The Year in TV & Movies

Summary

The Daily - Episode Summary: "The Year in TV & Movies" Release Date: December 26, 2024
Host: Melissa Kirsch, Deputy Editor of Culture and Lifestyle
Guests: Jim Panowicz, Chief Television Critic; Manola Dargis, Chief Film Critic

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Introduction

In the December 26, 2024 episode of The Daily, host Melissa Kirsch engages in an insightful discussion with New York Times critics Jim Panowicz and Manola Dargis. The conversation delves into the evolving landscape of television and film over the past year, highlighting trends, challenges, and standout productions.

State of Television in 2024

Jim Panowicz opens the discussion by characterizing 2024 as "the year of mid TV" (01:50), suggesting that contemporary television has settled into a comfortable but unremarkable phase. According to Panowicz, while modern TV maintains high production values and star-studded casts, it lacks the distinctive uniqueness and memorable qualities that define truly exceptional series.

Defining "Mid TV":

Jim Panowicz (02:02): "Mid TV is okay. TV of the present. That kind of reminds you of great TV of the past. It's got a famous cast, it was shot in fancy locations, it's sleekly produced, it's tasteful, but it's just not especially memorable."

He cites Palm Royale on Apple TV as a prime example:

Jim Panowicz (02:41): "Palm Royale on Apple TV... If you watched the whole thing, you probably forgot that you'd seen it a week later."

Shift from Prestige TV to Mid TV

The conversation transitions to the decline of "prestige TV," a movement that elevated television to an art form with intricate storytelling and complex characters, exemplified by shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Panowicz attributes this shift to the rise of streaming platforms and their reliance on algorithms to dictate content creation, leading to a flood of "safe bets" rather than innovative storytelling.

Jim Panowicz (04:26): "The algorithm is deciding what you are likely to click on and keep watching to generate those viewing hours for them. And that creates a different kind of incentive... it is going to start suggesting things that you've already, you know, that are like what you just saw."

Challenges Faced by Television

Panowicz expresses concerns about the oversaturation of the market and the difficulty in pitching unique, risk-taking ideas within the current streaming-dominated framework. He emphasizes that while creativity among television artists remains robust, the industry's business model stifles originality.

Jim Panowicz (07:22): "It's this tsunami of familiar, safe content that results in just a deluge of mid TV."

Reasons for Optimism

Despite the challenges, Panowicz remains hopeful about the future of television. He believes that talented creators will persevere and eventually break through the constraints imposed by commercial pressures.

Jim Panowicz (09:06): "Talent will out. There are times in the history of any medium when it gets a little more difficult for talent and originality to find its way... that's what gives me hope."

Television Highlights of 2024

When discussing standout shows, Panowicz highlights We Are Lady Parts and Phantasmas for their originality and creative storytelling.

We Are Lady Parts:

Jim Panowicz (09:42): "It is very much a story that is about trying to make original, outspoken art under the constraints of working for a big entertainment corporation."

Phantasmas:

Jim Panowicz (11:03): "It's a surprising, fun show that makes you pay attention because it's so original. It's the opposite of mid TV."

State of Film in 2024

Shifting focus to film, Manola Dargis critiques the prevalence of sequels and prequels in the top-grossing movies of 2024, a trend she refers to as "sequelitis." She argues that major studios prioritize safe, familiar franchises over innovative storytelling, driven by the same algorithmic influences affecting television.

Manola Dargis (15:14): "This is the current model for the big companies... when you start introducing things like algorithms, at a certain point, it's just going to start suggesting things that you've already, you know, that are like what you just saw."

Top Grossing Movies of 2024

Dargis lists the top-grossing films, predominantly sequels and familiar franchises:

• Inside Out 2
• Deadpool and Wolverine
• Despicable Me 4
• Beetlejuice
• Dune Part 2
• Moana 2
• Godzilla Kong: The New Empire
• Kung Fu Panda 4

Best Films of 2024

Contrasting mainstream trends, Dargis recommends several critically acclaimed films that break away from the sequel norm:

All We Imagine as Light:

Manola Dargis (16:18): "It's an independent film and it's glorious... deeply touching... it is something I have never seen and that I was delighted to see."

Mad Max Saga:

Manola Dargis (18:19): "George Miller uses practical effects rather than relying on just computer-generated imagery. It is beautifully choreographed... it's so wonderful."

Megalopolis:

Manola Dargis (19:32): "It's a wildly ambitious, ungainly, imperfect movie... filled with beautiful imagery and it is kind of nuts in a bit, in a glorious way."

Gladiator Sequel:

Manola Dargis (15:45): "Denzel Washington... one of the great performances of the year."

Current Recommendations for Theaters

Dargis provides recommendations for films currently in theaters, emphasizing their artistic merit and cultural significance:

9-1-5:

Manola Dargis (22:06): "It's about journalistic ethics, and it's really interesting, and I think it's very germane to the moment."

The Brutalist:

Manola Dargis (23:33): "It is an amazing performance... one of the most beautiful, kind of monumental looking."

Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan:

Manola Dargis (24:02): "It's a movie that is going to be talked about in terms of the Oscars... opening a whole new Chalamet chapter."

Conclusion

The episode concludes on an optimistic note, with both critics acknowledging the challenges facing the TV and film industries but expressing faith in the enduring power of talented creators to drive innovation and meaningful storytelling.

Jim Panowicz (12:35): "Talent will out. It may take a little longer sometimes than the others, but talent will out."

Notable Quotes

• Jim Panowicz: "Mid TV is okay. TV of the present... just not especially memorable." (02:02)
• Manola Dargis: "This whole mentality... It's the current model for the big companies." (15:14)
• Jim Panowicz: "The algorithm is deciding what you are likely to click on and keep watching." (04:26)
• Manola Dargis: "It's a deeply touching movie... it's something I have never seen." (16:18)

Final Thoughts

For listeners seeking a comprehensive overview of the current state of television and film, this episode of The Daily offers valuable perspectives from seasoned critics. By highlighting both the saturation of "mid TV" and the resilience of innovative filmmakers, the discussion provides a balanced view of the entertainment industry's trajectory in 2024.

Transcript

[Melissa Kirsch]

This podcast is supported by Google Gemini. With the Gemini app, you can talk live and have a real time conversation with an AI assistant. It's great for all kinds of things like if you want to practice for an upcoming interview, ask for advice on things to do in a new city, or brainstorm creative ideas. And by the way, this script was actually read by Gemini. Download the Gemini app for iOS and Android today. Must be 18 to use Gemini Live.

[Jim Panowicz]

Hey, it's Michael.

[Melissa Kirsch]

As I mentioned yesterday, for our last.

[Jim Panowicz]

Few episodes of 2024, we're bringing you something really special today. And for the next three days, my colleague Melissa Kirsch is going to talk to Times critics, reporters and editors who have spent the last 12 months making sense of the year in arts and culture. Take a listen I think you're really going to like.

[Melissa Kirsch]

From the New York Times, this is the Daily I'm Melissa Kirsch, deputy Editor of Culture and Lifestyle. As we close out 2024, I'll be talking with my colleagues around the newsroom about what they watched and listened to and read this year about the things they loved and the things they didn't love. Today, chief television critic James Panowasic is here to talk about why TV might feel a little blah right now. And then our chief film critic, Manola Dargis on her favorite movies of 2024 and why youy Shouldn't Let the Algorithm Tell you what to watch. It's Thursday, December 26th. Jim Panawazak, thanks so much for being here.

[Jim Panowicz]

Oh, thanks for having me.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Okay, so Jim, fill in the blank. In the world of television, 2024 was.

[Jim Panowicz]

The year of mid TV.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Mid TV?

[Jim Panowicz]

Yeah. It's not great, it's not terrible. It's just mid.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Explain what you mean by that.

[Jim Panowicz]

Mid TV is okay. TV of the present. That kind of reminds you of great TV of the past. It's, you know, got a famous cast, it was shot in fancy locations, it's sleekly prod, it's tasteful, but it's just not especially memorable. It doesn't have the quirks and bumps and idiosyncrasies that mark a show that you are going to remember and will stick with you for a long time.

[Melissa Kirsch]

So give me an example of what you mean.

[Jim Panowicz]

Palm Royale on Apple tv, there are no doors on the back of the Palm Royal.

[Manola Dargis]

I never said I use the door.

[Melissa Kirsch]

I barely remember this show.

[Jim Panowicz]

Exactly. Who among us does? The cast was absolutely loaded. Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Carol Burnett. It looked fabulous. And if you watched the whole thing, you probably forgot that you'd seen it a week later.

[Manola Dargis]

I am never in over my head. It would be disrespectful to my hairdresser.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Okay, but it wasn't that long ago that everybody was talking about prestige tv, right? Like these highly polished hour long dramas that were as good as movies. Walk me through how we got from prestige TV to mid tv.

[Jim Panowicz]

So I think of the prestige television era as the era beginning around the turn of the 21st century when you had the emergence of a lot of new cable outlets, ones like hbo, that in order to distinguish themselves in the marketplace, started taking big bets on unusual shows that they had freedom to produce that traditional broadcast TV didn't. And a classic example of this is the Sopranos. Whatever happened to Gary Cooper? The strong silent type, right? On NBC, abc, you couldn't do a show about a kind of sympathetic mobster on hbo. You can. And then it's dysfunction this and dysfunction that and dysfunction mothung. Ooh, we get the Wire, we get Breaking Bad.

[Manola Dargis]

I am the one who knocks.

[Jim Panowicz]

People like Martin Scorsese start making TV series. Actors like Glenn Close start starring in cable TV series.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Hey, big man, you want to get into it?

[Jim Panowicz]

TV was, you could argue, the premier popular art medium of its time. And also it's now big business. Netflix, which used to be the company that you got DVDs from in the mail, starts making original TV programming great.

[Manola Dargis]

I mean, who knew you could rock Orange?

[Jim Panowicz]

And then it ultimately is joined by Amazon. We don't need cops like you anymore. Bush by Apple. Hey, how y'all doing? I'm Ted Lasser, Disney, guilty of being the God of mystic Paramount.

[Manola Dargis]

Your honor, the issue here is not.

[Jim Panowicz]

Intellectual and on and on and on. And that creates this money gusher directed at starting up a lot of new shows in order to create enough content for these platforms to produce a lot of prestigey looking thumbnails when you get to the home screen of the app. And what is serving up those thumbnails to you? It's the algorithm. It's deciding what you are likely to click on and keep watching to generate those viewing hours for them. And that creates a different kind of incentive. That's not the kind of incentive where you're like, oh, I'm going to create a drama about a mobster in New Jersey, because people haven't seen that before and it'll be so surprising they'll watch it. It is. I'm going to generate something that kind of reminds you of that show that you watched about the mobster in New Jersey. So that you'll click on that and watch our streaming platform for a little longer.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Each man in the 101st Airborne would be going home.

[Jim Panowicz]

You loved Band of Brothers back when it was on HBO. All right, Apple TV's gonna give you Masters of the Air, which is more boring, but it's good enough for now, right?

[Manola Dargis]

The Hundredth Bomb Group was sent to.

[Jim Panowicz]

England in the spring of 1940. You liked Big Little Lies on HBO.

[Manola Dargis]

I feel so ashamed for saying this, but being a mother, it's not enough for me.

[Jim Panowicz]

Okay, we'll make Apples Never Fall. Another Liane Moriarty novel. Not as distinctive or original or surprising, but probably good enough for now.

[Manola Dargis]

Never even a thank you. You just give it all up because.

[Melissa Kirsch]

That'S what having a family demands of a woman.

[Jim Panowicz]

It's this tsunami of familiar, safe content that results in just a deluge of mid tv.

[Melissa Kirsch]

So you hear so much about how people's attention spans are limited these days, and there's so much vying for their attention with social media and Tikt and Instagram. If TV is mid, how can TV hope to retain its audience?

[Jim Panowicz]

Well, I think it's definitely a danger for the TV industry. You know, I think if you have a lot of same seeming stuff out there, you run the risk of just oversaturation of the market, which, in fact, is what we seem to be experiencing now. I mean, I don't think that the artists of television have gotten less creative. I think that it is more difficult in this environment to pitch off the wall, idiosyncratic and personal ideas. You know, something like Fleabag, which was an amazing show that really represents a risk for a programmer that is responsible for answering to boards and all the people who have put up all this money.

[Melissa Kirsch]

I met someone.

[Jim Panowicz]

What?

[Melissa Kirsch]

Really?

[Manola Dargis]

Yeah.

[Jim Panowicz]

Oh, my God.

[Melissa Kirsch]

That's amazing. What does he do? He's a priest. I mean, as a viewer, I want off the wall and idiosyncratic and personal, you know, and what you're describing, you know, I'm familiar with this kind of zombie version of prestige tv. And it's not satisfying. It's not, you know, the show that I want to binge. I'm just. I'm wondering what the outlook is. Is mid TV the future of tv? Is this just the way TV is now?

[Jim Panowicz]

You know, talent always finds a way out. There are times in the history of any medium when it gets a little more difficult for talent and originality to find its way. But artists want to create even when all the forces of money and business and the culture and technology are Pushing against that and trying to smooth out the bumps. And that's what gives me hope.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Okay, so reasons for optimism. So tell me about the shows that really stood out for you this year.

[Jim Panowicz]

One show this year that I absolutely loved and could recommend unreservedly was we are lady parts.

[Manola Dargis]

1, 2, 3, 5.

[Jim Panowicz]

It is this fresh, irreverent, screamingly funny British sitcom about a band of female Muslim punk musicians. So maybe instead of Voldemort under my headscarf, you could do I love to wear my headscarf, you know, less. Yay. I don't know. Yep. Maybe part of what works so well about We Are Lady Parts is that it is very much a story that is about trying to make original, outspoken art under the constraints of working for a big entertainment corporation. Another show that I really liked and is so original that I almost have a hard time characterizing it was Phantasmas, which was a comedy on HBO this year starring the comic funny person Julio Torres. Thank you.

[Manola Dargis]

Thank you.

[Jim Panowicz]

But the reason I'm here is because I was tossing and turning all night thinking about how you need to make a clear crayon.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Clear, like the color clear.

[Manola Dargis]

Yes.

[Jim Panowicz]

I think a term I used for it was sketch fantasy about a young man trying to rent an apartment in New York. It's kind of this surreal stream of consciousness. Look into his imagination and the workings of his mind.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Julio, you need a new apartment, and.

[Jim Panowicz]

To get a new apartment, you need proof of existence. No, I can't think of the apartment because I'm. I. I'm.

[Manola Dargis]

I'm.

[Jim Panowicz]

I'm sick. No, Julio, don't go into your thoughts. Come back. Look at the. It's the opposite of mid tv. It's not trying to be familiar or safe or, you know, kind of a turn your brain off experience. It's a surprising, fun show that makes you pay attention because it's so original. I don't go here. And why are you here? Because I'm waiting for class to be.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Over so I can yell at a hamster. Oh, I'm going to check this out.

[Jim Panowicz]

That's one thing I love about television, is that it's a medium that ideally is very responsive to changes in the culture and shifts in the currents. And it's a way for different voices that you may not have encountered before to percolate through and kind of shift your perspective.

[Melissa Kirsch]

So talent will out.

[Jim Panowicz]

Talent will out. It may take a little longer sometimes than the others, but talent will out.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Well, I am feeling a little more hopeful than I was at the outset of this conversation. So thank you so much for talking with me.

[Jim Panowicz]

Jim, thank you so much for talking with me.

[Melissa Kirsch]

After the break, I'll talk with chief film critic Manola Dargis about the best movies of 2024. We'll be right back. This podcast is supported by Google Gemini.

[Jim Panowicz]

Imagine an AI assistant that doesn't just spit out answers, but that you can have a real conversation with. You can use Gemini to brainstorm ideas, prepare for something big like a test or presentation, or to just learn something new. And the best part is, it's easy to use to get started. All you need to do is start talking. And by the way, this script was actually read by Gemini. You can download the Gemini app on iOS or Android free of charge. Must be 18 to use Gemini Live.

[Manola Dargis]

Hi, my name is Sandra E. Garcia and I'm a reporter at the New York Times.

[Jim Panowicz]

I write for the Styles Desk, where.

[Manola Dargis]

We try to understand our complicated world by keeping up with culture.

[Jim Panowicz]

We want to take you to the.

[Manola Dargis]

Forefront of cultural shifts and let you know why things are trending. Our subscribers make this kind of coverage possible so the New York Times can continue to highlight the stories that go beyond breaking news. Help us keep a pulse on culture by [e-mail] subscribe.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Manola Dargis, thank you for being here.

[Manola Dargis]

Thanks for having me.

[Melissa Kirsch]

So I'm wondering if you could do something for me, which is I'd like you to read the list of the top grossing movies of 2024. Sure.

[Manola Dargis]

Easy enough to do. Inside Out 2, which is a charming sequel from Pixar, Deadpool and Wolverine, which I could not stand. Despicable Me 4, which I will never see unless I'm forced by gunpoint. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, which was fine, fine. Dune Part 2, Wicked Twisters. Moana 2, Godzilla Kong, the New Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Okay, now, of the movies you just mentioned, nine out of ten of them are sequels. And Wicked is technically a prequel to the wizard of Oz. What's going on here?

[Manola Dargis]

Well, it's very familiar. Sequelitis. This is the current model for the, you know, the big companies.

[Melissa Kirsch]

So very similar to what's going on with tv, where studios aren't looking for necessarily innovative or original work. They're looking for safe bets.

[Manola Dargis]

If you're in charge of a multi million dollar, you know, outfit, much less a multi billion dollar conglomerate, you're not really going to be one to take big chances like, oh, let's bankroll this tiny little movie from no. And that whole mentality is really that's been part of the mainstream entertainment business for some time. And when you start introducing things like algorithms, at a certain point, it's just going to start suggesting things that you've already, you know, that are like what you just saw. It' of depressing.

[Melissa Kirsch]

And we should say that not all sequels are bad. You liked some sequels?

[Manola Dargis]

Oh, I like the Gladiator sequel very much.

[Melissa Kirsch]

I never forgot it.

[Manola Dargis]

That a slave could take revenge against an emperor. First of all, Sharks versus Gladiators, what's not to like? And also there's a fantastic performance from Denzel Washington. It's one of the great performances of the year.

[Jim Panowicz]

I have a destiny. The gods delivered you to me.

[Manola Dargis]

You will be my instrument. He's wildly entertaining. So don't please, people, do not tell me that there's nothing to see. There are things to see.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Okay, so let's talk about some of those things to see. I've got your list of the best films of the year here. Your number one movie of 2024 is an Indian film called All We Imagine as Light. I have not seen this movie.

[Manola Dargis]

I would say that most people have not seen this movie. It's a quite a small movie. It is made by Payal Kapadia and it is a deeply touching movie that even when I start talking about it, I get a little misty. So forgive me. It's set in Mumbai and it focuses on one woman, but mainly three women who. Who all work at a hospital. Two nurses and a cook. And it is about both their individual lives, but also their relationships with one another. Padia has worked in documentary before and she inserts these documentary scenes of people just milling about, celebrating, walking in streets. And you get the sense from the movie that she could have picked another three people and told, you know, their stories. And what she's saying is each of us has a story that is there. It is something I have never seen and that I was delighted to see. It's an independent film and it's glorious.

[Melissa Kirsch]

And now let's talk about a very different kind of movie. Another film you loved this year was a Mad Max saga. This is the latest entry in the Mad Max franchise. It's directed by George Miller and stars Anya Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth.

[Jim Panowicz]

I had Gas Town and I had Bullet Farm. Without it going to cripple the citadel, rule the wasteland, the wasteland would have been a far better place for all of us, no?

[Manola Dargis]

George Miller, great director from Australia, he makes these incredibly. They're just pure cinema, I think. And I love the stories this One did move me. It's about a woman's empowerment, you know, and can I say I'm a sucker for female empowerment.

[Jim Panowicz]

My childhood, my mother. I want them back.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Of course you do.

[Jim Panowicz]

I want them back.

[Manola Dargis]

One of the things I really love about it is George Miller uses practical effects rather than relying on just computer generated imagery. And so you are really watching people doing these crazy things. And it's beautifully choreographed the way, let's say a 1930s or 40s Fred Astaire number would be beautifully choreographed. We are talking about, you know, visual pleasure, you know, maximum. It's just so wonderful.

[Melissa Kirsch]

I think a movie people might be surprised to find in your top 10 is megalopolis. This is the movie that Francis Ford Coppola, who directed the Godfather and Apocalypse now, self financed and wrote and directed. It stars Adam Driver. It was divisive, but you loved it.

[Manola Dargis]

Listen, man, I'm going down on this ship. I don't care. This is a wildly ambitious, ungainly, imperfect movie. But you are going to see things much like with, you know, a George Miller movie that you have never seen before. This is a movie that Coppola has been thinking about for, you know, decades. He's been working on it and it's a very optimistic movie, filled with beautiful imagery and it is kind of nuts in a bit, in a glorious way. I mean, why, you know, it's not despicable me234, you know, it's not. It's something different. It is funny, it is strange, it is unexpected. And why, you know, why do you go to the movies? Do you just want to see the same thing over and over and over again? No. Maybe see something that you have never seen before and I guarantee you that you have never seen this before.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Oh, hear me time.

[Jim Panowicz]

For Julia.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Just try.

[Jim Panowicz]

Hear me time.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Stop now. Resist the algorithm. Seek out movies.

[Manola Dargis]

This is the algorithm. This is gonna be my new T shirt. Alright, sister. I think we're ready for a revolution now, right?

[Melissa Kirsch]

We're gonna go to the barricades. Okay, let's take a little break and when we return, we're going to talk about movies you can see in the theater right now. This podcast is supported by Google Gemini.

