Oscar Poker Podcast

Jeff Wells and Sasha Stone for a quickie chat about recent events. What happens when someone’s career ends overnight after a hit piece in a Hollywood trade? Tune in to find out. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comThe free version of the first half of Misfits #6 is also at www.hollywood-elsewhere.com.

During the pod I mentioned the likelihood or advisability of John Cena wearing a “sock” during his nude moment at the Oscars.  Nobody bit (one or two of my colleagues vaguely shuddered) so the subject fell by the wayside.  But the Hollywood Reporter has done the reporting.  [See below link.]Just like my having also mentioned the obvious about the advisability of Lily Gladstone, who has grown significantly since filming of KOTFM in ‘21, trying Ozempic route going forward.  Others have obviously done this but only a bad person (and I mean someone deserving of condemnation) would mention it. Lily will never be Emma Stone, but elemental logic tells us she’d be more employable if she could at least return to her KOTFM weight.   Do you think Amy Schumer could have played the lead in “Trainwreck” at her current proportions?  Directors and agents and casting directors don’t tiptoe around this topic (or dodge it).  Tom Hanks didn’t dodge it.  Everyone understands that Brendan Fraser lost his star luminosity when he got fat and lost much of his hair.   Just saying. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

Greetings to HE fans and Oscar Poker loyalists (posted on Sunday, 2.25):Podcast-wise longtime HE partner & soulmate Sasha Stone and I have decided to politely and graciously part company, at least for the time being. HE’s “The Misfits” is the new deal — a Zoom video group discussion thing as opposed to the two-person audio chat that “Oscar Poker” was— it’s now three or four revolving participants per weekly episode, discussing the usual ebb and flow, twists and turns, etc. HE founder and relentless author Jeffrey Wells is, as you might expect, a locked-in, never-say-die fixture. Today’s trio was Glenn Kenny, author of the forthcoming “The World Is Yours: The Story of Scarface”, “Exit Interview” author Kristi Coulter, and Manhattan & East Hampton movie hound, comedy writer and co-host of “Talking Pictures” co-host Bill McCuddy.Others will join in as things evolve. We’re just playing it by ear for the time being. Perhaps Jeff Sneider and Eddie Ginley will jump in next week or down the road. The door is open. I would love it if I could persuade Sasha to drop in from time to time, but that’s up to her, of course. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comIs Taylor Swift a high-maintenance handful or not?  Is anyone paying any attention to that slanderous Nikki Finke /James Mangold 15 Year-0ld bullshit about Jeff?  How doomed is Joe Biden, and is there any way out of the coming Binary From Hell?  Is the fix really and truly in?  And why isn’t Sasha interested in talking about “The Seven Year Itch”? They’…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.com[#image: /photos/54cc039b0a5930502f5f6ec7]|||View more images of Kate Winslet from the pages of Vanity Fair. Above, photograph by Annie Leibovitz.|||Without an agenda or any sense of urgency, Sasha and Jeff acknowledge that there’s nothing to discuss about the Oscars other than the Best Actress situation (i.e., Emma Stone vs. Lily Gladstone) and that no…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comYou know something’s up (or down) when your conversational energy keeps sputtering. One thing’s for sure and it’s this: things have changed big-time since 2009. Tech community-wise. Attractive movie star-wise. Culturally, politically, every which way.007:00 - He’s Just Not That Into You, movies they don’t make anymore. 009:00 - History of the internet…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comWhat happened to poor Greta Gerwig?  How did Sterling K. Brown and Colman Domingo slip into their respective elite nominee rosters?  What happened to poor Alexander Payne?  What is the deal with everyone doing backflips over “Anatomy of a Fall,” which is a relatively decent courtroom film, but come on…what IS this?Well, mostly Sasha’s with Jeff piping i…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comThe usual political and cultural factors in Oscar balloting are evaluated by the brilliant Sasha Stone, who knows Oscar statistics like few others.  Plus, there is the matter of  Eric Roth’s original “Killers of the Flower Moon” script, which was written seven years ago.  Plus the coming horror of the Presidential election.  Sasha gets angry at Jeff for…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comDoes Anyone Remember Diane English’s “The Women”?The ensemble farce about wealthy, ambitious women was released in 2008 (i.e., over 15 years ago), and truly represents a world that no longer exists. Sasha explains how it all changed while Jeff (who watched this remake of George Cukor’s 1939 original last night) patiently takes it all in.Will Emma Stone…

Developing Award Trends, Forecasts (NSFC, Golden Globes)National Society of Film Critics Calls. The N.Y. Times vs. Taylor Swift. I’m a Cannibal, You’re a Cannibal. Random Golden Globe Predictions. What is life without a little suspense?NY Times story on TaylorTaylor Swift playing All Too WellThe Beatles’ I Want to Hold Your HandPast Lives trailer:Society of the Snow trailer: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

Paul Schrader on the witness stand — should he give a damn about cultural appropriation? And should he man up about his “Flower Moon” diss? Plus what’s up with the curious but apparently undeniable rejection of “Maestro” on the message boards? And will the advancing Macedonian army of Paul Giamatti take the city of Alexandria? And is there a stronger consensus out there for any contender other than “Oppenheimer”?Subjects covered:Paul Schrader’s reluctance to direct a script he wrote about three black brothers.Paul Schrader’s comments on Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. What happened with Maestro?Radical Chic by Tom WolfeWhat would David Carr’s fate be now?2022 Oscar year and why the same patterns play out.Oppenheimer as the frontrunner - can it win? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

