On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we are kicking things off with a breakdown and discussion on the 2023 Oscar nominations, from what should win to what was obviously "snubbed" in all of the major categories. Then we segue to a walk down memory lane as we barb back-and-forth on our favorite movie theater memories: those times IN a movie theater that have stayed with us for all of these years. What was your most memorable time at the cinema?

Also on this episode: Alec Baldwin is charged in the Rust tragedy, and our spoiler-free reviews of The Last of Us and Night Court!

• (0:00 – 40:07) Opening | 2023 Oscar Nominations | Rust Charges
• (40:08 – 1:13:32) Movie Theater Memories
• (1:13:33 – 1:27:13) Reviews of The Last of Us and Night Court

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we're breaking down everything that's getting us excited in film with our 2023 Movie Preview Extravaganza!  We talk about all the big movies coming to theaters and streaming this year with their respective release date and a brief synopsis. Flash, Fast X, Little Mermaid, Wonka, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and so many more. Last year was full of highlights, but 2023 is looking even more exciting. Let's take a walk into the future! 

Also on this episode: our spoiler-free review of Alice, Darling!

• (5:46 – 1:21:39) The 2023 Movie Preview Extravaganza
• (1:21:40 – 1:32:11) Review of Alice, Darling

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we're breaking down everything that's getting us excited in television with our 2023 TV Release Extravaganza!  We talk about over 30 NEW TV shows coming to television this year with the premiere date, network, and a brief synopsis, AND our favorites returning. Strap on your boots, we're taking a walk into the future!

Also on this episode: spoiler-free reviews of M3GAN, The Pale Blue Eye, and Skinamarink!

• (0:00 – 5:45) Opening 
• (5:46 – 1:00:43) Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2023
• (1:00:44 – 1:27:09) Reviews of M3GAN, The Pale Blue Eye, and Skinamarink

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider, we are breaking down our 2023 awards for both film and television. If you haven’t listened to our HO Awards before, we do ours a bit different, for example our "actor" category covers all genders, we do not separate it. For TV, cable and streaming all count, it just has to have had at least 3 new episodes in 2022. For movies, VOD and streaming all count.

If you want to follow along, the categories are below, so let us know what your picks are on our social media channels. Each of us will award our winners in each category, and at the end, we’ll combine ours with listener picks to determine what was the HO TV series and Movie of the Year! Before we go, we will each leave you with our 2023 HO Teachable Minute.

* Be wary of potential mild spoilers for 2022 films and TV series

• (0:00 – 15:50) Opening | Best TV or Film Experience | Best News Item | Best Line in Film or TV
• (15:51 – 1:08:25) Television Awards
• (1:08:26 – 1:59:20) Film Awards
• (1:59:21 – 2:07:30) Listener Top 10 | HO TV Series, and Movie of the Year | 2023 Teachable Minute
• Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content, by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider

TV Award Categories

• Best Special Effects and/or Stunts on TV
• Best Villain or Badass
• Best Supporting Actor
• Best Actor
• Best Specific Moment on TV
• The Justin Macumber Award: Little-seen or discussed TV series that just completely won you over and you hope more people find it in the new year. Named after the late Justin Macumber.
• Most Disappointing TV Series
• Best TV Flashback
• The Top 10

Movie Award Categories

• Best Use of a Worn-Out Movie Cliché or Plot
• Best Physical Effects or Stunts
• Best Use of CGI in Film
• Best Villain or Badass
• Best Supporting Actor
• Best Actor
• Best Specific Moment in Film
• The Justin Macumber Award: Little-seen or discussed film that just completely won you over and you hope more people find it in the new year. Named after the late Justin Macumber.
• Most Disappointing Film
• The Top 10

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, it's the Best of 2022 as we assemble our most popular topics of 2022 in ONE episode: Controversy, Multiverses, and 80s Movie Soundtracks!

First up, we decided it was time to get a bit controversial and weigh in on a few of our unpopular opinions or theories in entertainment news. Is Wes Anderson vastly overrated? Should Star Wars have ended with Return of the Jedi? Is E.T. really an allegory for something deeper, perhaps a love story? All of these and more are discussed and probed as The Hollywood Outsider gets controversial.

Then we’re taking a journey through the multiverse. Specifically, the concept of multiverses as a storytelling device. While many might think this starts and ends with Marvel’s recent slate of films including Spider-Man: No Way Home, in fact, multiverses have been around for decades in various forms. As this backdrop of storytelling explodes in popularity, we take a look at it and discuss if it has a long-term future in modern filmmaking.

We conclude with our most popular topic of the year as we decided to look back at the original for inspiration and devote our topic to 80s movie soundtracks! Top Gun, Dirty Dancing, Purple Rain, The Blues Brothers, the list goes on and on and on. What was your favorite soundtrack from the 80s era?

• • (0:00 – 49:16) Let's Get Controversial
  • (49:17 – 1:13:34) Journey Through the Multiverse
  • (1:13:35 – 2:05:12) 80s Movie Soundtracks
  • Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our Bad Movie Night by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, it's time to head back to Pandora and witness the majestic views of the seas as imagined by James Cameron, as he returns to his biggest movie of all-time with Avatar: The Way of Water! 

