1999: The Podcast

• See Also: SHATTERED GLASS (2003)

  The first of what will be a series of smaller episodes where we take a look at a movie that is somehow related to our most recent subject. This time, our See Also recommendation for The Insider is Billy Ray's superb 2003 docudrama/thriller Shattered Glass. Featuring incredible performances from a uniformly excellent cast, especially Hayden Christensen as the title character and Peter Sarsgaard as New Republic editor Chuck Lane, Shattered Glass deserves it place among the best movies about journalism and the best movies of 2003. It's also newly relevant in the midst of the Olivia Nuzzi of it all, and we talk about how the cult of personality around "The Writer" has impacted journalism for the worse. You can watch Shattered Glass right now for free on Tubi.

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• THE INSIDER - with Lindsay Beyerstein

  Michael Mann's The Insider is easily the most glaring omission from the our initial 18, universally regarded as one of the best – if not THE best – movie of 1999. Finishing in 69th place, sandwiched between two previous entries, Girl Interrupted at 70th and Mystery Men at 68th, The Insider stars Russell Crowe, in an Oscar-nominated performance, and Al Pacino alongside an incredibly deep supporting class (including the greatest character actor alive, Stephen Tobolowsky) Directed by Michael Mann and adapted from the 1996 Vanity Fair article "The Man Who Knew Too Much" by Marie Brenner, The Insider received rave reviews, wound up on countless year-end top 10 lists, and was nominated for a slew of Oscars, including Mann for directing and screenwriting, but was shut out by the juggernaut that was American Beauty. Since it's widely regarded as one of Mann's best films and one the best films ever made about journalism, we invited investigative journalist Lindsay Beyerstein to tell us how well the movie mirrors real life and to dig into what it's like to watch a movie about CBS News struggling to maintain its integrity as a journalistic entity in the bleak future of 26 years later. Lindsay is on Bluesky @beyerstein

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• TRUE CRIME (1999) and JUROR #2 (2024) - with Aaron from HIT FACTORY

  True Crime was the 94th-highest grossing movie of 1999, grossing just $17 million on a $50 million budget with a fairly limited release. Starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, True Crime was largely forgotten and remains overlooked most likely due to its release at what can be described as Eastwood’s most prolonged artistic lull in the mid 1990s, starting with 1997’s Absolute Power and Midnight in the Garden of Eden, 2000’s Space Cowboys, and 2002’s Blood Work. That lull would end with 2003’s acclaimed Mystic River, which earned Oscars for both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins as well as Best Director and Best Picture nominations for Eastwood. But True Crime is still an interesting entry on Eastwood's resume, exploring many of the themes of injustice and moral ambiguity that he frequently explores in his work. So does the similarly-themed 2024 film Juror #2, which Eastwood directed in his mid-90s. So this week we're talking about them both, and joining is us is Aaron from the podcast Hit Factory.

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• THE SIXTH SENSE (Julia's Version) - with Sooz Kempner

  The Sixth Sense was one of the biggest movies of the year, second only to The Phantom Menace. And since it's Halloween and Julia had never seen it before, we thought it was time to take a second look. A movie best remembered for its plot twist (and the meticulous build up to it), The Sixth Sense is nonetheless at its core a drama about grief. Once you know the ending, the experience of the movie changes. But is it still good? Does M. Night Shyamalan's breakthrough film deserve its status on the 1999 Mount Rushmore? For our second go-round on The Sixth Sense, John and Julia invited comedian, actor, and singer Sooz Kempner - who didn't understand the ending to The Sixth Sense when she saw it at the age of 14 - to talk plot twists, child actors, Bruce Willis, and jump scares. You can find Sooz on Bluesky @soozuk Her website is https://www.soozkempner.co.uk/

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• OCTOBER SKY - with Amanda Jane Stern

  October Sky was the 63rd-highest grossing movie of the year, just behind The 13th Warrior. Opening on February 19th with just shy of $6 million, it went on to gross $34.7 million worldwide on a $25 million budget. October Sky was adapted from the memoir Rocket Boys (an anagram of "October Sky") by NASA engineer Homer Hickman and directed by Joe Johnston, beautifully shot by journeyman cinematographer Fred Murphy with a score by Mark Isham it starred newcomer Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Lauren Dern, William Lee Scott, Chad Lindberg, Natalie Canderday, Chris Ellis, and in a really wonderful performance, American Pie’s Sherminator himself, Chris Owen. A critical hit and modest commercial success, October Sky was largely forgotten by the time award season rolled around, and it is now a fondly if faintly remembered gem (as well as the breakout film for its young star!) This week, Julia and John welcome actor/writer Amanda Jane Stern from the podcast Don't Be Crazy to talk about her new film, Joe Johnston's aggressively earnest style, and boys and their rockets. Amanda is on Bluesky @amandajanestern.com

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