Contra Zoom Pod

This is the first episode of a new series called Make/Remake where we look at two films, an original and a remake and compare and contrast the films. It isn’t about anointing, which one is the superior film or deriding remakes as unoriginal. This series is about looking at two films that tell the same story and how the utilize the art of telling a story in both similar and different ways. 

This week Dakota Arsenault is joined by Stephanie Prior to talk about Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven.

Seven Samurai was released in 1954 and was directed by Akira Kurasawa (Rashomon, Akira Ran). The film was nominated for two Oscars (Best Art Direction/Set Decoration B&W and Best Costume Design B&W) and remains one of Japans most famous and influential films. 

Only six years later did The Magnificent Seven come out, it was directed by John Sturges (The Great Escape, Gunfight at the O.K. Coral). The film only received one Oscar nomination for its iconic score even though it starred a who’s who of Hollywood including Steve McQueen, Yul Brenner, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Eli Wallach and more. 

Special thanks to Stephanie Prior for joining me and for creating the artwork used for this special episode. 

Follow Dakota @Dgapa on Twitter.

Episode was originally posted on June 8, 2017

On this week’s episode Dakota Arsenault introduces interviews that Sierra Nutkevitch conducted at the Toronto Screenwriting Conference this year. 

Episode was originally posted on May 24, 2017

Rachel Gordon and Dakota Arsenault discuss the top films of 2016, even though it is now 4 months into 2017, as they needed time to digest everything. They were going to just award the top spot to La La Land, but at the last second decided not to.

A few guests who also talk about their number one movie of last year join them this week.

Gilles Leblanc- Rogue One

Sierra Nutkevitch- Moana

Sean Chin- Arrival

Mehek Seyid- Moonlight

Rachel Gordon’s top 10 list:

10. Don’t Think Twice

9. Little Men

8. Sing Street

7. 10 Cloverfield Land

6. Kubo and the Two Strings

5. I, Daniel Blake

4. 20th Century Women

3. Arrival

2. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

1. Moonlight

Dakota Arsenault’s top 10 list:

10. Sing Street

9. The Salesman

8. The Handmaiden

7. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

6. The Lobster

5. Arrival

4. O.J.: Made in America

3. Moonlight

2. Hail, Caesar

1. Hell or High Water

Check out Dakota’s entire 2016 list on Letterboxd.

What was your favourite movie of the year?

Episode was originally posted on March 30, 2017

After all the craziness of the Oscars Dakota Arsenault and Mehek Seyid needed to talk about what transpired. 

– La La Land was accidentally named Best Picture because of an envelope mixup

– Jimmy Kimmel making fun of non-white names isn’t cool

– John Legend performed both La La Land songs

– Mahershala Ali was the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar

– Damien Chazelle is the youngest Best Director winner ever

– Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won the first Oscar for a Potter-verse film

– All five directors of the Best Foreign Language Film signed a note deriding Trump’s Travel Ban 

Based on the guesses Dakota, Rachel Gordon and Mehek made during the two part predictions episode Dakota ended up with 16 right, Rachel with 9 and Mehek with 14. 

Follow Dakota @Dgapa and follow the show @ContraZoomPod on Twitter.

Episode was originally posted on March 1, 2017

Just in time for your last minute Oscar pool’s Dakota Arsenault and Rachel Gordon host the second annual Contra Zoom Oscar Extravaganza! Your hosts are joined by film buff and Capsule co-host Mehek Seyid. Here are the final predictions for Part 2 of the two-part special. If you missed Part 1, listen HERE. There will be a recap episode after the Oscars.

Best Documentary 

Dakota- O.J.: Made in America

Rachel- O.J.: Made in America

Mehek- O.J.: Made in America

Best Foreign Language Film 

Dakota- The Salesman

Rachel- Toni Erdmann

Mehek- The Salesman

Best Animated Feature 

Dakota- Zootopia

Rachel- Kubo and the Two Strings

Mehek- Zootopia

Best Adapted Screenplay

Dakota- Moonlight

Rachel- Moonlight

Mehek- Moonlight

Best Original Screenplay

Dakota- Manchester By the Sea

Rachel- La La Land 

Mehek- La La Land

Best Supporting Actor

Dakota- Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Rachel- Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Mehek- Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) 

Best Supporting Actress

Dakota- Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Rachel- Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Mehek- Viola Davis (Fences)

Best Actor

Dakota- Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Rachel- Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Mehek- Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Actress

Dakota- Emma Stone (La La Land)

Rachel- Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Mehek- Emma Stone (La La Land)

Best Director

Dakota- Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Rachel- Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Mehek- Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Best Picture

Dakota- Moonlight

Rachel- La La Land

Mehek- La La Land

Follow Dakota @Dgapa and follow the show @ContraZoomPod on Twitter.

Episode was originally posted on February 23, 2017

Just in time for your last minute Oscar pool’s Dakota Arsenault and Rachel Gordon host the second annual Contra Zoom Oscar Extravaganza! Your hosts are joined by film buff and Capsule co-host Mehek Seyid. Here are the final predictions for Part 1 of the two part special. 

Best Live Action Short Film

Best Documentary Short Film

Best Animated Short Film

Best Sound Mixing

Best Sound Editing

Best Original Score

Best Original Song

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Best Editing

Best Costume Design

Best Production Design

Best Visual Effects

Best Cinematography

Stay tuned to part two coming on Thursday with the rest of the predictions. Special thanks to Mehek Seyid for joining Rachel and Dakota on this episode.

Follow Dakota @Dgapa and follow the show @ContraZoomPod on Twitter.

Episode was originally posted on February 21, 2017

On this last episode of this year’s breakdown of the Best Picture nominated films Dakota Arsenault talks about Manchester By the Sea and Lion. On last week’s episode of Contra Zoom he discussed Hell or High Water, Fences and Moonlight. 

These are the nominations for Manchester By the Sea

These are the nominations for Lion

Make sure you check out this week’s Oscar Primer where Dakota goes over Jackie, Loving, Doctor Strange and Zootopia. These Primers will be posted once a week on Tuesdays. 

Follow Dakota @Dgapa and follow the show @ContraZoomPod on Twitter.

Episode was originally posted on February 16, 2017

On this second episode of this year’s breakdown of the Best Picture nominated films Dakota Arsenault and Rachel Gordon talks about Moonlight, Fences and Hell or High Water. On last week’s episode of Contra Zoom he discussed Hidden Figures and La La Land.

These are the nominations for Moonlight

These are the nominations for Fences

These are the nominations for Hell or High Water

Make sure you check out this week’s Oscar Primer where Dakota goes over Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Captain Fantastic, Hail, Caesar! and Suicide Squad. These Primers will be posted once a week on Tuesdays. 

Follow Dakota @Dgapa and follow the show @ContraZoomPod on Twitter.

Episode was originally posted on February 9, 2017

On this second episode of this year’s breakdown of the Best Picture nominated films Dakota Arsenaulttalks about Hidden Figures and La La Land. On last week’s episode of Contra Zoom he discussed Hacksaw Ridge and Arrival. 

These are the nominations for Hidden Figures

These are the nominations for La La Land

Make sure you check out this week’s Oscar Primer where Dakota goes over Florence Foster Jenkins, Kubo and the Two Strings and The Lobster. These Primers will be posted once a week on Tuesdays. 

Follow Dakota @Dgapa and follow the show @ContraZoomPod on Twitter.

Episode was originally posted on February 3, 2017

This is the first Oscar Primer podcast for Contra Zoom, continuing the series of Oscar Primer’s Dakotadoes every year, normally just as written articles. He is flying solo this episode as he talks about Arrivaland Hacksaw Ridge.

These are the nominations for Arrival

– Best Picture 

– Best Director

Denis Villeneuve 

– Best Adapted Screenplay

Eric Heisserer 

– Best Cinematography

Bradford Young 

– Best Film Editing

Joe Walker 

– Best Production Design

Patrice Vermette 

Paul Hotte 

– Best Sound Mixing

Bernard Gariépy Strobl 

Claude La Haye 

– Best Sound Editing

Sylvain Bellemare 

These are the nominations for Hacksaw Ridge

– Best Picture 

– Best Actor 

Andrew Garfield 

– Best Director

Mel Gibson 

– Best Film Editing

John Gilbert 

– Best Sound Mixing

Kevin O’Connell 

Andy Wright 

Robert Mackenzie 

Peter Grace 

– Best Sound Editing

Robert Mackenzie 

Andy Wright

Make sure you check out the first written Oscar Primer where Dakota goes over some first thoughts on the nominations for this year. These Primers will be posted once a week. 

Follow Dakota @Dgapa and follow the show @ContraZoomPod on Twitter.

Episode was originally posted on January 26, 2017