Podcast Episode 85: Winding Down 2014: Your Favorites in Movies, TV, Music and Pop Culture

A McConaissance, a selfie that broke Twitter, and way too many cooks! 2014 was a crazy year and before we can move on to 2015 we need to "shake it off" and wind down the good, the bad, and the ugly from the past year.

In this week's episode we look back at entertainment in 2014. We also reveal the results for your favorite movies (2:49), TV shows (15:36), musical artists (28:31) and pop culture moments from 2013 (40:05). Finally, we bring in a surprise guest to help pick our favorite Dual Redundancy moments from 2014 (56:04).



You can also listen to past episodes of the podcast on iTunes or on our YouTube channel.

Podcast Episode 48: Winding Down: "Sherlock" "Community" & "True Detective"

You're busy. We get it. Not everyone can spend hours all day monitoring and watching everything in television and entertainment news. That is why Mike and Dave are here to do it all for you. At the end of every week we will wind down all the important things you may have missed in a week full of entertainment.

In this week's episode we preview the 2014 Oscar race by discussing recent award shows including the Critics' Choice, SAG, and PGA (1:44). We also discuss the latest from the Television Critics Association Press Tour for NBC (11:52) and a lawsuit regarding FOX's New Girl (19:55). Finally, we wind down Sherlock's "The Empty Hearse" (26:17), Community's season five (36:16), and True Detective's "The Long Bright Dark" and "Seeing Things" (49:41).



You can also listen to past episodes of the podcast on iTunes or on our YouTube channel.

Movie News: Meryl Streep vs. Walt Disney

By: David Allen (@eastwoodmcfly)

While most eyes and ears were on the winners last night at the National Board of Review dinner, many will remember the taste Meryl Streep’s speech left in their mouths regarding Walt Disney and Saving Mr. Banks.

Streep was not a winner last night but her speech honoring Emma Thompson who plays author P.L. Travers in Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks is certainly the talk of last night’s ceremony. Rumored to be in the running herself to play Travers, the creator of Mary Poppins, Streep had some remarks about Walt Disney and the sugarcoated version of him Tom Hanks plays that makes it clear why she might not have signed on to the film.

After praising the “beautiful artist” Thompson is and how she is “practically a saint”, Streep remarked how it was reported Walt Disney “didn’t really like women” or trust them. She also went on to say how Disney was a “gender bigot” and “supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group.” Hanks, who plays Disney in the film, has said that Saving Mr. Banks is more about Travers (which may be why the film does not focus on his past problems and background).

Besides from Streep’s memorable speech, there were awards presented last night. Her won top honors by winning best picture and best director for Spike Jonze. Besides from Thompson winning best actress, Bruce Dern and Will Forte won best actor and best supporting actor, respectively, for Nebraska. The other big winner was Fruitvale Station where three main awards were handed out. These include best supporting actress for Octavia Spencer, best directorial debut for Ryan Coogler, and best breakthrough performance for Michael B. Jordan.

Oscar Race 2014: Your Guild Nomination Cheat Sheet

By: David Allen (@eastwoodmcfly)

Earlier today the Directors Guild of America announced their nominees for this year's DGA award. However, the DGA is just one of many guilds with nominations currently out there. What are the other guilds and what films do they have nominated? Here is a cheat sheet with the main guilds (DGA, PGA, SAG, and WGA) with what films they have nominated this year.


DGA (Directors Guild of America) - Winners Announced on January 25th
Award for Outstanding Directional Achievement in Feature Film for 2013

David O. Russell; American Hustle
Paul Greengrass; Captain Phillips
Alfonso Cuarón; Gravity
Steve McQueen; 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese; The Wolf of Wall Street

*Fun Fact: This is the eleventh nomination for Scorsese and the first for Cuarón, Greengrass, and McQueen.


PGA (Producers Guild of America) – Winners Announced January 19th
Daryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award 2013

Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven & Richard Suckle; American Hustle
Letty Aronson & Stephen Tenenbaum; Blue Jasmine
Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca & Scott Rudin; Captain Phillips
Robbie Brenner & Rachel Winter; Dallas Buyers Club
Alfonso Cuarón & David Heyman; Gravity
Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze & Vincent Landay; Her

Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa; Nebraska
Ian Collie, Alison Owen & Philip Steuer; Saving Mr. Banks
Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner; 12 Years a Slave
Riza Aziz, Emma Koskoff & Joey McFarland; The Wolf of Wall Street

*Fun Fact: The last six winners of this award have won the best picture Oscar.


SAG (Screen Actors Guild) – Winners Announced January 18th
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2013

American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
Lee Daniels’ The Butler 
12 Years a Slave

*For a full list of individual achievement nominations: http://www.sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/20th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards


WGA (Writers Guild of America) - Winners Announced on February 1st
Writers Guild America Award for Best Original Screenplay 2013

Eric Warrn Singer & David O. Russell; American Hustle
Woody Allen; Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze; Her
Bob Nelson; Nebraska

Writers Guild America Award Award for Best Adapted Screenplay 2013

Tracy Letts; August: Osage County
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Before Midnight
Billy Ray; Captain Phillips
Peter Berg; Lone Survivor
Terence Winter; The Wolf of Wall Street

*Fun Fact: "Nebraska" was the first feature script written by Bob Nelson.


Guild Nomination Summary:
Film with all four guild nominations: American Hustle
Films with three guild nominations: Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, 12 Years a Slave & The Wolf of Wall Street
Films with two guild nominations: August: Osage County, Blue Jasmine, Gravity, Her & Nebraska
Films with one guild nomination: Before Midnight, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Lone Survivor & Saving Mr. Banks

If all of this was not enough be sure to hear our thoughts on the nominees for this weekend's Golden Globe Awards.