This Had Oscar Buzz

Ooh wee ee ooh ooh ooh ooh wah, Gary! It’s about time we talked about another musical and we’ve got a first time guest this week to join us! Writer Tyler Coates is here to talk about 2014’s Jersey Boys, the screen adaptation of the Tony winning jukebox musical charting the rise of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The film was Clint Eastwood’s return to the cinema after one of his longest directorial sabbaticals, turning out to be a mild summer counter programming misfire. But a few months later, Eastwood would rush American Sniper into a limited release before the Academy deadline, leaving Jersey Boys quickly forgotten.

This episode, we talk about jukebox musicals onscreen and the casting of several stage stars in the film, including Tony winner John Lloyd Young as Valli. We also discuss late stage Eastwood, the film’s flat rendering of midcentury tunes, and the same-day AFI premiere’s of Selma and Sniper.

Topics also include the 2004 Tony Awards, Joe Pesci as narrative device, and Letterman as Oscar host.

We’ve got a new Wes Anderson movie on the horizon, so why not revisit one of his more divisive films: 2021’s The French Dispatch. The film features a bursting murderer’s row of cast members to fill out Anderson’s ode to journalism, a triptych of stories all set within the world of a fictional magazine. Originally promised for 2020’s Cannes Film Festival and delayed more than a year by COVID, the film arrived to American audiences and a growing faction of those growing restless with Anderson’s whole deal. 

This episode, we talk about our growing appreciation for the film since release and Anderson’s “nesting doll” approach to storytelling. We also discuss Jeffrey Wright’s celebrated performance, Christoph Waltz’s cameo that lands him in our Six Timers Club, and Anderson’s Oscar history.

Topics also include the 2021 Production Design nominees, Anderson’s win for Live Action short, and the weird 2021 official Globes tweets.

Perhaps the only silver lining in 2025 is that we have been given a Steven Soderbergh double dip, with both Presence and Black Bag in theatres. Among Soderbergh’s less discussed films is King of the Hill, a Depression-set drama of a boy living on his own in a St. Louis hotel. The film is a gem that showcases a great performance by a young Jesse Bradford (along with a slew of recognizable stars before they got famous), but even positive reviews upon the film’s release didn’t prevent it from being a box office disappointment.

This episode, we talk about Soderbergh’s first attempts to follow up Sex Lies and Videotape and Soderbergh’s varied filmography. Topics also include the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, top prominent top 10 lists the film placed on, and the film’s fractured connection to Robert Redford.

Topics also include Gramercy Pictures, this era of childhood movies for adults, and tuberculosis.

The beloved Bong Joon-ho is finally back in cinemas after his global success with Parasite, and to help us celebrate Mickey 17, we invited Vulture film critic Bilge Ebiri to discuss director Bong’s divisive Snowpiercer. Based on a French graphic novel, the film casts a global set of stars as the occupants of a train in the future whose segments are divided by class. The film was director Bong’s first foray into (mostly) English language filmmaking and became a cause célèbre for film critics and fans alike upon its delayed release.

This episode, we talk about the last gasp of Harvey Scissorhands that delayed its American release and the film’s place as one of the first examples of day-and-date release. We also talk about Tilda Swinton’s place in the supporting actress race, Chris Evans vs. Ryan Gosling, and the film’s vision in creating each of the train’s distinct sections.

Topics also include recent Sundance piracy, Netflix DVDs, and “babies taste best.”

We’re here with your Oscar hangover cure to break the seal on the THOB Class of 2023 and we brought Louis Peitzman along for the chaos. It’s Saltburn time! After the COVID-era Oscar success of Promising Young Woman, all eyes were on Emerald Fennell to deliver again with her follow-up. Barry Keoghan stars in the film as a social climbing Oxford student who freeloads off his wealthy classmate (Jacob Elordi), ingratiating himself to the family as he stays on the eponymous estate. With allusions to Brideshead Revisited and Tom Ripley, Saltburn was safely the most talked about film of 2023 to earn no Oscar nomination.

This episode, we talk about the controversies surrounding the film’s sexual content and what makes Fennell such a divisive figure. We also discuss Keoghan’s nude finale moment, Rosamund Pike’s performance as the matriarch, and the film’s mixed reception on the festival circuit.

Topics also include needle drops, eyebrow piercings, and movies with bathtub scenes.

Oh, the quaint economic anxieties of 20 years ago! We’re tackling 2004’s seriocomic tale of “what if your much younger boss slept with your newly adult daughter” and Paul Weitz film In Good Company, and writer Emily St. James returns to the show to help us unpack it. Modest lighthearted fare, the movie pits dad-mode Dennis Quaid opposite Topher Grace as advertising sales reps in the halcyon days of magazines. While it isn’t without its charms, the film was wedged into the very end of the season and didn’t make enough waves to earn much awards love.

This episode, we talk about the film’s intergenerational dynamics and the then economic anxiety of young people taking all the boomers’ jobs. We also talk about Scarlett Johansson’s high demand after Lost in Translation, the Oscar Original Song quality gap, and Clark Gregg joins our Six Timers Club.

Topics also include dad music needle drops, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and what went down on the set of The Brutalist.

Preorder WOODWORKING by Emily St. James

What a delight to have not one but TWO pals join us this week, The B-Side hosts Dan Mecca and Conor O’Donnell! Naturally, we’re going back to forgotten films from the 1990s with director Alan Pakula’s final film, The Devil’s Own. The film starred Brad Pitt as an IRA member hiding out in America opposite Harrison Ford as the police officer who shelters him. Presenting a very Americanized version of the Irish Troubles, The Devil’s Own is just about the mildest and best looking movie disaster you’ll find in the 1990s.

This episode, we unpack the tumultuous making of the film and how its on-set tug-of-war is still discussed. We also discuss Pitt’s notoriously derided dialect in the film, Ford’s relationship with male costars, and Pakula’s tremendous filmography.

Topics also include cinematographer Gordon Willis, Edward Zwick’s memoir, and Oscar movies about the Troubles.

It’s been a minute since we talked about Meryl Streep, so we decided what better time than Valentine’s Day and her 2012 romantic drama Hope Springs. Streep stars alongside Tommy Lee Jones as a sexually frustrated older couple who submits to a couples therapy retreat (led by Steve Carell) hoping to rekindle their spark. Summer counterprogramming to the Batmans and the Bournes, the film performed at the box office but did not prove the type of Meryl summer smash that has earned her Oscar love.

This episode, we talk about the movie’s quaint but honest depiction of generational sexual frustration and the solid work from Streep and Jones. We also discuss the underutilization of its recognizable supporting cast, Carell joins our Six Timers, and the timeless Globes presentation pairing of Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig.

Topics also include Sex Trips For Straight Women From A Gay Man, Meryl’s third Oscar, and love languages.

We’re breaking a little bonus episode recounting our thoughts from this year’s Sundance Film Festival! We’ve closed out another year of virtual screenings, and what perhaps might be the last year to do so after piracy of festival films such as Twinless and Selena y Los Dinos. Topics include our mutual dislike for the US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize winner Atropia, our mutual love for Plainclothes, and a whole lot more films coming to you soon such as Train Dreams, By Design, and Bubble and Squeak!

With I’m Still Here garnering praise in this year’s awards race, we thought it would be a great time to talk about Walter Salles – and, well, things turned out great with a surprise Best Picture nomination for Salles and company. After earning stateside honors with films like The Motorcycle Diaries and Central Station, Salles took on an ambitious and long-gestating project: an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. With a starry cast and impeccable craft team, the film received a mild-to-dismissive reception at its Cannes premiere and struggled throughout the season to regain traction.

This episode, we praise the work of Salles (including in this divisive film!) and mention the many names that were previously attached to bring the landmark book to the screen. We also talk about Kristen Stewart during the height of Twilight, Salles’ reedit of the film before its fall release, and the supporting cast that includes the likes of Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Elisabeth Moss, Alice Braga, and Kirsten Dunst.

Topics also include IFC Films, the 2012 National Board of Review Top 10 Independent Films, and other beat generation films.