[Jim Panowicz]

Imagine an AI assistant that doesn't just spit out answers, but that you can have a real conversation with. You can use Gemini to brainstorm ideas, prepare for something big like a test or presentation, or to just learn something new. And the best part is it's easy to use to get started. All you need to do is start talking and by the way, this script was actually read by Gemini. You can download the Gemini app on iOS or Android free of charge. Must be 18 to use Gemini Live.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Hey, I'm Robert Vinlowen. I'm from New York Times Games, and I'm here talking to people about wordle and the wordle Archive. You all play wordle? Yeah. I have something exciting to show you.

[Manola Dargis]

Okay.

[Melissa Kirsch]

It's the wordle Archive. Oh. Oh, and you can miss it. I can, like, go back 100%. Oh, that's sick. So now you can play every wordle that has ever existed. There's like, a thousand puzzles. Oh, my God, I love it. Amazing. New York Times Games subscribers can now access the entire Wordle archive. Find out more at nytimes.com games so here we are in the week between Christmas and New Year's. A lot of people have time off from work. This is a time when a lot of people go to the movies. What do you recommend?

[Manola Dargis]

There are some really interesting movies that I highly recommend that people can look at. One of those I really like. 9-1-5. Do you hear that close gun shots. It's about the 1972 Olympics where the Israeli team was taken hostage and ABC was covering it live. What do I tell the cameras?

[Melissa Kirsch]

What do you mean?

[Jim Panowicz]

I mean, can we show someone being shot on live television?

[Manola Dargis]

You know, it's a very modest movie. It's really short. It's about 90 minutes long. And it just seems like. Oh, it's just about the fact that they were covering it. No, I think it's about journalistic ethics, and it's really interesting, and I think it's very germane to the moment.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Our job is to tell the story.

[Manola Dargis]

Of these individuals whose lives are at stake.

[Jim Panowicz]

It's not. Okay, who made it worse.

[Manola Dargis]

I also like a movie coming up called the Brutalist, which is a movie by Brady Corbett, and it stars Adrien Brody, who, when we first see him, is actually just stepping off onto Ellis Island. It's Post World War II, and he comes to America and he kind of runs face first into the wall of American capitalism.

[Jim Panowicz]

Tell me, why is an accomplished foreign architect shoveling coal here in Philadelphia?

[Manola Dargis]

It is a really big, ambitious movie and it has one of the other great performances of the year from Guy Pierce, who plays an American capitalist. Oh, my God. It is an amazing performance. So highly recommend that movie. It's a beautiful movie. If you can see it in theaters, please do. It is one of the most beautiful, kind of monumental looking. I mean, he just. It's tremendous looking. And then of course, there's like, the movie that I think is gonna be a very, very big Oscar movie is a complete unknown, starring Timothee Chalamet as the very, very young and cutie pie Bob Dylan. The movie opens with him arriving in New York City, and it takes us through to when he first, you know, when he goes electric. And it's a movie that I think is going to surprise people in terms of Timothee Chalamet. It's opening a whole new Chalamet chapter. And it's a movie that is going to be talked a lot about in terms of the Oscars. So you're going to hear a great, great deal about that for the next couple months.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Well, it sounds like there's a lot of good stuff to see in the theater right now. Manola, thank you so much for being here.

[Manola Dargis]

It's been a pleasure, Melissa.

[Melissa Kirsch]

Today's episode was produced by Alex Barron with help from Cait Lopresti. It was edited by Wendy Dore with production support by Frannie Carr Toth and original music by Diane Wong, Pat McCusker and Dan Powell. It was engineered by Daniel Ramirez. Special thanks to Saya Michael, Sam Sifton, David Malitz, Jason Bailey, Jeremy Egnor, Stephanie Goodman, Lauren Manley, Ben Calhoun, Clara Tennisketter, Alexandra Lee Young, Alicia Ba? Itup, Sarah Curtis, John White, Tina Antolini, Paula Schumann and Sam Dolnick. That's it for the Daily. I'm Melissa Kirsch. I'll see you tomorrow. This podcast is supported by Google Gemini. With the Gemini app, you can talk live and have a real time conversation with an AI assistant. It's great for all kinds of things, like if you want to practice for an upcoming interview, ask for advice on things to do in a new city, or brainstorm creative ideas. And by the way, this script was actually read by Gemini. Download the Gemini app for iOS and Android today. Must be 18 to use Gemini Live.