The Big Picture · Hall of Fame
July 7, 2026/ 143 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean and Amanda open on a soft box-office weekend, then honor the late Diane Keaton. They walk her whole career and induct their favorite performances into her Hall of Fame. Twelve films make the ballot (The Godfather I and II count as one, per the Robert Duvall rule).
12 films across 1 segment.
The Hall of Famethe inducted performances, in the order they argued them
One slot for Parts I and II (the Robert Duvall rule; Part III left off). Amanda floated that she's miscast. Sean defended her as essential, 'the perspectival character, the outsider brought into this world,' and called the 'It was an abortion, Michael' scene 'amazing.'
First-ballot automatic, 'a forever movie.' The Best Actress win, and the film that made her a star. Sean noted she plays it naturalistic, 'not doing the Diane Keaton persona as much,' and it informs everything after.
'One of her great performances,' bracing and unlike anything else she did: a teacher of deaf children exploring her sexuality, with a shocking ending. The trauma framing dates it; the performance doesn't.
Sean's pick over Shoot the Moon. As the friend's wife caught in the affair, her scene ending it is 'among her best.' 'A legendary film made complicated by contemporary history.'
The only real person she ever played. 'Electric, perfectly balanced against Warren Beatty, then against Jack Nicholson.' No laughs, none of 'her stuff,' much of it silent reacting. Sean: 'one of the craziest things is it did not win Best Picture.'
Sean's personal deep cut. 'She's the show in Shoot the Moon,' a harsh divorce drama opposite a ferocious Albert Finney, the first time she read as more than a young ingenue.
'This is the new Diane Keaton,' the start of the Nancy Meyers era and the template for the rest of her career. Her meltdown at the man fixing the well is 'one of the funniest things she's ever done.'
Steve Martin's movie, inducted 'out of respect for all the fathers.' Amanda pushed back that it isn't really hers; Sean calls it 'one of the great films of my lifetime.' A warm foil, 'willfully being a mom.'
Easy yes for both. A later phase that keeps the Keaton and Woody Allen dynamic: 'she's as much the star of it as he is.' 'Very funny. What a great pantsuit.'
A massive hit and 'a very important movie in her career.' Amanda championed it: Keaton front and center on 'You Don't Own Me,' a film that 'honors women' and sets the template for her later ensembles.
'Green, of course.' The most autobiographical Nancy Meyers film, and 'a wonderful way of closing up the Reds thing,' reuniting her with Nicholson, happily. A Best Actress nomination, and the birth of 'coastal grandma.'
Amanda's personal deep cut. 'One of the last classic romantic comedies,' Keaton as a past-her-prime newscaster with very funny chemistry opposite Harrison Ford.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Opening: the box office Minions & MonstersToy Story 5Disclosure Day
Her filmography, weighed and left off the ballot Lovers and Other StrangersPlay It Again, SamSleeperLove and DeathI Will, I Will... for NowHarry and Walter Go to New YorkInteriorsMrs. SoffelCrimes of the HeartRadio DaysThe Good MotherThe Lemon SistersThe Godfather Part IIILook Who's Talking NowUnstrung HeroesFather of the Bride Part IIMarvin's RoomThe Other SisterHanging UpTown & CountryThe Family StoneBecause I Said SoMad MoneyDarling CompanionThe Big WeddingAnd So It GoesLove the CoopersFinding DoryHampsteadBook ClubPomsMack & RitaMaybe I DoBook Club: The Next ChapterSummer Camp
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Twin PeaksThe Little Drummer GirlThe BearFriendsWildflowerRunning MatesAmelia Earhart: The Final FlightArthur's Whiskey
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