The Next Picture Show
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- 10. Nov. 2026
Über den Podcast
Looking at cinema's present via its past. From the former editorial team of The Dissolve, The Next Picture Show examines how classic films inspire and inform modern movies. Episodes take a deep dive into a classic film and its legacy, then compare and contrast that film with a modern successor. Hosted and produced by Genevieve Koski, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robinson, and Scott Tobias.
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Direct to Camera, Pt. 2 — You Can See Everything
The title of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything is reflective of the film’s interest in radical transparency, but also ironic in that one of its major themes turns out to be the …
Shownotes
The title of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything is reflective of the film’s interest in radical transparency, but also ironic in that one of its major themes turns out to be the unknowability of other people's intentions. We get into spoiler-filled detail about all of that and more this week, before bringing Albert Brooks’ 1979 feature debut Real Life back in for Connections to see how these two comedic deconstructions of the documentary form engage with the innate artificiality of nonfiction filmmaking. Then for Your Next Picture Show, we recommend another surprisingly comedic take on the Elizabeth Holmes saga, the 2022 limited series The Dropout.
Please share your thoughts about Real Life, You Can See Everything, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next pairing: Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky and John G. Avildsen’s Rocky
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Direct to Camera, Pt. 1 — Real Life (1979)
As co-director of You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder is unusually present in front of the camera, arguably overshadowing the film’s ostensible subject, disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. That’s …
Shownotes
As co-director of You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder is unusually present in front of the camera, arguably overshadowing the film’s ostensible subject, disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. That’s just the start of the film’s unconventionalities, which we’ll get into more next week, but first we’re revisiting a 1979 comedy that predicts Fielder’s turn as the stealth protagonist of his own documentary. As a prototype of the mockumentary form, as well as a satire of the then-nascent genre of reality television, Albert Brooks’ deeply meta debut feature Real Life encourages the audience to recognize an essential fact about documentary filmmaking, which is that cameras inevitably affect the behavior of those in front of it. And this week in Feedback, we correct an oversight in our recent discussion of The Social Network, and touch on some of the other titles we considered for this pairing.
Please share your thoughts about Real Life, You Can See Everything, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
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Zuck Dynasty, Pt. 2 — The Social Reckoning
A few weeks out from The Social Reckoning’’s tepid theatrical debut, it’s safe to say Aaron Sorkin’s “spiritual sequel” to 2010’s The Social Network won’t match its successor’s box-office success, nor is it …
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A few weeks out from The Social Reckoning’’s tepid theatrical debut, it’s safe to say Aaron Sorkin’s “spiritual sequel” to 2010’s The Social Network won’t match its successor’s box-office success, nor is it likely to be as fondly remembered in 16 years’ time. There are many ways in which the newer film goes astray, which we cover in our opening discussion of Reckoning, before bringing Network back in for Connections to consider how much of each film’s vision of Mark Zuckerberg’s social-media empire can be attributed to/blamed on Sorkin specifically. Then in a Zuck-inspired Your Next Picture Show, we briefly review a very long documentary about another tech billionaire whose name has become something of a four-letter word over the years: Alex Gibney’s Musk.
Please share your thoughts about The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything and Albert Brooks’ Real Life.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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Zuck Dynasty, Pt. 1 — The Social Network
Aaron Sorkin has said his new The Social Reckoning is not a sequel so much as a companion piece to David Fincher’s The Social Network, which Sorkin also scripted. Whatever you call it, though, these two films …
Shownotes
Aaron Sorkin has said his new The Social Reckoning is not a sequel so much as a companion piece to David Fincher’s The Social Network, which Sorkin also scripted. Whatever you call it, though, these two films are undeniably linked, not just by Sorkin’s involvement, but especially by their interest in the tech-bro enigma that is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. So this week we’re returning to 2010 and The Social Network to consider how the film’s depiction of Facebook’s then-recent origin story plays from our social-media-saturated present; how Sorkin’s script and Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Zuckerberg find humanity, and maybe even sympathy, in a pointedly unlikable protagonist; and how Fincher made it all work on screen, from the instant-classic Facemash montage to a final shot we’ll be forever refreshing in our minds. Then in Feedback, a longtime friend of the show shares some thoughts prompted by our recent episode on William Friedkin’s Sorcerer.
Please share your thoughts about The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Trial By Media, Pt. 2 — Primetime
Primetime is a far-from-straightforward take on a true story, using the mid-aughts TV phenomenon To Catch a Predator and especially its host, Chris Hansen, for a darkly comic exploration of the morally murky …
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Primetime is a far-from-straightforward take on a true story, using the mid-aughts TV phenomenon To Catch a Predator and especially its host, Chris Hansen, for a darkly comic exploration of the morally murky place where ambition and justice overlap. It’s a tonal high wire act that gets a lot of mileage out of Lance Oppenheim’s expressively stylized direction and strong performances from Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, and Skyler Gisondo, but whether that all adds up to a satisfying film is up for debate this week. Then we bring 1957’s Sweet Smell of Success back in for Connections to discuss how it and Primetime both navigate protagonists who punch down from their moral high ground, and the bygone media environments that enable them, all while maintaining a sense of humor. Then, for anyone looking for a fuller picture of To Catch a Predator’s rise and fall, we offer a Your Next Picture Show for David Osit’s 2025 documentary Predators.
Please share your thoughts about Sweet Smell of Success, Primetime, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Trial By Media, Pt. 1 — Sweet Smell of Success
Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime paints problematic TV phenomenon To Catch a Predator — and especially its host, Chris Hansen — as an enterprise fueled by ambition, amorality, and a tenuous grasp of journalistic …
Shownotes
Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime paints problematic TV phenomenon To Catch a Predator — and especially its host, Chris Hansen — as an enterprise fueled by ambition, amorality, and a tenuous grasp of journalistic ethics. Those qualities put us in mind of the cursed collaboration between desperate press agent Sidney Falco and influential columnist J.J. Hunsecker in 1957’s Sweet Smell of Success, so this week we’re digging into the twisted loyalties and razor-sharp dialogue of Alexander Mackendrick’s blisteringly cynical portrayal of a very different era in tabloid journalism. Then in Feedback, a listener helps flesh out a bit of William Friedkin trivia that came up during our recent Sorcerer discussion.
Please share your thoughts about Sweet Smell of Success, Primetime, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hazard Pay, Pt. 2 — The Weight
There’s a lot to enjoy about The Weight: the tactile 1930s Oregon setting, strong performances from Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, a premise that allows for multiple suspense sequences. But Padraic McKinley’s …
Shownotes
There’s a lot to enjoy about The Weight: the tactile 1930s Oregon setting, strong performances from Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, a premise that allows for multiple suspense sequences. But Padraic McKinley’s directorial debut is arguably lacking in thematic heft and visceral grit, particularly when compared to the other film in this pairing. So after considering how The Weight succeeds and struggles on its own terms, we bring William Friedkin’s 1977 cult classic Sorcerer back in to consider how these two films about desperate men given a deadly opportunity differ in their approach to flawed protagonists, bridge-based action scenes, and lone female characters of consequence, and the one plot hole they have in common. Then our returning guest, Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi, offers a Your Next Picture Show recommendation for another 2026 film involving the transportation of dangerous cargo, The Rivals of Amziah King.
