The Fall Movie Preview (with Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins of ‘The Big Picture’)

August 30, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins, co-hosts of The Ringer’s The Big Picture, join Sam Fragoso for a fall movie preview conducted in the style of their signature “movie drafts.” The conversation, which ranges from specific film predictions to the origins of their partnership, also covers their early careers in New York magazines, the creation of their show, and the evolving media landscape they navigate. The episode is structured around a draft of categories—Best Picture, Best Performance, FYC, Family Affair, Cautiously Optimistic, and Wild Card—designed to surface the films they are most excited about for the remainder of 2026.

The Fall Movie Draft: Key Picks and Predictions

The draft reveals a fall season that feels both promising and uncertain. Amanda opens with a Wild Card pick: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden, a three-and-a-half-hour Japanese film about elder care and capitalism that she describes as “one of the least commercial films I’ve ever seen” but also “transcendent and emotional.” Sean counters with Club Kid for Best Picture, a film by Jordan Firstman that premiered at Cannes, which he calls “very, very drug forward, horny” yet “incredibly classical” and a likely awards contender. Amanda selects Julianne Moore in The Debut for Best Performance, a Jesse Eisenberg-directed film she hopes will give Moore a “moment again” similar to May December.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Introducing Sean and Amanda & The Horny Debate** - Sam brings up an accusation from a recent episode that Sean is "too horny" on The Big Picture, leading to a playful defense.
2 (07:06) **Ridley Scott: Influencer, The Dog Stars, and Jacob Elordi's Dog** - The group discusses Ridley Scott's recent claim that he's an "influencer," not a filmmaker, and previews his new film.
3 (12:00) **Setting Up the Fall Movie Draft** - Sam introduces the draft format for the fall movie preview, outlining five categories: Best Picture, Best Performer, FYC, Family Affair, Cautiously Optimistic, and Wild Card.
4 (17:04) **Sean's First Pick: Wild Card – 'All of a Sudden'** - Sean kicks off the draft by selecting a three-and-a-half-hour Japanese film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi about elder care and capitalism.
5 (19:24) **Amanda's First Pick: Best Picture – 'Club Kid'** - Amanda selects a film from Cannes about a queer club promoter in New York, which she describes as both edgy and classically structured like *Kramer vs. Kramer*.
6 (21:37) **Sam's Pick: Best Performer – Julianne Moore in 'The Debut'** - Sam selects Julianne Moore for Jesse Eisenberg's upcoming film, citing a "good feeling" and a desire to see Moore have another awards moment.
7 (23:58) **Sean's Second Pick: FYC – 'Wild Horse Nine'** - Sean picks the new Martin McDonagh film as a "for your consideration" award, betting on the director making up for *The Banshees of Inisherin*'s shutout.

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Guests on this episode

Sean Fennessey Sam Fragoso

Show Notes

With the fall movie season upon us, who better to sit with than ⁠The Big Picture⁠ co-hosts Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins?

We begin with a post-vacation check-in (2:38), the god-given gifts of Ben Affleck and Jacob Elordi (6:19), and the latest film from “influencer” Ridley Scott (7:05).

Then we move on to our fall movie preview/draft, highlighting Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid (19:25), Julianne Moore in The Debut (21:39), Robert Pattinson in Primetime (26:12), and new films from directors Alejandro G. Iñárritu (32:37), David Fincher (36:24), James Gray (42:37), and Danny Boyle (58:00). Plus, two personal, familial projects in Once Upon a Time in Harlem (50:51) and The Making of Marie Antoinette (49:11).

On the back-half, we talk all things The Big Picture: Sean and Amanda’s New York origin story (1:01:39), moving to Los Angeles to launch The Ringer (1:12:22), the call from Bill Simmons that brought this duo together (1:12:36), the power of the Dob Mob (1:17:44), and the ongoing race for the show’s third chair, featuring Chris Ryan (1:23:02) and Tracy Letts (1:27:30). We also discuss Sean’s Mount Rushmore of dream guests (1:30:36), the movie he’d most like to do on The Rewatchables (1:34:06), ChatGPT Ebert (1:34:34), the role of AI in film and media (1:35:33), the contemporary challenges of making good work in a “crumbling industry” (1:38:44), and why this show—and this pair—continue to work after nearly a thousand episodes (1:45:39).

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