As noted by the recent Tobies, awards season continues in full flight, so it's no surprise to have The Oscars drop their nominations just in time for Matt and Julian to break them down. 'Sinners' taking home 16 noms sets an Oscars record and (more importantly) validates Julian's recent Tobie pick. Plus, the guys return to a more traditional news format with headlines about James Bond, Game of Thrones, He-Man and more! Finally, the guys look into their crystal balls, gazing into the future, to make entertainment-based predictions for the year 2026. How will the WB/Netflix deal play out? Will Star Wars have a hit with 'The Mandalorian and Grogu'? Will Nolan's 'The Odyssey' be as big as 'Oppenheimer'? Only the ToB hosts can tell you! (No future lotto tickets or sports almanacs unfortunately)
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ToB Interlude - 2024 Oscars Preview Show
Last year, Julian was forced to look back at the Oscar alone. This was back when Twitter was still called Twitter and they still had a feature called "Spaces". He wondered aloud at that time, "what would next year's Oscars show look like?". Well Fast-forward one year and you have your answer. Things are quite different, for one thing Twitter is now called "X" for some stupid reason, and more importantly Julian is no longer alone. In the spirit of this year's ToB effort to expand the cast and bring more people into the show, he's instead joined by long time friend of the show, Axel Foley from the 'Daily DVR Podcast'. The original format returns as the two hosts take a look at each of the Best Picture nominees before moving into predictions for who they think will take home the hardware, as well as who they think SHOULD win the awards.
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Episode 193 - The 2023 Tobie Awards (7th Annual) - Movies
With TV now out of the way we can move on to the medium that TV wishes it was - film! Part 2 of the 2023 Tobie Awards focuses in on the best in movies from last year. The Oscars seem to think that there was one movie that stood head and shoulders above the rest, in ‘Oppenheimer’, at least based on how many nominations it got, and Julian, Vince, and Jeremy, certainly give it it’s due, but there is a lot of other worthwhile films to cover on this list. Especially on the genre side of things - movies that would more often than not, never fall under the Oscars purview. Buckle up as the ToB Crew discuss a wide array of top tier films from across the spectrum. Enjoy!
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Episode 187 - Hollywood Turmoil Paired With A New Superman
Julian and Jeremy get together to try to make sense of the current tumultuous state of Hollywood. With the actors joining the writers on strike, the pressure mounts for studios, who are currently going through an almost unprecedented streak of box office failures. It's not looking good out there folks! Which is why it was necessary to revive the "Agree or Disagree" segment of the show to really dive into the complexities of the situation. Meanwhile, DC Studios continues to try to steady the ship by announcing casting news for 'Superman: Legacy'. Surprisingly they've gone further than just announcing who will be playing Clark and Lois, and added character announcements for the likes of Guy Gardner, Hawk Girl and more. Unsurprisingly, this leads to some debate on the merits of James Gunn's recent decision making. On top of that, the guys discuss a grab-bag of movie topics to round out the show. All this and so much more on this week's episode of the Tower of Babble Podcast!
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Episode 168 - Nolan's Demands and Disney+ Day
The repercussions of every studio continuing to turn it’s gaze towards the streaming future can be felt all throughout Hollywood. Disney seems to be leading the charge as it’s doubling down on Disney+, with CEO Bob Chapek announcing that they will be doing an annual “Disney+ Day” to celebrate the service (really just a big add day). Meanwhile, you have acclaimed filmmaker, and traditionalist, Christopher Nolan, leaving his longtime studio, Warner Brothers, in the wake of the HBO Max debacle, to take his next film to Universal. Of course this comes with a steep list of demands that insures it’s theatrical window. Over on the TV front, The Emmy awards were handed out, with ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘The Crown’ taking home most of the hardware. Julian and Jeremy discuss this and so much more on the week’s Tower of Babble Podcast!
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Episode 160 - Cap Coming Back?
With 2020 now firmly in the rearview mirror, ToB can now return to it's regularly scheduled programming. Or at least as close to it as we can get! It's been a few weeks since a full news show, so there's a lot to discuss. Julian, Dan, and Jeremy break down the biggest stories in the world of film and television, not the least of which being that Warner Bros is apparently doubling down on 'Harry Potter'. They've installed a new VP to oversee the franchise and a live-action series is in early development at HBO Max. On top of that, rumours are swirling about the possible return of Chris Evans' Captain America to the MCU. Plus, Snyder confirms that his Justice League will not be a 4-part series afterall, and instead will be a 4 hour film. Oh did we mention that Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings' series got an official synopsis? Well the guys are covering that too! All that and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast.
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Episode 158 - Fincher Unleashed
As the pandemic rages on, and we adjust to the new normal, so does Hollywood. With news that Wonder Woman 1984 will be coming to HBO Max on Christmas, the future of the theatre going experience becomes even more clouded. Meanwhile, David Fincher is in the press, promoting his latest streaming endeavor ‘Mank’, (and dropping some spicy takes!) fresh off signing a 4-year exclusive deal with Netflix of his own. We watch as the Hollywood landscape is remapped on the fly. But it’s not all doom and gloom! I mean, there’s a ‘Wedding Crashers’ sequel in the works, and a new Predator film coming from Dan Trachtenberg. So there’s SOME hope is all I’m saying. Julian, Dan, and Jeremy also touch on the latest from the Snyder Cut, and weigh in on the pressing subject of whether streaming services should let credits play uninterrupted (you know, the important stuff). All that, and so much more, on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast.
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Episode 154 - DC Doomsday
A lot can happen in 2 weeks. Julian, and Jeremy, are reunited with Dan after a couple weeks away, and boy howdy is there a lot to discuss. After the obligatory Tenet check-in, the guys dive deep into the layoffs at Warner Brothers. Layoffs that hit particularly hard at DC. Not unexpectedly, the much maligned DC Universe streaming service appears to be getting the axe, however, it was the move to completely gut DC Collectibles and hobble DC Comics that came as the biggest shocker. This all comes only weeks ahead of DC Fan Dome, the comic book companies much hyped digital comic-con. Fortunately it wasn’t all bad news on the DC front as it was revealed that Rocksteady’s new game would revolve around the Suicide Squad as they hunt the Justice League (which is pretty cool if we’re being honest). After that the ToB Crew jumps over to the bleak future of the theatrical experience as news of Mulan coming to Disney+ became a reality (among other downer news bits on that front). Fortunately, some good news came out of the Emmy nomination as Watchmen was (rightfully) nominated for 26 awards. All that and so much more in this week’s (extra long) Tower of Babble Podcast!
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ToB Interlude - Dark Knight Trilogy & XBox
Julian and Jeremy have a casual chat about the legacy of the Dark Knight trilogy. Where it got things right and where it fell down. Afterwards the guys jump into some recent video game news. Specifically the Xbox showcase and if Game Pass will change the industry (spoilers: it probably will).
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Episode 153 - DC, Tron 3, TMNT, and AMC
It’s been almost a month since the ToB Crew conveeded, and in that time A LOT has happened. Making for a jumbo sized episode of The ToB Podcast! Starting with just DC, there’s news on The Snyder Cut, Michael Keaton’s Batman, Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern, Henry Cavill’s Superman, two animated features, and the future of their streaming service. That’s without even mentioning the rest! The guys also dive deep into Tron 3, a reboot to Twister, the AMC Theatres saga, a new TMNT movie (and possible also a live action show?), the strangeness of Qubi, a Fallout show at Amazon Prime, and so much more (if you can believe it)! On a slightly more serious note, Julian, Dan, and Jeremy also examine the recent move of white voice actors stepping down from voicing non-white characters, as well as the deaths of Joel Schumacher and Ian Hom.
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