The Next Picture Show

Introducing the newest Audioboom original podcast, Truth vs Hollywood. Join Film lovers David Chen and Joanna Robinson as they do a deep dive into well known films and discuss how similar they are to the actual story. 

Truth vs Hollywood premieres 6/12. Subscribe to Truth vs Hollywood on Apple Podcasts.

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Josephine Decker’s new SHIRLEY uses the home of a fictionalized Shirley Jackson to tell a different sort of haunted house tale, one that shares some thematic links with one of the best-known Jackson adaptations, 1963’s THE HAUNTING, if not necessarily strong narrative ones. This week we’re joined once again by Alison Willmore of Vulture to discuss SHIRLEY’s expressive style and dissolute ending, then dig into how it connects to THE HAUNTING in its depiction of madness, divided personas, and sexuality. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE HAUNTING, SHIRLEY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Alison: Andrew Patterson’s THE VAST OF NIGHT

Keith: Christopher Guest’s BEST IN SHOW and A MIGHTY WIND

Scott: Dan Sallitt’s FOURTEEN

Outro music: Diana Ross, “It’s My House”

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Josephine Decker’s new SHIRLEY attempts to invoke the spirit of Shirley Jackson in suitably discomfiting fashion, which makes Robert Wise’s 1963 Jackson adaptation THE HAUNTING something of a prerequisite for the new film. How does THE HAUNTING stack up against its reputation as one of the scariest films of all time, and what makes it both a paragon and an anomaly of the haunted house genre? Joined by special guest Alison Willmore, we dig into those questions, plus the film’s distinctive visuals, its melange of performance styles, and its place in the broader scheme of Jackson adaptations. Plus, we share some feedback on episodes of the recent and not-so-recent past.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE HAUNTING, SHIRLEY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro Music: Gerard Way, “Baby You’re a Haunted House”

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Coky Giedroyc’s HOW TO BUILD A GIRL, based on British humorist Caitlin Moran’s own life as a teenage music writer in the British Midlands, plays in many ways like Cameron Crowe’s mostly autobiographical ALMOST FAMOUS, translated to a new time and place. But it’s also a different sort of coming-of-age story about a very different sort of protagonist, based on the life of a very different sort of writer, all of which we get into by way of the two films’ respective approaches to writing and journalism, to family and origin stories, and to their respective love interests. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ALMOST FAMOUS, HOW TO BUILD A GIRL, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Genevieve: Tayarisha Poe’s SELAH AND THE SPADES

Scott: Todd Berger’s IT’S A DISASTER

Keith: Todd Haynes’ DARK WATERS and Jane Campion’s IN THE CUT

Tasha: “A Boy’s Life (In Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll)” by Anthony Bozza (rollingstone.com) and Caitlin Moran’s MORANIFESTO and HOW TO BE A WOMAN

Outro music: Lily Allen: “Alfie”

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The new HOW TO BUILD A GIRL is a heavily autobiographical film about a teenage music journalist, which means it inevitably gets mentioned in the same breath as Cameron Crowe’s ALMOST FAMOUS, a heavily autobiographical 2000 film about a teenage music journalist, this one inspired by Crowe’s own past as Rolling Stone magazine’s youngest-ever correspondent. In this first half of our pairing looking at young, uncool kids chasing their own ideals of cool, we dig into ALMOST FAMOUS—in particular the much longer, and superior UNTITLED cut thereof—to see how it weaves its undeniable spell, how it occasionally drops the ball (particularly when it comes to Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane), and how our own experiences as entertainment journalists color the film’s message that “these are not your friends.” Plus, we tackle a couple of the numerous responses we got to our recent, contentious discussion on THE ASSISTANT.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ALMOST FAMOUS, HOW TO BUILD A GIRL, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro Music: Elton John, “Tiny Dancer”

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Kitty Green’s recent day-in-the-life drama THE ASSISTANT, starring Julia Garner as a new assistant to a Weinstein-like executive, is nowhere near the crowd-pleaser Mike Nichols’ 1988 corporate Cinderella story WORKING GIRL was, and its scenario places the film squarely within a very current cultural conversation; but taken together the two films provide an apt illustration of what has and hasn’t changed for women in the workplace in the last three decades. After digging into our surprisingly divided opinions on THE ASSISTANT and its would-be sympathetic protagonist, we look at these two films together to consider what they tell us about the evolution of women’s role in the workplace, the importance of office allies, and what the characters’ working wardrobes say about their respective ambitions. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WORKING GIRL, THE ASSISTANT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Keith: Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz’s MESSIAH OF EVIL

Genevieve: FX on Hulu’s MRS. AMERICA

Scott: Chantel Akerman’s JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES

Tasha: Mike Nichols’ CLOSER

Outro music: TLC, “His Story”

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Mike Nichols’ 1988 hit workplace comedy WORKING GIRL is set in a very different era than Kitty Green’s new, more somber THE ASSISTANT, but taken in tandem, the two films reveal how certain gendered power dynamics haven’t changed much in the 32 years separating them. This week we look at WORKING GIRL in the context of a string of 1980s workplace-empowerment movies and Nichols’ career alike, and try to parse its broader points about women in the workplace, and how they function within what is in many ways a traditional Cinderella story. Plus, we respond to some recent criticism regarding “protagonist bias” in our episode on BAD EDUCATION.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WORKING GIRL, THE ASSISTANT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

 Outro Music: Carly Simon, “Let the River Run”

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In its adaptation of a true story of malfeasance and misappropriation in a Long Island high school, Cory Finley’s new HBO film BAD EDUCATION sets up a clash between shady educator and meddlesome student that put us in mind of Alexander Payne’s 1999 political satire ELECTION. In this half of our pairing, we debate the level of sympathy we’re able to extend to Hugh Jackman’s corrupt superintendent in BAD EDUCATION, before putting the two films in conversation to see what they have to say about the fraught interplay between student and faculty, precocious young women, and the corruptibility of adulthood. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ELECTION, BAD EDUCATION, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

• Tasha: Richard Kwietniowski’s OWNING MAHOWNY and Seven Soderbergh’s THE INFORMANT!

• Keith: Eugene Mirman’s IT STARTED AS A JOKE

• Scott: Yorgos Lanthimos’ THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER

Outro music: The Who, “Did You Steal My Money?”

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Cory Finley’s new BAD EDUCATION is based on a real-life incident, whereas Alexander Payne’s 1999 high school satire ELECTION is based on a Tom Perrotta novel (itself inspired by the 1992 presidential election), but they both use their high school settings to make their way toward similar conclusions about the corruptibility of adulthood. In this half of our pairing looking at morality, ethics, and the educators who unwittingly illustrate the difference to their students, we dig into ELECTION’s satirical aims and accomplishments, debate the merits of Tracy Flick’s campaign for student body president, and consider what, if any, conclusions the film draws about elections and democracy. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes inspires a brief convening of the Next Picture Show Book Club.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ELECTION, BAD EDUCATION, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  

Show Notes

Works Cited:

• “Election: That’s Why It’s Destiny,” by Dana Stevens (criterion.com)

Outro Music: Ennio Morricone, “Navajo Joe”

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Where the unsettling illness metaphor at the center of Todd Haynes’ 1995 film SAFE tendrils out in a manner that defies easy resolution, Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ newly released debut SWALLOW tracks a similarly metaphorical affliction toward a more finite ending point. But within those two very different arcs, the two films explore complementary ideas about isolation, gender roles and archetypes, and societal expectations about sickness and recovery, all of which we get into following an in-depth discussion of SWALLOW’s successes and failures as both film and metaphor. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SAFE, SWALLOW, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Show Notes

Works Cited:

• “Op-ed: Ban the backstory!” by Noel Murray (thedissolve.com)

• “Safe: Nowhere to Hide,” by Dennis Lim (criterion.com) 

Your Next Picture Show:

• Genevieve: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s FREE SOLO

• Scott: Crystal Moselle’s SKATE KITCHEN

• Keith: John Sayles’ EIGHT MEN OUT

• Tasha: Bernard Rose’s CANDYMAN

Outro music: The Wailin’ Jennys, “Swallow”

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