Please share your thoughts about Sorcerer, The Weight, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime and Alexander Mackendrick’s Sweet Smell of Success
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
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Hazard Pay, Pt. 1 — Sorcerer
Padraic McKinley’s The Weight isn’t a remake ofThe Wages of Fear, though it feels deeply indebted to the H.G. Clouzot classic in its thrilling depiction of a group of outlaws on a near-impossible mission across …
Shownotes
Padraic McKinley’s The Weight isn’t a remake ofThe Wages of Fear, though it feels deeply indebted to the H.G. Clouzot classic in its thrilling depiction of a group of outlaws on a near-impossible mission across deadly terrain. William Friedkin’s 1977 cult favorite Sorcerer technically isn’t a Wages remake, either — Friedkin insisted it was his own adaptation of the original Georges Arnaud novel — though it’s similarly difficult to watch without thinking about its predecessor. So you’ll forgive us if this week’s revisitation of Sorcerer takes a few detours into Wages as we consider how Friedkin put his own distinctive stamp on this juicy premise, whether the film’s extended prologue works toward or against its narrative momentum, and how much of Sorcerer’s notoriously arduous production comes across on screen. Then in Feedback, a listener provides a recommendation for a recent under-the-radar road movie that follows in the tire tracks of Paris, Texas and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Please share your thoughts about Sorcerer, The Weight, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Existential Zones, Pt. 2 — It Ends
Alexander Ullom's It Ends is a daring little piece of microbudget drama about four friends at transition points in their lives, who find themselves in a place where life and death no longer hold any meaning …
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Alexander Ullom's It Ends is a daring little piece of microbudget drama about four friends at transition points in their lives, who find themselves in a place where life and death no longer hold any meaning. Whether it’s a film about despair, about the afterlife, about the human condition, or all of the above, is up for discussion this week, as well as how It Ends fits into this current moment in independent horror cinema. After that, we bring Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris back in for Connections to discuss these two films’ respective existential journeys, the baggage their characters are bringing with them, and how each movie uses its genre premise to explore a big central metaphor. Then for Your Next Picture Show, we take a quick look at how Steven Soderbergh’s 2002 version of Solaris compares to Tarkovsky’s.
Please share your thoughts about Solaris, It Ends, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Padraic McKinley’s The Weight and William Friedkin’s Sorcerer
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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#539: Existential Zones, Pt. 1 — Solaris (1972)
Alexander Ullom’s feature debut, It Ends, has been billed as a horror movie, but it’s more of an existential exercise wrapped inside a genre premise. That same description could be applied to Solaris, though …
Shownotes
Alexander Ullom’s feature debut, It Ends, has been billed as a horror movie, but it’s more of an existential exercise wrapped inside a genre premise. That same description could be applied to Solaris, though Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 science-fiction classic takes nearly twice as long to ponder the nature of life in a situation where death has no meaning anymore. So this week we’re discussing whether Solaris’ deliberate pace and opaque symbolism work toward or against its emotional core, its relative accessibility compared to Tarkovsky’s other work, and what about the film invites its reputation as the “anti-2001.” Then in Feedback, a listener brings an alternative reading to our recent discussion of War of the Worlds as a response to 9/11.
Please share your thoughts about Solaris, It Ends, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Family That’s Prey Together, Pt. 2 — The End of Oak Street
The Platt family is barely surviving, and that’s before their neighborhood is inexplicably dropped millions of years into the past and overrun by hungry dinosaurs. The End of Oak Street isn’t nearly as …
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The Platt family is barely surviving, and that’s before their neighborhood is inexplicably dropped millions of years into the past and overrun by hungry dinosaurs. The End of Oak Street isn’t nearly as concerned with explaining that premise or exploring its characters as it is with facilitating dino mayhem and nostalgia for the films of writer-director David Robert Mitchell’s youth. That can be to the film’s benefit and detriment, both of which we cover in this week’s discussion, before bringing Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds back in to see how these two family survival narratives compare in their respective ideas about flawed parents, imperiled children, and the universal human desire to not get eaten. Then in Your Next Picture Show we consider a couple of possible alternate pairing for Oak Street, one featuring aliens, one featuring dinosaurs, and both underrated.
Please share your thoughts about War of the Worlds, The End of Oak Street, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Alexander Ullom’s It Ends and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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The Family That's Prey Together, Pt. 1 — War of the Worlds (2005)
David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street drops an ordinary family into extraordinary circumstances, forcing them to focus all their energy on surviving— and maybe, just maybe, learning to understand each …
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David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street drops an ordinary family into extraordinary circumstances, forcing them to focus all their energy on surviving— and maybe, just maybe, learning to understand each other along the way. That structure, combined with Oak Street’s Spielbergian spectacle, pointed us toward 2005’s War of the Worlds, which fuses H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel to images and emotions that draw on the attacks of 9/11. How that approach holds up a quarter-century removed from the events that inspired it is up for discussion this week, along with where War of the Worlds falls on the Steven Spielberg Alien-Encounter Continuum, and just how close that sentimental ending comes to ruining the movie entirely. Then in Feedback, a listener, with an assist from Orson Welles, invites us to get galaxy-brained on the nature of homage as it relates to cinema generally and this podcast specifically.
