The Izzy and Murtada Picture Show

In this episode, Izzy chats with host of Turner Classic Movies, Dave Karger, about his book “50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars and Filmmakers on their Career-Defining Wins.” This collection of original interviews with actors, filmmakers, musicians, and craftspeople spans 60 years of Oscar history, and provides truly personal insight into a very public, much-discussed event. Karger talks about what it’...

The time has come! The Oscars are on March 10th and this week Murtada and Izzy predict the winners in all the major categories. They also advocate for who they want to see win. Gather around and hear arguments for Lily Gladstone, The Zone of Interest, Colman Domingo, Sandra Huller and Anatomy of a Fall and many others. The epsode includes a discussion about what transpired during the Indie Spirit...

Ever wonder what campy double-header Izzy and Murtada would program for a live event? What’s going on with Meryl Streep’s career? Who should be Sofia Coppola’s next muse? What’s it like balancing personal passions with audience expectations? This week on the pod—you asked, we answered!!!  Follow the show on  Twitter  and  Instagram : @IMPictureShow. To hear more from Izzy and M...

This week Karl Delossantos joins us again to review two. best International Film nominees: Society of the Snow and Perfect Days! We discuss whether we’d survive a harrowing plane crash in the Andes (absolutely not) and how slow cinema can actually be extraordinarily riveting. Listen as you trek through the snow from the most recent blizzard for full effect. Read Murtada's review of Perfect Da...

This week Murtada interviews Moses Bwayo the director of the Oscar nominated documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President. The conversation encompasses Bwayo’s 5-year long quest to bring to audiences the story of Wine, a popular musician in Uganda who tried to serve his community by challenging an authoritarian dictator and how that impacted him, his family and the people of Uganda. But before th...

The Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday morning and obviously everyone is being very chill about it—Izzy and Murtada included! This week they caught up to mourn the May December snubs, give their predictions for the major categories, and, YES, wade into the Barbie discourse.  Follow the show on  Twitter  and  Instagram : @IMPictureShow. To hear more from Izzy and Murtad...

This week Izzy and Murtada welcome Karl Delossantos to discuss All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh’s metaphysical meditation on the relationships of queer children to their parents. Izzy also offers her thoughts on Oppenheimer, which took her far too long to see, but which turned out to not be that urgent in her opinion. Finally, the trio gives their thoughts about the upcoming Oscar nominations—who...

In their first recording session of 2024, Izzy and Murtada catch up on the Golden Globes and SAG nominations. They lament the gradual erasure of May December, wonder if the Bradley Cooper discourse has gone too far, and debate whether Annette Bening truly will be nominated for NYAD! Follow the show on  Twitter  and  Instagram : @IMPictureShow. To hear more from Izzy and Murtada chec...

This week Izzy and Murtada are joined by Jenny He and Dara Jaffe, the brilliant curators behind The Academy Museum’s John Waters exhibition, “Pope of Trash.” The exhibition, which runs until August 2024, is the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Waters’s work. From his earliest 8mm silent films to his most recent film, 2004’s A Dirty Shame, it explores his filmmaking process, singular sty...

This week Murtada interviews Palestinian director Lina Soualem about her Oscar tipped movie, Bye Bye Tiberias . Soualem traces the history of four generations of Palestinian women in her family by pointing the camera at her mother, actress Hiam Abbas, of  Succession  fame. In playfully recreating moments from Abbas’ life in Palestine, with her sisters, mother and grandmother, Soualem pay...

This week Izzy chatted with Sydney Urbanek, one of our best writers and thinkers on pop stars and their visual antics. Sydney shared her thoughts on two recent theatrical releases by Beyonce and Taylor Swift—the difference between “concert films” and “filmed concerts,” how the films develop their respective personas, and why Izzy is a fool for having not seen Homecoming yet. You can follow Sydney’...

This week Izzy and Murtada discuss Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn and Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, two films they are largely less than enthusiastic about. They analyze Saltburn’s odd politics and character motivations (or lack thereof), while digging into Cooper’s motivations for turning Maestro from a conventional biopic into a portrait of a marriage (of all things).  Follow the show on  Twit...

