The Next Best Picture Podcast

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Interview With "Shelby Oaks" Filmmaker Chris Stuckmann Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

"Shelby Oaks" is a supernatural horror mystery film produced, written, and directed by former YouTuber turned filmmaker Chris Stuckmann in his feature directorial debut, with Mike Flanagan as an executive producer. It stars Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III, Keith David, Sarah Durn, Robin Bartlett, and Michael Beach. Expanding upon an online found-footage series centered on a paranormal investigation team called the Paranormal Paranoids, which also featured Durn, the film follows a woman (Sullivan) desperate to find her sister (Durn) after she vanishes while exploring the eerie, abandoned town of Shelby Oaks. The film premiered at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival in 2024, where it earned mostly positive reviews, with critics praising Stuckmann's direction, the film's haunting atmosphere, and Sullivan's standout performance. Stuckmann 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 24th from NEON. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Interview With "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" Filmmaker Scott Cooper Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

"Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" is a biographical musical drama film starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen. Written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 2023 book "Deliver Me from Nowhere" by Warren Zanes, it chronicles Springsteen's personal and professional struggles during the conception of his 1982 album Nebraska. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its performances, grounded tone, and psychological look into what makes Springsteen such a thoughtful and compelling artist. Cooper 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 24th from 20th Century Studios. Thank you, and enjoy!

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"A House Of Dynamite" Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

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

For this week's third podcast review, Josh Parham and Giovanni Lago join me to review and discuss the latest film from Kathryn Bigelow, "A House Of Dynamite," starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, and Jason Clarke. The plot follows the U.S. government navigating an official response to a single nuclear missile launched by an unidentified enemy. It's presented in a terrifyingly realistic manner that wants to encourage more thoughtful discussion surrounding nuclear weapons, but its three-act "Rashomon" inspired narrative structure and divisive ending have audiences perhaps thinking about other elements than what was intended since its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. What did we think of it? Please tune in as we discuss the screenplay, direction, the performances from the ensemble, the ending, its score, awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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"Frankenstein" Oct 21, 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

For this week's second podcast review, Nadia Dalimonte, Dan Bayer, Brendan Hodges, and Will Mavity join me to review and discuss the latest film from Guillermo del Toro, "Frankenstein," starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, Charles Dance, and David Bradley. Based on Mary Shelley's classic 1818 novel of the same name, the Netflix film has been a passion project for del Toro for many years, dating back to when he first read the book as an eleven-year-old. That passion can be felt in every frame of this exceptionally crafted piece of work, but what did we think of it as a whole? Please tune in as we discuss the narrative structure, adaptation changes, themes, performances, technical aspects, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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Interview With "Hal & Harper" Filmmaker & Star Cooper Raiff Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

"Hal & Harper" is an American comedy drama television series created, written, and directed by Cooper Raiff and starring Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Betty Gilpin, and Mark Ruffalo. The series had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival where it received positive reviews for its writing, performances and decision to use the older actors to play their younger selves in flashbacks. Raiff was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his work and experience making the show, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the show, which is now available to stream on MUBI. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Episode 462 - AFI Fest Preview, CCDA Nominations, "Send Help," "The Secret Agent," "Keeper" & "Rebuilding" Trailers Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

For Episode 462, Dan Bayer, Will Mavity, and I are here to preview the 2025 AFI Fest in Los Angeles, including the world premieres of "Song Sung Blue" and "The SpongeBob Movie: Search For Squarepants," and discuss the 2025 Critics' Choice Documentary Award (CCDA) nominations. For this week's poll, for the release of "Frankenstein" in theaters this weekend, we're asking, "Which Is Your Favorite Guillermo del Toro Film?" We also reveal the winner of last week's poll, where we asked "Which Is Your Favorite Luca Guadagnino Film?" for the release of "After The Hunt." We also share our reactions to the trailers for "Send Help," "The Secret Agent," "Rebuilding," "Keeper," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for listening, supporting, subscribing, and voting. Enjoy!

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"After The Hunt" Oct 18, 2025

Show notes

For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Dan Bayer, Lauren LaMagna, Giovanni Lago, and Joselyn Safadi join me to discuss the latest film from Luca Guadagnino, "After The Hunt," starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Chloë Sevigny. After having its world premiere out of competition at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, the psychological thriller (generous), written by Nora Garrett, has divided critics and audiences on its story about a college professor caught between a sexual abuse accusation involving one of her students and a colleague. What did we think of it? Please tune in as we discuss the performances, writing, direction, score, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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Interview With "It Was Just An Accident" Filmmaker Jafar Panahi & Editor Amir Etminan Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

"It Was Just An Accident" is a thriller film written and directed by legendary Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi. The film is a co-production between Iran, Luxembourg, and France, the latter selecting it as the country's official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards. The film explores political repression in Iran and morality as a group of former political prisoners kidnap their torturer and decide what to do with him. Panahi, who is critical of the Iranian government and has been imprisoned several times, made the film without official filming permission from the Iranian authorities. The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, where it received universal acclaim and won the prestigious Palme d'Or. Panahi and editor Amir Etminan were kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about their 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 from NEON. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2

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Interview With "After The Hunt" Casting Director Jessica Ronane Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

"After The Hunt" is a psychological thriller film directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Nora Garrett that premiered at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival out of competition and opened the 63rd New York Film Festival. Starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny, it contains a number of powerhouse performances from big and small names. In our first casting director interview for this awards season (brought on by the fact that there is now a new Oscar for Best Casting being bestowed at the 98th Academy Awards), Jessica Ronane was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about the nature of her job, her experience working on the film, and more, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Amazon MGM Studios. Thank you, and enjoy!

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Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2

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"If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

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

For this week's third podcast review, Nadia Dalimonte, Dan Bayer, Katie Johnson, and Giovanni Lago join me to review and discuss the latest film from Mary Bronstein, "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You," starring Rose Byrne, Conan O'Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Christian Slater, and ASAP Rocky. It is a psychological, nerve-wracking comedy-drama film that follows a mother desperately trying to navigate her daughter's mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for Rose Byrne's performance, Bronstein's direction, the supporting performances of the rest of the cast, and the screenplay's confrontations with uncomfortable truths surrounding motherhood and parenting. Please tune in as we discuss these elements, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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