Top 5 Actor-Director Duos We’d Like To See, The Smashing Machine Review

30:11The caption says, the hobbits when the Shire got a Zara. And it's hilarious because that's exactly what it looks like. It looks like the hobbits just, you know, the Shire just got a Zara. It just, it couldn't be, it's, it's worth Twitter was worth it just for, for that. Well, right. Just, just for a tweet like that. And I had to at least throw that out there because I think, I think Andrew Scott is that good. And he gave my favorite lead performance of 2023 and all of us strangers. And no, I didn't conceive this pairing because Farrell and Scott are both hunky Irishmen. And so I thought, why not just take his place?

30:55It's because in part of the connections between all of us strangers and Koganata's work, as we discussed a couple of shows ago when we were recommending A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey, generational tension between fathers and sons mainly and sons trying to come to terms with their identity. And I know people listening, a lot of people unfortunately didn't see All of Us Strangers, but trust me, if you didn't, that's very much what the film's about. Even what I said about Koganada inviting his characters to rediscover the familiar with fresh eyes. In Strangers, Andrew Scott's character Adam is opening up doors to his past, the literal doors to the home of his childhood.

31:38And he's interacting with his father and mother. Christ, you know who you remind me of? Who? You look just like my dad. Did he? I remember him anyway when I was a little girl. God, isn't that mad? It's like seeing you both exactly the same time. But really what it is is the heightened sensitivity that they both display. Koganada as a filmmaker, Andrew Scott as an actor. I've talked about Koganada as a maker of quiet cinema. It doesn't mean there's an absence of drama or there's an absence of stakes, but the volume with his movies always stays relatively low throughout his films. Characters don't shout.

32:31Characters don't have to shout. The situations don't have to be conventionally angsty or violent. And when I think of an actor who matches that quiet intensity, that subtle power, someone who does really understand, speaking of the stage, how to transfer what you do on the stage to the screen and acting for the camera. and how to bring it down, it's Andrew Scott. And he's checking off a couple of potential dream pairings for me this fall. Separate from Koganada, he's in Blue Moon. So Andrew Scott's working with Richard Linklater, one of my favorites. And he's also working with Rian Johnson. He's in Knives Out, Wake Up, Dead Man.

33:22But I want to see him potentially in a Koganada film. Yeah, I have not seen enough of Andrew Scott to make that bold claim about your best actor working today. But I have seen all of the strangers, which everything you said is spot on about his performance there. And it is a wonderful film if people haven't caught up with it. And yeah, I think you're right about that matching of sensibilities that that, you know, quietness, but inner drama that is still churning that you can detect. They do. They do share that in common. One is actor, one is filmmaker. All right. My number two, praised a lot on the show here and there.

34:02When I get the chance, Iowa Debrey, I think one of our most exciting young talents right now, and I still need to catch up with this year's Opus. I haven't heard great things about that one, but I'm still curious to see her in it. And I can testify to her years of stellar work, which is more dramatic than comic on the series The Bear. And of course, we did spend time on this. She absolutely crushed the semi-improvisational comedy of Bottoms, where she starred opposite Rachel Sennett. You're just so, you're skinny too as well. I'm Josie, by the way. Good evening. Yeah, you're skinny. You're a real skinny mini, aren't you?

34:47You probably should eat. I'm going to send you to the hospital how skinny you are. Uh-oh. Call the doctor. Skinny girl, I see. Now, in terms of where a talent like Adebri can go next, especially one who is maybe known mostly for comedy but has shown dramatic chops, dramatic potential, usually the path then is go the dramatic route, right? Is now get serious. That's where you get awards, that sort of stuff. And again, Adebri's work on The Bear has shown she can do that. That's great. She's fully capable. I'd be excited to see her in any drama, but she's such a comic genius that I don't want to see her leave that fully behind.

35:30So my director is someone who has proven themselves in comedy. Importantly, I think proven themselves in really smart comedy, and that's Janixa Bravo. Bravo made Lemon. That was her feature debut at Sundance, and I liked it well enough. It showed promise, but her follow-up was Zola. And Zola made my top 10 list of 2021. This was the wild quote-unquote adaptation of a Twitter thread that detailed this trip to Tampa that a waitress slash stripper made with another dancer she just met and two random men. It's a lot. It's very funny. Um, it's, it's the sort of fast motion, quick thinking, intelligent observational comedy that I think a debris could do really well.

36:24And I promise you, Adam, I thought of this pairing, had it down, put some notes together and then thought, you know, I got, I got to check the credits for all of them just to make sure if there's anything there I want to, I want to bring up. And sure enough, I saw that Bravo not only directed an episode of the bear in its most recent season, but she directed worms for listeners who watched the bear, which was a debris Sydney. Her character was the main focus of it. In fact, a debris co-wrote that episode. And to my mind, it's the best episode of the season. So, so yeah, there's, there's just more, more evidence that, um, their sensibilities match.

37:05I'd love to see them do a feature film together at some point. And that was season three, this last season. Yeah. I think, I think, is it four? I think it might be four now. Maybe four. Yeah. Season four episode worms. Okay. I think I am two seasons behind. I, I devoured one and two and then somehow got behind and I need to do some catching up. You know what? You could easily just jump ahead to worms and, and I mean, I'm a fan of the show, but there's, there's a little, there's some treading water we've been doing. Let me just say that. So if you've gotten that far, you could probably even watch Worms alone and appreciate it.

37:44Well, the director, who's part of my number two pairing, this will make sense, hopefully. This is the director who I was thinking about, who maybe I should have paired with Kiki Palmer to do the musical. Greta Gerwig. Greta Gerwig has directed three movies. My adoration for the first two has been well-documented here on the show. In case you weren't sure whether or not she's been focused to date on telling female-centered stories, the first one has lady in the title. The second has women in the title. And the third one is called Barbie. Greta, if you're listening, hi. I really don't need you to make a movie about a dude.

38:32But if you do, I want it to star Josh O 'Connor. Now, I might have had Josh O 'Connor and Kelly Reichert in this slot. Kelly Reichert, one of our best directors, who also predominantly tells stories about women. But we're going to get to see that pairing soon. The Mastermind comes out this month. And I was looking at some stills from the mastermind preparing for this list. It's set in the 70s, I think actually 1970. And he's a little scruffy, Josh, but he's still looking pretty sexy. And I realized this guy is Warren freaking Beatty. But if Warren Beatty trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School and was in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, he can play Romeo, but just as easily play the kind of dim American womanizer that he plays in Challengers.

39:28And he can play Prince Charles. I didn't watch The Crown, but I watched some scenes from The Crown, and his ability to make me feel total contempt and revulsion and sympathy, sometimes within the same sentence, playing someone who would appear to have as much humanity as my toaster is remarkable. You barely find it in yourselves to hug your own. I hug who I want to. I hug who I love, particularly when they are affected by the selfishness of others and need cheering up. Who are you referring to? Camilla. Why would I care about her? Because I care about her! Morning, noon, and night I care about her!

40:20And you've hurt her! there's an erudition to him that just that just seems like part of his his persona that that is so appropriate here's another match for gerwig's sophisticated sensibility but it works because it doesn't come at the expense of emotion and i i think there's a lack of pretension to both of them. There's an affability to both of them that goes with that erudition. And that comes through in their work. Anyway, I'm only referring to their work, though, of course, I've seen some interviews with both of them. And that affability also comes through there. Here's another case where I might have said Josh O 'Connor and Rian Johnson is a pairing I'd like to see.

41:06But I get to see Josh O 'Connor with Andrew Scott in a Rian Johnson film in Knives Out, Wake Up Dead Man. So Greta Gerwig was a lock for this list. It was just a matter of what, what actor or actress did I want to see work with her? And Josh O 'Connor ended up being the guy that I felt, I felt the best about. You've got me tantalized by the Kiki Palmer, Greta Gerwig musical. I'll just say that, but at the same time, let's keep the Josh O 'Connor love going because I thought this might happen. him. I want to see him paired with anyone. As a matter of fact, it's my number one choice here. He is the actor I went with, and I'll put off the director just a little bit here, talk a little bit more about O 'Connor.

41:57Because I think for my list, at least, he's probably, aside from Del Toro, of course, the newcomers, the relatively new actors, proven the most. As you said, Prince Charles on The Crown, totally same experience, Adam, when Debbie and I, were watching that is like, here was my attitude is man, what sucker got stuck playing Charles? Yeah. And then you're like, Oh, um, Charles is interesting. Like I want to know about his life and his story. And the writing had some of that to do with that, but it was O 'Connor. Absolutely. Um, you know, he popped in autumn DeWild's Emma where he played Mr. Elton.

42:37That's, that's the one with Anya Taylor-Joy. Yes, incredible in Challengers. I still, you know, here I'm going to come off as a fake fan. I haven't seen Locke Chimera yet, though I know people love him in that. I did see recently History of Sound, largely because of him. I praised it largely because of him. That is the recent period picture where he stars opposite Paul Meskel. And like Meskel, Josh O 'Connor even sings. Oh, who is this that sits on my grave and will not let me sleep? So you mentioned the titles coming up for him. The Mastermind with Kelly Reichert, Wake Up Dead Man for Rian Johnson.

43:25O 'Connor is in both of those. and I think probably what I'm waiting for, and maybe he's done it and I haven't seen it, haven't seen everything he's done, but again, is this knockout lead performance in a movie anchored around him. Maybe Mastermind will be that. I might've leaned towards Reichert as a person to pair him with, actually, if I didn't know they were already working together. So I'm thinking along these lines and, um, intrigued by the Gerwig possibility. I think that could work out great. I went with Jane Campion, another director known primarily, but not exclusively for telling stories about women, featuring women as main characters.

44:17Intriguingly, I think the film that made me think about her for O 'Connor was her most recent one, which was anchored around, I would say, a male character. And that was The Power of the Dog, Benedict Cumberbatch, playing the main role there. The Power of the Dog, my number one film of 2021. And there's no reason, Adam, that needs to be Jane Campion's Swan Song. I mean, it would be a great film to, you know, sort of do other things after or retire, but you know, what would be greater? Get another grand work from Jane Campion. One anchored as so many of her movies are around a great performance.

44:57And I can, I can easily imagine, just think about the power of the dog and the way you were even describing some of O 'Connor's work, Adam. Can't you see him being just as good as Benedict Cumberbatch was a hundred percent? Yeah. That moral ambiguity Riguity. And physically, they're similar too. So it's an easy fit to slide them in in your imagination. Yeah. I think he would have worked really well there. I'm sure Campion could put those qualities to good use in another story. So my number one dream pairing, Josh O 'Connor and Jane Campion. Okay. I would definitely buy a ticket for that as well.

45:34Let's hope that both of our pairings come to fruition. My number one. So here's the thing with our top fives, all top fives, not just this one. We're always trying to be idiosyncratic. Otherwise, what's the point? There's no point to a top five if we're trying to hit some kind of right answer or some kind of prescribed choice. but maybe and occasionally this is true sometimes there might just be a right answer josh and part of engaging in this little fantasy that this is this entire exercise maybe we are manifesting maybe we can manifest maybe we can help make this happen and my number one it turns out could very likely happen.

46:28I didn't know this when I put it down on paper, but then I started Googling because I thought, well, wait, this seems likely. Has this been talked about? And sure enough, it could happen because these two giants are currently circling each other. Now, of course, we know how things work in the movie business. This does not mean it will happen. It's not a lock. No one has agreed to anything. They're not even talking about an exact or specific project at this point, but they have talked about each other. Who are they? They are Denzel Washington and the man who partly inspired this top five, Paul Thomas Anderson.

47:16Paul Thomas Anderson has probably earned the mantle of my favorite, both my favorite and best American filmmaker not named Martin Scorsese. And when you look at the list of the great American actors he's worked with, but also just the great American actors, at least of the last 25 to 35 years, Josh, they're the names that comprised most of our picks when we did that draft of the best actors of the last 25 years. philip seymour hoffman joaquin phoenix daniel day lewis now leonardo dicaprio who hasn't he worked with from that list the actor that i took before dicaprio when we did that draft denzel washington i said this very well could happen not surprisingly yeah they're on the record as wanting to work together washington was asked in an interview last november when he was promoting Gladiator 2, who he still wants to work with before he retires.

48:18And he said this, I'm only interested in working with the best. So I got Ryan Coogler I've been talking with, talked with him last night, had a two-hour conversation with Steve McQueen, had a great conversation, but I'm not making a film with him yet with Paul Thomas Anderson. That's the level I'm talking about people that inspire me. PTA just last month was asked about the actors he's dying to work with. And he said, Denzel, there's a white whale right there. The power, the scale of his movie star power and range. That's very exciting to think about working with. He then added one more name and it's an actress.

48:57No one who's been mentioned so far. I won't ask you to guess because I don't think in a million years you'd come up with it, but it will make sense when you hear it. The second name he mentioned was Olivia Colman. Oh gosh. Yeah. How good would that be? Olivia Colman, she's an absolute powerhouse. She should have been on our list. Yeah, he's right. But Denzel, yes, they both know it. They both know that they need to work together. We all know that they need to work together. I don't know how PTA finishes telling, whenever he finishes telling it, this crazy American experience without harnessing that force, the force that is Denzel Washington.

49:36Washington nobody questions his his gravitas but something we talked about with one battle after another and you use the right word the puncturing that Paul Thomas Anderson likes to do and that absurd sandbox that he likes to always play in I'm not suggesting that Denzel had anything to prove to us at at this point when gladiator 2 came out especially because I think he's always shown a wicked sense of humor or this year with highest to lowest, but certainly after Gladiator 2 and highest to lowest this year, his playfulness, his willingness to take risks cannot be questioned. You wish my loyalty.

50:19I own your house. I want your loyalty. With age, I feel like he's only gotten bolder. He hasn't retreated inward. He hasn't gotten safer at all as he's about to turn or maybe has recently turned 70. And I also, I want to be fair to this esteemed actor, because when I reference Gladiator 2, I think we all, what comes to mind are the scenery chewing scenes or how bizarre he acts in some moments. And there are big moments. that's some of the playfulness and the risk taking that i'm referring to but i'm also thinking of the subtle weight that he gives scenes that gravitas that he brings to scenes like the one in the depths of the coliseum josh when he when he dispels for paul mescal's lucius the myth of the dream of rome the greatest temple rome ever builds the coliseum because this is what they believe in power.

51:25They gather here to watch the strong strike down the week. There has to be something else. There is nothing else. There has to be another road. There is no other room. The dream, the dream of Rome. It's an old man's fantasy. That's just classic Denzel Washington, who is barely raising his voice above a whisper in that scene. And he is crushing the spirit of Meskel's character in that scene. We deserve this. We as a people, we as a nation, we, we deserve Denzel Washington and Paul Thomas Anderson making a film together. We need it. It's a compelling thought experiment because I would place Denzel, you know, if there's, if there's the trajectory from star to actor, which isn't entirely fair, but let's just say that's a continuum.

52:19I would place Denzel more towards Starr and I would place someone like Daniel Day-Lewis more towards actor. Yet I can see Denzel Washington, it would be a very different experience, but crushing the role of Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. And that speaks to the American story aspect that I think Denzel Washington is capable and in a lot of his films has been investigating and that there will be blood absolutely investigates, but there's the stature and the power that that role requires Denzel has. That doesn't mean their pairing would look like that. It might look like something more along the lines of what you were referencing with the lightness and the absurdity.

53:03It could absolutely go that direction too, but there's a lot of absurdity in Daniel Plainview. But yeah, I think this could work. So the variety term, they're circling each other. That's exciting. Yeah. And I think we have to acknowledge going back to where we started at the very beginning of this show. You mentioned Daniel Plainview. And I don't know if you were specifically speaking of that character or a character like that. Obviously, Denzel Washington, he wouldn't play it the same way as Daniel Day-Lewis, but he could play a character. He could play a character of that stature. He couldn't play Daniel Plainview because as a black man, he couldn't play that character.

53:44Right. But that that's that's where I'm going with this in light of the discourse around one battle after another. Denzel Washington playing the lead character in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie begs the question of what would that Paul Thomas Anderson movie? What's the story? What would the story be? I'm talking about the American experience. I think Paul Thomas Anderson is one of our great chroniclers in any medium of the American experience. And he tells it in an expansive way because of the periods that he covers. But he is very clearly not, even though he is touching on it in one battle after another, he's very clearly not telling the black American experience.

54:25And what might that be? Would it be that if he cast Denzel Washington in his next movie? That would have to be part of the speculation if we were really bringing this fantasy to life. And I suppose I would like to see that, but that would also raise all sorts of interesting questions about whether or not he has the right to write and direct that story. Whether or not we want to see that story from him. Yeah, then you're talking about you're going to have to bring in other collaborators as well to make it a story that can meet the demands, that can make it a movie that meets the demands of that sort of story.

55:13Do you have any honorable mentions or any other picks that you'd like to throw in, Josh? You know, for my honorable mentions, it's mostly the actors that I wanted to get to, though I did not have Olivia Colman. And your mention of her makes me think she should have maybe been one of my five. So I was thinking of the likes of Dev Patel, Rachel Sennett, Austin Butler, Kiki Palmer was one I would had hoped to get to, Stephen Young, and then Mike Feist, joshua connor's challengers partner um i i wanted to maybe get a pairing with him here's a pairing i actually did have as an honorable mention so maybe my number six you could say but sandra hula from uh tony erdman and anatomy of a fall of course i thought it might be fun to have yorgos lanthimos take a break from emma stone and work with someone who might bring him back a little bit closer to reality.

56:13Um, you know, the, the, the fantasias he and Stone have been exploring, um, have been interesting. Um, and I do wonder if we could, you know, if, if that might be an era or a, a period of filmmaking, um, he could set aside with someone like Sandra Hula, who has just the inscrutability, the bravery, just a lot of the qualities that I think make things like Dogtooth, an early Lanthymouse film, really work and maybe get back to that sort of tone for him. I didn't have any other pairings. It was enough work to come up with this top five, but I did want to find a pair, a partner for Juliette Binoche.

57:01I wanted to find a partner for Adam Driver. I wanted to find a partner for Oscar Isaac. But they didn't quite make the cut. I'll close with this quick one from Scott G. in Skokie, Illinois. Among actors and directors whom have not yet worked together, one specific pairing stands out to me, Amy Adams and Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino has spoken frequently about his desire to only make one more feature film before segueing into writing books about film and other endeavors. I would hate for Adams, who has been a favorite of mine for at least 20 years, to miss the opportunity to really let it rip with Quentin's dialogue.

57:37Actually, there are a number of actors, probably a hundred, who I think would shine brightly under Tarantino's guidance, but Adams tops my personal list. So another manifesting one. Get Tarantino back out of semi-retirement via this list. I like it. Those are the top five actor director combos we'd like to see. You can view that list over at filmspotting.net. Just click on lists. We would love to hear your picks or any other comments about the show. You can email us feedback at filmspotting.net. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. Break through the busiest time of year with the brand new Peloton cross training tread plus powered by Peloton IQ with real time guidance and endless ways to move.

58:21you can personalize your workouts and train with confidence, helping you reach your goals in less time. Let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, and go. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus at OnePeloton.com. Listening is the number one thing you can do to support an independently produced show like Film Spotting, but there are a couple of other things you could also do. You could take a minute to give us a rating or a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It doesn't matter if you've only been listening for a few shows or if you've been listening for 20 years. Every new review does help us reach new listeners.

58:58The most substantial way to support us, however, is to join the Film Spotting family. And you can do that at filmspottingfamily.com. We want to thank Family Plus member, that's the highest level you can join at, Adam Wiebe from Minnesota. Adam is on Letterboxd as many of our family members are if you would like to follow him just type in A-W-I-E-B-E 34 Adam writes I discovered the podcast while searching for movie pods to listen to I started listening at the same time that I discovered the bad movie podcast how did this get made that's Paul Scheer, June, Diane, Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas really fun show favorite review or segment the timing of this could not be better I swear I just and looking at this for the first time.

59:46And this is the God's honest truth. This morning, while getting ready for the day, I don't know why it popped into my head. I was thinking about, Josh, how few entries for Massacre Theater we have this week. The most recent edition. It's just brutal. And I was thinking once again about whether or not we should have the conversation about dumping Massacre Theater. And how every time I bring that up, people think people think I want to like I'm encouraging it and I don't want to get rid of it. But but nobody enters. And and here here Adam is saying, I love massacre theater. It's like it's like Sam, Adam, the universe knew that I needed reassurance.

1:00:35And this is, you know, here's the point. Adam may have never entered. It doesn't matter. This is what I always try to tell you is like the entries are not the measure. Some people may just like enjoy hearing us make asses of ourselves. That's as far as it goes for them. That's okay. I don't know. That's all right. I'm like a politician. I need the ballot box stuff. You need the votes. I need votes. What review did we get wrong? It's difficult to answer as I find that I frequently disagree with Adam. I tend to agree much more with Josh. now how about this letterbox top four no explanation he just sends in one of the wackiest letterbox top four we've ever seen it really is starts out perfectly normal et the extraterrestrial then we go to 1990s teenage mutant ninja turtles then the door in the floor the 2004 adaptation of john irving's 1998 novel a widow for one year starring Jeff Bridges, and 2017's The Endless, directed by Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson.

1:02:10Curious.

1:02:36The Door and the Floor.

1:02:41taught at the Iowa Writers Workshop. So of course I will be considering adaptations of John Irving's work, and there is one in Adam's Letterboxd Top Four. A favorite movie he revisited recently is The Witch. He credits E.T. with becoming a cinephile. A favorite book about movies is A Year at the Movies by Kevin Murphy, Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame. We thank Adam for joining the family and for all of those years of listening. In addition to keeping us what we're doing, your support comes with perks. You get to listen early and ad-free. You get the weekly newsletter. You get exclusive opportunities, including being part of the robust Film Spotting Family Discord.

1:03:24And yes, you do get monthly bonus episodes. I keep seeing this and keep saying this, and it reminds me that I have to get out the email soliciting topics for the October bonus that we will do. A family member gets to draft live to tape with me, you and producer Sam. It's coming up. We have to tape that in a few weeks. So I got to get the email out. That will be fun. We always love engaging on air, so to speak, with a family member, Josh. Yeah, we're a good weekend, October, Adam. So let's get moving on that. I'm delinquent. You can learn more at filmspottingfamily.com. A quick addendum to our Film Spotting family shout out.

1:04:06We wanted to give a congratulatory message to two very important family members, two very important friends of the show, Thomas Todd and Ashley McDonald Bennett. You've actually heard both of their names mentioned in recent years here on the show because Thomas Todd is our quiz master extraordinaire. And Ashley McDonald Bennett is the wonderful person who helped us put together Film Spotting Fest. Without her, that event would not have happened and would not have gone as smoothly as it did. So they've been very important parts of Film Spotting here. going back about five years. It was five years ago that Thomas Todd came up to us at the Music Box in Chicago, February 2020.

1:04:50You might recall this is right before the world shut down and changed forever. We were having a film spotting anniversary event, 15 years, watching Rio Bravo on the big screen there at the Music Box. And before we were in the lounge having a couple rinks. And this guy I'd never met before came up and introduced himself. And I thought it was crazy that he was driving across country. He was coming, I believe from the Bay area, definitely California. And he decided to stop through. He planned his trip so he could stop through and hang out with us in Chicago and then make his way to New York where he was moving.

1:05:28And a little while later, he emailed and pitched this idea of trivia. When everybody was on Zoom, he said, hey, maybe we can get together as a film spotting community. Have you ever thought about trivia? I do this. I regularly run pub style trivia, do these quizzes. Maybe we could give it a try. And we had a conversation and we thought it was a great idea. And here we are five years later, and we're still now doing these regularly with our film spotting family members. It's become a really, really important part of the show. He's become an important part of the show. And as I mentioned, Ashley has as well.

1:06:05And of course, that entire, you've heard us reference it, that entire trivia spotting mafia in New York has, has burgeoned around trivia spotting and Thomas. So we, we love that group and we love Thomas and Ashley. And I'm so excited that they're getting married. Have I mentioned that yet? Why am I talking about them? They're getting married this weekend. Yeah, that's what's happening. And I wish I could be there. We have so much going on, unfortunately, here in Iowa City right now, but I am so excited for them. Again, I really, really, really do wish I could have made the trip out there, but I'm really happy for them.

1:06:41I look forward to hearing all the stories about how the wedding and the reception went, and I look forward to many more years of working with them. So Thomas, Ashley, all my best. Congratulations. Probably looking at my eyes. How did that happen?

1:07:02Well, have you ever heard of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the UFC? That's the bloody thing they're trying to ban. This guy is the best he has ever seen. Do you hate each other when you fight? Absolutely not. The Smashing Machine is currently playing in wide release. It's the story of UFC fighter Mark Kerr, played by Dwayne Johnson. It's directed by Benny Safdie, half of the Safdie brothers, the directing team that made Uncut Gems and Good Time. Now, The Smashing Machine premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September. That's where Safdie won the Best Directing Prize. Adam, you caught up with the movie over the weekend, and maybe you're uniquely qualified at this moment to talk about it, not just as a movie, not just as a biopic, but, but as a sports movie, are you teaching an entire course on sports movies?

1:08:00Is it a section of another course or I know you're up to something like that. Yeah, I am. I am teaching a course and very much enjoying the course it's called sport and film. And hopefully that's the last time I'll mention that on the show, because I feel like I've mentioned it in passing three or four times and people are going to start taking shots every time I mentioned sport and film. I have a lot to say about it as a sports movie, and we're not in class, and I don't want to bore people with all of those thoughts. Here's what I'm going to say to you, Josh, about The Smashing Machine. I violated one of my own principles when I reviewed this movie, and it came back to haunt me.

1:08:46the reason why I don't do this thing ended up proving to be true and what I'm referring to is you know that I have a rule about not consuming the thing the source material first when I know I'm going to review a movie now if I have if it so happens that I read the book once and then it's turned into a movie, well then, okay, obviously I'm going to watch the movie. And if I have the movie or if I have the book in mind while I'm watching the movie, then that is what it is. I can't undo that, but I won't seek out the book just because it came out first and then watch the movie. I want to just experience the movie fresh and not compare them.

1:09:36We've talked about that before. Well, that includes anything that's the source material. If it's based on another movie, If it's based on another movie that happens to be a documentary, I don't want to know. I just want to take the movie as it is. But because of the sports movie class that I'm teaching and seeing a couple videos on my Instagram where Benny Safdie was talking about making this movie and what inspired it, my curiosity got the best of me. there's a documentary that that exists that's called the smashing machine i don't even know what year it's from and it's mark kerr's life and i managed to find it online and it's only like 75 or 80 minutes long and the reason i watched it wasn't just because i was so curious but just based on benny safty as a director and and some of the things that he was saying even though he wasn't necessarily referencing the documentary direct directly i was sure that that he was going to transform this material it gave me the sense that i could watch this documentary and it wouldn't in any way impact my experience watching the smashing machine 2025 in the theater except what I didn't count on, what I don't think I could have counted on is the smashing machine mirrors the original doc so closely.

