Happy New Year, Garys! We’re kicking off 2026 with something more bubbly and light-hearted, 2019’s Booksmart. Sold as an ultra-modern and female take on boy-led high school raunch comedies, the film stars Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein as best friends who decide to live it up after spending their entire high school experience stuck in books. After debuting at SXSW, the film generated a mountain of discussion that yielded disappointing box office results, but managed to stick around in the precursor race until the last minute.



This episode, we talk about the film’s delightful ensemble of faces of the future and Olivia Wilde’s debut directing duties that earned her a number of first film prizes that season. We also talk about Feldstein’s drubbing during the Funny Girl run on Broadway, Dever joins our Six Timers Club, and the shadow of Lady Bird unfairly set expectations for this film.



Topics also include Forte vs. Arnett, the 2019 Globe Musical/Comedy Best Actress nominees, and “I wish you luck with your trees.”

With Marty Supreme in theatres, we thought it was perfect timing to talk about the Safdies and the gems. And we’ve finally brought in The Ankler’s Chris Rosen to join us! In 2019, the ascendant Josh and Benny Safdie brought us Uncut Gems, an anxiety-inducing comic thriller set in New York City’s Diamond District and hinging on the hubris of dealer Howard Ratner. Howie is played to the gonzo hilt by Adam Sandler, who earned “Oscar for Sandman!” raves, but the film’s strangeness likely kept it out of the Oscar fold.



This episode, we talk about the wild world of the film and Sandler’s full-tilt performance. We also discuss how the 2019 Best Actor race was primed to leave Sandler on the outside, the film’s narrative symmetry to Marty Supreme, and where both Brothers Safdie’s films stand in this year’s race.



Topics also include Billy Crystal hosting, Sandler’s chances for this year’s Jay Kelly, and sports podcasting.

Happy Holidays, Garys! This week, we have some unfinished business with Keira Knightley and who better than our pal, actress Natalie Walker to join us for the holiday season. In 2018, Oscar pedigreed Lasse Hallström and family friendly Joe Johnston adapted the classic Nutcracker story for the screen in a grab bag of Disney certified IP flare. Okay, sure, this isn’t the most THOB-y of titles, but it does give us an excuse to talk about Keira Knightley’s deranged (complimentary) performance and unpack just what the hell each of the titular four realms are.



This episode, we finally get to that Keira Knightley Six (Seven… ugh!) Timers Quiz! We also talk about reshoots that led to Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston sharing directorial duties, the glorious dance sequences led by Misty Copeland, and Christmas movie Oscar nominees.



Topics also include Polish Oscar winning shorts, seeing the Nutcracker ballet as children, and Morgan Freeman with an eyepatch.

This week, we got one of the most requested episodes finally on the feed. In 2016, Michael Keaton had already had two comeback seasons on the Oscar trail with both Birdman and Spotlight. Neither earned him Oscar gold but our sights were on The Founder, a retelling of the story of McDonalds and the man the made it into American ubiquity. But released in the end days of the Weinstein Company, the film lingered in a purgatory of a qualifying release and never found a spot in a season dominated by Moonlight and La La Land.



This episode, we talk about the return of Keaton after a time away from major movies and his streak in the 1990s. We also talk about Laura Dern in an underserved wife role, another film by John Lee Hancock that better balances its biographical subject, and Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch playing brothers.



Topics also include the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, qualifying release strategies, and Hot Ice Cream.

With a new Benoit Blanc out for you to devour, we decided it was a great time to talk about the great Rian Johnson. In 2012, Johnson delivered his genre hybrid Looper, set in a dystopic future where, through the magic of time travel, a hitman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) faces off against his older self (Bruce Willis) to stop a mysterious force who’s hunting them. With mind-bending leaps and a stellar supporting turn from Emily Blunt, Looper cemented Johnson’s reputation and led to his hiring for The Last Jedi.



This week, we talk about Johnson’s confident grasp of twisty material and the layered world he creates with Looper. We also talk about Gordon-Levitt’s Willis-riffing turn, Willis’ late career in the years after this film, and Kazu Hiro’s makeup to make JGL look like BW.



