The Big Picture - The Ringer

Latest Episodes:

The 2021 Movie Draft Dec 13, 2024

Show notes

We are drafting again! And Amanda is back! She and Sean are joined by Chris Ryan to pick their faves and foil their pals in a draft of the movies from 2021.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Chris Ryan

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The King of Physical Media. Plus: The 10 Best Blu-rays of 2024. Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by longtime playwright, actor, screenwriter, and physical media collector Tracy Letts to discuss his career and how he became such a fervent collector of physical media. They discuss what got them into the lifestyle, the state of their collections, what it has taught them about being a cinephile, the best physical releases of 2024, and much more.

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guest: Tracy Letts

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The Snubs, Surprises, and WTFs of the 2025 Golden Globe Nominations. Plus: Richard Gere! Dec 09, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by Joanna Robinson to give their immediate reactions to the Golden Globe nominations (1:00), discuss the evolution of the awards and how these nominations stack up against expectations, and opine about what these short lists mean for the Academy Awards. Then, Sean is joined by longtime movie star Richard Gere to discuss his work in Paul Schrader’s ‘Oh, Canada,’ the actor’s collaboration with Schrader over the decades, how he thinks about his career at this moment, and more (59:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Richard Gere and Joanna Robinson

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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The Top Five Movies of 2024 Dec 06, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman to discuss the ascendance of ‘Wicked’ in the awards race and the release of a handful of movies, including ‘Queer,’ ‘Kneecap,’ and ‘The Order’ (1:00). Then, the three each share their top five movies of 2024, a mix of widely seen blockbusters, smaller art-house movies, big swings from emergent auteurs, and more (43:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

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Top Five World War II Movies, and ‘Blitz’ Dec 03, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan and Rob Mahoney to discuss the robust domestic box office this past holiday weekend (1:00), before digging into Steve McQueen’s latest movie ‘Blitz,’ now in select theaters and on Apple TV+ (12:00). Then, they explore the renewable resource that is World War II movies, assessing the various subgenres that have sprung from that genre (26:00). Finally, they each share their top five WWII movies (42:00), and talk about whether they think the genre will persist.

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Chris Ryan and Rob Mahoney

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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‘Hot Frosty’ and ‘Moana 2’: What Even Are Movies? Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by Rob Harvilla and Yasi Salek to discuss two movies for the fun of it—‘Moana 2’ and ‘Hot Frosty.’ They start by reacting to the new ‘Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary’ (01:40) before discussing the surprising self-awareness, Easter eggs, and music in ‘Hot Frosty’ (04:59). Then, they share their movie-watching experiences while watching ‘Moana 2’ and how it compares to ‘Moana’ (36:50). Before Yasi and Rob leave, they share the movies they are looking forward to at the end of 2024 (62:40). Later, Sean is joined by filmmaker Garret Price to discuss ‘Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary’ (74:56). Created after he finished editing ‘Daisy Jones and the Six,’ he talks about finding the perfect commentators and getting all the bands to be involved.

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Rob Harvilla, Yasi Salek, and Garret Price

Producer: Olivia Crerie

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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‘Wicked’ Is a Sensation. But Is It Good? Plus: The Top Five 21st Century Musicals. Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by Juliet Litman to discuss another highly anticipated 2024 release in Jon M. Chu’s ‘Wicked.’ They unpack their very mixed feelings (1:07), hypothesize why this movie is such a big hit (41:30), and forecast its Oscar chances by asking whether it could really win Best Picture (50:37). Then, they both rank their top five favorite musicals from the 21st century (58:58). Finally, Sean is joined by writer and director Malcolm Washington to discuss his new film, ‘The Piano Lesson.’ They talk about coming from a Hollywood family, what he hoped to attempt when given the chance to make this film, and turning August Wilson’s stage play into a bold cinematic experience (1:26:57).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guest: Juliet Litman and Malcolm Washington

Audio Producer: Sasha Ashall

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin to discuss one of the most highly anticipated movies of 2024, Ridley Scott’s new film ‘Gladiator II.’ They work through their complicated feelings on the sequel (05:09), highlight some of the key standout performances (22:49), and predict its box office potential and Oscars chances (67:25). Then, they each rank their top five favorite legacy sequels of all time (76:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin

Producer: Olivia Crerie

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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Is ‘Red One’ the Worst Movie of the Year? Plus: ‘A Real Pain’ With Jesse Eisenberg! Nov 19, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by Joanna Robinson to assess why the hell ‘Red One’ is so awful (1:00) and try to make sense of the Rock’s baffling movie career. Then, they discuss ‘A Real Pain,’ Jesse Eisenberg’s new movie about a pair of cousins who go to Poland for a Holocaust tour (25:00). They then each share their top five two-handers in movie history (1:00:00). Finally, Sean is joined by Eisenberg to discuss the film, his evolution as not just an actor but a director, casting and working with Kieran Culkin, and more (1:19:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Joanna Robinson and Jesse Eisenberg

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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Best Picture Power Rankings. Plus: Is ‘Emilia Pérez’ Really a Front-Runner? Nov 15, 2024

Show notes

Sean is joined by Ringer-Verse host Joanna Robinson and The Ankler's awards editor Katey Rich to discuss the state of the Best Picture race. Amid this conversation, they go through the 10 films they think are running hottest to be nominated for the top award at the Oscars and compare their list to the last time Sean did said exercise (1:00). Then, they zero in on one of those front-runners, Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Pérez,’ a challenging swing of a film that's received mixed reviews from critics and Letterboxd users alike since hitting the Netflix service (1:10:00).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guests: Joanna Robinson and Katey Rich

Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Video Producer: Jack Sanders

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