September 2024 – This Had Oscar Buzz

308 – The Monuments Men

With another George Clooney film on the horizon with Wolfs, it’s time to revisit the diminishing returns of his directorial career. In the 2013 season, his WWII quasi-comedy true story ensemble film The Monuments Men was an on-paper awards magnet. With a cast that included Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, and Bill Murray as a team attempting to rescue centuries worth of art from destruction by the Nazis, the film released two underwhelming trailers before being punted into the next year. Released in February 2014, the film made much more money than you probably remember, but failed as an awards vehicle.

This episode, we rehash Clooney’s directorial career and discuss the film’s struggle in the editing room. We also talk about the film’s mismatching of its stars into pairs, Jean Dujardin’s Oscar run with The Artist, and Clooney’s reaction to Tarantino saying he’s not a movie star.

Topics also include Drunk History, Tim Walz’s summer playlist, and Alexandre Desplat.

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307 – Brad’s Status

Underdiscussed in the Mike White oeuvre is 2017’s Brad’s Status, the story of a father reflecting on his own formative college years while taking his son on a college visit. With Ben Stiller center stage, the film examines privilege and maleness with White’s exacting but humane eye for detail, resulting one of the most emotionally affecting works of his career without sacrificing his penchant for characters who aren’t always likable. Arriving the same year as both the White-scripted Beatriz at Dinner and the Stiller-starring The Meyerowitz Stories, this dramedy was yet another victim of Amazon’s mishandled marketing.

This week, we talk about Stiller’s recent years without of major acting roles and what makes this performance one of his best. We also talk about Austin Abrams’ performance as Brad’s son Troy, White’s other portraits of class, Stiller’s upcoming return in TIFF opener Nutcrackers.

Topics also include daydreams, Annapurna Pictures, and 2017 Original Screenplay.

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