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Episodes

Feb. 19, 2024

393: Finn Bennett ('Peter Prior') on 'True Detective: Night Country', the incredible finale, the best fan theories, working with Jodie Foster and more.

We made it through the night country & everyone is talking about that finale! Christina talked to breakout star Finn Bennett ('Peter Prior') about Issa López 'True Detective: Night Country', his characters' almost biblical arc, working with Jodie Foster, his thoughts on Nic Pizzolatto's remarks, the incredible finale, the best fan theories and much more. Spoiler warning if you have not seen the finale! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb. 12, 2024

392: Robert Steen. The beautiful story of his late son Mats, what his family learned after Mats passing and the power of gaming. ('Ibelin')

When Robert and Trude Steen's son Mats passed away at age 25 from a degenerative muscular disease they grieved over what they thought had been an isolated and lonely life but what they found out would change everything. Mats, a gamer known as 'Ibelin' in World of Warcraft, had despite his physical disabilities formed strong friendships, fallen in love and was a beloved and vibrant member of his digital community. Christina was honored to talk to Mat's father Robert Steen about Mats, his story a...
Feb. 5, 2024

391: A conversation with actor & author Molly Ringwald!

Actor, author, icon! Molly Ringwald joins Christina for a wide ranging conversation about her role as Joanne Carson in Ryan Murphy's critically acclaimed series 'Feud: Capote vs The Swans', her iconic and seminal films with John Hughes and her complicated feelings about them, her Swedish roots and so much more. Listen now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb. 1, 2024

390: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy & writer/director Andrew Haigh 'All of Us Strangers'

Christina talks to Andrew Haigh about his very personal journey writing and directing his beautiful film 'All of Us Strangers'. As well as conversations with actors Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal & Claire Foy on their characters, love, loneliness, accidental cruelty and more. Listen now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan. 23, 2024

389: 2024 Oscar Nominations Reactions! With Erik Anderson & Ryan McQuade, AwardsWatch

Erik Anderson & Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com join Christina to discuss the 2024 Oscar nominations! The surprises, snubs, history making nominations and so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan. 17, 2024

388: Our Most Anticipated Movies of 2024! With critics Candice Frederick (Huffpost) & Thelma Adams (The Wrap)

Critics Thelma Adams (The Wrap, Variety, AARP), Candice Frederick (Senior Culture Reporter @ Huffpost) and Christina pick their 10 most anticipated movies of 2024! Follow on X: Candice Frederick @ReelTalker Thelma Adams @thelmadams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan. 12, 2024

387: Creating the sounds of evil. "The Zone of Interest' sound designer Johnnie Burn ('Poor Things' 'Nope')

The brilliant sound designer Johnnie Burn talks to Christina about his research & emotional process creating the sounds of Auschwitz for Jonathan Glazer's powerful holocaust drama The Zone of Interest. They also discuss his work with Yorgos Lanthimos on 'Poor Things', creating alien sounds for Jordan Peele on 'Nope' and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan. 8, 2024

386: Our reactions to the 2024 Golden Globes! With Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch)

Christina and Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch) share their reactions to 2024 Golden Globe awards ceremony. Oppenheimers big night! The celebrities! The winners! The telecast! The jokes (or lack of:) & everything else. Listen now! X: @ryanmcquade77 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan. 3, 2024

385: We are Starting 2024 with Emmys Predictions! Guest: Tyler Doster, TV Editor AwardsWatch

We are starting off 2024 with Emmys predictions! Tyler Doster, AwardsWatch TV editor, joins Christina to discuss, predict, agree & disagree. The 2023 Emmys ceremony airs January 15th 2024 (delayed from September due to the strikes). Succession! The Bear! Who will win? How have the strikes impacted the Emmys? and much more. Tune in and listen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec. 18, 2023

384: Academy Award Winning Cinematographer Linus Sandgren. On the Mystery, Beauty, Ugly & Sexy of Saltburn

Academy award winning cinematographer Linus Sandgren joins us to talk about his incredible work on Emerald Fennell's visually stunning film Saltburn. Sandgren guides us through the gothic, vampiric style of the cinematography, how ugly & beauty work in tandem, their fascinating visual decisions regarding several twists in the film, and how he used 2 bathtubs for THAT scene that everyone is talking about. Saltburn will stream globally on Prime Video from December 22, 2023 Learn more about your ...
Dec. 14, 2023

383: Awards Season. The Succession Interviews! Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong. Justine Lupe, Arian Moayed and more.

Succession's final season has scored 27 Emmy nominations, 9 Golden Globe & 5 Critics Choice noms this awards season! Don't miss Pop Culture Confidential's complete collection of Succession interviews. Christina's conversations with some of the incredible talent from all 4 season. More than 6 hours of exclusive interviews. Enjoy! #awardsseason 1.Brian Cox 00.01.55 2.Jeremy Strong 01.01.30 3.Arian Moayed Interview 1. 01.46.10 4.Composer Nicholas Britell 02.34.06 5.Producer/Writer Georgia Pr...
Dec. 7, 2023

382: Till Death Do Us Part! The many movie-marriages of 2023. With Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch.com)

There are so many fascinating, passionate & chilling marriages explored at the movies this year. Maestro, Killers of the Flower Moon, Priscilla, Oppenheimer, The Zone of Interest, May December, to name a few! Ryan McQuade (Executive Editor @ AwardsWatch.com) joins us to dissect one of this years' big themes and discuss the state of matrimony at the movies! x @ryanmcquade77 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec. 1, 2023

381: Our first, massive Oscar nomination predictions show of the season! (with the AwardsWatch team)

Strikes are over, Oscar season is heating up and the gang is back to together for a massive Oscar nomination predictions show! It's such an incredible season of movies. Erik Anderson, Sophia Ciminello & Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com join Christina to banter, predict and discuss the year in film! x Erik Anderson @awards_watch Sophia Ciminello @sophia_cim Ryan McQuade @ryanmcquade77 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov. 30, 2023

380: Singer-songwriter, 4 time Grammy winner Jason Isbell on his role in Killers of the Flower Moon & the power of honesty in music and life.

Singer-songwriter & four time Grammy winner Jason Isbell joins Christina for an exclusive & wide ranging conversation. They talk about his first major film role in Martin Scorsese's epic Killers of The Flower Moon, on sobriety, honesty in songwriting and in life & not staying silent about intolerance in the popular country music world or anywhere else. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov. 22, 2023

379: Special episode! Ethan & Maya Hawke, recorded live from The Stockholm International Film Festival Nov 2023

Christina was honored to moderate a Face2Face interview with iconic actor/director/author Ethan Hawke at the Stockholm International Film Festival where Mr. Hawke was presented with their Achievement Award 2023 . The festival also screened 'Wildcat' directed by Hawke and starring Maya Hawke as American novelist Flannery O'Connor. Maya Hawke also joined the conversation! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov. 12, 2023

378: 'The writer in crisis'. We explore the many 'writers in crisis' characters in film. With Sean Fennessey (Host of 'The Big Picture', Head of Content at The Ringer)

Sean Fennessey, the brilliant host of 'The Big Picture' podcast & head of content at The Ringer, joins Christina for a great discussion on "writers in crisis"! This character type has been a constant in Hollywood & this year is no exception, with examples like Andrew Haigh's 'All of Us Strangers', Justine Triet's 'Anatomy of a Fall', & Cord Jefferson's 'American Fiction'. On the show Sean & Christina discuss what makes the writer in crisis so fascinating, 2023s many interesting iterations and o...
Oct. 30, 2023

377: A conversation with Sofia Coppola ('Priscilla')

We are honored to welcome writer/director Sofia Coppola to the show. In this exclusive conversation we talk about adapting and approaching Priscilla Presley's unique story. Why and how this story resonated with Coppola at this moment in her career & life. How she can see Priscilla from several perspectives, her mother's generation and from the perspective of her own teen daughters. Capturing the the essence of Elvis, approaching the complicated aspects of their relationship and much more. 'Pr...
Oct. 24, 2023

376: Director & co-writer Mika Gustafson on her award-winning (Venice & London Film Festival) debut feature 'Paradise is Burning'

Congrats to our super talented guest! Director & co-writer Mika Gustafson just won an award for best first feature at the London Film Festival & Best Director at the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section for her directorial debut 'Paradise is Burning'. Her film is a joyful, emotional & complex story about three sisters navigating a difficult situation with an absent mother and the threat of being separated by social services. We talk about her film, the importance of stories about teen girls...
Oct. 20, 2023

375: How movies & TV affect everything! Pulitzer prize winning author & data journalist Walt Hickey 'You Are What You Watch'

Popular culture, movies, TV shows & books affect us in profound and surprising ways. Pulitzer prize winning author & data journalist Walt Hickey joins us to talk about his fascinating new book 'YOU ARE WHAT YOU WATCH. Entertainment affects our biology, geopolitics and everything in between. Did you know that girls participation in archery doubled after 'The Hunger Games' came out or that watching a scary movie affects our bodies? Walt Hickey talks about the Pentagon's involvement in films like ...
Oct. 16, 2023

374: Errol Morris, the Academy Award winning filmmaker on his John le Carré doc ‘The Pigeon Tunnel’, and truth & betrayal.

Academy Award winning filmmaker Errol Morris ('The Thin Blue Line', 'The Fog of War') joins Christina to talk about ‘The Pigeon Tunnel’ his captivating documentary & conversations with the late British intelligence officer & author David Cornwell aka John le Carré. Christina and Mr Morris talk truth, betrayal, that history is chaos, interviews vs interrogations, Mr Morris "shut the fuck up" school of interviewing & much more The Pigeon Tunnel premieres on AppleTV+ on October 20th 📸 c...
Oct. 9, 2023

373: Costume Designer Jacqueline West & Osage Wardrobe Consultant Julie O’Keefe 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Costume designer and 4 time Oscar nominee Jacqueline West (The Revenant, Dune) & lead Osage wardrobe consultant Julie O’Keefe join Christina to talk about Martin Scorsese's epic 'Killers of the Flower Moon', the incredible costumes, and the art and history that went into their work. 'Killers of the Flower Moon' premieres in theaters on Oct. 20th, 2023 Pictures courtesy of Paramount Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sept. 29, 2023

Episode 372. Part 2, the contract! Tom O'Brien (critic/WGA member) is back to talk about the new WGA contract after the strike.

In part 2 of our coverage of the WGA strike, critic/WGA member Tom O'Brien (nextbestpicture.com) is back with us to discuss the key issues that have been settled in the tentative agreement between the Writers Guild and the studios. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sept. 25, 2023

371: Deal! The Writers Guild has reached a tentative agreement with the studios & streamers. Guest: critic and WGA member Tom O'Brien.

Breaking! After a 146-day long strike the Writers Guild has reached a tentative agreement with the studios & streamers. Critic/writer at nextbestpicture.com and WGA member Tom O'Brien joins us with the news! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sept. 21, 2023

370: REVISIT our conversation with Milad Alami writer/director 'Opponent', Sweden's Oscar submission.

Congratulations Milad Alami! His film 'Opponent' has been selected as Sweden's International Feature Oscar submission. Revisit Christina's conversation with the writer/director from earlier this year. Iranian/Swedish writer-director Milad Alami ('Opponent') joins the show. Mr Alami, who himself arrived to Sweden as a refugee at age 6, has made a powerful film about a refugees family, masculinity & freedom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices