Biopic: A Podcast Story

Episode 55: The President’s Last Bang with Guest Star, Cartoonist Ryan Estrada

Get ready for some of the lowest functioning addicts in the history of high-powered alcoholism.
Sara and Rena are joined by the amazing cartoonist and South Korea expert Ryan Estrada, who schools us up on the astonishingly dysfunctional and corrupt administration of South Korean president Park Chung-hee, who was assassinated by his own men in 1979 as part of a ill-thought-out coup.
We discuss the uniquely political South Korean filmmaking scene, our K-Pop overlords, what you see at the most depressing dinner parties, and our delight at this gem of a film.
The President’s Last Bang is directed by Im Sang-Soo and stars Baek Yoon-sik, Han Suk-kyu, Song Jae-ho, Kim Eung-soo, Kim Yoon-ah, Lee Soo-mi and future Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung. 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 54: Seberg, Starring Kristen Stewart as Jean Seberg

Do NOT get us started on J. Edgar Hoover. The tragic life of actress Jean Seberg as seen through the lens of her entanglement with the FBI’s ugly COINTELPRO operations, Seberg is a pretty devastating portrait of a fragile, idealistic woman who is taken advantage of by everyone until she is driven to madness and blacklisted.
It’s not as if this has ever happened before or since.
Join us as we discuss the value of Captain America comments, metaphorical heaviness, the efficacy of bringing a gun into an audition for Paint Your Wagon, the most interesting wife-of-a-cop we’ve ever seen in a movie, our love for Jean, another appearance of too-beautiful-for-history Anthony Mackie, and magical character actor Stephen Root.
Seberg is directed by Benedict Andrews and stars Kristen Stewart as Jean Seberg, Anthony Mackie as Hakim Jamal, Jack O’Connell as Jack Solomon, Margaret Qualley as Linette Solomon, Zazie Beetz as Dorothy Jamal, Vince Vaughn as Carl Kowalski, Stephen Root as Walt Breckman, and Yvan Attal as Romain Gary.
Notes: Captain America is a New Deal Democrat: https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/10/steven-attewell-steve-rogers-isnt-just-any-hero
 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 53: Better Man, the Biopic Where Britpop Star Robbie Williams is Played by a CGI Chimp

Rena’s on vacation so Sara is joined by her dear friend and 1990s/early 2000s britpop expert Alex to attempt to unpack the Robbie Williams “biopic” that, instead of starring a man who looks like Robbie Williams, features a CGI Chimp with Robbie Williams’s voice standing in for him in an otherwise typical musical biopic that features disappointed parents, drugs and alcohol, dysfunctional relationships, and splashy dance montages.
The central conceit of the movie is pretty impressed with itself, but who is this for? We don’t really know, nor do we know why the Australian Film Commission was so impressed by the whole chimp thing that it gave producers millions of dollars to make it. Also discussed: Was Charles Manson actually the original boy band manager? How does one decide to start a boy band? How traumatizing is it to see a chimp do cocaine or get a blow job from a groupie? Can Robbie Williams ever be a big star in America? Was Robbie Williams’ Knebworth appearance actually felled by a massive, bloody imbroglio between him and his chimp inner children? Is there anyone more misunderstood or tortured than an insanely successful pop star? How many times can “My Way” be performed to completion in this film? 
And again: Who is this for? 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 52: What’s Love Got to Do With It with Katy from the Queens Podcast

All hail Queen Tina (and while we’re at it, Queen Angela Bassett). We take a look at the story of the singular Tina Turner as told through the 1993 biopic of her marriage to garbage monster Ike Turner with our very special guest Katy, co-host of the always entertaining Queens Podcast. 
We discuss what love has to do with it (spoiler: nothing, it’s coercive control), wigs, the #notallmen employees of the Ramada Inn, the weird journey of the traumatizing moment of “Eat the cake, Anna Mae,” and Tina Turner’s otherwise joy-filled life as an unparalleled superstar. 
What’s Love Got to Do with It is directed by Brian Gibson and stars Angela Bassett as Tina Turner, Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner, Jenifer Lewis as Zulma Bullock, and Vanessa Bell Calloway as Jackie. 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Check out the Queens podcast here:  https://queenshistorypodcast.com/the-queen-of-rock-n-roll-tina-turners-life-story/ 
 
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Episode 51: Coco Avant Chanel with Fashion Writer Roxanne Robinson

Sara and Rena welcome the brilliant fashion journalist Roxanne Robinson for the 2009 film Coco Avant Chanel (that means “Before” for anyone who hasn’t been using their 2025 existential crisis to re-learn French on Duolingo). By being “before” Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel became an icon, we can skip over the grossness of Coco’s who Nazi thing, and focus instead on the ambitious, very talented designer who wanted women to be free, comfortable, independent, and chic. 
(And would go on to collaborate with the Nazis). 
Coco Avant Chanel is directed by Anne Fontaine, and stars Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel, Benoit Poevoord as Etienne Balsan, and Alessandro Nivola as Boy Capel. 
Check out a sampling of Roxanne’s terrific reportage here: https://www.roxanne-robinson.com/ 
 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 50: The Alamo, Starring John Wayne as Davy Crockett

The most meaningless standoff in American history is commemorated in a manner it deserves: a speechifying hagiography that’s actually about the political beliefs of its star and director, John Wayne. Davy Crockett (the awesomest dude who ever lived, according to this film), Jim Bowie (the second awesomest dude who ever lived) and William Travis (just kind of an okay dude) join forces to protect a fort (that has a basement, BTW) for “the republic.” Or, as history has revealed, for the republic to allow people to own slaves. Awkward details that make it all less heroic, so the movie just doesn’t talk about it.
But there’s more to discuss when it comes to this heroic tale of a white supremacist death cult: Corpse capers, toxic masculinity, poorly staged battle sequences, Frankie Avalon, hats made of garbage mammals, and, of course, how it all connects to Jonestown. As a bonus, we address Chill Wills and what was probably the tackiest Academy Awards campaign in the history of campaigning. 
The Alamo was directed by John Wayne and stars John Wayne as Davy Crockett, Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie, Laurence Harvey as WIlliam Travis, Frankie Avalon as Smitty, Chill Wills as Beekeeper, and Linda Cristal as Flaca.
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 49: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Starring John C. Reilly

Rena and Sara dive into this unflinching look at the life and times of the singular Dewey Cox, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. 
We discuss: What if Nate Cox had survived? Why didn’t Don MacLean include Dewey in “American Pie”? How important are blankets in recovery from addiction? Is twelve too young to get married? What is the “Short Power” movement, anyway? … And so much more as we unpack Jake Kasdan’s seminal vision and John C. Reilly’s powerful performance. 
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is directed by Jake Kasdan and stars John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox, Jenna Fischer as Darlene Madison, David Krumholtz as Schwartzberg, Tim Meadows as Sam, Raymond J. Barry as Pa Cox, the amazing Margo Martindale as Ma Cox, Kristen Wiig as Edith, Craig Robinson as Bobby Shand, and countless others. 
Sources include: 
Dewey Cox Ain’t Dead: An Oral History of ‘Walk Hard’
https://www.theringer.com/2019/05/29/movies/walk-hard-dewey-cox-oral-history-john-c-reilly-music-biopic-jake-kasdan-judd-apatow
 
Cinemablend interview with John C. Reilly: 
https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Interview-John-C-Reilly-7260.html#
 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 48: The Agony and the Ecstasy, Guest Starring Fry and Bry from Pontifacts

Have you ever wanted to watch a movie about paint drying? You’re in luck. Sara and Rena are joined by Fry and Bry from Pontifacts to discuss the “will he or won’t he” tale of Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel starring the NRA’s Charlton Heston and alleged murder and confirmed monster Rex Harrison as Michelangelo and Pope Julius II, respectively.
And that’s it. That’s the plot. Will he finish the painting? 
We discuss why the movie opens with a 15-minute long art lecture, warrior popes, Charlton Heston’s bummer political journey, leeches, awkwardly inserted hetero love stories, and so much more in this delightful discussion about a truly boring movie. 
The Agony and the Ecstasy is directed by Carol Reed, stars Charlton Heston as Michelangelo, Rex Harrison as Pope Julius II, Diane Cilento as Contessina de’Medici, and Harry Andrews as Bramante.
Sources mentioned in this episode include: 
Michaelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, by Ross King 
And of course, Pontifacts, a brilliant podcast that can be found here: https://pontifacts.podbean.com/ 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it. 
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