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The Big Picture · Discussion · Interview

Are Movies the New TV? A Podcast Crossover Special, Part 1. Plus: Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter!

August 28, 2020/ 59 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins

A crossover with The Watch's Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald on whether streaming has collapsed the line between movies and TV, then Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter on Bill & Ted Face the Music.

22 films across 2 segments.

AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.

Are Movies the New TV?with Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald of The Watch

The New Mutants poster

The New Mutants 2020

The other theatrical release: a burned-off X-Men horror movie Andy argues should have been a Disney+ show.

Tenet poster

Tenet 2020

Opening a week out; with nothing else on the calendar it could hold 4,500 screens for weeks.

Palm Springs poster

Palm Springs 2020

The central 'media movie' example: a Sundance pickup that thrived on Hulu and spawned obsessive Reddit threads.

An American Pickle poster

An American Pickle 2020

Amanda's starting point: a $20M three-hander that made no sense theatrically but fit HBO Max.

The Old Guard poster

The Old Guard 2020

Cited as a bigger-budget repurposed movie, not the mid-budget sweet spot Andy means.

Extraction poster

Extraction 2020

Same bucket as The Old Guard, too big to be a 'Wednesday night' movie.

Trolls World Tour poster

Trolls World Tour 2020

Listed among the signature streaming-era releases of the summer.

Hamilton poster

Hamilton 2020

The filmed stage show as a summer movie event.

Black Is King poster

Black Is King 2020

Beyoncé's visual album, floated as another movie-that-isn't-quite-a-movie.

Project Power poster

Project Power 2020

Tested against the budget criteria and disqualified, way over $25M.

Always Be My Maybe poster

Always Be My Maybe 2019

Netflix rom-com used to show the visible budget-trimming: drone shots over sets, plus the Keanu cameo.

The Irishman poster

The Irishman 2019

Amanda's line in the sand: one story told over time is a movie even if you pause it across four nights.

Zack Snyder's Justice League poster

Zack Snyder's Justice League 2021

The Snyder Cut as fan-campaign afterlife: four hours split into four events, with Darkseid added via CGI.

In conversation

Bill & Ted Face the Music poster
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter on

Bill & Ted Face the Music 2020

On playing the guys 29 years older without caricature, and their daughters Bridget and Samara carving out their own versions.

The Matrix Reloaded poster
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter on

The Matrix Reloaded 2003

Keanu's last great thing, by his own account, one of the Wachowski sequels he rewatched in quarantine.

Hamilton poster
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter on

Hamilton 2020

Alex's household watched it on repeat when it hit VOD.

Also mentioned raised along the way

In passing SunshineLoganDeadpoolGuardians of the GalaxySuicide SquadTriple FrontierVelvet BuzzsawKraven the HunterLittle ChildrenMaliceHostBeing John MalkovichKingdom of HeavenJokerOnwardFrozen IIMulanMulan IICinderella II: Dreams Come TrueCinderella III: A Twist in TimeLady and the Tramp II: Scamp's AdventureBad Boys for LifeNever Rarely Sometimes AlwaysKillers of the Flower Moon

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV The MandalorianYellowstoneLittle Fires EverywhereThe StandStranger ThingsLovecraft CountryBrave New WorldBriar PatchthirtysomethingThe NewsroomJohn Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch

Ads NHTSA — Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over