‘Michael’ Wants to Start Something It Can’t Finish. Plus: ‘Mother Mary’ With David Lowery!

Sean and Amanda are joined by our music biopic correspondent, Yasi Salek, to unpack their complicated feelings on the highly anticipated musical biopic Michael. Before diving into the movie, they quickly cover some movie news: most importantly, the Miami Vice reboot getting a new title and a release date (1:51). Then, they break down all of the good, the bad, and the ugly with Michael and highlight why the re-creation of Michael Jackson’s music feels deeply special but is ultimately inside something hollow and uninteresting (10:31). Next, they discuss David Lowery’s new gothic fantasia musical, Mother Mary, starring Anne Hathaway, which they praise for its beautiful filmmaking and nuanced and complicated portrayal of relationships, creativity, and fame (55:14). Finally, Lowery joins the show and explains why casting Hathaway and Michaela Coel was crucial to the movie’s success, how The Green Knight helped him realize he wanted to work on something smaller in scale, and why making the movie felt like a supernatural experience (1:10:10).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guests: David Lowery and Yasi Salek
Producer: Jack Sanders
Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh
Camera Operators: Sarah Reddy, Donald LoBianco, and Ryan Todd