Downton Abbey 2019
The TV show as a feature: a $33M opening weekend, the biggest release in Focus Features history, beating the male-skewing Ad Astra and Rambo: Last Blood. Sean pegs it as basically one long Christmas special.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Interview
'Downton Abbey,' 'Breaking Bad,' and Why TV Is Still Jealous of Movies | The Oscars Show
September 24, 2019/ 91 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Chris Ryan
Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan on why hit TV keeps coming back as movies, the crowded supporting-actress Oscar race, a ranking of the award shows, and Ad Astra. Plus an interview with Downton Abbey director Michael Engler.
35 films across 5 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.
Why TV Is Still Jealous of Moviesthe movie-sizing of prestige television
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie 2019
Netflix's Breaking Bad continuation, due in October — the show's exhibit A for the tech and viewing habits finally catching up to serialized storytelling ambitions.
Deadwood: The Movie 2019
HBO's revival film, cited as part of the same wave of beloved series returning as one-off features.
Between Two Ferns: The Movie 2019
Zach Galifianakis's Netflix release — 'barely a movie,' per Sean, but in the tradition. Favorite installments cited: the Obama and Bradley Cooper bits.
Veronica Mars 2014
The fan-funded reunion movie, a template that preceded the Hulu revival.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2019
Held up as a star-driven exception to the franchise-eats-the-movie-star trend — though Amanda notes Tarantino is his own IP by now.
The Beverly Hillbillies 1993
'90s meta-riff TV-to-film, versus today's straight-faced continuations.
The Brady Bunch Movie 1995
Same '90s mode — the wink, not the earnest extension.
Stock Up, Stock Downthe supporting-actress race and the foreign-film politics
Hustlers 2019
Jennifer Lopez 'running very hard' for supporting actress, in a revised Versace gown; the front-runner-scrambler of the category.
Marriage Story 2019
Laura Dern, long assumed the lock — now voters are recounting against J.Lo.
The Laundromat 2019
Meryl Streep, Amanda's number one; different people, different accents every time.
Little Women 2019
A crowded supporting field of its own — Florence Pugh, Dern, Streep, and Eliza Scanlen, with Saoirse Ronan leading. Out Christmas Day.
Ford v Ferrari 2019
Where Caitríona Balfe could run — Sean flags his mispronunciation of her name last week.
The Report 2019
Annette Bening as Dianne Feinstein, also in the supporting mix.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire 2019
One of the best-reviewed films of the year, a Cannes prize-winner picked up by Neon — and pointedly NOT France's foreign-film submission.
Les Misérables 2019
France's actual entry over Portrait, directed by Ladj Ly and bought by Amazon.
Cold War 2018
Amazon's prior play: a foreign-film submission it platformed all the way to a Best Director nomination.
Gosford Park 2001
Robert Altman film written by Julian Fellowes — the role that got Maggie Smith the Downton job.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 1969
One of Maggie Smith's two Oscar wins.
California Suite 1978
Her second Oscar win — Neil Simon.
A Room with a View 1985
Another Smith nomination; Sean has never seen it.
The Big Race: Ranking the Award Showsthe Emmys, Oscars, Grammys, Tonys, and Independent Spirit Awards
Metropolitan 1990
Sean's self-diagnosis via the Whit Stillman character who reads the criticism instead of the book — how he now consumes the Emmys.
Ad Astra and Ranking the Space Moviesthe voiceover debate, and Sam Donsky's prompt
Ad Astra 2019
James Gray's film — praised as tonally and technically unique among recent space movies; the shared gripe is the voiceover, which everyone would pare back.
Arrival 2016
Amanda's clear No. 1 of the five, 'destroyed me twice in five days'; closer in spirit to Ad Astra than to The Martian or Gravity.
Interstellar 2014
Sean's dead-last; Chris and Amanda rate it far higher, near neck-and-neck with Arrival.
The Martian 2015
Expertly done but home to the wisecracking-astronaut archetype the group is tired of; rewatchable on HBO.
Gravity 2013
An achievement on release that Sean finds not very rewatchable now.
Apocalypse Now 1979
The upriver-to-confront-a-father template Ad Astra draws on; its voiceover cited as VO with a purpose (or, per Sean, a hack that saved a hard film).
Goodfellas 1990
The other example of voiceover that earns its place — it's testimony.
A Hidden Life 2019
Malick, laden with voiceover Sean found way overstated — the counter-case.
First Man 2018
Part of the recent outer-space cohort Ad Astra is measured against.
Prometheus 2012
Also floated as belonging to the new space genre.
Last Christmas 2019
The spoiler that ruined Amanda's Emmy night — is he a ghost? Based on the Wham song.
In conversation
Michael Engler on
Downton Abbey 2019
The theater and TV director on making it cinematic without changing the DNA — drone shots, wider two-shots held longer, and hanging one film on the royal-visit story so every character still gets a beat.
Michael Engler on
Capernaum 2018
His last great thing — Nadine Labaki's film; amazed by the behavior she got on camera from a child and a toddler.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In passing The GoldfinchBlockersPokémon Detective PikachuThe Dark Tower
Coming up on the show The Death of Dick LongJudy
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV UnbelievableSuccessionBreaking BadBetter Call SaulPeaky BlindersHowards EndBig Little LiesOzarkMad MenSherlockTrue DetectiveFriday Night LightsFreaks and GeeksThe Walking DeadJessica JonesThe West WingThe SopranosOutlanderSix Feet UnderUnbreakable Kimmy SchmidtDeadwood30 RockThe Gilded AgeThe Big CSex and the CitySharp ObjectsGame of ThronesFleabagThe SocietyCountry Music (Ken Burns)Veronica Mars (Hulu series)
Web series Between Two Ferns (web series)
Podcasts/Ads The WatchRinger DishHollywood ProspectusBreak Stuff: The Story of Woodstock 99The Rewatchables (1999 series)