Biopic: A Podcast Story

Episode 78: Temple Grandin, Starring Claire Danes

“You ruined it with your stupidity!” Rena’s favorite line in the history of film comes alive (albeit not the way she remembers it) in this absolutely magical biopic about the compassionate genius Temple Grandin, a true doctor Doolittle (unlike alleged murderer Rex Harrison). 
Through almost starting to cry again, we discuss the David Strathairn exception to the dangers of being hot for teacher, how the squeeze machine could have been a very different project at Vassar, the need to better honor our Swiss Army knife film directors (like Mick Jackson — who directed this movie and the feelgood film of 1984, Threads).. and so much more. 
Temple Grandin stars Claire Danes as Temple Grandin, Julia Ormond as Eustacia Grandin, David Strathairn as Dr. Carlock, Catherine O'Hara as Aunt Ann, Stephanie Faracy as Betty Goscowitz, Barry Tubb as Randy, and Melissa Farman as Alice.
Sources used in the episode include…
Podcasts
Episode of Star Talk,  Neil deGrasse Tyson’s podcast that Temple Grandin guest starred on.
Books
Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin.
Temple Grandin: Voice for the Voiceless by Annette Wood.
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q
 
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Website: https://biopicapodcaststory.podbean.com/
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Contact us: biopiclistenermailbag@gmail.com

Episode 77: Walking Tall, the Story of Pro Wrestler Turned Sheriff Buford Pusser

Buckle up, snowflakes, we’re ruining your favorite folk hero! 
Politics month is supposed to be over, but we have one more slice of Americana bullshit for you all, 1973’s Walking Tall, starring Joe Don Baker. After all, what is more patriotic than being a pro-wrestler-turned-town-sherriff-without-any-law-enforcement-experience-cum-alleged-wife-murderer-and-legend who stands up for what is right (grifting harder than your competition)? What is more American than assaulting your town’s inhabitants with a two-by-four because due process is nonsense, and you haven’t eaten yet? 
Nothing. NOTHING. 
We find a couple of flaws with the popular, ridiculous myth of Buford Pusser and discuss those (spoiler alert: There was not an official stick that he used to beat people with) while also finding fault with Buford’s sheriff’s uniform of a relaxed-fit shirt and brown slacks, the film’s soundtrack, Bing Crosby’s production house, the too-good-for-this-film presence of the tragic Elizabeth Hartman, and the town orthopedist’s cast-making skills. And a lot of other things. 
Walking Tall was directed by Phil Carlson and stars Joe Don Baker as Sheriff Buford Pusser,
Elizabeth Hartman as Pauline Pusser, Lurene Tuttle as Helen Pusser, Noah Beery Jr. as Carl Pusser, Dawn Lyn as Dwana Pusser, Leif Garrett as Mike Pusser, Felton Perry as Obra Eaker, Logan Ramsey as John Witter, Rosemary Murphy as Callie Hacker, Gene Evans as Sheriff Al Thurman, and Bruce Glover as Grady Coker.
Sources used in the episode include…
 
Podcasts 
Behind the Bastards 
Going South
 
The Facebook page Buford Pusser: The Other Story—which, I know what a cesspool Facebook is, but the man who created it, Mike Elam, has dedicated a lot of energy and time and shoe leather to dissecting this man’s legacy which, I gotta say, is fucking weird, and speaks to that strange, strange time our society was in at the end of the Vietnam War and in the throes of Watergate.—Sara
 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q
 
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Website: https://biopicapodcaststory.podbean.com/
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Contact us: biopiclistenermailbag@gmail.com

Episode 76: Parnell, Clark Gable's Worst Movie, about Charles Stewart Parnell, with Guest Star Fin Dwyer of the Irish History Podcast

Hello boredom, our old friend. Dull, terrible Parnell — widely considered Clark Gable’s worst film and one of the worst movies ever made — lives up to its reputation as we celebrate the blessed end of Politics Month. We take a long, pained look at a film that combines the magic of inert, uncommitted acting, a dire, boring screenplay filled with cliches, and the thrills of parliamentary procedure around Irish “home rule”, and firmly recommend that no one ever watch this movie.
Was there a gas leak on set? How checked out was Clark Gable? Did Billie Burke sell her soul to the devil in order to look young for her entire life? Can an impromptu spelling be ever be compelling? This movie is a nightmare. We did this work for you here. 
Because the movie was so wildly uninformative, we welcome a special guest, the delightful and wildly intelligent Fin Dwyer of The Irish History Podcast and the Transatlantic Podcast  who gives us the true (and much more interesting) story of groundbreaking Irish politician Charles Stewart Parnell.
Parnell stars Clark Gable as Charles Stewart Parnell, Myrna Loy as Katie O'Shea, Edna May Oliver as Aunt Ben Wood, Edmund Gwenn as Campbell, Alan Marshal as Captain William O'Shea, Donald Crisp as Davitt, Billie Burke as Clara Wood, Berton Churchill as The O'Gorman Mahon, Donald Meek as Murphy, Montagu Love as Gladstone, Byron Russell as Healy, Brandon Tynan as Redmond, and somewhere, in an uncredited role, Lee Strasberg.
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q
 
Books
 
Clark Gable : tormented star
David Bret
 
The Irish Assassins: Conspiracy, Revenge and the Phoenix Park Murders that Stunned Victorian England 
by Julie Kavanagh (Author)
 
Myrna Loy : the only good girl in Hollywood
Emily Wortis Leider
 
Fireball : Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3
By Robert Matzen
 
The fifty worst films of all time : (and how they got that way) by Harry Medved 
The Irish History Podcast with Fin Dwyer, our guest.
 
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Episode 75: Kingfish, Starring John Goodman as Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long, with Special Guest Star Glenn from the Awesome Village Podcast!

We couldn’t be more excited to welcome our friend and New Orleansian Glenn from The Awesome Village to talk about John Goodman’s star turn as Louisiana populist senator and governor Huey Long in the TV movie Kingfish. 
Featuring a cavalcade of future stars, Kingfish efficiently cycles through the political career, appetites, and light corruption of Long with what Sara found to be an objectionable amount of music. Also discussed at length: why John Goodman is the best, several odes to New Orleans, Rena displaying unexpected interest in football, why we wore brown lipstick in the 1990s, the magic of Louisiana politics, and the shocking heel turn of FDR, who we liked well enough two weeks ago in Sunrise at Campobello. 
Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long was directed by Thomas Schlamme, written by 
Paul Monash, and stars John Goodman as Huey P. Long, Jr., Matt Craven as Seymour Weiss, Anne Heche as Aileen Dumont, Ann Dowd as Rose Long, Jeff Perry as Earl Long, Bob Gunton as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Cobbs as Pullman Porter, Hoyt Axton as Huey P. Long, Sr., Kirk Baltz as Frank Costello, Richard Bradford as Judge Benjamin Pavy, Jimmie Ray Weeks as Allen Henderson, Bill Raymond as Gov. O.K. Allen, John McConnell as 'Battlin' Bozeman, Ed Bruce as Gov. J.Y. Sanders, and Joe Chrest as Carl Weiss.
Sources used in the episode include…
 
Podcasts:
Perspectives in History, 5-parter on Huey Long.
Gadfly 6-parter on Huey Long.
TV:
Dick Cavett interview with John Goodman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3F9ltZhPgM
 
News:
https://variety.com/1995/tv/reviews/kingfish-a-story-of-huey-p-long-1200441053/
 
Also, we have an actual Louisianian to give us some context here. 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q
 
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Episode 74: The Death of Stalin, Starring Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev!

A crude, egomaniacal leader with astonishing hair, suffering from mini-strokes and hypertension, dies following a party where everyone kisses his ass and cheers on American machismo. Is it a call from the future? A bird? A plane? No…It’s The Death of Stalin!
Chaos breaks loose as his potential successors try to figure out who is the most feckless and clever of them all, and who can take over the future of the USSR. We meet failsons, daughters of dubious intellect, hypermasculine generals, and overly performative ass-kissers on our journey to the Nikita Khrushchev era in this pitch-black comedy from Antonio Iannucci, the kind and hilarious Scotsman who also blessed us with Veep.
We unpack the absurdity and tragedy of communist Russia in the 1950s, what “17 minutes” means, Sara’s history of working for maniacs, the settled-science hotness of Steve Buscemi, the adorable, tragic pup Laikaa, the missed opportunity for a McDonald’s tie-in, and so much more as we continue Politics Month 2025.  
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Sources used in the episode include…
Behind the Bastards, several episodes related to Joseph Stalin and his henchmen.
Real Dictators episodes on Joseph Stalin.
We read the graphic novel.
Character sketch on Khrushchev from a CIA memoranda prepared for President Kennedy in 1961 that was declassified in 1976, now available through the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library:
https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkpof-126-003#?image_identifier=JFKPOF-126-003-p0087
 
The Last Days of Stalin, by Joshua Rubenstein.
https://slate.com/culture/2018/03/whats-fact-and-whats-fiction-in-the-death-of-stalin.html
Stalin's daughter : the extraordinary and tumultuous life of Svetlana Alliluyeva by Rosemary Sullivan
Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q
 
Follow us!
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Contact us: biopiclistenermailbag@gmail.com

Emergency Trailer Episode 3: Michael Teaser Trailer, the Upcoming Biopic of Michael Jackson (Bonus Episode!)

Emergency bonus episode! Michael, the oft-delayed musical biopic about the life and times of troubled genius and smooth (never convicted, often tried) alleged criminal Michael Jackson has a teaser trailer and an April 2026 release date. We risked 1990s-era Pokemon-inspired seizures as we watched the trailer over and over in an attempt to parse the psychotically edited clip parade for insights about what we can expect from this movie.
What we’re confident predicting: the absolutely unbiased team of MJ estate executors producing the film will give us a film in which young boys will be the villains trying to take down one of the 20th century’s most iconic and important artists; Johnnie Cochran may not make it to the final cut because the filmmakers didn’t read MJ’s 1993 settlement agreement; screenwriter John Logan’s need for a GoFundMe (call us, John!), and that the musical sequences will probably be electrifying. 
Also discussed: the economics of MJ and why it was easier to let him do whatever the hell he wanted; prosthetics; The Jacksons: An American Dream; how Rena was old enough to rent a car when she first saw the Thriller video; and the unexpected parallels between the Michael teaser trailer and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. And so much more. 
Sources used in the episode include…
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/michael-jackson-biopic-trailer-first-footage-1236168488/#recipient_hashed=b9997f00edcb0ce488b46f6883f897b1143a3ff8c2a571e2e26872f0fcba0958&recipient_salt=4d7867d3eca22b71fde0dba3b278c22145f502c20e757e3f49a26898273008a5&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=644726_11-06-2025&utm_term=6337474?utm_medium=&utm_source=&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_id= 
 
With additional thanks to Pajiba
As promised, here's the video of Smokey Robinson and George Michael singing "Careless Whisper." Noted: Bill Cosby does the intro, sorry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZflvN5mkrxQ
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q
 
Follow us!
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Contact us: biopiclistenermailbag@gmail.com

Episode 73: Sunrise at Campobello, about FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt!

