Antonio Banderas – This Had Oscar Buzz

We don’t know if we’re equipped to episode this much, but here we are. A bomb so fiery, we brought host of The Incinerator podcast host Billy Ray Brewton to help us unpack it all: 2018′s Life Itself. From This Is Us’ Dan Fogelman, the film assembles a large ensemble including Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Olivia Cooke, and Antonio Banderas to tell a tale of big emotions, intergenerational heartache, and unreliable narrators. The film arrived as a TIFF gala with big weepy expectations, and like a rogue MTA bus right out of the film, critics brought on a brutal and well-earned drubbing.

After partnering with other distributors for previous releases, this film was Amazon’s widest solo release and quickly became as big of a bomb for audiences as it was for critics. This episode, we unpack what makes it such a mess and how Amazon succeeded that year with Cold War instead. We also talk about the umpteen versions of “Make You Feel My Love,” This is Us’ Emmy flub this season, and Amazon’s purchase of United Artists.

Topics also include Annette Bening “I don’t know her”-ing Natalie Portman, Deuxmoi culture, and the Grammys of Soy Bomb and “Sonny Came Home”.

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By today’s standards, this week’s film stands out for its gobsmacking cast of Meryl streep, Gleen Close, Jeremy Irons, Antonio Banderas, and Winona Ryder. But back in the 90s, The House of the Spirits caught attention as both an adaptation of Isabel Allende’s beloved novel and the biggest acquisition Miramax had ever landed. Set over decades in Chile with mild mysticism and political revolution, the film whitewashed and condensed the novel into a poorly received epic long forgotten by year’s end – with Miramax enjoying their biggest success yet in Pulp Fiction.

The film was the follow-up to back-to-back Palme d’Or wins for director Bille August, after The Best Intentions and the Oscar-annointed Pelle the Conqueror. This episode, we look to Palme d”or winners for a round of Alter Egos as we discuss the film’s many problems. We discuss the false narrative of Streep vs. Close among Oscar obsessives, Ryder as a quintessentially 90s star, and Streep’s early 90s roadblocks.

Topics also include “an abundance of juices”, Irons’ expanding set of false teeth, and Close’s Oscar chances this year.

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Tag: Antonio Banderas

207 – Life Itself (with Billy Ray Brewton)

135 – The House of the Spirits