Aaron and Troy first break down the story and experience as a spoiler-free review, before diving into the spoilers of Jake and Neytiri's burgeoning family who are now being hunted by a character familiar to all. This is blockbuster filmmaking at its most imaginative, but does the return to Pandora live up to expectations after 13 years away?

• • (0:00 – 15:13) Avatar: The Way of Water Spoiler-Free Review
  • (15:14 – 45:06) Avatar: The Way of Water Spoiler Discussion
  • Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our Bad Movie Night by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider

Television has gotten so enormous that is near impossible to stay up-to-date on every TV show airing or streaming today. While we are swimming in the riches of content these days, there are still shows that are simply the BEST at consuming our every waking moment. These are not necessarily the greatest TV shows, but instead bingeable TV shows we are talking about. Your Breaking Bad, The Office, 24, Lost, Game of Thrones, Battlestar Galactica, Stranger Things, and many others are on tap as we discuss what are the most bingeable TV shows of all-time. 

Also on this week's show, we have spoiler-free reviews of The Apology and Adult Swim Yule Log. As well as discussion on the insanity happening over at Warner Brothers Discover and HBO Max, do the 2023 Golden Globes even matter, and Titanic turns 25 years old. This and more on the latest episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast. 

• • (0:00 – 23:40) Discovery HBO Max Chaos, Golden Globes 2023, Titanic Turns 25
  • (23:41 – 39:52) Reviews: The Apology, Adult Swim Yule Log | Recommendations
  • (39:53 – 1:36:30) From the Outside In: The Most Bingeable TV Shows Ever
  • Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our Bad Movie Night by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider

Every year, we love to celebrate the holiday season with our listeners, and there is no better way to do that than with our annual Holiday Special!

It all started 8 years ago with a random idea: we were big fans of holiday specials, yet podcasts seemed to skip over the idea completely. Therefore, we decided we can do whatever we want here at The Hollywood Outsider, so let’s create our own tradition and the Annual Holiday Special was born!

Every year we rekindle the past while adding a little something new, and assembling some of the best moments from every host - Aaron, John, Amanda, Brian, Scott, and Justin - for the most fantastic holiday special ever! Debating what constitutes a Christmas movie and specials we love, what makes for a great Christmas movie, Christmas cliches we love, plus new segments where we review Violent Night and bring back Recasting the Classics with a look at how we would remake National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!

That’s not all, oh no. The Christmas spirit kicks into overdrive as we open up and share our personal memories of the holiday season, stories that remind us of Christmas. And no holiday special would be complete without a visit from the big man himself, so get ready for as much St. Nick as legally allowed as Santa Claus drops by the studio to tell us just how naughty or nice we are, all throughout the episode!

With a special game from Amanda, Santa in his sleigh, John's obsession with puppets, Scott’s first Christmas Poem, and a lot of fun for everyone – This is the one podcast you don’t want to miss this holiday season!

• Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content, by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider

In recent years, directors Rian Johnson and Kenneth Branagh have revived the murder mystery format in a huge way with their respective franchises beginning with Knives Out and Murder on the Orient Express, respectively. We have discussed how much we all love murder mysteries on the podcast, but WHY do we love them so much? What is it about these puzzle games of murder that drive audiences back for repeat viewings, long after they have already deduced who the culprit is? We'll find out this week as our topic is what makes for a great murder mystery? 

Also on this week's show, we have spoiler-free reviews of Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Adams in Tim Burton's foray into television with Wednesday, plus Rian Johnson's return to the Knives Out franchise with Glass Onion. Furthermore, Quentin Tarantino has been getting a lot of press recently for his comments stating that Marvel actors are not movie stars, but is there truth in his statements? We discuss, and at the end of the podcast, revisit an earlier conversation we had on the end of the movie star era as a whole.

• • (0:00 – 21:45) Opening | Quentin Tarantino and Marvel Movie Stars
  • (21:46 – 53:13) Reviews: Netflix's Wednesday and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | Recommendations
  • (53:14 – 1:15:45) From the Outside In: What Makes A Great Murder Mystery? 
  • (1:15:46 – 1:41:29) Is the Movie Star Era Dead? - (From Episode 490)
  • Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our Bad Movie Night by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider

The world is abuzz with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as director Ryan Coogler was faced with a difficult question after beloved star Chadwick Boseman suddenly passed away: recast or move forward? On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we discuss recasting film and television characters throughout the years, and when is the right or wrong time to do so. Or is it ever truly ok to recast a beloved character? Also this week, we discover an actor's gem through focusing on several rarely discussed films by some of our favorite actors.

After our topic, Troy and Aaron dive into Black Panther: Wakanda Forever! Be forewarned, this is a full-on spoilercast where we discuss all of the details Marvel and director Ryan Coogler decided to go with as they ventured back to Wakanda. Does Letitia Wright carry the film? Is Namor a formidable foe? Should they ultimately have recast King T'Challa? Why the hell isn't the stinger part of the ACTUAL movie?! All of this and more on our Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Spoilercast.

• • (0:00 – 06:25) Opening
  • (06:26 - 48:33) From the Outside In: Recasting Film or TV Actors
  • (48:34 – 55:52) Discover an Actor's Gem
  • (55:53 – 1:35:03) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Spoilercast
  • Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our Bad Movie Night by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider