Director Justine Triet's Palme D'Or winner ANATOMY OF A FALL is finally appearing in American theaters, and our trio is ready to deliver a verdict. Plus, a new round of Hall of Excellence nominees that really puts the witness on the stand.

What’s Good
Alonso - New American terminal at DFW
Drea - Maria Lewis’s latest book, The Graveyard Shift
Ify - quick trip to perform in NYC

ITIDIC

1. Over 2000 Producers Have Signed a Petition Asking to Drop the final “P” from “AMPTP”
2. The Eras Movie Has Been Released Into the World to Much Fanfare
3. Disney Studios Turns 100

Staff Picks
Drea - Fair Play
Alonso - Strange Way of Life
Ify - Totally Killer

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With
Ify Nwadiwe
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

When a UCB show (called Fucking Identical Twins) becomes A24’s first musical, it’s safe to expect the unexpected. Joined by actor, writer, and comedian Drew Droege, the gang takes an intimate look at Dicks, followed by a quiz about body parts in what is surely our most mature episode to date.

What’s Good
Alonso - Phaidon’s The Christmas Book
Drea - Nailtiques
Drew - Bret Easton Ellis, The Shards
Ify - spooky season, Hop Water

ITIDIC

1. John Woo’s Upcoming Silent Night Might Represent a Dialogue-Free Movie Trend
2. Drea Called It: 2012 Doc “Queen of Versailles” Getting Narrative Treatment…as a Musical
3. Guillermo del Toro never saw the sequel to Pacific Rim

Staff Picks
Alonso - The Royal Hotel
Drea - Little Shop of Horrors
Drew - Dyke Hard
Ify - Freak Dance

More about Titanique

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With
Ify Nwadiwe
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Drew Droege

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Director John Carney has a very particular set of skills…this week, the gang discusses those skills and how they’re on display in his latest, FLORA AND SON, starring Eve Hewson. Then, we debate a Hotline question about works of genius.

What's Good
Alonso - Bing and Billie and Frank and Ella and Judy and Barbra by Dan Callahan
Drea - extra large green seedless grapes
Siobhan - going out to dinner
Ify - WGA Strike ending/Bob’s Big Boy

ITIDIC

1. SAG-AFTRA and Studios Meet to Negotiate this week
2. Outfest Has Been In the Headlines This Past Week…
3. Beyonce’s Concert Film Drops in December, Also via AMC

Staff Picks
Alonso - Begin Again
Drea - Showing Up
Siobhan - The Killing of Two Lovers, Arthur
Ify - Saw II

Leave a message for the Hotline!

With:
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Ify Nwadiwe
Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Producer Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

It’s getting spooky (and even a little sad) in the world of Branagh Poirot, but don’t worry it’s still cozy! Cozier than ever, perhaps. We’ve got Gillian Walters, Poirot fan and arbitress of all things cozy (which is the name of her podcast), here to help us tell you all about this mystery movie with as few spoilers as possible.

What’s Good 
Alonso - Historically Black Phrases
Gillian - Morro Bay’s seaweed-wrapped sea otters
Drea - Free COVID tests are back

ITIDIC

1. WGA and Studios Reach a Tentative Deal
2. Amazon is Pivoting to an Ad-Supported Model
3. 60% of Stop Making Sense’s IMAX Opening Weekend was Under 35

Staff Picks
Alonso - Invisible Beauty
Gillian - You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
Drea - Juan of the Dead

Leave a message for the Hotline!

With:
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Gillian Walters
Ify Nwadiwe

Producer Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

A new film directed by Roger Ross Williams tells the true story of luchador Saúl Armendáriz, who was determined to fight and win on his own terms as Cassandro…and made (gay) history in the process. Then, we’ll take a look at some other documentary-to-drama story arcs.

What’s Good
Alonso - Ava DuVernay’s “Lights, Caramel, Action”
Drea - “Body’s choice” weekend in Palm Springs
Ify - Talking Heads Q&A

ITIDIC

1. The Union Solidarity Coalition Put on a Quirky Auction to Support Film Crew Workers
2. A Wave of Latino Biopics is widening the scope on whose stories get told for posterity
3. Regal Has Reportedly Discontinued Its Infamous “Movie Quotes” Pre-Roll

Staff Picks
Alonso - Bad Education
Drea - No One Will Save You, Life Animated
Ify - Le Samouraï

Leave a message for the Hotline!

