The Next Best Picture Podcast

For Episode 511 of the Next Best Picture Podcast, I am joined by Katie Johnson, Dan Bayer, and Larry Fried. This week, we're discussing the end of the New York Film Festival (NYFF), including the world premieres of "Artificial" and "14th," as well as high-profile screenings of "Fjord," "The Debut," and more! For this week's NBP poll question, to mark the end of the "big four" film festivals (Venice, Telluride, TIFF and NYFF), we're asking everyone, "Which Film Do You Think Will Be The Next Best Picture Oscar Winner?" And we reveal the winner of last week's NBP poll, where we asked everyone, for the merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures into Skydance, "Which Is Your Favorite Warner Bros. Best Picture Nominee?" We also share our reactions to the trailers for "The Exorcist: Martyrs," "Godzilla Minus Zero," "Heartland," and "La Gradiva." We are still answering your fan-submitted questions, but we'll now release our answers separately the next day in a new show called Mailbag Monday. So stay tuned for that and many other updates from Next Best Picture as this year's awards season continues. Thank you all for listening, subscribing, and supporting us. Enjoy!

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For this week's main podcast review, Ema Sasic and Dan Bayer join me to review and discuss the latest film from Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Reckoning," starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, Billy Magnussen, Bill Burr, and Jeremy Strong. A companion piece to 2010's "The Social Network," where that film was about the rise of Facebook, this film is about the Facebook we use today and how it got us to where we are now, dramatizing, the 2021 Facebook leak by whistleblower Frances Haugen and investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz. What did we think of it? Please tune in, either on video or audio only, as we discuss the story, Sorkin's writing and direction, the performances, the stylistic differences from David Fincher's acclaimed film, its Oscar prospects, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/ITOKBOOqWd0

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"Love Of Your Life" is an American romantic drama directed by Rachel Morrison ("The Fire Inside"), written by Julia Cox. It stars Margaret Qualley as Maya, whose chance encounter with Charlie (Gabriel Basso) sets in motion a sweeping romance and a future beyond anything she's ever imagined. When that future is suddenly upended, she's sent hurtling toward an unexpected new life -- one that forces her to reckon with who she is, what she wants, and how to love again. The film also stars Aaron Pierre, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Catherine Keener. It had its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for Qualley's performance and Morrison's direction. Morrison was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience 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 Amazon MGM Studios and will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on October 14th. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/pQFL44Pll-4

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"California Schemin'" (stylized as "California $chemin'") is a 2025 biographical musical film directed by James McAvoy in his directorial debut. The film stars Samuel Bottomley and Séamus McLean Ross as the Scottish faux-American rap pairing Silibil N' Brains, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, and is based on Bain's 2010 memoir "California Schemin': How Two Lads from Scotland Conned the Music Industry." It tells the true story of the Dundee rap duo who, for three years, pretended to be American to be taken seriously by the record industry. The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for McAvoy's direction and the performances. McAvoy was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in theaters on October 9th from Magenta Light Studios. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/us5daUf5R80

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"My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile" is a 2026 American documentary film produced and directed by Julia Loktev. A sequel to the 2024 film "My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow," it follows several independent Russian journalists as they flee the country into exile, following Vladimir Putin government's repression of free speech. The film had its world premiere out of competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews. Loktev was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in New York at Film Forum on October 9th from MUBI. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/OxvEEqzo2ug

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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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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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