Christopher Walken – This Had Oscar Buzz

409 – Romance and Cigarettes

Post-Chicago, just about any movie musical was fodder for awards buzz, especially if they boasted a cast as stacked as Romance and Cigarettes. A jukebox musical from the mind of John Turturro, the film stars James Gandolfini as a New York construction worker whose life goes into tumult when he cheats on his wife (Susan Sarandon) with a younger redhead (Kate Winslet). Bizarrely profane and minimally plotted, the film thudded onto the festival scene in 2005 and didn’t see a theatrical release until Turturro self-distributed it in 2007.

This episode, we talk about Turturro’s Best Actor chances this season with The Only Living Pickpocket in New York and his under-rewarded career as an actor. We also discuss Gandolfini breaking away from The Sopranos with movies, the film’s strange catalog of disconnected songs, and a punk girl group of Mary-Louise Parker, Mandy Moore, and Aida Turturro.

Topics also include Film Forum, the 2005 Venice Film Festival, and Elaine Stritch: At Liberty.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

396 – The Stepford Wives (with Nicholas Colia!)

We’re back talking about Nicole Kidman’s post-Oscar years this week and Griffin in Summer filmmaker Nicholas Colia is here to join us! After winning her Oscar for The Hours, each of the many projects Kidman attached herself to carried some degree of pedigree and buzz. One of them just happened to be a famous disaster: 2004’s The Stepford Wives. A remake directed by Frank Oz and scripted by Paul Rudnick, the film fell subject to bad test scores and a barrage of reshoots that ultimately resulted in a ho-hum release and a notorious production.

This episode, we talk about the gossip around the the numerous reported on-set clashes and how the final film differed from its first versions. We also discuss Kidman’s post-Oscar aughts schedule, the screen debut of Faith Hill, and Oz’s non-puppet directorial efforts.

Topics also include The Producers, pre-Obama gay politics, and the great Griffin Nafly.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

335 – Jersey Boys (with Tyler Coates!)

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

188 – Wild Mountain Thyme

We’re cracking the seal on our Class of 2020 films and somehow manage to do it without miring ourselves in the depression that was the first covid year! And as promised, we’re talking about Wild Mountain Thyme, the oddball romantic comedy from Moonstruck Oscar winner John Patrick Shanley, adapted from his Tony-nominated play Outside Mullingar. The film casts Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan as two Irish farm dwellers who have been dancing around a would-be romance since childhood, and was one of the several films bandied about among Oscar prognosticators in a year that saw few films released, much less pushed for Oscar.

This episode, we get into the film’s oddball twist and the ire inspired by the film’s… shall we say… questionable dialects. We also discuss Shanley’s less successful career as a film director, Blunt’s mighty precursor history that has led to zero Oscar nominations, and the current moment where Jamie Dornan sings in all of his movies.

Topics also include the 2020 Golden Globes, The Great Chipmunk Adventure, and Debra Messing’s Irish accent that must be heard to be believed.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

073 – Hairspray (with Cameron Scheetz)

We’ve got a film notorious in the history of the IMDb Game this week: 2007′s Hairspray! After pointing out the film’s omnipresence in our trademark game during our first Mailbag episode, the nicest kid in town The AV Club’s Cameron Scheetz joins us this episode to talk about the film’s delights, from its stellar cast to its joyful tunes. But this summer release couldn’t get ahead in the fall awards season gamut, getting overshadowed by late-breaking musicals Sweeney Todd and Enchanted despite major nominations at both SAG and the Golden Globes.

This episode, we look at the Oscar season that almost left us without an Oscar telecast because of the long writers’ strike. Topics also include John Travolta’s so-wrong-it’s-right place in the Edna Turnblad legacy, Oscar-nominated performances in musicals, and the unforgettable Adele Dazeem. “Nikki Blonsky From The Movie Hairspray”, we salute you!

Last call for question entries for this month’s Mailbag episode!! We’ll still be taking your questions about Oscar history, the current Oscar race, the podcast in general, or anything that might be on your mind through the end of the week! Tweet at us at @Had_Oscar_Buzz or email at [email protected]!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS