The Big Picture · Discussion · Review · Interview

The Movie Business Freak-Out Mailbag and ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,’ With Rian Johnson!

December 16, 2025/ 120 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins

A year-end mailbag on the Netflix-Warner deal and the 2026 slate, a review of Rian Johnson's 'Wake Up Dead Man,' and a conversation with Johnson about faith and the murder mystery.

61 films across 4 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.

Remembering Rob Reinerthe 1984-96 run

This Is Spinal Tap 1984

Sean rewatched it the night of the news; Reiner is the first face you see.

Stand By Me 1986

The Stephen King coming-of-age film, and Sean's most important soundtrack growing up.

The Princess Bride 1987

Sean fired it up again the morning after; the artifice shows more at 40 than at 6.

When Harry Met Sally 1989

Nora Ephron's screenwriting breakthrough, rewriting the genre's rules as it goes.

Misery 1990

Another Stephen King adaptation from the run.

A Few Good Men 1992

Where the hosts' tastes meet; a 12-year-old's first taste of adult moviegoing.

The American President 1995

The one Amanda flags as the coda to the run.

Ghosts of Mississippi 1996

Made with James Woods, who eulogized Reiner across the political aisle.

Sleepless in Seattle 1993

Reiner takes a supporting role for Ephron here, much like he did for a lot of other careers.

The Movie Business Freak-Out Mailbagthe Netflix-Warner deal, the 2026 slate, Oscars, and Charli's Letterboxd

One Battle After Another 2025

The Warner release no one will punish at the Oscars, since the filmmakers didn't make the deal.

Frankenstein 2025

A likely Best Picture nominee; del Toro's anti-AI card before screenings comes up later.

Zootopia 2 2025

Disney's animated horse in a race with K-pop Demon Hunters.

Marty Supreme 2025

Emily asks if she can watch it with her dad; verdict: yes, it's less illicit than Uncut Gems.

Jerry Maguire 1996

Sean's benchmark for parental mortification, at 12, next to his mother.

Uncut Gems 2019

The Safdie anxiety with far more explicit sex than Marty Supreme.

Frances Ha 2012

Amanda's dad didn't have patience for young people being idiots.

It Ends 2025

A SXSW sci-fi debut Sean watched via Letterboxd's new video store, otherwise undistributed.

Jay Kelly 2025

Cited as a movie literally about why the movie star matters.

The Odyssey 2026

Nolan's Homer adaptation; Sean calls it a foolproof hit and Hathaway plays Penelope.

Disclosure 2026

The new Spielberg, in the same 'preserve original studio films' bucket as The Odyssey.

Wuthering Heights 2026

Emerald Fennell's; the standee's been up for months. Charli XCX did the soundtrack.

Project Hail Mary 2026

The Ryan Gosling space adaptation Amanda's excited for.

Avengers: Doomsday 2026

The year-end Marvel tentpole; the trailer Sean would premiere during the Oscar telecast.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 2026

One of Anne Hathaway's six 2026 films; the Andy/Andrea spelling debate ensues.

Dune: Part Three 2026

The Warner tentpole they keep wanting to call Dune Messiah.

Moana 2026

The live-action remake, next year alongside Jumanji 3 for the Rock.

Verity 2026

The Colleen Hoover adaptation with Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, a Kim Crawford night.

Mother Mary 2026

David Lowery's long-awaited two-hander; Charli XCX wrote the songs.

Flowervale Street 2026

David Robert Mitchell's delayed follow-up to Under the Silver Lake.

Alone at Dawn 2026

A Ron Howard film Hathaway is in, the sixth on her 2026 slate.

The Drama 2026

Christopher Borgli's Zendaya and Pattinson movie in A24's Materialists slot.

Hamnet 2025

The year's lightning rod; On the Nature of Daylight is the needle drop Sam rolled his eyes at.

Birdman 2014

Sean's clearest turnaround: talked out of it by strong writing tying it to Iñárritu's earlier work.

Green Book 2018

The hosts warmed to it in the room, then cooled once the production story surfaced.

Joker 2019

Sean: a stupid movie with a genuinely good Joaquin Phoenix performance.

La Vie en Rose 2007

Amanda's 'towering performance in a meh movie': Cotillard transforms in a biopic.

Judy 2019

Cited as a case where both the movie and the showy Best Actress turn are just okay.

The Shining 1980

A listener's IMAX experience of the year; kicks off the classics-in-IMAX question.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966

Sean's IMAX-rerelease wish: Leone's eyes on the biggest screen possible.

Tár 2022

The movie Amanda keeps texting about that couldn't crack the 25-for-25 list.

Almost Famous 2000

A lock on Sean's personal list that isn't an 'Amanda movie.'

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind poster

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004

The other Sean pick that never made the joint list.

The Backrooms 2026

Kane Parsons' A24 debut, the early-20s YouTube creepypasta maker gone legit.

Obsession 2026

Curry Barker's Toronto debut, acquired by Focus for spring.

Evil Dead Burn 2026

Sébastien Vaniček's new Evil Dead, after his spider horror Infested.

‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’the third Benoit Blanc film, now on Netflix

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery poster

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery 2025

Serious and Catholic: a delivery machine for Johnson's ideas about faith. Josh O'Connor's Father Judd is the most fully realized character he's put in the series; Blanc sits out the first 40 minutes. A pleasant movie, no Oscars.