{"podcast":{"title":"Critical Darlings","slug":"critical-darlings-7771666","podcast_index_feed_id":7771666,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/THI7214278819","website_url":null,"image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/b70a2598-2185-11f1-9391-2f87e0e925cc/image/4c25862893adddea3f0c270dc90ba01c.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Blank Check Productions","episode_count":24,"summary":"Welcome to Critical Darlings: a podcast about the movies everyone is talking about, one new release after another. Every week, critics Richard Lawson and Alison Willmore cover the latest film driving the conversation—from big summer blockbusters to festival favorites, buzzy streamers, and major awards contenders. New episodes every Thursday. We’re a Blank Check Production! To catch up on our first miniseries covering the 2026 Oscars season, check out Blank Check on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Stick around on this feed for new episodes going forward. Produced by Benjamin Frisch Subscribe to Richard's newsletter, ⁠⁠Premiere Party,⁠⁠ and read Alison's work ⁠⁠at Vulture. Follow @blankcheckpod on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠!","last_synced_at":"2026-06-04T18:19:24.868644+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666"},"episode":{"title":"\"Michael\" And The Jackson Biopic That Wasn't (With Danielle Hewitt)","slug":"michael-and-the-jackson-biopic-that-wasn-t-with-danielle-hewitt","published_at":"2026-04-30T08:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/michael-and-the-jackson-biopic-that-wasn-t-with-danielle-hewitt","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI3166060745.mp3?updated=1777500561","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI3166060745.mp3?updated=1777500561","summary":"Michael is many things: a box-office triumph, a savvy piece of IP management, and a Frankenstein stitched together from a movie we’ll never get to see. Today on the show, we’re joined by two journalists who have reported on Michael Jackson for the Think Twice: Michael Jackson podcast: our own producer Benjamin Frisch, and Danielle Hewitt, to try and make sense of a deeply flawed film that also features some of the best pop music of all time. We get into the drawn-out trajectory of the movie, its legal woes and reshoots, the casting of Michael’s nephew Jaafar in the lead role, and the film’s rose-colored view of its main subject. We also dip into Jackson family history to think about how a more effective Jackson biopic might work, and get into the story of Michael’s career and the legacy of the now-impossible-to-stream Leaving Neverland. Next week, we’re off to fashion week with The Devil Wears Prada 2, with Who Weekly! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"Michael is many things: a box-office triumph, a savvy piece of IP management, and a Frankenstein stitched together from a movie we’ll never get to see. To…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5523,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/critical-darlings-7771666/episodes/michael-and-the-jackson-biopic-that-wasn-t-with-danielle-hewitt/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/michael-and-the-jackson-biopic-that-wasn-t-with-danielle-hewitt.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}