The Playlist Podcast Network

As a special bonus to our listeners, we're premiering the fourth episode of the new(ish) podcast "Fun City Cinema," which looks at the history of New York City, the history of New York City movies, and their intersection. "Fun City Cinema" was co-founded by Playlist contributor and reviewer Jason Bailey. In this special holiday episode, hosts Jason Bailey and Mike Hull are joined by special guests Mark Asch, Jillian Mapes, Sarah Marshall, and Anya Stanley to look at the 1992 hit "Home Alone 2: Lost In New York," which somehow leads to Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, “Broken Windows,” the Central Park Five, and 9/11. Happy Holidays!

If you're a sports fan, there's nothing quite like the rush of watching a half-court buzzer-beater or a Super Bowl-winning touchdown in the final seconds of the game. There's just something remarkable about a group of individuals uniting to accomplish something greater than themselves. It's a trait that's inherently cinematic, however, simply recreating the excitement of game day for a feature film isn't enough. All the best sports movies understand that the power and impact of their story represent more than a game. For almost 20 years, producer Mark Ciardi ("The Rookie," "Invincible" and "Miracle") has lived by that philosophy delivering some of Disney's most poignant character dramas through the lens of popular athletic contests as a means for sparking a larger conversation. The former baseball player turned producer now takes his talents to Disney+ to deliver the story of 18-year-old Ray-Ray McElrathbey (Jay Reeves) who fights to not only keep his Clemson football scholarship but, most importantly stepping up to care for his 11-year-old brother Fahmarr (Thaddeus J. Mixson) after their mother enters rehab in "Safety." Ray's story is one many young athletes can relate to, yet, it's a story rarely represented on the big screen. Learning how to divide one's time and balance both athletics and academics is enough of a challenge. However, when you factor in a troubled home life, it becomes an almost impossible task to rise to. Ray and his little brother, Fahmarr, understand that all too well, but, hope that their story can give some encouragement to young athletes looking for guidance. While "Safety" has been in development since 2010, Mark Ciardi understood the importance of getting it made delivering encouraging messages of family, maturity, and parenthood as he continued to advocate for it. Even when given the green light, Ciardi wanted to make sure he captured the proper emotions of Ray's moment as the crew headed to Clemson to film in Memorial Stadium for a live football game. You can listen to the rest of our conversation with Mark Ciardi and Ray-Ray McElrathbey and check out "Safety" when it hits Disney+ on Dec. 11. This interview was conducted by Ronal E. Smith (@Just_Ron10)

Discussing films about real screenwriters on this episode of Be Reel, we dig into David Fincher's "Mank" (2020)—the new Netflix film about Herman Mankiewicz and the origins of "Citizen Kane." Then, we leap to the 21st century to reappraise Charlie Kaufman fictionalizing and splitting himself in "Adaptation" (2002) as he labors to adapt Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief." Finally, it's Dalton Trumbo's quest against the Hollywood Blacklist in "Trumbo" (2015). Each film comes with its own indulgent, even seductive spin on history, but isn't that what Hollywood does anyway? Now, we're just watching the mythologizers get mythologized. Oh, and don't forget to take a whiskey break between cigarettes. 

In this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles, Mike, and Brian discuss two new films, "Nomadland" and "Another Round," both hoping to collect trophies this awards season. One is an incredibly emotional look at a woman hitting the open road and searching for connection wherever she can find it, while the other is a Danish film that shows that Mads Mikkelsen can do more than just play a villain. He can also dance!

This special episode of The Playlist Podcast features our new interview with director Darius Marder, the man behind the awards-contending feature, “Sound of Metal." Marder talks about his film, its unique origin story, and the painstaking process it took to make "Sound of Metal" an immersive film experience. 

On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles Barfield, Mike DeAngelo, and Brian Farvour are joined by Rodrigo Perez to talk about "The Mandalorian," as the series enters the second half of Season 2. With 12 total episodes released of this "Star Wars" live-action TV series, the group asks whether or not this is actually a good series or a show without purpose? 

Ahead of Bruce Lee’s (would-be) 80th birthday, we marvel at the flying kicks, unforgettable shrieks, and star wattage of the global icon. This week, Be Reel dives into the Dragon’s life, many afterlives, and three of his major films—“Fist of Fury” (1972), “Way of the Dragon” (1972), and “Enter The Dragon” (1973)—with the help of biographer Jeff Chang and professor/martial artist Lory Dance.

As we entered 2020, there was arguably no actor poised to have as monumental of a year as Alison Brie. With an already diverse body of work ranging from period dramas to comedies, animation, video games, indie darlings, and more, this year especially feels like a snapshot of everything she's strived for her entire career thus far. She has four acting credits across such films as "Horse Girl," "The Rental," "Happiest Season," and "Promising Young Woman" while also spending time behind the camera directing an episode of the Disney+ docuseries "Marvel 616" and producing and co-writing the script for "Horse Girl." Since her dueling breakout performances in "Mad Men" and "Community," we've always known Brie was someone who refused to be put into a box, and it's that exact drive that's made her such an excitingly unpredictable talent on screen and a force of versatility. However, simply being original and different isn't enough for the 37-year-old actress. At this point in her career, it's imperative that the projects she selects stand for something and helps spark a conversation that reaches as many people as possible while advocating for progress. "I definitely feel like I want my work to be about something important," says Brie. "But at the same time, you want it to go down easy. I know I have a better time processing information often when it's also entertaining." Brie's latest, "Happiest Season," definitely falls into that category being the first Holiday romantic comedy centered around a gay couple. The film follows Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and Abby (Kristen Stewart) as they venture to Harper's family home for the holidays. Along with meeting her partner's parents for the first time, Abby is planning to propose. However, complications arise when Abby discovers Harper's not only kept their relationship a secret but her sexuality as well. For all of it's Yuletide camp and charm, "Happiest Season" is a rather earnest exploration of family acceptance and being true to who you are, something that wasn't lost on Brie when joining the project. While "Happiest Season" makes for essential festive viewing this time of year, Brie will close out 2020 with Emerald Fennell's bold and ferocious Oscar contender, "Promising Young Woman." As Brie puts it, "it's a Me Too revenge thriller, but it just has such a dark but fun sense of humor." Since its premiere at Sundance back in January, the film has been garnering a passionate response from audiences and is sure to lead the charge in having a larger conversation about the sexist culture that turns a blind eye to the mistreatment of women. It's a project that, as soon as I mentioned, Brie was visibly eager to discuss. During my conversation with Alison Brie, we not only discuss "Happiest Season" and "Promising Young Woman," but also what Christmas with her family is like, the future of Netflix's "GLOW," and much more.

On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles Barfield, Mike DeAngelo, and Brian Farvour discuss the shocking news that "Wonder Woman 1984" is being released on HBO Max on the same day as theaters. In addition, filmmaker Sean Durkin joins to talk about "The Nest," his award contending drama starring Jude Law & Carrie Coon. Finally, "Sound of Metal" arrives in theaters and the hosts dive deep into Riz Ahemd's incredible, awards-worthy performance. 0:00 - 19:00 - Intro & 'Wonder Woman 1984' news 19:00 - 36:30 - 'Sound of Metal' discussion 36:00 - 69:00 - 'The Nest' discussion & Sean Durkin interview

In this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles Barfield, Mike DeAngelo, and Brian Farvour discuss the new films "Freaky" and "Fatman" while preparing for the release of "Mank" by digging into three of their favorite David Fincher films. Yes, there is some "Alien 3" discussion. 0:00 - 22:00 - Intro & "Freaky" discussion 22:00 - 43:15 - "Fatman" discussion 43:15 - 74:00 - David Fincher recommendations