Little Gold Men by Vanity Fair

Rebecca and John are joined by VF's Hillary Busis to discuss Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite, which hits select theaters Friday. Then, they take a closer look at Netflix's packed Oscars slate, and discuss what's been holding the streamer back from nabbing their first best picture Oscar win. Could this be the year? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, Rebecca and John discuss The Smashing Machine, Benny Safdie's new movie starring Dwayne Johnson as MMA fighter Mark Kerr. They are joined by Vanity Fair contributing editor Tom Kludt, who shares his thoughts on why sports movies are audience favorites but not always awards winners and what Johnson should do to become king of the Oscar ring. Plus, Rebecca and John share their picks for must-watch October film releases. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Rebecca and John are joined by VF writer Kase Wickman to talk about Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, which hits theaters Friday. After agreeing that the film feels like a real Best Picture contender, they take a closer look at star Leonardo DiCaprio's chances of earning another Oscar nomination — and why his path to winning an Academy Award was so tumultuous. Finally, they explain why Timothee Chalamet's own campaign strategy may mirror DiCaprio's, for better or worse. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Rebecca and John are joined by their Vanity Fair colleagues Chris Murphy and Hillary Busis to break down all those surprise winners on Emmys night. They also discuss why Nate Bargatze struggled as a host and that controversial acceptance speech countdown clock. Finally, they each pitch one dramatic change that could fix the Emmys and make it more appealing in the future. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Rebecca and John are joined by Joy Press to talk about the Venice, Telluride, and Toronto Film Festivals, where some movies soared (Hamnet) and other stumbled (After the Hunt). They also take a closer look at some of the most contested Emmys races ahead of Sunday's show. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

From our live show at the Toronto Film Festival, James McAvoy discusses the true story behind his directorial debut, California Schemin’. Then, Hamlet star Riz Ahmed joins us to explain why the Shakespeare drama still resonates. Recorded from the St. Regis Hotel in Toronto. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

David, Richard, and Rebecca answer mailbag questions about how the Oscars have changed, the most annoying film discourses of all time, and tips for attending film festivals. They also dream-cast LGM with previous Oscar winners as the hosts. Finally, as David and Richard say farewell, they present the Little Gold Men Awards and share their favorite Oscar-watching memories. Heading to TIFF? Join us for a live show at the St. Regis Hotel with special guests Riz Ahmed and James McAvoy. To request a ticket, please email us: littlegoldmen@vf.com Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ahead of the fall festivals, David, Rebecca, and Richard get wildly speculative by presenting their own predictions for which 10 movies will be nominated for the best-picture Oscar. They discuss the apparent front-runner so far, the few other apparent locks, and which winter releases appear bound to surprise. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The actor and director, nominated in both Emmy categories, talked to Rebecca about her ambitions for writing and directing in the future, including giving a certain purple dinosaur of children’s TV the film treatment. She also shares her thoughts about fans shipping Syd and Carmy, and why being on The Bear has made her hopeful for the future of Hollywood. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, David, Richard, and Rebecca take a look at Warner Bros.' hot streak, which continued with the horror hit Weapons. They also each pick a couple Emmy nominees they hope get a little love from voters ahead of final voting next week. Finally, they answer some listener questions, defending the Academy's choice to open up Best Picture to 10 nominees. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Emmy nominee Michelle Williams on the role that brought her back to screen after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, what it’s like to die over and over again onscreen, and what keeps her optimistic about the film and TV industry. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In the second installment of this summer's Little Gold Men book club series, David, Richard, and Rebecca are joined by VF's Hillary Busis to discuss Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, which explores grief and hope from the perspective of William Shakespeare's wife. At the end of the episode, O'Farrell herself joins David and Rebecca to talk about Chloe Zhao's movie adaptation starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ben Stiller joins the show and goes deep on his busy year, from filming the “daunting” new Meet the Parents movie to planning Severance season 3—right after that huge Emmy noms haul. Plus, exclusive details on the richly personal documentary he directed about his parents, coming out in October. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

David, Richard, and Rebecca share their thoughts on The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and if the movie is a success as a Marvel reset. Plus, they imagine a world where Marvel never existed and what that would have meant for some of the franchise stars' careers. Then, they wrap up with a festival-related listener question. Our next Little Gold Men book club read is Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. We'll be discussing the novel and its upcoming film adaptation on our August 7 episode. We've also added one more book for this summer, the third most-popular in our listener survey: The Ballad of a Small Player by Rowan Joffé. We'll be discussing that one on our August 28 episode. Read along with us and send your questions to littlegoldmen@vf.com. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, David, Rebecca, and Richard dive into the newly announced TIFF and Venice Film Festival lineups for clues on front-runners and sleepers in the Oscar season to come—as well as a few surprising omissions. The hosts also dig into the shocking cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, and revisit Ari Aster’s Eddington after its muted opening weekend. Our next Little Gold Men book club read is Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. We'll be discussing the novel and its upcoming film adaptation on our August 14 episode. We've also added one more book for this summer, the third most-popular in our listener survey: The Ballad of a Small Player by Rowan Joffé. We'll be discussing that one on our August 28 episode. Read along with us and send your questions to littlegoldmen@vf.com. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

David, Richard, and Rebecca discuss the biggest surprises and snubs of the Emmy nominations, from Squid Games' complete shut out to big wins for The Rehearsal and Sirens. They also chat about why Black Mirror did so well and which White Lotus star sadly didn't make the cut. Our next Little Gold Men book club read is Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. We'll be discussing the novel and its upcoming film adaptation on our August 14 episode. Read along with us and send your questions to littlegoldmen@vf.com. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In the first of this summer's Little Gold Men book club series, David and Richard are joined by VF's Hillary Busis for a discussion of The History of Sound, the queer period romance starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor and hitting theaters this September. The hosts discuss the original short story by Ben Shattuck, who also wrote the film adaptation, as well as the fascinating choices made in the shift from page to screen. Later, Shattuck joins the show to give us insights into his process writing two versions of this story, and where the inspiration came from. Our next Little Gold Men book club is Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. We'll be discussing the novel and its upcoming film adaptation on our August 14 episode. Read along with us and send your questions to littlegoldmen@vf.com. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Richard and David are joined by Vanity Fair staff writer Savannah Walsh for a breakdown of who will be nominated for the top Emmys this year, ahead of the announcement later this month. The hosts also discuss a range of summer blockbusters, from F1 to the new Jurassic World, and assess the state of the box office. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, David, Rebecca, and Richard go through a handful of listener questions looking ahead to this coming Oscar season, from the post-trailer buzz surrounding the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere to a potential awards play for 28 Years Later. Then, the hosts reflect on the recent rerelease of Brokeback Mountain for its 20th anniversary, before discussing a few other awards films of its era that deserve a similar rerelease treatment. We'll be discussing The History of Sound on July 10th, so read along and send us your questions to littlegoldmen@vf.com! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

David, Richard, and Rebecca dive deep into the Emmy ballot to reveal some surprising submissions and glaring omissions. Plus, they take a look at the most promising Oscar contenders (or lack thereof) from the first half of the year and what some new trailers might reveal for what’s to come. We'll be discussing The History of Sound on July 10th, so read along and send us your questions to littlegoldmen@vf.com! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices