The Big Picture - The Ringer

Latest Episodes:

The 1982 Movie Draft Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

We’re drafting again! Sean, Amanda, and Chris are joined by the resident physical-media king of 'The Big Picture,' Tracy Letts, to draft movies from 1982 and take stock of the biggest ways the film world has changed in the past 40 years.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Tracy Letts and Chris Ryan

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 25 - ‘Michael Clayton’ Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda kick off their year-long project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far with a discussion of Tony Gilroy’s ‘Michael Clayton,’ the 2007 legal thriller starring George Clooney and featuring one of the best scripts of the century. They talk about how tightly wound the movie is, some sliding doors in its production, and what it means for the list to start with such a beloved movie for both Sean and Amanda.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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‘The Electric State’ Is a Netflix Nightmare. Plus, 10 (Better) Movies We Missed. Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to discuss the latest Netflix mega-budget action movie, ‘The Electric State,’ one of the worst movies of the decade so far (1:00). They discuss the state of Netflix’s influence on the movie industry and the series of disastrous movies made by the Russo brothers since they left Marvel. Then, they run through a list of other movies they’ve missed on the show, including ‘The Gorge’ (47:00), ‘Last Breath’ (56:00), ‘The Monkey’ (1:00:00), ‘Eephus’ (1:04:00), ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ (1:07:00), ‘Chaos: The Manson Murders’ (1:10:00), ‘Love Hurts’ (1:12:00), and ‘The Actor’ (1:13:00). Finally, Sean is joined by writer-director Mark Anthony Green to discuss the long journey to making his first feature, ‘Opus,’ starring Ayo Edeberi and John Malkovich (1:18:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Chris Ryan and Mark Anthony Green

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producers: Jack Sanders and Jon Jones

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The Cate Blanchett Hall of Fame and the Delightfully Sleek ‘Black Bag’ Mar 14, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda discuss their upcoming trip to Las Vegas for CinemaCon (1:00) before taking stock of Steven Soderbergh’s 36th feature film, ‘Black Bag,’ starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender (8:30). Then, they build a Hall of Fame for Blanchett by selecting the 10 most important performances by the two-time Oscar winner (27:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producers: John Richter and Jon Jones

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‘Mickey 17’ and the Bong Joon-ho Movie Rankings Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

After a brief discussion of the A24-inflected ‘Thunderbolts*’ trailer that dropped over the weekend (0:45), Sean and Amanda dive into Bong Joon-ho’s eighth feature film, ‘Mickey 17’ (4:15). They discuss its often uneven tone, how the film fits into Bong Joon-ho’s body of work, Robert Pattinson’s incredible performance and lack of movie star persona, and some of their favorite scenes. Then, they rank all eight of Bong Joon-ho’s feature films (49:32).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producers: Bobby Wagner, Chia Hao Tat, Sasha Ashall, and Jon Jones

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The Oscars Hangover Mailbag. Plus: Bong Joon-ho Returns! Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda are joined by Joanna Robinson to tie up some loose ends from Sunday’s Oscars (1:00) and to answer your mailbag questions about ‘Anora,’ Sean Baker’s huge night, snubs, ratings, the cultural relevance of the ceremony, and anything else you could cook up about the awards (42:00). Then, Sean is joined by returning guest Bong Joon-ho and interpreter Sharon Choi to discuss his new film ‘Mickey 17,’ following up the tremendous success of ‘Parasite,’ his famous storyboarding style, what he took inspiration from in the making of this movie, and more (1:30:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Bong Joon-ho and Joanna Robinson

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producers: Chia Hao Tat and Jon Jones

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The 2025 Oscars: ‘Anora’ Has the Greatest Day Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda sit down moments after the conclusion of the 2025 Academy Awards to discuss ‘Anora’ and Sean Baker’s historic night. They discuss Baker taking home four Oscars for the same film, the uneven nature of the telecast and speeches, which films petered out before Hollywood’s biggest night, and much more. Plus: the results of Sean and Amanda’s final Oscar predictions as well as their Big Oscar Bet from back in September (0:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producers: John Richter and Cory McConnell

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Final 2025 Oscar Predictions: Who Will Win and Should Win Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda discuss a bit of news about the 2026 movie slate (1:00), then launch headfirst into their final predictions for the 2025 Oscars’ winners, losers, and everything in between (15:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The 2025 Alternative Oscars, a.k.a. the 5th Annual Big Picks! Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

Sean and Amanda return for their fifth annual Alternative Oscar awards (a.k.a. the Big Picks), in which they award alternative nominees and winners for the major Oscar categories, as well as some of our own homemade categories. The snubbed, the beloved, and more are all represented here (44:00)! Before handing out the awards, they react to the past week’s big news in the film world, including a fascinating Timothée Chalamet SAG speech, and the news that the Broccoli family has ceded creative control of the James Bond franchise to Amazon (1:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The Best Picture Movie Draft Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan gather to draft films that have been awarded Best Picture at the Academy Awards. This time, they select from six categories: 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, 1990s, 2010s, and Best Picture Loser.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Chris Ryan

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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