The Rolling Tape
The Rolling Tape podcast is a TRT production covering weekly film reviews, industry updates, and awards season news.
The Awards Tape: Pre-Fall Festival Oscar Predictions 2026-27
In just a few weeks, Venice, Telluride, New York, and Toronto will kick off a new cycle of anticipated awards contenders, with premieres and early reactions that will reshape our already exhaustive Oscar predictions. This is where some of our assumptions about certain films will go to die, or be validated. Who's to say?
Even though films like Digger, The Social Reckoning, and Dune: Part Three will premiere later in the fall and winter, movies like Wild Horse Nine, Ink, The Debut<...
EP 201: One Night Only (2026) & Ranking Rom-Com Movie Couples
You know what's more romantic than living under an authoritarian government where you can only have sex for one night of the year? Finding your true love for life. Time to nut up for Will Gluck's One Night Only, starring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner.Â
Written by Travis Braun and based on his Black List script. The film follows two hapless romantics, Monica Barbaro's Allie, a hopeful romantic looking for something more, and Callum Turner's Owen, a recently dumped hopeless romantic.
They happen to be two aimless singles navigating the one night of t...
*FANTASIA 2026* Interview with 'A Safe Distance' (2026) Director, Gloria Mercer, Bethany Brown, and Tandia Mercedes
While it didn’t debut at Fantasia Fest (that honor belongs to SXSW this year), A Safe Distance also played at the Montreal-based festival. An eighty-five-minute thriller, A Safe Distance follows Alex (Bethany Brown) as she goes camping with her long-time partner in the forest of Canada. Shortly into their stay, Joey (Chris McNally) pops the question to Alex. She says no. And, well, things don’t go as expected after that.Â
The Rolling Tape's Ethan Simmie was joined by Director Gloria Mercer and cast members Tandia Mercedes and Bethany Brown to discuss making a film that “is about...
The Awards Tape: The Invite (2026) Awards Assessment, A24 Campaign Priorities & Fringe Best Picture Nominations Ranking
It's the opening weekend of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but I don't think we can conclusively say it'll be part of this upcoming awards conversation—outside of a potential Best Visual Effects nomination. So instead of focusing on that amid the hundreds of millions of dollars being made by The Odyssey and Spider-Man, there's a much smaller film quietly holding its own at the box office, The Invite, directed by and co-starring Olivia Wilde, alongside Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penélope Cruz.
<...EP 200: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), SDCC Marvel News, Avengers: Doomsday Heat Check & MCU Trivia
It’s episode 200 of our weekly Monday show, and what better way to celebrate than with the 38th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the fourth film in the MCU Spider-Man film series. It's also National Spider-Man Day which is celebrated annually on August 1st. The date marks the anniversary of the character's first comic book appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, published in August 1962 by Marvel Comics creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
The film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Tom Holland stars as...
Ladies Night: Women in Sports!
We celebrate the 20th anniversary of She’s The Man by breaking down the film and “women in sports” movies. We also give some of our favorite recs from the genre and look at the progression of sports films over the past two decades.Â
She’s The Man, loosely based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, stars Amanda Bynes as Viola Hastings, a high school soccer player who disguises herself as her twin brother, Sebastian, to play on the boys' soccer team at a rival boarding school, after her own school cuts the girls' team. The film...
*FANTASIA 2026* Interview with 'Sunspark' (2026) Director, Danny Bourque
In a barren post-apocalyptic world with no humans, a barter system of sunflowers for scrap parts, and robots, Zap is very lonely. In his scavenging one day, he finds the broken body of another robot. His curiosity gets the better of him, and he takes this robot home, in hopes of reviving it. As we follow Zap on his journey, the theme of Sunspark remains ever clear: how far are you willing to go to help a complete stranger?
It’s a theme that director Danny Bourque discusses as he joins The Rolling Tape to talk about th...
The Awards Tape: 83rd Venice International Film Festival (2026) Lineup Announcement
The lineup for the 83rd Venice International Film Festival was announced on Thursday, July 23, coming on the heels of the first wave of announcements from the Toronto International Film Festival. That means we're officially entering fall festival season, the multi-week stretch in late August and September where many of the biggest contenders for the 99th Academy Awards will make their world premieres and begin their awards campaigns.
Acclaimed actress and filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal will serve as Jury President for this year's Main Competition. Joining her on the jury are composer Daniel Blumberg, filmmaker Kaouther Ben...
The Rolling Remote: Channel Surfing for TV & Recommendations for Widow's Bay, Hacks & Beginner Anime
We're going channel surfing for round 2!Â
If you missed our last Channel Surfing episode, instead of spending an hour diving deep into a single series, we bounce around the television landscape and talk about the shows we haven't had a chance to cover on the main show, along with the hidden gems we think deserve a little more attention.
Hopefully, we'll give all of you (and ourselves) a few new additions to your watchlists. If you missed the first one, this is just a chance for us to hang out and talk about TV, which i...
EP 199: The Invite (2026), I Want Your Sex (2026), The Career of Olivia Wilde & Guess the Letterboxd Review Game
Christopher Nolan please exit stage left, this episode is for the freaks.Â
It's time to get wild, Olivia Wilde that is! With her third directorial feature, The Invite, in theaters as of last week, and an upcoming leading role in Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex set to go into wide release next week, we discuss her career building up to this moment.
In her directorial effort, The Invite, Joe and Angela's marriage is on thin ice. When they invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the...
Interview with 'Heartstopper Forever' (2026) Editor, Todd Downing
Heartstopper Forever is a new Netflix film that concludes the three-season TV series Heartstopper, which was adapted from Alice Oseman's graphic novels. Set in the UK, the story follows a gay high school romance and the friendships that surround it. We're joined by Todd Downing, editor of the film, to discuss bringing the beloved coming-of-age romance to its emotional conclusion.Â
Todd shares what it was like collaborating closely with creator Alice Oseman to preserve the characters fans have grown to love, how transitioning from a three-season series to a feature film created new o...
Read Receipts: The Odyssey From Homer To Christopher Nolan (2026)
We read it. We watched it. It’s time for the receipts. For this month’s Read Receipts, we are going on an Odyssey. Or should we say a Pod-yssey? Welcome back to your favorite podcast for readers and watchers alike. If you’re new here, this is Read Receipts: A Big Screen Book Club from The Rolling Tape.
Every month, we read a book, watch its onscreen adaptation, then share our receipts. I am your Read Receipts host Kasey Dunifer. And this month we read none other than The Odyssey, the ep...
RETRO//RANKED: Christopher Nolan (13): The Odyssey, Reflections on Seasons 1-7 & Season 8 Announcement
Ten years on this fucking podcast. Let's go home! Today, our destiny comes to a close. We add The Odyssey to our collaborative rankings that we've been building for weeks. Call it the Trojan horse of RETRO//RANKED, but where will it end up?
RETRO//RANKED is a Rolling Tape network series ranking the individual entries of beloved franchises and filmographies, timed to major new releases. For season 7, we're diving into the complete filmography of Christopher Nolan, building episode by episode, two films at a time, toward the release of his...
The Awards Tape: The Odyssey Awards Assessment
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is quite possibly the most anticipated film of the year. It marks Nolan's first feature since Oppenheimer, which won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, along with Actor, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Cinematography, and Original Score. The film grossed more than $970 million worldwide, and in the wake of that success, Nolan was essentially handed a $250 million blank check to bring to life the passion project he's been developing for more than two decades: an old-school Hollywood epic adapting one of the most celebrated and enduring works of literature in human...
EP 198: The Odyssey (2026) & Nolan Filmography Guessing Game
Call it our (p)odyssey weekend here at The Rolling Tape as we’ll have not one, not two, not three, but FOUR podcasts across our network of shows discussing Christopher Nolan’s 13th feature film in various capacities.Â
The Odyssey is, of course, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. We have taken the long journey home to our closest IMAX theaters to see the film. An adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic poem, Matt Damon stars as Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, and it chronicles his long and perilous journey home after...
Summer 2026 Box Office Draft Check-In
The Summer 2026 Box Office Draft returns. This is our check-in episode. We kicked off the second annual edition of our Summer Box Office Draft back in May around Memorial Day, taking a deep dive into the entire summer release schedule. Each of us made our predictions for the top 10 highest-grossing films of the summer and estimated how much each would earn at the box office.
Today, we're checking in to see how those predictions are holding up. We take a look at the current top 10 based on the films that have already been released, discuss how the...
RETRO//RANKED: Christopher Nolan (11-12): Tenet & Oppenheimer
THE LAST PRE-ODYSSEY EPISODE IS HERE.
