The Next Best Picture Podcast

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Interview With "The Samurai And The Prisoner" Filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa Aug 03, 2026

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"The Samurai And The Prisoner" is a 2026 Japanese historical drama mystery film written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and based on the novel of the same name by Honobu Yonezawa. It stars Masahiro Motoki, Masaki Suda, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Munetaka Aoki, and Ryota Miyadate. Set in 16th-century Japan, the film follows Lord Murashige Araki (Motoki), who, besieged in his castle, confronts mysterious crimes and allies with imprisoned strategist Kanbei Kuroda (Suda) to uncover the truth. The film had its world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its overall design reminiscent of classic samurai films, detective narrative, and performances. Kurosawa was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in NY and LA select theaters and will expand nationwide later from Janus Films. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/svpf8EEw9Nk

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Episode 503 - Mailbag Monday Aug 03, 2026

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Following our 503rd episode of The Next Best Picture Podcast, we're back with a new episode of Mailbag Monday. Josh Parham and Dan Bayer join me in this new series dedicated entirely to answering your fan-submitted questions from the NBP Film Community. Covering everything from the latest movie news, awards season, and Oscar predictions to filmmaking, industry trends, and whatever else is on your mind, Mailbag Monday allows us to engage more directly with all of you every week. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions for this episode, whether on our X account or on our Discord (Patreon members get a private link to chat with other members of NBP and me). If you'd like to be featured on a future edition of Mailbag Monday, be sure to leave your questions in the comments or submit them through our social media channels every Sunday morning when prompted on our X account. We hope you'll join us every Monday as we continue the conversation beyond our weekly Sunday podcast. Thank you, as always, for listening, subscribing, and supporting Next Best Picture, and helping us build such an incredible film community. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/BvleaMratq0

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Episode 503 - NYFF Centerpiece Announcement & Main Slate Predictions, "The Thomas Crown Affair," "Children Of Blood And Bone," "Ramayana" & "Wicker" Trailers Aug 02, 2026

Show notes

For Episode 503 of the Next Best Picture Podcast, I am joined by Josh Parham, and Dan Bayer. For this week's main topic, we're discussing the NYFF Centerpiece film (the world premiere of Tony Gilroy's "Behemoth!") and giving our predictions for what we believe will be announced this week for the Main Slate. We also discuss the recent resurgence of the box office in 2026 that has continued through the summer with the performance of "The Odyssey" and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." For this week's NBP poll question, with the release of these two films, we're asking everyone, "Which Is Your Favorite Tom Holland Performance?" and we reveal the winner of last week's NBP poll, for announcement of the 2026 Venice Film Festival lineup, where we asked everyone, "Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To From The 2026 Venice Film Festival?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "The Thomas Crown Affair," "Children Of Blood And Bone," "Ramayana," and "Wicker." We are still answering your fan-submitted questions, but our answers will now be released separately the day after, in a new show called Mailbag Monday! So stay tuned for that and many other updates from Next Best Picture as this year's awards season continues. Thank you all for listening, subscribing, and supporting us. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/boXnDdbgDSI

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"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" Aug 02, 2026

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For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson and Josh Parham join me to review and discuss the latest MCU Tom Holland Spider-Man film, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," starring Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei, and Mark Ruffalo. Taking over from Jon Watts director Destin Daniel Cretton steps into the director's chair and brings the larger than life spectacle of the MCU back down to the ground a little bit as the reset button is hit following the events of 2021's "No Way Home," where those who knew Peter Parker cannot remember him any longer, thus forcing our favorite web-slinger into isolation and depression, which leads to some unexpected changes in his DNA while a new mysterious foe emerges that will have ramifications across the entire MCU. Also, Bruce Banner (aka. Hulk), Frank Castle (aka. Punisher), and Yelena Belova (aka. Black Widow) show up! What did we think of it? Please tune in either on video or audio only as we discuss the film's story, its performances, action, humor, visual effects, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/8bNjYYRK3Vg

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"The Reader" Jul 31, 2026

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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

We recently reviewed Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," a film that many feel should've been part of the Best Picture lineup in 2008. So, it only makes sense that, as Nolan is once again getting his revenge with another new film in theaters, we revisit the film that was widely seen as the one that took his masterpiece out of the lineup, and that's "The Reader," starring Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Lena Olin & Bruno Ganz. Directed by Stephen Daldry and written by David Hare based on the novel "Der Vorleser" by Bernhard Schlink, this Holocaust drama has become the poster child for the term "Oscar bait" in the years since its release (and was widely seen as such then) as it saw Winslet in another awards magnet performance that the Academy finally decided to give her an Oscar for, produced and pushed by Harvey Weinstein at the height of his powers, the film has not aged well to say the least, certainly compared to the other films it beat out that Oscar season for major nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Adapted Screenplay. What did we think of it? Please tune in as Nadia Dalimonte, Dan Bayer, Amy Kim, Will Mavity, and I talk about the film's screenplay, Winslet's performance, Daldry's direction, the score, the cinematography, its awards season run, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Please check out our past reviews for "Frost/Nixon," "Doubt," "Changeling," "Revolutionary Road," "WALL-E, "Milk," and "The Dark Knight." We appreciate your support and hope you enjoy our review!

https://youtu.be/mZmWKG8JSFg

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Interview With “I Want Your Sex” Filmmaker Gregg Araki Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

After a hiatus of over a decade, legendary indie filmmaker Gregg Araki is back in movie theaters with his latest piece of visual provocation, “I Want Your Sex.” The film made a splash at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, thanks to Araki’s trademark eye-tickling visuals and equally trademark envelope-pushing substance. Here, Gen Z is the target of Araki’s aim, with his film (and specifically Olivia Wilde’s sensational character, the avant-garde sex-obsessed artist Erika Tracy) skewering the prudishness of the latest batch of young adults. But as always with Araki, answers don’t come easy and messages aren’t neat and tidy. One of the masters of queer indie filmmaking, Araki was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his latest film, which you can listen to below. In our conversation, he touched on what he thinks of Gen Z’s tendency toward sex negativity, how a film centering around a male-female pairing can still touch on queer themes, and what it was like to debut his film at the final Sundance Film Festival hosted in Park City, Utah. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in theaters on July 31st from Magnolia Pictures. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/z3kWcH5mqhM

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Episode 502 - Mailbag Monday Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

Following our 502nd episode of The Next Best Picture Podcast, we're back with a new episode of Mailbag Monday. Katie Johnson, Nadia Dalimonte, and Tom O’Brien join me in this new series dedicated entirely to answering your fan-submitted questions from the NBP Film Community. Covering everything from the latest movie news, awards season, and Oscar predictions to filmmaking, industry trends, and whatever else is on your mind, Mailbag Monday allows us to engage more directly with all of you every week. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions for this episode, whether on our X account or on our Discord (Patreon members get a private link to chat with other members of NBP and me). If you'd like to be featured on a future edition of Mailbag Monday, be sure to leave your questions in the comments or submit them through our social media channels every Sunday morning when prompted on our X account. We hope you'll join us every Monday as we continue the conversation beyond our weekly Sunday podcast. Thank you, as always, for listening, subscribing, and supporting Next Best Picture, and helping us build such an incredible film community. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/oQDMOnZ11-A

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Episode 502 - Venice & TIFF Lineups, Comic-Con, "Avengers: Doomsday," "Other Mommy," "Clayface" & "Ebenezer" Trailers Jul 26, 2026

Show notes

For Episode 502 of the Next Best Picture Podcast, I am joined by Katie Johnson, Nadia Dalimonte, Lauren LaMagna, and Tom O'Brien. For this week's main topic, we're going over the official full lineup from the Venice Film Festival, the Special Presentations and Galas announcement from TIFF, and the NYFF Closing Night Film. For this week's NBP poll question, tying into the Venice lineup, we're asking everyone, "Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To From The 2026 Venice Film Festival?" and we reveal the winner of last week's NBP poll, for the release of "The Odyssey," where we asked everyone, "Which Is Your Favorite Matt Damon Performance?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "Avengers: Doomsday," "Other Mommy," "Clayface," "It Ends," "Misty Green," "Matchbox: The Movie," and "Ebenezor." We are still answering your fan-submitted questions, but our answers will now be released separately the day after, in a new show called Mailbag Monday! So stay tuned for that and many other updates from Next Best Picture as this year's awards season continues. Thank you all for listening, subscribing, and supporting us. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/NPmeyxQEhCs

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"Her Private Hell" Jul 26, 2026

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For this week's main podcast review, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, Giovanni Lago, and Larry Fried join me to review and discuss the first feature film from Nicolas Winding Refn in a decade, "Her Private Hell," starring Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Shioli Kutsuna, Aoi Yamada, Dougray Scott, Diego Calva, and Hidetoshi Nishijima. Premiering out of competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, the film caused more walkouts than any other film at the festival and has gained quite a divisive reaction from critics and audiences. What did we think of it? Please tune in either on video or audio only as we debate the merits of its convoluted story, its strange performances, the neon-lit cinematography, Pino Donaggio's gorgeous score, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/ILY8KuEJ_5Y

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Interviews With "Her Private Hell" Stars Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton & Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

"Her Private Hell" is a 2026 science fiction horror thriller film produced and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, from a story he wrote and a screenplay he co-wrote with Esti Giordani. It stars Sophie Thatcher as a troubled young woman who searches for her father as a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, unleashing a deadly and elusive entity. Her quest collides with an American G.I. (Charles Melton) who's on a harrowing odyssey to rescue his daughter from hell. The film also stars Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Shioli Kutsuna, Aoi Yamada, Dougray Scott, Diego Calva, and Hidetoshi Nishijima. It had its world premiere out of competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews, but its visuals, performances, and the score by legendary Italian composer Pino Donaggio were praised. Thatcher, Melton and Winding Refn were all kind enough to spend some time talking 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 will be released in theaters by NEON on July 24th. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/r4ENIJpyPLo

https://youtu.be/-52ywXkEti0

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