Ryan Coogler is repeatedly declared winner; Jordan is acknowledged nearby and Caton is a hypothetical retrospective winner in twenty years. — Wesley Morris
Coogler receives affirmative Apex for unprecedented leverage after success, with exaggerated hypothetical budgets illustrating it. — Bill Simmons
Jordan's Apex is disputed as either his strongest moment so far or merely the beginning of a coming prime; available scripts remain crucial.
Vampire films overall are not clearly at peak; vampirism as political metaphor receives support, while Black vampire films prompt Blade/Blacula objections and twin-film success is considered. — Wesley Morris
Steinfeld, pickled garlic juice and cunnilingus advice receive affirmative Apex support, qualified as best so far or best recalled. — Bill Simmons
Blues in film, drooling and characters named Cornbread receive support, distinguished from blues generally. — Wesley Morris
Who won: two hosts choose Coogler and two choose Stallone. An audience cheer comparison leans Stallone but is called a split decision; applause is not converted into individual ballots.
One Oscar: Stallone is the initial preference, but Coogler is argued for because the film’s success was unlikely in other hands; the initial speaker explicitly changes his mind. — Bill Simmons
Judi Dench literally has aged the best: seventy-seven when she gave a performance of just-enough British acting, with the stature and gravitas to make standing over six coffins feel important; Adele's song is an all-time jam.
The locations are sensible rather than volcano-and-Tokyo Bond locations: Istanbul and London, very London-centric, like a board of tourism; the fiftieth anniversary of the series and the Broccoli family's hubbub may have driven the reminder that this is a British spy from Scotland, and M's garage line about the car not being ostentatious is a favorite Dench moment.
Waning empire keeps waning, the ministers' hearings read as Brexit, and movies about washed-up middle-aged men are on trend for 2019; the cast has not a single error, and the Deakins photography would be cutting-edge if released today.
Casting a prestige director for a franchise has aged well: Mendes had just bricked with Away We Go after American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead and Revolutionary Road and retreated to theater, with the New Yorker covering him and Jez Butterworth; the Bond films had been a schlocky volume play that needed re-engineering into an event, and the move leads to Ryan Coogler doing Creed and Black Panther.
Tarantino was long rumored for a Bond film, Danny Boyle left the most recent one, and Nolan would be bank-breaking but only makes Warner Brothers movies; Mendes openly lifted the Dark Knight aesthetic, and Nolan's films are themselves a commentary on Bond, with the orphan avenging sins in common.
Costumes have aged well: Ben Whishaw's climactic Dries sweater and museum parka, the cut of Craig's suits, Moneypenny's business casual, the barber jackets (as transcribed), the final Skyfall look with boots, and the wool-looking training tracksuit with low-top Adidas that only Craig could wear; everyone's sweatpants should fit like that rather than like the Ad Astra moon base.
Albert Finney's last film performance has aged well: a perfect role for an actor of his age as a father figure to old Scotland, old England and Shakespearean movie acting.
The song has the highest approval rating and is chosen; an Oscar winner.
Stallone cannot win because his Golden Globe speech failed to thank Coogler first, which may have cost him the Oscar; he seemed apologetic. — Bill Simmons
Asked Coogler or Michael B, the answer is Coogler.
Another goes with Coogler too: the movie could have gone wrong a hundred ways and he made it great, and with Black Panther this movie gets him the nod.
Black Panther would not happen this way without Creed being a great film people wanted to see. — Sean Fennessey
A participant invited by name at the end, after being asked whether his mic is on, says Coogler won it for Stallone by reviving his acting career with a nomination and reviving the dead Rocky franchise, two victories; called the best take yet. — Wesley Morris
The discussion moves from instinctive opposition to conditional support for a modernized remake, while an unlabeled line about not watching remains rhetorically ambiguous; Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Ryan Coogler, legacy cameos, and NBA players are considered.
Blake Griffin and Kenya Barris are said to be involved, and Michael B. Jordan is immediately proposed for the Sidney Dean-type role.
A participant begins from hatred of remakes but reverses after considering the dated references and a version with roughly twenty-five percent more basketball.
Reversing the outsider dynamic through rural America and using Billy Hoyle Jr. are proposed. The Billy Hoyle Jr. idea first receives a negative reaction; Miles Teller is then named, followed by an apparent reversal back into the idea, but the unlabeled machine transcript does not establish which participant gives either reaction. — Chris Ryan
Kenya Barris writing and Michael B. Jordan in the Snipes-type role draw an explicit statement of support from a participant who identifies as anti-remake.
The adjacent phrases 'Completely in' and 'I'm not going to watch that movie' are preserved as an ambiguous unlabeled exchange; the machine transcript does not establish a distinct dissenting speaker. — Chris Ryan
Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes are expected to return as legacy characters, while the film's dated but rewatchable quality supports modernization even though online video makes a present-day hustle harder. — Chris Ryan
Miles Teller and Elgort are assessed for basketball ability as Billy Hoyle candidates; Elgort's dunking challenge is recalled, and the remake is expected to load pickup scenes with NBA cameos.