Topics also include 2012 TIFF Galas, the 2012 Original Screenplay race, and the blunderbuss.

This week, we are talking about Charlie Kaufman in the director’s chair and how our thoughts have settled on what’s probably his most divisive film. In 2020, Kaufman returned to directing by adapting Iain Reid’s psychologically intense i’m thinking of ending things, told from the perspective of an unnamed woman visiting her new boyfriend’s rural home. With Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons at the forefront, the film folds in on itself for daring look at male dissociation.



This episode, we talk about our shifting thoughts on the film and the pricklier reception to Kaufman’s directorial efforts vs. his screenwriting credits. We also talk about Buckley’s swift rise after Wild Rose, Plemons’ television credits, and the film’s use of Pauline Kael.



Topics also include hot Oklahoma!, media consumption, and Toni Collette gets her Six Timers.

The Devil All The Time: Tom Holland as Arvin Russell. Photo Cr. Glen Wilson/Netflix © 2020



Our annual Thanksgiving tradition means The Ankler’s Katey Rich is back! And this year, we’re got a stone cold bummer to go with the turkey! In 2020, while we were all stuck in our homes, Netflix delivered a lockdown crime saga hit with The Devil All the Time. Directed by Antonio Campos, the film follows several generations in rural America as their family history is engulfed in religion and murder between American wars. With a cast of famous young stars like Tom Holland and Robert Pattison, the film garnered strong reactions to its grim tale but no ultimate awards payoff.



This episode, we’re talking about Antonio Campos’ independent cinema rise and later television work. We also talk about Netflix in 2020, Holland balancing Spider-Man with other projects, and umm… what the hell is going on with Pattinson in this movie.



Topics also include accents, covid coping, and Thanksgiving gender binaries.

Outside of his place in the Star Wars canon, Lawrence Kasdan has a quick rise in the 1980s after his debut Body Heat. With multiple Best Picture nominees to his name like The Big Chill and The Accidental Tourist, Kasdan’s status took a downward trajectory in the 1990s, closing the decade with 1999’s Mumford. Starring Loren Dean as a man pretending to be a certified therapist who sweeps a small town off its feet, the ensemble film has its charms and problems in equal measure.



This week, we talk about Kasdan’s directorial career and his multiple screenplay nominations (but no director nomination). We also discuss Jason Lee as a quintessential 1990s performer, how Mumford‘s release was overshadowed by the arrival of American Beauty, and Hope Davis’ best-in-show turn as Dean’s patient-turned-love interest.



Topics also include David Paymer Six Timers, online shopping addiction, and Unsolved Mysteries.

One of 2023’s most quickly forgotten buzzed titles just so happened to star some of the most heralded actors of their generation. Based on the hyped Iain Reid novel, Foe cast Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal as a married couple in the dystopian future whose lives are upended with a visit from Aaron Pierre as a corporate representative tasked to prepare the husband for being drafted to a space station. With promise that an artificial “substitute” to take his place at home, the film gets twisty but predictable, leaving critics to quickly dismiss the film.



This episode, we talk about director Garth Davis’ first run of awards success with Lion and the diminishing returns that followed. We also discuss how Saoirse’s Oscar nominations tied to Best Picture nominees, Mescal’s Beatles future, and Pierre’s ascendancy.



Topics also include the 2023 New York Film Festival, Amazon MGM, and Top of the Lake.

We were heartbroken at the news of Diane Keaton’s passing, so we decided to quickly get another of her films in the THOB books. Keaton’s final directorial effort was Hanging Up, based on Delia Ephron’s fictionalized experience coping with distant sisters during the final years of their father’s life. Co-written by Delia and Nora Ephron, Meg Ryan took the lead with Keaton and Lisa Kudrow starring as the sisters and Walter Mathau as the aging father. Originally intended for a 1999 release, the film was received harshly by critics when it was ultimately released in 2000.



This episode, we talk about the behind-the-scenes tensions that played out onscreen and the unfavored collaborations between the Ephron sisters. We also talk about our favorite Keaton performances, Kudrow’s critical success with The Opposite of Sex, and Lisa Schwarzbaum F score reviews.



Topics also include Diet Coke commercials, Everything is Copy, and Keaton tributes.

With Halloween this week and Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt now in theatres, what better time to discuss the BONES! The 2022 fall festival season felt like the first real movie moment post-COVID and anticipation was high for Guadagnino reuniting with his Call Me By Your Name star, Timothee Chalamet. Bones and All was a tale of young love and primal urges, an emotional cannibalism story set in the midwest that placed Chalamet opposite the emergent Taylor Russell. Despite the film earning some devoted fans (spoiler: including us!), this gory Badlands riff was probably never going to please the Academy.



This episode, we talk about the divisive reactions that have met some of Guadagnino’s work, including this and After the Hunt. We also talk about Chalamet’s ascent towards Marty Supreme, Russell’s breakout in Waves, and our favorite Luca movies. And surprise: Chloe Sevigny Six Timers quiz!



Topics also include Mark Rylance doing his best Mr. Herbert, the film’s allegorical interpretations, and the 2022 Venice Film Festival.

In the 2011 summer movie season overcrowded with sequels and IP, J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 stood out as an original event film. Arriving with a mysterious marketing campaign that was the Abrams signature, the film follows a group of kids in the late 1970s who capture footage of an alien while shooting a monster movie in their hometown. The film earned early critical praise and was loaded with homage to Steven Spielberg. However, it proved more divisive as consensus begun to settle, with many finding the film to not be all that original or all that satisfying.



This episode, we talk about Abrams’ position as a director both then and now, and we unpack the degree to which the film is successful as a Spielberg retread. We also talk about the film’s mystery box marketing push, the film’s creature design, and co-star Elle Fanning joins our Six Timers Club.



Topics also include the 2011 Visual Effects race, lens flares, and Fanning’s Oscar chances this year.

We love talking forgotten awardsy films here on This Had Oscar Buzz and this week’s episode is a doozy. In 1992, Todd Graff’s off-Broadway play The Grandma Plays was adapted into the film Used People with both a high Oscar and theatre pedigree. The Beeban Kidron film starred Shirley MacLaine as a new widow finding love (in Oscar nominee Marcello Mastroianni, no less) and repairing her strained relationship with her daughters. With brief turns from the Jessica Tandy and Sylvia Sidney, the film didn’t get much further than stray nominations for MacLaine and Mastroianni.



This episode, we make up for our forgotten Shirley MacLaine six Timers quiz. We also talk about why it might be our Most Best Actress movie ever, Marcia Gay Harden dressed up in Barbra Streisand’s Oscar win, and how mean movies are to Kathy Bates.



Topics also include the 1992 Golden Globes, “Queen of the Night,” and Camp.

One of the defining stories of the 2000 Oscar year was the one-two punch of Steven Soderbergh delivering both Traffic and Erin Brockovich, making good on the past decade’s worth of promise kicked off by Sex Lies and Videotape. In 2001, the victory lap was Ocean’s Eleven, a Vegas heist remake that cast some of the biggest names in movies. The film was a box office smash, but ultimately considered just a fun blockbuster romp. It remains a classic but Soderbergh has yet to return to the Oscar club since.



This episode, we talk about the decade leading up to Soderbergh’s Oscar homecoming and the film’s surprising omission from the Globes Comedy races. We also have a quiz heavy episode, with George Clooney and Brad Pitt sharing a double Six Timers Quiz and Julia Roberts enters our Ten Timers Club.



Topics also include the MTV Movie Awards, Don Cheadle’s cockney accent, and the city of Las Vegas.

We’ve got Daniel Day-Lewis back in theaters this week with Anemone, so we’re looking back at one of his few failed Oscar bids. In 1997, Day-Lewis paired up with director Jim Sheridan for the third time in a decade for The Boxer, the tale of an IRA member and boxer released from prison in the waning days of the The Troubles. With Emily Watson as his former lover and Brian Cox as her high-ranking IRA father, the film arrived into theaters with a modest response as the world was being swept away with Titanic fever.



