Dave Eggers – This Had Oscar Buzz

After winning Best Picture and Best Director for his zeitgeist-seizing debut feature American Beauty, Sam Mendes instantly became a director who generate awards chatter no matter the project. In 2009, he took a noticeable tonal downshift with Away We Go, a minor key comedy about a young pregnant couple on a road trip to decide where they want to grow their roots. Despite praise for Maya Rudolph’s performance as a soon-to-be mother still grieving the untimely death of her parents and John Krasinski opposite her as her jokester partner, the film didn’t succeed as summer counter-programming and mostly forgotten in the season to come.

This episode, we talk about the harsh reviews that found the film more judgmental than reflective and Rudolph’s understated and absorbing performance. We also talk about Alexi Murdoch’s soundtrack, possibly semi-autobiographical screenwriter marrieds Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, and the film’s bursting ensemble of fantastic character actors from Melanie Lynskey, Allison Janney, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Topics also include this year’s New York Film Critics Circle award winners, Mendes’ pivot to Bond, and the lure of Montreal. Don’t forget to get submissions in for our upcoming mailbag episode!

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Most remembered as “that movie about fracking”, this week we are talking about 2012′s Promised Land. Originally developed and written by John Krasinski and Dave Eggers, the film began as a potential directing vehicle for Matt Damon before the star brought on his Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant to take the reins. Damon stars as a representative of a fracking company attempting to lease land in a small town, but this reunion was released too late in the season to register as more than an afterthought.

This episode, we get into the film’s mild and confusing approach to being an issue movie and Damon’s history as one of THOB’s most discussed performers. We also talk about the film’s rushed turnaround, its minor precursor mentions with both AARP’s Movies for Grownups and the National Board of Review, and the Oscar season that saw Hunting pal Ben Affleck miss out on a Best Director nomination for the Best Picture frontrunner.

Topics also include the Oscar nominated fracking documentary Gasland, unrewarded older male performances opposite nominated actresses, and “Dick Poop”.

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Tag: Dave Eggers

222 – Away We Go

132 – Promised Land