Madonna – This Had Oscar Buzz

310 – Man on the Moon

In 1999, director Milos Forman reunited with his People Vs. Larry Flynt screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski for another biopic of an iconoclast, Man on the Moon. Rebounding from the Oscar snub for The Truman Show, Jim Carrey took on the role of Andy Kaufman and according to history, took it a bit too seriously. The film received some strong reviews and plenty of precursor action for Carrey (including another Golden Globe win), but the film proved an Oscar misfire for the twice Oscar awarded director and the still unnominated Carrey.

This episode, we talk about the industry’s (perhaps snobby) perceptions of Carrey and the faux method acting by Carrey that would later be documented by Jim and Andy. We also talk about the Alexander/Karaszewski biopic mold, Carrey’s biker chic MTV Movie Award acceptance speech, and the film’s reverence for Kaufman’s legacy.

Topics also include 1999 Best Actor, R.E.M., and “Courtney Love is in dire need of attention right now.”

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Mailbág: Goodbye 2022

We are bidding adieu to 2022 with our annual mailbag episode!! We dive into a feast of listener questions, kicked off first with a mini 20th anniversary celebration for The Hours and THOB-adjacent questions about theme parks, Drag Race, and the Emmys. We unpack the current Oscar race, including Cate Blanchett’s default status as the performance of the year, the current Best Director and Animated Feature races, and performances we loved in movies we didn’t. Topics also include performers most likely to never win despite multiple nominations, Nora Ephron’s Oscar nominations, our favorite THR Actress roundtables, the 1996 Best Actress race almost crashed by Madonna, and This Had Figure Skating Buzz.

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194 – Ransom (EW Fall Movie Preview)

What’s the one about a Best Director frontrunner who gets snubbed for a nomination only to have the star of his then-filming movie assume his frontrunner status all the way to a win. No joke, this is what happened with 1996′s Ransom, with director Ron Howard’s shockeroo miss for Apollo 13resulting in favor being showered upon (boo! hiss!) Mel Gibson. The actor would then delay filming to work on Braveheart’s Oscar campaign, resulting in Ransom from being pushed from summer to Thanksgiving, setting some speculation that it could serve an Oscar rebound for Howard. Instead, the film was a box office success a bit too schlocky (not to mention quite violent) thriller for Oscar.

This episode, we devour the Fall Movie Preview and its offering of THOB eligibles, but even more titles that underwhelmed with one or two nominations. We also discuss the film’s stellar ensemble, from the expect tone-setting from Delroy Linda, to the under appreciated Rene Russo, to the indie darling status of Lili Taylor.

Topics also include Candace Bushnell wearing a weirdly phallic chair, website reviews, and The First Wives Club.

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