Rookie Month 2026 kicks off with Dear Movies, I Love You co-hosts Casey O'Brien and Millie De Chirico putting their friendship to the test over the single, definitive, Best Of list of the very normal feature filmography of director FRANK HENENLOTTER! Filling in for Ryan as co-commish is comedian, podcaster, and connoisseur of weird, Lucé Tomlin-Brenner!

Want more Screen Drafts? Become a Booster! For just $5 a month get ad-free Main Feed episodes, plus monthly installments of The Franchise mini-Super Draft, The Marathon, Speed Drafts, and the Cool Kids Criterion Club Corner. Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Club and support the show!

It's a Booster Club Sneak Peek this week, as Clay and Ryan rank the 5 Best Picture nominees at the 1951 Academy Awards, honoring the films of 1950 (All About Eve, Born Yesterday, Father of the Bride, King Solomon's Mines, Sunset Boulevard). Joining them in Draftland are guest commish Bryan Cogman and the Quizard, Darren Franich!

Coming in May... Rookie Month 2026!

Want more Screen Drafts? Become a Booster! For just $5 a month get ad-free Main Feed episodes, plus monthly installments of The Franchise mini-Super Draft, The Marathon, Speed Drafts, and the Cool Kids Criterion Club Corner. Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Club and support the show!

Three of Screen Drafts' favorite Wild Cards, Clark Collis (Screaming & Conjuring) Piya Sinha-Roy, and Billy Ray Brewton (Antenna Releasing) gather at the Draft Table at the behest of Official Sponsor Benjamin Butcher to competitively / collaboratively rank the 11 best INDEPENDENT FILMS made in BRITAIN in the 21st CENTURY.

Note: This Draft was originally announced as having slightly different parameters, but... well, you'll hear!

*With One Possible Exception

Want more Screen Drafts? Become a Booster! For just $5 a month get ad-free Main Feed episodes, plus monthly installments of The Franchise mini-Super Draft, The Marathon, Speed Drafts, and the Cool Kids Criterion Club Corner. Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Club and support independent media!

The epic 4-part ROBERT ALTMAN SUPER DRAFT continues, with author & critic Walter Chaw joining commissioner Ryan at the Draft Table to place picks #28 to #22 on the definitive list of 35 narrative feature films. Returning as guest co-commish is author & podcaster Alonso Duralde, providing trivia, insight, and tough love!

This episode is brought to you by the Film & Media Archive at WashU Libraries, celebrating 60 years of Kartemquin Films! This summer, experience the diversity of the Kartemquin catalogue with FREE screenings of Steve James' Hoop Dreams (June 28th), Bill Siegel's The Trials of Muhammad Ali, and Jerry Blumenthal & Gordon Quinn's Golub, all FREE at the Hi-Pointe Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri.

Hoop Dreams Screening Information: https://library.washu.edu/events/hoop-dreams-screening/.

The Maid of McMillan Details & Screening: https://library.washu.edu/spec/themaidofmcmillan/

The Film & Media Archive Gift Link: giving.washu.edu/FilmMediaArchive The Film & Media Archive is a nationally recognized learning center, committed to preserving documentary film and media that chronicle American political and social movements. The FMA collections not only include finished work but also the diverse primary source materials that document the filmmaking process, such as original filmed interviews and outtakes, producers' research and notes, treatments, scripts, storyboards, and correspondence.

Legends only on this episode! Join us at the Draft Table as Screen Drafts Legends Bryan Cogman and Oriana Nudo rank the 7 BEST films from the career of Movie Legend DIANE KEATON!

Want more Screen Drafts? Become a Booster! For just $5 a month get ad-free Main Feed episodes, plus monthly installments of The Franchise mini-Super Draft, The Marathon, Speed Drafts, and the Cool Kids Criterion Club Corner. Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Club and support independent media!

Screen Drafts Rookies Rosalie Kicks (editor-in-chief, Moviejawn) and Ryan Silberstein (staff writer, Moviejawn) join us at the Draft Table to rank the 7 BEST films ever made about NUNS!