Even though Oscar Poker had been moribund for two weekends / sidelined by tech issues and whatnot, it was time to record again, and so  Jeff and Sasha went to own on a rainy Sunday afternoon and went to tow. All hail Adam Carolla’s spot-on analysis about sports vs. award season and politics.Points hit:How the Oscars lost their brand.Adam Corolla and Rob Schneider on the Oscars.Leave the World Behind - a movie produced by the Obamas and whether or not that creatively healthy.Having freedom of mind as opposed to being “in the bubble.”Complimenting Jeff for not being an Oscar whore.Jeff’s ongoing annoyance with Lily Gladstone and Barry Keoghan.The Best Picture standouts, according to Jeff — Poor Things, Maestro, The HoldoversThe Boys in the Boat is an “old-fashioned” movie.The return of “traditionalism” with Barbenheimer.The 4K Titanic Blu-ray is great.Was Joan Baez molested? What is she trying to say?Therapy is ruining everything.How erasing boundaries led to helicotper parenting in the 90s, which led to “safetyism.”Why is Todd Haynes’ May December so successful with critics? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comThe first 30 minutes are free, the rest is behind the paywall. All proceeds go to keeping Hollywood-Elsewhere afloat.Jeff and Sasha actually converse within the same time zone! (Sasha is in Lakewood, Ohio — a flush lakeside suburb of Cleveland — while Jeff is in the equally flush Wilton.) The most staggering moment comes when Sasha predicts that “Barb…

It’s a podcast on the fly, with Jeff on his phone and Sasha in a hotel room in Nebraska. —Jeff continues to grapple with Lily Gladstone and her frontrunner status.—Was Poor Things too much sex that it obliterates any deeper meaning? How does it compare to Barbie? —Is the “woke” thing forever? Is it our new normal? —The Holdovers is an unusual film in its depiction of a strong male role model for wayward boys. —The reactions to the Color Purple, Jeff finally will be seeing American Fiction. —The Oscars don’t decide quality. They never have.—Jeff on Napoleon and why didn’t they case someone short?No timecode this week. Please think about becoming a paying subscriber, then you will get all episodes for the month. This is a free episode. Here’s the Barbie scene referenced:/end This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comThis podcast will offer a free excerpt for the first 30 minutes. The rest is behind the paywall.Jeff and Sasha again settle into the reality of things.  Alas, the topics aren’t coming to mind, but please be patient.  Most of our chat is paywalled, but you know how that goes.  We definitely discussed Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor contender, and…

Jeff and Sasha recap some of his 11.3 “Maestro” screening, a turn-on event, which also included the Incredible Weeping Guy plus the (hopefully temporary) loss of his elephant-hide wallet. Plus “Anatomy of a Fall”, Best Supporting Actress contenders, a fight with an old friend…We chatter a bit about politics, then move on to whether or not the identity-focused politics of Hollywood has ruined storytelling. 0:00:00 - Jeff’s fight with his childhood friend over politics. 0:13:00 - Politics stuff — Israel/Hamas briefly.0:14:00 - Jeff’s cat meows. 016:00 - Joe Biden and Dean Phillips0:18:00 - Trump Derangement Syndrome0:26:18 - Jeff on Maestro0:28:00 - A Star is Born0:36:00 - Nyad0:39:00 - Grading on a curve0:40:00 - Jeff’s friend openly weeping during Maestro0:43:00 - Why storytelling matters0:44:00 - The Holdovers - Alexander Payne’s film about kids left over at boarding school over Christmas0:48:00 - The Taste of Things - a French film starring Juliette Binoche.0:48:47 - Jeff’s friend “gasping and weeping” - what makes us cry in movies. 0:56:20 - May December - Todd Haynes’ film starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore1:00 - Anatomy of a Fall - a French movie starring Sandra Huller about whether or not she murdered her husband. 1:20 - Most searched sex positions in New York Post1:21 - Sasha’s road trip to Ohio for Thanksgiving.1:22 - Best Actress is heating up.1:30 - Sex in Anatomy of a Fall?1:33 - Supporting Actress - Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers, Penelope Cruz for Ferarri, etc. 1:33 - Outro This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit heplus.substack.comThis is our first premium episode. We plan to offer one or two free episodes and the rest behind a paywall. This will have a free version and a paid version. Matthew Perry, “Bad News Bears”, “The Killers” absent from AMC and Cinemark theatres, Dean Phillips, “Maestro” screenings, Sasha admits Trump might be a sociopath but still thinks the Democrats ar…

“Jeff and Sasha delve into two new movies — “Fair Play” on Netflix, a story about a financial realm power couple whose relationship falls apart when the woman is promoted over the dude, and “The Burial,” a story about a scrappy lawyer taking on a powerful corporation. We also talk about “Killers of the Flower Moon” hitting theaters and the reaction therein.Then we delve into Israel, Hamas, Biden, Trump, and all manner of political chaos…we scream at each other as we always do when these subjects come up. "WARNING: Lots of F-bombs throughout.000:00 - Intro/Paywall008:56 - The Burial012:56 - Fair Play025:00 - Killers of the Flower Moon043:00 - Hays Code/Woke048:00 - Dave Chappelle and Gaza/Hamas100:00 - Long debate about politics, TrumpTrailer for the Burial with Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones:Trailer for Fair Play:Clip from Killers of the Flower Moon:Link//End This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heplus.substack.com/subscribe