We start Politics Month with a whimper: A 2 hour, 30 minute, ponderous look inside the months and (maybe?) years that immediately follow FDR’s devastating polio diagnosis. 
Should this be an interesting look at a consequential moment in which the future of American politics was forever changed? Yes. Should this be an incisive character study on one of the most important, decent and progressive individuals to hold the office of president, during one of the most challenging eras in U.S. history? Yes. Is it? No. 
We get furious about the monologuing, the Von Trapp style children, and desperate need for a screenplay editor. Also discussed: Alice Roosevelt’s bitchy vendetta against Eleanor, Sara’s parasocial relationship with Teddy Roosevelt, bad teeth and bad parenting, getting polio from a Boy Scout camp, and being in more than one community production of Annie. 
Sunrise at Campobello stars Ralph Bellamy as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Greer Garson as Eleanor Roosevelt, Hume Cronyn as Louis Howe, Jean Hagen as Marguerite "Missy" LeHand, Ann Shoemaker as Sara Delano Roosevelt, Alan Bunce as Governor Alfred E. Smith, Tim Considine as James Roosevelt, Zina Bethune as Anna Roosevelt, Frank Ferguson as Dr. Bennett, Pat Close as Elliott Roosevelt, Robin Warga as Franklin Roosevelt Jr., Tom Carty as Johnny Roosevelt, Lyle Talbot as Mr. Brimmer, David White as Mr. Lassiter, Walter Sande as Captain Skinner and Herbert Anderson as Vincent Dailey, was directed by Vincent J. Donehue, and was based on a play by Dore Schary.
 
Sources used in the episode include…
 
Books
The Roosevelt Women by Betty Boyd Caroli
Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume I by Blanche Weisen Cook.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Political Life by Robert Dallek
Eleanor by David Michaelis
Hissing Cousins: The Lifelong Rivalry of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth by Marc Peyser and Timothy Dwyer 
The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency by James Tobin
Podcasts
The Totalus Rankium episodes on FDR.
 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q
 
Follow us!
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Website: https://biopicapodcaststory.podbean.com/
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Contact us: biopiclistenermailbag@gmail.com

Episode 72: The Attorney, with Special Guest Star, Cartoonist Ryan Estrada!

We welcome back the amazing cartoonist and South Korea expert Ryan Estrada  (https://www.ryanestrada.com/) to discuss this truly inspiring biopic that is “not about” (wink and nudge, folks) the early years of future 9th president of South Korea and human rights activist Roh Moo-huyn, then a tax attorney who is compelled to defend a number of teenage students who are arrested and imprisoned without warrants on fabricated charges of being communist sympathizers. 
Fortunately, this is not at all timely, and we live in the U.S.A., so we can’t relate to people being detained without reason and hopped-up charges of aiding and abetting vague enemies in order to scare and intimidate everyone else into obeying in advance. 
We discuss the reason why South Korean filmmakers prefer “based on a true story” for their biopics, talk more about Ryan’s superhero wife (and co-author) Kim Hyun Sook, and, of course, whether there’s anything to ever be hopeful about ever again.  Cut for time (probably for the best): Sara’s theories about Mattress stores being a front for criminal activities. 
We unabashedly loved this movie and its performances by future Parasite star (and the Tom Hanks of South Korea) Song Kang-ho and K-Pop idol and Squid Game star Im Si-wan, and desperately needed its message about how one person’s actions can change the world. 
ALSO: Ryan has a new book out with aformentioned superhero wife Kim Hyun Sook: Good Old Fashioned Korean Spirit (Penguin Workshop) which can be procured at Bookshop.org or from any of the other major book suppliers who absolutely do not need us to link to them. 
The Attorney stars Song Kang-ho as Song Woo-suk, Kim Young-ae as Choi Soon-ae,  Oh Dal-su as Park Dong-ho, Kwak Do-won as Cha Dong-young, Im Si-wan as Park Jin-woo, Lee Sung-min as Lee Yoon-taek, Jung Won-joong as Attorney Kim Sang-pil, Song Young-chang as Judge, and Jo Min-ki as Prosecutor Kang Young-cheol.
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
Our theme music is by Ben Patch: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BB01QpPE7HBGacGAlullu?si=gp_6jbvsThWXg_sSLVcv6Q
Follow us!
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Contact us: biopiclistenermailbag@gmail.com