The Big Picture

By The Ringer

TV & Film

What's The Big Picture about?

The Ringer dives into movies as Editor-In-Chief Sean Fennessey sits down with Hollywood’s biggest filmmakers, breaks down the latest industry trends, handicaps the upcoming Oscars race, and reviews new films with Ringer colleagues like Shea Serrano, Amanda Dobbins, and Bill Simmons.

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Top Five Cult Movies, ‘Bad ...

04.09.2021

Adam Nayman returns to the show to discuss the elusive nature of cult movies: what makes one qualify, and when and why does a movie officially earn cult status. Sean and Adam use two of their favorite recent movies, Netflix's ...

The Big Picture episodes:

04.09.2021 Top Five Cult Movies, ‘Bad Trip,’ and ‘The Empty Man’ Adam Nayman returns to the show to discuss the elusive nature of cult movies: what makes one qualify, and when and why does a movie officially earn cult status. Sean and Adam use two of their favorite recent movies, Netflix's ...
04.06.2021 Five Reasons Movie Theaters Are ... Back?! Plus, the World of Wong Kar-Wai. Sean and Amanda dive into the return of the box office after ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ earned nearly $50 million over the holiday weekend. Are movie theaters back for good? Then, they discuss the results of the SAG Awards and what ...
04.01.2021 ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ and Top Five Blockbusters ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ is the first major blockbuster movie event of 2021. Shea Serrano joins Sean and Amanda to discuss the winners and losers of the latest monster showdown, which is now in theaters and available on HBO Max. Then, ...
03.30.2021 The 2016 Movie Draft: Three the Hard Way Sean and Amanda are once again joined by Chris Ryan to draft the best (a.k.a. their favorite) movies from the year 2016. They discuss their lives that year, how Hollywood was changing, what the 'Moonlight' Best Picture Oscar win meant, ...
03.26.2021 Top Five Gen X Director Debuts, the Fate of ‘Black Widow,’ and a Potential Oscars Disaster Sean and Amanda dive into the news about the new release strategy for Disney’s long-awaited ‘Black Widow’ and what it means for movie theaters (0:16). Then, they look at the results of the WGA and PGA awards, and the complications ...
03.23.2021 The Best Movie of 2021 So Far, and a Chuck Klosterman Theory of Film Sean and Amanda welcome author Chuck Klosterman to dive deep into two fascinating topics. The first is Adam Curtis' sprawling six-part documentary series 'Can't Get You Out of My Head,' which explores the absurdity of modern life and the intersections ...
03.19.2021 The Snyder Cut Commentary: A ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Watch-along This is a very, very special episode of 'The Big Picture': our first watch-along commentary track. For 'Zack Snyder’s Justice League.' Except we’ve never seen it before. So when we press play on the Snyder Cut for the first time, ...
03.15.2021 The Snubs and Surprises of the Academy Award Nominations It appears we have a historic and … good (???) set of nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards. Sean and Amanda dive into all the narratives, break down who missed out and why, and look at which film is likely ...
03.12.2021 Ten Ways to Save the 2021 Academy Awards Mailbag Special We're 45 days away from the Academy Awards, and less than a week away from Oscar nominations. Sean and Amanda sense trouble for the hallowed award show, so they dive into the mailbag to come up with some solutions for ...
03.08.2021 ‘WandaVision’: What Worked, What Didn’t, and What’s Next With Mallory Rubin The first entrant in Disney+'s MCU expansion into TV concluded over the weekend. 'Binge Mode' cohost Mallory Rubin joins Sean to talk about the finale, the theories that never paid off, the series' highlights, and what comes next for Marvel ...
03.05.2021 The Eddie Murphy Hall of Fame. Plus: Mads Mikkelsen! Sean and Amanda are building a shrine to comedy movie icon Eddie Murphy. Van Lathan joins the show to pick 10 classics for the Hall of Fame and discuss Murphy's new film 'Coming 2 America,' now streaming on Prime Video ...
03.02.2021 The ‘Promising Young Woman’ Conversation. Plus: Delroy Lindo! Amanda and Sean dig into one of the thorniest movies of award season, Emerald Fennell's feature debut as writer-director, 'Promising Young Woman.' They talk through the premise, the themes, the history of the revenge movie, the controversial ending, and a ...
03.01.2021 The Winners, Losers, and WTFs of the Golden Globes It was a Zoom ceremony for a Zoom reality at this year’s Golden Globes. Sean and Amanda talk about the production of the virtual show, the ways the Hollywood Foreign Press Association addressed its recent controversies, how hosts Tina Fey ...
02.25.2021 10 Fearless Golden Globes Predictions and the Magic of ‘Minari’ Sean and Amanda do the illogical: They try to predict how the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will hand out the Golden Globes on Sunday (26:39). Then, Sean talks to Lee Isaac Chung about ‘Minari,’ one of the best films of ...
02.23.2021 The 1984 Movie Draft and the Power of ‘Nomadland’ A front-runner for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Chloé Zhao's 'Nomadland' arrived on Hulu this weekend. Chris Ryan joins Sean and Amanda to discuss one of the year's most powerful films (0:30). Then, the trio head back to 1984 ...
02.19.2021 The Movie Star Ranking: 35 Over 35, Part II We kicked off our ranking of the top movie stars over 35 years old earlier this week. Now comes the hard part. Sean and Amanda drill down to make the tough choices. Hanks? Sandler? Streep? Denzel? Charlize? Hosts: Sean Fennessey ...
02.16.2021 The Movie Star Ranking: 35 Over 35, Part 1 Last year, Sean and Amanda bravely and controversially ranked the 35 best movie stars under 35. They’re back at it, only this time, they’ve trained their attention on the geriatric stars. This is the first of a two-part mega-podcast series ...
02.12.2021 Top Five Biopics and the Brilliance of ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ After discussing the Oscars shortlists, Sean and Amanda dive deep on biopics, share their top five favorites, and break down how the new HBO Max film ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ effectively subverts the formula (0:47). Then, Sean is joined ...
02.09.2021 A ‘Malcolm & Marie’ Meltdown With John David Washington and Sam Levinson. Plus: ‘The Sound of Music,’ Finally. Sean and Amanda celebrate the life and work of the late actor Christopher Plummer, including a discussion of his most famous film, ‘The Sound of Music’ (0:47). Then, Sean is joined by ‘Malcolm & Marie’ writer-director Sam Levinson and co-star ...
02.05.2021 Awards Season Has Gone Cuckoo. Plus: The 10 Best Movies at Sundance. Stonks, SAG Awards, and streamers: Amanda and Sean break down a roller coaster of a week in the movie business (0:36). Then, they’re joined by Adam Nayman to discuss a virtual Sundance Film Festival, the big acquisitions, and the very ...
02.03.2021 Snubs, Surprises, and WTFs of the Golden Globe Nominations, With Mark Harris The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is up to its old tricks again, so Amanda and Sean are here to break down the nominations for the Golden Globes, some of which are truly ludicrous (0:52). Then, they’re joined by journalist, author, ...
01.29.2021 Top Five Denzel Washington Movies and ‘The Little Things' With the release of ‘The Little Things' on HBO Max, Denzel Washington's first starring role in almost three years, it's time to celebrate one of the world's greatest living actors. Joining Sean and Amanda is Ringer staff writer and Denzel ...
01.26.2021 The 2015 Movie Draft. Plus: Amanda Seyfried! We draft once more! After a triumph at the 1995 draft, Sean attempts to fend off Chris and Amanda as the trio select the very best movies from the year 2015 (20:00). Then, Sean is joined by Amanda Seyfried, now ...
01.22.2021 The End of Dumpuary? 10 Early-2021 Streaming Movie Recommendations Historically, January is a dumpster fire for new movie releases, but this year holds a few surprising gems. Sean and Amanda recommend 10 new movies you can watch at home right now (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by Derek DelGaudio ...
01.18.2021 The MCU Comes to TV: A Guide to ‘WandaVision’ After concluding their discussion of Part 2 of HBO’s Tiger Woods documentary series, Sean and Amanda dive back into the MCU by taking a close look at the first two episodes of Marvel’s first Disney+ series, ‘WandaVision.’ Hosts: Sean Fennessey ...
01.15.2021 Top 10 Stage-to-Screen Movies and ‘One Night in Miami’ Inspired by Regina King's directorial debut 'One Night in Miami,' Amanda and Sean share their top 10 stage-to-screen adaptations: five musicals and five plays each (0:45). Then, Sean is joined by Kingsley Ben-Adir, one of the stars of 'One Night ...
01.12.2021 Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag It was a busy streaming weekend. Sean and Amanda break down Part 1 of HBO's 'Tiger,' Netflix's Martin Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz series 'Pretend It's a City,' and a wave of award-season updates (0:40). Then, they dig into the mailbag ...
01.08.2021 The 20 Most Anticipated Movies of 2021 Movies are back! Sorta! With dozens of releases delayed in 2020 due to COVID-19, this year figures to be one of the busiest in history. From Marvel's return to 'Dune' to a Beatles documentary to surefire Oscar contenders, Sean and ...
01.05.2021 'The Godfather Coda' and Top Five Director's Cuts In December 2020, Francis Ford Coppola oversaw the release of 'The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone,' a reconfiguration of his film 'The Godfather: Part III' and the latest in a long line of director's cuts. What is a ...
12.31.2020 The Genius of Pixar's 'Soul' and 'Wonder Woman 1984' Backlash Sean and Amanda look at the early reactions to DC's latest film, which arrived on HBO Max on Christmas Day, and discuss what the ramifications could be to backlash against the film (0:43). Then, they discuss one of the year's ...
12.29.2020 The 1995 Movie Draft Happy (almost) New Year, 'Big Picture' listeners. Sean and Amanda are ringing it in by going back in time to 1995, and they are joined, as always, by Chris Ryan to draft the very best movies of that year and ...
12.25.2020 'Wonder Woman 1984' Is Here, on HBO Max. Plus: Paul Greengrass! 'Wonder Woman 1984,' the latest installment in the DCEU, has arrived on HBO Max after a controversial decision by Warner Media. Sean and Amanda break it all down, from the '80s time jump to the additions of Kristen Wiig and ...
12.23.2020 The George Clooney Hall of Fame. Plus: Carey Mulligan and Emerald Fennell! The iconic movie star directed and stars in a new Netflix film, 'The Midnight Sky.' To celebrate, Amanda and Sean build a Hall of Fame in his honor, where they enshrine 10 movies from his long career, and 10 only ...
12.21.2020 The Top 20 Performances of 2020 and 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' Awards season has officially begun with the New York and L.A. Film Critics handing out their annual awards over the weekend. Sean and Amanda talk about the winners and what they mean for the Oscar race (1:00). Then they look ...
12.18.2020 Rewatching 'Tenet' (at Home) in the Year of Christopher Nolan. Plus: Steve McQueen! Nolan's controversial time-inversion saga is finally available to watch at home. Chris Ryan joins Sean and Amanda to break down the movie on a second viewing, celebrate its extraordinary action, and discuss Nolan's future after his comments about Warner Bros.' ...
12.15.2020 Hollywood Is at War with Itself. Plus: The Inaugural “You Blew It!” Movie Awards. The fallout from Warner Bros.' HBO Max announcement is still rippling through Hollywood. Sean and Amanda talk about the responses from Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, producers at other studios, agencies, and fans. Then, they use the announcement of a glut ...
12.11.2020 The Steven Soderbergh Rankings, Featuring Steven Soderbergh! Acclaimed filmmaker and 'Big Picture' hero Steven Soderbergh returns with a new film on HBO Max, 'Let Them All Talk.' Sean and Amanda discuss his new movie, the news that he will be one of the producers of next year's ...