This episode, we talk about the Day-Lewis/Sheridan partnership and Day-Lewis’ breakout roles in the 80s before his My Left Foot Oscar. We also discuss Watson’s powerful screen presence, Cox with a full head of not-white hair, and Sheridan’s diminishing directorial returns.



Topics also include the 1997 Golden Globes, acting nominations we forget happened, and Bella Mafia.

Pair the rising star director Dee Rees with a Joan Didion adaptation and the Oscar-winning Anne Hathaway and you have the kind of on-paper buzz we love talking about here on THOB. But The Last Thing He Wanted, following Hathaway as a journalist whose wayward father mires her in South American arms conflict, ended up being anything but a success. Anticipated heavily on the 2019 fall festival circuit, Netflix ultimately quietly premiered the film at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and dumped it shortly after.



This episode, we talk about the film’s narrative issues and how its timely exactly pre-COVID and Netflix’s 2020 lineup allowed the film to be quickly forgotten. We also talk about Hathaway as a steadfast committed performer, Rees’ ascendancy with Mudbound and Pariah, and both Willem Dafoe and Toby Jones enter our Six Timers.



We also discuss The Witches, Ben Affleck era of exiting Batman, and Rosie Perez as Co-Worker On Phone.

Joe and Chris are back from the Toronto International Film Festival and it’s time to unpack everything we saw. Though we recorded prior to the announcement of this year’s People’s Choice Award winner, we talk at length about this year’s triumphant Hamnet and the word on the ground about the runners up as well. We discuss our favorites of the festival (neither of which world premiered at the festival), our mutual least favorite film Rental Family, and standout performances from the likes of Amanda Seyfried, Sir Ian McKellen, Josh O’Connor, Ethan Hawke, and many more!

Listeners who remember our The Place Beyond the Pines episode will remember that this is a highly pro-Derek Cianfrance podcast. As his latest Roofman makes its TIFF world premiere, we’re looking back at his most recent theatrical release, 2016’s literary adaptation The Light Between Oceans. The film starred Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender as a post-WWI couple whose isolated life caring for an Australian lighthouse is upended when a boat washes ashore carrying a dead man and a crying baby. This melodrama about trauma, responsibility, and the ties that bind was once hotly anticipated before becoming a quickly forgotten Labor Day release.



This episode, we talk about how the final days of Dreamworks’ Disney deal led to its underwhelming release and our anticipation for Roofman. We also discuss Vikander’s Oscar win the previous year, Fassbender becoming overexposed as a leading man, and Rachel Weisz’s emotional turn as the mother of the stranded baby.



Topics also include the 2016 Venice Film Festival, Atonement as a comparison to the film, and Touchstone Pictures!

Michelle Pfeiffer is a favorite to discuss on This Had Oscar Buzz and this week we’re throwing it back to one of her late 1990s melodramas. In The Deep End of the Ocean, Pfeiffer starts as a mother whose young child goes missing. After years of traumatic aftermath, the child reappears in her family’s life, forcing the fractured family to reckon with the dysfunctional coping methods that have kept them afloat. Originally planned as a fall 1998 awards season release, reshoots pushed this one into 1999 and the movie bombed anyway.



This episode, we talk about how the film misfired by repelling the very audience it appealed to and Pfeiffer’s late 1990s output. We also talk about the assumed prestige that followed Oprah’s Book Club adaptations, director Ulu Grosbard, and Jonathan Jackson’s run on General Hospital.



Topics also include YoungStar Awards, high school reunions, and Oprah playing gay.

After an indie one-two punch of Pi and Requiem for a Dream, Darren Aronofsky was riding high as one of the major emerging directors at the turn of the century. For his next film, he would graduate to big budget studio fare with The Fountain, an ambitious and era-spanning science fiction tale of love and death. The scaled-down version that reached 2006 cinemas starred Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz and remains a love-it-or-hate-it head-scratcher that nevertheless fits perfectly within Aronofsky’s continued themes of the body and soul.



This episode, we talk about all that went down with the canceled version of the film set to star Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. We also talk where we stand with Aronofsky’s work pre-Caught Stealing, Jackman breaking away from Wolverine, and our deep affection for Clint Mansell’s score.



Topics also include Eddington, tree sap, and Donna Murphy doing science.