The Big Picture

After great anticipation, ‘Mank’ has arrived. Sean and Amanda look at David Fincher’s 11th feature film from every angle. What’s it really about? How does it play? Will it live up to the billing as Netflix’s great Oscar hope? All that and a lot more in this deep dive.Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Major news in Hollywood: Warner Bros. has announced it will stream all of its new films in 2021 on HBO Max, including 'Godzilla vs. Kong,' 'In The Heights,' 'Space Jam: A New Legacy,' 'The Suicide Squad,' and 'Matrix 4.' Why did this happen? What does it mean for movie theaters? Will other studios follow suit? Amanda and Sean do their best to parse a historic day.Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week marks the arrival of David Fincher’s long-awaited 'Mank,' which chronicles the screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz’s life and work on the script for 'Citizen Kane.' Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman for an expansive chat on all things 'Kane,' Orson Welles, the fight over the film's authorship, and classic Hollywood.Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuests: Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The legendary documentarian Errol Morris has a new film called 'My Psychedelic Love Story' premiering on Showtime this week. He returns to the show to talk with Sean about a wide array of topics, from psychedelics to psychotics.Host: Sean FennesseyGuest: Errol Morris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clea DuVall, actress-turned-director best known for acting in films like Zodiac and directing Happiest Season, discusses making her second film and the writing collaboration with Mary Holland. She talks about crafting a mainstream holiday look while keeping it personal. Conversations cover rehearsals with actors, the challenges of a 29-day shoot, editing through lockdown, and choosing a Hulu release.

Ron Howard's adaptation of JD Vance's bestselling memoir hits Netflix this week—Sean and Amanda look at the film and the careers of stars Amy Adams and Glenn Close, including their chances at their first-ever Academy Award win (1:00). 'Hillbilly Elegy' also inspired a deep dive into the history of a tricky subcategory: Oscar Bait. What is it? When did it start? What movies count as Oscar Bait? Sean and Amanda break it all down (27:00).Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With so many movies pushed to 2021, TV has taken an even bigger share of our viewing time this year. Sean and Amanda talk about the Netflix sensation ‘The Queen’s Gambit,’ Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ anthology series, and the best miniseries they’ve seen this year (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by Aneesh Chaganty, the director of 2018’s ‘Searching’ and a new thriller called ‘Run’ that hits Hulu this weekend (48:00).Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuest: Aneesh Chaganty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The last big-ticket theatrical release, 'Wonder Woman 1984,' is still on the calendar. Will it go to HBO Max? PVOD? When will we see it? Amanda and Sean break down the possibilities (0:54). Then, they are joined by David Hill, the host of the new podcast series 'Gamblers,' to pick their top five gambling movies (17:44). Finally, Sean interviews director Christopher Landon, a Blumhouse staple who brought us the 'Happy Death Day' series, to talk about his clever new body-swap horror-comedy 'Freaky' (1:16:30).Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuests: David Hill and Christopher Landon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean and Amanda dive back into the mailbag to answer an array of questions about under-the-radar 2020 movies you can watch now on VOD and streaming, the prolonged closure of movie theaters around the country, and the book adaptation they've always wanted to see on the big screen, among others (0:50). Then, Sean is joined by Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin to discuss their delightful new film 'The Climb' (59:00).Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda DobbinsGuests: Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Things are quiet in the world of movies, so we’re taking a moment to celebrate one of our favorite subgenres: GARBAGE CRIME. What’s that? Allow chief criminologist Chris Ryan to break it all down and hand out some awards to the very best the subgenre has to offer. (1:00) Then, Sean is joined by writer-director Brandon Cronenberg to talk about his viscerally overwhelming new film, ‘Possessor.’ (1:05:00)Host: Sean FennesseyGuests: Chris Ryan and Brandon Cronenberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices