The Next Best Picture Podcast

For Episode 494, I am joined by Sara Clements, Larry Fried, Will Mavity, and Tom O'Brien, as we deliver our preview for the 2026 Tribeca Festival. We also touch on the recent box-office successes of "Backrooms" and "Obsession," and what they mean for Hollywood moving forward. For this week’s poll question, for the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, we’re asking everyone: “Which Films From The 2026 Tribeca Festival Are You Most Looking Forward To?” and reveal the winner of last week’s poll question tied to the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, "Which Of The 2026 Cannes Film Festival Award Winners Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "In The Hand Of Dante," "I Am Frankelda," answer your fan-submitted questions, and more! Thank you all for listening, subscribing, and supporting us. Enjoy!

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For this week's main podcast review, Ema Sasic, Katie Johnson, Sara Clements, Alyssa Christian, and Brendan Hodges join me to review and discuss "Backrooms" starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett & Lukita Maxwell. Directed and co-scored by Kane Parsons (in his feature-length directorial debut at the young age of 20 years old) and written by Will Soodik, this A24 horror film is based on Parsons's web series of the same name, inspired by the "Backrooms" creepypasta. It has developed a massive following online, which we're seeing reflected in its overperforming box office, and has generated a ton of interest and conversation surrounding horror films in Hollywood today, the pipeline from YouTube creators to filmmakers, liminal horror spaces, Renate Reinsve's dominance over 2026, and more! What did we think of it? Please tune in as we discuss all of these points and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

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"The Pitt" is an American medical drama television series created by R. Scott Gemmill and executive-produced by John Wells and Noah Wyle. It stars Wyle, Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez, and Sepideh Moafi. Each season of the series follows emergency department staff as they work through the challenges of a single 12-hour shift at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, while navigating staff shortages, underfunding, and their own personal crises. Each episode, set in real time, covers approximately one hour of the work shift. The series has received critical acclaim for its performances, writing, direction, format, and realism. The medical community has also praised the series for its accuracy, realistic representation of healthcare workers, and portrayal of the stressors medical staff face in a post-pandemic world. The series has received several accolades, with the first season winning five awards at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, namely Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Casting, and acting wins for Wyle, LaNasa, and recurring guest star Shawn Hatosy. Additionally, it was listed among the 10 best television programs of 2025 by the American Film Institute and won Best Television Series – Drama at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards. Ema Sasic spoke with Sepideh Moafi, and Daniel Howat spoke with series cinematographer Johanna Coelho. Both were kind enough to spend some time talking with them about their work and experiences making the series, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the series, which is up for your consideration for this year's Emmy Awards and is now available to stream on HBO Max. Thank you, and enjoy!

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"Power Ballad" is a 2026 musical comedy-drama film directed and co-written by John Carney, starring Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Havana Rose Liu, and Jack Reynor. The film tells the story of Rick Power (Rudd), a wedding singer, who meets washed-up former boy band singer Danny Wilson (Jonas) at a wedding one night and bonds over a jam session. After the jam session, Danny steals one of Rick's songs, and it becomes a number-one hit. This brings Danny back into the spotlight, leading Rick to seek revenge and recognition. The film had its world premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival and has received positive reviews for its two performances, Carney's direction, and, of course, the music. Carney was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Lionsgate and will expand to more theaters on June 5th. Thank you, and enjoy!

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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

Our 2008 retrospective continues with "Revolutionary Road," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour, and Kathy Bates. Directed by Winslet's real-life husband at the time, Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, and adapted by Justin Haythe from the award-winning novel by Richard Yates, this was considered a huge Oscar contender on paper before its release around Christmas time in 2008. Once it was released, it received mixed but still positive reviews, with most of the praise going to the acting of Winslet, DiCaprio, and Shannon, and eventually scored three Oscar nominations. Winslet, though, despite winning the Golden Globe and receiving BAFTA and SAG nominations, was Oscar-nominated for her other 2008 contender, "The Reader." How has the period domestic drama held up all these years later? Please tune in as Lauren LaMagna, Dan Bayer, Amy Kim, and I talk about the Mendes's direction, the story's themes, Roger Deakins's cinematography, Thomas Newman's score, the performance, its awards season run, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Please check out our past reviews for "Frost/Nixon," "Doubt," and "Changeling." We appreciate your support and hope you enjoy our review!

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