Michael Gambon – This Had Oscar Buzz

265 – Brideshead Revisited

We all know that Oscar fawns over costume dramas of literary adaptations… or so we tell ourselves when forming predictions and one with a whiff of prestige arrives. In 2008, director Julian Jerrold delivered a new adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited with an up-and-coming young cast paired with Dame Emma Thompson as the devoutly religious Lady Marchmain. With Matthew Goode as the social climber Charles Ryder and Ben Whishaw and Hayley Atwell as the siblings he romances, the queer-inflected drama earned modest reviews and box office, with Thompson an outsider Supporting Actress contender through the season.

This episode, Thompson joins our six timers club and we discuss our love for the then-emerging Whishaw. We also look back at Goode’s career including the misbegotten Watchmen film, Atwell’s career outside of Marvel, and the surprising amount of time that has passed since Thompson’s last nomination.

Topics also include Brideshead riff Saltburn, pneumonia terminology, and 2008 queer cinema.

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217 – Mary Reilly

Happy Halloween, Garys! Get ready for lots of whispers and accents as we close spooky season with one of our oft-referenced favorites, 1996′s uberflop Mary Reilly. A riff on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale starring Julia Roberts as an Irish maid who falls for both personalities of the mad scientist, the film was a bodice-ripping reunion of several Dangerous Liaisons collaborators: director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Christopher Hampton, and star John Malkovich. Despite the high pedigree and pre-production high hopes that landed Roberts a massive payday, the movie was critically lambasted and bombed at the box office.

This episode, we discuss the Frears filmography and his service to the culture of directing prestige actress vehicles. We also discuss the 1990s prestige reiterations of classic monster movies, Glenn Close’s deliciously bawdy performance as a hothouse matron, and we loop back to Julia Roberts’ Six Timers Club quiz.

Topics also include Tammie Brown makeup, how Malkovich should have been nominated in 1999 for playing himself, and Two-ster.

PLUS we are kicking off this episode with a fun announcement: we are partnering with Vulture for the new Fantasy Movie League!! Join us at moviegame.vulture.com!

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115 – The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

For his first English language film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, Cannes darling Xavier Dolan assembled a stunning prestige cast that promised a major leveling up from the filmmaker. And then disaster struck. Filming began shortly after his critically reviled It’s Only the End of the World debuted and at Cannes and Dolan’s response cemented his bratty reputation. And then years of post-production and a reported four hour cut resulted in a very quiet premiere at TIFF 2018, with an even quieter release on VOD over a year later. Starring Kit Harington as a young hearthrob and Jacob Tremblay as a gay preteen who wrote fanletters, the film is also a story of mothers and sons and fame with Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, and Thandie Newton rounding out the cast.

In this episode, we unpack everything that makes Dolan a fascinating filmmaker, from his extensive career at a young age to openly sparring with his critics to his creative peak with 2014′s Mommy. We also discuss Jessica Chastain’s highly touted role cut from the film, Mads Mikkelsen’s memed reaction to Dolan’s Cannes win, and the film’s sometimes cringey use of popular music.

Topics also include Dolan’s video for Adele’s “Hello”, actresses we would like to see work with Dolan, and Magical Scarved Homosexual Strangers.

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