Shows
The Best Pick movie podcastBP319 VertigoBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 319: Vertigo Released 25 June 2025 For this episode, we watched the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo starring James Stewart and Kim Novak, based on the French novel The Living and the Dead by Boileau and Narcejac and with a screenplay credited to Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor. It’s a favourite of countless subsequent movie makers and topped the 2012 Sight and Sound poll before being pushed down into second place by Jeanne Dielman in 2022. So-called “Foreign Censorship Ending” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xorq7m...
2025-06-251h 35
The Best Pick movie podcastStar Trek Deep Space NineBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 317. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Released 30 April 2025 Today we watched two contrasting episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. We kicked off with an episode from the fifth season, the celebratory romp Trials and Tribble-ations in which the 24th century crew revisits the action of the classic original series episode The Trouble with Tribbles. Pretty much all the senior writing staff had a go at this one. The story is credited to Ira Steven Behr, Hans Beimler and Robert Hewitt Wolfe and...
2025-04-3044 min
The Best Pick movie podcastBP312 Chain of Command with Jessica ReganBest Pick with Tom Salinsky and special guest Jessica Regan Episode 312. Star Trek The Next Generation: Chain of Command Released 1 May 2024 Today we watched the two-part story “Chain of Command”, the tenth and eleventh episodes of The Next Generation’s sixth season, and the last two episodes transmitted before the start of the spin-off show Deep Space Nine. It was written by Frank Abatemarco and Ronald D Moore and directed by Robert Scheerer (Part I) and Les Landau (Part II). Continuing our short season of episodes looking at Star Trek, to promot...
2024-05-0144 min
The Best Pick movie podcastOscar Nominations 2023Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 235.5: Oscar nominations 2023 Released 25 January 2023 For this episode, we quickly reviewed the Oscar nominations which were announced on 24 January 2023 by Allison Williams and Riz Ahmed. BEST PICK – the book is out now from all the usual places, including… From the publisher https://tinyurl.com/best-pick-book-rowman UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3zFNATI US Amazon https://www.amzn.com/1538163101 UK bookstore https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781538163108 US bookstore https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/best-pick-john-dorney/1139956434 Audio book https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Best...
2023-01-2533 min
The Best Pick movie podcastCODA (2021)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 94: CODA (2021) Released 28 December 2022 For this episode, we watched the 2021 Best Picture winner CODA, written and directed by Sian Heder. It’s a remake of the French film La Famille Belier and the stars are Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Daniel Durant and Troy Kotsur who won Best Supporting Actor and Heder also won for the screenplay. With this film, we’re going to press pause on the podcast, but we do have a few ideas about other things we might want to do, so w...
2022-12-281h 34
The Best Pick movie podcastGas Food LodgingBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 235: Gas Food Lodging Released 14 December 2022 For this episode, we watched 1991 American indie Gas Food Lodging, written and directed by Allison Anders (based on the book by Richard Peck). She assembled an amazing cast, led by Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk and James Brolin. Despite only costing just over $1 million to make, it struggled to make its money back. It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 81%. Arizona Deam https://youtu.be/OQ6bcPoCDF4 BEST PICK – the book is out now fr...
2022-12-141h 24
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists!Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 234: The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists! Released 30 November 2022 For this episode, we watched the 2012 stop-motion animated film The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists! adapted from his book by Gideon Defoe, directed by Peter Lord and starring the voices of Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman and Russell Tovey. It cost $55 million to make and made $120 million at the box office. It has an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. https://flixwatcher.tv/pisode-237-my-neighbor-totoro-with-carrie-morrion-and-jessica-regan-from-the-best-pick-movie-podcast https://www.rsc.org.uk...
2022-11-301h 18
The Best Pick movie podcastToy Story 3Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 232: Toy Story 3 Released 2 November 2022 For this episode we watched the 2010 Pixar sequel Toy Story 3, one of a handful of animated movies to be nominated for Best Picture. The screenplay is by Michael Arndt, from a story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, who also directed. Returning to their familiar characters are voice actors Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and John Morris and the guest cast includes Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton and Timothy Dalton. The film cost $200 million to make...
2022-11-021h 28
The Best Pick movie podcastA League of Their OwnBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 228: A League of Their Own Released 7 September 2022 For this episode, we watched A League of Their Own, written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel from a story by Kelly Candaele and Kim Wilson. Penny Marshall directed and the cast includes Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, Tom Hanks and Madonna. It was made for a budget of $40 million and it took $132 million at the box office. It received no Oscar nominations and it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 81%. A Le...
2022-09-071h 09
The Best Pick movie podcastGoodfellasBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 222: Goodfellas Released 15 June 2022 For this episode, we watched and talked over Martin Scorsese’s crime classic Goodfellas, based on the book Wise Guys by Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the screenplay with Scorsese. Thelma Schoonmaker handled the editing, the cinematography was by Michael Ballhaus and the cast includes Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino. It cost $25m and made about $47m at the box office. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Di...
2022-06-152h 33
The Best Pick movie podcastBP221 Jurassic ParkBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 221: Jurassic Park Released 1 June 2022 For this episode, we watched and talked over Jurassic Park, from the book by Michael Crichton, with a screenplay by Crichton and David Koepp. The director was Steven Spielberg, leading a team of effects technicians headed by Michael Lantieri, Phil Tippet, Dennis Muren and Stan Winston. Human actors include Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. It made over $900m on its first release from a budget of $63m and it picked up three Academy Awards...
2022-06-012h 12
The Best Pick movie podcastTop GunBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 220: Top Gun Released 18 May 2022 For this episode, we watched and talked over Top Gun, the film which invented Tom Cruise. It also stars Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt and Val Kilmer. It was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr, directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. At the Oscars, it picked up Best Original Song from its four nominations and it currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 57%. BEST PICK – the bo...
2022-05-181h 55
The Best Pick movie podcastTriangleBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 219: Triangle Released 4 May 2022 For this episode, we watched Triangle, a 2009 psychological thriller written and directed by Christopher Smith and with Melissa George leading the cast. From its budget of $12m it made back less than $2m and it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%. BEST PICK – the book is out now from all the usual places, including… From the publisher https://tinyurl.com/best-pick-book-rowman UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3zFNATI US Amazon https://www.amzn.com/1538163101 UK bookstore https://www...
2022-05-041h 03
The Best Pick movie podcastOscars 2022Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 216.5: Oscars 2022 Released 28 March 2022 For this episode, we reviewed events at the 94th Academy Awards, which John and Tom watched live and which Jess caught up on when she awakened. BEST PICK – the book is out now from all the usual places, including… From the publisher https://tinyurl.com/best-pick-book-rowman UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3zFNATI US Amazon https://www.amzn.com/1538163101 UK bookstore https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781538163108 US bookstore https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/best-pick-john-dorney/1139956434 Audio book https://www...
2022-03-2827 min
The Best Pick movie podcastLes DiaboliquesBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 214: Les Diaboliques Released 23 February 2022 For this episode, we watched Les Diaboliques, from the novel by Boileau and Narcejac. The screenplay is by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Jérôme Géronimi and the director was Cluzot. The cast includes Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse and Charles Vanel. It won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for the Best Foreign Film of 1955, but it was completely overlooked at the Oscars. It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%. BEST PICK – the bo...
2022-02-231h 01
The Best Pick movie podcastThe PianoBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 213: The Piano Released 9 February 2022 For this episode, we watched The Piano, written and directed by Jane Campion and produced by Jan Chapman. The cast includes Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin and Sam Neill and the music was by Michael Nyman. It was nominated for eight Oscars (including for Best Picture and Campion as Best Director) and won three. It also won the Palme d’Or at Cannes among a slew of other awards. It cost $7m and made $140m and it ha...
2022-02-091h 25
The Best Pick movie podcastOscar nominations 2022Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 212.5: Oscar nominations 2022 Released 9 February 2022 For this episode, we gave our initial thoughts on the nominees for the 94th Academy Awards which were announced yesterday. Love of Cinema podcast https://podfollow.com/picturehouse-podcast BEST PICK – the book is out in February 2022 and is available now for pre-order. From the publisher https://tinyurl.com/best-pick-book-rowman UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3zFNATI US Amazon https://www.amzn.com/1538163101 UK bookstore https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781538163108 US bookstore https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/be...
2022-02-0920 min
The Best Pick movie podcastTitusBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 211: Titus Released 12 January 2022 For this episode, we watched Titus, Julie Taymor’s 1999 adaptation of Shakesepeare’s play Titus Andronicus. The film stars Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming and Colm Feore and it was not a box office success, earning less than $3m from its $18m budget. Nor was it a big success at the Academy Awards where it was nominated only for its costumes, where it lost to Mike Leigh’s Topsy-Turvy. We also delve into the history of Spider-Man: Turn off th...
2022-01-121h 24
The Best Pick movie podcastNomadland (2020)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 93: Nomadland (2020) Released 29 December 2021 For this episode, we watched Nomadland, written, edited and directed by Chloé Zhao, from the non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, by Jessica Bruder. Among a cast of non-professional actors, the leads are Frances McDormand and David Strathairn. Music is by Ludovico Einaudi. From six nominations, it won three awards: Best Director for Zhao, Best Actress for Frances McDormand and Best Picture. https://twitter.com/oscarsclip https://raindance.org/how-covid-19-impacted-the-film-industry-post-lockdown/ http://www.wtfpod.com/p...
2021-12-291h 25
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Godfather Part IIIBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 210: The Godfather Part III Released 15 December 2021 For this episode, we watched The Godfather Part III, or to be exact, we watched The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. The film was written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola and was directed by Coppola with cinematography by Gordon Willis and music by Carmine Coppola. The stars were Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, Bridget Fonda, George Hamilton and Sofia Coppola. The original cut was released in December 1990...
2021-12-151h 08
The Best Pick movie podcastBrazilBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 206: Brazil (commentary) Released 20 October 2021 For this episode, we watched Brazil written by Tom Stoppard, Charles McKeown and Terry Gilliam and directed by Gilliam. The cast include Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Robert de Niro, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Bob Hoskins, Ian Richardson and Peter Vaughan. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded it Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director but it won no Oscars despite nominations for its screenplay and art direction. It has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
2021-10-202h 33
The Best Pick movie podcastThe MatrixBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 205: The Matrix Released 6 October 2021 For this episode, we watched and talked over The Matrix written and directed by The Wachowskis and starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving. The visual effects were supervised by John Gaeta and the cinematography was by Bill Pope. The film earned more than $450m from its $63m budget and spawned two sequels with a third on the way. It won Academy Awards for its editing, its sound, its sound effects and its visual effects...
2021-10-062h 22
The Best Pick movie podcastBP204 The LadykillersBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 204: The Ladykillers Released 22 September 2021 For this episode, we watched The Ladykillers, written by William Rose and directed by Alexander Mackendrick. The cast includes Alec Guinness, Katie Johnson, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Cecil Parker and Jack Warner. It was one of the last of the “Ealing Comedies” and it was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 1956 Academy Awards. It has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Face...
2021-09-221h 36
The Best Pick movie podcastPhantom of the ParadiseBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 203: Phantom of the Paradise Released 8 September 2021 For this episode, we watched Phantom of the Paradise written and directed by Brian de Palma and starring Paul Williams (who also wrote the songs), William Finley and Jessica Harper. On its initial American release, it made only $250,000 from its $1.3m budget but it has gone on to be a cult success and even at the time the score was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. It has an 83% rating on Rotten...
2021-09-081h 14
The Best Pick movie podcastWild TalesBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 202: Wild Tales Released 25 August 2021 For this episode, we watched Wild Tales written and directed by Damián Szifron and starring Ricardo Darín, Oscar Martínez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Érica Rivas, Rita Cortese, Julieta Zylberberg and Darío Grandinetti. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards but lost to Paweł Pawlikowski’s Ida. The Man with the Golden Arm titles. https://youtu.be/PhwsLS1XolU SNL New Year’s Eve Sequel. https://youtu.be/kL3Ysd6sNAk To send...
2021-08-251h 38
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Taking of Pelham 123Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 201: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Released 11 August 2021 For this episode, we watched The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, written by Peter Stone based on the 1973 novel by John Godey. It was directed by Peter Stone and released by United Artists. The stars are Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman. Lumières cause panic. https://youtu.be/MjufyLPKsEw Nick of Time directed by John Badham. https://youtu.be/q4PYXMpYJ28 To send in y...
2021-08-111h 08
The Best Pick movie podcastThe King's Speech (2010)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 92: The King’s Speech (2010) Released 28 July 2021 For this episode, we watched The Kings Speech, written by David Seider and directed by Tom Hooper. It starred Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter and Guy Pearce and from a very impressive twelve Oscar nominations it scored four wins – for Colin Firth, for Tom Hooper as director, for the screenplay and of course Best Picture. Seth Meyers Oscar Bait trailer: https://youtu.be/HjE9Fl4zKNs Big Speeches: https://guiltyfeminist.com/big-speeches/ That...
2021-07-281h 15
The Best Pick movie podcastSlumdog Millionaire (2008)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 91: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Released 14 July 2021 For this episode, we watched Slumdog Millionaire, written by Simon Beaufoy, from the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup. It was directed by Danny Boyle and starred Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapur and Irrfan Khan. It won a tremendous eight Oscars including for Danny Boyle as director and for the screenplay, but none of its cast was even nominated. Tom Cruise on Graham Norton https://youtu.be/Uu1PK5HAgho Texting on film https://youtu.be...
2021-07-141h 12
The Best Pick movie podcastSpotlight (2015)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 90: Spotlight (2015) Released 30 June 2021 For this episode, we watched Spotlight, directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The stars were Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams (nominated), Mark Ruffalo (nominated), Brian d’Arcy James and Stanley Tucci. It was also nominated for its editing and McCarthy as Best Director but apart from Best Picture, it won only for its screenplay. https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/spotlight/ https://twitter.com/ClooneyDisciple/status/1377390544117063680 Next time we will be discussing Slumdog Millionaire. If...
2021-06-301h 19
The Best Pick movie podcastGandhi (1982)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 88: Gandhi (1982) Released: 2 June 2021 For this episode, we watched Gandhi, written by John Briley and directed by Richard Attenborough. It starred Ben Kingsley as Gandhi with support from Rohini Hattangadi, Roshan Seth, Pradeep Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox and John Gielgud, among many others. From its 11 nominations, it managed to win eight Oscars including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor for Kingsley, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Disclosure on Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81284247 Next...
2021-06-021h 32
The Best Pick movie podcastNo Country for Old Men (2007)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 87: No Country for Old Men (1987) Released 19 May 2021 For this episode, we watched No Country for Old Men. This is the only film directed by the Coen Bros to win Best Picture, but the second of their four nominations in this category. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson and Kelly Macdonald – Bardem winning Best Supporting Actor. As well as the film winning Best Picture, the Coens also won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Next ti...
2021-05-191h 18
The Best Pick movie podcastParasite (2019)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 86: Parasite (2019) Released 5 May 2021 For this episode, we watched Parasite, the first film not in the English language ever to win Best Picture. Director Bong Joon-ho also won Best International Feature, Best Director and shared Best Original Screenplay with Han Jin-won giving it a total of four awards. None of its cast was nominated. Audrey Hepburn flogs Dove Chocolate. https://youtu.be/sB44n4ADg2Y Marilyn Monroe and others recreated for Dior. https://youtu.be/eyA71PGUNYM Parasite average shot length...
2021-05-051h 17
The Best Pick movie podcastOscar Winners 2021Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 85.5: Oscar Winners 2021 Released 26 April 2021 For this episode we quickly recap all of the surprises, forgone conclusions, gaffes and highlights of the 93rd Academy Awards – mere moments after the broadcast concluded. BEST PICK LIVE We’re thrilled to announce a special one-off live stream show in which you will be able to see our faces as well as hear our voices. Thanks to our lovely friends at House Seats Live, we’re going to be joined by specia...
2021-04-2615 min
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Writers Panel Crossover episodeBest Pick with Ben Blacker, John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky For this episode, we chatted to Ben Blacker, host of the podcast The Writers Panel about our project, the Oscars and various other matters arising. https://twitter.com/benblacker https://foreverdogpodcasts.com/podcasts/the-writers-panel/ Doctor Doolittle in Musical Hell. https://youtu.be/rooWwCVLYzs BEST PICK LIVE We’re thrilled to announce a special one-off live stream show in which you will be able to see our faces as well as hear our voices. Thanks to our lovely friends at Ho...
2021-04-231h 01
The Best Pick movie podcastMarty (1955)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 84: Marty (1955) Released 7 April 2021 For this episode, we watched Marty written by Paddy Cheyefsky and directed by Delbert Mann, who both won Oscars. The stars were Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair and Joe Mantell, all of whom were nominated, Borgnine winning. It was also nominated for its Art Direction and Cinematography. Anna Magnani https://youtu.be/L3DdzN6Ji7M The Improv Handbook https://amzn.to/3tBbLzV BEST PICK LIVE We’re thrilled to announce a special one-off live stream sh...
2021-04-071h 15
The Best Pick movie podcastOscar Nominations 2021Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 82.5: Oscar Nominations 2021 Released 16 March 2021 For this episode we discussed the nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards which were announced on 15 March 2021 at 12:15 GMT by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas. Next time we will be discussing An American in Paris. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To...
2021-03-1624 min
The Best Pick movie podcast12 Years a Slave (2013)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 82: 12 Years a Slave (2013) Released 10 March 2021 For this episode, we watched 12 Years A Slave, written by John Ridley, from the memoir by Solomon Northup. The director was Steve McQueen with music by Hans Zimmer and cinematography by Sean Bobbitt and the stars were Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, and Lupita Nyong’o. As is fairly typical for this period, as well as Best Picture it only won two other awards – adapted screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Nyong’o....
2021-03-101h 21
The Best Pick movie podcastMillion Dollar Baby (2004)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 80: Million Dollar Baby (2004) Released 10 February 2021 For this episode we watched Million Dollar Baby, written by Paul Haggis, based on stories by FX Toole. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Hilary Swank, Eastwood and Morgan Freeman. As well as Best Picture, Eastwood won Best Director and Swank and Freeman both won acting awards. Eastwood was nominated as Best Actor but lost to Jamie Foxx. It was also nominated for its screenplay and its editing. Next time we will be...
2021-02-101h 12
The Best Pick movie podcastBirdman (2014)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 79: Birdman (2014) Released 27 January 2021 For this episode, we watched Birdman, written by Alejandro G Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr and Armando Bó and directed by Iñárritu. The stars were Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough and Emma Stone. It received nine Academy Award nominations and won four awards including for its screenplay and its cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki. http://tomsalinsky.co.uk/blog/index.php/2015/02/06/oscars-2015-the-imitation-game/ The mirror shot in Contact. https://youtu.be/avRdYf78kLk Fi...
2021-01-271h 28
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Hurt Locker (2009)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 76: The Hurt Locker (2009) Released 16 December 2020 For this episode, we watched The Hurt Locker, written by Mark Boal (won) and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (won). The stars were Jeremy Renner (nominated), Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce. In total it was nominated in nine categories and it also won for its editing, sound mixing and sound editing. Next time we will be discussing Titanic. If you want to watch it before listening to the...
2020-12-161h 14
The Best Pick movie podcastMutiny on the Bounty (1935)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 75: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Released 2 December 2020 For this episode, we watched Mutiny on the Bounty, written by Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman and Carey Wilson based on the novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. It was directed by Frank Lloyd and starred Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone (all nominated). It was also nominated for its screenplay, its music, its editing and Lloyd as Best Director but Best Picture was its only win, making it the third and most recent...
2020-12-021h 03
The Best Pick movie podcastMoonlight (2016)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 74: Moonlight (2016) Released 18 November 2020 For this episode, we watched Moonlight, written by Barry Jenkins, based on the play by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Jenkins, with cinematography by James Laxton and music by Nicholas Britell. The cast included Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three – Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Ali) and Best Picture. https://www.scriptbook.io Next time we will be discussing Muti...
2020-11-181h 13
The Best Pick movie podcastRocky (1976)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 72: Rocky (1976) Released 21 October 2020 For this episode, we watched Rocky, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G Avildsen. It also featured Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers and Burgess Meredith. Stallone was nominated for his screenplay and Stallone, Shire, Meredith and Young were all nominated as actors but all it won was Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. Angel (Every Boxer’s Girlfriend) https://youtu.be/x_iGcnTm3Z8 Next time we will be discussing Th...
2020-10-211h 23
The Best Pick movie podcastMy Fair Lady (1964)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 71: My Fair Lady (1964) Released 7 October 2020 For this episode, we watched My Fair Lady, the movie adaptation of the Lerner and Lowe musical, itself based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. It won eight Oscars from twelve nominations, including Best Actor for Rex Harrison, Best Director for George Cukor and Best Adaptation Score for Andre Previn. Leading lady Audrey Hepburn was not nominated. Thurl Ravenscroft “Ghosting” as Stewpot in South Pacific https://youtu.be/Ljm9CDRAhMQ Jim Cummings on “Be Prepar...
2020-10-071h 24
The Best Pick movie podcastWings (1928)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 69: Wings (1928) Released 9 September 2020 For this episode, we watched Wings, written by John Monk Saunders, Hope Loring, Louis D Lighton, Julian Johnson; directed by William A Wellman and starring Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen, Gary Cooper. As well as Best Picture, Wings also won for its Engineering Effects. Next time we will be discussing The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the...
2020-09-091h 30
The Best Pick movie podcastDriving Miss Daisy (1989)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 68: Driving Miss Daisy (1989) Released 26 August 2020 For this episode, we watched Driving Miss Daisy, written by Alfred Uhry from his play, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Jessica Tandy (won), Morgan Freeman (nominated) and Dan Aykroyd (nominated). It also won for its screenplay and its make-up. Beresford was not even nominated as Best Director – very rare for a Best Picture winner. Kim Basinger sticks up for Do the Right Thing. https://youtu.be/vbePj-sKV8w?t=367 Newness on Netflix. https://www.netflix.co...
2020-08-261h 28
The Best Pick movie podcastGentleman's Agreement (1947)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 67: Gentleman's Agreement (1947) Released 12 August 2020 For this episode, we watched Gentleman’s Agreement, written by Moss Hart (nominated) from the novel by Laura Z Hobson and directed by Elia Kazan (won) and starring Gregory Peck (nominated), Dorothy McGuire (nominated), John Garfield, Anne Revere (nominated) and Celeste Holm (won). Those wins were the only categories in which it triumphed, although it was also nominated for its editing. http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/2019/10/21/six-degrees-of-song-of-the-south-episode-1-disneys-most-controversial-film Joker – Honest Trailer. https://youtu.be/0fOCZS0J3qM http...
2020-08-121h 20
The Best Pick movie podcastGoing My Way (1944)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 66: Going My Way (1944) Released 29 July 2020 For this episode, we watched Going My Way, written Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald and Risë Stevens. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won seven including Best Director for McCarey and Best Actor for Crosby. Captain Planet Saves Belfast https://youtu.be/a9tg4NZbyhY https://play.acast.com/s/hollywoodcrimescene/episode146-bingcrosby The Priests https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03HhnaJAOY8 A Canterbury T...
2020-07-291h 28
The Best Pick movie podcastTom Jones (1963)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 64: Tom Jones (1963) Released 15 July 2020 For this episode, we watched Tom Jones, written John Osbourne, based on the novel by Henry Fielding. It was directed by Tony Richardson and it stars Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans and Joan Greenwood. It was nominated in ten categories and it won four awards: Best Director, Best Score, Best Adapted Screenplay and, of course, Best Picture. Sammy Davis Jr has the wrong envelope. https://youtu.be/mmmi9ksOtt4 The List of Adrian Messenger...
2020-07-151h 50
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Life of Emile Zola (1937)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 64: The Life of Emile Zola (1937) Released 1 July 2020 For this episode, we watched The Life of Emile Zola, written by Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald and Geza Herczeg (won), directed by William Dieterle (nominated) and starring Paul Muni (nominated), Gloria Holden, Gale Sondergaard and Joseph Schildkraut (won). It was also nominated for its art direction, score, sound and assistant director. That Ain’t Jean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T413rxpceA (body double Mary Rees, voice artist Paula Winslowe) When They Se...
2020-07-011h 19
The Best Pick movie podcastAmadeus (1984)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 62: Amadeus (1984) Released 3 June 2020 For this episode, we watched Amadeus, written by Peter Shaffer (won), based on his play. It was directed by Milos Forman (won). It starred Tom Hulce (nominated), F Murray Abraham (won), Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow and Jeffrey Jones. It also won for its Sound, Art Direction, Costume Design and Makeup. Norbert Smith – A Life. https://youtu.be/uD0yDWzX_BM?t=285 Reeve on Brando. https://youtu.be/QDeJcN45F7E Grumpy Guardian article. https://www.theguardian.co...
2020-06-031h 24
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Deer Hunter (1978)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 61: The Deer Hunter (1978) Released 20 May 2020 For this episode, we watched The Deer Hunter, written Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker and directed by Cimino. It stars Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken. The Academy rained Oscars upon it, awarding Cimino Best Director, Walken Best Supporting Actor, and giving it Best Sound and Best Editing as well as Best Picture. There were also nominations for de Niro and Streep as well as for the...
2020-05-201h 27
The Best Pick movie podcastHow Green Was My Valley (1941)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 60: How Green Was My Valley (1941) Released 6 May 2020 For this episode, we watched How Green Was My Valley, written by Philip Dunne, from the novel by Richard Llewellyn and directed by John Ford who won his third Best Director Oscar for it. It starred Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Donald Crisp (won Best Supporting Actor), Roddy McDowall and Sara Allgood (nominated). It also won Best Black-and-White Cinematography and Best Black-and-White Art Direction and it was nominated for its screenplay, its editing, its score an...
2020-05-0655 min
The Best Pick movie podcastOliver! (1968)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 59: Oliver! (1968) Released 22 April 2020 For this episode, we watched Oliver! the movie version of the Lionel Bart stage musical directed by Carol Reed, based on Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The screenplay was by Vernon Harris and it won five Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Musical Adaptation Score, Best Art Direction and Best Sound. Ron Moody (Fagin) and Jack Wild (Dodger) were both nominated but neither of them won. Be Kind Rewind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ly_iAmEOE
2020-04-221h 21
The Best Pick movie podcastGreen Book (2018) with special guest Kobi OmenakaBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky with special guest Kobi Omenaka Episode 58: Green Book (2018) Released 8 April 2020 For this episode, we watched Green Book, written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly and directed by Farrelly. It stars Vigo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali who won Best Supporting Actor. Apart from Best Picture, its only other Academy Award was for the screenplay, but it was also nominated for its editing and Mortensen for Best Actor. White Savior. https://youtu.be/T_RTnuJvg6U Flixwatcher podcast. https://podfollow.com/flixwatcher...
2020-04-081h 09
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Apartment (1960)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 57: The Apartment (1960) Released 25 March 2020 For this episode, we watched The Apartment, written by Billy Wilder and IAL Diamond (won), directed by Wilder (won) and starring Jack Lemmon (nominated), Shirley MacLaine (nominated), Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen (nominated) and David Lewis. It also won for its editing and art decoration and was nominated for its cinematography and its sound. Thanks to the Curzon Victoria and our guests Deborah Frances-White, Ned Sedgwick, Gina Decio and Callum Baker who also took the...
2020-03-251h 42
The Best Pick movie podcastCavalcade (1933)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 56: Cavalcade (1933) Released 11 March 2020 For this episode, we watched Cavalcade, adapted from the Noel Coward play by Reginald Berkeley and directed by Frank Lloyd (won). It starred Diana Wynyard (nominated), Clive Brook, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin and it was also nominated for its Art Direction. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-9-rules-every-wile-e-coyote-and-road-runner-cartoon-had-to-follow-are-wonderfully-pedantic-10088784.html Next time we will be discussing The Apartment. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD...
2020-03-111h 03
The Best Pick movie podcastArgo (2012)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 55: Argo (2012) Released 26 February 2020 For this episode, we watched Argo, written by Chris Terrio, directed by Ben Affleck and starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Tate Donovan. As well as Best Picture, it won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. It was nominated in four other categories including Best Supporting Actor for Arkin. David Kelly in Fawlty Towers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDXa5rE7624 Next time we will be discussing Cavalcade. If you want to...
2020-02-261h 11
The Best Pick movie podcastAll the King's Men (1949)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 54: All the King’s Men (1949) Released 12 February 2020 For this episode, we watched All the King’s Men, written, produced and directed by Robert Rossen, based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren. Rossen was nominated in all three capacities. Star Broderick Crawford won Best Actor, Mercedes McCambridge won Best Supporting Actress and John Ireland was nominated as Best Supporting Actor. The film was also nominated for its editing. https://slate.com/podcasts/trumpcast Next time we will be discussing Argo. If y...
2020-02-1255 min
The Best Pick movie podcastOscar Winners 2020Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 53.5: Oscar Winners 2020 Released 10 February 2020 For this episode, we blearily report back on all of the results, triumphs, disappointments and gossips from the 92nd Academy Awards. New Audible series: https://tinyurl.com/bpaudible Absurd Person Singular: http://londonclassictheatre.co.uk/2020/01/07/absurd-person-singular/ Next time we will be discussing All the King’s Men. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can do...
2020-02-1017 min
The Best Pick movie podcastHamlet (1948)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 52: Hamlet (1948) Released 15 January 2020 For this episode, we watched Hamlet, based on the play by William Shakespeare, directed by Lawrence Olivier (nominated), and starring Olivier (won), Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Norman Wooland, Felix Aylmer, Terence Morgan and Jean Simmons (nominated). It also won for its art direction and costume design and it was nominated for its score and Olivier was nominated as director. http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/2019/10/21/six-degrees-of-song-of-the-south-episode-1-disneys-most-controversial-film Next time we will be discussing The Shape of Water. If...
2020-01-151h 12
The Best Pick movie podcastOscar Nominations 2020Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 51.5: Oscar Nominations 2020 Released 14 January 2020 For this episode we discussed the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards which were announced at on 13 January 2020 at 05:30 PT by Issa Rae and John Cho. Ma’am short film. https://twitter.com/MaamFilm Next time we will be discussing Hamlet. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iT...
2020-01-1420 min
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Last Emperor (1987)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 51: The Last Emperor (1987) Released 1 January 2020 For this episode, we watched The Last Emperor, written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci from the book by Puyi and directed by Bertolucci. The stars were John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ying Ruocheng, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun. It won all nine Oscars for which it was nominated, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Score and Best Adapted Screenplay – but none of its cast received nominations. Next time we will be discussing Hamlet. If yo...
2020-01-011h 09
The Best Pick movie podcastOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 50: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) Released 18 December 2019 For this episode, we watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben, from the play by Ken Kesey and Dale Wasserman. It was directed by Milos Forman and starred Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, William Redfield. It is one of three films to win the “big five” – Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor and Actress – and like the other two it won only those five. However, it was also nom...
2019-12-181h 11
The Best Pick movie podcastBraveheart (1995)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 49: Braveheart (1995) Released 4 December 2019 For this episode, we watched Braveheart, written by Randall Wallace (nominated) and directed by Mel Gibson (won) with music by James Horner (nominated) and cinematography by John Toll (won). It stars Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan and Catherine McCormack. It also won Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Makeup. Gerda Weissmann Klein’s Oscar speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zn-fPM4KS0 Gordy trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSTZl1bENrc Next time we will be...
2019-12-041h 22
The Best Pick movie podcastThe Greatest Show on Earth (1952)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 48: The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) Released 20 November 2019 For this episode, we watched The Greatest Show on Earth, written by Fredric M. Frank, Theodore St. John, Frank Cavett, Barré Lyndon and directed and produced by Cecil B DeMille. The stars were Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, James Stewart and Dorothy Lamour and it won only Best Picture and Best Story. Betty Hutton’s acrobatics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIhrGSxslzQ Next time we will be discussing Braveheart. If you wan...
2019-11-201h 07
The Best Pick movie podcastGigi (1958) - with special guest Kiri Pritchard-McLeanBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 47: Gigi (1958) - with special guest Kiri Pritchard-McLean Released 6 November 2019 For this episode, we watched Gigi, written by Alan Jay Lerner (won) with music by Frederick Loewe and Andre Previn (won) from the book by Colette. It was directed by Vincente Minelli (won) and produced by Arthur Freed. The stars were Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold. It also won for its Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing and Best Original Song. http://www.kiripritchardmclean.co.uk https...
2019-11-061h 08The Best Pick movie podcastCODA (2021)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 94: CODA (2021) Released 28 December 2022 For this episode, we watched the 2021 Best Picture winner CODA, written and directed by Sian Heder. It’s a remake of the French film La Famille Belier and the stars are Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Daniel Durant and Troy Kotsur who won Best Supporting Actor and Heder also won for the screenplay. With this film, we’re going to press pause on the podcast, but we do have a few ideas about other things we might want to do, so w...
2019-10-301h 34The Best Pick movie podcastNomadland (2020)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 93: Nomadland (2020) Released 29 December 2021 For this episode, we watched Nomadland, written, edited and directed by Chloé Zhao, from the non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, by Jessica Bruder. Among a cast of non-professional actors, the leads are Frances McDormand and David Strathairn. Music is by Ludovico Einaudi. From six nominations, it won three awards: Best Director for Zhao, Best Actress for Frances McDormand and Best Picture. https://twitter.com/oscarsclip https://raindance.org/how-covid-19-impacted-the-film-industry-post-lockdown/ http://www.wtfpod.com/p...
2019-10-231h 25
The Best Pick movie podcastOrdinary People (1980)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 46: Ordinary People (1980) Released 23 October 2019 For this episode, we watched Ordinary People, written by Alvin Sargent, from the book by Judith Guest. It was directed by Robert Redford and produced by Ronald L Schwary and the stars were Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch and Timothy Hutton. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won four – Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Timothy Hutton as well as Best Picture. We also explore the story of Michael Cimino’s ep...
2019-10-231h 18The Best Pick movie podcastParasite (2019)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 86: Parasite (2019) Released 5 May 2021 For this episode, we watched Parasite, the first film not in the English language ever to win Best Picture. Director Bong Joon-ho also won Best International Feature, Best Director and shared Best Original Screenplay with Han Jin-won giving it a total of four awards. None of its cast was nominated. Audrey Hepburn flogs Dove Chocolate. https://youtu.be/sB44n4ADg2Y Marilyn Monroe and others recreated for Dior. https://youtu.be/eyA71PGUNYM Parasite average shot length...
2019-10-161h 17
The Best Pick movie podcastAlfred HitchcockBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 45.5: Alfred Hitchcock Released 16 October 2019 For this episode, we discussed the life and work of Alfred Hitchcock, which we didn’t have time to do in any detail at our live show. Next time we will be discussing Ordinary People. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). It is not currently available to pu...
2019-10-1659 minThe Best Pick movie podcastMoonlight (2016)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 74: Moonlight (2016) Released 18 November 2020 For this episode, we watched Moonlight, written by Barry Jenkins, based on the play by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Jenkins, with cinematography by James Laxton and music by Nicholas Britell. The cast included Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three – Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Ali) and Best Picture. https://www.scriptbook.io Next time we will be discussing Muti...
2019-09-251h 13The Best Pick movie podcastSpotlight (2015)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 90: Spotlight (2015) Released 30 June 2021 For this episode, we watched Spotlight, directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The stars were Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams (nominated), Mark Ruffalo (nominated), Brian d’Arcy James and Stanley Tucci. It was also nominated for its editing and McCarthy as Best Director but apart from Best Picture, it won only for its screenplay. https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/spotlight/ https://twitter.com/ClooneyDisciple/status/1377390544117063680 Next time we will be discussing Slumdog Millionaire. If...
2019-09-181h 19The Best Pick movie podcastBirdman (2014)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 79: Birdman (2014) Released 27 January 2021 For this episode, we watched Birdman, written by Alejandro G Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr and Armando Bó and directed by Iñárritu. The stars were Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough and Emma Stone. It received nine Academy Award nominations and won four awards including for its screenplay and its cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki. http://tomsalinsky.co.uk/blog/index.php/2015/02/06/oscars-2015-the-imitation-game/ The mirror shot in Contact. https://youtu.be/avRdYf78kLk Fi...
2019-09-111h 28The Best Pick movie podcast12 Years a Slave (2013)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 82: 12 Years a Slave (2013) Released 10 March 2021 For this episode, we watched 12 Years A Slave, written by John Ridley, from the memoir by Solomon Northup. The director was Steve McQueen with music by Hans Zimmer and cinematography by Sean Bobbitt and the stars were Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, and Lupita Nyong’o. As is fairly typical for this period, as well as Best Picture it only won two other awards – adapted screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Nyong’o....
2019-09-041h 21
The Best Pick movie podcastShakespeare in Love (1998) - with special guest Tish PotterBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky and our special guest Tish Potter. Episode 42: Shakespeare in Love (1998) Released 28 August 2019 For this episode, we watched Shakespeare in Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard (won) and directed by John Madden (nominated) and starring Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow (won), Geoffrey Rush (nominated) and Judi Dench (won). As well as the above, it also won for its Art Direction, Costume Design and Score, and it was nominated in a further four categories. Atomic Shakespeare https://www.youtube.com/watch...
2019-08-281h 17
The Best Pick movie podcastRain Man (1988)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 41: Rain Man (1988) Released 14 August 2019 For this episode, we watched Rain Man, written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass (won) and directed by Barry Levinson (won). It starred Dustin Hoffman (won), Tom Cruise and Valeria Golino. It also received nominations for its art direction, cinematography, editing and score. That infamous opening number: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mronRVvdmw The second production number: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAQ9Taunh7w Who’s on First from The Abbott and Costello Show S0...
2019-08-141h 11The Best Pick movie podcastThe King's Speech (2010)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 92: The King’s Speech (2010) Released 28 July 2021 For this episode, we watched The Kings Speech, written by David Seider and directed by Tom Hooper. It starred Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter and Guy Pearce and from a very impressive twelve Oscar nominations it scored four wins – for Colin Firth, for Tom Hooper as director, for the screenplay and of course Best Picture. Seth Meyers Oscar Bait trailer: https://youtu.be/HjE9Fl4zKNs Big Speeches: https://guiltyfeminist.com/big-speeches/ That...
2019-08-141h 15The Best Pick movie podcastThe Hurt Locker (2009)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 76: The Hurt Locker (2009) Released 16 December 2020 For this episode, we watched The Hurt Locker, written by Mark Boal (won) and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (won). The stars were Jeremy Renner (nominated), Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce. In total it was nominated in nine categories and it also won for its editing, sound mixing and sound editing. Next time we will be discussing Titanic. If you want to watch it before listening to the...
2019-08-071h 14The Best Pick movie podcastSlumdog Millionaire (2008)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 91: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Released 14 July 2021 For this episode, we watched Slumdog Millionaire, written by Simon Beaufoy, from the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup. It was directed by Danny Boyle and starred Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapur and Irrfan Khan. It won a tremendous eight Oscars including for Danny Boyle as director and for the screenplay, but none of its cast was even nominated. Tom Cruise on Graham Norton https://youtu.be/Uu1PK5HAgho Texting on film https://youtu.be...
2019-07-311h 12The Best Pick movie podcastNo Country for Old Men (2007)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 87: No Country for Old Men (1987) Released 19 May 2021 For this episode, we watched No Country for Old Men. This is the only film directed by the Coen Bros to win Best Picture, but the second of their four nominations in this category. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson and Kelly Macdonald – Bardem winning Best Supporting Actor. As well as the film winning Best Picture, the Coens also won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Next ti...
2019-07-241h 18The Best Pick movie podcastMillion Dollar Baby (2004)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 80: Million Dollar Baby (2004) Released 10 February 2021 For this episode we watched Million Dollar Baby, written by Paul Haggis, based on stories by FX Toole. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Hilary Swank, Eastwood and Morgan Freeman. As well as Best Picture, Eastwood won Best Director and Swank and Freeman both won acting awards. Eastwood was nominated as Best Actor but lost to Jamie Foxx. It was also nominated for its screenplay and its editing. Next time we will be...
2019-07-031h 12
The Best Pick movie podcastPlatoon (1986)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 35: Platoon (1986) Released 22 May 2019 For this episode, we watched Platoon, written and directed by Oliver Stone (who was nominated in both capacities and won for his direction), starring Tom Berenger (nominated), Willem Dafoe (nominated) and Charlie Sheen. It also won for its sound and its editing. Marlee Matlin wins Best Actress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y4K_Xc7-JU A Greek Tragedy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pij-SxZLeM Review of Hacksaw Ridge http://tomsalinsky.co.uk/blog/index.php/2017/02/14...
2019-05-221h 06The Best Pick movie podcastShakespeare in Love (1998) - with special guest Tish PotterBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky and our special guest Tish Potter. Episode 42: Shakespeare in Love (1998) Released 28 August 2019 For this episode, we watched Shakespeare in Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard (won) and directed by John Madden (nominated) and starring Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow (won), Geoffrey Rush (nominated) and Judi Dench (won). As well as the above, it also won for its Art Direction, Costume Design and Score, and it was nominated in a further four categories. Atomic Shakespeare https://www.youtube.com/watch...
2019-05-221h 17
The Best Pick movie podcastForrest Gump (1994) with special guest Joy WilkinsonBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 34: Forrest Gump (1994) Released 8 May 2019 For this episode, we watched Forrest Gump, written by Eric Roth, from the novel by Winston Groom. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and both won Oscars for their work. The film also picked up awards for Tom Hanks in the leading role, its Editing and its Visual Effects. The cast includes Gary Sinise (nominated), Robin Wright, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field. The Curious Case of Forrest Gump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkukxrx5r-c The...
2019-05-081h 14The Best Pick movie podcastForrest Gump (1994) with special guest Joy WilkinsonBest Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 34: Forrest Gump (1994) Released 8 May 2019 For this episode, we watched Forrest Gump, written by Eric Roth, from the novel by Winston Groom. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and both won Oscars for their work. The film also picked up awards for Tom Hanks in the leading role, its Editing and its Visual Effects. The cast includes Gary Sinise (nominated), Robin Wright, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field. The Curious Case of Forrest Gump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkukxrx5r-c The...
2019-04-241h 14The Best Pick movie podcastDriving Miss Daisy (1989)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 68: Driving Miss Daisy (1989) Released 26 August 2020 For this episode, we watched Driving Miss Daisy, written by Alfred Uhry from his play, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Jessica Tandy (won), Morgan Freeman (nominated) and Dan Aykroyd (nominated). It also won for its screenplay and its make-up. Beresford was not even nominated as Best Director – very rare for a Best Picture winner. Kim Basinger sticks up for Do the Right Thing. https://youtu.be/vbePj-sKV8w?t=367 Newness on Netflix. https://www.netflix.co...
2019-03-201h 28The Best Pick movie podcastRain Man (1988)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 41: Rain Man (1988) Released 14 August 2019 For this episode, we watched Rain Man, written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass (won) and directed by Barry Levinson (won). It starred Dustin Hoffman (won), Tom Cruise and Valeria Golino. It also received nominations for its art direction, cinematography, editing and score. That infamous opening number: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mronRVvdmw The second production number: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAQ9Taunh7w Who’s on First from The Abbott and Costello Show S0...
2019-03-131h 11
The Best Pick movie podcastOscar Winners 2019Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 28.5 Oscar Winners 2019 Released 27 February 2019 For this episode, John and Tom stayed up till 4:00am GMT watching the Oscars, and they’re joined by Jessica Regan at a much more civilised hour in Los Angeles to pore over the winners, the losers, the surprises and the catastrophes. Next time we will be discussing Gone with the Wind. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Am...
2019-02-2714 minThe Best Pick movie podcastPlatoon (1986)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky. Episode 35: Platoon (1986) Released 22 May 2019 For this episode, we watched Platoon, written and directed by Oliver Stone (who was nominated in both capacities and won for his direction), starring Tom Berenger (nominated), Willem Dafoe (nominated) and Charlie Sheen. It also won for its sound and its editing. Marlee Matlin wins Best Actress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y4K_Xc7-JU A Greek Tragedy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pij-SxZLeM Review of Hacksaw Ridge http://tomsalinsky.co.uk/blog/index.php/2017/02/14...
2019-02-271h 06The Best Pick movie podcastAmadeus (1984)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 62: Amadeus (1984) Released 3 June 2020 For this episode, we watched Amadeus, written by Peter Shaffer (won), based on his play. It was directed by Milos Forman (won). It starred Tom Hulce (nominated), F Murray Abraham (won), Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow and Jeffrey Jones. It also won for its Sound, Art Direction, Costume Design and Makeup. Norbert Smith – A Life. https://youtu.be/uD0yDWzX_BM?t=285 Reeve on Brando. https://youtu.be/QDeJcN45F7E Grumpy Guardian article. https://www.theguardian.co...
2019-02-131h 24The Best Pick movie podcastGandhi (1982)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 88: Gandhi (1982) Released: 2 June 2021 For this episode, we watched Gandhi, written by John Briley and directed by Richard Attenborough. It starred Ben Kingsley as Gandhi with support from Rohini Hattangadi, Roshan Seth, Pradeep Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox and John Gielgud, among many others. From its 11 nominations, it managed to win eight Oscars including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor for Kingsley, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Disclosure on Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81284247 Next...
2019-01-301h 32The Best Pick movie podcastRocky (1976)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 72: Rocky (1976) Released 21 October 2020 For this episode, we watched Rocky, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G Avildsen. It also featured Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers and Burgess Meredith. Stallone was nominated for his screenplay and Stallone, Shire, Meredith and Young were all nominated as actors but all it won was Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. Angel (Every Boxer’s Girlfriend) https://youtu.be/x_iGcnTm3Z8 Next time we will be discussing Th...
2018-12-191h 23The Best Pick movie podcastMy Fair Lady (1964)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 71: My Fair Lady (1964) Released 7 October 2020 For this episode, we watched My Fair Lady, the movie adaptation of the Lerner and Lowe musical, itself based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. It won eight Oscars from twelve nominations, including Best Actor for Rex Harrison, Best Director for George Cukor and Best Adaptation Score for Andre Previn. Leading lady Audrey Hepburn was not nominated. Thurl Ravenscroft “Ghosting” as Stewpot in South Pacific https://youtu.be/Ljm9CDRAhMQ Jim Cummings on “Be Prepar...
2018-09-261h 24The Best Pick movie podcastTom Jones (1963)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 64: Tom Jones (1963) Released 15 July 2020 For this episode, we watched Tom Jones, written John Osbourne, based on the novel by Henry Fielding. It was directed by Tony Richardson and it stars Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans and Joan Greenwood. It was nominated in ten categories and it won four awards: Best Director, Best Score, Best Adapted Screenplay and, of course, Best Picture. Sammy Davis Jr has the wrong envelope. https://youtu.be/mmmi9ksOtt4 The List of Adrian Messenger...
2018-09-191h 50The Best Pick movie podcastMarty (1955)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 84: Marty (1955) Released 7 April 2021 For this episode, we watched Marty written by Paddy Cheyefsky and directed by Delbert Mann, who both won Oscars. The stars were Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair and Joe Mantell, all of whom were nominated, Borgnine winning. It was also nominated for its Art Direction and Cinematography. Anna Magnani https://youtu.be/L3DdzN6Ji7M The Improv Handbook https://amzn.to/3tBbLzV BEST PICK LIVE We’re thrilled to announce a special one-off live stream sh...
2018-07-251h 15The Best Pick movie podcastThe Life of Emile Zola (1937)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 64: The Life of Emile Zola (1937) Released 1 July 2020 For this episode, we watched The Life of Emile Zola, written by Norman Reilly Raine, Heinz Herald and Geza Herczeg (won), directed by William Dieterle (nominated) and starring Paul Muni (nominated), Gloria Holden, Gale Sondergaard and Joseph Schildkraut (won). It was also nominated for its art direction, score, sound and assistant director. That Ain’t Jean. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T413rxpceA (body double Mary Rees, voice artist Paula Winslowe) When They Se...
2018-03-211h 19The Best Pick movie podcastMutiny on the Bounty (1935)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 75: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Released 2 December 2020 For this episode, we watched Mutiny on the Bounty, written by Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman and Carey Wilson based on the novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. It was directed by Frank Lloyd and starred Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone (all nominated). It was also nominated for its screenplay, its music, its editing and Lloyd as Best Director but Best Picture was its only win, making it the third and most recent...
2018-03-071h 03The Best Pick movie podcastWings (1928)Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 69: Wings (1928) Released 9 September 2020 For this episode, we watched Wings, written by John Monk Saunders, Hope Loring, Louis D Lighton, Julian Johnson; directed by William A Wellman and starring Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen, Gary Cooper. As well as Best Picture, Wings also won for its Engineering Effects. Next time we will be discussing The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the...
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