41: Top 5 biopics
Guest
Aaron Conway
Co-host of The Third Wheel podcast.
Aaron Conway | Developer, Designer, one or the other. The Third Wheel twitter.comWhether they cover an entire life or centre on a pivotal moment, biopics are often Oscar fodder, and are frequently conic. In this episode, Mark and podcaster and web developer Aaron Conway get straight down to business, ranking the best biopics around.
Aaron’s picksIn order of discussion:
The Social NetworkAaron goes straight in with the Fincher/Sorkin collaboration that tells the story of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg up until his court battle with the Winklevoss twins. It’s a top pick for Aaron as it helped pave the way for an interest and then career in tech.
RocketmanWhile most biopics arguably strive for some level of accuracy, this Dexter Fletcher musical biopic of Elton John throws realism to the wind, while stillk eeping true to the man behind the piano and the massive glasses.
The Wolf of Wall StreetAaron picks Scorsese’s Jordan Belfort for its fast pace and storytelling that both beckons you in but also makes you think “can this really have happened?”
DangalThis big budget Bollywood film tells the story of former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, played by the director Amir Khan, who pushes his daughters into the world he wished he could have pushed his sons, if he had them.
MarvellousThis might be easy to overlook, but Aaron was taken with this story of the life of Neil Baldwin, which plays with the form by including the subject alongside the actor playing him (in this case, Toby. Jones), as the subject. It’s all very meta. You should watch it.
Mark’s picksIn order of discussion:
ShadowlandsThis love story between author CS Lewis and poet Joy Gresham hit Mark right in the feels when he saw this at the end of 2019. It’s a quiet story about a quiet man who was given an all-too-brief glimpse of love.
Stan and OllieAlthough Laurel and Hardy mean increasingly little to younger generations, they’re part of a history we can trace back, and one that bridges the gap between the British variety scene and Hollywood’s golden age.
Hillbilly ElegyThis Ron Howard film, based on a young man’s memoir, is emotional at best and heart-wrenching at worst. A compelling story portrayed by Glenn Close, Amy Adams and Gabriel Basso, that has big and bold characters without drawing lines between heroes and villains.
LionApart from linking nicely to Aaron’s first pick by way of Rooney Mara, Lion is a solid pick for Mark for the gripping retelling of Saroo Brierley’s return to India after he was adopted by a Tasmanian couple who found him in India a thousand miles away from home.
Private PartsPerhaps unsurprisingly, Mark enjoyed a particular radio style growing up. In America, that style was epitomised by people like Howard Stern, and although society has largely outgrown that personality type, there are still some performances Mark cherishes, mostly from Paul Giamatti.
Honouarble mentionsMark and Aaron discussed these after recording had finished, but they still deserve a mention.
The Founder42RayWalk the LineMore of Aaron ConwayYou can follow @aaronconway7 on Twitter and on Instagram, and make sure to check out his podcast, The Third Wheel.
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List Envy
High Fidelity meets Bullseye in this funny and fascinating list-building podcast. Each week, host Mark Steadman talks to a new guest, and together they collaborate on a top-five list, with the topic chosen by the guest.
Some episodes will have you screaming into your earbuds asking “why did Mark pick that?”, while others give you a whole new world to explore. Subjects range from science and tech, to food, travel, pop culture and the human mind.
Guests have included inventors, comedians, musicians, scientists, and Hollywood screenwriters. New episodes come out every Tuesday.
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