/Film Weekly

On the April 6, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film senior writer Ben Pearson is joined by /Film managing editor Jacob Hall and writers Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista to discuss the latest film and TV news and answer some listener questions in the mailbag. Opening Banter:    In The News: HT: ‘Justice League’ Clash: Joss Whedon Reportedly Threatened Gal Gadot’s Career, Ray Fisher Shares Troubling Cyborg Changes During Reshoots   In The Mailbag: What are some of your favorite movie watching snacks and beverages (either at home and/or in the theater)? Do you have any favorite movies that are about food? What are some of your favorite food related scenes in movies that aren't otherwise specifically about food? Thanks for the always entertaining pods! – Matthew M, New Haven CT   Chris! Oh dear Chris. I have been noticing that our tastes in movies and shows often are the same. I was very curious: what are your thoughts on this Nordic style horror/thriller genre? Have you watched: Fortitude on Prime or Trapped and Black Spot on Netflix? Or perhaps The Head, an HBO MAX original? If you have seen these types of shows, which ones did surprise you in a good way? Any recommendations? I have seen all previously mentioned shows and just love that type of tone and grisly over the top violence in them. Also what are your expectations for the upcoming Antlers movie? Unless you have seen the screener already, I can't wait for it to come out on any platform, I have high hopes. On top of that I have not heard you talk about Servant, the Apple TV+ original produced by M. Night Shyamalan. Have you seen it? I think it is pretty dope, all the fine wine consumption on top of this suspenseful storyline. Acting is top notch as well! Man I have tons of questions built up for you Mr. Evangelista lol, just leave me your phone number and I will call you with the rest of them haha JK. Thank you guys! Y'all became such a big part of my life it is very surprising for me to realize. Wish you all great success and chill vibes! - Yerbol from the Bay Area (PS It's been 2 years or so since the last time I wrote, my son is now 4yo and I am choosing to show him anything that interests him, whether it is age appropriate or not, nothing is off the table, but I am explaining the scary and new concepts to him like I would to an adult. So far he has seen parts of IT chapter one and parts of Ghostbusters original and reboot. He is very cool about it.)   Hey all, a couple weeks ago Chris mentioned the two Hitler biographies and based on his recommendation I’m going to get the audiobooks through audible. But my question is, what audiobooks (or just regular books) would you recommend – specifically, what movie-based books do you all like? I’ve already done Space Odyssey (the 2001 a space odyssey movie book) and Clash of the Titans, and I have the Peter Jackson and the making of middle earth and taking shape 1&2 in my wishlist. - William VanBeek from Green Bay, wisCANson   Listener Responses About How to Curate Watchlists   Hello people, I absolutely used to get stuck on all of the streaming services, trying to decide what to watch. Sometimes my wife and I would spend so much time trying to pick something, it would get too late and we’d end up watching nothing. To help with that, I started keeping my own list of movies. This wasn’t using the in-service queues, which I found more anxiety-inducing than anything; this was just a simple excel file I had quick access to and could update easily. Basically, any time we saw a movie that looked interesting, or we mentioned an old movie we’d like to watch, I’d throw it on the list. (I actually kept two lists.. one for “us” movies and one with movies she wasn’t interested in.) When it comes time to watch a movie, I hit an online random number generator and whatever row comes up, we watch. It totally cuts out the indecision, and it has an awesome element of surprise to it. It’s like opening a movie present! It also helps with that weird backlog stress.. now it’s on the list, so it’ll come up eventually. I don’t have to spend time thinking about when I’m going to watch it. Anyway, it wasn’t that hard to do and it worked really well for us, so I hope that helps! - Jason, Edmonton Canada   Hi Peter, I've been listening to /Film Daily for a while now, love the cast! As sort of an avid TV watcher, I couldn't help but to cringe a little when I heard about your "meticulously refined" processes for deciding what to watch. You'll find my method detailed below. Maybe some of you will even find it inspiring! Since 2013, I log every episode and movie I watch on trakt.tv. I also rate every movie, show, and season after I complete them. My regular process on the site is as follows: About once a week, I go through the first page of the Trending, Recommended, and Watched categories under the TV section, to see if there's anything new I should have a look at. Every show there is put on one of these three lists: Anticipated, Watchlist, or Uninterested. I also turn on the Fade filter for Watched and Listed, so I can easily spot any newcomers. I do the same for the Popular category, but here I go 5 pages deep. I also do the same for the Anticipated category, but here I handle anything that's on at least 100 lists globally on the site (their measure of anticipation for a show is the number of lists it appears on). If there is the slightest chance I might like a show, I'll put in on the Anticipated list. Once or twice a week, I look in my own Anticipated list to see what new shows have premiered recently and what's coming up soon. I look at comments, reviews, Rotten Tomatoes, cast and crew, and so on, and move the new shows to either Watchlist or Uninterested. If I'm still undecided, I leave the show in Anticipated for next time (when more comments and reviews might be available to help me). Every once in a while, I look at the top of my Watchlist and make sure that those shows are queued in Apple TV (or Netflix for Netflix shows). I also try to do this whenever I add a new show to my Watchlist, but sometimes I forget, and sometimes I add it to Watchlist before it's available on Apple TV, so a recurrent check here is a good catch-all. Every day, I look at the Calendar, to see what's airing today and this week. One trick for upcoming shows is to have them both in Anticipated and Watchlist until decided, because anything in Watchlist will appear in the Calendar. You'll just have to remember to remove the show from Watchlist if you change it from Anticipated to Uninterested. Decide what to watch and watch it. This should be easy now, and no need for endless scrolling anywhere. I also do the same for movies, except I go 10 pages deep in the Popular category, and require 250 lists for consideration in the Anticipated category. This whole process might sound complicated and time consuming, but once you have it down, it generally only takes a few minutes per step. Except for step 2, depending on how much time you want to dedicate to looking at reviews and such before moving stuff from the Anticipated list. I generally don't spend too much time on it; if unsure, I'll just leave it there for another week or two. I hope this might help you find inner peace and clarity. With best regards, Andreas from Sweden     All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the April 5, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor-in-chief Peter Sciretta is joined by writers Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista, to discuss the latest film and tv news, including Knives Out sequels, DC Movies canceled, Laika’s Seventeen, Avatar 2, and Justice League. Opening Banter: How was everyone's April Fools Day? In The News: Chris: ‘Knives Out 2’ and ‘Knives Out 3’ Heading to Netflix With Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig Both Returning HT: Laika is Expanding to Live-Action for the First Time With Thriller ‘Seventeen’ Chris: James Cameron Almost Fired His ‘Avatar’ Sequel Writers Room HT: Only 36% of Viewers Finished ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League in its first week Chris: ‘New Gods’ and ‘Aquaman’ Spin-Off ‘The Trench’ Canceled by Warner Bros.   All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the April 2, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor-in-chief Peter Sciretta is joined by managing editor Jacob Hall and weekend editor Brad Oman, to have a spoiler discussion about The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 3 “Power Broker.”. Opening Banter:    In The Spoiler Room: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 3 “Power Broker” Feedback Brief reactions Breakdown Speculation    All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the April 1, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film senior writer Ben Pearson is joined by managing editor Jacob Hall, weekend editor Brad Oman, and writers Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista at the virtual water cooler to talk about what they’ve been up to. Opening Banter:    At The Water Cooler: What we’ve been Doing:Jacob returned to a movie theater. What we’ve been Reading:Jacob is reading This is How You Make a Movie by Tim Grierson. What we’ve been Watching:Ben and Chris watched The China Syndrome.  Ben, Chris, and HT watched Chungking Express. Ben watched Big Night and An American Werewolf in London. Jacob watched Nobody, Zodiac, Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 3, more episodes of Made for Love, and The Emperor’s New Groove. Chris watched Godzilla vs. Kong, The Unholy, and Hemingway.  Brad watched Solar Opposites Season 2, The Last Blockbuster, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: Always and Forever, Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American. Hoai-Tran saw 30 minutes of footage from Pixar’s Luca, watched Infernal Affairs, and the 1950 Father of the Bride. What we’ve been Eating:Brad tried Fruity Pebbles and Snickers coffee creamers, Mountain Dew Rise energy drinks, TC Chocolate Maple Toffee. What we’ve been Playing:Brad has been playing Super Mario 64   All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the March 31, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film senior writer Ben Pearson presents a series of interviews with the filmmakers behind Godzilla vs. Kong, as well as an exclusive interview with Godzilla himself. Opening Banter:    In The News: Our Exclusive Interview with Godzilla ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Director Adam Wingard on That Neon Action Scene, Bringing Out Emotions in the Monsters, and More [Interview] ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Writer Max Borenstein on How He Writes Monster Fights, the Status of His Space Mountain Movie, and More [Interview]   All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the March 30, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film senior writer Ben Pearson is joined by writers Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista to discuss the latest film and TV news, including a Thundercats movie, a Game of Thrones stage play, and a Rocky prequel series. Then they dive into the mailbag and answer a few listener questions. Opening Banter:    In The News: (Ben) ‘Thundercats’ Movie to Be Directed By ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Helmer Adam Wingard (HT) ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel About the Fateful Tourney at Harrenhal is Becoming a Broadway and West End Stage Play (Chris) ‘Rocky’ Prequel Series Being Written by Sylvester Stallone   In The Mailbag: What is your process of deciding what to watch? My husband and I constantly find ourselves overwhelmed by our watchlists on multiple services along with my Letterboxd queue. We sit down to watch a movie and inevitably spend 20 minutes trying to decide what to watch. How do you manage that? - Missy in FL Wonder Woman was the only DCEU film that I actually loved. I had such high hopes for the sequel, which turned out to be an immense disappointment. Among its many flaws, they somehow managed to make it less PC and more racist than the first movie, which was set during WWI. My question for the crew is: when was the last time you had very high hopes for a movie only to have them completely and utterly dashed? - M from Dakar, Senegal What are the best recasts in film history? I’m thinking of something like Eric Stoltz being replaced with Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future, or Stuart Townsend being swapped out for Viggo Mortensen in The Lord of the Rings. What are some of your favorites? - Tyler from Seattle (Note: we should try to stick to instances where someone has literally been cast and started filming, only to then be replaced)   All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the March 29, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor in chief Peter Sciretta is joined by weekend editor Brad Oman, writer Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista to discuss the latest film and tv news, including Thor: Love and Thunder, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Comic-Con, Transformers, Batman, and The Suicide Squad. Opening Banter:    In The News: Chris: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Will Feature Russell Crowe HT: ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Cast Adds Kumail Nanjiani, Sung Kang, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and More as Production Begins Brad: Comic-Con Announces In-Person Event for Thanksgiving Weekend, an Early Contender for Worst Idea of 2021 Chris: Ben Affleck’s Unmade ‘Batman’ Movie Would’ve Featured Batgirl HT: New ‘Transformers’ Movie in the Works With ‘Charm City Kings’ Filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto Set to Direct Trailer Reaction: ‘The Suicide Squad’ Trailer: James Gunn’s Supervillains Are Dying to Save the WorldBrad: ‘The Suicide Squad’ Trailer Breakdown: Let’s Take a Closer Look at This Wild Anti-Hero Team…but Mostly King Shark Ben’s ‘The Suicide Squad’: James Gunn Explains Why His Version of King Shark Isn’t a Hammerhead     All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the March 26, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor in chief Peter Sciretta is joined by weekend editor Brad Oman and senior writer Ben Pearson to talk about the second episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In The Spoiler Room: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 2 “Star-Spangled Man” Feedback Brief reaction Breakdown Speculation     All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the