The Next Best Picture Podcast

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 Disco...

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 Yo...

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...

"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...

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Pascal Pictures, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is intended to be the 38th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the fourth film in the MCU Spider-Man film series. The film is being directed by Destin Daniel Cretton ("Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings"), written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man alongside Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo. After...

Following our 501st episode of The Next Best Picture Podcast, we're back with a new episode of Mailbag Monday. Will Mavity and Sara Clements 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 it was on our X account or our Discord for our...

For Episode 501 of the Next Best Picture Podcast, I am joined by Sara Clements and Will Mavity. For this week's main topic, we're going over the recent announcements from Venice, TIFF, and NYFF for the upcoming fall film festivals, and we're going into more detail about which films we think will be announced for the Venice Film Festival later this week on July 23rd. For this week's NBP poll question, we're asking everyone for the release of "The Odyssey," "Which Is Your Favorite Matt Damon Performance?," and we reveal the winner of last week's NBP poll, also tied to "The Odysse...

For this week's main podcast review, Lauren LaMagna, Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, Giovanni Lago and Brendan Hodges join me for the first time on video to review and discuss the latest cinematic event from Christopher Nolan, "The Odyssey" starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Bill Irwin, Himesh Patel, Corey Hawkins, Mia Goth, Logan Marshall-Green, Travis Scott, Eliott Page & James Remar. An adaptation and production that represents everything as big as movies can get in 2026, Nolan's telling of Homer's epic poem has generated a...

Logan Marshall-Green is a very respected actor who has been working for over twenty years in some of your favorite movies and television shows including "The O.C.," "Devil," "24," "Prometheus," "The Invitation," "Quarry," "Upgrade," "When They See Us," "Carry-On," "Marshals" and now, Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey." Marshall-Green was gracious enough to lend us an hour of his time as he came into the studio and spoke with us about these projects, his theater upbringing, working with Tom Holland on "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and now on "The Odyssey," his thoughts on A.I., whether or not he will direct again after...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture With the release of Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" arriving in theaters, our 2008 retrospective revisits his comic book action film that not only re-defined the genre, but changed the whole industry up until the Oscar nominations where it forced the Academy to expand the Best Picture lineup for the first time in decades, "The Dark Knight," starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, A...

Following our historic 500th episode of The Next Best Picture Podcast, we're excited to launch the very first edition of our new weekly companion show, Mailbag Monday! Josh Parham, Megan Lachinski, Will Mavity, Amy Kim, and Tom O'Brien join me in this new series is 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 gives us the opportunity to engage more directly with all of you every week. Thank you to eve...

For Next Best Picture's historic 500th episode, I am joined for the first time ever on video by Josh Parham, Megan Lachinski, Will Mavity, Amy Kim, and Tom O'Brien. It's a new era for NBP, and the show you've loved in audio form for the last nearly ten years is continuing to evolve as well. For this week's main topic, we're giving you our predictions for which film festivals we feel upcoming Oscar contenders will premiere at. For this week's NBP poll question, we're asking everyone for the highly anticipated release of Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," "Which Is Your Favori...

For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Daniel Howat, Ema Sasic, and Tom O'Brien join me to review and discuss the Disney live-action remake of 2016's "Moana" also titled "Moana" starring Dwayne Johnson, Rena Owen, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Jemaine Clement, and Catherine Laga'aia. Arriving only two years after "Moana 2," this is another cash-grab by Disney to capitalize on the popularity of one of their most recent properties, propelled mainly by its leading star. We all know it. We all see it. But is that enough to detract from what many of us considered to be a pretty great...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL EPISODE. Please check out the full podcast episode on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture The Next Best Series Podcast returns as Ema Sasic, Nadia Dalimonte, and Amy Kim join me to discuss our reactions to the 2026 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Recorded later that evening (after our morning live reactions were recorded), we watched as "Hacks" made history, "The Pitt" led, "Beef" continued to dominate, but "Widow's Bay," "Pluribus," and "DTF St. Louis" are right on their heels, looking to upse...

"Night Nurse" is a 2026 American erotic thriller film written, produced, and directed by Georgia Bernstein, starring Cemre Paksoy, Bruce McKenzie, Eleonore Hendricks, Colleen Rose Trundy, and Mimi Rogers. It follows a starry-eyed nurse who becomes entangled with a mysterious patient when a series of perverse scam calls unsettles an idyllic retirement community. The film had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews. Bernstein was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the f...

For Episode 499, I am joined by Cody Dericks, Dan Bayer, Giovanni Lago, and Ben Langford to bring you our first Oscar nomination predictions for the 2026-2027 awards season (for the first time, powered by Award Expert). For this week's poll question, we're asking everyone for the first time this season: "Which Film Do You Think Will Be The Next Best Picture Oscar Winner?" and we reveal the winner of last week's poll tied to the topic of last week's show, "Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To From The Rest Of 2026?" We also share our reactions to lots of trailers fo...

For this week's main podcast review, Katie Johnson, Josh Parham, and Dan Bayer join me to review and discuss the newest film from Olivia Wilde, "The Invite," starring Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton. The independent film premiered at the Eccles Theater as part of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews from critics for Wilde's direction, the screenplay by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, and the performances of the four actors, and was later picked up by A24. A chamber-piece comedy-drama driven by its characters and the relationships at its center, it is a lay...

"Minions & Monsters" is a 2026 American animated comedy film directed by Pierre Coffin and written by Coffin and Brian Lynch. Produced by Illumination, it is the third installment in the "Minions" prequel series and the seventh installment overall in the "Despicable Me" franchise. The film stars Coffin as the Minions, alongside Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, and Phil LaMarr. Taking place in 1927, 41 years before the events of "Minions" (2015), the film follows the Minions as they aim to make a monster movie of their own in Old Hollywood. The film has received...

THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL EPISODE. Please check out the full podcast episode on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture The Next Best Series Podcast returns as Alyssa Christian, Giovanni Lago, Nadia Dalimonte, and Amy Kim join me to discuss the latest series, shows, and awards season updates for all things television! On this latest episode, we discuss what we feel is going to be nominated for the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards. Nominations will be announced next week, and we have many categories to discuss and d...

For Episode 498, I am joined by Lauren LaMagna, Josh Parham, and Amy Kim to bring you our most anticipated films for the rest of 2026 as we say goodbye to the first half of the year. For this week's poll question, we're asking everyone that very question: "Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To From The Rest Of 2026?" and we reveal the winner of last week's poll tied to the topic of last week's show, "Which Is Your Favorite Film From 2026 So Far?" We also share our reactions to lots of trailers for "Sense And Sensibility," "The Debut," "Practical...