Don’t try to understand the ranking you hear on this podcast today. Feel it.
RETRO//RANKED is a Rolling Tape network series ranking the individual entries of beloved franchises and filmographies, timed to major new releases. For season 7, we're diving into the complete filmography of Christopher Nolan, building episode by episode, two films at a time, toward the release of his latest film, The Odyssey.
Tenet is the eleventh movie from Christopher Nolan. He served as both writer an...
The Rolling Remote: Love Island USA Season 8 Finale & Final Four Couples
We're bringing you somewhere we've never been before: the world of reality television. Here on The Rolling Remote, we've covered just about every kind of show imaginable from medical dramas, science fiction, fantasy to vampires, medieval knights, and post-high school drug mules to Mexico, but somehow we've never ventured into the corner of television that can completely take over pop culture like almost nothing else.
Today, we're diving into the recently finished Love Island USA Season 8, hosted by Ariana Madix and streaming on Peacock. The series follows a group of Islanders living together...
The Awards Tape: 78th Primetime Emmy Awards (2026) Nominations Recap
The 78th Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced on Wednesday, July 8, with major acting and series categories revealed by Jeff Hiller and Emmy winner Liza ColĂłn-Zayas. Hiller earned an Emmy nomination last year for Somebody Somewhere, while ColĂłn-Zayas won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for The Bear.Â
Among the biggest takeaways, The Pitt led all programs with 25 nominations for its second season. Hacks followed closely with a record-breaking 24 nominations, setting a new high for a comedy series by surpassing the 23 nominations earned by The Studio and the second season of The Bear last yea...
EP 197: Evil Dead Burn (2026) & 'Evil Dead' Franchise Retrospective
This week we are locating the Kandarian Dagger...
Evil Dead Burn is the third standalone entry, after Evil Dead (2013) and Evil Dead Rise (2023), and the the sixth installment in the "Evil Dead" franchise as a whole. It was originally slated to be released wide in theaters on July 24, but was moved up two weeks to July 10.
The film is directed and co-written by Sébastien Vaniček, and produced by Rob Tapert and series creator Sam Raimi. It stars Souheila Yacoub as a young woman who seeks solace with her in-laws following the de...
Interview with 'Night Nurse' (2026) Director, Georgia Bernstein
Night Nurse, the feature directorial debut of writer-director Georgia Bernstein, premiered earlier this year in the NEXT section of the Sundance Film Festival, and it arrives in theaters July 10 as, in Bernstein's own words, "an erotic thriller which takes place in a retirement community."
In joining The Rolling Tape for a conversation on the film, Bernstein describes how the film originated from the experience of her own grandmother nearly being scammed over the phone. We also discuss how she and her team developed the ambiguous suburban setting, the casting choices for the primary characters of...
RETRO//RANKED: Christopher Nolan (9-10): Interstellar & Dunkirk
First off, we want to apologize in advance to Matt Damon. We were going to include him on this episode as a surprise guest, but went through the run of show and he decided he had to spend time with Ben Affleck instead.
RETRO//RANKED is a Rolling Tape network series ranking the individual entries of beloved franchises and filmographies, timed to major new releases. For season 7, we're diving into the complete filmography of Christopher Nolan, building episode by episode, two films at a time, toward the release of his latest film, The Odyssey<...
Interview with 'Leviticus' (2026) Costume Designer Zohie Castellano
Leviticus, directed by Adrian Chiarella, is an Australian queer horror film that has resonated with audiences through its blend of horror, coming-of-age drama, and tender romance. While much of the conversation has centered on its emotional story and breakout performances, the film's visual language is equally vital to its impact.Â
In this exclusive interview, Leviticus costume designer Zohie Castellano discusses crafting the film’s haunting Australian gothic aesthetic and using costume to reflect the emotional journeys of Stacy Clausen’s Ryan and Joe Bird’s Naim. Castellano breaks down the symbolism behind the film’s colour palette, recurring...
The Awards Tape: 78th Primetime Emmy Awards (2026) Final Nomination Predictions
What better way to celebrate 250 years of American history than by talking about the upcoming Emmy nominations? That's right. As of time of this recording, we were just four days away from the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations set to be announced Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at 11:30 A.M. EST, where we'll celebrate the best television has to offer from June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026.
We have new shows, returning favorites, and series finales to discuss, so it's a packed episode as we deliver our final Emmy nomination predictions for the Drama Series, Comedy Series, and Limited Series categories, along with...
EP 196: Minions & Monsters, Best of 2026 First Half & Most Anticipated of Second Half
We are here to tell you where the minions were between 1939 and 1945...
Minions & Monsters is directed by Pierre Coffin and written by Coffin and Brian Lynch. Produced by Illumination, it is the third installment in the Minions prequel series and the seventh installment overall in the Despicable Me franchise. Taking place in 1927, 41 years before the events of Minions (2015), the film follows the Minions as they aim to make a monster movie of their own in Old Hollywood. The film stars director Pierre Coffin as the Minions, alongside Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg...
Pride Mini-Series: Leviticus & Gender-Based Media
To conclude our Pride Series for 2026, we start off with a speed review of LEVITICUS, by Adrian Chiarella, an Australian horror-romance that follows two teenage boys who must escape a violent entity after their religious community discovers their sexuality.
We also discuss Gender-Based media, exploring and recommending films that are not based on sexuality, a main topic often included in conversation on Queer Cinema.Â
Resources:
Pride Watchlist
POC & International Queer Cinema
On this episode:
Sara Ciplickas
Red Broadwell
Jake Fittipaldi
Bobbi M...
Interview with 'Maddie's Secret' (2026) Director & Star, John Early
You are unlikely to encounter another movie like Maddie’s Secret this year. The film, born from the mind of writer, director, and star John Early, satirizes both the Lifetime movies of the 80s and 90s and modern influencer culture while also sincerely addressing disordered eating. arly plays Maddie, a dishwasher turned content creator for mega-company Gourmaybe. It’s her dream come true. However, the newfound attention and popularity in front of the camera causes a relapse of her bulimia.
Adam Patla is joined by director John Early to discuss the unique tone of the film and how...
RETRO//RANKED: Christopher Nolan (7-8): Inception & The Dark Knight Rises
We’re going to podcast about Inception and The Dark Knight Rises. When the conversation is done, and the recording is finished processing, then you have my permission to die.
RETRO//RANKED is a Rolling Tape network series ranking the individual entries of beloved franchises and filmographies, timed to major new releases. For season 7, we're diving into the complete filmography of Christopher Nolan, building episode by episode, two films at a time, toward the release of his latest film, The Odyssey.
Inception is Christopher Nolan’s se...
The Awards Tape: Mid-Year Above the Line Oscar Predictions
It's been a full six months into 2026, and quite a lot has happened. The Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes Film Festivals have come and gone. Greta Gerwig's Narnia has been moved to 2027. Luca Guadagnino's Artificial has been pushed to 2027, dropped by Amazon MGM, and acquired by NEON to go back into the 2026 slate. Michael has surpassed Oppenheimer as the highest grossing biopic of all time, and Obsession is the cultural box office phenomenon of the year.Â
That means it's time for an Oscar Pulse check.Â
Before Ch...
Ladies Night: Female Superheroes & Reactions to Supergirl (2026)
With the second film in the rebooted DCU now in wide release to pair with last year's Superman, we analyze the recent Supergirl movie, exploring its marketing, storytelling choices, and representation of female superheroes. With the film currently sitting at around 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, the reactions have been mixed. We discuss broader trends in superhero films, particularly with female superheroes, gender dynamics, and industry failures when marketing toward female audiences.Â
On this episode:
Sara Ciplickas
Bobbi Miller
Sasha Raquel
Support the show
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EP 195: Supergirl (2026) & Blind Ranking DC Movies
Supergirl is the second film in the DCU created by James Gunn and Peter Safran, following Superman from 2025. Clayface will follow this year as the third entry of "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters" in the soft reboot of the DCEU which featured 16 films between 2013 and 2023.
Supergirl follows Kara Zor-El who joins forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice when an unexpected adversary strikes too close to home. The film is directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira and stars Milly Alcock...
Pride Mini-Series: The Evolution of POC and International Queer Cinema from 1919 to Today
In our continued conversation on Queer cinema for Pride, we look toward POC and International Cinema, two topics that often get left out of the Western canon. POC and International Queer cinema provides a platform to explore diverse identities and experiences, often absent from the dominant Western narrative with examples dating back to 1919. These films challenge stereotypes, broaden perspectives, and invite audiences into the lives of those who have often been sidelined. Understanding these narratives is crucial to appreciating the complexity of Queer experiences worldwide.Â
We explore these stories and why they matter, with a Letterboxd list c...
