Academy Vs Audience

In the wake of Lord of the Rings dominating the Oscars the previous year, the Academy decided to go small and serious again, while the audience remain here for fantasy good times. The Oscar went to Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood's story of three broken people bonding over boxing until boxing breaks them all the further. Meanwhile, audiences around the world had a relapse of Shrek Fever, flocking to Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey in greater numbers than they had for multiple pop culture icons that year. One has too many subplots and a 40 minute epilogue engineered to ruin your day, one has a high-energy needle-drop every time the escapades pause. Which do Claire, Erin, and Dan prefer? Find out!

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It's 2003, and we reach our final Joint Champion, as after two years of being Best Picture nominees and lurking near the top of the box office, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy reached its grand finale with The Return of the King. Gina Stewart is back to help Erin, Claire, and Dan break down the full Lord of the Rings experience, novel and movie versions, as we follow Frodo and the Fellowship past the Two Towers and all the way to Mount Doom. Who's the real king of our trilogy? What was Peter Jackson right to cut from the books, and what was he wrong to cut from the theatrical releases? We tackle it all, join us!

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It's 2002, and Hollywood is swinging, be it to all that jazz, or by webs through the city. The Academy, still waiting to see if Lord of the Rings could stick the landing, gave the big prize to musical adaptation Chicago, which managed the singular achievement of blending the gritty realism Hollywood thinks prestige pictures need with the glitzy, showy song and dance numbers musicals thrive on. Meanwhile, only one man could triumph over Frodo, Star Wars, AND the boy wizard in one year...a SPIDER-Man. Erin, Claire, and Dan dissect the year that Academy and Audience decided not to think too hard and just have a good time. Have a good time with us!

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While we align schedules, Erin gives us a sneak peek at next episode and beyond as she breaks down the first entries of all three live-action Spider-Man eras, from someone who never read the comics and only knows these as movies. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Sam Raimi's first go-round with the character? How does Amazing Spider-Man reassess the origin in a post-Nolan/Iron Man landscape? And when Spidey comes to the MCU, what's working and not? Who's Erin's favourite Man of Spider? Find out in our special Spider-Sode.

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In 2001, the question on the mind of Academy voters was "Well we can't risk just awarding Lord of the Rings three years in a row, can we?" and thus an alternate Best Picture was needed: Ron Howard's call-it-a-biopic of John Nash, genius mathematician struggling through schizophrenia, with Russell Crowe taking us from coming-of-age to espionage thriller to one man's battle with his own mind in maybe too little time for all three of those. The audience, however, was all about high fantasy, and of the three beloved franchises that kicked off in 2001, we present the timeless tale of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, both boy and girl are ogres, also there is a donkey, as Dreamworks cracks their Pixar-fighting code with Shrek. Crank some Smash Mouth and come on the journey!

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We enter a new century by jumping back to an old trend and an adaptation of an old TV show, seems about right for 21st century Hollywood. First, the Oscar goes to Ridley Scott's Gladiator, a return to old-school sword and sandal action, only without the Jesus angle. Historical accuracy is nowhere to be found, the plot doesn't merit a lot of deep thought, but Erin, Claire, and Dan answer the important question: are they, in fact, entertained? And then Dan gets a special treat: one and only one (unless the Academy makes wild choices in 2026) chance to talk about the oeuvre of one Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible 2, and boy if you thought the LAST one was goofy... The action is as intense as the plots are thin, join us to unpack both!

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Before we enter the 21st century, Munsi Parker-Munroe returns to present their Top Ten Secret Masterpieces of the 1990s: ten films that weren't hits, didn't get Oscar love, but delight our guest to no end and they would argue are worthy of your attention just the same, because as films they're weird, they're passionate, and they're more than a little wonderful. Also Dan is here briefly. Erin and Claire will be back soon, but in the meantime, let Munsi introduce you to ten films that should be better known than they are.

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Before we reach the 2000s and spend half an episode breaking down Dan's least favourite entry of one of his favourite franchises, he's here to get the Mission: Impossible brainrot out of his system by breaking down the evolution of the franchise and which film did what the best. From it's lower-key suspense thriller origins to its recent final (unless...) origins, best squads, best villains, and best teammates in a quickie burst for you, the listeners, while Claire and Erin are distracted.

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The decade wraps up with one beautifully crafted but disturbingly hollow Best Picture, and one beloved franchise returning with a controversial entry. Recurring guest/victim of scheduling Munsi Parker-Munroe is back for the takes, joining Claire, Erin, and Dan in being mad at how well made American Beauty is in spite of the troubling central themes and lead actor, then digging into Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, looking for the few good scenes and asking whether a story about how fascism takes root in a decadent democracy is aided or undermined by a CG fart clown. Tune in and find out how Phantom Menace does as a Star War, and which aged worse: American Beauty or Gone With the Wind?

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It's 1998, and was all fair in love and war? Some say no, as Harvey Weinstein launched an Oscar campaign of attrition to get himself an award for theatre kids' ideal romcom Shakespeare in Love, while also slandering rival Steven Spielberg's intense war movie Saving Private Ryan. Claire, Erin, Dan, and returning guest Kevin break down both, ask whether Shakespeare deserves the hate it got for defeating Private Ryan, what each film does well, whether Dan is wrong about his preference or if he's just speaking truth to power (or in this case internet film bros), and who had the best powerhouse ensemble. But one cannot talk box office hits of the 90s without addressing Michael Bay, and international box office champ Armageddon is here for us. Love, war, rocks from space, join the unhinged breakdown!

Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com