By Melody Lee 
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Last summer, Ben Wheatley ("High-Rise" & "Free Fire") filmed his adaptation of the 1938 novel “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier, starring Lily James as the newly married Mrs. de Winter to her husband, Maxim de Winter, played by Armie Hammer. Kristin Scott Thomas plays Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper of Manderley. The film is set to be released by Netflix later this year on October 21st, 2020. If you would like to see shots of the film, The Daily Mail has the exclusive here.

By Josh Williams 

​Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker who has garnered mass commercial success with his films, along with copious amounts of critical praise. Whether you are a fan of the "Memento," "Insomnia," "The Prestige" style of Nolan, or “The Dark Knight” trilogy and "Inception" side of Nolan, he has a lot to offer. Nolan isn't someone we typically think of in terms of directors who create introspective movies. Nolan incorporates important themes that shine through but he doesn't tend to explore them to great depths as other filmmakers would. With his latest project being released sometime this year – July according to the studio – it seems that Nolan will follow this trend. Large scale, grand scope, big picture storytelling that still have real-world connections.

Nolan isn’t a director who could be classified as "underrated." The praise and monetary success he has created is impressive. However, he has made a couple of films that I would lob into the "underrated" category. One of the first ones that come to mind is the Al Pacino lead "Insomnia." But the one that I think tops this sort of "underrated" list, is one that many people still argue over till this day: his science-fiction epic, "Interstellar."

By Matt Neglia 

The 2020 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will continue on despite the coronavirus pandemic with an unprecedented shorter number of films than year's past. This year's festival will have to adapt like never before with physical screenings, drive-ins and digital screenings. There will be no in-person press and industry screenings or media events, with all of those taking place online. Since there will be no cast and crew in person, all red carpets, press conferences and industry talks will be virtual.

​The full lineup for this year's festival has been announced below.

By Matt Neglia 

The 2014 retrospective has come down to the big final four. First up, is Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic "Interstellar," which we tried to tie the posting of to the release of "Tenet" but coronavirus had other plans. So, to get ready for Nolan's next film we're looking back at one of his more divisive features, exploring its themes, characters, science, emotional pull, technical achievements and awards season run. What did we think? Tune in to hear thoughts from Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer, Josh Parham and I. Also be sure to check out our other 2014 reviews of "Selma," "Ida," "Foxcatcher," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Wild," "Inherent Vice," "Whiplash," "The Imitation Game," "Nightcrawler," "American Sniper" & "The Theory Of Everything."
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This is a preview of the podcast, the full version of which is only available to those who subscribe to us on Patreon. For the small price of $1 a month, you can receive this review along with other exclusive podcast content, so be sure to subscribe here.
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Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, Player FM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here.

By Agambir Bajwa 

​Over the past few months, it’s been tricky to predict how the 2020-2021 awards season will move forward, given our current coronavirus situation. I mean movie theatre openings keep getting pushed back, cases in the United States continue to rise, and it seems like films are getting delayed every week. Tenet has had 4 release dates by now, and it’s only July. Through this insanity, it can seem like Netflix, with the amount of awards contenders it has, can be the only company keeping the awards conversation alive this year. 

By Melody Lee 
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Pixar has released the concept art and story behind their next original film “Luca”, which is a coming-of-age adventure set in Italy. The film is to be released next summer on June 18, 2021, with Enrico Casarosa (“La Luna”) set to direct. Casarosa has worked on many Pixar films, as he was on the senior creative team for “Coco” and “Incredibles 2.”

By Daniel Howat 

We may be approaching the strangest Oscar season in history, but that can’t stop the Next Best Picture team from releasing our first Oscar Predictions of the year. With theaters shut down for the foreseeable future, many film releases postponed, and streaming-only films allowed to compete for the first time, this is sure to be a wild season. Nevertheless, our team will still be offering our insights on the contenders. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at our initial predictions and how this season might shape up.

By Michael Schwartz

Hey hobo man! Hey Dapper Dan! As we live through tumultuous times, we all need reminders of joy in the world. One of the all-great joy enhancers in the theatre world is Martin Charnin and Charles Srouse's 1977 blockbuster sensation, "Annie." Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer, Casey Lee Clark, Lauren LaMagna & I dive into nostalgia with recollections of our own relationships with the material and what the plucky curly-haired orphan means to us and our love of theatre.
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This is a preview of the podcast, the full version of which is only available to those who subscribe to us on Patreon. For the small price of $1 a month, you can receive this review along with other exclusive podcast content, so be sure to subscribe here.

Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Theatre Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, PlayerFM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here. And if you're feeling generous and you enjoy what you hear and want more, please help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month and you'll receive some exclusive podcast content.

By Melody Lee 
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Along with Universal Pictures, Issa Rae and Jordan Peele are joining forces for the supernatural film “Sinkhole”, which is adapted from Leyna Krow’s short story of the same name. The film is said to be a thought-provoking genre movie that engages with questions of female perfection and identity.

By Casey Lee Clark 

​On July 28, 2020, the nominations were announced for the 72nd Emmy Awards to great fanfare. With the pandemic going on and lockdowns, restrictions, and self-isolation in place, many have been watching and catching up on more TV than ever. With most people unable to go to a movie theater and very few big films being released, television has been the one entertainment constant over the past few months, so many eyes were on what would be awarded a nomination this year amongst a plethora of worthy, quality shows. It has been quite the opposite of a weak year in terms of TV. Many are also wondering if this old and "stuck-in-their-ways" television academy will make this the year of embracing new and exciting shows and talent in a post-"Game of Thrones" world. 

There is a lot to cover in terms of the surprises and snubs with this year’s nominees so I’m going to be separating them into the three main categories: Comedy Series, Drama Series, and Limited Series/TV Movies. There was nothing too exciting or shocking in the categories for Reality Series, Documentary, or Variety this year. However, one interesting note in the Variety Talk Series category is the lack of nominations for ratings favorites James Corden, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers. Additionally, we will only be focusing on surprises in categories devoted to series, acting, writing, and directing, but definitely look into the MANY Creative Arts Emmy categories if your favorite show is not mentioned here (it’s more than likely a nominee elsewhere).

By Melody Lee 

Universal Pictures and AMC Theaters have put aside their feud in order to forge a multi-year historic deal. AMC will now air Universal films in their theaters and more importantly, they will  also grant Universal a theatrical window of only three weekends, or seventeen days, before allowing for those films to make a transition to on-demand platforms. Normally, theaters have exclusive rights to films for 90 days.

By Melody Lee 

Today, the Director’s Guild of America announced that their 73rd awards ceremony will now take place on April 10th, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, the ceremony has typically taken place in late January or early February. Per the DGA website, the venue and submission requirements will be announced at a later date, as the ceremony could take place online.

By Matt Neglia 
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The 2020 Emmy Nominations were announced this morning and as always, they invoked an emotional response from all of us. Some of our favorites got in and some of our favorites were snubbed. There were surprises, head-scratchers and everything else in between. Moments after the nominees were finished being announced, myself, Michael Schwartz, Ryan C. Showers & Amanda Spears took some time during our lunch breaks to deliver our instant reactions to the nominations. We weren't originally going to record one of these but we figured we'd do something fun for the Patreon subscribers. We will be back in a few weeks with a full winner predictions podcast for all of our listeners before the 72nd Emmy Awards on September 20th.

This is a preview of the podcast, the full version of which is only available to those who subscribe to us on Patreon. For the small price of $1 a month, you can receive this review along with other exclusive podcast content, so be sure to subscribe here.

Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, Player FM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here.

By Matt Neglia 

​The nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards have been announced and as always, there were a ton of surprises and snubs.

Click below to see the nominations and be on the lookout for our podcast discussing the nominations and predicting the winners.

By Matt Neglia 

The coronavirus pandemic may have cancelled Cannes and Telluride but Venice will still take place on September 2nd and run until the 12th where some major world premieres are set to take place (including yesterday's announced "Nomadland").

​The full lineup has been announced today and can be seen below.

By Matt Neglia 

​This will probably be the last time we write about "Tenet" until its actual release because the non-stop news coverage over its release date has been getting repetitive and laughable at this point ("It hasn't happened yet"). With that said, a few days after its release was put on hold indefinitely, Variety is now reporting that the eleventh film from Christopher Nolan ("Dunkirk") will release in international markets first before it hits the states.

By Melody Lee 

As reported by THR, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has announced that the eligibility window for the 2021 awards ceremony will be until February 28, 2021, the same as that of the Academy Awards. In June, it was announced that the awards ceremony, which is typically held in early January, would now take place on February 28th, 2021.

By Michael Schwartz 

As we approach the first major awards show of the COVID-19 era, Next Best Series regulars Matt Neglia, Tom O'Brien, Ryan C. Showers and I have been busy catching up with Emmy contenders in order to predict the nominees for the upcoming telecast. While the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards promise to be anything but typical, one thing we do know now is that there is more television to go around than the categories can handle. With that being the case, your experts have made their best predictions based on a combination of knowledge, insight, and pure gut feelings (you can listen to them on our recently recorded podcast here). It’s all part of the fun of predicting and brings back a sense of semi-normalcy in these most unusual times. Take a look below and see who scores the highest when nominations are revealed on July 28th.

By Matt Neglia 

​In a big move for the fall film festivals (which are working together this year more than ever), Searchlight Pictures Chairmen Nancy Utley and Steve Gilula made an announcement regarding Chloe Zhao's ("The Rider") Oscar-contender "Nomadland" starring Frances McDormand ("Three Billboards Outside Ebbing MIssouri") and David Strathairn ("Good Night, and Good Luck").

By Matt Neglia 

For Episode 204, I am joined by Michael Schwartz & Josh Parham. This week we are discussing the big release date moves for "Tenet," "Mulan," "The French Dispatch," "A Quiet Place Part 2," "Top Gun: Maverick" and others due to the coronavirus pandemic. We also go over other movie related news including our first look at Netflix's "The Trial Of The Chicago 7." Plus, we announce the poll results, deliver our reactions to the trailer for "Sputnik," answer your fan questions, and more!

Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, Player FM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here. And if you're feeling generous, you enjoy what you hear and want to hear more, please help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month and you'll receive some exclusive podcast content.

By Matt Neglia 

For this week's main podcast review I am joined by Dan Bayer, Josh Parham & Daniel Howat. Together, we are reviewing Amazon Prime's release of "Radioactive" starring Rosamund Pike, Sam Riley & Anya Taylor-Joy. Director Marjane Satrapi ("Persepolis") tells the true story of two-time Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie's discovery of polonium and radium and how the applications of those two elements went on to change human history. What did we think of the film? Tune in to find out.

Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, Player FM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here. And if you're feeling generous, you enjoy what you hear and want to hear more, please help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month and you'll receive some exclusive podcast content.

By Melody Lee 

As reported by Deadline, George Clooney is rumored to be in negotiations with Amazon Studios to direct an adaptation of J.R. Moehringer’s novel “The Tender Bar.” The film is penned by William Monahan, who wrote the Academy Award winning screenplay for “The Departed."

By Matt Neglia 
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Jeremy Allen White is a face you might recognize from the hit Showtime show "Shameless" but he has been steadily growing his filmography with independent feature roles such as 2018's "After Everything" and now with this year's "The Rental." Here, he co-stars with Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, and Sheila Vand under the direction of first-time filmmaker Dave Franco. What was his experience like working with Dave? The rest of the cast? Has he ever had a poor Airbnb experience? We discuss all of this and more in my interview with him which you can listen to down below.

Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, PlayerFM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here. And if you're feeling generous and you enjoy what you hear and want more, please help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month and you'll receive some exclusive podcast content.

By Melody Lee 

In the wake of Warner Bros. pushing back the release of “Tenet” indefinitely, Disney has followed suit with their summer blockbuster “Mulan.” The live-action remake of the 1998 film was originally supposed to be released in late March, but was then pushed back to July 24 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its fate is currently unknown, as it could be added to Disney's streaming service Disney+. 

By Matt Neglia 

The 2014 retrospective continues this week with another Best Picture nominee of that year. A true story of the marriage between renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife Jane, both played by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne and Oscar nominee Felicity Jones in "The Theory Of Everything." Yes, it is yet another biopic film but how does this one stand up to other biopics from that year such as "Selma" or "The Imitation Game?" Tune in to hear thoughts from myself, Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer, Josh Parham, Danilo Castro & Patreon guest Connor Olen. Also be sure to check out our other 2014 reviews of "Selma," "Ida," "Foxcatcher," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Wild," "Inherent Vice," "Whiplash," "The Imitation Game," "Nightcrawler" & "American Sniper."​
​
This is a preview of the podcast, the full version of which is only available to those who subscribe to us on Patreon. For the small price of $1 a month, you can receive this review along with other exclusive podcast content, so be sure to subscribe here.
​
Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, Player FM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here.