Please share your thoughts about War of the Worlds, The End of Oak Street, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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Anyone Can Cook, Pt. 2 — Tony
Matt Johnson’s new biopic Tony sidesteps the infamous Walk Hard trap by narrowing its scope to a single summer that would end up shaping the rest of Anthony Bourdain’s life, but not necessarily defining it …
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Matt Johnson’s new biopic Tony sidesteps the infamous Walk Hard trap by narrowing its scope to a single summer that would end up shaping the rest of Anthony Bourdain’s life, but not necessarily defining it. Whether that approach is ultimately satisfying to fans of the late celebrity chef and author is up for debate this week, as we’re once again joined by Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi to discuss how Tony plays into and against our expectations of a Bourdain narrative. Then we bring Ratatouille back in for Connections, to compare how these two films introduce us to kitchen culture through the eyes of a newbie. Then for Your Next Picture Show, we recommend two more recent films to fill out a Matt Johnson triple feature.
Please share your thoughts about Ratatouille, Tony, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street and Steven Spielberg’s The War of the Worlds
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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#535: Anyone Can Cook, Pt. 1 — Ratatouille
Anthony Bourdain, whose early experience working in a restaurant kitchen is chronicled in the new biopic Tony, once singled out Ratatouille as Hollywood’s best depiction of working in a restaurant kitchen …
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Anthony Bourdain, whose early experience working in a restaurant kitchen is chronicled in the new biopic Tony, once singled out Ratatouille as Hollywood’s best depiction of working in a restaurant kitchen, which is all the invitation we need to revisit Brad Bird’s 2007 Pixar classic. So this week, with the help of Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi, we consider how Ratatouille trusts its viewers to accept an audacious premise, and rewards them in emotional payoff; parse the nuances and contradictions of its “anyone can cook” mantra; and lament that its lone female character of consequence falls victim to Trinity Syndrome. And yes, of course this group of critics has some thoughts on Anton Ego and the film’s take on criticism. Then in Feedback, we discuss a short excerpt from a much longer, in-depth analysis we received in response to our O Brother Where Art Thou? episode.
Please share your thoughts about Ratatouille, Tony, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
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Home Sweet Homer, Pt. 2 — The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey approaches Homer’s epic from a much more literal vantage point than O Brother Where Art Thou, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dutiful, beat-by-beat adaptation. So this week we’re …
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Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey approaches Homer’s epic from a much more literal vantage point than O Brother Where Art Thou, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dutiful, beat-by-beat adaptation. So this week we’re talking through the ways in which Nolan put his personal stamp on one of the most well-known stories in all of literature, from the film’s non-linear structure and preoccupation with time, to the physicality and humanity Nolan brings to this big-screen spectacle about a time of apparent magic. Then in Connections, we look at how these two very different films approach their shared source material, not just in direct character and narrative parallels, but also their interest in the oral tradition and eras coming to an end. Then in Your Next Picture we return to the subject of O Brother ’s music with a recommendation for the 2000 concert film Down From the Mountain.
Please share your thoughts about O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Odyssey, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Matt Johnson’s Tony and Brad Bird’s Ratatouille
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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Home Sweet Homer, Pt. 1 — O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Considering The Odyssey is one of the most famous and influential stories of all time, there had been relatively few attempts to directly translate Homer’s epic poem to the big screen until Christopher Nolan …
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Considering The Odyssey is one of the most famous and influential stories of all time, there had been relatively few attempts to directly translate Homer’s epic poem to the big screen until Christopher Nolan came along to do it at a blockbuster scale. It’s been more common for filmmakers, such as Joel and Ethan Coen, to use it as the loose framework for a flawed hero’s journey home, such as the one undertaken by Ulysses Everett McGill in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a Depression-era musical comedy that maps on to Homer’s version only in the broadest of strokes. But revisiting O Brother through the lens of its stated source material, as we’re doing this week, is a revealing lesson in the malleability of adaptation, as well as the Coens’ ability to make even one of the most familiar tales in all of storytelling uniquely theirs. Then in Feedback, we finally break our silence on the indie-horror phenomenon that is Obsession.