Check out the Moviejawn Zine, reviews, articles, interviews, and podcasts by visiting www.moviejawn.com

Want more Screen Drafts? Become a Booster! For just $5 a month get ad-free Main Feed episodes, plus monthly installments of The Franchise mini-Super Draft, The Marathon, Speed Drafts, and the Cool Kids Criterion Club Corner. Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Club and support independent media!

Author, screenwriter, and Night of the Living Dead historian Daniel Kraus (Partially Devoured, Whalefall) is joined by filmmaker, special effects makeup legend, and George A. Romero collaborator Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead, Shudder's Creepshow) to rank the 7 BEST films from the defiant and industry-altering career of horror icon GEORGE A. ROMERO!

Find Daniel's new book, Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Save My Life and Changed the World, at book stores and online retailers now!

Want more Screen Drafts? Become a Booster! For just $5 a month get ad-free Main Feed episodes, plus monthly installments of The Franchise mini-Super Draft, The Marathon, Speed Drafts, and the Cool Kids Criterion Club Corner. Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Club and support independent media!

Commissioner Clay is in the hot seat, alongside Screen Drafts Hall of Famer Phil Iscove (Podcast Like It's), competitively / collaboratively ranking the nine BEST films from the filmography of one of his favorite actresses: the incredible, incomparable HOLLY HUNTER! They are joined by guest co-commish Adam B. Vary, and Official Sponsor Jim Laczkowski (The Director's Club), who brought the whole thing together!

Check out Jim's work by visiting jimlaczkowski.net, and listen to his commentary track on the new Vinegar Syndrome 4K release of At Close Range!

Want more Screen Drafts? Become a Booster! For just $5 a month get ad-free Main Feed episodes, plus monthly installments of The Franchise mini-Super Draft, The Marathon, Speed Drafts, and the Cool Kids Criterion Club Corner. Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Club and support independent media!

The biggest Draft of the year is here! Rookie / screenwriter Daniel Waters (Heathers, Batman Returns) joins Legend Drea Clark (Maximum Film), All-Star / film critic Katie Walsh, and the Co-Commish Mr. Ryan Marker to definitively rank the 20 BEST FILMS from the year 2025!

This episode is brought to you by the Film and Media Archive at WashU Libraries, celebrating 60 years of Kartemquin Films! This summer, experience the diversity of the Kartemquin catalogue with FREE screenings of Steve James' Hoop Dreams, Bill Siegel's The Trials of Muhammad Ali, and Jerry Blumenthal & Gordon Quinn's Golub, all FREE at the Hi-Pointe Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. More details on dates and speakers to come!

Visit https://library.washu.edu/spec/kartemquin/ for more information on the WashU Film and Media Archive, and Kartemquin Films.

WashU Libraries is also sponsoring a FREE screening of The Maid of McMillan at the Hi-Pointe on April 19th, to celebrate the film's recent entry to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry! From WashU University Archives, the The Maid of McMillian is the first known student film, and it will be paired with Harold Lloyd's classic college story, The Freshman. https://library.washu.edu/events/the-maid-of-mcmillan-the-freshman-screening/

Two of the things we love on Screen Drafts are ongoing Draft series, and the films of the 1980s. So it stands to reason that we would eventually launch an occasional Draft series going through each and every year of the 1980s with '80s expert, and Screen Drafts MVP, Drew McWeeny (The Last '80s Newsletter You'll Ever Need)!

In the inaugural installment, Drew is joined by his old buddy and former '80s All Over producer Bobby Roberts to competitively / collaboratively rank the 9 best films released in the U.S. during the first year of the decade: 1980!

Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Booster Club, and get ad-free Main Feed Drafts plus four bonus episodes every month!

The years were 2001 and 2002 (and 2016). The website was www.bmwfilms.com. The directors were John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo, Joe Carnahan, Tony Scott, and Neill Blomkamp. The Driver was Clive Owen.

The year is 2026. The guest GM is Blake Howard (One Heat Minute Productions). This is the Super Draft of executive producer David Fincher's THE HIRE.

Visit www.patreon.com/screendrafts to join the Booster Club, and get ad-free Main Feed Drafts plus four bonus episodes every month!