The Next Best Picture Podcast

"The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping" is an American dystopian film directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie. Based on the 2025 novel Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, it serves as both a sequel to "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" (2023) and a prequel to "The Hunger Games" (2012), and will be the sixth installment in "The Hunger Games" film series. Taking place 24 years before the first film, 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) is selected to compete in the 50th Hunger Games. Every 25th edition of the games, known as a Quarter Quell, adds a special twist to the annual Hunger Games rules. For the 50th Hunger Games, each district of Panem must send twice the number of tributes to the Capitol, who will fight to the death in a televised spectacle. It stars an ensemble cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. Director Francis Lawrence and long-time franchise producer Nina Jacobson were kind enough to spend some time talking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on November 20th from Lionsgate. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/hNbUj9_VFO4

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"Everest: The Other Side" is a 2026 documentary film directed and produced by Academy Award winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ("Free Solo"). A co-production of the United States, China, and Nepal, it follows Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson as they fall in love and share a dream of climbing and skiing down the North Face of Mount Everest. The film had its world premiere out of competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its moving, inspiring, and thrilling filmmaking. Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin were kind enough to spend some time talking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on October 30th from National Geographic Documentary Films. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/I5qiDTbNXw0

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THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL REVIEW. Please check out the full podcast review on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture

For this week's second podcast review, Nadia Dalimonte, Daniel Howat, and Sara Clements join me to review and discuss the latest film from director Travis Knight and LAIKA Studios, “Wildwood.” Based on the novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, the stop-motion animated dark fantasy follows a teenage girl named Prue and her classmate Curtis as they venture into an enchanted forest to rescue her infant brother after he is abducted, only to find themselves caught in a brewing war. Featuring the voices of Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Tom Waits, Angela Bassett, and more, the film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim, with many calling it LAIKA's magnum opus. What did we think of it? Please tune in, either on video or audio only, as we discuss Knight's boundary-pushing direction, the story, voice performances, intricate stop-motion animation, ambitious world-building, cinematography, its awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/Y5t6p29MhSs

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"One In A Million" is a 2026 British-American documentary film directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes. It follows a young girl (Israa) over the course of ten years as she travels from Syria to Germany, navigating war, exile, and heartbreak. It had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition, where it won the Audience Award. Directors Jack MacInness, Itab Azzam & Israa were all kind enough to spend some time talking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from PBS Distribution. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/0NynsYU-AV4

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Following our 513th episode of The Next Best Picture Podcast, we're back with a new episode of Mailbag Monday. Dan Bayer and Tom O’Brien join me for this new series, dedicated to answering your fan-submitted questions from the NBP Film Community. Covering everything from the latest movie news, awards season, and Oscar predictions to filmmaking, industry trends, and whatever else is on your mind, Mailbag Monday allows us to engage more directly with all of you every week. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for this episode, whether on our X account or on our Discord (Patreon members get a private link to chat with other NBP members and me). If you'd like to be featured on a future edition of Mailbag Monday, be sure to leave your questions in the comments or submit them through our social media channels every Sunday morning when prompted on our X account. We hope you'll join us every Monday as we continue the conversation beyond our weekly Sunday podcast. Thank you, as always, for listening, subscribing, and supporting Next Best Picture, and helping us build such an incredible film community. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/GS6lTD2AIO0

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Please subscribe on...

Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2

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YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw

And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free
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