Best Pick

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 90: Spotlight (2015) Released 30 June 2021 For this episode, we watched Spotlight, directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The stars were Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams (nominated), Mark Ruffalo (nominated), Brian d’Arcy James and Stanley Tucci. It was also nominated for its editing and McCarthy as Best Director but apart from Best Picture, it won only for its screenplay. https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/spotlight/ https://twitter.com/ClooneyDisciple/status/1377390544117063680 Next time we will be discussing Slumdog Millionaire. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDor

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan, Tom Salinsky and our special guest Thom Tuck Episode 89: A Beautiful Mind (2001) Released 16 June 2021 For this episode, we watched A Beautiful Mind, which won Oscars for its screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, its director Ron Howard and Jennifer Connelly as Best Supporting Actress. It did not win an Oscar for its star Russell Crowe and the cast also included Paul Bettany, Ed Harris and Christopher Plummer. Music was by James Horner and the cinematography was by Roger Deakins. https://twitter.com/turlygod Next time we will be discussing Spotlight. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDorney, @ItsJessRegan or @TomSalinsky. You should als

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 88: Gandhi (1982) Released: 2 June 2021 For this episode, we watched Gandhi, written by John Briley and directed by Richard Attenborough. It starred Ben Kingsley as Gandhi with support from Rohini Hattangadi, Roshan Seth, Pradeep Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox and John Gielgud, among many others. From its 11 nominations, it managed to win eight Oscars including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor for Kingsley, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Disclosure on Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81284247 Next time we will be discussing A Beautiful Mind. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also T

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 87: No Country for Old Men (1987) Released 19 May 2021 For this episode, we watched No Country for Old Men. This is the only film directed by the Coen Bros to win Best Picture, but the second of their four nominations in this category. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson and Kelly Macdonald – Bardem winning Best Supporting Actor. As well as the film winning Best Picture, the Coens also won Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Next time we will be discussing Gandhi. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDorney, @ItsJessRegan or @TomSalinsky. You should also visit our

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan, Tom Salinsky and a special guest panel Episode 86.5: Oscars Best of the Best Released 12 May 2021 For this episode, we looked back on our Oscars journey with an amazing panel of special guests: John Ross Bowie, Michaela Watkins, Bryan Edward Hill, Melissa Fumero and Rachel Bloom. Follow our guests here: https://www.instagram.com/johnrossbowie https://www.instagram.com/michaelawat https://twitter.com/michaelaWat https://twitter.com/bryanedwardhill https://twitter.com/melissafumero https://www.instagram.com/melissafumero https://twitter.com/Racheldoesstuff https://www.instagram.com/racheldoesstuff Julie Brown https://youtu.be/4Ol4oWChjzk Patreon supporters who want to see this as well as hear it can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/live-stream-51016073 Next time we will be discussing No Country for Old Men. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 86: Parasite (2019) Released 5 May 2021 For this episode, we watched Parasite, the first film not in the English language ever to win Best Picture. Director Bong Joon-ho also won Best International Feature, Best Director and shared Best Original Screenplay with Han Jin-won giving it a total of four awards. None of its cast was nominated. Audrey Hepburn flogs Dove Chocolate. https://youtu.be/sB44n4ADg2Y Marilyn Monroe and others recreated for Dior. https://youtu.be/eyA71PGUNYM Parasite average shot length. http://www.cinemetrics.lv/movie.php?movie_ID=25564 Terri White’s memoir. https://amzn.to/3k0OK55 Next time we will be discussing No Country for Old Men. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestp

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 85.5: Oscar Winners 2021 Released 26 April 2021 For this episode we quickly recap all of the surprises, forgone conclusions, gaffes and highlights of the 93rd Academy Awards – mere moments after the broadcast concluded. BEST PICK LIVE We’re thrilled to announce a special one-off live stream show in which you will be able to see our faces as well as hear our voices. Thanks to our lovely friends at House Seats Live, we’re going to be joined by special guests Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex Girlfriend), Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn 99), Michaela Watkins (The Unicorn), John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory), and more to look back at 92 years of Academy Award winning films to pick out the very best of the best in different categories. It’s the first annual “Super Oscars.” The show will be on Saturday 1 May at 5pm PT / 8pm ET / Sunday 2 May at 1:00am in the UK – but if those times aren’t convenient, don’t worry you can access the stream for a whole week. To get your

Best Pick with Ben Blacker, John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky For this episode, we chatted to Ben Blacker, host of the podcast The Writers Panel about our project, the Oscars and various other matters arising. https://twitter.com/benblacker https://foreverdogpodcasts.com/podcasts/the-writers-panel/ Doctor Doolittle in Musical Hell. https://youtu.be/rooWwCVLYzs BEST PICK LIVE We’re thrilled to announce a special one-off live stream show in which you will be able to see our faces as well as hear our voices. Thanks to our lovely friends at House Seats Live, we’re going to be joined by special guests Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex Girlfriend), Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn 99), Michaela Watkins (The Unicorn), John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory), and more to look back at 92 years of Academy Award winning films to pick out the very best of the best in different categories. It’s the first annual “Super Oscars.” The show will be on Saturday 1 May at 5pm PT / 8pm ET / Sunday 2 May at 1:00am in the UK – but if those times

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan, Tom Salinsky and special guest Ned Sedgwick Episode 85: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1951) Released 21 April 2021 For this episode, we watched The Bridge on the River Kwai, written by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, based on the book by Pierre Boulle. The director was David Lean and the stars were William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Sessue Hayakawa. From eight nominations, it won seven Oscars, including Best Director, Best Actor for Guinness and Best Adapted Screenplay. https://twitter.com/nedsedgwick GrownUpLand https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05ys9yl BEST PICK LIVE We’re thrilled to announce a special one-off live stream show in which you will be able to see our faces as well as hear our voices. Thanks to our lovely friends at House Seats Live, we’re going to be joined by special guests Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex Girlfriend), Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn 99), Michaela Watkins (The Unicorn), John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory), and more to look back at 92 ye

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 84: Marty (1955) Released 7 April 2021 For this episode, we watched Marty written by Paddy Cheyefsky and directed by Delbert Mann, who both won Oscars. The stars were Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair and Joe Mantell, all of whom were nominated, Borgnine winning. It was also nominated for its Art Direction and Cinematography. Anna Magnani https://youtu.be/L3DdzN6Ji7M The Improv Handbook https://amzn.to/3tBbLzV BEST PICK LIVE We’re thrilled to announce a special one-off live stream show in which you will be able to see our faces as well as hear our voices. Thanks to our lovely friends at House Seats Live, we’re going to be joined by special guests Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex Girlfriend), Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn 99), Michaela Watkins (The Unicorn), John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory), and more to look back at 93 years of Academy Award winning films to pick out the very best of the best in different categories. It’s the first annual “Super Oscars.” The sh

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan, Tom Salinsky and special guest Matheus Carvalho Episode 83: An American in Paris (1951) Released 24 March 2021 For this episode, we watched An American in Paris, written by Alan Jay Lerner, inspired by and featuring the music of George Gershwin. The director was Vincente Minnelli and the stars were Gene Kelly, Oscar Levant, Leslie Caron, Georges Guétary and Nina Foch. It was nominated in eight categories and won six Oscars, plus a special award for Gene Kelly. http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk https://letterboxd.com/matcarvalho https://www.facebook.com/VITOProject Next time we will be discussing Marty. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @M

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 82.5: Oscar Nominations 2021 Released 16 March 2021 For this episode we discussed the nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards which were announced on 15 March 2021 at 12:15 GMT by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas. Next time we will be discussing An American in Paris. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDorney, @ItsJessRegan or @TomSalinsky. You should also visit our website at https://bestpickpod.com and sign up to our mailing list to get notified as soon as a new episode is released. Just follow this link: http://eepurl.com/dbHO3n. If you enjoy this podcast and you'd like to help us to continue to make

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 82: 12 Years a Slave (2013) Released 10 March 2021 For this episode, we watched 12 Years A Slave, written by John Ridley, from the memoir by Solomon Northup. The director was Steve McQueen with music by Hans Zimmer and cinematography by Sean Bobbitt and the stars were Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, and Lupita Nyong’o. As is fairly typical for this period, as well as Best Picture it only won two other awards – adapted screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Nyong’o. http://tomsalinsky.co.uk/blog/index.php/2010/08/19/3d-movies-kill-or-cure/ Next time we will be discussing An American in Paris. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan, Tom Salinsky and special guest Sam Bain Episode 81: You Can’t Take it With You (1938) Released 24 February 2021 For this episode, we watched You Can’t Take it With You, written by Robert Riskin, adapted from the play by George Kaufman and Moss Hart, directed by Frank Capra and starring Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, and Spring Byington. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards but only won Best Picture and Best Director. The Stand In https://youtu.be/v4XEpOxEvLs Garrett Millerick’s new podcast. https://shows.acast.com/laughable Next time we will be discussing 12 Years a Slave. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You c

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 80: Million Dollar Baby (2004) Released 10 February 2021 For this episode we watched Million Dollar Baby, written by Paul Haggis, based on stories by FX Toole. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Hilary Swank, Eastwood and Morgan Freeman. As well as Best Picture, Eastwood won Best Director and Swank and Freeman both won acting awards. Eastwood was nominated as Best Actor but lost to Jamie Foxx. It was also nominated for its screenplay and its editing. Next time we will be discussing You Can’t Take It With You. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDorney, @ItsJessRegan or @TomSalinsky. You should al

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 79: Birdman (2014) Released 27 January 2021 For this episode, we watched Birdman, written by Alejandro G Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr and Armando Bó and directed by Iñárritu. The stars were Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough and Emma Stone. It received nine Academy Award nominations and won four awards including for its screenplay and its cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki. http://tomsalinsky.co.uk/blog/index.php/2015/02/06/oscars-2015-the-imitation-game/ The mirror shot in Contact. https://youtu.be/avRdYf78kLk First and last shots in Snake Eyes. https://youtu.be/p5Rz1ruuLEk The Spielberg Oner. https://youtu.be/8q4X2vDRfRk Oldboy corridor fight. https://youtu.be/h_n8jw6lXc0 http://tomsalinsky.co.uk/blog/index.php/2018/10/22/so-what-did-i-think-of-rosa/ Next time we will be discussing Million Dollar Baby. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DV

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan, Tom Salinsky and our special guest Helen O’Hara Episode 78: Mrs Miniver (1942) Released 13 January 2021 For this episode, we watched Mrs Miniver based loosely on the 1940 novel by Jan Struther. It starred Greer Garson (won), Walter Pidgeon (nominated), Henry Travers (nominated), May Whitty (nominated) and Theresa Wright (won) and was directed by William Wyler (won). It also won for its screenplay and cinematography. Helen O’Hara https://twitter.com/HelenLOHara The real Helen O’Hara https://youtu.be/8vBUUfO_m5Q Bette Davis hawks war bonds https://youtu.be/ZqQHkLuVwAM Carry on Up the Khyber dinner scene https://youtu.be/kaUEwiz3MzM https://www.waterstones.com/book/women-vs-hollywood/helen-ohara/9781472144430 Next time we will be discussing Birdman. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, tho

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan, Tom Salinsky and special guests Natalie Bochenski and Dan Beeston Episode 77: Titanic (1997) Released 30 December 2020 For this episode, we watched Titanic, written and directed by James Cameron with music by James Horner and cinematography by Russell Carpenter. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill and Gloria Stuart. From an amazing 14 Academy Award nominations, it collected eleven, meaning that it tied both for most nominations (with All About Eve) and most wins (with Ben-Hur). We also dip into the life and work of James Horner. Celine Dion – The Arrogant Worms https://youtu.be/Hn8Td56tHbA CBS Evening News https://youtu.be/K27-a-ZJ7uE Titanic alternative ending (SNL sketch) https://youtu.be/Vk1r9nlnl3U Titanic alternative ending (real) https://youtu.be/gAvfVXxgTpY Smart Enough to Know Better podcast https://smartenough.org Act/React https://www.actreact.com.au Natalie Bochenski https://www.nataliebochensk

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan, Tom Salinsky and special guest quizmaster Thom Tuck Episode 76.5: Christmas Quiz 2019 Released 23 December 2020 For this episode, writer, actor and comedian Thom Tuck joins us with a quiz he has set, testing us on what we have said over the last twelve months’ worth of episodes. Feel free to play along at home but be warned – it’s not easy. https://twitter.com/turlygod Next time we will be discussing Titanic. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDorney, @ItsJessRegan or @TomSalinsky. You should also visit our website at https://bestpickpod.com and sign up to our mailing list to get notified as soon as a new episode is released. Ju

Best Pick with John Dorney, Jessica Regan and Tom Salinsky Episode 76: The Hurt Locker (2009) Released 16 December 2020 For this episode, we watched The Hurt Locker, written by Mark Boal (won) and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (won). The stars were Jeremy Renner (nominated), Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce. In total it was nominated in nine categories and it also won for its editing, sound mixing and sound editing. Next time we will be discussing Titanic. If you want to watch it before listening to the next episode you can buy the DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com, or you can download it via iTunes (UK) or iTunes (USA). To send in your questions, comments, thoughts and ideas, you can join our Facebook group, Tweet us on @bestpickpod or email us on bestpickpod@gmail.com. You can also Tweet us individually, @MrJohnDorney, @ItsJessRegan or @TomSalinsky. You should also visit our website at https://bestpickpod.com and sign up to our mailing li