Filmspotting

Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime paints problematic TV phenomenon To Catch a Predator — and especially its host, Chris Hansen — as an enterprise fueled by ambition, amorality, and a tenuous grasp of journalistic ethics. Those qualities put us in mind of the cursed collaboration between desperate press agent Sidney Falco and influential columnist J.J. Hunsecker in 1957’s Sweet Smell of Success, so this week we’re digging into the twisted loyalties and razor-sharp dialogue of Alexander Mackendrick’s blisteringly cynical portrayal of a very different era in tabloid journalism. Then in Feedback, a listener helps flesh out a bit of William Friedkin trivia that came up during our recent Sorcerer discussion.
Please share your thoughts about Sweet Smell of Success, Primetime, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
This episode is presented by⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Regal Unlimited⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits. Use code NEXTPIC26 for 15% off.
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With Cruise back in ac-tor mode in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Digger, we're sharing our 2017 consideration of the long and storied career of "the last movie star."
Unlock the full archive, Filmspotting Discord, ad‑free + bonus episodes, and more when you ⁠join the Filmspotting Family⁠.
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For the first show of Scare-tober, Jordan and Matt take a look at the Shudder Original Goody Goody, a low-budget home-birth horror tale from first-time feature director Raymond Creamer. For a seasonally appropriate streaming watch, you could do worse. You could also do better, which is why Matt and Jordan use this week’s “Rec Seg” to suggest a couple of titles inspired by Goody Goody — one which exploits the very real horror of childbirth for laughs, and another which brilliantly captures the horror of being the only one who knows something terrible has happened. Then, listener Matt (no relation to host Matt) writes in asking for an entry-level horror film for his 9-year-old. And Matt hosts another round of Portmanteau-to-Toe for this week’s game
Intro (00:00:00–00:04:32)
Goody Goody (00:04:33–00:22:03)
Rec Seg! (00:22:04–00:36:55)
Listener Req Seg! (00:36:56–00:57:18)
Game: Portmanteau-to-Toe (00:57:19–01:11:15)
New to Streaming / Credits (01:11:16–01:25:08)
Show Notes
Bazooga jingle by Andy Wilkowske
Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive⁠ https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/⁠
Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th):⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/⁠
Matt’s book tour!
matt-singer.net
Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com
Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social
Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social
Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠
Follow the Show:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvu⁠
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Chris Klimek convenes a showdown between arguably the two most influential slasher films ever made: John Carpenter's "Halloween" and Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
One helped define the modern slasher, introducing audiences to the silent, implacable force of Michael Myers and transforming suburban streets into sites of terror. The other revitalized the genre six years later with Freddy Krueger, a wisecracking dream stalker who turned sleep itself into a death sentence.
Arguing for "Halloween" is Jason Zinoman (Shock Value, The New York Times), who contends that Carpenter's film remains the genre's most influential and enduring achievement. Defending "Nightmare" is Deirdre Barrett, a Harvard dream researcher, psychologist, and author, who makes the case that Freddy Krueger taps into some of our deepest and most universal fears.
Choose your winner at moviedeathmatch.com.
(Times will not be precise with ads.)
Intro / Meet the Advocates (00:00:00-00:16:41)
Rd. 1 – The Movies in Their Time (00:16:42-00:41:49)
Rd. 2 – The Movies in Our Time (00:41:50-01:06:16)
Rd. 3 – The Movies for All Time (01:06:17-01:37:03)
The Verdict / Credits (01:37:05-01:45:23)
More From Jason:
-‘Halloween’ 1978: The Times Finally Reviews a Horror Classic
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/movies/halloween-1978-review.html
-Book: Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143121367
-Instagram
@zinomanj
More From Deidre:
-deirdrebarrett.com
http://www.deirdrebarrett.com/
-Book: Pandemic Dreams
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982869533
-Instagram
@deirdre_barrett_dreams
Follow Chris:
-Instagram | Bluesky | X
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For the debut episode of their new sport and film podcast, Adam Kempenaar and University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communication colleague Travis Vogan, PhD, are joined by scholar Seán Crosson, PhD, to discuss Harold Lloyd’s 1925 silent comedy The Freshman. Together, they explore the massive box-office hit’s treatment of masculinity and football, and how the film helped shape the underdog and American Dream narratives that remain central to the genre a century later.
Next Episode:
–Hoop Dreams with Samantha Noelle Sheppard, PhD, Cornell University
Links:
–Email the show at fos@filmspotting.net.
–Learn more about Seán Crosson
–Sport in European Cinema
–Sport and Film (2nd Edition)
Theme Music:
–King of the Corpse Flowers by Oxykitten | Spotify
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