What did you think of the 94th Annual Academy Awards?

For this special Oscars 2022 wrap-up, Aaron and Troy discuss the events, speeches, and winners of the 94th Annual Academy Awards, including the slap heard round the world between Will Smith and Chris Rock.

The Academy Awards (“Oscars”) are the most prestigious awards in filmmaking and showcase some of the greatest talent and work in motion pictures for that running year. The nominees and winners are selected by majority vote from members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Ballots are cast by members from within the industry and, in most categories, represent the corresponding branch (ex.: actors nominate actors).

Direct download: HO482_2022_Oscars.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:40am PDT

The South by Southwest Festival is one of the largest of its kind in the world. In a typical year, thousands of fans arrive in downtown Austin, TX to partake in a couple of weeks of great music, technology, and film. For this special episode of The Hollywood Outsider, we take you along for our annual deep dive into SXSW 2022, the heart of the South by Southwest film festival portion, and even further into the films themselves. 

Over the course of several days, the 2022 SXSW Film Festival screened numerous features, many from first-time filmmakers (consisting of World Premieres, North American Premieres, and US Premieres), shorts, virtual reality exhibits, title design, and other works. These films were selected from thousands of overall submissions, and – while we can’t see them all – we have a nice sample to share with you of what came out of this stellar lineup of independent films. Over 25 films and episodics are on our docket this year (including The Lost City, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Halo, Shining Girls, and many more), and we review them all, as well as snippets from panels, an interview with Tony Hawk, and much more!

So sit back and relax. You’re about to experience South by Southwest from the comfort of your own home.

For the complete list of titles discussed on this episode, visit https://www.thehollywoodoutsider.com/sxsw-2022-episode-481/

 

Direct download: HO481_SXSW_2022.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:33am PDT

On this compilation episode, we discuss bringing characters back from the dead, cliffhangers in movies, unlikeable yet loveable characters, and weird casting choices.

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we’re talking about several topics, the first of which is bringing characters back from the dead. And we mean actually, truly, verified dead characters on a TV series or a movie that later comes back from the dead. Is this cliche? Is it a copout? Does this concept EVER work without lowering the stakes in whatever the property is? 

Then after a short discussion on cliffhangers in movies, we move on to ROYYYYY KEEENNNNNNNT! The world has become enamored with Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent as have we, and this has inspired us to discuss unlikeable yet loveable TV characters. Perhaps it’s only in your eyes or maybe the writing or performance evolved into a character with a deeper understanding. Either way, our topic this week revolves around these fascinating characters on television who ultimately turned your frown upside down.

Then we move on to some of the weird casting choices to come out of Hollywood – the good and the bad – like a 30 year old playing teenager Evan Hansen, Tom Cruise playing the 6′ 5″ Jack Reacher, Gary Oldman playing a dwarf in Tiptoes, or Miles Teller playing pretty much anyone. Weird is a relative term, and we debate these odd choices, for better and worse.

Discussed on this episode

  • (0:00 – 36:53) Bringing Characters Back from the Dead
  • (36:54 – 49:48) Cliffhangers in Movies
  • (49:49 – 1:20:26) Unlikeable Yet Loveable Characters
  • (1:20:27 - 1:55:45) Weird Casting Choices
  • Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our Bad Movie Night by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider
  • Be sure to join our Facebook Group
  • Do your shopping via our Amazon Link!
Direct download: Reviving_Characters_Cliffhangers_Unlikeable_Weird.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:37am PDT

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, it's time to discuss DC's latest reboot, The Batman!

With echoes in tone of films like Klute, The French Connection, Seven, and Zodiac, The Batman stars Robert Battinson – sorry, Pattinson – as billionaire Bruce Wayne. You might have heard that his parents died when he was a child, and his whole life has been consumed with grief and anger over their loss, causing him to don a cape and cowl and torture criminals on the streets as The Batman.

The Batman begins in Year 2 of his crusade and shades of The Long Halloween take root as the mayor is murdered on Halloween. The Batman has been beating low level thugs and now a series of murders are riddled with clues left specifically for him. Who is this masked man murdering all of these elitist “white priviledged assholes”? Well, it’s the Riddler, and he’s a creepy unknown who wants Bruce on his side for some reason, and now The Batman must team up with Commissioner Gordon to track him down before he kills again. And also, uncover the secret as to why…

We end the podcast by revisiting a conversation on vigilantes, and why we love them.

Discussed on this episode

  • (0:00 – 23:56) The Batman - Overall Thoughts | Matt Reeves' Direction | Michael Giacchino's Score
  • (23:57 – 55:33) Characters - Batman, Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon, Penguin, Falcone, Alfred, and The Riddler
  • (55:34 - 1:05:30) Highlights | Final Thoughts
  • (1:05:31 – 1:37:08) Vigilantes: Why We Love Them
  • Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our Bad Movie Night by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider
  • Be sure to join our Facebook Group
  • Do your shopping via our Amazon Link!
Direct download: HO480_Batman_and_Vigilantes.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:30pm PDT

On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we change course and dedicate the episode a simple topic: "Hollywood, let's just stop..." Insert your own conclusion to that statement. For instance, "Hollywood, Let’s just stop remaking every property you can think of", etc. It could be cliches, story points, actors, ideas, awards, whatever. What do YOU think Hollywood and entertainment should just STOP doing?
Direct download: HO479_Hollywood_Lets_Just_Stop.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:37am PDT

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