The Next Best Picture Podcast

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Interview With "Hallow Road" Director Babak Anvari Oct 31, 2025

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"Hallow Road" a psychological thriller film directed by Babak Anvari and written by William Gillies. It stars Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys as a couple who receive a distressing late-night call from their teenage daughter (Megan McDonnell) after she accidentally hits a pedestrian. Jumping in their car, they race to get there before anyone else stumbles across the scene. As they head deeper into the night, disturbing revelations threaten to tear the family apart. The film premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival to positive reviews for its clever premise, taut direction, and strong performances from Pike and Rhys. Director Babak Anvari was kind enough to spend time speaking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Interviews With "Hedda" Stars Nina Hoss, Tom Bateman, Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir & The Casting Directors Oct 31, 2025

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"Hedda" is a dramatic adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" written and directed by Nia DaCosta, starring Tessa Thompson in the title role, with Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman, Nicholas Pinnock, and Nina Hoss in supporting roles. The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews for its performances, DaCosta's direction, and modern take on the material. Hoss and Bateman were kind enough to spend time speaking with Ema Sasic about their work and experiences making the film. This is followed by my conversation with the film's casting directors, Dez Hamilton and Joe Harris, and concludes with Cody Dericks' interview with the film's composer, Academy Award-winner Hildur Guđnadóttir. You can listen to all of these below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Prime Video from Amazon MGM Studios. Thank you, and enjoy!

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"Crimson Peak" Oct 31, 2025

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THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture

With the recent release of "Frankenstein" and the arrival of Halloween, the Next Best Picture team decided to revisit director Guillermo del Toro's 2015 gothic romance film "Crimson Peak," starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam & Jim Beaver. The film was considered a disappointment by some who had expected more of a horror movie 10 years ago, but it has been reevaluated in the years since. How does it hold up 10 years later? Please join Nadia Dalimonte, Dan Bayer, Sara Clements, Brendan Hodges, and me as we discuss the direction from del Toro, the performances, writing, craftsmanship, its lack of an awards season run, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. We appreciate your support and hope you enjoy our review. Have a safe and fun Halloween! Not all ghosts are scary!

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Interviews With "Bugonia" Stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Director Yorgos Lanthimos & Screenwriter Will Tracy Oct 30, 2025

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"Bugonia" is an absurdist black comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos from a screenplay by Will Tracy that adapts the 2003 South Korean film "Save the Green Planet!" by Jang Joon-hwan. The film follows two young men who kidnap a powerful CEO, suspecting that she is secretly an alien who wants to destroy Earth. The film stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone. It had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival and also screened at the Telluride Film Festival to positive reviews. Stone, Plemons, Lanthimos, and Tracy were all kind enough to spend time speaking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Focus Features. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Interviews With "Ballad Of A Small Player" Stars Colin Farrell, Fala Chen & Director Edward Berger Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

"Ballad Of A Small Player" is a British psychological thriller directed by Edward Berger and written by Rowan Joffé, adapted from Lawrence Osborne's 2014 novel of the same name. The film stars Academy Award-nominee Colin Farrell as Lord Doyle, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau, where he spends his nights playing baccarat. As his debts spiral out of control, Doyle finds an unlikely lifeline in Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a casino hostess who holds secrets of her own. The film had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival before continuing its run at TIFF, where it received strong acclaim for its flashy direction, bombastic score, and Farrell's high-wire committed performance. Farrell, Chen, and Berger were all kind enough to spend time speaking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Netflix. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Episode 463 - AFI Fest Recap & The "Crime 101" Trailer Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

For Episode 463, Megan Lachinski, Dan Bayer, Alyssa Christian, Tom O'Brien, and I are here to recap the 2025 AFI Fest in Los Angeles, including the world premiere of "Song Sung Blue" and "The SpongeBob Movie: Search For Squarepants," how films such as "Jay Kelly," "The Testament Of Ann Lee" and "Train Dreams" played on a rewatch. For this week's poll, for the expansion of "Bugonia" to more theaters this weekend, we're asking, "Which Is Your Favorite Yorgos Lanthimos Film?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll, in which we asked, "Which Is Your Favorite Guillermo del Toro Film?" for the theatrical release of "Frankenstein" (arriving on Netflix on November 7th). We also share our reactions to the trailer for "Crime 101," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for listening, supporting, subscribing, and voting. Enjoy!

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Interview With "Dracula" Filmmaker Radu Jude Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

"Dracula" is a Romanian satirical comedy-drama film written and directed by Radu Jude. The film title is inspired by the Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, "Dracula." Set in contemporary Transylvania, it explores the legend of Dracula through Romanian lenses while examining modern dystopia through the timeless allure of vampire lore, crafting a biting, gleefully profane takedown of AI, capitalism, and our decaying culture. The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Locarno Film Festival, where it received polarizing reviews. It's par the course for Jude, but he still has his own opinions on how audiences are receiving his 170-minute bonkers film. Jude was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his experience working on the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on October 29th by 1-2 Special. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Interview With "How To Shoot A Ghost" Director Charlie Kaufman & Writer Eva H.D. Oct 26, 2025

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After Charlie Kaufman utilized one of Eva H.D.'s poems in his 2020 feature "I'm Thinking of Ending Things," the pair hit it off. While Eva had never worked in film before, Kaufman had likewise never directed another writer's work before. Nevertheless, the pair were kindred spirits, and set off to continue working together, and made their first short film together, "Jackals and Fireflies" in 2023. Now, they're back with another short film making the film festival rounds, "How To Shoot a Ghost." Set in Athens, the short follows two recently deceased people, played by Jessie Buckley and Josef Akiki, as they wander around the city, experiencing the afterlife. Kaufman and Eva were kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their work and experience making the short film, which you can listen to below. Thank you and enjoy!

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"Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" Oct 25, 2025

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For this week's main podcast review, Ema Sasic, Katie Johnson, and Tom O'Brien join me to discuss the latest film from Scott Cooper, "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere," starring Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, Odessa Young, Gaby Hoffmann, Marc Maron & David Krumholtz. Written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 2023 book "Deliver Me from Nowhere" by Warren Zanes, as well as some elements from Bruce Springsteen's autobiography "Born to Run," it chronicles Springsteen's personal and professional struggles during the conception of his 1982 album "Nebraska." The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its performances, emotional honesty, and character-driven story of confronting depression and turning pain into art. What did we think of it? Please tune in as we discuss the performances, writing, direction, tone, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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Interview With "A House Of Dynamite" Editor Kirk Baxter & Supervising Sound Editor/Re-Recording Mixer Paul N.J. Ottosson Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

"A House Of Dynamite" is an American apocalyptic political thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Noah Oppenheim. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, and Jason Clarke playing members of the U.S. government as they navigate an official response to a single nuclear missile launched by an unidentified enemy. The film premiered at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews. Academy Award-winning film editor Kirk Baxter and Academy Award-winning Supervising Sound Editor & Re-Recording Mixer Paul N.J. Ottosson were both kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their experience working on the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Netflix. Thank you, and enjoy!

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