The Next Reel Film Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street • The Next Reel Sep 27, 2012

Show notes

"You are young. Life has been kind to you. You will learn." With these words early on in Tim Burton's 2007 film adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, we instantly get a sense of the dark place that the character of Sweeney Todd, played marvelously by Johnny Depp, has come from.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

Big Fish • The Next Reel Sep 20, 2012

Show notes

The only thing better than a great story is a great storyteller, and Edward Bloom certainly fits the bill. Not a moment goes by in Tim Burton's 2003 film "Big Fish" when young Edward, played by Ewan McGregor, isn't living one of his fantastical stories or old Edward, played by Albert Finney, isn't spinning one of his wild yarns, and that's the hook that pulls us so readily into the film.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

Rush • The Next Reel Sep 13, 2012

Show notes

"Pretty soon you be feeling all unnecessary."
In 1991, Richard D. Zanuck and his wife, Lili Fini Zanuck, produced her directorial debut, "Rush," a story of two undercover cops trying to bring down a big drug dealer in a small Texas town and in the process become addicts themselves. Our memory of the film, unfortunately, was a bit better than the film itself (even if one of us disliked it less than the other).
Join us—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—this week on Rash Pixel's "Movies We Like" as we talk about this financial failure for the Zanucks. We talk about the troubles with the script and how it may have been a better film if they stuck to the truth of the story it was based on. We chat about the actors, particularly the leads Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and how she really is the one who grounds the film, providing something to latch onto. There's also Sam Elliott and Max Perlich providing great moments and Gregg Allman looking very serious. We chat about the camera work, particularly the long shots that Lili uses periodically, and how they work for the story. And we discuss where this falls in the Zanuck line-up and where they go from here.
Despite the movie not being everything we remember from 1991, we have a great time talking about it. Listen in!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

Driving Miss Daisy • The Next Reel Sep 06, 2012

Show notes

Driving Miss Daisy was a perfect story choice for Richard D. Zanuck to produce. Sure, it was difficult to get made but for a film that only cost $7.5 million dollars to produce, it raked in over $100 million at the domestic box office, putting it in the top 10 of the year with the likes of Batman and Lethal Weapon 2. Topping that off, it led Zanuck, along with his wife, Lili Fini Zanuck, to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars.
But this 1989 film, which deals with prejudice and friendship in the relationship between an old Jewish woman in the south and her African American driver, stands out for many people as a perfect example of what's wrong with the Oscars because it came out the same year as Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, a film that deals with race relations in a much more intense and direct way, and what many feel should have won the Best Picture award.
Regardless of your position on which is the better film or which should have won, Bruce Beresford's film Driving Miss Daisy, written by Alfred Uhry based on his Pulitzer prize-winning play, is a beautiful, simple, and sweet story of two people who are the most unlikely to develop a friendship, yet they do just that. And it's heartwarming.
Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — on this week's episode of Rash Pixel's Movies We Like as we discuss the amazing performances — Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, and Dan Aykroyd are all fantastic. We chat about what the film is saying about race and look at in context of the 25 years over which the story takes place. We look at the films it was up against at the Oscars that year (as well as those that weren't nominated). And we discuss the amazing or horrible Hans Zimmer music, depending on your taste for his 80s synthesized scores. It's a discussion that ranges all over the map as we talk about this wonderful film, the fourth in our Richard D. Zanuck series. We have a great time talking about it, and hope you have a great time listening to it. Listen in!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

Jaws • The Next Reel Aug 30, 2012

Show notes

"I used to hate the water."
"I can't imagine why."
When someone says the word 'jaws' to you, it inevitably conjures up the man-eating great white shark in Steven Spielberg's 1975 thriller masterpiece. It's hard to imagine a time when the word 'jaws' didn't do this. But that's what Spielberg's film "Jaws" did, as well as birth the notion of the summer blockbuster and make people not want to swim in the ocean.
Join us—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—on this week's episode of Rash Pixel's "Movies We Like" as we chat about this film, the next in our Richard D. Zanuck series. We talk about why this film works so well and how it tapped into people's natural fears. We discuss the unfortunate repercussion this film had on people's understanding of sharks and how Peter Benchley, the author of the book and co-screenwriter, now wishes he hadn't written the book for that very reason. We talk about the great cast headed up by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, and what they bring to the table as well as the technical mastery the crew added to this film, from the amazing cinematography to the sound and, of course, John Williams' unforgettable score. And we discuss the amazing new Blu-ray that Universal just released, creating a finished product that looks like it could have been shot yesterday. It's one of the greatest films out there and well worth talking about. Listen in!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

The Sting • The Next Reel Aug 23, 2012

Show notes

After his father fired him from 20th Century Fox and a short stint at Warner Bros., Richard D. Zanuck joined forces with his buddy David Brown from his Fox days and the two joined forces as the independent producing duo under the banner The Zanuck/Brown Company. For their first film? They found possibly one of the greatest scripts ever written -- David S. Ward's "The Sting" -- got George Roy Hill to direct with Paul Newman and Robert Redford heading up the stellar cast and ended up producing the Best Picture winner of 1973, as well as one of the greatest films ever made. Join us -- Pete Wright and Andy Nelson -- this week on Rash Pixel's "Movies We Like" for the second in our Richard D. Zanuck series as we discuss (and maybe gush a little bit because of our overwhelming love for this film) everything that makes "The Sting" great. We chat about David S. Ward's amazing script and why it works so well, as well as the world of con men and how this film does such a stellar job of welcoming us into this world. We talk about George Roy Hill and what he brings to the table, particularly with Newman and Redford, two amazing actors with whom he worked a few years earlier in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." We discuss the rest of the team and their invaluable contributions as well as the 7 Oscars the film took home for those contributions. And we revel in the amazing Scott Joplin ragtime tunes that fill the film from beginning to end, wonderfully arranged by the late, great Marvin Hamlisch. It's a fantastic film -- one of our favorites -- and one that really put Richard D. Zanuck on the map as an independent producer in his own right, helping him get out from under his father's immense shadow. Listen in!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

Compulsion • The Next Reel Aug 17, 2012

Show notes

"Murder's nothing. It's just a simple experience. Murder and rape. Do you know what beauty there is in evil?" It's the start of our Richard D. Zanuck tribute series, ladies and gentlemen, and what better way to begin than with the first film he produced for his father, Darryl F. Zanuck, 1959's "Compulsion." Based on the book of the same name by Meyer Levin about the Leopold/Loeb murder from 1924, Richard D. Zanuck puts together a top notch team of cast and crew, headed up by director Richard Fleischer, to create a film that comes in under budget and ahead of schedule. It's a fascinating story about two young geniuses who are convinced they can commit the perfect crime and they do -- except one of them accidentally drops his glasses at the scene of the crime. The true story is horrifying, and it's equally so in this honest film depiction. With neither of us having seen this film before preparing for this episode, we stumbled upon a rare gem that deserves more viewers. We chat about the incredible cast headed up by Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman as the two murderers, Orson Welles as their lawyer, E.G. Marshall as the DA prosecuting them, Gavin MacLeod as his assistant, and Diane Varsi and Martin Milner as the friends caught up in the whole mess. We discuss Fleischer and what he brought to the table, along with William C. Mellor, the DP. We also discuss the interesting homosexual and sadomasochistic subtexts the film broaches, as well as rape and capital punishment, which for 1959 was a pretty big deal. It's an amazing film to stumble across and the perfect start for our Richard D. Zanuck tribute series. Check the movie out on Amazon and listen in!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

The Bourne Legacy • The Next Reel Aug 09, 2012

Show notes

"Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg."
We always knew there were other operatives out there, and when the producers couldn't get Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass to return to do another Jason Bourne movie, they did the right thing by bringing in the man who's been with the series from the start—Tony Gilroy—to not only write but also direct this latest entry into the franchise, "The Bourne Legacy."
Tony Gilroy opens up the world of these supersoldier spies and builds on the already complex levels of secret government programs to bring us another operative from one of Treadstone's sister programs. This time, it's Aaron Cross played with intensity and intelligence by Jeremy Renner. Join us—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—on this week's episode of Rash Pixel's "Movies We Like" as we delve into the complex and globetrotting story.
We discuss what the new actors to the franchise—Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, and Stacy Keach—bring to the table. We talk about the fascinating way Gilroy makes a film that actually takes place in parallel to "The Bourne Ultimatum" and how that enhances the size of this universe. We chat about the stunts and chase sequences in the film and how the work and don't work, and we cover the elements that work for us as well as those that don't. On the whole, it's a great entry into the Bourne franchise and one that we're happy to talk about. Listen in!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

The Bourne Ultimatum • The Next Reel Aug 02, 2012

Show notes

"You start down this path, where does it end?" "It ends when we've won." Frightening words coming from a CIA agent more intent on keeping his team's illegal program under wraps than in saving American lives. And that's the man intent on preventing Jason Bourne from learning about his past, because that man, Noah Vosen -- played wonderfully by the ever-brilliant David Strathairn -- knows it will lead to his own downfall. It's time, ladies and gentlemen, for the final chapter in the Jason Bourne trilogy, even if it's not the end of the Bourne series. Jason finally works to dig up where he came from, no matter how ugly it is, and come to terms with it. It's a great film and an awesome end to this trilogy, even if the jiggly monkey cam does make people literally vomit in the aisles. Listen in as we -- Pete Wright and Andy Nelson -- talk about it this week on Rash Pixel's "Movies We Like!" We chat about Jason Bourne's and Matt Damon's character growth/performance over the course of these three films and how it matures. We discuss the nature of the camerawork and how it seems to get progressively shakier as the series progresses. We discuss the top notch editing and stuntwork in this film. And we talk about its place in the Bourne franchise. We have a great time discussing this film as we lead up to the release of The Bourne Legacy. Join us!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

The Bourne Supremacy • The Next Reel Jul 26, 2012

Show notes

"Word in the ether was you'd lost your memory."
Jason Bourne's back, still trying to figure out his past as a government assassin while struggling to stay ahead of both the good and bad guys as they attempt to take him out. This week, we're covering the 2004 film, "The Bourne Supremacy", the second in the Bourne franchise. Paul Greengrass took over as director after Doug Liman's struggles with the studio brass on the first film, and he does a bang-up job -- quite literally, in fact. He brings a much more in-the-action style to the story, making it feel like you're in the fights with Jason Bourne. Or for some people, just making them nauseated -- there's a reason some people call this style "queasicam". Join us as we -- Pete Wright and Andy Nelson -- talk about the movie this week on Rash Pixel's "Movies We Like". We discuss the directing styles of Greengrass vs. Liman and the cohesiveness of the two styles in the series. We chat about the amazing stuntwork and how it really brings a level of reality to the story. We cover the amazing actors and performances in the film, as well as talk about the amazing crew who brought it all together. We talk more about Bourne versus Bond. We discuss the complicated plot twists in the overall story, even if they don't entirely work. And we also give props to a few people we forgot to mention in the last episode, other key players who helped make "The Bourne Identity" what it was. Listen in!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5640170/advertisement

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Next Reel Film Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected