2023 pop culture awards, plus what's coming in 2024

Hi, I'm Melanie Kimbra, and welcome to The Drop, where we dive into the latest in the world of pop culture and entertainment. Now, today is a very special episode. Our inaugural Pop culture awards. From Rihanna's pregnancy reveal to Austin Butler's Elvis voice, we're going to debate and discuss

It's actually smooth is probably my go to karaoke song.

So I want like seven inches from the Mideast.

And today it's a very hot one. So everything's. Yeah. Everything's working.

That's so true. And how are we feeling about being on the judging panel for our first pop culture awards?

I feel good, thanks for having me on. Even if it was just so you could make a matchbox 20 joke to start the day.

Were so worth it though, I think. Yeah, it was, I think. I mean, unlike you, I don't get invited on too many panels, so it's like really nice to be, like judging something.

I feel like you just judge without the panel though.

Correct. But it's nice to be officially like in my role now.

Okay, let's get into the awards. We can't dilly dally all day. We've got a number of categories to get through, categories that I've just made up. So first up, let's talk about our favorite celebrity makeup or breakup. We've had Taylor and Travis. We've had Travis and Courtney. Rob, what couple stole the show for you in 2023.

All right. So it's been a very 2023 was a great year for hookups, celebrity hookups even in the last few weeks. You have a Jeremy Allen White comedy from The Bear with Rosalia, the Spanish pop star. That's a.

Good one. You must be pretty sad about that. Or happy, I don't know.

No, I think they suit. Actually. I felt sad because, like, he broke up with his childhood sweetheart. I never like after he got really spoke about this the other day after he got really famous from the bear, I think he was like, this is probably my most like, I need to capitalize on this time. So sadly he has left his wife. But I approve of this new relationship.

Okay, well, judging panel there it is.

Gonna make use of your moment. You don't know when you'll have another moment.

Exactly. So, like.

My my choice for the couple of the year kind of jumps off of that bad bunny and Kendall Jenner. Maybe unpopular choice, but it was the same kind of, uh, beginning for their relationship. So Bad Bunny had been with, uh, his partner for years. The fans really liked her. Gabriella, I think, was her name. Anyway, so they split up bad Bunny, like two months later, starts dating Kendall Jenner, uh, in February this year. And apparently they started on a

Skyrocketed.

It went down. Down.

Yeah.

Brian, the fans aren't into this. Like, uh, this guy dating a Kardashian, everyone turned against him. Um, but anyway, you know, it's been months now. Like almost a year. They seem to be going good. I feel like if you're still dating your partner in the face of, uh, such public scrutiny and, uh, hatred for a year, it's. It's real love. That's love.

So you think they're gonna stick it out?

I think so, I.

Assume, though he will not appear on the Kardashians, he doesn't seem like. Because the thing with the Kardashians, I mean, don't obviously get me started on Kylie.

And I don't want to get you started on any of them.

Seem to date, especially lately, men who are like heaps cooler than them. Oh, so like, you know, Travis Barker is a cool drummer.

Timothy's a cool drummer, but, you know, he's he's check that.

He's he's like, cooler than the Kardashians.

I don't know. Okay.

But I mean, well, so are you the judge of cool now because enormous trouble.

Even if technique even if that sleeve.

Tats. Uh cool. Right.

I still think he's cooler than the Kardashians. Then you've got bad Bunny. Call Timothee Chalamet, call some people like they're dating men that like their fan base is then like like mortified at the idea that this person they love is with a Kardashian. And yet it seems to keep happening. So like obviously there's something going on in that family that's very powerful. And I suspect it is. They're amazing.

Yes. I mean, that couple I think is very wholesome. There was this great video, I don't know if you saw a couple months ago where they were out hiking.

Yeah. The mosquito video, Bad.

Bunny is like, hey mommy, watch out for the mosquito.

Mommy. Be careful.

Rabies.

They're mosquitoes.

Yeah, I think that's a good pick. Thomas, I thought you were gonna say for your couple, Kylie and Timothy. I know you've been perturbed by that, but what's your favorite celebrity coupling?

I hate that couple. Um, my one is weird. It's Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci.

Yeah. Wow.

I think that's so cool. I mean, Monica Bellucci is great, and we all love Tim Burton. Uh, and they just seem like, you know, I'm all about, like, you know, finding a new soulmate later in life. Um, I mean, not for myself. I'm very happily married, but I'm more mean, like, I like, this is a cute love story, and I love both of these people individually. And the fact that they're now together. Uh, you know, I was reading this interview with Monica Bellucci recently. She was like, what can

New beginnings, fresh start.

I remember hearing about Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter living in separate houses, like across the road from each other for however many years they dated. Yeah. Do you know if this is that kind of situation?

No. But then I also kind of like I can see the merit in that to the older I get. Anyway, I've got some stuff drawn back.

Yeah. I don't listen to this one, Kate. Um. All right. Mine is actually, I've gone the breakup route. Um, Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas, two people I really didn't care heaps about. But then we were all, like, captivated when they broke up. And their their separation with all the kind of stuff about bad mothering and absent fathers and working mothers all the, like, kind of polemic around, it was very interesting and it made much more of a splash than I thought it

Definitely a step up from the second best. Jonas. Yeah.

I mean, we hate the Jonas Brothers. They're a bunch of freaks. I do have a breakup, though, that I would like to add. Okay. Please. Um, because I am personally invested in this one. Okay, so Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello. Yeah. Good. Because I hate Joe Manganiello. Years ago, I interviewed him and, uh, for this stupid movie he made. Anyway, this is for a previous publication, not the esteemed Sydney Morning Herald or The Age. And in the headline I wrote,

Great. And you'll be having to turn your phone off after this podcast.

And I already did find someone, even though I said I wouldn't. Yeah.

Can I add another, uh, breakup that should have that?

Yeah, I wish I could.

Continue Taylor Swift and Matty Healy.

Oh, yeah.

The one that got away as I could.

How long did they date for?

Yeah, it was about.

Half an hour.

It was like two weeks in May. Uh, and.

That sounds like a song that she would release. Exactly.

I feel there's gonna be songs from both sides about it. Um, but the interesting thing to me is, okay, the fans hated that relationship. Matty Healy was in his kind of edgelord performance art phase. Whatever he does. So she moves on to meet her, uh, Travis Kelsey, uh, complete antithesis of Matty Healy. I'm just wondering, like, what is your type? Like?

Yeah. And what went on that she needed to go so far the opposite way.

PR summit's, I think. Okay.

Yeah, well, hopefully we will still see some songs come out of that, but we've got to move on. Let's go to our next category. Okay. Stand out. Scandal. This is the prize for the most shocking pop culture moment of 2023. Thomas. What can't you stop thinking about?

Uh, this one's going back a little bit, but I was absolutely captivated by the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial.

Another celebrity trial gripping the nation as Academy Award winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow faces off against Terry Sanderson in a highly publicized ski collision case. All eyes are on Park City, Utah, where Sanderson filed suit against Paltrow, claiming she rammed into him on the ski slopes back in 2016. He claims he suffered multiple broken.

I mean, we've had a few high profile cases this year, but none were as kind of like fun and just ridiculously out of touch as this one. There were so many memorable moments. Gwyneth kind of like hauntingly whispering to him, I wish you well, which sounded like a curse. So good. Uh, and, you know, people called it the ski and run trial. It was just amazing. Gwyneth dressed like a shed.

The aviator.

Yeah, yeah. Uh, that that I thought was just it was like pop culture theater at its very best.

And did you know that now they are turning it into a play in the UK and it's called Gwyneth Goes Skiing, which is just chef's kiss. Yeah. Um, Rob, what have you been stuck on?

All right. I know, uh, scandal well happened this year, which seems like, uh, the biggest scandal of the year. But I stopped watching Vanderpump Rules, maybe, like, eight seasons ago. So I can't help you with that one. Um, also, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino having kids in there. Uh oh, that's that was it. I thought that was a good.

They're both like over 85, which is fucking crazy.

It's very upset by that. Even though before you were saying you liked kind of New Beginnings at old age. Yeah.

I'm happy for you to, like, hook up and like, you know, like, find yourself again. Just having sex again, but, like, not like Robert De Niro not.

Bringing new life in. Yes.

No. He's got, like, three good sperm left. Just keep them to yourself.

Good, good. Fine. Uh, but the one I'm going to go. Is the whole sick is. That was the idle.

The American Dream. Rags to riches.

Trailers. The Mansions. You are fucking Joslyn.

Just do you.

Easy. I'll just do that.

