The Big Picture

Sean and Amanda recap the long weekend in film news and discuss the biggest films out of the Telluride Film Festival, including the much-anticipated ‘Anora,’ the 'SNL' origin story ‘Saturday Night,’ the Trump biopic ‘The Apprentice,’ and more (1:00). Then, they react to the Venice Film Festival from afar and take stock of the impact that this weekend’s major festivals have had on the state of the...

With ‘Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice’ on the horizon, Sean and Amanda enlist the help of Michael Keaton superfan and ‘Blank Check’ cohost Griffin Newman to carve out the Michael Keaton movie Mount Rushmore: an ode to a career with incredible peaks and long, fallow stretches (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by ‘Between the Temples’ writer-director Nathan Silver and producer and star Jason Schwartzman to disc...

Sean and Amanda return to the feed in triumphant fashion by talking about, among other things, Oasis, the ‘Megalopolis’ trailer, and their weeks away (1:00). Then, they run through five recently released features and their “sicko” natures, measuring the quality of each film and the state of the release calendar in the doldrums of summer (18:00). Finally, Sean is joined by JT Mollner, the director...

‘The Hollywood Hack’ is a three-part narrative series chronicling the biggest Hollywood heist of all time: In the fall of 2014, a group of cyberterrorists hacked Sony Pictures, stealing hundreds of thousands of documents. The materials were eventually leaked online, causing an international incident that would change Hollywood forever.  In Episode 3, the hackers attempt to halt the release of ‘The...

‘The Hollywood Hack’ is a three-part narrative series chronicling the biggest Hollywood heist of all time: In the fall of 2014, a group of cyberterrorists hacked Sony Pictures, stealing hundreds of thousands of documents. The materials were eventually leaked online, causing an international incident that would change Hollywood forever.  In Episode 2, the hackers release hundreds of thousands of to...

‘The Hollywood Hack’ is a three-part narrative series chronicling the biggest Hollywood heist of all time: In the fall of 2014, a group of cyberterrorists hacked Sony Pictures, stealing hundreds of thousands of documents. The materials were eventually leaked online, causing an international incident that would change Hollywood forever.  In Episode 1, thousands of Sony employees show up for work on...

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan to react to a handful of casting tidbits (1:00), before digging into the newest installment in the ‘Alien’ franchise, ‘Alien: Romulus’ (11:00). They discuss the new movie’s fealty to the original, the chances it takes, how it works as a pure horror movie, and more. Then, they rank all nine movies in the franchise (53:00), before Sean is joined by ‘Romulus’ director Fed...

Sean and Amanda are joined by Ringer contributor Brian Raftery to discuss his miniseries about the Sony hack, running next week on the ‘Big Picture’ feed (1:00). Then, they discuss two recent releases—Sean Wang’s coming-of-age movie ‘Dìdi’ and the Matt Damon and Casey Affleck vehicle ‘The Instigators’ (14:00)—before launching themselves into the Matt Damon Hall of Fame (34:00). Finally, Sean is jo...

In their 700th Episode, Sean and Amanda discuss the news that the Brad Pitt and George Clooney vehicle ‘Wolfs’ will have a one-week limited theatrical release before moving to streaming, then talk about a slightly deranged combination of films this week (0:45). First up, they dive into ‘Sing Sing,’ a deeply moving prison drama starring Colman Domingo about a small group of prisoners attempting to...

Sean and Amanda dig into a heap of news that Sean missed while he was on vacation (0:55), including the latest on the MCU (1:25), the fall festival landscape (18:27), and the just-announced Britney Spears biopic (30:5r0). Then, they dive deep into M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, the twisty serial killer thriller ‘Trap’ (38:05). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Brian H. Waters Learn...

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to commemorate the career of one of America’s greatest directors, Sidney Lumet. They talk about him as a person, his path to becoming a workman director, his methodology, and his standout moments (1:00) before going through his entire filmography and choosing the 10 most essential entries in the canon (43:00). Then, they each share their five personal favor...

Sean and Amanda are joined by three out of four of the Midnight Boys—Van Lathan, Charles Holmes, and Jomi Adeniran—to have a deep-dive conversation about Marvel’s big 2024 bet: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’ They discuss the somewhat convoluted plot of the movie (5:00), what they liked and didn’t like about it (11:00), what audience it’s aiming for (16:00), whether or not Marvel is back on the right trac...

Sean and Amanda discuss the smashing success of Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones’s ‘Twisters’ (1:00) before reviewing ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ a surprisingly under-the-radar Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum movie about the space race (21:00). After that, they open up the mailbag to answer your questions about the 2025 movie slate, Tom Cruise’s next projects, movie theater behavior, film books,...

Sean and Amanda discuss one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, ‘Twisters,’ starring their guy Glen Powell alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones (1:00). Then, in honor of the genre that ‘Twister’ amplified in the ’90s, they discuss what makes natural disaster movies so appealing and which are the most successful (40:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn...

We’re drafting again! Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to draft 2000s summer blockbusters. To watch episodes of ‘The Big Picture,’ head to https://www.youtube.com/@RingerMovies. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Producer: Aleya Zenieris and Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean is joined by Rob Mahoney to appraise just how terrifying ‘Longlegs’ is after all the buzz (1:00). Then, they run through the canon of serial killer movies, a horror subgenre that distinguishes itself from slashers (26:00). Finally, Sean is joined by ‘Longlegs’ director Osgood Perkins to discuss his career, the particular elements of ‘Longlegs’ he was most interested in exploring, how a film l...

Sean and Amanda react to the trailer for ‘F1,’ Joseph Kosinski’s follow-up to ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ starring Brad Pitt as a Formula One driver (1:00), then react to the news of the Paramount sale going through (5:00). They later dig into Ti West’s third installment in the ‘X’ trilogy, ‘MaXXXine’ (10:00). Next, they’re joined by Van Lathan to discuss Eddie Murphy’s return to the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’...

Sean and Amanda are joined by a deep bench of Ringer colleagues to share their favorite movies of the year. The selections range from heavy hitters like ‘Dune: Part Two’ and ‘Challengers’ to big swings like ‘Civil War.’ And, of course, Glen Powell will feature. To watch episodes of ‘The Big Picture,’ head to https://www.youtube.com/@RingerMovies. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Ch...

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan for part two of the 2024 movie auction. They nominate 15 films they’re excited for—including some important movies out of Cannes, an M. Night Shyamalan thriller, a Brad Pitt and George Clooney reunion, and more—and bid on who will get each movie on their team. To watch episodes of ‘The Big Picture,’ head to https://www.youtube.com/@RingerMovies. Hosts: Sean...

Sean and Amanda recap the third installment of the ‘Quiet Place’ franchise—the Lupita Nyong’o–starring ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’—which surprised both of them with its scale and quality (1:00). Then, they are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss Kevin Costner’s gigantic gamble, ‘Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1’ (25:00). The trio dig into its weirdness, its Western tropes and subversions, and whethe...

With ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ on the … horizon … Sean and Amanda build the Kevin Costner Hall of Fame by running through Costner’s entire filmography to try to narrow it down to 10 movies. From the cowboy, to the athlete, to the spy, and back again, this filmography (and this episode) is a journey! To watch episodes of ‘The Big Picture,’ head to https://www.youtube.com/@RingerMovies. Hosts: Sea...

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss ‘The Bikeriders,’ a new Jeff Nichols movie starring Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Jodie Comer (1:00). They discuss the film’s successes, its influences, and more, before building a partial canon for movies in the “dudes rock” genre (30:00). Then, Chris leaves and Sean and Amanda discuss ‘Kinds of Kindness,’ Yorgos Lanthimos’s anthology film and t...

We are drafting again! Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan reunite for a draft of the best movies of 2002. To watch episodes of ‘The Big Picture,’ head to https://www.youtube.com/@RingerMovies. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda are joined by ‘Midnight Boy’ Charles Holmes to react to the movie business news that Skydance is no longer looking to acquire Paramount and that Sony has purchased the theater chain Alamo Draft House (1:00). Then, they discuss Pixar’s latest attempt to get back to its heyday with ‘Inside Out 2’ and their relationship to the franchise (23:00). Then, they build their own Mount Rushmo...

Sean and Amanda talk about the successes and shortcomings of the two biggest movies at this week’s box office: Will Smith’s return to franchise moviemaking in ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ (1:00), and ‘The Watchers,’ Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut (43:00). Then, they briefly discuss ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ (1:03:00), Viggo Mortensen’s second directorial feature, a Western starring Mortensen an...