Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Foxcatcher' And The Art Of The Trailer

NPR

We're getting into the thick of Oscar movie season, and one of the interesting and curious entries is Foxcatcher, starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo in a film fairly loosely based on a true story out of Delaware in the mid-'90s. (Details here; to the degree history can be a spoiler, that is one.) We sat down this week to talk about the film with our pal, NPR film critic Bob Mondello. We discuss how the film tries to be true despite departing substantially from real events, how Channing Tatum has developed through modeling and dancing into comedy and drama (and I talk about a video that shows off some of his skills), and how Steve Carell deploys his particular mix of goofy and sad.

After that, we move on to a topic near and dear to the hearts of everyone who's ever sat through the 20 minutes of hooey before a movie starts: trailers. From the director's-chair-introduction phase through "in a world" through to the arty trailers we know now, the business of teasing and tantalizing has responded to the sharing culture just like everything else, but where are we now?

As always, we close the show with what's making us happy this week. Stephen is happy about giving a hat-tip to an old friend, and about a show I also wrote about recently. Glen is happy about a web series he promises is better than its premises and a film that he calls a "puppy dog." Bob is simply happy about the ability to talk about the films he saw in Toronto that haven't seen the light of day until recently. And I am happy about a terrific interview and a thoughtful examination of little smiles and pictures of clapping.

Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter: me, Stephen, Glen, Bob, producer Jessica, and pal and producer emeritus Mike.