{"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":"\"Train Dreams\" And Netflix’s Quest For Best Picture","slug":"train-dreams-and-netflix-s-quest-for-best-picture","published_at":"2026-01-29T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/train-dreams-and-netflix-s-quest-for-best-picture","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI2824801497.mp3?updated=1774620210","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI2824801497.mp3?updated=1774620210","summary":"On today’s show, Richard and Alison hop on a boxcar and stare wistfully as the 20th century passes them by with Best Picture nominee Train Dreams. They discuss director Clint Bentley’s lush, if somewhat sanded-down take on Denis Johnson’s novella about a lumberman haunted by his past, starring a very quiet Joel Edgerton. Train Dreams is one of Netflix’s Best Picture nominees this year, but the film was not an original production. It was acquired by the streamer at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. On the occasion of this year’s festival (which is happening as we speak) we also discuss how Sundance works, and what, exactly gives a movie that ineffable Sundance flavor we have come to associate with small-scale American indies like Little Miss Sunshine. We also discuss Netflix’s seemingly endless quest to win Best Picture, why the Academy is so resistant to giving them the big prize, and why the most popular streamer in the world is so desperate for Academy validation in the first place. Subscribe to Richard's newsletter, ⁠⁠Premiere Party,⁠⁠ and read Alison's work ⁠⁠at Vulture. ⁠Follow Critical Darlings on Instagram⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"On today’s show, Richard and Alison hop on a boxcar and stare wistfully as the 20th century passes them by with Best Picture nominee Train Dreams. They di…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3792,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/critical-darlings-7771666/episodes/train-dreams-and-netflix-s-quest-for-best-picture/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/train-dreams-and-netflix-s-quest-for-best-picture.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}