The Next Best Picture Podcast

Molly O'Brien, director of the documentary short 'The Only Girl In The Orchestra,' shares insights about her aunt, Orin O'Brien, the first female double bassist in the New York Philharmonic. They discuss the unique challenges faced by women in music and the personal significance of capturing Orin's story. Molly reflects on her creative journey of blending personal narratives with historical insights, the role of music in documentary storytelling, and the collaborative aspect of film score creation. Her film is now up for Academy Award consideration!

Dan Baer, a film critic and co-host, provides insights on the nuanced narrative of 'The English Patient,' a WWII epic that won nine Oscars. He delves into its themes of identity, love, and betrayal, while reflecting on its mixed legacy and cultural impact, even referencing a classic 'Seinfeld' episode. The discussion critiques the film's beautiful visuals contrasted with its character development and storytelling depth, questioning the chemistry between lead characters, and considering how romantic war dramas have evolved in cinema history.

Luke Millar and David Clayton, the VFX supervisor and animation supervisor for 'Better Man,' dive into the magic behind the film's stunning visuals. They reveal the intricate challenges of animating realistic CGI fur and the technical artistry required to create emotional characters. The duo shares anecdotes about transforming a CGI monkey into a relatable character and the collaborative spirit fostered by the director. They also discuss the meticulous planning behind the iconic 'rock DJ' sequence and celebrate the film's Oscar nomination for its impressive visual effects.

"The Wild Robot" had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received enthusiastic reviews for its animation, story, heart, and music. An adaptation of Peter Brown's beloved, award-winning, No. 1 New York Times bestseller, the Dreamworks Animation film has gone on to gross over $300 million worldwide, won more Best Animated Feature prizes than any other film in 2024, including the Critics Choice Award, Annie Award, and Producers Guild Of America Award. And now, it's been nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. Composer Kris Bowers, supervising sound designer Randy Thom, supervising sound editor Brian Chumney, re-recording mixer Gary A. Rizzo, and supervising sound editor Leff Lefferts were all kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work on the film's soundscape, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Peacock from Universal Pictures and is up for your consideration for this year's Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. Thank you, and enjoy!Check out more on NextBestPicture.comPlease subscribe on...Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jTYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOwAnd 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Episode 429, I am joined by Dan Bayer and Cody Dericks to discuss the fallout of the Critics Choice, PGA, and DGA awards this week, which all went to "Anora," thus solidifying it as our official frontrunner for Best Picture at the Oscars. We also deliver our winner predictions for the BAFTA awards next week. We also reveal the winner of last week's poll, asking, "Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To From The 2025 Sundance Film Festival?" and ask this week's poll question, "Which Film Do You Want To See Become The Next Best Picture Oscar Winner?" We also answer your fan-submitted questions and give our reactions to the trailers for "Jurassic World Rebirth," "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," "Hurry Up Tomorrow," announce the winners for the 2024 NBP Film Community Awards, and more. As always, thank you so very much for listening, supporting, and subscribing. Enjoy!Check out more on NextBestPicture.comPlease subscribe on...Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jTYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOwAnd 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this week's main podcast review, Ema Sasic, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, Cody Dericks, and I are here to discuss and review "Love Hurts" starring Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Marshawn Lynch, Mustafa Shakir, Lio Tipton, Rhys Darby, André Eriksen & Sean Astin. Coming off both of their Oscar wins, Quan and DeBose lead this romantic action comedy from 87North Productions with very mixed (if we're being generous) to disastrous (if we're being sincere) results. Is the silly fun entertaining enough to give this a pass, or are we breaking up with this Valentine's Day film? Please tune in as we discuss the acting, writing, direction, action, humor, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!Check out more on NextBestPicture.comPlease subscribe on...Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jTYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOwAnd 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Parthenope" had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta stunned audiences with her debut performance leading Paolo Sorrentino's film. Dalla Porta (along with her interpreter, Lilia Pino Blouin) was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her experience getting the role, making the film, working with Sorrentino, and more, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from A24. Thank you, and enjoy!Check out more on NextBestPicture.comPlease subscribe on...Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jTYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOwAnd 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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"I'm Still Here" had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews and has since gone on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for star Fernanda Torres and receive three Academy Award nominations, Best Picture (the first Brazilian-produced film ever to be nominated in that category), Best International Feature Film and Best Actress for Torres. Naturally, we here at Next Best Picture had to review Walter Salles's latest after such a pleasantly surprising awards season run. Here to join me for this Patreon exclusive review are Nadia Dalimonte, Josh Parham, and guest Miriam Spritzer. Please tune in as we discuss the real story the film is based on, Torres's performance, Salles's direction, the award-winning writing from Murilo Hauser Heitor Lorega based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir of the same name, the casting of Torres's mother Fernanda Montenegro (who previously was Oscar-nominated for her work on Salles's 1998 film "Central Station"), what this film means to Brazilians and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for all your support, and enjoy!Check out more on NextBestPicture.comPlease subscribe on...Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jTYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOwAnd 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's that time of the year! It's our annual Sundance Film Festival recap podcast. For the 2025 film festival, we have Ema Sasic and Cody Dericks from Next Best Picture, along with guests Ryan Casselman, Yvette Angulo, Brandon Lewis & Alex Papaioannou. Please take a listen as we reveal our favorite films from the festival by each section and give you all a preview of what's to come in 2025. Thank you for listening, as always, and enjoy!Check out more on NextBestPicture.comPlease subscribe on...Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jTYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOwAnd 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes" represents a vast technological breakthrough in visual effects technology as the "Planet of the Apes" franchise continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in visual effects with each passing installment. The work on Wes Ball's 2024 blockbuster has received nominations from the Critics Choice, BAFTA, Visual Effects Society, and now, the Academy Awards. WETA Visual Effects Supervisor Erik Winquist was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his work on the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Disney+ and is up for your consideration for this year's Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects. Thank you, and enjoy!Check out more on NextBestPicture.comPlease subscribe on...Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jTYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOwAnd 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices