The Next Best Picture Podcast

"The Weight" is a 2026 historical drama film directed by Padraic McKinley. It stars Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, and Sam Hazeldine. The film tells the story of Samuel Murphy (Hawke), who, in Oregon in 1933, is torn from his daughter and sent to a brutal work camp. Warden Clancy (Crowe) tempts him with early release if he smuggles gold through the deadly wilderness, but betrayal festers within the crew, and Murphy questions how far he'll go to see his child again. The film had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and had its international premiere out of competition at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival. It received positive reviews for its performances and action set pieces. McKinley was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Vertical Entertainment. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/jfLU-0V5MYI

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"American Doctor" is a 2026 documentary film directed by Poh Si Teng. The film follows three American physicians of diverse backgrounds who travel to Gaza to provide medical aid during the genocide. It premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews. Si Teng was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Watermelon Pictures. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/szx1q6JnhqI

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THIS IS A PREVIEW PODCAST. NOT THE FULL EPISODE. Please check out the full podcast episode on our Patreon Page by subscribing over at - https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture

The 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held last night! Daniel Howat, Amy Kim, and Alyssa Christian recorded their reactions to the winners while other NBP members and I were at the Toronto International Film Festival. What did we think of the winners, the show's presentation, and Mariska Hargitay's hosting? Please tune in to find out as we discuss these points, the speeches, shocking wins, and more in our reactions podcast. This will be our last Next Best Series Podcast episode for now. We don't know when we will return during the Oscar season, but there's still plenty of good television to catch up on. Hopefully, the answer is sooner rather than later. We thank you for all of your support throughout this season and hope you enjoy it! See you soon!

https://youtu.be/kuxIducMlZQ

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For this week's main podcast review, Dan Bayer, Cody Dericks, and Brendan Hodges joined me before I left for Telluride/TIFF to review and discuss the latest film from South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin, "Hope," starring Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender. The film premiered in competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it received positive reviews for its suspenseful first hour, adrenaline-pumping action sequences, and ensemble performances. It was, however, heavily criticized for its visual effects and intentional sequel baiting, a rarity at the Cannes Film Festival. What did we think of it, though? Please tune in, either on video or audio only, as we discuss the story, performances, action scenes, visual effects, sequel potential, awards season potential, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/ODzaJ3sqLAM

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"Hope" is a 2026 South Korean epic science fiction action thriller film written, directed, and co-produced by Na Hong-jin ("The Wailing"). Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender, the film centers on a village police chief and his rookie deputy who must defend his local community from a mysterious creature after wildfires sever all communications, while a local hunting party finds itself being hunted deep in the mountains. The film premiered in the main competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or and received positive reviews, with special praise for Na Hong-jin's direction in action sequences. Na Hong-jin was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from NEON. Thank you, and enjoy!

https://youtu.be/3eg3pvQ5TAQ

Check out more on NextBestPicture.com

Please subscribe on...

Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw

And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free
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