Joaquin Phoenix – This Had Oscar Buzz

284 – The Sisters Brothers

If you think we are too dismissive of westerns, allow this week’s episode to contradict that notion! In 2018, Jacques Audiard made his English language debut with an adaptation of Patrick deWitt’s novel The Sisters Brothers. John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix starred as gunslinging assassin siblings in 19th century America, with both on the pursuit of a detective and a scientist (played respectively by a reunited Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed) with a plot for gold. Despite the reputation of everyone involved, the film received a mild reception at fall festivals before a quiet September release.

This episode, we talk about the struggles of Annapurna to successfully switch from being a production house to a distributor. We also discuss the career of Reilly with the hopes of a career reappraisal, our feelings about the western genre and the attempts to revive it, and Audiard’s French submission contender in A Prophet.

Topics also include surprise Carol Kane, queercoding, and Jake going weird.

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238 – Mary Magdalene

We talk about awards hopes thwarted by release date pushes, and this week is the mother of all of them. Originally intended as Garth Davis’ speedy follow-up to Lion for Thanksgiving 2017, Mary Magdalene cast Rooney Mara as the biblical woman and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus. The film reexamines Mary Magdalene role among the disciples and how history has viewed her, and attempts a feminist perspective to biblical narratives. But shortly after it wasn’t announced for any fall festival lineups, the film was pushed to Easter 2018. When the Weinstein expose arrived, the film was then caught in US distribution limbo, arriving on schedule overseas but not seeing (few) American theatres until 2019.

This episode, we talk about Davis’ success with Lion in the 2016 season and our hopes for his upcoming Satires Ronan starrer Foe. We also discuss Joe’s Catholic upbringing and knowledge, how Jesus would’ve handled social media, and the chances Mara would have had in the Best Actress race had the film arrived in its original season.

Topics also include Phoenix’s whole vibe, MANY music references, and Hot Judas.

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166- To Die For

Nicole Kidman finally joins the THOB Six Timers Club this week with what many consider her first major critical success. In the same year that Kidman had a major blockbuster in Batman Forever, the actress joined forces with Gus Van Sant for satirical Joyce Maynard adaptation To Die For. The film starred Kidman as the fame obsessed (and possibly murderous) Suzanne Stone, earning the actress raves and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical, but stiff competition among lead actresses left the film as a headscratcher of an Oscar snub in hindsight.

To Die For was also a rebound for Van Sant from the disastrous Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, and we look back at his career balanced between big successes and major misfires. We also talk about Illeana Douglas’ burst of great supporting roles in the 1990s, the emergence of tabloid and talkshow culture, and the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.

Topics also include the late work of screenwriter Buck Henry, Goldie Hawn in Protocol, and what the plot of Vanessa Redgrave-starrer A Month By The Lake might be.

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126 – Reservation Road

For our first episode of the new year, we’re taking things back to the very This Had Oscar Buzz beginning. Back when this old podcast was just a single service Tumblr, the first THOB entry was 2007′s Reservation Road, a domestic drama starring Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly as a family mourning the loss of a son in a hit-and-run and Mark Ruffalo as the assailant filled with guilt. The film dominated early predictions and went on to a dismal reception at the Toronto International Film Festival before barely opening in theatres.

This episode, we look back at Phoenix’s Best Actor campaign for Walk the Line and the I’m Still Here shenanigans that would begin the more definitive stage of his career. We also discuss Connelly’s post-Oscar career stuck in wife roles that underserve her abilities and director Terry George’s underwhelming filmography after the success of Hotel Rwanda.

Topics also include the goofy Hollywood Film Awards, Oscar’s love of stories about family tragedies, and Lifetime’s daytime talk show Attitudes.

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