantic principle we believe in and interview Profe...

After our wide-lens analysis of a movie, we're going to spend a week closely studying its final scene. These scenes, which are often Happily Ever Afters, tell us a lot about what's important to the movie and its idea about love and coupledom. In this week's scene, the characters Annie, Sam, and Jonah finally get to meet each other on the top of the Empire State Building. --- If we give you butterf...

Vanessa Zoltan and Hannah McGregor meet at the top of The Empire State Building to record their first episode of Hot and Bothered together, all about the 1993 classic Sleepless in Seattle . It’s got Meg Ryan, it’s got Tom Hanks, it’s directed by Nora Ephron. What more could you want?  For the next nine weeks, we’re thinking about the influence and impact of Meg Ryan as a rom-com super st...

Well folks – we've arrived! Our tenth and final episode of our How To series about How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days . We've puzzled over its messaging, marveled at its efficiency, and learned a lot about the mechanics of film-making. On today's episode, Vanessa shares her concluding thoughts on the movie and brings her lingering questions to the brilliant cultural critic Anne Helen Petersen. We end th...

We can't wrap-up a deep-dive into How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days without talking about the most memorable part of the movie – the yellow dress Kate Hudson wears in the climax of the film. And while we're at it, it's worth obsessing over all the costumes in this film because this is a movie steeped in fashion. To help us unpack the craft of costume design, we're welcoming Colin Wilkes on the sho...

The music of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days runs the gamut from country-pop songs to whimsical orchestrations. To the modern ear, it all sounds very specific to an early 2000s rom-com moment. This week, to help us understand that moment and the history of movie music more broadly, we have Julie Hubbert on the show. Julie Hubbert is the LaDare Robinson Memorial Professor of Music at the Universi...

When watching at rom-com, have you ever noticed that the stars just kind of glow? That their skin looks silky smooth and their apartments are always sun-drenched? Lighting design and camera movement play a huge role in giving rom-coms their particular aesthetic, and those things (we're pretty sure) are part of the art of cinematography. This week, to help us understand the history of cinematograph...

The success of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is built around the chemistry and star-power of its two leading actors: Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. To truly understand this film, we have to understand the way movie stars operate in Hollywood, what casting these two actors meant in 2003, and what it means today. Helping us in that task is Russell Meeuf , a professor in the school of Journ...

After talking about setting last episode, we wanted to dig even deeper into the physical space inhabited by Ben and Andie. How does the design of their workplaces, apartments, and date-nights affect how we perceive each of their characters? To help us tackle this topic, we're joined by Production Designer Stuart Blatt. Stuart walks us through the role of Production Designer, how he works with othe...

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days , like many Rom-Coms, is set in New York City. It’s got fire escapes, taxi cabs, and a dramatic Manhattan Bridge scene.  In order to understand this film, we have to understand: What is it about New York that is so ripe for romance? And what parts of the city are highlighted in this movie and why? To help us answer those questions, we’re joined by Eric Hynes, the...

For our annual fundraiser at Not Sorry, we are again supporting the wonderful organization On The Rise. On The Rise’s work begins with individuals experiencing homelessness in Cambridge, Massachusetts and continues if and when they secure housing. From their origin as a women’s organization, their programs have evolved toward inclusion of those historically and structurally oppressed on the basis...

For our next deep-dive into How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days , we wanted to better understand the story structure of a Rom-Com. We called up the delightful Hannah Giorgis, a film critic for The Atlantic, to help us break down the three-act structure and how it operates in this film. Hannah brought some great citations and resources to the show: “You’re So Vain”: An Oral History of How to Lose a G...

For our first deep-dive into How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days , we wanted to look at the history of the rom-com genre. To help us dig into it, we called up the incredible Kathleen Karlyn, the founding director of the Cinema Studies program at University of Oregon and author of The Unruly Woman: Gender and the Genres of Laughter . We wanted to know: Where does the history of the rom-com start? What do...

We make Hot & Bothered because we are interested in the way that love stories have impacted our lives and culture. For our fifth season of the show, we’re turning our attention to romantic films. We're starting this season with 10 episodes on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, an iconic film of the early 2000s rom-com oeuvre. It has a perfect yellow dress. It has a karaoke battle. It has Matthew Mc...

Hot and Bothered is back for Season 5 with a brand new host! We're thrilled to be joined by Hannah McGregor to help us analyze all our favorite Romance movies. New episodes bi-weekly on Tuesdays. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August Vanessa and Margaret are taking a trip to Bath to go on long walks, read Northanger Abbey, and talk about questions like: how do I learn when to trust my gut and when to doubt it? Once someone has lost our trust, can confidence ever be restored, and how? In celebration of our trip, we're sharing a conversation from our Patreon archive with Professor Lesley Goodman all about Northanger Ab...

In September of next year, Sanne Vliegenthart is leading our Wuthering Heights pilgrimage to West Yorkshire. In this bonus, hear Vanessa and Sanne talk about Wuthering Heights and the incredible village of Haworth, where the Brontës lived. If you're interested in joining the pilgrimage, you can sign-up at: https://www.readingandwalkingwith.com/wuthering-heights-2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

This week we're sharing another special episode from our Patreon-only Austen mini series! Vanessa and Margaret H. Willison discuss disability representation in the text and why Persuasion is the most mature Austen novel. Check out our patreon to hear more episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're joined by Nichole Perkins for a special conversation about her first romance novel experience and A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole. Nichole and Vanessa are co-leading an A Duke By Default pilgrimage in Edinburgh, Scotland in May 2024. Learn more (and sign-up) here ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're sharing a special episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Material Girls . Vanessa joins as a guest to discuss Bridgerton the book series and its move into the mainstream through the Shondaland adaptation on Netflix. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While you're waiting for our new season, have you considered revisiting Twilight in Quarantine ? It's the perfect time of year for vampires, werewolves, and angsty teen romance! This week we're re-publishing one of our favorite episodes from book one: Nightmare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we're working away on the next season of Hot and Bothered , over on our patreon we're going to be exploring the other Austen books and adaptations! This is our first episode of the patreon exclusive mini-season: a conversation about Emma with one of our favorite Austen scholars, Professor Roxanne Eberle. Next week we'll be discussing the 2020 movie adaption – tune in on Patreon to liste...

In our final episode of the season, Vanessa and Lauren return to some of their central questions about Pride and Prejudice , its popularity and its politics. We'll be back in a few months with our next season, but in the meantime we'll be releasing regular bonus episodes on our Patreon . We'd love to have you join the community supporting our work! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

For our final adaptation conversation of this season, we're talking to critic and writer Bedatri Choudhury about the film Bride and Prejudice. We explore how the class and gender dynamics of Georgian England transpose into 21st century India and discuss this question: is this a true Bollywood film? Next episode, Vanessa and Lauren are back together to wrap-up the season. --- Don't spend your daugh...

Curtis Sittenfeld is one of Vanessa's favorite authors and in 2016 she published her own take on Pride and Prejudice, Eligible . Eligible transposes Lizzy and company from 19th century England to modern-day Cincinnati, Ohio. In today's episode, we talk to Curtis about Eligible and the inspiration behind her new book, Romantic Comedy . Join us in two weeks for our discussion of Bride and Prejudice...