March 25, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film senior writer Ben Pearson is joined by /Film writers Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista to discuss the latest film and TV news, including a Ghost of Tsushima movie, a National Treasure TV show, and casting for Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Black Adam. Then we dive into the mailbag to answer a few listener questions. Opening Banter:    In The News: (HT) ‘Ghost of Tsushima’ is Becoming a Movie with ‘John Wick’ Director Chad Stahelski Attached to Helm (Chris) ‘Black Adam’ Cast Adds Pierce Brosnan as DC Superhero Doctor Fate (HT) ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ Enlists Helen Mirren as the Villain Hespera (Chris) ‘National Treasure’ TV Series Officially Happening at Disney+ with Director Mira Nair   In The Mailbag: Cade sent us an email with some additional suggestions for a topic we covered a while ago, which was movies or TV adaptations that were better than the books on which they’re based. Cade threw in Blade Runner, Forrest Gump, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Prestige.   I never got around to seeing Justice League for a myriad of reasons, but now that the Snyder Cut is out, I’m at least interested in watching it. My question is: Should I watch the theatrical cut first, or should I just dive right in to the Snyder Cut? Does the extended version work completely on its own? Or to truly understand the zeitgeist around it do I need to watch the theatrical cut first? Thank you very much, and I hope you all have a wonderful day! - Jeremy, Atlanta   As someone who was able to (virtually) attend my first-ever film festival this week with South by Southwest Online, I wanted to reach out to the Slash Film festival veterans to find out how they navigate the slightly overwhelming world of festival screenings. I'm just wondering how you try to select the films in advance you hope to attend to watch and review and how you stay focused several days in (asked as I try to mentally prepare for my 15th and final film of the last three days in a few minutes). And a few other random musings on film festivals - do you think that virtual elements of film festivals will continue into the future for all but maybe the biggest festivals? What would you say is the ratio of quality films versus the forgettable you find at most festivals? And could each of you provide the title of the one movie that has been the most memorable you've ever watched at a film festival? - Craig from HoustonBen: Like Crazy, Sundance 2011 Chris: High Life at TIFF at 2018 and the Overlook Film Festival in general HT: The Irishman, New York Film Festival 2019     All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the March 24, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor-in-chief Peter Sciretta is joined by /Film managing editor Jacob Hall, weekend editor Brad Oman, senior writer Ben Pearson, and writers Hoai-Tran Bui and Chris Evangelista to discuss what they’ve been up to at the Water Cooler. At The Water Cooler: What we’ve been Doing:Peter went to Disney California Adventure for the Taste of Disney. Jacob attended the online SXSW. Brad and his family had the memorial service for his Dad.Memorial Fund for The Family of Glenn Oman, organized by Pat Rhew Ben got the first dose of the vaccine. What we’ve been Reading:Jacob is reading The Butchering Art and Leonardy Nimoy’s I Am Spock. He’s also bingeing the podcast Dead Eyes. Chris read Volker Ullrich’s two volume biography of Hitler, and also Stephen King’s Later. What we’ve been Watching:Jacob and HT watched Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Chris and Ben watched Nobody. Peter and Brad both saw Disney+’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, although Peter only saw the first episode. Jacob and Chris watched Sasquatch. Peter watched The Last Blockbuster on Netflix.  Jacob watched Made for Love, Them, Confronting a Serial Killer, Night Stalker, Murder Among the Mormons, and Good Burger. Chris watched Aquaman, In the Mood For Love, and Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. Brad watched the rest of Ted Lasso. Hoai-Tran watched Bombay Rose, finally caught up with The Crown. Ben watched Godzilla vs. Kong, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Waffles + Mochi, and The Exterminating Angel. What we’ve been Eating:Brad tried new Chili Cheese Nacho Doritos 3D, delicious Easter candy from Aldi’s, and is happy the Quesalupa is back at Taco Bell.   All the other stuff you need to know:   You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes. /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.  You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).  Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, tell your friends and spread the word!  Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy