Episodes

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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

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

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

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

TV editor Tyler Doster (AwardsWatch.com) joins Christina with insight and perspective on the breaking news out of the TV talk show universe this week: 16 current and former staff members of the Tonight Show spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about host Jimmy Fallons alleged erratic and toxic behaviour. Drew Barrymore is under fire for reviving her daytime talk show amid the WGA, SAG strikes. And what is the state of late night in general? Are people still watching in 2023? Listen now X/Twitter:...

Christina joins forces with The AwardsWatch Podcast (Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello) to give their reactions to the films they saw at the 50th edition of the Telluride Film Festival. Two weeks ago on the podcast, Ryan, Erik, Sophia and Christina came together to preview the 2023 Telluride Film Festival. Flash forward to now where the gang arrived at the festival and spent five glorious days watching some of the biggest...

Award-winning casting director and a real master of his craft John Papsidera joins Christina on Pop Culture Confidential! Papsidera is one of Hollywood foremost casting directors. He has collaborated with director Christopher Nolan for many years and has cast most of his films including “Memento,” “The Dark Knight"-trilogy, “Interstellar", “Inception" and his latest "Oppenheimer" His long list of credits also includes “Jurassic World,” &“Suicide Squad" and TV series such as “Westworld”, "The O...

Thanks for the invite! Christina had a great time on The AwardsWatch Podcast previewing the upcoming 50th edition of the Telluride Film Festival. We are sharing the episode here! You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. AwardsWatch Podcast #198: What Will Be and What We Want to See at the 50th Telluride Film Festival. From AwardsWatch.com : On episode 198 of The AwardsWatch ...

Labor strikes, box office hits & misses, Barbenheimer, superhero fatigue, the surprise and controversial hit Sound of Freedom, Hollywood's box office battle in China...it's a lot... Ryan Faughnder, LA Times entertainment industry reporter & author of The Wide Shot newsletter, joins us to unpack a summer Hollywood won't forget! Subscribe to The Wide Shot newsletter here: https://www.latimes.com/newsletters/sign-up-for-wide-shot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dive deep into the career of actor/producer Margot Robbie! This just as her film 'Barbie' (which she produced and stars in ) is about to top one billion dollars globally at the box office. Sophia Ciminello (co-host of the Oscar Wild podcast and writer at AwardsWatch.com) joins Christina to talk about Robbie's fearless acting in films like The Wolf of Wall Street, I, Tonya & Birds of Prey. And as producer with films and TV like Promising Young Woman, The Maid, and of course Barbie. Follo...

On July 14th, more than 160,000 actors joined the screenwriters, on strike since May, for the first dual strike since the 1960s. We are joined by Kevin E. West, member of the SAG-AFTRA negotiating & organizing committees, author, and founder of The Actor’s Network. Mr West is a veteran TV actor with roles on shows including CSI, Criminal Minds, Bones, Lost, The Righteous Gemstones and more Mr West takes us behind the scenes of the negotiations and talks about what is at stake in what the actor...

The biggest movie weekend of the summer is here and Ryan McQuade, executive editor AwardsWatch.com, joins us for a huge Barbie & Oppenheimer discussion. Spoilers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award winning composer/producer Ludwig Göransson joins Christina to break down his journey scoring 'Oppenheimer', his process, influences and close collaboration with director Christopher Nolan. Photo credits: Courtesy of Ludwig Göransson Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson & TV editor Tyler Doster of AwardsWatch join Christina to talk about their reactions to the 2023 Emmy nominations. Plus, as the writers' strike continues Hollywood is bracing for the actors to join them. We discuss the ramifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer encore! Christina's interview with director Sam Feder who joined us to talk about his critically acclaimed documentary 'DISCLOSURE: Trans Lives on Screen', watch it on Netflix! The doc looks at transgender representations in film, television and media through interviews with trans actors, artists and activists including Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Jen Richards and Chaz Bono. A history filled with with stereotypes, tropes, heartbreak, bravery, and progress. Sam Feder talks to...

Reporter, critic & author Maureen Ryan has been covering the TV & film industry in Hollywood for over three decades. Ms. Ryan joins Christina to talk about her NY Times bestselling book 'Burn it Down: Power, Complicity and a Call for Change in Hollywood', an investigation into patterns of misconduct, abuse and racism in Hollywood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eighteen year old Grace Edwards stars in Wes Anderson's new film 'Asteroid City' & joins Christina to talk about working with director Wes Anderson, on what she learned from co-stars Scarlett Johansson, Jeff Goldblum and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of the much awaited premiere of season two of 'The Bear' this summer we revisit Christina's conversation with actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach! A conversation about his incredible performance, "cousin" Richie, how a frustrating character can fill you with compassion and a whole lot more from Mr Moss-Bachrach, who's career includes memorable roles in Girls, The Dropout and the Star Wars series, Andor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com joins to Christina to talk about a big month at the movies, June 2023. The big titles, box office, what's going on with the Golden Globes and more. From 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' to Pixars latest. 'Elemental'. The tender 'Past Lives', Wes Anderson's 'Asteroid City'. The controversial Flash film & much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices