What happens when the director of a documentary returns years later to retell the same story as a feature film?

This week on Below the Line, Skid talks with Director Alex Parkinson about Last Breath, first made as a 2019 documentary and now released as a feature film starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole.

We talk through:

What emerges is a story about continuity and transformation — a director returning to familiar material but reimagining it at a different scale, with different tools, and for a wider audience.

🎧 Press play and go Below the Line on Last Breath. For more, visit belowtheline.biz.

Our sixth annual Academy Awards series — with panels of film professionals discussing the Oscar nominees in their category of expertise — concludes with Makeup and Hairstyling. Podcast veterans Angela Nogaro (Makeup) and Yvonne Depatis-Kupka (Hair) return to offer their assessment of this year’s slate of nominees. It’s a lively set of reviews to wrap up the series! I hope you’ve enjoyed these episodes as much as I’ve enjoyed publishing them.

The 2024 Nominees for Makeup and Hairstyling:

• “A Different Man”

• “Emilia Pérez”

• “Nosferatu”

• “The Substance”

• “Wicked” 

Film professionals discussing the nominees in their area of expertise: that’s Below the Line at the Academy Awards. We’re in the home stretch (episode 11 of 12!), and today we’re talking about the Oscar nominees for Cinematography. My returning guests — Patrick Cady and David Tuttman — are directors of photography (and directors in their own right!) with a keen eye for what makes these films worthy of the nomination. It gets a little technical sometimes for my understanding but I suspect you’ll enjoy it nonetheless.

The 2024 Nominees for Cinematography: 

• “The Brutalist”

• “Dune: Part Two”

• “Emilia Pérez”

• “Maria”

• “Nosferatu” 

It’s a wild and woolly episode of the podcast as editors Christopher Angel and Amy Duddleston return to discuss this year’s Oscar nominees for Film Editing. In all the years I’ve hosted these conversations, this pair has always complained about films being too long. Given that the shortest film on this list clocks in at two hours, I was anticipating some blistering critiques, but their assessments surprised me. Did we agree about all of these films on their merits? No. Was I entertained? Yes. I hope you will be as well.

The 2024 Nominees for Film Editing:

• “Anora”

• “The Brutalist”

• “Conclave”

• “Emilia Pérez”

• “Wicked” 

Costume Designers Helen Huang And Liz Vastola offer their insights on this year’s Academy Award nominees for Costume Design. This one runs a little longer than usual, but we take some time to discuss how costume design is different from fashion design, the role actors play in the shaping of their costumes, and other challenges of the craft. With the ceremony less than two weeks away, we’re in the home stretch, and I hope you’re keeping up.

The 2024 Nominees for Costume Design:

• “A Complete Unknown”

• “Conclave”

• “Gladiator II”

• “Nosferatu”

• “Wicked” 

Oscar season continues here at Below the Line, where film professionals discuss the nominees in the category of their expertise. Today’s animated conversation about the nominees for Animated Feature Film benefits from returning guests, Kent Seki and Camille Leganza. We also take a brief side quest to discuss the challenges currently faced by the Animation Industry.

The 2024 Nominees for Animated Feature Film:

• “Flow”

• “Inside Out 2”

• “Memoir of a Snail”

• “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”

• “The Wild Robot” 

Today we’re discussing the Oscar nominees for Original Song. My guests — Chris Molanphy (chart analyst and podcast host), Louis Weeks (score composer), and Tom Peyton (song writer) — offer both analysis and critique of this year’s nominees. Is there a lot of enthusiasm for the musical innovations these songs offer the listening audience? Well, no. Does it make for an interesting discussion? Yes, definitely. 

The 2024 Nominees for Original Song:

• “El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez”

• “The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight”

• “Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing”

• “Mi Camino” also from “Emilia Pérez”

• “Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late” 

Our tour through the technical categories continues with a discussion of the Oscar nominees for Original Score. My guests — Louis Weeks (score composer), Chris Molanphy (chart analyst/pop critic), and Jennie Callender (founder and music supervisor of Soundbloom) — offer a multi-layered set of insights.

The 2024 Nominees for Original Score:

• “The Brutalist”

• “Conclave”

• “Emilia Pérez” 

• “Wicked”

• “The Wild Robot”  

It’s non-stop conversations about the Oscar nominees in the technical categories from now until the Academy Awards, and I hope you'll follow us for the full season. Today, Kent Seki and Chris Batty return to discuss the nominees for Achievement in Visual Effects. 

The 2024 Nominees for Visual Effects:

• “Alien: Romulus”

• “Better Man”

• “Dune: Part Two” 

• “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”

• “Wicked”  

Below the Line continues our Sixth Annual Oscar Series with a discussion of the nominees for achievement in Directing, and I’m joined by a panel of fellow below-the-liners: Bill Hardy, Roger Mendoza and Shaun O’Banion. (This is the second year we’ve discussed the directors nominated for the Academy Award in lieu of the Directors Guild of America nominees.)

The 2024 Nominees for Directing:

• “Anora”

• “The Brutalist”

• “A Complete Unknown” 

• “Emilia Pérez”

• “The Substance”