July 2022 – This Had Oscar Buzz

204 – A Prairie Home Companion (with Clay Keller)

An episode long teased has finally arrived. Screen Drafts co-host (and proud Minnesotan) Clay Keller joins us to discuss the final film from beloved auteur Robert Altman, 2006′s A Prairie Home Companion. Based on and set within the eponymous radio show, the film follows the backstage goings-on during the show’s fictionalized final live recording, with a sprawling cast of Altman regulars and newbies including Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, Maya Rudolph, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Lindsay Lohan, and Virginia Madsen as an angel of death. Altman would pass the November after its release, but sadly did not receive posthumous recognition for the film due to its somewhat divided reception.

This episode, we’re discussing the dual summer roles for Streep between this and The Devil Wears Prada, and we’re celebrating our tenth Streep episode! We also discuss Lohan’s turmoil at the time, Paul Thomas Anderson as a contractually obligated backup director, and Clay brings us stories from his experience as an extra on the set of the film.

Topics also include the Streep/Tomlin tribute to Altman at the previous ceremony, bad jokes, and a Screen Drafts-style ranking of the film’s best performances.

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203 – Martha Marcy May Marlene

One of the major stories out of 2011′s Sundance Film Festival was the arrival of Elizabeth Olsen, a new actress who just happened to be the younger sibling of the Olsen twins. In Sean Durkin’s debut Martha Marcy May Marlene, Olsen stars as a young woman who escapes a cult and copes with her fractured identity in the wary arms of her estranged older sister, played by Sarah Paulson. The film earned rave reviews, a Directing prize for Durkin, and distribution with Fox Searchlight. The film would be sold in the shadow of the previous year’s Oscar success Winter’s Bone: a Sundance launch, a star-making debut performance, and a chilling supporting performance from John Hawkes. But the film was significantly less audience friendly thriller by comparison, and paired with Searchlight’s stacked lineup of films, Martha didn’t fit the Oscar mold.

However, Martha Marcy May Marlene remains a movie we are still haunted by. This episode, we talk about the film and its associated network of stars and directors that would become Sundance staples. We also discuss the stiff competition faced by Olsen in the Best Actress race, Paulson’s career prior to becoming a Ryan Murphy staple, and Hawkes’ run of awards-buzzed roles in the early 2010s.

Topics also include our love of Durkin’s The Nest, thoughts on The Staircase, and ugly QR code posters.

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202 – Us

Few filmmaking ascents have been as exciting and heralded as Jordan Peele’s with the arrival of Get Out in 2017. After creating lasting cultural importance and winning the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, Peele’s follow-up was one of the most eagerly awaited films before it was even announced. And in early 2019, the follow-up would be Us, a sci-fi/horror film with American societal divides on its mind and a daring performance by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o at its center. The film was an equal box office success to Peele’s debut, though it received a less unanimous response in terms of how well he pulls off its metaphors. What kept the film in awards discussion was Nyong’o performance, including SAG and Critics’ Choice nominations, but missing out on the Oscar lineup.

This episode, we discuss our feverish anticipation of Jordan Peele’s upcoming Nope and unpack the layers of Us’ allegory. We also look at the brilliant and less recognized performances from Winston Duke and Elisabeth Moss, the 2017 Oscars where Get Out faced stiff competition, and the 2019 Best Actress race.

Topics also include supposed genre bias against other actresses, critics groups as awards influencers, and our 2019 Best Actress ballots.

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201 – How Do You Know

While not known for their love for comedies, the Academy has often proven a fan for the works of James L. Brooks. This week, we’re talking about his (likely) final film, the 2010 flop How Do You Know. The film stars Reese Witherspoon as a softball player grappling with the end of her career while torn between romance with two men (played respectively by Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd): a Major League Baseball player and a man facing punishment for the corporate crimes of his fathers’ business. Also the final film of Jack Nicholson’s before his retirement, How Do You Know was savaged by critics, quickly dismissed by audiences in a packed holiday season, and even failed to land any Globes Comedy nominations in the year of The Tourist.

This episode, we discuss Brooks’ Oscar track record, including his previous misses between Oscar darlings and the two times he directed a Best Picture nominee without getting a directing nomination. We also discuss our desire for a new Witherspoon romcom, who is the Oscar ceremony’s new front mascot now that Nicholson doesn’t attend, and that time Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholson jokingly flirted.

Topics also include the current Searchlight/Hulu situation, Paul Rudd’s potential for a future Oscar nomination, and Kathryn Hahn hiding her pregnancy behind a Sony Vaio.

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