Auteur Theory

So we maybe overdid it with this one. We're moving into Season 3 of Auteur Theory. As we did with the end of last season, we're going to look into Nick's Top 10 favorite movies. This episode is over 3 hours long. Interesting that Nick was allowed to ramble for 3 hours; and last season, Chris' Top 10 had a time limit. Guess you know now who edits the episodes and who writes and posts the intros.

Anyway. Here's Nick's Top 10. Chris has made another Top 10 list; and that episode might top out at 7 hours, so be prepared for that. 

Also, Season 3 is Ron Howard.

As we come to the end of our exploration of the films of Sofia Coppola, Nick and Chris are going to try to do something a little different. Before she took the independent film world by storm, Sofia Coppola directed a score of shorts, music videos, and commercials. And now Nick and Chris are going to watch them all in real time with some live commentary.

Join us as we close out Season 2. But we're right around the corner with Season 3, so stay tuned.

If you want to join us and follow along, here's the link to our YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnG9YYkZibqd31-ZLCZq8DXucPCx4zUM_

So it seems we've come to our end of our exploration of the films of director Sofia Coppola, and our second season here on Auteur Theory - at least until her upcoming 2020 film On the Rocks (starring Bill Murray and Rashida jones), when we'll probably pester you with a bonus episode or something.

But now we can finally get down to the big question... What's the true history behind Nick's hat?! It's Sofia Coppola's dark psycho-drama The Beguiled from 2017. This Civil War-era story of mind games at a Southern girls boarding school is a remake of the classic 1971 Don Siegel-Clint Eastwood joint. As her first remake/adaptation and a real change of pace from her other work, how does her new spin on it stack up against the original?

To close out this season, Nick and Chris are joined by a couple of first-time guests: podcaster Maria Harris and comedian Ryan VanderWolde to take a look at this film, and speculate about what Coppola might have in store for us in the future.

We'll be back next with the beginning of Season Three. And there may be some bonus content sprinkled about too, so stay tuned.

Sssshhhh... He doesn't know. It's time for Sofia Coppola and us to throw a special Christmas party bash for Bill Murray! Is it the end of summer and 120 degrees here in Phoenix and we're all dying from the heat - it doesn't matter - Bill Murray!!!?

It's Sofia Coppola's 2015 Netflix Christmas special 'A Very Murray Christmas'. Join Chris, Nick, and special guest Liz Manning along with a cavalcade of celebrity guests including Chris Rock, George Clooney, Michael Cera, Rashida Jones, Amy Poehler, and more! Will Miley Cyrus randomly show up at some point? You'll just have to watch and see! Also, a hilariously old depressed Bill Murray.

Sofia Coppola really swings for the fences with this one. Will Nick, Chris, and Liz get into the yuletide spirit while burning alive? You'll have to listen to find out.

If you've ever wanted to see Hermione Granger break bad, and can't get enough montages of obnoxious rich kids trying on clothes while terrible pop music blares, have we got a movie for you. It's Sofia Coppola's 2013 true crime / comedy? drama? The Bling Ring.

Based on a true story, the film didn't make a big splash when it was first released; but is there some deeper social commentary beneath the glitz and artifice, or can you judge this bedazzled book by its cover? Chris and Nick really have some thoughts on this.

Negative 1. We watch too many movies and think too much of their stars. Negative 2. We're tired of feeling guilty about how many of them are artsy auteur-driven indie films that we praise unconditionally. This is the Auteur Theory podcast, and we may or may not have just found a smarter solution.   Sofia Coppola's 2010 indie dramedy Somewhere. This low-key film gives you a look at the mundanity of show business life. Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning are there. And best of all, no offensive odor - because it's a movie, and doesn't have a smell.   With Somewhere, Nick, Chris,and special guest Jo Anna Larson take a look at a film you can watch at a basketball game if you want to. Don't know why you would, but we're not gonna stop you. Point is, you can watch this movie and make up your opinion pretty much anywhere. But here's ours.   We're all adults here. And I think it's rated R, because there's some language and I think you see some boobs once. Come on, guys. Just listen to the episode.   ...No one is going to get this obscure reference or care about how much time I spent writing this parody. But just listen to damn episode.

We return to the turn of the century... 1700-something? Give me a break, I'm not good at math and I got confused by all the 80s New Wave pop songs. This week, we're taking a look at Sofia Coppola's 2006 costume drama/teen coming-of-age story Marie Antoinette.

Nick and Chris are joined once again by Liz Manning to see if this visually lavish by-way-of John Hughes biopic is one for the ages, or actually deserves the guillotine. (Sorry, spoilers for centuries-old history)

You're alone. It's a nice place, a really swanky hotel. But it's in a foreign land in a foreign culture and you're feeling very alone. Who better to spend that time with than Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson?

This week, we're looking at Sofia Coppola's Oscar-winning ground-breaking film Lost In Translation. Nick and Chris are joined by Michelle Nakamoto to see if this indie hit still holds up, and if the person you need in your life is just a few steps away. No pressure.

Anyway, Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation. 

Auteur Theory has finally returned for our Second Season. We'll start things off at the turn-of-the-century, 1999. Independent film has finally entered the mainstream of American cinema, and opened the door for new voices to make their mark.

One of the most talked-about among them was the subject of this season, Sofia Coppola. She already had the cards stacked against her; being one of the few female directors working in Hollywood, as well as the daughter of legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

We're starting this season off with her first feature film as a director, the coming-of-age drama The Virgin Suicides. It's been twenty years since the movie made a big splash on the independent film scene. This week, Nick and Chris are revisiting it with Liz Manning to see if it still has the same fresh, groundbreaking impact it had back then.

So, we somehow survived Season 1 and our sticky exploration of the world of David Cronenberg. But what's next for Auteur Theory?

Well, before we get things off and running again, Nick pressured Chris into participating in one of those dumb Facebook trending bullshits where he had to put together a list of his 10 favorite films in 10 days. And Chris being Chris, he came up with a grab-bag of weird shit that then had to be addressed in podcast form. So here's that.

We're also announcing our second season. In the coming weeks, we'll be looking at the films of Sofia Coppola. So you can expect some returning friends of the show as well as some new friends as we completely switch gears and explore Coppola's unique take on the formative early-2000s independent film scene - and beyond - that turned so many of us into the cinephiles we are today.