The Big Picture – "The 25 for ’25 Selection Show Special" (January 2, 2026)

Host: Sean Fennessy
Co-host: Amanda Dobbins
Producer: Bobby Wagner

Episode Overview

In this special, meta-episode of The Big Picture, Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins open up their process of finalizing "25 for 25"—their definitive list of the 25 most essential movies from the last 25 years (2000–2025). The episode is a candid, at times anxious, but always lively conversation that exposes the internal negotiations, values, anxieties, “grievances,” and deep understanding of list-making between the two hosts.

They break down their criteria, the evolution from long lists to painful cuts, and the practical and emotional challenges in capturing such a broad cultural project. The episode is a treasure for movie fans and list-heads, balancing both passionate debate and the self-aware performance of two friends and critics at work.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Psychology and Stakes of List-Making

• Finality anxiety: Sean expresses deep nerves about the list, feeling it’s a “journey into my mind” and fearing not living up to his own standards (01:04).

  "I don't want to fail in my own...by my own standard." – Sean [01:10]

• Amanda calls the process “a healing process, an airing of grievances as well as planning” (01:49), poking fun at Sean’s tension.
• The hosts discuss how lists are forever fixed in public, different from the pliability of their usual year-end lists:

  "This project is being recorded and we are dedicating 25 individual episodes and discussions to where we land on things...there’s this kind of final announcement that this is the truth of the matter." – Sean [03:04]

2. Ground Rules and Methodology

• Movies must be from Jan 1, 2000 to present (US release), only one film per director (to prevent “usual faves” from dominating), and all genres, countries, and styles are eligible (08:03).
• Each host started by drafting “long lists” (Amanda: 35 films, Sean approached free-association without consulting other lists).
• Both reflect on when and how they made their lists—Amanda starts hers after “two drinks in” on a date night at a steakhouse, Sean late at night “after bedtime” (08:45).
• Noted dilemma: balancing their personal aesthetic with broader cultural and critical expectations.

3. The Negotiations: Director-by-Director Picks & Hard Cuts

The episode is a relentless back-and-forth, often moving from consensus to deep negotiation. Some key examples:

Tarantino

• Inglourious Basterds is the consensus pick, though Sean anguishes over switching it for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ([24:09], 107:51).

  “There are no bad Tarantino movies in the 21st century. ... In my mind, these people [Quentin, Fincher, PTA, Spike] are engaged in a death struggle for primacy in my heart.” – Sean [109:42]

Christopher Nolan

• Sean and Amanda agree that The Dark Knight is likely Nolan’s representative entry, beating Interstellar, Oppenheimer, Dunkirk.

  “For us, that’s not the movie...The Dark Knight...is also the populist choice that is representative of an entire wave of movies from this century.” – Sean [17:31]

• Near the end, they cut The Dark Knight for Malick’s The Tree of Life (113:42).

Greta Gerwig & Sofia Coppola

• Lady Bird (Gerwig) and Marie Antoinette (Coppola) are chosen as signature “girl” auteur picks.

  “Marie Antoinette is my passion.” – Amanda [25:44]

Fincher

• Debate between The Social Network and Zodiac.

  “The Social Network may be the best movie of the 2010s. Zodiac might be the best David Fincher movie, but it isn’t even the best movie of 2007.” – Sean [28:54]

• Amanda: “It is like our generation’s Citizen Kane.”

Scorsese

• The Wolf of Wall Street is picked over The Departed, Silence, or The Irishman (31:16), favored for its energy and DiCaprio’s performance.

International Cinema

• Parasite (Bong Joon Ho), In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai), Spirited Away (Miyazaki), The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook) chosen; tension over whether these are the "cool" or "consensus" picks.
• Persistent regret at limited representation of European, South American, and African directors (86:25).

4. Genre Representation & Gaps

• Comedy: Anchorman over Superbad” for its populist/female character points (48:57)
• Action: Mission Impossible: Fallout, Mad Max: Fury Road; The Raid and John Wick considered but not included.
• Animation: Spirited Away is the sole animated/Miyazaki pick.
• Documentary: Discussion of The Act of Killing, OJ: Made in America, Stories We Tell; ultimately, no documentaries make the final list.

5. The Hardest Cuts and "Are We Too Predictable?"

Sean and Amanda recite a running list of major filmmakers, genres, and titles excluded from their 25—Spielberg, Soderbergh, Villeneuve, Baumbach, Pixar, Lord of the Rings, etc. ([80:51]–90:16), probing at their own biases and the impossibility of the project.

“There is only one horror movie...only one comic book movie...no Denzel, Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett…” – Sean [89:08]

• Self-aware meta-discussion: Are they making a “magazine list," "our list," or a “canon” list?

6. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “My confidence is a beacon, I must say.” – Amanda, on her taste (07:07)
• “Maybe I regret the conceit. I’m just being honest.” – Sean on the emotional weight of the project (03:28)
• “You can make your own list. You guys can go do it. I hope you will.” – Amanda, gently derisive about audience complaints (17:31)
• “We are, as you said, we are dedicating 25 individual episodes to these movies.” – Amanda (04:04), on the scale of the project
• “Sean and I are both recovering magazine journalists.” – Amanda, explaining their list compulsion (15:59)

Timeline of Major Segments

• 00:15 — 05:00: The anxiety of definitive lists; difference between public and personal canons.
• 05:00 — 12:00: Process: How they made initial long lists, settings and emotional states; the “one film per filmmaker” rule.
• 12:00 — 35:00: Running through candidates for each director or category, their thinking, personal stories, and why certain films stick for them.
• 35:00 — 50:00: Detailed arguments over "cool" vs. "canonical" picks; The Handmaiden vs Oldboy, Anchorman vs Superbad, etc.
• 50:00 — 65:00: Comedy and action genres; tough calls on Whiplash, Mad Max, Nolans; Re-ordering and painful omissions.
• 65:00 — 80:00: The long “hard cuts” montages—cataloging missing auteurs and gnawing regrets.
• 80:00 — 100:00: Reading through the current list, discussing sequence and rationale. “This is the real work.”
• 100:00 — 120:00: Final deliberations; swapping The Dark Knight for The Tree of Life, last-minute shuffles, meta-commentary on taste, and the cathartic (if inconclusive) feeling at the end.

Final "25 for 25" List (as of end of episode)

(Some final order and entries subject to last-minute reconsideration in December, but as it stood in this session:)

1. The Social Network (Fincher)
2. 25th Hour (Spike Lee)
3. There Will Be Blood (PTA)
4. Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino) (with asterisk re: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
5. Lady Bird (Gerwig)
6. Mulholland Drive (Lynch)
7. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai)
8. Parasite (Bong Joon Ho)
9. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller)
10. Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola)
11. Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese)
12. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson)
13. Get Out (Jordan Peele)
14. Moneyball (Bennett Miller)
15. Inside Llewyn Davis (Coens)
16. The Tree of Life (Malick)
17. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Adam McKay)
18. Before Sunset (Linklater)
19. Spirited Away (Miyazaki)
20. Melancholia (Von Trier)
21. Mission: Impossible — Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)
22. Something's Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers)
23. Y Tu Mamá También (Cuarón)
24. The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook)
25. Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy)

Additional Notes

• “Everything is eligible”: Anxiety remains about whether a late-breaking 2025 title could disrupt the list (05:16).
• The hosts acknowledge the list is skewed toward Hollywood, with better Asian than European representation, and lament missing voices from South America, Africa, and many prolific auteurs (86:25).
• Meta-moment: Their wrestling over criteria (“are we being too cute or not cute enough?” 68:31), and their mutual admissions about the performative aspect of the process versus their true, inner critical selves.
• “Michael Clayton” opening the list: A canny craft choice as much as a taste one (91:06).
• List may still change ahead of the series—both admit: “I’m going to wake up one morning, I’m going to shoot out of bed stock still...” (118:57)

Takeaways for the Listener

• This is not just a list, but a record of taste, anxiety, argument, and affection—a time capsule of how these hosts (and their corner of movie culture) view cinema as the 21st century nears its midpoint.
• The discussion is full of practical wisdom for anyone attempting to canonize culture—about how public taste shifts, about the impossibility of consensus, and about the pleasures (and pains) of ranking things you love.
• If you haven’t heard the episode, you’ll find their choices both idiosyncratic and thoughtfully argued—a beautiful blend of personal favorites and critical touchstones, with enough friction and contradiction to keep it honest.

Notable Episode Quotes

• “My confidence is a beacon, I must say.” – Amanda [07:07]
• “This project is being recorded and we are dedicating 25 individual episodes...that actually means at the exclusion, aside from this conversation, of a lot of other things.” – Sean [03:04]
• “You can make your own list. You guys can go do it. I hope you will.” – Amanda [17:31]
• “Maybe I regret the conceit. I’m just being honest.” – Sean [03:28]
• "It's not a competition. This is a collaboration." – Amanda [58:47]

For Future Reference:

• See episode timestamps for deep-dives into Cuarón vs. Gerwig, Soderbergh omissions, the final order debate, and meta-conversations about the meaning of cultural canons.
• Skip the ads, but don’t miss the friendship, the bickering, and the whirring anxiety behind settling on movies to live on forever—or at least for now.

[End of summary]