With:
Ify Nwadiwe
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Producer Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

What’s Good
Alonso - the existence of Hallmark’s Notes of Autumn
Drea - library card sign up month
Kahea - night walks/Rick Rubin’s book
Ify - football stuff, The Challenge, new paints for tiny boys…and oh, Beyonce

ITIDIC
Over 200 Filmmakers and Actors Signed a Letter Asking TIFF to Drop RBC Sponsor
NB: This story was updated after recording with even more actors signing on
- Kahea mentions Yea! Impact
The Writers Guild Says It’s Open to Making Deals with Individual Studios
Scarecrow Video Launches Updated Rent-By-Mail Website

Staff Picks
Alonso and Drea - Scrapper
Kahea - The Faculty (and High School Horror on Criterion Channel)
Ify - Stop Making Sense

Leave a message for the Hotline!

With:
Ify Nwadiwe
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Kahea Kiwaha

Producer Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

What’s Good
Alonso - Bellota Bellota
Drea - Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Brandy - Video Patreon Feed
Julie - new kitten (getting his nails trimmed)
Ify - weekend trip, painting tiny boys

ITIDIC
Taylor Swift’s Studio-Free Surprise Concert Film
Alonso is Back From Venice! Festival Recap in a strange year…

Staff Picks
Drea - You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
Alonso - Strange World
Brandy - Proof
Julie - Nacho Libre
Ify - Harlan County USA

Dumb Gay Podcast

Leave a message for the Hotline!

With:
Ify Nwadiwe
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Julie Goldman
Brandy Howard

Producer Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

What’s Good
Alonso - Ben & Jerry’s Gimme S’more 
Drea - Inkoo Kang’s Newsletter, This Was Cool
Carlos - Return to the dry heat of LA
Ify - Aunts in town and cooking

ITIDIC

1. DUNE 2 Pushed to 2024
2. Los Angeles Is Having an Art House Moment
3. 8.5 Million People Went to Theaters on National Cinema Day

Carlos’s LA Times Piece about Blue Beetle’s cultural references

Staff Picks
Drea - Our Father the Devil
Carlos - King Coal
Alonso - Passages
Ify - Deep Cover

Thanks to our sponsor, Factor Meals!
Go to FactorMeals.com/MaxFilm50 and use code MAXFILM50 to get 50% off your order!

With
Ify Nwadiwe
Alonso Duralde
Drea Clark
Carlos Aguilar

Producer Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

From Sundance 2023 to an arthouse screen near you, MUTT is the first feature from director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz. Starring Lío Mehiel as Feña, it tells the story of a young trans guy who is having a pretty stressful day navigating surprises from his ex, his little sister, his father, and the city at large.

We discuss the film, and the nominate Best One-Day Movies to the Hall of Excellence

(Vote on our Facebook page)

What’s Good
Alonso - Billy Bragg, Rich Men Earning North of a Million
Drea - Family vacation and family photos 
Ify - Basement survived the hurriquake

ITIDIC

1. WGA Antitrust Report Calls Disney, Amazon, Netflix “The New Gatekeepers”
2. Cherokee Nation Launches “Cherokee Film” banner
3. National Cinema Day is Returning This Year (but the cost is going up)

Staff Picks
Drea - The Quiet Girl
Alonso - Casa Susanna
Ify - Blue Beetle

With:
Ify Nwadiwe
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

This week, we’re talking about a very special book-to-film adaptation: Red, White & Royal Blue. Our guest is the charming Traci Thomas of The Stacks podcast! 

*Just a quick disclaimer to our listeners, we had some audio troubles during this week’s episode. 

What’s Good
Alonso -  Keith Haring: Art is For Everybody at The Broad 
Traci - Trader Joe’s Root Beer Float Bars 
Ify - Public Libraries 

ITIDIC

1. Two LGBTQ films were slapped with R and NC-17 ratings. Critics say queer sex scenes are treated differently.  
2. Tyrese Gibson Is Suing The Home Depot For Alleged ‘Humiliating and Demeaning’ Incident
3. Latino Organizations Unite in Support for ‘Blue Beetle’ During Hollywood Strikes

Staff Picks 
Alonso - Blue Beetle (out in theaters on August 18th) 
Traci - The Deepest Breath
Ify - The First Slam Dunk (also available at select theaters now) 

Check out the latest episode of Traci’s podcast The Stacks: 

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

It’s also available to stream on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast and Stitcher

The Stacks is also on tour! You can catch tickets here: http://liveinthestackstour.showit.site/

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher