Next Best Picture Podcast

"Rebel Ridge" is a 2024 American action thriller film written, produced, directed, and edited by "Blue Ruin" and "Green Room" filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier. The film stars Aaron Pierre as Terry Richmond, a former Marine, who has the funds needed to post bail for his cousin, unjustly seized via civil forfeiture by a small town's corrupt police force. Netflix released the film to positive critical reviews, and it won Best Movie Made for Television at the 30th Critics' Choice Awards. Saulnier was kind enough to spend a few minutes speaking with us about his experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Netflix and is up for your consideration for the 77th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, where it's nominated for Outstanding Television Movie. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2

"Deaf President Now!" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its telling of the 1988 student protest at Gallaudet University, when a hearing candidate was elected over other deaf candidates. Directors and producers Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim were kind enough to spend a few minutes speaking with us about their experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Apple TV+ and is up for your consideration for the 77th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, where it's nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/ch

"My Mother's Wedding" is a comedy-drama film directed by Kristin Scott Thomas from a screenplay she co-wrote with John Micklethwait. It stars Scott Thomas alongside Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Emily Beecham, Freida Pinto, and Thibault de Montalembert. It tells the story of three sisters who return to their family home to attend the wedding of their twice-widowed mother. Scott Thomas was kind enough to spend a few minutes speaking with us about her experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on August 8th from Vertical. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https:

"Sketch" had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it received positive reviews for its premise, visual effects, and performances from the cast. It tells the story of a widowed father (Tony Hale) of two who is struggling to help his children Jack (Kue Lawrence) and Amber (Bianca Belle) come to terms with the death of their mother; however, one day the sketch book in which Amber has been drawing visual representations of her grief accidentally gets dropped in a magical pool, resulting in the neighborhood becoming terrorized by strange monsters made of crayon wax and chalk dust. Director/writer Seth Worley, along with stars Tony Hale, D'Arcy Carden, Bia Belle, and Kalon Kox, were all kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Angel Studios. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Plea

"Alien: Earth" is an upcoming science fiction horror television series created by Noah Hawley ("Fargo" & "Legion"), based on the "Alien" franchise. It serves as a prequel set two years before the events of the original 1979 film "Alien." Creator, Executive Producer, Writer (Episodes 1-8) & Director (Episodes 1 &5), Noah Hawley, Executive Producer David W. Zucker, and cast members Sydney Chandler ("Wendy"), Alex Lawther ("Hermit"), Timothy Olyphant ("Kirsh"), Babou Ceesay ("Morrow"), and Samuel Blenkin ("Boy Kavalier") were all kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work on the series, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the series, which will premiere on Tuesday, August 12th, with the first two episodes available to stream on Hulu at 8 p.m. ET and on the FX linear channel at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and Disney+ internationally. A new episode of the 8-episode season will premiere each following Tuesday on Hulu beginning at 8 p.m. ET and on FX at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Thank you, and enj

"The Penguin" is one of the most Emmy-award nominated television shows of the year, receiving an incredible 24 Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Lead Actor, Actress, and Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, and Deirdre O'Connell, respectively and Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Showrunner, Writer & Executive Producer Lauren LeFranc. LeFranc was kind enough to spend some time before the nominations were announced to talk with us about her work and experience making the critically acclaimed HBO limited series. Please be sure to listen to the interview below and check out the show itself, which is now available to stream in full on HBO Max and is up for your consideration at the 77th annual Emmy Awards in all eligible categories. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/po

"Final Destination Bloodlines" is the sixth installment in the "Final Destination" series and was released in theaters fourteen years after "Final Destination 5." It was met with the best reviews and box office the franchise has ever seen, with a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and $285.3 million at the worldwide box office. Directors Zach Lipovsky & Adam Stein were kind enough to spend a few minutes speaking with us about their experiences making the film in preparation for its home video and streaming release, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream at home on HBO Max. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a mont

For Episode 453, no members of Next Best Picture were available today to join me for this week's episode so I looked in my contacts and called the one very special person who I felt would be most suitable to guest and discuss the announcement of the Closing Night film for the New York Film Festival (NYFF), Bradley Cooper's "Is This Thing On?," and what we believe will be announced for the Main Slate and Spotlight sections later this week. We reveal the winners of last week's poll, for the upcoming Venice Film Festival, where we asked, "Which Film From The 2025 Venice Film Festival (Venezia 82) Are You Most Looking Forward To?" And for last week's poll, for the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), we ask, "Which World Premiere From The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "Avatar: Fire And Ash," "Eternity," "Zootopia 2," "Blue Moon," "Twinless," "The Threesome," answer your fan-submitted questions, and

For this week's main podcast review, Josh Parham, Joselyn Safadie & Giovanni Lago join me to review the latest film from Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer, "The Naked Gun," starring Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand & Danny Huston. The fourth film in the "The Naked Gun" franchise, the outrageously silly comedy, produced by Seth MacFarlane, is a legacy sequel to "Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult" (1994). What did we think of the comedy, performances, writing, and direction? Please tune in as we discuss these elements, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a mo

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's second podcast review, Ema Sasic & Josh Parham join me to review and discuss Michael Shanks' "Together," starring Dave Franco, Alison Brie & Damon Herriman. The perfect date night horror film had its world premiere in the Midnight Section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its theme of co-dependency told through the body horror genre and utilizing the real-life chemistry between real-life couple, Franco and Brie. With a clever marketing campaign from NEON, the indie film has built up a ton of buzz, so we decided to review it for you all. What did we think of it? Please tune in as we discuss the premise, performances, humor, effects, what it has to say about relationships, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you all so much for listening as alway

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture Our 2009 retrospective continues with Jason Reitman's Best Picture nominee "Up In The Air," starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Danny McBride, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton, J. K. Simmons, Melanie Lynskey, Zach Galifianakis & Sam Elliott. Co-written by Sheldon Turner and based on Walter Kirn's 2001 novel of the same name, the story of a traveling corporate downsizer who has a change of heart about what he values in his life was timely upon its release following the 2009 global financial crisis and garnered strong reviews and earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. How does the film hold up today? Please join Alyssa Christian, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, and me as we discuss the performances, direction, writing, editing, its awards season run, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. You can vote now on th

"The Penguin" is one of the most nominated television shows of the year, receiving an astounding 24 Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Outstanding Lead Actor, Actress, and Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, and Deirdre O'Connell, respectively. O'Connell was kind enough to spend some time before the nominations were announced talking with us about her character, Francis Cobb, the mother of Farrell's titular character, her work, and her experience making the critically acclaimed limited series. Please be sure to listen to the interview below and check out the show itself, which is now available to stream in full on HBO Max and is up for your consideration at the 77th annual Emmy Awards in all eligible categories. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify -

"The Naked Gun" serves as a legacy sequel to "Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult" (1994) and is the fourth film in the "The Naked Gun" franchise. Starring Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., the film has been brought to the screen by director, co-writer and Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer ("Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping") with a reverence for the kind of clever comedy style that pays homage to the previous films while carving out a new legacy for itself. Schaffer and producer Erica Huggins were both kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in theaters on August 1st from Paramount Pictures. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.y

"Weapons" is the latest horror film from director and writer Zach Cregger, whose feature directorial debut, "Barbarian," was a huge success when it was released in 2022. His follow-up has been greatly anticipated since then, and Warner Bros. has done an incredible job marketing the film to get audiences super interested in what the horror filmmaker has up his sleeve for his latest. Working with an all-star cast that includes Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Cary Christopher, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong & Amy Madigan, the film follows the case of seventeen kids from the same classroom who mysteriously disappear overnight at the exact same time, with their teacher being the main suspect. Cregger was kind enough to speak with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released exclusively in theaters nationwide by Warner Bros. on August 8th. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Plea

For Episode 452, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, and I recap and break down this massive week of film festival announcements including the full lineup for the 2025 Venice Film Festival, a majority of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) lineup, the Opening and Centerpiece announcements for the New York Film Festival, and what this all means for the Telluride Film Festival. For this week's poll, for Venezia 82 (mainly because we at least have the full lineup for this one), we ask, "Which Film From The 2025 Venice Film Festival Are You Most Looking Forward To?" And for last week's poll, for the first time this season, we asked, "Which Film Do You Feel Will Be The Next Best Picture Oscar Winner?" and we reveal your top 10 early results for this almighty important question. We also share our reactions to the trailers for Park Chan-wook's much-anticipated "No Other Choice," Aziz Ansari's "Good Fortune," Clint Bentley's "Train Dreams," Oliver Hermanus' "The History Of Sound," Rob Reiner's "Spinal Tap II: The End

For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Josh Parham, Ema Sasic, Sara Clements & Joselyn Safadie join me to review the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser & Sarah Niles. Directed by Matt Shakman, this is the second reboot of the "Fantastic Four" film series and the first time Marvel's first family has entered the MCU. What did we think of the 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic design, the score, casting, story, and the visual effects? Please tune in as we discuss these elements, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - h

"2000 Meters To Andriivka" had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it received a strong, positive reception, with critics praising it as a worthy follow-up to Mstyslav Chernov's Academy Award-winning film, "20 Days In Mariupol." The film follows Chernov and journalist Alex Babenko as they follow a Ukrainian platoon on a mission to liberate the Russian-occupied village of Andriivka across 2000 meters of land surrounded by landmines. Chernov was kind enough to return to the podcast and speak with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing theatrically in New York with a national rollout to follow from PBS Distribution, and a broadcast on Frontline scheduled for December. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/

"Oh, Hi!" had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its story about a situationship by filmmaker Sophie Brooks, involving a new couple (Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman) who go on a weekend road trip that takes an unexpected turn. Both Gordon & Lerman were kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in theaters on July 25th from Sony Pictures Classics. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Lear

"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" is the latest attempt to bring Marvel's first family, the Fantastic Four, to the big screen, following the 2005 and 2015 films. It is the 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the titular team, alongside Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson. Garner, Ineson, and director Matt Shakman were kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in theaters on July 25th from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7Kio

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture For this week's second podcast review, Dan Bayer, Giovanni Lago, Daniel Howat & Brendan Hodges, join me to review and discuss the latest film from Ari Aster, "Eddington," starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O'Connell, Micheal Ward, Austin Butler & Emma Stone. After its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, much like Aster's other films, his COVID-19 pandemic-set Western has sparked an intense discussion surrounding its themes, execution, and intention. Like the characters in the movie itself, no one can seem to see eye to eye on anything regarding it. What did we think of it? Please tune in as we discuss the story, its themes and style, performances, cinematography, our experiences with the pandemic and how it changed the world, the film's awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review.