12.08.2020 The Top Five Movies of 2020 This has been a strange year for movies, most of which were seen at home. But we didn't struggle to find some that lit up our imagination and reflected the times. Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and ...
12.04.2020 ‘Mank’ Is Here. Does David Fincher’s Movie Live Up to the Hype? After great anticipation, ‘Mank’ has arrived. Sean and Amanda look at David Fincher’s 11th feature film from every angle. What’s it really about? How does it play? Will it live up to the billing as Netflix’s great Oscar hope? All ...
12.03.2020 Emergency Pod: Did Movie Theaters Just Die? Why Warner Bros. Is Dropping Its 2021 Releases on HBO Max Major news in Hollywood: Warner Bros. has announced it will stream all of its new films in 2021 on HBO Max, including 'Godzilla vs. Kong,' 'In The Heights,' 'Space Jam: A New Legacy,' 'The Suicide Squad,' and 'Matrix 4.' Why ...
12.01.2020 ‘Mank' Week: The Importance of ‘Citizen Kane’ and Orson Welles This week marks the arrival of David Fincher’s long-awaited 'Mank,' which chronicles the screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz’s life and work on the script for 'Citizen Kane.' Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and Adam Nayman for an expansive chat ...
11.27.2020 Bonus Episode: Errol Morris on ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ Donald Trump, LSD, and America The legendary documentarian Errol Morris has a new film called 'My Psychedelic Love Story' premiering on Showtime this week. He returns to the show to talk with Sean about a wide array of topics, from psychedelics to psychotics. Host: Sean ...
11.25.2020 The 2014 Movie Draft: CR's Revenge It's time once again for a Movie Draft. Chris Ryan returns with hopes of staving off Sean and Amanda to claim his first draft victory (15:00). Then, Sean is joined by Clea DuVall, an actress you may know from films ...
11.24.2020 'Hillbilly Elegy’ and the 10 Types of Oscar Bait You Meet in Hell Ron Howard's adaptation of JD Vance's bestselling memoir hits Netflix this week—Sean and Amanda look at the film and the careers of stars Amy Adams and Glenn Close, including their chances at their first-ever Academy Award win (1:00). 'Hillbilly Elegy' ...
11.19.2020 ‘The Queen’s Gambit,’ ‘Small Axe,’ and the Top Five Miniseries of 2020 With so many movies pushed to 2021, TV has taken an even bigger share of our viewing time this year. Sean and Amanda talk about the Netflix sensation ‘The Queen’s Gambit,’ Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ anthology series, and the best ...
11.17.2020 The Fate of ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ and Top-Five Gambling Movies The last big-ticket theatrical release, 'Wonder Woman 1984,' is still on the calendar. Will it go to HBO Max? PVOD? When will we see it? Amanda and Sean break down the possibilities (0:54). Then, they are joined by David Hill, ...
11.13.2020 Mailbag Special: 25 Movies You Should Stream Now Sean and Amanda dive back into the mailbag to answer an array of questions about under-the-radar 2020 movies you can watch now on VOD and streaming, the prolonged closure of movie theaters around the country, and the book adaptation they've ...
11.10.2020 Introducing the Garbage Crime Movie Oscars. Plus: Brandon Cronenberg! Things are quiet in the world of movies, so we’re taking a moment to celebrate one of our favorite subgenres: GARBAGE CRIME. What’s that? Allow chief criminologist Chris Ryan to break it all down and hand out some awards to ...
11.06.2020 ‘Dazed and Confused’: Making a Modern Movie Classic, With Richard Linklater We want to go back to a more nostalgic, maybe even more hopeful, period in history. So Sean is joined by Richard Linklater and journalist Melissa Maerz to talk about Maerz’s new book, ‘Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of ...
11.03.2020 RIP, Sean Connery. Plus: ‘Mank’ Oscars Preview and 20 Classic Election Movies. It’s Election Day, so Sean and Amanda have compiled a collection of double features for the politically minded. Cast your ballots! (31:29) Plus, they discuss the passing of iconic screen actor Sean Connery and briefly discuss David Fincher’s forthcoming film ...

Older episodes

The Big Picture

What's The Big Picture about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Big Picture episodes:

Top Five Cult Movies, ‘Bad Trip,’ and ‘The Empty Man’

Five Reasons Movie Theaters Are ... Back?! Plus, the World of Wong Kar-Wai.

‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ and Top Five Blockbusters

The 2016 Movie Draft: Three the Hard Way

Top Five Gen X Director Debuts, the Fate of ‘Black Widow,’ and a Potential Oscars Disaster

The Best Movie of 2021 So Far, and a Chuck Klosterman Theory of Film

The Snyder Cut Commentary: A ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Watch-along

The Snubs and Surprises of the Academy Award Nominations

Ten Ways to Save the 2021 Academy Awards Mailbag Special

‘WandaVision’: What Worked, What Didn’t, and What’s Next With Mallory Rubin

The Eddie Murphy Hall of Fame. Plus: Mads Mikkelsen!

The ‘Promising Young Woman’ Conversation. Plus: Delroy Lindo!

The Winners, Losers, and WTFs of the Golden Globes

10 Fearless Golden Globes Predictions and the Magic of ‘Minari’

The 1984 Movie Draft and the Power of ‘Nomadland’

The Movie Star Ranking: 35 Over 35, Part II

The Movie Star Ranking: 35 Over 35, Part 1

Top Five Biopics and the Brilliance of ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’

A ‘Malcolm & Marie’ Meltdown With John David Washington and Sam Levinson. Plus: ‘The Sound of Music,’ Finally.

Awards Season Has Gone Cuckoo. Plus: The 10 Best Movies at Sundance.

Snubs, Surprises, and WTFs of the Golden Globe Nominations, With Mark Harris

Top Five Denzel Washington Movies and ‘The Little Things'

The 2015 Movie Draft. Plus: Amanda Seyfried!

The End of Dumpuary? 10 Early-2021 Streaming Movie Recommendations

The MCU Comes to TV: A Guide to ‘WandaVision’

Top 10 Stage-to-Screen Movies and ‘One Night in Miami’

Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag

The 20 Most Anticipated Movies of 2021

'The Godfather Coda' and Top Five Director's Cuts

The Genius of Pixar's 'Soul' and 'Wonder Woman 1984' Backlash

The 1995 Movie Draft

'Wonder Woman 1984' Is Here, on HBO Max. Plus: Paul Greengrass!

The George Clooney Hall of Fame. Plus: Carey Mulligan and Emerald Fennell!

The Top 20 Performances of 2020 and 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'

Rewatching 'Tenet' (at Home) in the Year of Christopher Nolan. Plus: Steve McQueen!

Hollywood Is at War with Itself. Plus: The Inaugural “You Blew It!” Movie Awards.

The Steven Soderbergh Rankings, Featuring Steven Soderbergh!

The Top Five Movies of 2020

‘Mank’ Is Here. Does David Fincher’s Movie Live Up to the Hype?

Emergency Pod: Did Movie Theaters Just Die? Why Warner Bros. Is Dropping Its 2021 Releases on HBO Max

‘Mank' Week: The Importance of ‘Citizen Kane’ and Orson Welles

Bonus Episode: Errol Morris on ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ Donald Trump, LSD, and America

The 2014 Movie Draft: CR's Revenge

'Hillbilly Elegy’ and the 10 Types of Oscar Bait You Meet in Hell

‘The Queen’s Gambit,’ ‘Small Axe,’ and the Top Five Miniseries of 2020

The Fate of ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ and Top-Five Gambling Movies

Mailbag Special: 25 Movies You Should Stream Now

Introducing the Garbage Crime Movie Oscars. Plus: Brandon Cronenberg!

‘Dazed and Confused’: Making a Modern Movie Classic, With Richard Linklater

RIP, Sean Connery. Plus: ‘Mank’ Oscars Preview and 20 Classic Election Movies.

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