The Next Best Picture Podcast

For Episode 330, I am joined by Lauren Cohen and guest Jonathan Fujii aka. "The Film Drunk." Today, we're discussing the decision of the Academy's investigation into the campaign behind Andrea Riseborough's Best Actress nomination and where the Oscar race stands before the guilds chime in. We also go over the polls, share our reactions to the trailer for Guy Ritchie's "The Covenant," answer your f...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Ema Sasic, Josh Parham & Lauren Cohen. This week we're reviewing the latest film from M. Night Shyamalan, "Knock At The Cabin," starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn & Rupert Grint. Based on the 2019 book "The Cabin at the End of the World" by Paul G. Tremblay, Shyamalan crafts another fai...

Damien Chazelle's epic film of Hollywood's transition from silents to talkies, "Babylon," has gone on to become one of the most debated and divisive films of 2022. However, one element that cannot be disputed is its impeccable craft. We were honored to have Oscar-nominated production designer Florencia Martin and Oscar-winning editor Tom Cross ("Whiplash") on the podcast to discuss their work with...

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 our latest throwback review, we're reviewing Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut & Bob Balaban. A classic Sci-Fi film that has end...

Pixar's "Turning Red" was released on Disney+ almost a full year ago to positive reviews from critics and audiences. It has maintained its status as one of the best-animated films of 2022, which ultimately led to an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film a few days ago. Director and co-writer Domee Shi was kind enough to talk with us about her work on the film, what it means to her, and h...

HBO's "The Last Of Us" has been airing over the last few weeks to rave reviews from critics, fans of the video game, and new audiences who are getting sucked into the world of Joel and Ellie. Last night's episode, "Long Long Time," has received some of the strongest and most emotional reactions from the fandom yet and marks the first episode shot by cinematographer Eben Bolter, who also shot episo...

For Episode 329, I am joined by Josh Parham, Giovanni Lago & Isaiah Washington. Today, we're discussing the fallout of the 2023 Oscar nominations, including the Academy's investigation into Andrea Riseborough's Best Actress nomination. We also go over the WGA Nominations, go over the polls, share our reactions to the trailer for "Emily," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Please take a...

It's that time of the year! It's our annual Sundance Film Festival recap podcast. For the 2023 festival, we gathered a group of people from inside and outside NBP who were in-person at the festival and covered it online. Joining me for this packed episode I have Amy Smith, Cody Dericks, Ema Sasic, Lauren Cohen, Sara Clements, Zoe Rose Bryant, and guests Aaron White from FeelinFilm, Anna Miller fro...

Lukas Dhont's second feature film, "Close," had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won Grand Prix. It then went on to play at various film festivals afterward and is now playing in theaters from A24 this weekend following its Oscar nomination for Best International Feature Film earlier this week. Director/Writer Lukas Dhont was kind enough to talk with us about his work on th...

"When You Finish Saving The World" is the feature directorial debut of Academy Award-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg. The film had its world premiere at last year's Sundance Film Festival and is now playing in theaters from A24. Jesse spent some time with us talking about his work on the film along with the film's star Finn Wolfhard. Please take a listen down below and be sure to check out the fil...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL EPISODE. Please check out the full podcast episode on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture Riz Ahmed and Allison Williamson announced the nominations for the 95th annual Academy Awards early yesterday morning. As per usual, there were many surprises, shocking omissions, and lots of high emotions from the Next Best...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Dan Bayer & Adriano Caporusso. This week we're reviewing the second feature film from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Florian Zeller, "The Son," starring Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath & Anthony Hopkins. Ever since its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, the film has received mixed to negative reactions...

"Avatar: The Way Of Water" has become one of the biggest films of all time, but it was not always guaranteed that it would live up to the first film. Similarly, in the aftermath of composer James Horner's tragic death, composer Simon Franglen had big shoes to fill as he stepped in to compose the world of James Cameron's "Avatar." Carrying on Horner's legacy and musical themes, the composer was kin...

Director Antoine Fuqua and Academy Award-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson were kind enough to recently spend some time talking with us about their work together on "Emancipation." The film tells the true story of a runaway slave named Peter (Will Smith) who escaped his plantation in the 1860s and fought his way to freedom. With unique color grading and striking images influenced by the ph...

Known for his Emmy-winning work on "Euphoria," and films like "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and "Zola," Colman Domingo took on a new role with the animated short film "New Moon." Adapting a segment from his one-man show "A Boy and His Soul," Colman and his husband Raul set out to bring the words of Colman's mother to life. "I'm very much a mama's boy," Colman says. "For me, this is a testament to my...

For Episode 328, I am joined by Alyssa Christian, Josh Parham, Yasmine Kandil, Daniel Howat, Cody Dericks & Tom O'Brien. Due to the Sundance Film Festival being held this week, we're recording our Oscar nomination predictions a week early, without the help of the BAFTA nominations. We discuss the SAG, DGA, and PGA nominations and give our thoughts on various guild nominations, which all feed into...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Amy Smith & Dan Bayer. This week we're reviewing the latest film from director Marc Forster, "A Man Called Otto," starring Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller & Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. An American remake of the 2015 Oscar-nominated film "A Man Called Ove," the film tells a conventional story with profound sadness and uplifting hope. What did w...

We all knew that Andrew Dominik's "Blonde" would be one of the year's most controversial films before its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. And that turned out to be true. While its depiction of its female subject rightfully received criticism, the cinematography by director of photography Chayse Irvin was consistently praised for its black and white compositions, use of fi...

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 our latest throwback review, we're reviewing the last film that garnered director Baz Luhrmann Best Picture buzz back in 2001, the smash-hit extravagant jukebox movie musical "Moulin Rouge!" starring Nicole Kidman, Ewan Mc...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL EPISODE. Please check out the full podcast episode on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture Following the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards, Dan Bayer, Cody Dericks, Daniel Howat, Giovanni Lago, Isaiah Washington and I hopped on the podcast to deliver our immediate reactions to the winners (on the film side). How did...

"RRR" has become a global phenomenon, setting box office records and crossing over to the United States in a major way by capturing the imagination of audiences and winning awards in the process. Recent New York Film Critics Circle winner and Critics Choice Award nominee for Best Director, S.S. Rajamouli, was kind enough to spend some time talking with Dan Bayer about his work on the film. Afterwa...

"RRR" is one of the last year's true success stories. An Indian blockbuster that crossed over to the states, it is still holding sold-out screenings and receiving rapturous responses from those who experience it. S.S. Rajamouli's historical action epic also features some of the best crafts of 2022 with over-the-top stunt work, chaotic sound, energizing music, and dazzling visual effects. Many of t...

For Episode 327, I am joined by Nadia Dalimonte, Josh Parham, Meredith Loftus, Cody Dericks & Will Mavity. We have a super-sized episode of awards season content to go over, from the BAFTA longlists, to our SAG Nomination predictions, to what we think will win this week at the Golden Globe Awards. There's a lot of ground to cover, including the results of the polls and trailer discussions for "Ren...

For this week's main podcast review, I am joined by Josh Parham, Dan Bayer & Cody Dericks. This week we're reviewing Gerard Johnstone's "M3GAN," starring Allison Williams, Jenna Davis & Violet McGraw. 2023 is off to a fun start. Expectations were low for this one, but by leaning into the film's ridiculous premise with a degree of self-awareness, a new horror icon has been born, which will supply u...

"The Pale Blue Eye," tells an origin story of sorts for one of the world's most renowned authors, Edgar Allen Poe. Played by Harry Melling, the young military cadet in 1830 West Point, New York, is called upon to help a veteran detective (Christian Bale) solve a series of grizzly and inexplicable murders. Director/Writer Scott Cooper may love continuing to work with Christian Bale, but he has no i...