The Next Best Picture Podcast

"Rosemead" is a drama film, directed by Eric Lin in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Marilyn Fu, based on a 2017 LA Times column by Frank Shyong. It stars Lucy Liu as an ailing woman who is stricken by the discovery of her teenage son’s violent obsessions and must go to great lengths to protect him, and possibly others, in this portrait of a Chinese American family. The film premiered a...

For Episode 468, Cody Dericks, Nadia Dalimonte and Giovanni Lago join me for a packed week of awards season predictions as December looms around the corner and the precursors for the 98th Academy Awards officially begin. We predict the Gotham Awards, New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), and National Board of Review (NBR) winners, along with what we be...

For this week's main podcast review, Sara Clements, Cody Dericks, Alyssa Christian, Brendan Hodges & Joselyn Safadi join me to discuss the sequel to 2016's Oscar-winning animated film "Zootopia," titled "Zootopia 2," starring the voice talents of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Shakira, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, D...

"The Thing With Feathers" is a British independent drama film starring Benedict Cumberbatch that is written and directed by Dylan Southern and adapted from the book "Grief Is the Thing with Feathers" by Max Porter. It had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where Cumberbatch's haunting performance as a grief-stricken father was praised. Cumberbatch was kind enough to spend some...

"Eternity" had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival where it received positive reviews for its clever premise about a woman who must choose between two men with whom to spend eternity in the afterlife co-written and directed by David Freyne along with the trio of heartwarming an heartbreaking performances from Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, and hilariou...

"In Your Dreams" is an American animated adventure-comedy film directed by Alex Woo and co-directed by Erik Benson, from a script by Woo and Benson and a story by Woo, Benson, and Stanley Moore. It tells the story of Stevie (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) and her little brother Elliot (Elias Janssen), who journey into the wildly absurd landscape of their own dreams to ask the Sandman to grant them the per...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's second podcast review, Josh Parham and Nadia Dalimonte join me to review and discuss the latest film from Hikari, "Rental Family," starring Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, a...

"All That's Left Of You" is a drama film produced, written, and directed by Cherien Dabis, who also stars alongside Saleh Bakri, Mohammad Bakri, Adam Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman, Sanad Alkabareti, and Salah El Din. It follows a Palestinian family across three generations during the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film...

For Episode 467, Lauren LaMagna, Dan Bayer, Tom O'Brien, and I are here to discuss the Academy's announcement of the eligible films for Best Animated, Documentary, and International Feature Film for the 98th Academy Awards, as well as other recent developments in the awards season race, including the awards status of "Wicked: For Good." For this week's poll, we ask, "Which Films Will Be Oscar-Nomi...

For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Josh Parham, Lauren LaMagna & Cody Dericks join me to discuss the sequel to last year's "Wicked," titled "Wicked: For Good," starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. The film adapts the second act of the 2003 stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, which was...

"Kokuho" is a Japanese drama film directed by Lee Sang-il, written by Satoko Okudera, and based on a novel of the same name by Shuichi Yoshida, starring Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, Mitsuki Takahata, Shinobu Terajima, Min Tanaka, and Ken Watanabe. It tells the story of a young boy who devotes himself to the traditional theatre of kabuki under the tutelage of a famous actor, aspiring for the sam...

"Train Dreams" had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and later screened at the Toronto and AFI Film Festivals. It received positive reviews for its adaptation of the 2011 novella of the same name, Clint Bentley's direction, Joel Edgerton's leading performance, its cinematography, and its score by Bryce Dessner. Members of the cast and crew were kind enough to spend some time sp...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's third podcast review, Dan Bayer, Megan Lachinski, and Will Mavity join me to review and discuss the latest film from Clint Bentley, "Train Dreams," starring Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Clifton Collins Jr., K...

"Cutting Through Rocks" is a documentary film directed by Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki in their feature debut. It follows the story of the first Iranian woman elected as a councilwoman in a rural, poor village. The film had its world premiere in the World Documentary Competition section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews and won the Grand Jury Prize – World...

"Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk" is a documentary film directed by Sepideh Farsi, depicting life in Gaza during the ongoing Israeli military campaign, captured through Farsi's video calls with a young Palestinian photojournalist living there named Fatima Hassouna. The documentary had its world premiere at the ACID parallel section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. A day after the filmmakers f...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's second podcast review, Giovanni Lago, Alyssa Christian, and Tom O'Brien join me to review and discuss the latest film from James Vanderbilt, "Nuremberg," starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall, John Sl...

"Rental Family" is a comedy-drama film directed by Hikari, who co-wrote the script with Stephen Blahut, starring Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, and Akira Emoto. The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its direction, writing, and heartwarming performances. Hikari and Emoto were both kind enough...

For Episode 466, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, and I are here to discuss the awards prospects for the final films that need to screen and release before the end of the year to qualify for the 98th Academy Awards. We leave no stone unturned as we discuss the reactions and expectations for "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "Avatar: Fire And Ash," "Wicked: For Good," "No Other Choice," "The Testament Of Ann Lee,"...

For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Giovanni Lago & Amy Kim join me to discuss the latest film from Edgar Wright, "The Running Man," starring Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin. It is the second adaptation of the 1982 novel by Stephen King, following the 1987 film starring Arnold...

"Rebuilding" is an American independent drama film written and directed by Max Walker-Silverman, starring Josh O'Connor, Lily LaTorre, Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis, and Amy Madigan. The film follows a cowboy named Dusty (O'Connor), who ends up in a FEMA camp after a wildfire destroys his ranch, and he finds community with others who have lost their homes, including his daughter and ex-wife. The film ha...

"Arco" is a French animated science fantasy film written and directed by Ugo Bienvenu and produced by Natalie Portman. It stars Swann Arlaud, Alma Jodorowsky, Margot Ringard Oldra, Oscar Tresanini, Vincent Macaigne, Louis Garrel, William Lebghil, and Oxmo Puccino in the French version, with Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Flea, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, and Andy Samberg in the English dubbed v...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's third podcast review, Ema Sasic, Josh Parham, and Giovanni Lago join me to review and discuss the latest film from Joachim Trier, "Sentimental Value," starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter...

"Nouvelle Vague" is a black and white comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater starring Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard, Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, and Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo. It follows the shooting of "Breathless," one of the first feature films of the Nouvelle Vague era of French cinema, in 1959. The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2025 Cannes...

"Sirāt" is a drama film directed by Óliver Laxe, co-written by Santiago Fillol and Laxe. It follows Luis (Sergi López), a father in search of his missing daughter in the deserts of southern Morocco. The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It's since been selected as the Spanish submission for the Best International Feat...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's second podcast review, Ema Sasic, Dan Bayer, and Nadia Dalimonte join me to review and discuss the latest film from Lynne Ramsay, "Die My Love," starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Sissy Spacek, LaKei...