DiscoverThe Next Picture Show#150: A Star Is Born, Pt. 1 - George Cukor (1954)
#150: A Star Is Born, Pt. 1 - George Cukor (1954)

#150: A Star Is Born, Pt. 1 - George Cukor (1954)

Update: 2018-10-30
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Bradley Cooper’s new A STAR IS BORN remake is a current-day spin on a Hollywood fable that’s been around since the 1930s, about a struggling male star and the young ingenue he pushes toward fame. But its music-industry setting makes it a particularly apt match for George Cukor’s 1954 musical spin on the tale, starring a career-redefining Judy Garland as the titular star to James Mason’s fading one. In this half of our two-part discussion of the films, we dig into the legend and legacy of Cukor’s STAR, piece together what the film lost and gained via studio meddling and reconstruction, and debate the nature of the story’s central tragedy. Plus, by listener request, we give some of our recommendations for first-time film festival-goers.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all of Hollywood’s takes on A STAR IS BORN by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro Music: Judy Garland, “Born In A Trunk”

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#173: Little Big Guys, Pt. 2 - Shazam!
The new superhero movie SHAZAM owes such a debt to Penny Marshall’s weird and whimsical 1988 comedy BIG that it includes a giant piano as an homage, but the connections between these two wish-fulfillment fantasies go beyond their shared premises. After discussing how SHAZAM distinguishes itself from other superhero films, and what it might say about the future of the DCEU, we bring in BIG to see how these two films echo and refract each other in their ideas about what maturity looks like to kids, in their depictions of home and family, and in their use of toys as signifiers of childhood. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BIG, SHAZAM, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Wim Wenders’ WINGS OF DESIRE (via The Criterion Channel)• Genevieve: Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek’s THE BREAKER UPPERERS• Keith: Joseph H. Lewis’ MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (via The Criterion Channel’s ‘Columbia Noir’ Collection)• Scott: Don Siegel’s THE LINEUP (via The Criterion Channel’s ‘Columbia Noir’ Collection)Outro Music: Queen, “Don’t Stop Me Now”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#173: Little Big Guys, Pt. 2 - Shazam!

2019-04-2300:54:45

#172: Little Big Guys, Pt. 1 - Big (1988)
The new SHAZAM, about a 14-year-old kid granted the power of becoming a grown-up superhero, openly acknowledges the debt it owes to Penny Marshall’s 1988 breakthrough BIG, which made a potent comic fantasy out of what adolescents imagine adulthood to be. In this first half of our pairing of the two films, we wrestle with BIG's age-shifted central relationship and marvel over how stars Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins manage to find some real sweetness within an uncomfortable romantic scenario, which leads us to consider how the horrors lurking beneath the comedic premise reveal themselves with age, and whether the film works despite that. Plus, some feedback inspired by our recent episodes on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and US, and a response to some criticism of our recent string of superhero pairings. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BIG, SHAZAM, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Works Cited:• ’Big’ Is Secretly a Horror Movie, by Shea Serrano (TheRinger.com)• ‘Big’ Review, by Keith Phipps (TheDissolve.com)• Robert De Niro and the origin of “The Face,” by Scott Tobias (TheDissolve.com)Outro music: Nelly, “Country Grammar”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#172: Little Big Guys, Pt. 1 - Big (1988)

2019-04-1600:59:16

#171: Double Troubles, Pt. 2 - Us
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#171: Double Troubles, Pt. 2 - Us

2019-04-0901:03:221

#170: Double Troubles, Pt. 1 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
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#170: Double Troubles, Pt. 1 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

2019-04-0200:55:35

#169: Muscled Memories, Pt. 2 - Captain Marvel
Our pairing of sci-fi action films with a side of meditation on memory and identity brings in the new CAPTAIN MARVEL to see how Carol Danvers’ journey of lost and reclaimed memories looks next to the very different (and much bloodier) journey taken by Douglas Quaid in Paul Verhoeven’s TOTAL RECALL. We share our reactions to CAPTAIN MARVEL and its choice to center its narrative on an amnesiac hero, then bring in TOTAL RECALL to compare the two films’ approaches to their central ideas about memory, how they function as science-fiction stories, how they treat their female characters, and more. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TOTAL RECALL, CAPTAIN MARVEL, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. *Show Notes*Works cited:• Captain Marvel’s Cat Wrangler Explains How Goose Became a Flerken Hero on Set, by April Wolfe (Vulture.com)Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra’s BIRDS OF PASSAGE, and Movie Premieres Unlimited (@NightOpening)• Keith: Robert Aldrich’s VERA CRUZ• Genevieve: Robbie Thompson and Niko Henrichon’s MEET THE SKRULLS comic, and FX’s WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWSOutro Music: Smashing Pumpkins, “Today”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#169: Muscled Memories, Pt. 2 - Captain Marvel

2019-03-2601:03:061

#168: Muscled Memories, Pt. 1 - Total Recall (1990)
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#168: Muscled Memories, Pt. 1 - Total Recall (1990)

2019-03-1900:44:52

#167: The Hustle Play, Pt, 2 - High Flying Bird
Like WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP, Steven Soderbergh’s new Netflix digital experiment HIGH FLYING BIRD looks at what it takes for talented basketball players to survive outside of the professional leagues, with a high-stakes corporate heist in place of that film’s street-level hustle. This week, we talk over our reactions to HIGH FLYING BIRD’s story, dialogue, and in particular its iPhone cinematography, before bringing these two films together to look at how they each depict baller life outside the NBA, and how their respective cinematic styles buck sports-movie conventions. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP, HIGH-FLYING BIRD, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Dean DeBlois’ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD• Genevieve: Spike Lee’s PASSING STRANGE• Scott: Christian Petzold’s TRANSIT• Tasha: Christopher Caldwell and Zeke Earl’s PROSPECT and Lee Cronin’s THE HOLE IN THE GROUNDOutro Music: Lupe Fiasco & Evidence, “Catch Me I’m Ballin’”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#167: The Hustle Play, Pt, 2 - High Flying Bird

2019-03-1201:05:31

#166: The Hustle Play, Pt. 1 - White Men Can't Jump
Steven Soderbergh’s new quick-and-dirty Netflix film HIGH FLYING BIRD follows a basketball agent’s bold attempt to work outside the dictates of a professional league, a hustle that calls to mind the Venice Beach street-ball scene of Ron Shelton’s 1992 comedy WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP. In this half of our look at freelance ballers and the games they play on and off the court, we talk about what WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP has to say about the game, friendship, race, and how they intersect, and dig into how and why Shelton has so reliably put his own unique spin on the sports movie. Plus, some feedback inspired by our VELVET BUZZSAW episode and the Academy’s newly crowned Best Picture.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP, HIGH FLYING BIRD, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#166: The Hustle Play, Pt. 1 - White Men Can't Jump

2019-03-0500:58:26

#165: The Bloody Act of Creation, Pt. 2 - Velvet Buzzsaw
Like Roger Corman’s A BUCKET OF BLOOD, the new Netflix release VELVET BUZZSAW, director Dan Gilroy’s follow-up to NIGHTCRAWLER, presents as an art-world satire wrapped around the bones of a horror movie, though it doesn’t deliver on the horror element until pretty deep into the film. We talk over whether that approach is a benefit or detriment to both sides of the horror-satire equation, and about whether Netflix’s current content model is a natural evolution of the “give ‘em what they want” strategy that guided Corman’s American International Pictures. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BUCKET OF BLOOD, VELVET BUZZSAW, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730..Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Steven Soderbergh’s HIGH FLYING BIRD• Keith: Samuel Fuller’s 40 GUNS• Tasha: Chiwetel Ejiofor’s THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND, and “At Netflix Who WinsWhen It’s Hollywood Vs. The Algorithm?,” by Shalini Ramachandran and Joe Flint (wsj.com)Outro Music: Talking Heads, “Artists Only”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#165: The Bloody Act of Creation, Pt. 2 - Velvet Buzzsaw

2019-02-2600:59:55

#164: The Bloody Act of Creation, Pt. 1 - A Bucket of Blood
Inspired by Dan Gilroy’s new VELVET BUZZSAW — and a listener suggestion — we’re looking back this week at another darkly humorous tweaking of the destructive world of high art and those who inhabit it: Roger Corman’s 1959 low-budget horror-comedy A BUCKET OF BLOOD. In this half of the pairing we talk about how Corman and screenwriter Charles B. Griffith balance the film’s tricky tone, how its obvious cheapness reflects Corman’s storied ability to work within restrictions, and what it’s like to watch iconic character actor Dick Miller in one of his rare starring turns. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on UNBREAKABLE and WIDOWS.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A BUCKET OF BLOOD, VELVET BUZZSAW, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#164: The Bloody Act of Creation, Pt. 1 - A Bucket of Blood

2019-02-1900:46:41

#163: Chris Smith's Charismatic Dreamers, Pt. 2 - American Movie
Chris Smith’s new Netflix doc FYRE tells the story of huckster Billy McFarland and his doomed Fyre Festival as a compelling piece of meat-and-potatoes journalism that’s far from the verité of Smith’s portrait of Mark Borchardt in 1999’s AMERICAN MOVIE. But for all their surface differences, at heart FYRE is another movie about a charismatic leader who overpromises and under-delivers. After dissecting what FYRE shows us — and doesn’t show us — about McFarland’s history of scammy endeavors, we dig into what connects and separates Smith’s two protagonists in terms of their ambitions, their approaches, and their intent. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AMERICAN MOVIE, FYRE, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Show Notes / Works cited:• Fyre Fest Fiasco GoFundMe (gofundme.com/exuma-point-fyre-fest-debt)• Fyre Fight: The Inside Story of How We Got Two Warring Fyre Festival Documentaries in the Same Week, by Scott Tobias (TheRinger.com)• Amateurs, Con Artists, and Vanishing Movie Stars: Inside the World of Chris Smith’s Documentaries, by Scott Tobias (TheRinger.com)• The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars, by Keith Phipps (Vulture.com)Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: George Hill’s THE BIG HOUSE• Scott: Talal Derki’s OF FATHERS AND SONS• Genevieve: Jason Reitman’s TULLYOutro Music: Beth Ditto, “Fire”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#163: Chris Smith's Charismatic Dreamers, Pt. 2 - American Movie

2019-02-1200:58:491

#162: Chris Smith's Charismatic Dreamers, Pt. 1 - American Movie
The new Netflix documentary FYRE: THE GREATEST PARTY THAT NEVER HAPPENEDfinds director Chris Smith returning to a character type that defined his 1999 Sundance breakout AMERICAN MOVIE: the charismatic dreamer who overpromises and under-delivers. In AMERICAN MOVIE, that dreamer is one Mark Borchardt, an independent filmmaker from Milwaukee whose moviemaking dreams are continually stymied by circumstance, both external and of his own making. In this half of our Smith pairing, we revisit AMERICAN MOVIE and Borchardt to see how our perceptions of both have been changed by time and distance, debate what we’re to make of the film’s curious relationships, and analyze how Smith constructs a compelling story around an ambitious eccentric. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AMERICAN MOVIE, FYRE, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Outro Music: The Kinks, “Groovy Movies”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#162: Chris Smith's Charismatic Dreamers, Pt. 1 - American Movie

2019-02-0500:47:041

#161: Enter the Shyamalaniverse, Pt. 2 - Glass
The evolution of a divisive auteur.We return once more to the Shyamalaniverse to dig into the culmination of the so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy, the new GLASS, which purports to be the thrilling conclusion of a story that began with 2000’s UNBREAKABLE. Has divisive auteur M. Night Shyamalan discovered a new trick up his sleeve, or is GLASS and its climactic parking lot fight yet another example of the diminishing returns that have plagued his filmography? After breaking down our reactions to GLASS, we bring in UNBREAKABLE to talk over what the films reveal about Shyamalan’s evolution, or lack thereof, what they have to say about the idea of determination vs. free will, and whether Shyamalan’s female characters will ever catch a break. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about UNBREAKABLE, GLASS, or any other corner of the Shyamalaniverse by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Barry Jenkins’ IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK• Scott: Chris Smith’s COLLAPSE• Tasha: The Odd Splice podcast and Karyn Kusama’s DESTROYER and THE INVITATIONOutro Music: Annie Lennox, “Walking on Broken Glass”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#161: Enter the Shyamalaniverse, Pt. 2 - Glass

2019-01-2901:08:02

#160: Enter The Shyamalaniverse, Pt. 1 - Unbreakable
With M. Night Shyamalan’s new GLASS purporting to be the culmination of his so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy, we’re returning to the film that set it in motion, and that many rank among the divisive writer-director’s best: UNBREAKABLE. How does this brooding, stylistically bold superhero origin story look today, in a culture where both comics and their movie adaptations play a much more central role than they did in 2000? How do Shyamalan’s various auteur signatures, good and bad alike, play out in  this film and his filmography more generally? We get into all that and more, with some bonus disagreement on Shyamalan’s breakthrough, THE SIXTH SENSE, and some feedback on our recent episodes on THE FAVOURITE and INTO THE SPIDERVERSE.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about UNBREAKABLE, GLASS, or any other corner of the Shyamalaniverse by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#160: Enter The Shyamalaniverse, Pt. 1 - Unbreakable

2019-01-2200:53:241

#159: Great Power, Great Responsibility, Pt. 2 - Into the Spider-Verse
The remarkable new animated film SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE has us thwipping through the beloved web-slinger’s cinematic history to see how it culminated in a Miles Morales origin story that doubles as a giddy trip through Spidey-lore. After some collective swooning over SPIDERVERSE’s unique and eye-popping style and clever conceit, we put the new film in conversation with another top-tier Spider-man film, Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel SPIDER-MAN 2, to see what the films share, and how they differ, in their respective handling of their various Spider-entities, their villains, and their setting. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SPIDER-MAN 2, INTO THE SPIDERVERSE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. *Show Notes*Works Cited• “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse directors on the film’s gorgeous style,” by Devon Maloney (TheVerge.com)Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Phil Johnson and Rich Moore’s RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET and Jacques Audiard’s THE SISTERS BROTHERS• Keith: Jon S. Baird’s STAN & OLLIE• Tasha: Hirokazu Koreeda’s SHOPLIFTERS• Scott: Travis Knight’s BUMBLEBEE, George Tillman Jr.’s THE HATE U GIVE, patreon.com/gemkoOutro Music: Chris Pine, “Spidey-Bells”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#159: Great Power, Great Responsibility, Pt. 2 - Into the Spider-Verse

