For our grand finale, the Best in Show crew heads to the 96th Academy Awards! Brian, who had a golden ticket to the ceremony itself, recaps how it felt for his eyes to see Al Pacino announce, “My eyes see Oppenheimer!”, while Gemma and Mia recount their hectic day on the red carpet and evening in the press room—plus dancing with the Anatomy of a Fall lawyers at the afterparty. Finally, we invite our London correspondent/Best in Show newsletter extraordinaire George Fenwick to reflect on the awards season as a whole, and to submit his winning pick for the inaugural Bradley Moze (and Otis) Awards, named for our beloved cats who kept us grounded over the past few months. Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• Oscars experience (00:02:57)
• The show itself (00:11:14)
• George Fenwick interview (40:15)
• Bradley Moze & Otis Awards (00:53:32)
• Closing credits (00:59:40)

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles, London and Auckland. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

This week, Gemma chats with Academy President Janet Yang and CEO Bill Kramer about the importance of the Oscars to the global film community, plus its engaging impact on theater-going in a constantly changing industry. Also, Mia and Brian debrief about the Dune: Part Two hype (Space melodrama! More worms! All hail Denis Villeneuve!) and its entry into the Letterboxd Top 250 at a miraculous number six. For the grand finale, riot grrrl rockers Sleater-Kinney make a special appearance, with Carrie Brownstein recounting her brief appearance in Todd Haynes’ Carol. Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• News (00:01:28)
• Bill Kramer & Janet Yang interview (00:22:37)
• Winner Winner Chicken Run Dinner (00:43:39)
• Sleater-Kinney interview (00:48:00)
• Closing credits (00:59:40)

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

This week, the Best in Show crew is full of Indie Spirit as they mingle on the carpet and out the back of the Film Independent Spirit Awards, where Zoe Lister-Jones, Jordan Firstman and the teams from Kokomo City and The Zone of Interest all stop by for chats about Cassavetes versus Altman, the secrets to a great director-producer relationship and epic movie dog moments. Brian meets his sporting hero Marshawn Lynch, and Mia settles in for a conversation with International Feature Spirit winner Justine Triet about the multiple languages of Anatomy of a Fall. Finally, Neil Hamburger himself (On Cinema’s Gregg Turkington, cast member in the John Cassavetes Award-winning Fremont) tells Mia and Gemma about the first award he ever won (and seems to keep on winning).

Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• News (00:03:06)
• Justine Triet interview (00:33:34)
• Winner Winner Turkington Dinner (00:49:48)
• Closing credits (00:54:40)

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

Lists & Links: Best in Show’s HQ Page, Film Independent’s HQ Page

This week, the Best in Show crew finds out what they’re made for with Grammy-winning special guests Billie Eilish and Finneas. The superstar sibling duo is behind the Best Original Song Oscar nominee ‘What Was I Made For?’, and Mia chats with them about hiding secrets in their devastating-but-hopeful tune, the music and movies that make them feel emotionally validated and Billie’s directing aspirations. There’s also some queening out over a mutual love of Andrew Scott in Fleabag and Sherlock—relevant because he and Billie are both nominated in acting categories at the Indie Spirits this year (him for All of Us Strangers, her for Swarm), and because Andrew is always relevant. London Editor Ella Kemp pops in as well for a BAFTAs debrief, sharing her interviews with Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Samantha Morton and Best in Show bestie Paul Mescal.

Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• BAFTA recap and red carpet interviews (00:01:43)
• Behind the curtain (00:23:36)
• Billie Eilish and FINNEAS interview (00:26:08)
• Winner Winner Chicken Run Dinner (00:45:29)
• Closing credits (00:59:40)

Sponsor: Sony Pictures

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles and London. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

Lists & Links: List of movies mentioned, Best in Show’s HQ Page, BAFTAs HQ Page

This week, Brian, Gemma and Mia break down the art of visual effects with a little help from our friends: The Creator director Gareth Edwards and his visual effects on-set supervisor Andrew Roberts. More ‘Help!’ arrives in the form of Sean Lennon, co-writer of the Oscar-nominated short War Is Over!, via his chat with our New York correspondent, Julia Barrett-Mitchell. Mia and Brian also recap their Oscars Luncheon experience, which involved press and A-listers alike getting starstruck by Messi the dog, who plays Snoop in Anatomy of a Fall (and was snubbed for Best Supporting Actor). Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• Oscar luncheon and Barbie promo (00:02:03)
• Behind the curtain: visual effects (00:18:56)
• Gareth Edwards and Andrew Roberts interview (00:25:54)
• War is Over! interview (00:43:45)
• Winner Winner Chicken Run Dinner (00:54:37)
• Closing credits (01:01:44)

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Auckland. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

Lists & Links: List of movies mentioned, Best in Show’s HQ Page, Gender at the Oscars

Bonjour! The Best in Show crew digs into the Best International Feature race, with an entrée of an interview between Brian, Juliette Binoche and Tran Anh Hung about their César-nominated collaboration, The Taste of Things. Gemma, Mia and Brian also divulge the recipe for the International Feature category and how its submissions work—and briefly bring in Perfect Days director Wim Wenders and Society of the Snow's J.A. Bayona as a treat.

Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• News (00:02:22)
• Behind the curtain: J.A. Bayona (00:14:07)
• Juliette Binoche and Tran Anh Hung interview (00:27:28)
• Winner Winner Chicken Run Dinner (00:48:07)
• Closing credits (00:59:40)

Sponsor: Focus Features’ Lisa Frankenstein

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles and Auckland. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

Lists & Links: List of movies mentioned, Best in Show’s HQ Page

The Best in Show team welcomes our East Coast correspondent Adesola Thomas to chat about her best of the Park City fest, among them the raucous Irish-language rap-musical Kneecap, sisterly drama In the Summers and coming-of-age charmer Dìdi (弟弟). Then, Mia and Gemma head to Osage County with five-time Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West for an in-depth interview on her “method costuming” techniques for Killers of the Flower Moon—which included close collaboration with fellow nominees Lily Gladstone and Martin Scorsese, as well as Osage wardrobe consultant Julie O’Keefe. She also shares how she creates a real-life closet to help her actors inhabit their characters’ wardrobes, an insightful approach that Jessica Chastain has requested on all of her films since working with West on The Tree of Life.

Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• News (00:01:28)
• Sundance (00:07:27)
• Jacqueline West interview (00:19:58)
• Winner Winner Chicken Run Dinner (00:50:31)
• Closing credits (00:59:42)

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles, New York and Auckland. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo and our newsletter edited by George Fenwick. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

Lists & Links: List of movies mentioned, Best in Show’s HQ Page

The 96th Academy Award nominations have been announced, and the Best in Show crew have both axes to grind (Charles Melton of May December, you will be avenged!) and champagne bottles to pop (Justine Triet of Anatomy of a Fall, you will be fêted!). Plus, Spider-Slim swings Across the Spider-Verse to chat with the directors behind Letterboxd’s highest rated film of 2023: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson.

Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• Oscar noms (00:01:47)
• Behind the curtain: Animation (00:23:18)
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse interview (00:39:02)
• Winner Winner Chicken Run Dinner (00:50:27)
• Closing credits (01:00:58)

Sponsor: Sony Pictures

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles and Auckland. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

Lists & Links: List of movies mentioned, Best in Show’s HQ Page

The BAFTA nominations are in—Lily Gladstone and Andrew Scott are out. What’s that about? London Editor Ella Kemp joins Mia and Gemma for a rant. Plus: the invisible but visceral art of sound design with The Zone of Interest and Poor Things sound designer Johnnie Burn, Society of the Snow director JA Bayona, and Killers of the Flower Moon sound mixer Mark Ulano.

Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• BAFTAs (00:02:39)
• Sound design (00:13:13)
• JA Bayona interview (00:20:50)
• Mark Ulano interview (00:28:26)
• Johnnie Burn interview (00:29:42)
• Winner Winner Chicken Run Dinner (00:46:13)
• Closing credits (00:58:06)

Sponsor: Searchlight Pictures’ All of Us Strangers

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles, London, and Auckland. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

Lists & Links: List of movies mentioned, Best in Show’s HQ Page, Gemma’s interview with Molly Manning Walker, Ella’s interview with Charlotte Regan

We are so temporarily back. This time around ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Slim⁠⁠, Mia, and Mitchell discuss the upcoming slate of movies and why you might need to add them to your own watchlists including Challengers, Nosferatu, Dune: Part Two, and also tease new podcast plans. They also look ahead outside the most popular movies and shuffle their watchlists just like old times. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Weekend Watchlist – Updated Weekly list⁠⁠⁠⁠ > movies mentioned in this episode. Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• 2024 preview Top 10 through 6 (00:02:09)
• 2024 preview Top 5 through 1 (00:20:03)
• Watchlists shuffles (00:39:02)
• Watchlist check-in (00:52:04)
• Closing credits (00:57:48)

Credits: Recorded in Philadelphia PA, Newark DE and Los Angeles CA. Edited by Slim. Theme music: ‘⁠IZON’ by Trent Walton. Production manager: Sophie Shin. The Letterboxd Show is a TAPEDECK production.

Lists & Links: Paul Oyama’s The Bikeriders review; Jeff Zhang’s Hit Man review; Zac’s Love Actually review, Dare’s Cop Land review, lorddnewton’s Wonka review

In this art direction-focused episode of Best in Show, Mia chats with the production designers behind the mad world of Poor Things—James Price and Shona Heath—about their human anatomy-inspired sets, and Gemma catches up with an old friend: Grant Major, Academy Award-winning production designer of a little film saga called The Lord of the Rings. The crew also hears from a few contenders at the Governors Awards (including a serenade from The Holdovers’ Dominic Sessa), rages against the SAG nomination snubs (WHERE is Charles Melton?!) and goes in on those Golden Globes (Stone and Gladstone world domination). Oh, and Mark Ruffalo, Yorgos Lanthimos and ol’ blue eyes Cillian Murphy may just stop by, too.

Chapters:

• Opening credits (00:00:00)
• Governor’s Awards (00:02:17)
• SAG Nominations (00:15:05)
• Golden Globes (00:17:47)
• Production Design (00:26:45)
• Grant Major interview (00:28:00)
• James Price + Shona Heath interview (00:46:25)
• Winner Winner Chicken Run Dinner (01:06:12)
• Closing credits (01:15:17)

Credits: Recorded in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Auckland. Edited by Slim, production manager Sophie Shin, editorial producer Brian Formo. Theme: ‘Hyperlight’ by Letterboxd member Trent Walton (AKA Echo Wolf). Artwork by Danny Haas. Best in Show is a TAPEDECK production. Title courtesy of Christopher Guest.

Lists & Links: List of movies mentioned, Best in Show’s HQ Page, Wood & Ella’s Playtime reviews