The Next Best Picture Podcast

"Evil Dead Rise" is the latest horror film to feature award-winning sound work that the Academy will unfairly ignore due to their ongoing genre bias. However, that never stops us at Next Best Picture from highlighting the exceptional work on display. Supervising Sound Editor & Sound Designer Peter Albrechtsen returned to the show to discuss his layered and terrifying work on the film, which you ca...

For Episode 340, I am joined by Sara Clements, Lauren LaMagna, Nadia Dalimonte & Giovanni Lago. Today we're discussing more additions to the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and the announcement of the 2023 Tribeca Festival lineup. We also review the polls, react to the trailers for "Insidious: The Red Door," "The Boogeyman," answer your fan-submitted questions and more! Thank you all for your continued...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, Cody Dericks & Danilo Castro. Today, we're discussing the newest entry in the "Evil Dead" franchise from director Lee Cronin ("The Hole In The Ground") titled "Evil Dead Rise" starring Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols & Nell Fisher. What did we think of moving the franchise away from the de...

"Beau Is Afraid" is the latest film from auteur director Ari Aster and it's proving to be his most divisive but fascinating feature yet. The nightmarish horror comedy is a three-hour-long epic odyssey that takes Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) to the ends of the earth on a journey to visit his mother, with whom he has a complex relationship. After hitting him with their car, he awakens to meet the kindly c...

"Carmen" had its world premiere at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for Benjamin Millepied's bold vision, re-telling the popular French opera through primarily interpretative dance, spellbinding cinematography and a glorious score from Nicholas Britell. The film is being released this weekend in theaters by Sony Pictures Classics. Millepied (inter...

"Somewhere In Queens" had its world premiere at last year's Tribeca Festival, where it received positive reviews for Ray Romano's writing, direction, and acting from him, Laurie Metcalf, and the rest of the ensemble. It's finally being released in theaters this weekend by Roadside Attractions. Romano was kind enough to spend some time talking with me about the jitters behind directing his first fe...

After re-introducing the Next Best Series podcast two weeks ago for this television awards season, we're back again with another episode! For Episode 32, I'm joined by Meredith Loftus, Daniel Howat, and Tom O'Brien. This week, we're discussing the current shows we're watching on TV, including "Succession," "Beef," "Barry," and more! We also go over our favorite shows this year, discuss HBO Max and...

"Chevalier" had its world premiere at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for Kelvin Harrison Jr's performance as French revolutionary and violinist, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and the presentation of the character and story through Stephen Williams' direction and Stefani Robinson's screenplay. Harrison Jr. was kind enough to return...

For Episode 339, I am joined by Eve O'Dea, Josh Parham & Isaiah Washington. Today we're discussing our reactions to the 2023 Cannes Film Festival lineup. We also review the polls, react to the trailers for "The Marvels," "Sanctuary," and "Talk To Me," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for your continued support. Please take a listen and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestP...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Meredith Loftus, Josh Parham & Dan Bayer. Today, we're discussing the newest film from director Chris McKay, "Renfield," starring Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shohreh Aghdashloo & Adrian Martinez. The classic Universal horror movie monster returns to the big screen in this horror action-comedy that frames the story aroun...

"Renfield" is a horror, action comedy from director Chris McKay ("The Lego Batman Movie" and "The Tomorrow War") which tells the story of a co-dependent relationship between Dracula (Nicolas Cage) and his long-suffering familiar Renfield (Nicholas Hoult). An intentionally silly, fun, and over-the-top comedy with lots of gore, actor Ben Schwartz plays the son of a mob boss who gets tied up in Renfi...

"Mafia Mamma" is a crime comedy film by director Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen" and "Twilight") which tells the story of a middle-aged woman (Toni Collette) who unexpectedly gets called to Italy by Bianca (Monica Bellucci) to attend her grandfather's funeral, not realizing what she's really being called for is to run the notorious crime family her grandfather was the previous leader of. Bellucci...

For Episode 338, I am joined by Lauren Cohen, Giovanni Lago & guest Karl Delossantos. Today we're discussing which films we believe will be announced this week for the official 2023 Cannes Film Festival lineup. We also review the polls, react to the trailers for "Hypnotic," "Blue Beetle," and "Extraction 2," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for your continued support. P...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Lauren Cohen, Will Mavity & Tom O'Brien. Ben Affleck has returned to the director's chair for his fifth feature film, "Air," starring himself, Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker & Viola Davis. The film follows the true story of the historic signing of world-renowned basketball player Michael Jordan to Nike, whic...

"How To Blow Up A Pipeline" had its world premiere at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its direction, editing, score, and performances from its ensemble cast. An environmentalist, political heist thriller, the film has stirred up a lot of conversation, especially as NEON rolls it out into theaters this weekend. Director and co-writer Daniel Go...

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 Our 2011 retrospective continues with Tate Taylor's "The Help" starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney & Sissy Spacek. A beloved film upon its release, it has go...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Zoe Rose Bryant, Josh Parham & Isaiah Washington to discuss the new film from Illumination Entertainment, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Charles Martinet & Kevin Michael Richardson. Many of us have been waiting for y...

The Next Best Series Podcast is back and better than ever! We will be holding episodes on a bi-weekly basis this year instead of monthly. We will also go deeper than ever into the television shows contending for this year's Emmy Awards. In our first episode back, Alyssa Christian, Giovanni Lago, and I recap the TV winners from the 2022 Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG Awards and see which of...

"Enys Men" had its world premiere at last year's Cannes Film Festival. It later went on to screen at other film festivals, including NYFF, and received a release from NEON this past weekend. An experimental horror film, its abstract visuals and lead performance from Mary Woodvine have garnered critical acclaim. Director and writer Mark Jenkin was kind enough to talk with us about his newest film,...

For Episode 337, I am joined by Alyssa Christian, Josh Parham & Dan Bayer. Today we're discussing the best films from Q1 2023 and the recent changes (both new and possibly forthcoming) from the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. We also review the polls, react to the trailers for "Asteroid City" and "Master Gardener," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for your co...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Amy Smith, Dan Bayer, Isaiah Washington & guest Aaron White to discuss the new film from "Game Night" directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis & Hugh Grant. In what could be the start of a new franchise, tun...

"Tetris" had its world premiere at this year's South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW), where it received positive notices for its wild presentation of the even more wild story of the origins of the video game Tetris and Taron Egerton's charismatic performance. Director Jon S. Baird ("Stan & Ollie") was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work on the film, as was Noah Pink, wh...

"Acidman" had its world premiere at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, where it received positive notices for the performances from Academy Award nominee Thomas Haden Church ("Sideways") and "Glee" star Dianna Agron for their work as an estranged father whose daughter travels across the country to visit him only to discover that he's starting to lose his mind in his search for UFO's. Dianna was ki...

"A Thousand And One" had its world premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and is now being released this weekend in theaters from Focus Features. Writer and director A.V. Rockwell, making her feature directorial debut, was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about the story, the central performance from Teyana Taylor, her thoughts on the curren...

"Tori And Lokita" had its world premiere at last year's Cannes Film Festival, where writers and directors Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (the Dardenne Brothers) received a Special 75th-anniversary prize for their contributions towards the cinematic medium. The winners of two Palme d'Or awards, the Belgian brothers remain a pillar of cinematic excellence crafting stories of ordinary people going throug...