Shira Haas – This Had Oscar Buzz

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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This week, we are returning to the work of the recent Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain. In 2017, the actress headlined the adaptation of the popular non-fiction book The Zookeeper’s Wife, detailing Antonina Zabinska and her husband Jan’s efforts to help Polish Jews escape the Nazis by hiding them within the Warsaw Zoo. Directed by Niki Caro, who had previously guided two previous Best Actress nominees, the film held much early promise before being slated for an early year release after distributor Focus Features had its hands full with two Best Picture nominees the previous season. By the end of the year, Chastain herself would have a heavier hitting contender in Molly’s Game, leaving The Zookeeper’s Wife as a quickly forgotten prestige effort.

This episode, we look back at Niki Caro’s rise as the director of independent dramas to massive studio tentpoles and Chastain’s omnipresent arrival in the early 2010s. We also get into how the previous season resulted in her as our newest Best Actress winner, Daniel Bruhl’s typecasting in Nazi roles, and Focus Features’ upcoming lineup.

Topics also include Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Netflix’s 2022 supertrailer, and our May Miniseries starting next week!!

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Tag: Shira Haas

238 – Mary Magdalene

191 – The Zookeeper’s Wife