AlmostAGhost

Yea I sent a text saying 'please do Rockula on HDTGM' I got two clear AI responses, but no real response. So, I don't think you're wasting his time, he's texting who he wants!

Also, did anyone try this yet?

Yea, those are basically the assumptions I was making too, but was hoping for some confirmation, because the later reference truly threw me for a loop. Haven't found anything online to confirm, or got an email about my tickets, or anything.

wait, i'm confused - is the Ebell show on 12/20 rescheduled? at the beginning, Paul seemed to say so, but later in the episode he said something like "that's why you should come to the Ebell on Dec. 20". what I'm asking: will I be spending next Friday listening to people talk about a dumb Christmas movie, or will I be staying home and watching dumb Christmas movies?

Yes and no to this. I do think there is still a pretty big bias. I mean how many of these 100 movies are about women? Putting their stories front and center, showing us their lives. Are there more or less than there are Vietnam War movies? Like, I think of Scorsese's stuff -- could maybe Raging Bull have been replaced with Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore? Or even Age of Innocence? How many of Spielberg's picks could be replaced by The Color Purple? I think that's a game that could be easier argued to somewhat fix this list. Even if the directors are all men, they could have put together a stronger and more diverse collection of stories.

Hmm yea, that's interesting. My guess is it shows just how recently this inclusivity has developed; and how limited opportunity truly was for non-white men forever. I mean, there are great films out there by all sorts of people, but you do have to be a real cinephile to find them. And this list, as developed, is indeed even more limited (award winners, box office impact, etc.). I believe black and female directors will be (almost) all of my picks for each of 2016, 2017, and 2018. And they're not rare picks, I think you guys will more or less agree with them. So I think that also shows how recently this change has arisen. So for me, with the "older" movies (pre-2016), I'm trying to rep diverse stories at least - so in this set there's like slavery, lesbian romance, sci-fi, female-centered survival. Even if they're directed by white men, that's still a step of progress. And your guys' picks reflect that too, I think (Mad Max Fury Road, Diary of a Teenage Girl, etc.).

My picks: 2013: I thought about Snowpiercer or Gravity, but my top 2 are easy 12 Years A Slave Inside Llewyn Davis (i'm coming around on this being the best Coen film, but that's another thread). 2014: hmm. A lot of my faves here don't seem to fit this list (odd stuff like Wild Canaries or They Came Together). Even Gone Girl. I almost went with Obvious Child here, but my picks: Nightcrawler The Grand Budapest Hotel (again for me not a TOP tier Wes, but I think it may be his most popular and respected) 2015: You guys are right, this one is hard. Lots to choose. I want to go with The Lobster or The Witch, because eccentric stuff should be repped too, but I'm not. I'm going to have to pick 3: Ex Machina Room Carol

I just saw this too and came here to express my joy! Though weirdly, I've been to a live HDTGM ep once before and... same guest. Haha not that I mind! I've also seen her own podcast live a couple times. I'm wondering if we'll have to wait a year until next Christmas season to get it in our feeds tho

This new Christmas song just came out and I'm super into it

John Paul Jones is and always will be the coolest man in rock.

Ticket obtained! Will be a balcony monster

i guess i have to go to this one!

oh hell yes

an inconvenient truth

Too dangerous, evil street crews get in your way

Yes, but think of like Good Will Hunting. Harvard students in bars having debates about economics was something the townies tolerated, and I see no difference in New Yorkers seeing ballerinas do line-dancing on the bar like second-rate Coyote Ugly characters.

But then how are they supposed to fall in love?

That fiddle-off in the middle of the fancy ballroom dance was the best part. But it seems to be straight out of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" so it leads me to wonder: which one of those two violinists is the devil?

Also a few minutes later, Ruby meets her new roommate.... and they immediately pillow fight. Lots of insanity in this one

So what's everyone's 2 top choices for 2010, 2011, and 2012? I will admit that these years were in the depths of my anti-movies phase, where I mainly just watched things I previously knew/liked (like Harry Potter or Coen Bros. etc.). So a lot of my knowledge of these years either came in watching stuff later, and there's still plenty of holes. That said, here's my ideas, am curious what you guys choose here. 2010 I think I'd probably agree with Amy and go with The Social Network, though looking at my ratings, it's probably my 6th or 7th favorite film of the year. But I think above all, it can be the one that's elevated to a thing like an AFI list. My personal top-rated film of 2010 is Toy Story 3, though, and I think if they wanted to represent the series or Pixar with it, I'd be fine with that, but I do think it's odd to pick the middle film of a series, so I'm not picking that. But out of the other things that I like and wouldn't mind elevating, I'd lean to either Never Let Me Go (though unsure if it's because I like the book) or Black Swan. 2011 Whoa, looking at my rankings for 2011, I have not seen much that's worth noting. (I've mostly just rated HDTGM movies haha.) When Amy picked Young Adult, I was like, it's good but, AFI good? And I have it as my 3rd fave film of the year. Still don't think it's AFI good though. And looking across some of the 2011 films in general that I haven't seen, very few of them stand out to me. My personal best-rated films are Yelling To The Sky and Scorsese's George Harrison documentary; neither of which I'd pick for this. So I think my choice is going to be Bridesmaids too, and maybe Drive (but I'd like to watch that again before saying definitively). I basically have to punt this year for need of more exploration. Give me suggestions please! 2012 So my fave film of 2012 is definitely Moonrise Kingdom, but again it's maybe my 5th fave Wes Anderson and wouldn't choose it for this purpose to rep him or the year. There were some good blockbusters (The Avengers, Dark Knight Rises, and Skyfall), even big things like Lincoln. I think though I'm leaning to picking Frances Ha to represent mumblecore first, and on the other side of that spectrum, I'll go with one of the big mainstream ones: Lincoln. I remember going to see Lincoln right after the 2012 election, for which I'd spent like 13 months working for the Obama campaign and the movie really felt right to come out then. I'm hardly a huge Spielberg guy, but this one I loved. tl;dr my choices 2010: Toy Story 3, Never Let Me Go 2011: Bridesmaids, Drive 2012: Frances Ha, Lincoln

here's the upcoming schedule with a bit more specificity. also for the record, i tried to ask Paul & Amy if they had any suggestions of what films to watch to prep for their discussion this week, but they didn't reply. Dec. 5 - EP 83. BEST OF THE DECADE PART 1 Dec. 12 - EP 84. BEST OF THE DECADE PART 2 Dec. 19 - EP 85. Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope Dec. 26 - EP 86. BEST OF THE DECADE PART 3 Jan. 2 - EP 87. BEST OF THE DECADE PART 4

Listening to Paul open up the couple of boxes full of movies to do on the show... I think we need to send him (and Avril) a copy of Rockula right?

well if you're gonna give us some Joan, it's only appropriate to follow it up with Bob Dylan's out-of-nowhere album full of Christmas carols a few years ago. it rules