1:11:14It's more reenactment than reinterpretation. It is as if Josh, the rock and Benny Safdie were so obsessed with, I was going to, I was going to make an analogy like playing in my cover band. Sometimes you want to cover a song, not because you like it so much and you want to reimagine it, reinterpret it for an audience. No, I want to cover it because I can't wait to play it just like the band plays it. I want to play the baseline just like that bass player plays it. That's the fun part. I want to play those notes. Exactly. That's what it seems like happened here. And not many people have seen this.

1:11:55It's really hard to find. I could only find it online, a link online somewhere. It's not like streaming or on demand. It's as if The Rock and Benny Safdie were so obsessed with this movie and Mark Kerr's life that they decided to reenact the documentary as a feature film. shoot the documentary, including mirroring its aesthetic, but with Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr and Emily Blunt as his girlfriend. And the entire time I was watching the film, Josh, all I could think about was that. All I could think about was, I can't believe they're recreating these scenes almost identically. I can't believe they took the dialogue straight from the documentary Right?

1:12:46Like, imagine that. It's not just another film. It's a documentary, so it's real life happening. And they just transcribed it. Do you want me to throw this out? Do you even have this? Use the skim milk, right? Yeah, skim milk in a glass of water. I switched to whole milk last week. Why didn't you tell me? I thought I told you. No, but you've got to tell me these things. I'm going to get it wrong if you don't tell me these things. It's all right. I'll just make another answer. Now, it does deviate in certain ways. but the only thing I guess I can say about the movie is that the ways that it does deviate I don't think are are interesting or justify the film and the experience of watching it for me I have no sense though of how I would really feel about the movie if I wasn't so aware of how closely aligned it is with the documentary.

1:13:39And the last thing I'll say is that what's also curious to me about the choice is that Safdie decides that he wants to make it a bit of a meta experiment. So the movie starts just like the documentary starts with not only the same scene, but with the square aspect ratio and a VHS aesthetic because it looks more like video like it was shot back when this documentary was shot. This all takes place back around Mark Kerr was fighting in the late 90s and early 2000s. So it looks like that. And that's how he shoots it. But then there's a point during the first match that we see where the aspect ratio widens out and it looks crisper and we realize, okay, now it's a feature film.

1:14:32Now it's a narrative film. It's not trying to be like a documentary. And there's also a meta element to the ending of the film that I won't spoil. So there's meta bookends to the movie. But Josh, once it goes from that documentary aesthetic at the beginning, the thing is it doesn't abandon the documentary aesthetic. It just looks better. the movie continues to try to be a documentary and i don't mean just in terms of recreating the original film and the scenes and the dialogue from it i mean it still tries to be in its form a documentary the camera is a handheld shaky camera itself as a documentary it's presenting itself as if he's he is going for a realist aesthetic a fly on the wall sort of cinema a verite aesthetic.

1:15:20So I, I really struggle. I really struggle to understand the, the exercise here. And it does feel to me, the cover band analogy is the best thing I can say. It feels to me. And I know that I know from something I saw in an Instagram video, that this was a project that the rock had been eyeing for a long time, that he was, he was really obsessed might be the right word with Mark Kerr's life. And Benny Safdie was obsessed once the rock showed it to him with being the guy who got to direct the rock in it. And he'd, he'd break out videos of it on his phone. And I just want, I don't, I don't want to speculate about these things, but to me, it almost feels like they, at least Benny Safdie maybe became so obsessed with it that he, it was about for him seeing how closely he could recreate it.

1:16:08And that, that, that isn't compelling for me as a viewer to watch how closely they recreated the documentary. Yeah. I was curious as you were talking, you know, where the project originated, my guess was going to be with Dwayne Johnson, just the way you're describing it. So that's, that is, you know, perhaps revealing. So you're, it's, you're not, it's not really a Gus Vincennes psycho situation unless it close in some ways. And unless on Safdie's part, the, it was the experiment of it that was more interesting than the final product, you know, which, which has been one defense of the Van Sant psycho.

1:16:47But yeah, I did not realize that, that either. And what a, what a strange movie this sounds like. And again, I imagine that most people, obviously most people coming to it didn't find this movie or didn't watch this movie. It's a small little documentary. And I suppose I can just recommend, don't do what I did. Don't seek it out. If you're going to watch The Smashing Machine, go to it fresh. Take it for what it is and see what experience you have with the movie. But then I would recommend watching the documentary. Of the two, I prefer the documentary. I think it's more interesting to just take it as real life rather than a narrative film recreating real life.

1:17:27Sure. That's my take. The Smashing Machine is currently playing in wide release. Next week on the show, we are planning to do, boy, I'd love another week, But right now we're planning to do our Robert Redford tribute. And this morning, producer Sam asked me, how are we doing this again? Are we are we doing scenes or performances or movies? Because we talked about this two or three weeks ago in a production meeting. And I said, you know what? I'm not sure Josh and I can talk about it on air. And that's what we're going to do now, Josh, because I think you know what we're doing. So why don't you tell me and our audience what we're doing?

1:18:06I mean, I know what I'm doing and I'm just, I'm just making the biggest tent. I'm, I'm making the biggest tent so you can do whatever you want to do. I think it makes sense given Redford's, you know, lengthy career, not only as an actor, but as a director and a, you know, a film festival producer like this. This is almost like if you think about a sports hall of fame, a lot of times they'll consider not just their on-field or on-court accomplishments, but other things they contributed to the field of that sport. And Redford is something similar. Now, that doesn't mean one of my five picks is going to be as founder of the Sundance Film Festival.

1:18:43I'm not going to go that far afield. But I think I am going to try to find a place for a directorial effort. I've been able to do a little bit of homework. and I wouldn't say it's shaken up where completely where I thought I was going to go, but there may be a surprising pick in there for me that I wouldn't have expected. So yeah, I just think it makes sense again to like, if one of us wants to hone in only on acting, I think that's completely fair and just say, listen, the guy did a lot of good stuff as a director, but he's, he should be known as an actor. Like he, that's what we should remember him as i think that's completely valid so yeah i i i don't think there's too much concern about a lot of overlap because i've been able to do a little homework and i know that was one thing we were worried about is he does have as our poll question will reveal yes when we get to that two incredibly iconic performances it's hard to ignore um we probably either of us will probably ignore either of those, but I think that still leaves room for a variety on our lists.

1:19:48Potentially. I haven't started to form my list yet. As I said during our top five earlier, there are some lists where maybe there are just right answers. And at least with my list, I may feel like there are some right answers. I don't know how idiosyncratic I'm going to get. The bottom line is, it sounds like what you're saying, Josh, is we're not going with scenes and we're not going with performances. We are going with movie titles. I think that gives us the most freedom. Okay. I will, I will follow your lead on that. I can produce that top five. We would love your feedback, your suggestions, your favorite Robert Redford titles, but you can also send us performances or scenes.

1:20:32We might mention it during the top five feedback at filmspotting.net. We may share other feedback as well, and we will play Massacre Theater if I haven't decided to end that segment by that time. Boy, you listeners better enter. Just send in all those wrong suggestions. Just whatever title comes into your mind. Wrong entries count. Send it in to make Adam happy. There you go. For a current show schedule, filmspotting.net slash episodes. Well, speaking of all the conversation around one battle after another, which we mentioned at the top of the show, Adam, part of that conversation is taking place right now on our sister podcast, The Next Picture Show, looking at cinemas present via its past.

1:21:17They are, yes, going to consider one battle after another, but only after first looking at Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty. And you started our conversation, Adam, by mentioning this was one of the films that Paul Thomas Anderson explicitly referenced as inspiration and influence, at least an influence on one battle after another. So they're going to dig into that further on the next picture show. New episodes drop every Tuesday, and you can find them wherever you get your podcasts. One more plug for the fourth annual Refocus Film Festival celebrating the art of adaptation. I would have liked more adaptation in The Smashing Machine this weekend, October 9th through the 12th.

1:22:02So if you're hearing this, the show drops the podcast version, of course, Friday at midnight. So it's possible you're hearing this before Michael Phillips and I decide to share our top five films adapted from Iowa writers. But more likely, it's already happened. That doesn't mean you have to miss out on all the fun of the Refocus Film Festival. And if you want to come out, Iowa City is a great time. And film scene is amazing. Josh, you've been there. You've participated in one of those top fives. The festival is great. I can plug both, Adam. The fest was great, but Iowa City, like really lovely town to visit, especially this time of year.

1:22:45That was my first time there and thoroughly enjoyed it. So yeah, get out there for the fest and for the city as well. more information at refocusfilmfestival.org you may just see you probably will see myself and Michael Phillips hanging around also coming very soon speaking of festivals the 61st annual Chicago International Film Festival it runs October 15th through the 26th we will have a preview of the fest on next week's show for tickets and more information chicagofilmfestival.com and one of the highlights of the festival not in terms of the programming but ancillary to the film festival the Criterion collection Josh, they have the Criterion mobile closet just like Toronto is dropping in I may or may not be lucky enough to have a slot at the Criterion mobile closet And I am already stressing out about how I'm going to approach it, what my picks are going to be.

1:23:54But this might break you. It might break me. Stay tuned to the FilmSpotting Instagram, the FilmSpotting Facebook. I'm going to shoot it. I'm going to put it out there. It'll be fun. Wow. Incredible. Good luck. Yeah. Thank you. I'm jealous and at the same time a bit relieved that I don't have to take all that on. love the festival go every year but a little hard for me this year being in scotland yeah again chicagofilmfestival.com for more information good morning morning what would you What would you like to order?

1:24:35A Welsh rare bit.

1:24:41With a poached egg on top, please. Not too runny. And bacon. Scones. Butter. Cream. Jam. Not strawberry. agree it's time for some deeply flawed film spotting poll results a couple of weeks ago we asked you to choose one and only one paul thomas anderson decade the options were we'll go in order here the 90s that includes heartache boogie nights magnolia the 2000s punch drunk love There Will Be Blood, or the 2010s, The Master, Inherent Vice, Phantom Thread. Josh, how did it come out? You know what? The results went chronological as well. The 90s were in third place with 29%. The 2000s received 34 % for second place, and the 2010s took this poll.

1:25:43It was close, 38%. 100%. I'm a little surprised just given the stature that people talk about there will be blood, that that wasn't enough to put it over the top and that the master inherent vice and phantom threat as a trio managed to take this ball. I'm delighted. That's where my vote went. But, but yeah, a little bit surprised. I know that there are fans out there of Inherent Vice. I mean, I'm one of them, but I wouldn't put it above maybe three or four of the films, at least on this list. I was going to ask you, Josh, whether or not Phantom Thread was maybe the film that put the 2010s as a decade over the list.

1:26:23But I don't have to ask you. I can go right to the feedback from our listeners. Here's Alex Torres. Sam has really outdone himself with this one. But then again, I should blame Paul Thomas Anderson for having such an incredible filmography. Maybe it's the evolution of his output, or maybe he's just that darn talented, but it's hard to identify a peak in his career. He hasn't made a weak film, and my favorites are fairly spread out. Do I go with the cocaine energy of Boogie Nights and Magnolia? How about the more demure and mature filmmaking of Phantom Threat and The Master? I want to defy Sam and save all of these films.

1:26:54Yes, you should always defy Sam. But if I have to pick, I think Anderson's 2000s film are an incredible bridge between the two poles of his evolution as a filmmaker. There Will Be Blood was my PTA entry point, and its status as a great American film makes it hard to put in the incinerator. More importantly, though, Punch Drunk Love is my favorite Anderson film, capturing pure romance through his unique cinematic lens. So Alex, going against the grain, going with the 2000s. All right, here's Jonathan Anderson in Denver. On my last rewatch of all of PTA's films, I found myself less interested in the 90s output.

1:27:31That's not to say that Boogie Nights and Magnolia aren't impressive and packed full of great stuff, but Punch Drunk Love is the moment when I feel like PTA came of age as a filmmaker. And There Will Be Blood is still his masterpiece and one of the greatest films of all time. Okay, here's Jeffrey Overstreet. I can't cope with the thought of throwing Philip Seymour Hoffman's Phil Parma or Daniel Day-Lewis' Reynolds Woodcock into an incinerator. But then I can't imagine living in a world where I can no longer revisit the singular wonder of Barry and Lena's love story. Or Daniel Plainview's harrowing plunge into America's heart of darkness?

1:28:04Okay, I'm casting my vote for the 2000s. That's my final answer. Don't argue. I have a competition in me. I want no other PTA decade to succeed. Still, this poll caused me such emotional distress that I beat up the bathroom. I'm sorry. I'm going to go out of town. I'm going to go out of town for two days. Don't tell my sisters. All right. One more comment here from Henry Murphy. After seeing one battle after another, and given how much I love licorice pizza, I think I'm already willing to call my shot and give my vote to the unlisted. This poll is deeply flawed after all option of the 2020s. PTA is two most recent efforts are so great that I'll throw the rest in the incinerator and put my chips on whatever he's got in store for us in the next four years.

1:28:47You know, Henry, maybe not a bad bet, actually. Maybe not. I guess all the votes for the 2010s, they just spoke for themselves. We got no feedback there supporting it, or maybe Sam just didn't think it was interesting enough. No offense to everyone who wrote in. Thank you to everyone who wrote in. It is now time for a new deeply flawed poll. As we mentioned, we plan to honor the passing of Robert Redford on next week's show. So with that in mind, we're asking you, what is the definitive Robert Redford performance? And we kicked this around a little bit and we ultimately decided that the least deeply flawed options seem to be to just keep it simple, Josh.