This week Izzy and Murtada go to bat for their respective favorite new releases in theaters this week: Poor Things and The Holdovers. Murtada sings the praises of Emma Stone’s Oscar-worthy performance, while Izzy essentially just wishes Hal Ashby were still alive. They also break down the highly competitive Best Supporting Actress race this year. Will Julianne Moore sneak a second win for May Dece...

This week Izzy and Murtada are joined by Agniia Galdanova and Igor Myakotin, the director and producer of Queendom, a documentary that follows Russian drag artist Gena Marvin through the streets of Moscow and the harsh but beautiful landscape of Magadan, Russia. The film details not only Gena’s stunning transformations, but also the increasing restrictions on queer life and protest as the invasion...

This week Izzy and Murtada take a look at Netflix’s NYAD, a biopic of marathon swimmer Diana Nyad who, at 64 years old, became the first person to successfully (?) swim from Cuba to Florida. The film stars Annette Bening as the titular Nyad and Jodie Foster as her coach and ex-lover Bonnie Stoll. The hosts rave about Bening’s exaggerated and intense performance, and admire Foster’s usual strength...

This week Murtada and Izzy discuss Sofia Coppola’s latest, Priscilla—a film Izzy has been thinking about nonstop for 2 weeks straight. Unsurprisingly, she has a lot of opinions about it, Coppola’s filmmaking, Priscilla’s memoir, and more, while Murtada offers insight into Coppola’s larger oeuvre and why he does and very much also does not enjoy it. They also discuss the film’s stars and whether or...

This week Murtada and Izzy join the chorus of cinephiles raving over Martin Scorsese’s latest, Killers of the Flower Moon . The pair talk through viral clips concerning the film’s perspective, how the film fits into Scorsese’s iconic filmography, its ending, and whether or not it’s Lily Gladstone’s year. Murtada also catches us up on some titles that will appear in this year’s Doc NYC, an annual f...

This week Izzy and Murtada continue their breakdown of NYFF titles, specifically focusing on Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning drama Anatomy of a Fall. Izzy tries to contain her unbridled love for Sandra Hüller, while Murtada breaks down how the film pulls the audience in various directions throughout—Do we believe Sandra’s version? Or is she lying? You’ll have to see the film to decide for yours...

This week Murtada and Izzy talk about some of the films they have been watching at the New York Film Festival. They offer brief discussions of May December , The Zone of Interest , Evil Does Not Exist , The Taste of Things and deeper dive into this week’s release; Pedro Almodovar’s Strange Way of Life . They also tease a few Oscar categories where they think some of these films might compete. Plus...

The show is back after a summer hiatus. And on a new day, catch now on Wednesdays. In this episode Murtada and Izzy talk about what movies they loved this summer including the phenomenon that is Barbenheimer. They look forward to the fall slate of awards ready movies like Poor Things , May December, All of Us Strangers and many more. These will play at the New York Film Festival and at NewFest New...

What makes a female character unlikeable? What does unlikeable mean anyway? To Anna Bogutskaya , everything and nothing. Bogutskaya unpacks these questions in her book “Unlikeable Female Characters: The Women Pop Culture Wants You to Hate” and this week on the podcast, Izzy and Murtada ask her all about it. From the mad woman, to the shrew, to the trainwreck, they talk about their favorite flawed...

This week, Matt Baume stops by to chat with Izzy and Murtada about his book, “Hi Honey, I’m Homo: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture.” You may recognize Matt from his wonderful YouTube channel where he breaks down episodes of The Golden Girls, All in the Family, Friends, and more to examine how the media has portrayed LGBTQ+ issues throughout American history. His latest book...

This week, Izzy and Murtada discuss Wes Anderson’s latest film, Asteroid City, which Paul Schrader described as “the most Wes Anderson film Wes Anderson has made.” In today’s episode, the co-hosts ask the question—is that a good or a bad thing? Controversially underwhelmed by the film’s hodgepodge of neurotic misfits navigating a story-within-a-story, Izzy and Murtada unpack Anderson’s quasi-Europ...

This week on the podcast, Izzy and Murtada welcome Manuel Betancourt , film critic and author of “ The Male Gazed .” This book of essays helps us reframe how we talk about desiring men through deep dives into thirst traps, drag queens, Antonio Banderas, telenovelas, and more. The trio explores Betancourt’s guiding question for the book—do I want him or do I want to be him?—while thinking thro...