That Shakespeare + Gods & Monsters conversation
Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 3:24PM 
We received word from readers that the Apple Podcast/iTunes service has suddenly gone glitchy with The Film Experience so we wanted to let you know that you can also listen on Stitcher or on Spotify if you haven't yet given the conversation a go. One more round of applause please for writer/director/showrunner Leslye Headland (Russian Doll, The Acolyte), actor Mitch Silpa (Bridesmaids, The Heat), DJ Rob Campion (Cooler Than Ecto), writer Jenelle Riley (Variety), and animator/illustrator Dashiell Silva.
Read the Full Post Here
Conversation Index (74 minutes)
00:01 - Introduction of the Smackdown Panel and the 1998 Nominees
04:00 - Primary Colors. What works (Kathy Bates) and what doesn't, and how it plays in today's much different political climate.
15:41 - A detour to the 2020 Oscar race and "Da Butt"
17:00 - Hilary and Jackie's odd structure, sadness porn, and tortured artists
28:30 - A detour to The English Patient (1996) and the Weinstein/Miramax industrial complex
34:45 - Shakespeare in Love "a rom-com for theater nerds". Why Judi Dench deserved the Oscar.
50:20 - The disastrous miscalculations of Little Voice, and Brenda Blethyn, hot off of Secrets & Lies
59:30 - Gods and Monsters, hampered by its budget, and maybe even its Oscar winning screenplay. Beautiful performances!
1:12:28 - Wrap-up / Goodbyes.
And in case you missed our 1998 "extras" we revisited Velvet Goldmine, High Art, Beloved, Central Station, The Prince of Egypt, A Bug's Life, The Truman Show, Hollywood's onslaught of blonde ingenues, and the pop culture hits that year.
Reader Comments (4)
This was a weird year. Dench is barely in her film and Redgrave is the weak link in GODS AND MONSTERS. It probably should have gone to High Art's Patricia Clarkson, who wasn't even nominated.
Bates does not enjoy the joke or the loss.
Thanks for the Spotify link… works like a charm! Very lively and fun discussion! My vote is still with Redgrave, but the discussion opened me more to loving Dench’s performance too.
Not really a podcast guy but might give it a listen sometime. I adore hearing guys like you with effeminate or "gay voices" chat away.