Rhys Ifans – This Had Oscar Buzz

216 – Snowden

Welcome all our new CIA listeners, because this week we are talking about 2016′s Snowden. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as controversial whistleblower Edward Snowden, the film follows Snowden’s journey through exposing the surveillance state and his exile to Russia, all while maintaining his relationship with girlfriend Lindsay Mills (played by Shailene Woodley). With Oliver Stone at the helm and Laura Poitras’ Snowden doc Citizenfour having recently earned the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, the film arrived with high expectations that it immediately disappointed when this bland biopic debuted at TIFF.

This episode, Joe gives us a recap of his New York Film Festival experience this year before we dive into Stone’s misfire. We also talk about Oscar winners that have played Oscar winners, Gordon-Levitt’s distracting baritone while playing Snowden, Peter Gabriel’s film awards history, and Stone’s fall from the height of his cultural significance in the 1980s and 1990s.

Topics also include TIFF premieres that open to general audiences during the festival, the 2011 Best Supporting Actress race that Woodley narrowly missed, and Chris’ ongoing journey with Survivor.

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196 – Notting Hill (EW Summer Movie Preview – Listeners’ Choice)

Whoopsie daisies, we have come to the close of our May miniseries taking a deep focus look back at Entertainment Weekly’s seasonal movie preview issues. And the closer was chosen by you, listeners! For your Listeners’ Choice, you have selected the Summer Movie Preview for Notting Hill. The film famously went head-to-head with grand behemoth Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace and still emerged victorious at the box office, thanks in part to Julia Roberts’ reemergent romcom power and the charms of Hugh Grant back in bumbling mop-haired mode. Notting Hill stars both respectively as the most famous actress in the world and a modest travel bookstore owner who fall in love against the odds, and it comes with all of the signatures of the combined powers of director Roger Michell and screenwriter Richard Curtis.

This episode, we look back at the oft-revisited 1999 movie year and unpack why it remains so fascinating to talk about. We also discuss Roberts’ double-header of romcom hits that summer with Runaway Bride, Pulp Fiction’s influence on films like Go, and South Park’s movie mission to wage war with the MPAA.

Topics also include capsizing in a boat with Tilda Swinton, Eyes Wide Shut’s veil of mystery before release, and VH1 Divas Live 1999.

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150 – The Shipping News

We’re marking a milestone this week with our 150th episode. And for such a momentous occasion, we’re finally digging in to one of the most notorious films of THOB history with Lasse Lasse Hallström’s The Shipping News. Adapted from Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, the film cast Kevin Spacey as a meak man who uproots his life to his Newfoundland home after the tragic death of his wife, Petal (Cate Blanchett). Also starring awards magnets Julianne Moore and Dame Judi Dench, the film had massive on-paper goods that went down in flames when the film faceplanted onto screens on Christmas Day, earning dismal reviews for its ungraceful handling of a literary work.

Especially cursed in retrospect for all of the obvious reasons, the film also met a Hallström backlash after Chocolat and The Cider Houses Rules back-to-back. This episode, we look at Miramax’s 2001 awards contender reshuffling and the film’s shockingly robust precursor tally, including a Best Picture nomination from the Critics Choice Awards. We also revisit our past Judi Dench episodes and our list of superlatives for episodes 101-150.

Topics also include the film’s absolutely bonkers character names, seal flipper pie as the best part of its love story, and Cate Blanchett’s 2001 triptych of critics prize awarded performances.

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