2019-01-0101:04:441

#158: Great Power, Great Responsibility, Pt. 1 - Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man, the web-slinging comics creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, has made the leap to movie screens many times, but arguably never as successfully as in Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel SPIDER-MAN 2 — or, perhaps, in the new animated entry INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. This week we’re putting two of Spidey’s cinematic high-water marks in conversation, beginning with a deep dive into why SPIDER-MAN 2 holds up so well, how its performances and action work together to honor its comic-book roots, and whether we prefer our web-shooters organic or engineered. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes and a reader question about whether different generations regard the film canon differently.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all Spider-men (or Spider-women, or Spider-pigs) by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#158: Great Power, Great Responsibility, Pt. 1 - Spider-Man 2

2018-12-2500:51:37

#157: Girl World, Pt. 2 - The Favourite
Our trip through Girl World makes its second stop with Yorgos Lanthimos’ new period piece THE FAVOURITE, to see how its portrayal of women battling for social advantage in Queen Anne’s court looks next to the more contemporary high-school machinations of 2004’s MEAN GIRLS. After sharing our reactions to THE FAVOURITE and pinpointing its most “Lanthimosian” characteristics, we pit these two films against each other to see which portrayal of the cruelty and backbiting of Girl World—and Guy World!—is ultimately more fetch. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEAN GIRLS, THE FAVOURITE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Your Next Picture Show:• Keith: Roy Del Ruth’s IT HAPPENED ON FIFTH AVENUE• Tasha: John McPhail’s ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE • Scott: Michael Dweck’s THE LAST RACE• Genevieve: Wash Westmoreland’s COLETTEOutro Music: New Kids on the Block, “Favorite Girl”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#157: Girl World, Pt. 2 - The Favourite

2018-12-1801:01:01

#156: Girl World, Pt. 1 - Mean Girls
Yorgos Lanthimos’ THE FAVOURITE is, in the words of star Rachel Weisz, a bit like a “high-stakes MEAN GIRLS”: It’s the story of a woman in power challenged by a fresh young outsider, only it plays out in the halls of court rather than the halls of a suburban high school. In this half of our pairing examining the power plays and back-biting of “Girl World,” we look back first at Mark Waters’s MEAN GIRLS to ask whether the much-quoted Tina Fey-penned comedy is still totally fetch, and which of its insights about teen girl-dom circa 2004 still resonate today. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes and a discussion of other pairings we considered for THE FAVOURITE.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEAN GIRLS, THE FAVOURITE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Outro Music: Boomkat, “Rip Her to Shreds”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#156: Girl World, Pt. 1 - Mean Girls

2018-12-1100:48:55

#155: The Chicago Way, Pt. 2 - Steve McQueen's "Widows"
We return to the City of Big Shoulders circa the present day for a discussion of Steve McQueen's thrilling new WIDOWS, a Chicago-set heist movie that builds on a foundation of urban corruption in a manner reminiscent of Michael Mann's 1981 debut THIEF. After sharing our reactions to WIDOWS, we look at the two films in tandem to see how they portray their respective criminal leaders, how they incorporate the city's deeply entrenched corruption and cynicism, and how they each handle Scott's Beloved Violence (TM). Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIEF, WIDOWS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Sara Colengelo's THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER• Scott: Lazarus Lake's THE BARKLEY MARATHONS: THE RACE THAT EATS ITS YOUNG• Tasha: The Coen Bros.' THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGSOutro Music: Sade, "The Big Unknown"Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#155: The Chicago Way, Pt. 2 - Steve McQueen's "Widows"

2018-12-0401:06:081

#154: The Chicago Way, Pt. 1 - Michael Mann's "Thief"
Director Steve McQueen’s new thriller WIDOWS is a Chicago-set heist film that puts to good use the city’s notorious corruption, which puts it in the company of Michael Mann’s stylish 1981 feature debut THIEF. In this half of our Windy City-centric pairing, we dig into THIEF and its strangely compelling criminal protagonist Frank, played by James Caan, to see what the film says about the kind of city Chicago was (and is), and the kind of filmmaker Mann would become. Plus, still more feedback on Bradley Cooper's version of A STAR IS BORN.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIEF, WIDOWS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.Outro Music: Tangerine Dream, “Final Confrontation”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#154: The Chicago Way, Pt. 1 - Michael Mann's "Thief"

2018-11-2700:53:35

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#150: A Star Is Born, Pt. 1 - George Cukor (1954)

#150: A Star Is Born, Pt. 1 - George Cukor (1954)

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