1:29:30Yeah, let's let's make the two that come to everyone's mind first duke it out. So two options. You have to choose one. Is it going to be Bob Woodward and all the president's men or the Sundance kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid? I mean, are we going to do other? Should we let him do other two? You know, it's a it's a great thought. I'm going to open up the poll. Mechanism right now to see if Sam gave them that option, because, yeah, it looks like he did give them other. I don't know that I would have. I don't know that I would have. And actually, you know what? The newsletter hasn't gone out yet.

1:30:08So let's, we can override Sam. I mean, it would make it more deeply flawed. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You, I'm not getting into this. You can override Sam. Hey, it's two out of three. It's a democracy here, right? We could make it more deeply flawed by leaving in other, or we could keep it, we could keep it more perfect by just, just putting those two. What, what do you actually think is the best poll? Let's, let's put it that way. I think the best pull is to force people to choose. Don't give them any wiggle room. Polls are about pain. And that's a film spotting mug. Way to inflict the most pain in this instance is to remove other.

1:30:52I agree with you. And that's what we're going to do. I can, I can control the polls and if Sam wants to fight with us, he can. So that's what we're going with. It's Bob Woodward or it's the Sundance Kid, Bob or Butch. That's it. Now, I suppose you can be mad that you can't write in Johnny Hooker in The Sting or Joseph Turner in Three Days of the Condor or Bill McKay in The Candidate. There's no way any of those three are as good as Bob or Butch, but that's fine. There are lots of good options to consider. Maybe some of them will come up in our Robert Redford Top 5 next week. You can vote in that poll and leave a comment.

1:31:31your comment you could yell at us for changing sam's poll we'll probably get a lot of that we probably will we will share your results and your feedback in a couple of weeks speaking of feedback we recently had a very fun top five here's where we try to get back in sam's good graces a recent top five was all his doing and it was so much fun for both of us to put together and so much fun for our listeners based on their feedback to hear and respond to. It was the five movies, five years, top five. Effectively, kind of a desert island top five movies, but the catch was they all had to come from the same five-year span.

1:32:17And if you haven't heard that top five from, I don't know, what was it, three or four shows ago, we took pretty different approaches. You took a more serious approach, maybe a more cinephile approach, but movies you genuinely do love, personal favorites. You went back, what was it? Was it 51 to 55? Yeah, that sounds right. 51 to 55. Yeah. And I went back more based on nostalgia, movies that were the films that got me to fall in love with movies in the first place, even though obviously I wasn't a quote unquote cinephile at that point, 1979 to 1983. Here's some of the feedback we got. And Josh, if you would like, you can do the honors, starting us off with Michael in Kiel, Germany.

1:33:07Michael says a little bit late, but here's my five desert island movies from a five-year period. This was quite easy for me. I just sorted my IMDB ratings by best rating and looked at the top spots and no surprises. here, I guess my teenage years when I became a cinephile emerged as the period that has most of my favorite movies. So this is my list in chronological order. Fight Club, 1999, Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Nemo, and Shaun of the Dead. Those last three all came out in 2004. A bit too mainstream, Michael says, Maybe, but these are the films that I can watch over and over.

1:33:48Didn't even need 02 or 03. Three from 04. How about that? Yep. Okay. Here's Frederick from Norway. My quick top five was put together by looking at my year-end top 10 list on Letterboxd, sorted chronologically, which reminds me I have yet to thank you for turning me on to this invaluable resource that I had somehow ignored, dismissed for way too long. I quickly realized this was an impossible task, and to avoid spending my entire afternoon, I started in 1999, one of my favorite years in movies, and maybe, maybe not coincidentally, the year the world of R-rated movies became available to me. Magnolia, Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, The Iron Giant, some of my favorites from that year.

1:34:27Scanning up and down the years surrounding this, I landed on 1998 to 2002 with the following five films. Number five, Adaptation. I love Kaufman and his films from the early 2000s were formative in my early days as a cinephile, and he continues to blow me away with such recent work, such as I'm Thinking of Ending Things. That was probably my favorite film of 2020. Number four, Magnolia. Still my favorite PTA, though I admittedly have some blind spots. Number three, Memento. I remain steadfast in my opinion that this is one of the greatest nonlinear films of all time. Number two, The Big Lebowski.

1:35:01Desert Island incinerator rules apply, so I want to be able to laugh my ass off at something. and number one, spirited away. Miyazaki magic, what else is there to say? As always, keep up the good work, and I hope you are settling in nicely in Scotland, Josh. Thank you, Frederick, and I like that process. Picking one of the great movie years and working out from that makes a lot of sense. Here is Jack Dithart from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I sent in a five years, five movies list to you. It was very close to Adam's list based on comfort movies from the 1980s. I'd like to revise my list to include French films, including The New Wave.

1:35:41Okay, updated list from Jack. Here it is. From 1958 to 1962. 1958, Mon Uncle by Jacques Tati. I've seen this half a dozen times, and it is also a comfort movie. 1959, Some Like It Hot. Like Josh, I appreciate 1950s Marilyn, but I don't need a musical. 1960, he's going with Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. 1960, Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard. When I finally saw this, I saw Quentin Tarantino's Inspiration. So great to rewatch the conversation, the editing cuts, the stylishness, and still in black and white. This is a new movie, but it was made 65 years ago. I can watch it again and again. Final pick from Jack comes from 1962.

1:36:27Cleo from 5 to 7 by Agnes Varda. Another French new wave movie. And this one inspired Before Sunrise. And this one ends with a shock heralding an era of shock endings, including Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate Easy Rider, Vanishing Point, and Night of the Living Dead. Thanks so much for suggesting this list. I really had fun making several of them. That is a great list. We go to Jason Carey in New York State. The years, 61 to 65. 1961, Yojimbo. 62, Jules. Jules and Jim. 63, here's some more Hitchcock, The Birds. 64, Antonioni's Red Desert. Okay, that's an outlier choice. And 65, a different Godard film and a bit of an outlier, but a good one, Alphaville.

1:37:14Yes, I'm being a bit offbeat, but come on, I could have made this a Godard list, so you're lucky I didn't do that. Malcolm Cook wrote in from Surrey, UK. Another great show this week with a discussion on Five Years, Five Movies, a particular highlight. Fascinating to see how your differing approaches led to such wildly different lists. You asked for listeners to send their own list, so I thought I'd chip in. I can see how for many people this would be a fiendishly complicated challenge to figure out, but for me it turned out to be extraordinarily easy. My chosen time frame, 2004 to 2008, comprises these films in chronological order.

1:37:52Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Inland Empire The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Synecdoche, New York I've Loved You So Long I'm sure that you won't get any other lists that look like this, but I think it has a nice balance Some darkness, some levity, some experimentalism, some exquisite beauty I'll admit that I'm missing some laughs, but you can't have everything I have to admit that my chosen time frame of 2004 to 2008 directly coincides with the period when I was really becoming a fully-fledged cinephile. So perhaps this is part of the reason why these picks hold such a special place in my heart.

1:38:27Great work, as always, with the show, guys. We really appreciate your efforts. Thank you very much, Malcolm. Synecdoche, Diving Bell, and Eternal Sunshine, those are three movies that I do absolutely adore. So no arguments from me there, Malcolm. Kyle Krishy says, I heard the honorable mention about the 1990s, and that was immediately where my mind went reading the question originally. Maybe I went that way because I was born in the 90s, but after looking at other runs, I think I would still go 1993 to 1997. 93, Three Colors Blue, one of my all-time faves. 94, Pulp Fiction. 95, Heat. We've covered a lot of bases already in just three years.

1:39:0796, Breaking the Waves, my favorite movie from my favorite movie-making sicko, Lars. 1997 Boogie Nights Thinking Desert Island style This covers a ton of moods All have incredible rewatchability Save for waves Unless getting hurt is your thing And it's full of heavyweight directors and actors Binoche Pacino Watson Skarsgård Seymour Hoffman Julianne Moore PTA Tarantino The list just keeps going Only thing missing is some Sandler Because in this house We do not tolerate Sandler slander I'm glad I got that out I deserve a cookie or something Picking heat over Billy Madison nearly killed me, he says.

1:39:46Wow. Thank you, Kyle. You know, that interesting approach. I don't know if we or many people thought about it being actor-driven. You know, what actors do you need to retain? Right. So I like that. Thanks, Kyle. Here's Bill Van Zandt. Started working on this list the other day. Ended up with the same years, 1951 to 1955, and a couple of the same choices as Josh. I knew I had to have 1952 for Singing in the Rain. Probably my favorite of all time. And if I can only have five movies for the rest of my life, I need at least one that radiates pure joy. Can't wait to share it with my seven-year-old daughter.

1:40:23I'm double-dipping in 1952 because I also need Ikiru, my favorite Kurosawa and one I'm overdue to revisit. So, why 1951? Another personal favorite, Scrooge. Yes, I need a Christmas movie on my desert island. Alistair Sim is delightful and nails the redemptive nature of the material. The hilarious joy, there's that word again, he brings to the born-again Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the reasons I go back to this movie almost every holiday season. On the other end of the bracket, 1955's Ordet. I'm glad you didn't spoil the ending to a 70-year-old movie because people need to see it for themselves.

1:41:02So that leaves me with one choice from 1953 or 1954. Plenty of great candidates. More Kurosawa with Seven Samurai, Roman Holiday, Shane on the waterfront. I nearly went with Wages of Fear, but my final answer, 1954's Gohira, otherwise known here as the States as Godzilla. I get my 50s monster movie with fun practical effects, but also a film with far more chills, heartbreak, dare I say gravitas, than a guy stomping around in a rubber suit would normally engender. A thinly veiled lament for post-war Japan like Germany year zero with radioactive breath. And that roar haunts me like few other horror movie sounds.

1:41:44So there you go. Thanks for a fun topic. Yeah. Like I said, you can tell from the entries we got such a good batch of feedback. I think I even left. I know I left a few out. My apologies to those we didn't get to. It's always great when a top five does engender that much feedback. So we hope to get to more in the coming weeks. Hopefully our top five actor director combos will solicit some great feedback like that as well. Josh, we did it. That's our show. If you want to connect with us via social media, you can find Adam and the show on Instagram, Facebook, Letterboxd, and YouTube as Film Spotting.

1:42:24I'm at all those places as Larson on Film. We are independently produced and listener supported. you can support the show by joining the film spotting family. Do that at film spotting family.com. That way you can listen early and add free. You'll get a weekly newsletter, monthly bonus episodes and access to the entire show archive for show t-shirts and other merch. Go to film spotting.net slash shop. Those sensei figurines should be available by the time this airs. Yes. and the new film spotting mugs that say what? Polls should equal pain. Polls equal pain. Is that what you said? Polls equal pain.

1:43:02In the film spotting archive, you can find two interviews that I did with the Safdie brothers, one related to good time, episode 645, one for uncut gems. That's episode 757. Out streaming or available VOD this weekend, the Alabama Solution, an expose of one of America's deadliest prison systems conducted by inmates. This is directed by Charlotte Kaufman and Andrew Jarecki. He, of course, part of the team that did Capturing the Freedmans and the Jinx. That's on Max. John Candy, I Like Me. This is the documentary about the late comedian that's on Amazon Prime. In limited release, Orwell, 2 plus 2 equals 5, a documentary about George Orwell directed by Raoul Peck.

1:43:44That's at the Gene Siskel Film Center and at the Refocus Film Festival in Iowa City. In wide release, an adaptation of Kiss of the Spider-Woman, an adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the 1985 Oscar-winning film, which was itself adapted from the 76 novel of the same name, Diego Luna Stars with Jennifer Lopez. It's directed by Bill Condon. Roofman is out based on the true story of a former army ranger and escaped convict, Channing Tatum, who hides out in a Toys R Us and robs McDonald's restaurants via the roof of the title. good cast kirsten dunst with channing tatum lakeith stanfield and ben mendelson and it's directed by derek see in france tron aries is out this well it's a tron movie josh we had tron in 82 with jeff bridges we had tron legacy in 2010 with jeff bridges and others and tron aries apparently is the third one with how deep does your your tron commitment go adam i know you saw Tron 1982.

1:44:43I think, I think that was one of your five movie years considerations. Um, did you go much beyond that? No, I don't think I've ever seen it. You've never seen the original Tron? No, even though I'm sure it was on HBO all the time. And I, for some reason always went past it. And I don't know why I can't explain it. We need to plumb those depths. Are you a fan? Um, I think the 82 Tron, which, you know, I saw at that age, but I revisited it as an adult. I initially also also did like tron legacy but that's as far as it goes i i did i didn't see you know the other one and we'll see if i make it that's it tron aries is the third one josh you've seen it you need to finish the oh my gosh the triumvirate to be oh now i need to be a completist all right i'll get back to you i'll get back report back on tron aries jeff bridges is there also jared leto gretta lee jody turner smith gillian anderson come on you have to finish it I'll do what I can.

1:45:40I expect a letterboxd review and comments on the show next week. Well, we'll see if Josh is going to talk about Tron Aries. We otherwise are going to talk about Robert Redford with our top five, and we'll have a preview of the Chicago International Film Festival. Film Spotting is produced by Golden Joe DeSoe and Sam Van Halgren. Without Sam and Golden Joe, this show wouldn't go. Our production assistant, that's Sophie Kempinar. Special thanks to everyone at WBEZ Chicago. More information is available at WBEZ.org. For Film Spotting, I'm Josh Larson. And I'm Adam Kempinar. Thanks for listening. This conversation can serve no purpose anymore.

1:46:20Goodbye.

1:46:37film spotting is listener supported join the film spotting family at filmspottingfamily.com and get access to ad free episodes monthly bonus shows our weekly newsletter and for the first time all in one place, the entire Film Spotting archive going back to 2005. That's at filmspottingfamily.com.