Please share your thoughts about O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Odyssey, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lady Justice, Pt. 2 — Supergirl
A good chunk of Supergirl’s DNA can be traced back to True Grit by way of the comics miniseries the film is adapting, which is why we paired it with Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2010 version of that story. But as our …
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A good chunk of Supergirl’s DNA can be traced back to True Grit by way of the comics miniseries the film is adapting, which is why we paired it with Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2010 version of that story. But as our discussion of Craig Gillespie’s new entry in James Gunn’s revamped DC Universe details, Supergirl often feels less indebted to its space-western source material than to several other superhero films that preceded it, including some of Gunn’s. That makes it tough to balance a film we all consider okay-at-best against a stone-cold Coens classic, but we attempt to anyway in Connections as we consider these two films’ shared interest in vengeance, western tropes, and really, really bad guys with murky motivations. Then in Your Next Picture Show, we honorTrue Grit’s star-making performance with a recommendation for another Hailee Steinfeld film that’s a favorite of this podcast, The Edge of Seventeen.
Please share your thoughts about True Grit, Supergirl, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and The Coen Brothers’ (yes, again) O Brother, Where Art Thou?
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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Lady Justice, Pt. 1 — True Grit (2010)
The new Supergirl isn’t an outright adaptation of the comic-book miniseries Woman of Tomorrow, but it retains enough of its shape that it evokes that comic’s own source of inspiration, True Grit. Either of the …
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The new Supergirl isn’t an outright adaptation of the comic-book miniseries Woman of Tomorrow, but it retains enough of its shape that it evokes that comic’s own source of inspiration, True Grit. Either of the two film adaptations of Charles Portis’ 1968 Western novel about a young girl enlisting a reluctant, drunken hero to help her enact revenge would have provided plenty of connections to Supergirl, but we opted for Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2010 version starring Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges. So this week we’re discussing what distinguishes True Grit as both a Coens movie and a Western, the film’s overlapping notions of vengeance and justice, and how it utilizes two frequently abused elements — sincerity and voiceover narration — sparingly and effectively. Then in Feedback, we respond to a listener’s misgivings about accepting Disclosure Day’s premise at a time when conspiracy theories don’t feel as harmless as they once did.
Please share your thoughts about True Grit, Supergirl, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
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Our Aliens, Ourselves Pt. 2 — Disclosure Day
Forty-four years after his science-fiction classic about the deep connection between a 10-year-old human boy and an alien visitor stranded on earth, Steven Spielberg is once again considering humanity’s …
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Forty-four years after his science-fiction classic about the deep connection between a 10-year-old human boy and an alien visitor stranded on earth, Steven Spielberg is once again considering humanity’s capacity to accept and understand extraterrestrial life with his latest, Disclosure Day. So after sharing our reactions to Disclosure Day, including an ending that’s arguably effective despite — or maybe because of — its corniness, we bring E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial back in for Connections to discuss how these two films literalize the concept of empathy, elevate chase scenes into world-building moments, and center the idea of “home” in very different ways. Then for Your Next Picture Show, we give a taste of what this episode might have been like had we paired Disclosure Day with another, non-Spielbergian, reference point we considered, 1951’s The Day the Earth Stood Still. (#530)
Please share your thoughts about E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Disclosure Day, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl and Joel and Ethan Coen’s True Grit
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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Our Aliens, Ourselves Pt. 1 — E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Disclosure Day is not Steven Spielberg’s first film about the confirmation of alien life, nor is it the first such Spielberg film we’ve discussed on this podcast — that would be Close Encounters of the Third …
Shownotes
Disclosure Day is not Steven Spielberg’s first film about the confirmation of alien life, nor is it the first such Spielberg film we’ve discussed on this podcast — that would be Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which we covered a decade ago. But Spielberg’s latest is specifically concerned with whether humanity possesses the empathy to process such a revelation, a question that led us directly to his 1982 classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, about the empathetic link between a 10-year-old boy and an orphaned alien that crash-lands in the forest outside his suburban home. So this week we’re revisiting E.T. to consider how Spielberg, with a crucial assist from Melissa Mathison’s screenplay, navigates the sentimentality of a story that’s all about feelings. Then in Feedback, our recent episode on Babe: Pig in the City prompted a listener to share their own recommendation for an unusually dark kids’ movie. (#529)
Please share your thoughts about E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Disclosure Day, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Negative Spaces, Pt. 2 — Backrooms
Backrooms’ journey to the big screen — from anonymous 4chan post to viral creepypasta to mega-popular YouTube series to A24-backed box-office smash — is as unique and unexpected as the film itself. 20-year-old …
Shownotes
Backrooms’ journey to the big screen — from anonymous 4chan post to viral creepypasta to mega-popular YouTube series to A24-backed box-office smash — is as unique and unexpected as the film itself. 20-year-old Kane Parsons’ liminal horror hit feels unlike everything else currently happening in the genre, which is partly what inspired us to pair it with the similarly expectation-defying 1979 cult hit Phantasm, but also makes Backrooms fascinating to discuss on its own. Which is what we do, in mostly spoiler-free terms, before shifting over to Connections to look at how Backrooms and Phantasm compare as low-budget horror phenomena that use unsettling repeating spaces, dream logic, and heroes with no sense of self-preservation to maximum effect. And if Backrooms has you craving more video-game-influenced liminal spaces, we’ve got you covered with a Your Next Picture Show recommendation for the recent Japanese horror-mystery Exit 8.
Please share your thoughts about Phantasm, Backrooms, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Works Cited:
• The 5 essential Backrooms videos to watch on YouTube after the movie, by Tasha Robinson (polygon.com)
• Backrooms director Kane Parsons answers three very specific questions about the movie, by Tasha Robinson (polygon.com)
• Backrooms’s Ending Cleverly Subverts One of Horror’s Biggest Clichés, by Tasha Robinson (vulture.com)
• The Indoor Generation, by Carol Grant
• A Feud in Wolf-Kink Erotica Raises a Deep Legal Question, by Alexandra Alter (nytimes.com)
Next Pairing: Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day and E.T. The Extraterrestrial
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Negative Spaces, Pt. 1 — Phantasm
20-year-old Kane Parsons is now the youngest director to ever hit No. 1 at the box office thanks to his A24-backed horror film Backrooms, which made back its budget several times over in the first week of …
Shownotes
20-year-old Kane Parsons is now the youngest director to ever hit No. 1 at the box office thanks to his A24-backed horror film Backrooms, which made back its budget several times over in the first week of release and is already inviting talk of sequels. All of that offscreen context makes it a natural pairing with 1979’s series-spawning cult hit Phantasm, but it has plenty of onscreen connective tissue to Don Coscarelli’s super-indie horror adventure as well. So this week we do our best to make sense of Phantasm, a movie that emerged out of a dream and often feels like it, and discuss some of the memorable moments that smacked us in the face and drilled into our brains like a Sentinel Sphere. Then in Feedback, we answer some criticism of our own criticisms of The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Please share your thoughts about Phantasm, Backrooms, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Baby on Board, Pt. 2 — The Mandalorian and Grogu
The Mandalorian and Grogu plays like a few stitched-together episodes of The Mandalorian, which makes it a particularly apt pairing with the 1980 Lone Wolf and Cub assemblage Shogun Assassin — but whether the …
Shownotes
The Mandalorian and Grogu plays like a few stitched-together episodes of The Mandalorian, which makes it a particularly apt pairing with the 1980 Lone Wolf and Cub assemblage Shogun Assassin — but whether the first new Star Wars feature film since 2019 manages to distinguish itself from its television counterpart is another question. We’re joined again by Filmspotting: SVU co-host Matt Singer to talk through a movie that aims to appeal to both a new generation of Star Wars fans and an older one, and often misses both marks. Then we bring Shogun Assassin back in for Connections, to discuss how The Mandalorian and Grogu honors its forebear in big, structural ways — lethally capable father figures roaming a dangerous landscape alongside the young charges they’re protecting/endangering — and in moments of beat-for-beat homage. And for Your Next Picture Show we offer a preview of what lies ahead for those who decide to continue their cinematic journey down the Lone Wolf and Cub path.
Please share your thoughts about Shogun Assassin, The Mandalorian and Grogu, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Kane Parsons’ Backrooms and Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Baby on Board, Pt. 1 — Shogun Assassin (1980)
The Mandalorian and Grogu gives the feature-film treatment to a streaming series whose premise — an outcast warrior lives by a code of honor while traveling in the company of an adorable small companion — owes …
Shownotes
The Mandalorian and Grogu gives the feature-film treatment to a streaming series whose premise — an outcast warrior lives by a code of honor while traveling in the company of an adorable small companion — owes no small debt to the Japanese multimedia franchise Lone Wolf and Cub. But rather than comb through the six installments comprising that film series for a good match, we’re looking at another attempt to translate Lone Wolf and Cub to Western audiences via the 1980 compilation Shogun Assassin. Joined this week by Filmspotting SVU’s Matt Singer, we discuss how Shogun Assassin’s “just the hits” approach to combining the first two films in the series simplifies the plot and amplifies the action, and how this franchise’s comic-book origins come through in the film’s use of heightened violence, dynamic editing, and narration. Then in Feedback we hear from a couple of listeners about one very recent episode, and one very old one.
Please share your thoughts about Shogun Assassin, The Mandalorian and Grogu, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Burden of Hoof, Pt. 2 – The Sheep Detectives
Kyle Balda’s new family film The Sheep Detectives pulls off a move George Miller was dissuaded from including in his 1998 sequel Babe: Pig in the City — killing off its human farmer figure — but that …
Shownotes
Kyle Balda’s new family film The Sheep Detectives pulls off a move George Miller was dissuaded from including in his 1998 sequel Babe: Pig in the City — killing off its human farmer figure — but that premise-setting death aside, it’s generally a warmer and gentler take on talking animals venturing beyond their green pastures and into the big, scary human world. The Sheep Detectives may take the shape of a murder mystery, but as our discussion highlights, it taps into big ideas about memory, grief, and empathy, all while maintaining a sly sense of humor. It’s a tonal balancing act of a different sort than Pig in the City, which we bring back in for Connections to discuss these two films’ respective approaches to animal endangerment, interspecies communication, and making non-verbal creatures talk. Then in Your Next Picture Show we offer a sampler of recommendations for ostensible children’s entertainment that is darker than it initially appears.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Please share your thoughts about Babe: Pig in the City, The Sheep Detectives, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu and Kenji Misumi and Robert Houston’s Shogun Assassin
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Burden of Hoof, Pt. 1 — Babe: Pig in the City
The Sheep Detectives is about as short on pigs as Babe: Pig In the City is short on sheep, but Kyle Balda’s new family film still reminded us of the 1998 box-office-bomb-turned-cult-classic in its tale of …
Shownotes
The Sheep Detectives is about as short on pigs as Babe: Pig In the City is short on sheep, but Kyle Balda’s new family film still reminded us of the 1998 box-office-bomb-turned-cult-classic in its tale of talking animals venturing beyond their idyllic pastures and into a dangerous corner of the human world. George Miller’s poorly received sequel to Babe may technically have a lower body count than the murder mystery of Sheep Detectives — not for Miller’s lack of trying — but its combination of fable-like whimsy with tragedy and trauma strikes a deeply odd and at times unsettling chord that turned off audiences charmed by its predecessor. It also gives us much to discuss in this week’s revisitation of Pig in the City, as we attempt to locate the emotional core lurking beneath the slapstick antics and kinetic chase scenes, and consider what Miller was trying to say about humanity via a bunch of down-on-their-luck animals. Then in Feedback we return to a point of contention from our recent Fargo episode, and port over a question from the Patreon regarding the critical response to the new biopic Michael.
Please share your thoughts about Babe: Pig in the City, The Sheep Detectives, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Minnesota Not-So-Nice, Pt. 2 — Normal
Despite the snowy setting, law-enforcement-officer protagonist, and pointed poking at the idea of "Minnesota Nice," Ben Wheatley's new Bob Odenkirk-starring shoot-'em-up Nowhere is in many ways the anti-Fargo …
Shownotes
Despite the snowy setting, law-enforcement-officer protagonist, and pointed poking at the idea of "Minnesota Nice," Ben Wheatley's new Bob Odenkirk-starring shoot-'em-up Nowhere is in many ways the anti-Fargo. Is it fair to compare this scrappy (some might even say sloppy) genre effort to a film as revered as the Coen brothers' comedic crime classic? Maybe not, but that's what we do here at The Next Picture Show, so after a spirited debate over which parts of Nowhere we found the most enervating, we turn to Connections to consider how the two films' many overlapping elements can play out in such different ways. Then we keep the Fargo talk going in Your Next Picture Show via a general recommendation for its FX television offshoot, and a specific recommendation for which of its five anthology seasons to start with.
Please share your thoughts about Fargo, Normal, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Kyle Balda's The Sheep Detectives and George Miller's Babe: Pig in the City
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Minnesota Not-So-Nice, Pt. 1 — Fargo
As a comedic crime thriller set in snowy Minnesota and featuring a sheriff protagonist, it would be pretty tough for the new Bob Odenkirk-starring shoot-em-up Normal to avoid comparisons to Fargo, and since we …
Shownotes
As a comedic crime thriller set in snowy Minnesota and featuring a sheriff protagonist, it would be pretty tough for the new Bob Odenkirk-starring shoot-em-up Normal to avoid comparisons to Fargo, and since we will never pass up an opportunity to discuss the Coen Brothers’ 1996 classic, that’s precisely what we will be comparing it to next week. But first we’ll spend this week discussing why Fargo remains so discussable even after multiple viewings, what makes Marge Gunderson — or maybe Jerry Lundegaard — such an effective protagonist, and how the film’s unusual structure and tonal shifts can take even the most seasoned viewer by surprise. Then in Feedback, we keep The Drama going with an encore presentation of our disagreement about that film’s ending.
Please share your thoughts about Fargo, Normal, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Past Imperfect, Pt. 2 — The Drama
Kristoffer Borgli’s provocative new The Drama turns on the revelation of a secret past that is more of an abstraction than the one in the other half of this pairing, making the resulting relationship rift …
Shownotes
Kristoffer Borgli’s provocative new The Drama turns on the revelation of a secret past that is more of an abstraction than the one in the other half of this pairing, making the resulting relationship rift between Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s characters both frustrating and fascinating to parse. After talking through our responses to the film’s button-pushing, and our vastly different takes on its ending, we bring A History of Violence back in for Connections to see how two films with very different agendas court our sympathy for both the secret-keepers and the secret-kept, and explore the intertwined questions of how much a person can change and how much punishment they deserve for their past. Then in Your Next Picture Show we recommend a couple other films that would make a good The Drama double feature, Sleeping Dogs Lie and The Celebration.
Please share your thoughts about A History of Violence, The Drama, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Next Pairing: Bet Wheatley's Normal and Joel & Ethan Coen's Fargo.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Past Imperfect, Pt. 1 — A History of Violence
Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama uses the revelation of one character’s dark secret as a provocative “twist,” but also as the basis for an exploration of whether a romantic relationship can survive such dramatic …
Shownotes
Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama uses the revelation of one character’s dark secret as a provocative “twist,” but also as the basis for an exploration of whether a romantic relationship can survive such dramatic upheaval, a premise that calls to mind 2005’s A History of Violence. The central couple of David Cronenberg’s thriller, played by Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello, is much further along in their marriage than the altar-bound pair in The Drama, which lends fascinating nuance to their attempts to reckon with the husband’s violent past — particularly for a bunch of podcasters who are decades into their own long-term relationships. So this week we do our own reckoning with the film’s ideas about how violence can shape a person and redefine a marriage, and what makes A History of Violence stand out among both action thrillers and Cronenberg films. Then in Feedback, we welcome some constructive criticism regarding Project Hail Mary as well as our choice of film to pair it with.
Please share your thoughts about A History of Violence, The Drama, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/join/NextPictureShow
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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