John Turturro – This Had Oscar Buzz

For this week’s episode, we’re… dealing (sorry) a late 90s favorite that was meant to be a post-Oscar star vehicle and wound up a box office disappointment. After the Oscar and box office success of Good Will Hunting, the next stop on Matt Damon’s ascent to megastardom was to be Rounders, an NYC-set drama about high-stakes underground poker. Damon starred as a law student who once gave up the game but quit at the insistence of his girlfriend (Gretchen Mol), only to get pulled back in by his no-good childhood friend (Edward Norton).

This episode, we talk about the film’s status as a cult favorite of sorts and the film’s palatable brand of machismo. We also discuss Norton’s Oscar nomination in the same year for American History X, Mol’s Vanity Fair It Girl cover, and John Malkovich giving goofy Russian accent.

Topics also include Celebrity Poker Showdown, John Turturro in a bathhouse, and (eep) Famke Janssen on Nip/Tuck.

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We’ve made it to 200 episodes! And as long-time listeners are aware, there are few THOB-eligible films as beloved as Gloria Bell. In 2013, Sebastián Lelio delivered Gloria, a delightful Chilean character study of the everyday life of a single woman entering middle age played by an incandescent Paulina García. When Julianne Moore approached Lelio about an American remake, the director decided to take over the reigns himself, remaking his own movie. The resulting Gloria Bell launched at 2018 TIFF, receiving good reviews and getting picked up by A24, leading some to see a potential Globes Comedy player. But A24 held the film until the spring, and it got lost among their already stacked awards slate.

This episode, we look back Lelio’s trifecta of films in 2017-2018, which would include an International Feature Oscar win for A Fantastic Woman and the underrated Disobedience. We also talk both Glorias perfect endings, recall our first formative friendship viewing of the film, and celebrate the 200 episode milestone with our annual look back at the past year of THOB.

Topics also include Jeanne Tripplehorn’s vape, the film’s joyous soundtrack, and (stick around after the IMDb Game) a post-credits quiz about our past post-credits song outros.

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Tag: John Turturro

411 – Rounders

200 – Gloria Bell