RETRO//RANKED: Christopher Nolan (5-6): The Prestige & The Dark Knight
Now, are you watching closely? Let’s begin with today’s films.
RETRO//RANKED is a Rolling Tape network series ranking the individual entries of beloved franchises and filmographies, timed to major new releases. For season 7, we're diving into the complete filmography of Christopher Nolan, building episode by episode, two films at a time, toward the release of his latest film, The Odyssey.
The Prestige is Christopher Nolan’s fifth movie. It was released on October 20, 2006. This is a film that was once again co-written by Nolan and hi...
The Awards Tape: State of the Best Animated Feature Race 2027 & Ranking All 25 Animated Oscar Winners
With the release of Toy Story 5 (and its estimated $160 million+ opening weekend box office), we're focusing on examining a specific category in the 2027 Oscars race that perhaps has gone through the most interesting evolution over its 25 year history: the Best Animated Feature category.Â
Here we discuss how we feel about the category itself, the animated race that's shaping up this year for the 99th Academy Awards, and what animated films we've seen so far this year and are looking forward to in the near future.
We cap off with a ranking o...
Read Receipts: A Big Screen Book Club Presents "Dune" (1965), Dune: Part One (2021) & Dune: Part Two (2024)
This is Read Receipts: A Big Screen Book Club where the pronunciations don’t matter! Every month over here at The Rolling Tape, we read a book, watch its onscreen adaptation, then share our receipts with our Read Receipts host Kasey Dunifer – or should I say Dune-ifer?
Because this month, for DUNE JUNE, we read none other than Frank Herbert’s 1965 seminal science-fiction novel DUNE. Additionally, we watched the first two installments in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Trilogy: DUNE: PART ONE from 2021 and DUNE: PART TWO...
EP 194: Toy Story 5 (2026) & Ranking Every Pixar Movie
How many hours has it been since you've been scrolling on your phone or tablet? Did you forget that the toys you once played with are now collecting dust and feeling neglected? It's one of the pressing themes we'll discuss with today's review of Toy Story 5, the 31st feature-length film from Pixar Animation released by Disney on June 19th. It's been seven years since we've hung out with the Toy Story gang since Toy Story 4. Toy Story 5 is co-written and co-directed by Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris.
We review Pixar's latest...
Pride Mini-Series: Queer Representation on TV
Taking a break from the silver screen, we look back on the TV shows that made us and the progression of Queer representation in television. Looking back on our childhood watches, teen dramas, and what’s hot right now, we break down the best and worst of Queer television and what we are looking for next.Â
Follow along as we continue to celebrate Queer Cinema with discussions on international and person-of-color representation next week!Â
On this episode:
Sara Ciplickas
Claire May Lewis
Red Broadwell
Mariana Fabian
Jake FittipaldiÂ
RETRO//RANKED: Christopher Nolan (3-4): Insomnia & Batman Begins
Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up. Let’s dive into the films.
RETRO//RANKED is a Rolling Tape network series ranking the individual entries of beloved franchises and filmographies, timed to major new releases. For season 7, we're diving into the complete filmography of Christopher Nolan, building episode by episode, two films at a time, toward the release of his latest film, The Odyssey.
Insomnia is the third feature film from director Christopher Nolan. It was released on May 24, 2002. As of today, this is th...
The Awards Tape: Disclosure Day Awards Assessment & Spielberg Awards Draft
Steven Spielberg — you know the name. He's one of our greatest living filmmakers on the planet. The man has created cinematic classics and enduring masterpieces that have and will stand the test of time. Yet early on in his career, he had a fascinating relationship with the Academy Awards, starting with his infamous home video in which he sarcastically reacts to not receiving a Best Director nomination for Jaws during the announcement of the 48th Academy Award nominations. "I got beaten out by Fellini," he joked.Â
This rocky relationship continued even as he made blockbusters and...
RETRO//RECAP: Toy Story Franchise
RETRO//RECAP is the spin-off of RETRO//RANKED where we hit pause on the rankings and rewind the tape to catch you up on everything that’s happened in a franchise or filmography before the next entry hits theaters.Â
Previously, we’ve recapped the Scream Franchise and The Devil Wears Prada, and this time we’re recapping Pixar’s most successful franchise that dates back to 1995 and includes four primary film entries, two spin-offs, and a television series. The first Toy Story was the first feature-length film to be mad...