Academy Vs Audience
Media & Entertainment Podcasts
Ever since 1928, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has handed out trophies to what it considered the best in film. Sometimes they were absolutely right, sometimes they were entirely wrong, sometimes they were so, so basic. But in all that time, audiences have had their own opinions, sometimes better, sometimes much worse. And sometimes, when the stars align or the fates allow, they even agree. Academy Vs Audience is a deep dive into Oscar history, revisiting film history from the 1920s to the 2020s; from the Studio Era to the age of the IP Franchise; from the age of the silent film to the age of the novelty silent film. Claire, Erin, and Dan take on each year’s Best Picture according to the Academy, and the Box Office Champ selected by audience dollars*. It’s a fascinating look at enduring classics and a descent into madness, because History Is Always Terrible and audiences make questionable choices.(*Based on revenue earned during its initial run, and the year said run began in. No re-releases. Lots of movies become audience favourites years after their initial release, you are not special, Billy Jack.)
Location:
United States
Description:
Ever since 1928, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has handed out trophies to what it considered the best in film. Sometimes they were absolutely right, sometimes they were entirely wrong, sometimes they were so, so basic. But in all that time, audiences have had their own opinions, sometimes better, sometimes much worse. And sometimes, when the stars align or the fates allow, they even agree. Academy Vs Audience is a deep dive into Oscar history, revisiting film history from the 1920s to the 2020s; from the Studio Era to the age of the IP Franchise; from the age of the silent film to the age of the novelty silent film. Claire, Erin, and Dan take on each year’s Best Picture according to the Academy, and the Box Office Champ selected by audience dollars*. It’s a fascinating look at enduring classics and a descent into madness, because History Is Always Terrible and audiences make questionable choices.(*Based on revenue earned during its initial run, and the year said run began in. No re-releases. Lots of movies become audience favourites years after their initial release, you are not special, Billy Jack.)
Language:
English
Episodes
1979: Kramer V Kramer: Dawn of Just Us
5/2/2024
It's 1979, nearing the end of the era of serious dramas for adults ruling the box office, and Dustin Hoffman's divorce and custody drama becomes one of our more unlikely joint champions. Erin, Claire, and Dan dig into Ted Kramer's attempts to juggle two lives: raising his son alone after his wife Joanna disappears into the night, and a career that doesn't care for him having other priorities. Will Ted and Billy find a new rhythm? What happens when Joanna comes back? How obvious is it that this was written by a man? Is the real villain, once again, capitalism? Join us to find out.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:08:27
1978: The Grease Hunter (feat. Kevin Weir)
4/18/2024
It's 1978 and the tonal gulf between Oscar winner and people's champ has, if anything, widened, as has the gap in host reactions. The Academy goes for Michael Cimino's home-from-Vietnam story The Deer Hunter, which has some stellar performances but also very strange and off-putting pacing, and an iconic, definitive scene that maybe does more harm than good. Meanwhile, audiences flocked to see John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the 50s nostalgia musical Grease, filled with songs and bad life choices, and which maybe gets more criticism for its ending than it warrants. Erin, Claire, and returning guest Kevin are here for it all, Dan... has a different take, and an explanation as to how Deer Hunter contributed to the Birth of Oscar Season and the Death of New Hollywood. Who's right? Listen and decide!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:02:10:14
1977: Hall Wars (w/ Munsi Parker-Munroe)
4/4/2024
In 1977, a long time ago, you might say Academy and Audience's tastes were far, far away. Claire, Erin, Dan, and returning guest Munsi Parker-Munroe strap in to take on one Woody Allen in his seminal hit, Annie Hall, asking how well it's aged and how challenging it is to deal with the Woody Allen of it all. That accomplished, it's time for our first dip into the Skywalker Saga, as George Lucas changes the film landscape forever with the pure-strain monomyth action of Star Wars. Is Annie Hall worth engaging with a problematic creator? How much did Lucas get right out of the gate? Find out with us!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:21:54
Oscars 2024: Year in Review (w/ Olav Rokne)
3/21/2024
The Oscars have happened, Award Season is done for now, and we take a look at the ten candidates for Best Picture of 2023, with returning guest Oscar enthusiast, and greatest living fan of Zardoz, Olav Rokne. Dan and Olav saw all ten, as is their wont, Erin's seen six, and Claire's here for the vibes as we speed through reviews of nine great movies and also Maestro. What were their strengths? Their failings? Should modern audiences regrow and attention span or is three and a half hours too long to feel horrified? We discuss, you listen, good times are had.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:34:54
1976: Yo, Rocky!
3/7/2024
It's 1976, and audiences and the Academy are united in loving one man: Rocky Balboa. A nine film franchise spanning six decades has a small and simple beginning as a struggling young Sylvester Stallone writes himself into stardom as a simple palooka trying to prove to the world and himself that he can go the distance with heavyweight champ Apollo Creed. Erin, Claire, and Dan dig into Rocky's journey from nothing to stardom, where the Rockys went from here and what it tells us, which scene has NOT aged well, and the birth of the training montage (and what all other montages got wrong). Put all that together? Baby, you got a stew going (RIP Carl Weathers)! Listen in!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:00:47
1975: One Flew Over the SHARK! SHARK! RUN!
2/22/2024
It's 1995, and we have cuckoos and sharks coming your way! The Oscar went to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, second film ever to achieve the Oscar Grand Slam, as Jack Nicholson's anti-hero McMurphy squared off with Louise Fletcher's icily villainous Nurse Ratched. It's hailed by a classic, but how does it hold up? And what do other versions of the story do better? But the audience pic is the birth of the blockbuster, Steven Spielberg's classic, Jaws. Claire, Erin, and Dan dig into both, and ask who we feel more sympathy for: controlling nurses or giant sharks? Grab your floaties and find out!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:06:41
1974: Godfather 2 Electric Boogaloo (feat. Gina Stewart)
2/8/2024
Two years after The Godfather dominated the box office and snagged the top Oscar, Francis and the Corleones are back for one of the most lauded sequels ever, The Godfather Part 2. Gina Stewart's back to join Erin, Claire, and Dan in unpacking the rise of Vito and the fall of Michael, and the sad story of Fredo and the career of the man playing him. But the sequel didn't fully wow the crowds, so we move on to the pinnacle of the early 70s top genre, disasters, with The Towering Inferno. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen battle to stop a raging fire and claim top billing, while an all-star supporting cast attempts to stay uncooked. Who lives, who dies, why won't Erin be sleeping tonight? Find out!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:41:42
1973: Heists and Horror (feat. Keith Kollee)
1/25/2024
It's 1973, and we take a break from Coppola's mafia movies for... more crimes, of legal and spiritual nature! First up, Paul Newman and Robert Redford are back together for new crimes in a new century, as 1930s con men out for payback on a vicious gangster in Oscar winner The Sting. But as popular as the Butch and Sundance reunion was (very), audiences were even more drawn into horror classic The Exorcist, in which a desperate mother exhausts many, many, many options before a young priest and an old priest unite to battle the devil. Horror fan and heist movie tolerator Keith Kollee from Recovered returns to get into the heist and horror double feature. Which one had the more deserving crown? Listen and join the argument.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:46:04
1972: You've NEVER Seen The GODFATHER!? (feat. Gina Stewart)
1/11/2024
It's 1972 and Francis Ford Coppola had an offer neither Academy nor Audience could refuse, with all-time-classic mob movie The Godfather. Erin, Claire, and Dan dig into the suspense, the twists and turns, who the best Corleone kid is and why it's Tom Hagen, and Gina Stewart is back to tell us all about how Mario Puzo's novel was adapted (by Puzo himself and Coppola). Get yourself a plate of pasta, pour some wine, and dig into the first Joint Champion of the 70s with us!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:00:59:31
2023 in Review
12/28/2023
It's the holiday season, so while taking a brief break, Erin, Claire, and Dan look back at the hits, possible nominees, and other random movies they've seen over the course of 2023. What were some Oscar History highlights? What were the weird trends of 2023 movies? What's the most unfortunate trend? Are we headed for the first Joint Champion in two decades? Probably not but maybe we should be. Join in for a look back.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:00:50:31
1971: The Fiddler Connection
12/14/2023
1971 brings us another year where you have to ask if someone wrote the winners down wrong, as the Academy goes with the cop thrillers and audiences decide they're not quite done with musicals. Best Picture goes to The French Connection, with Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle, a cop on the edge in world he never made, fighting French drug traffickers with... racism and mostly inept surveillance? Doesn't seem great... Meanwhile, our Box Office Champion Fiddler on the Roof sings of Tradition, wishes to be a Rich Man, and audiences turned out Sunrise, Sunset. Which did Erin, Claire, and Dan connect with the most? Listen and find out!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:25:20
1970: Love and War
11/30/2023
Welcome to the 70s, New Hollywood! And as Erin, Claire, and Dan enter this new decade, all is fair in love and war... and if it isn't, love means never having to say you're sorry. The Academy goes for Patton, a biopic of the controversial World War II general, and Erin and Claire are... not convinced. Meanwhile, the audience showed up in droves for the simply titled Love Story, and the hosts have some notes. War gets the glory, love conquers all at the box office, but who stands the test of time? Listen along and find out.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:21:51
1969: Oops All Cowboys
11/16/2023
Grab your hat, your boots, your portable radio, and all the chewing gum you can carry, as New Hollywood hits hard in 1969. The Academy goes for the bleak, urban tragedy of two failing hustlers in Midnight Cowboy, and Dustin Hoffman shatters our hosts' hearts. The audience went for something lighter, more fun, and yet with fewer surviving protagonists in western buddy comedy Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Two very different movies succeeding in very different ways, but which is the favourite? Which one set a record? Listen in to find out.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:03:03
1968: Last Stand of the Hollywood MegaMusical (feat. Kevin Weir)
11/2/2023
It's 1968, the dying days of Hollywood's "Golden Age," and while grosses have been down and the market's oversaturated, the big-budget Hollywood musical is going down swinging. First, the Oscar goes to Oliver!, a whimsical, light-hearted, peppy musical adaptation of... Oliver Twist? Weird choice. Once we're through the toe-tapping child trauma, it's on to Funny Girl, Barbra Streisand's breakout movie depicting the rise of top-tier Ziegfeld Girl Fanny Brice, the fall of her gambler husband, and how Fanny apparently never did anything wrong ever. It's tone clash vs. whitewashed biography, with songs for the whole family, and Kevin Weir's back to help break it all down!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:55:37
1967: The Heat of the Graduate
10/19/2023
Welcome to New Hollywood, listeners! The Academy goes for tense, racially charged In The Heat of the Night, where Sidney Poitier announces "They call me Mr. Tibbs" and helps a hick southern sheriff solve a murder. It's gripping, it's powerful, it brings up some sad thoughts for Erin, Claire, and Dan in the wake of recent events in Canada. Then on the lighter side, Dustin Hoffman makes his AVA debut in The Graduate, a blend of bleak and very funny that your co-hosts fall for partially because the characters are very unlikable. The Hayes Code is dead, the Studio Bosses have fallen, and boundaries get pushed as the New Hollywood era begins! Listen in now.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:39:13
1966: Old Testament Centrism (feat. Munsi Parker-Munroe)
10/5/2023
It's 1966, and as the so-called "Golden Age" of Hollywood collapses, nobody's having a good year. The Oscars favour A Man For All Seasons, the story of Thomas Moore, a man bold enough to [checks notes] take no actions, speak no opinions, and "My name's Paul and that's tween y'all" Henry VIII's marriage controversies. Yeah. Great subject for a biopic. Meanwhile two underperforming would-be epics have a photo-finish for Box Office Champ, and we select the last Bible epic, a straight up retelling of Genesis in The Bible: In The Beginning. Munsi Parker-Munroe, our own personal omen of doom, joins Claire, Erin, and Dan for the breakdown. Join in! Learn, laugh, and loathe with us.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:43:54
1965: The Hills are Alive! RUN!
9/21/2023
It's 1965, and Academy Vs Audience hits Film History's Second Juggernaut: Dame Julie Andrews and the late, great, Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music. Erin, Claire, and Dan dig into the sweet little musical about love, family, music, and the dangers of capitulating to Nazis... breaking down the kids, the king that is Captain Von Trapp and the glorious problem that's Maria, and lots of love for the songs*. Box office records are smashed, Oscar gold is hauled in, one of the other most successful movies ever made is buried, and Dame Andrews' vengeance over My Fair Lady is complete.
*Except Lonely Goatherd. What... what was that, honestly.
Join us for the breakdown!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:05:55
1964: POPPINS. VS. DOOLITTLE!
9/7/2023
It's 1964 and it's all singing, all dancing, all grudge match for Julie Andrews! The Oscar goes to Lerner and Lowe's My Fair Lady, with Audrey Hepburn taking over the role Julie Andrews created onstage, because the future Dame wasn't "a big enough draw." In response, Andrews joins Walt Disney for the aggressively whimsical Mary Poppins, claiming the box office crown from the film that rejected her. But who did it best? When it comes to the tunes, Doolittle's doing plenty and Poppins ain't stoppin', and Erin, Claire, and Dan have many an opinion. Join us for the 60s dance party!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:16:18
1963: SEX BOMBS (feat. John Tebbutt)
8/24/2023
It's 1963, and both Hollywood and the UK were starting to poke at the boundaries of film censors. First off, the best picture winner, England's Tom Jones, in which the title character tries to win his lady Sophie (whoa, She's a Lady), but can't resist saying "What's New Pussycat" to any woman with a come hither look. Our special guest, Video Vulture John Tebbutt, explains to Claire, Erin, and Dan that It's Not Unusual to find the appeal may have shifted since the Sexual Revolution. Speaking of sex and revolution, the people flocked to see Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, twice the runtime as 1934's version but with much more exposed Cleo. Twice as long, twice as flashy, an hour longer than it needed to be, Dan knows it as "Zack Snyder's Cleopatra," and it managed to be the year's biggest hit while still almost bankrupting the studio. Two protagonists sexing their way through their legends, but who did it best? Join us and find out!
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:46:02
1962: Larry Arabia and the Long Day
8/10/2023
War! Huh. Good god, y'all, what is it good for? In 1962, the answer is two surprisingly good movies. First, the Academy Award goes to Lawrence of Arabia, featuring stunning cinematography, deadly deserts, amazing breakout performances from Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, and some DEEPLY uncomfortable casting choices for Arab leadership. But by a narrow margin, the box office crown goes to The Longest Day, an impressively thorough and nuanced examination of the D-Day invasion of Normandy with a handful of big name actors and a smaller handful of characters Erin, Claire, and Dan could keep straight. Two movies, two wars, seven hours of total runtime, lots to unpack, so grab your camel and your parachute and strap in.
Find all of our episodes and the rest of Writing Therapy Productions' various entertainments at www.writingtherapyproductions.com
Duration:01:22:43