Drama
First Cow 2020
Kelly Reichardt's frontier friendship lost to time; one of the last people he interviewed in person, and she'd only fist-bump as COVID crept in.
The Big Picture · Draft
The 2020 Movie Draft
December 18, 2023/ 77 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Chris Ryan
Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan draft the movies of 2020, the year COVID gutted the theatrical slate. The blockbuster threshold drops to $25 million, and the picks skew toward small, streaming-era films. Six categories, snake order, one roster each.
18 films across 1 segment.
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.
The teams drafting the movies of 2020
Sean Fennessey
Action / Horror / Thriller
The Invisible Man 2020
Leigh Whannell's Blumhouse reinvention with Elisabeth Moss; a big surprise hit and the good genre pick still on the board after the blockbusters went.
Comedy
Shithouse 2020
Cooper Raiff's college debut, made at 24, with pangs of Linklater and John Hughes; shot in Sean's neighborhood.
Blockbuster
Tenet 2020
First overall. The only $25M+ movie worth talking about, seen at a San Diego drive-in reached by driving through a forest fire, cars parked apart.
Oscar Nominee
Judas and the Black Messiah 2021
Technically a February 2021 release, allowed under the Oscar-eligibility extension; Daniel Kaluuya's Fred Hampton, a Shaka King they're still waiting to follow up.
Wild Card
The Vast of Night 2020
Andrew Patterson's homemade 1950s New Mexico sci-fi built around a long, unbroken tracking shot; his and Sean's favorite of the year, and an Adam Nayman staple.
Amanda Dobbins
Drama
Never Rarely Sometimes Always 2020
Eliza Hittman's abortion procedural; Amanda interviewed Hittman at Sundance the day Kobe Bryant died.
Action / Horror / Thriller
Extraction 2020
Not an Amanda pick, but Hemsworth throat-punching dudes felt like a release five weeks into lockdown; a top-15 all-time Netflix title.
Comedy
Palm Springs 2020
Andy Samberg / Cristin Milioti time-loop rom-com bought at Sundance for a record $17.5M; released on Hulu into a real-life time loop.
Blockbuster
Bad Boys for Life 2020
The year's #1 movie at $206M domestic, and the last normal theatrical hang; Chris fixated on the Michael Bay cameo.
Oscar Nominee
Quo Vadis, Aida? 2020
Jasmila Zbanic's Bosnian Best International nominee; a UN translator inside the run-up to the Srebrenica massacre, the bottom falling out of everything.
Wild Card
The Assistant 2020
Kitty Green's quiet, anxious office-abuse study with Julia Garner and a Matthew Macfadyen HR scene that goes on almost unbearably long; under-seen for when it landed.
Chris Ryan
Drama
Another Round 2020
Thomas Vinterberg's intentional-alcoholism film with Mads Mikkelsen; sad and funny, unmistakably Scandinavian, capped by that dancing ending. Chris interviewed Mikkelsen and questioned whether he himself was a man.
Action / Horror / Thriller
The Rental 2020
Dave Franco and Joe Swanberg's Oregon-Airbnb thriller; a rewatchable, John Carpenter-ish study of class and leisure anxieties.
Comedy
Happiest Season 2020
Clea DuVall's Pittsburgh Christmas rom-com with Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, and Aubrey Plaza; a holiday staple in Chris's house.
Blockbuster
The Gentlemen 2020
Guy Ritchie's; taken fourth overall as a pick all three had circled. Charlie Hunnam's AK-47, Hugh Grant's disgusting accent, Michelle Dockery.
Oscar Nominee
Mank 2020
David Fincher's Old Hollywood with a dizzying Gary Oldman; Chris's favorite of the year, defended against the anti-Mank crowd.
Wild Card
Let Them All Talk 2020
Steven Soderbergh's Queen Mary 2 drama with Meryl Streep and Lucas Hedges; Soderbergh later recognized Chris in person from their Zoom interview.
On the board, undrafted honorable mentions
Sound of MetalMinariDa 5 BloodsNomadlandSoulNews of the WorldThe Way BackOn the RocksEmmaSylvie's LoveTimeBoys StateI'm Thinking of Ending ThingsPossessorHostThe NestThe InformerThe King of Staten IslandUnderwaterFreakyThe Dark and the WickedThe ClimbSonic the HedgehogBirds of PreyOnwardThe HuntThe LodgeDolittleThe Call of the WildFantasy IslandWonder Woman 1984The Croods: A New AgeThe GloriasShiva Baby
Also mentioned raised along the way
The 2021 slate they argued over DuneThe French DispatchSpider-Man: No Way HomeEternalsBlack WidowShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsThe Worst Person in the WorldWest Side StoryLicorice PizzaThe Power of the DogCODAA Quiet Place Part IIOld
The 2019 they were coming off of Avengers: EndgameParasiteStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
In passing The KillerNo Sudden MoveGhost ShipDuelOnce Within a TimeThe Royal HotelPoor ThingsCha Cha Real SmoothThe TrashersInsidious: The Red DoorAquaman and the Lost KingdomSmall AxeRebeccaFerrariMaestroCivil WarSpenser ConfidentialThe Perfect StormThe GamblerAladdinO.J.: Made in AmericaThe Passion of the ChristCop LandSea of LoveFletchHeatScott Pilgrim vs. the WorldGroundhog DayNight SwimImaginaryArgylleMadame WebAnyone but You
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The Last DanceThe White LotusA Murder at the End of the World
Ads Stadio (podcast cross-promo)