Playing Sam Levinson's HBO show that, uh, you know, about a struggling pop star, which attracted a lot of hate because it was bad and creepy. Um, I thought.

You kind of liked.

It. I this is where I'm heading to. Don't jump ahead.

I'm sorry, sir.

All right. It feels part of the trend from the year, though. So with, uh, movies like Babylon and Saltburn that were so messy that they kind of became interesting after the fact. Like, it feels rare these days for, uh, bad things to even be released, like, uh. So I appreciate when, uh, you know, big swings missed so badly. But, um, anyway, I know the the Emmy nominations snubbed him, but I'm still on my, uh, the weekend for for an Emmy thing. He risked his whole career to give us douchey male

Confused about that, Tedros? Yeah, but.

He didn't do that. He went for a total douche. Sometimes we need, like, the Disney villain to all kind of gather around and hate. And the weekend did that for us, but I.

Think, are you giving him too much credit that this was a conscious decision where he was like, I could have done this, but instead I'm gonna just.

Be I think so, you know, life is kind of charming writing.

He is. And he was so good in Uncut Gems. So, like, I see your point, I, I don't know if that was what was happening. I think maybe he's just a shit actor and possibly creepy.

We'll never find out again. There will be.

No season two. No.

Yeah, well, Rob, the the revival of the weekend's reputation that he very much needs after the idol. I will never get over Troy in the shock necklace like Troy's villain. Yeah, that was a lot. My scandal. It's more just a kind of moment. And it actually, I realized, probably started at the end of 2022, but moved into 2023 was

Campion's kid.

She handled it very well, didn't she.

She did. Yeah.

So I think that kind of trend, that realization, that kind of having famous parents who get you to where you are or help get you to where you are is a bit of a scandal was a pretty interesting one. I did love.

Hailey Bieber wearing the Nepo baby shirt. Do you remember that? She wore like a slogan shirt when it broke and it was I said, Nepo baby. I like that slogan shirt. As someone who shopped a lot at JJ's in the 1990s, I think slogan shirts should make a comeback.

Yes, I thought we definitely saw later on in the year that a lot of them were trying to reclaim the narrative around being a nepo baby and like, balancing privilege with kind of what they've done on their own. Pretty. Yeah. Pretty interesting.

There's like no other way around. It just got to claim it. Right?

Yeah.

That's it. All right. Let's move on to our next category. Now this one is this one's nice one. It's the pop culture moment person or trend that made you most happy I'll kick us off. Mine was very humble guest at the Met Gala. This was the cockroach that stole the show. Do you guys remember this?

Yeah I do, yeah. This was.

You talking about Pete.

Davidson? Yeah. Oh, nice. That's good. Um.

It's called guns blazing in this episode. He doesn't. He. And a year fever. Um, this was the cockroach at the Met Gala. One of the most glamorous nights in night of nights of Hollywood. All the rich and famous and fashionable, their little cockroach scurried on to the onto the carpet. And I think it was variety that snapped a picture of it and started tweeting about the cockroach,

Described it, it was very funny.

And it felt like one of those things, I think, like vulture straight away, it was like 50 stories on The Cockroach. It was like the cockroach that stole the show. Who is the cockroach at the Met Gala? And it's funny because the Met Gala has become like this flashpoint now for like, it feels like every year something crazy has to happen. Like, obviously there's always the outfits and stuff. It's always got this. Like, there's there's a moment now

Yeah, it was great. And also I will shout out, another thing that made me quite happy was Rihanna's pregnancy reveal. And the thing that made me happy about it was I'm very happy that she's pregnant. Um, but during the reveal at the Super Bowl, do you know she came out and she had like her bump very much on display, but because people were reporting it in the office, but no one wanted to, like, name that she was pregnant.

I do remember this.

And it was like she was so obviously pregnant, but everyone was kind of scared to say it in case maybe she'd just gained some weight. And so it was quite funny watching the stories roll out of like, allegedly pregnant puts belly on display, like the kind of euphemisms that we used until I think someone obviously got official confirmation. Um, but I also enjoyed that whole show. I thought she was great in it, and all the little white people

Kylie getting global attention at 55 for, uh, Padam. Padam? Yes, it was fun.

But, um, I hear it, and I know that, um, but, um, I know you want to take me home, but, um, and get to know me, girls, but, um. But, um, when you are.

Such a feel good comeback and she could still get a Grammy for it next year, even.

And then we could. Would you like to tell the listeners what you actually had to do this year involving Kylie?

Talk us through your Spotify wrapped.

Yeah, okay. My Spotify wrapped, uh, number one, top 1%, I guess, of the world Kylie Minogue fan here.

Just you and Danny.

Maybe Jason Donovan. Yeah, I still have some. Um, yeah. So we had to write a we wrote a story ranking all of her songs, which, uh, got a lot of hate mail about. We missed a few, I think.

Um, and I think when we started it, we thought we tried to do the rough math, and we were like, it won't be that many songs. And then it turned out to be, what, like 250?

Yeah. I don't even remember. Yeah.

It was it.

Was enough to, uh, skew my whole algorithm for the rest.

Of the year.

But yeah, we, uh, made a decision to include some B-sides and some not. And, uh, the fans, like, made it known that I missed a few.

And now you're on the Kylie.

Ride for life.

Yes, but the other thing I enjoyed, I wanted to mention was the whole 50th anniversary celebrations for hip hop. Like, this is a genre that's been so kind of ignored at awards shows for so long, so seeing rappers like Scarface and the LOX perform at the Grammys was like, uh, he's like 12 year old me was like, waiting for that my whole life. Uh, but having said that, I don't need to see another 65 year old rapper, uh, on stage for the for the rest of my life.

Yeah. You're done. That's very good.

Um, Thomas, what are you saying? You're banned from saying Sydney Sweeney? Uh.

Just to get actually trying.

To, like, thinking before we came on. Will we get through this whole podcast without Sydney Sweeney being mentioned?

I feel like we can't.

Yeah, yeah. It's happened. Uh, look, my one is possibly an obvious one. I thought the bobbing hammer thing was very fun. Uh, you know, it's rare to have. We've come off the back of, you know, lots of disruption as a result of Covid in, like, especially in cinema. And to have these two very different but equally high profile releases from two like, again, very different but very talented directors and and casts was like a really special moment.

Yeah. Any of the Bob and Heimer? I mean, it was impossible.

To, um. Wasn't there.

Some great one.

Avoid any of that stuff? Um, which is.

People are so clever with the things that come up. It was incredible.

And it was self-generated, you know.

What I mean? I know people kept asking me, they're like, so, uh, so the studio is talking, the studio, each department, marketing departments talking to each other. And I was like, no, this is the world doing this. The world. This is not a part of the marketing campaign. This is just happening. And I think.

It happened because like, both movies were good.

Yeah, yeah.

That's the thing. And there was a sort of a diversity offered by both.

And I just thought it was like a really nice pop culture thing. Often, you know, the default mode for these types of like conversations is snark, but I think everyone just enjoyed it. Um, so yeah, I thought I thought the Barb and hammer phenomenon was like a really fun thing for everyone to be involved in.

Yeah. That's good. I feel like I really want another one of those to happen.

Yeah, yeah.

We had Soul Patrol, which no one went to.

Yeah, that's very true.

Um, okay. Moving on now we're onto the what we've called the Dwayne The Rock Johnson Award for the pop culture happening that carried the most weight in 2023. So this is kind of a really important pop culture moment. That kind of shaped the year in many ways. Rob who was the heavy lifter.

Okay, two words Fran Drescher.

The nanny.

The Che Guevara of.

Hollywood.

This is a moment of history. That is a moment of truth. If we don't stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business. Who cares more about Wall Street than you and your family? Most of Americans don't feel it.

Had to be. The actors and writers strikes like, uh, even, you know, just the fact that so many productions, uh, got paused, uh, actors and writers were out of work for 148 days. Um, it also affected us personally here in the Sydney Morning Herald that we only got to interview directors for most of the year. Like, I like directors, but they know Sydney Sweeney. No.

Okay, good. That's number two.

Um, like, honestly, I still don't 100% know what came out of it. Something about AI and, uh, streaming residuals, right? I think they don't.

Really know either. They just like we won.

So you actually.

Didn't listen to France speech at all?

I saw at the end she was happy, and that's all that counts.

Well.

As always. Great. Did you like the nanny or.

Of course. Yeah.

Long time, long time.

Fran fan. Exactly.

Saturday night fever. Was she in that one of those, anyway?

Thomas. What's yours?

Mine, I guess is like. I feel like it fits into this category, but it's not. It's sport related.

Okay, okay. We love sport. We sometimes are a sport pod.

I feel like the Matildas fever became a pop culture phenomenon in a way. Um, because obviously, you know, Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Matildas, you know, went on this amazing run. They kind of started the tournament shakily. It had all these like incredible narratives of Sam Kerr's injury. Like, you know, what's she gonna play? Then we go play England in

Yeah, I think that's true. And after maybe it's something to do with after a few years of Covid that things like Barb and Heimer and the Matildas kind of brought us all together. We wanted these collective moments of, yeah.

And you've signed up to a local football club now, which is amazing.

Absolutely. And Tottenham.

Yeah, yeah.

Not that we're doing so well anymore. Um, look, mine was in terms of shifting the narrative in terms of its import for the year. Prince Harry spear came out at the start of the year. First time a member of the royal family has done such a tell all memoir was obviously a huge bestseller. It shone a light on his family in such an intense and intimate way. And there were, while there was a lot of coverage of helicopters, like maybe too much coverage of the helicopters

Yeah. Nice. And no one can have us their memoirs anymore, right?

Yeah. That's so true. 800, 800 pages or so.

Yeah, yeah.

I can't tell if Harry's like, where his, like the public view of him he's at right now. Like to people like him after the book.

Yeah, it's hard to say. Yeah, I think.

That's like an overdose. Right.

Of him after there was like. I like him. Right. You're off him.

Ah, I don't mind. I have no opinion whatsoever. I like them, I like that they, uh, tell the whole family, but I feel like there's a lot of, uh, traditionalists who are not really up for that.

Yeah, he kind of spoke against the family. Which one should not? Yes. Right. All right, let's move on to captain's call. Um, another quite ambiguous category, but here we go. This is a chance for our judges to spotlight a piece of pop culture that they just want to shout out that didn't really might have made them smile, might have made them kind of a bit perturbed. But here's your chance, Thomas. Pop culture. What do you want to talk about?

Mine is not a fun one, sadly, but I think it is worth mentioning, which I like the Russell Brand story from earlier this year. Uh, it was a joint investigation by the Sunday Times, the Times and Channel four dispatches program, where basically five women accused brand of abusive

Yeah. I feel like that was a real moment of reckoning at that time, that everyone had to kind of think about their own role and complicity in that too. Um, so yes, not a fun one, but important to bring the vibes away.

Yeah.

Important one. But I have a feeling I know what Robert is going to say, because sitting next to Rob, this is the only thing he really talks about.

It's true. Rob.

Captain's call.

Mine is, uh, very unserious compared to that. Uh, okay. Well, first of all, it was a big year for prestige TV this year. I think we can all agree, like all these shows that have dominated awards and, uh, critical acclaim for recent years, uh, finishing up succession, obviously Barry, uh, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ted Lasso, even even though everyone kind of came to their senses by the end. Prestige TV won awards, is what I'm saying. You know, it was the hyped comedy for a while. Let's all.

Get into a prestige TV.

National debate.

But there's one finale that people forgot. Riverdale.

Oh my God.

This.

Second last episode of Riverdale is like classic Riverdale. It, uh, in that it was a clever, silly, ridiculous, um, it would take me days, maybe weeks to explain the kind of intricacies of how we got to the finale there. But essentially, the episode explained how the characters got sent to a parallel timeline in the 50s, uh, to avoid

Anyway.

This is really. This is really selling me on the show.

Yeah.

You gotta you gotta get to a lot to get to that point. But anyway, now we're seeing kind of the legacy of Riverdale already play out, uh.

Right here on.

The Drop.

Beyond, beyond the show. Uh, Charles Melton, who played Reggie the football meathead and Veronica's co-owner at LA Bonnie. Uh, he's getting raves for his role in May-December, the new Todd Haynes movie. Uh, and he's tipped for an Oscar like, beautiful Riverdale legacy.

Rob Black exclusively wants to do stories on Riverdale alumni. Like, now. Like, he'll be like, we should do something on this. And I'm like, why? And he's like, Riverdale.

Obviously Riverdale.

Lili Reinhart has got something coming up.

Yeah. Do you think everyone will like Riverdale or like, what type of person? Like what type of show do you think someone would have to like to also enjoy?

You've got to appreciate absurdity. Um, and there's a personal aspect. The director is obviously throwing everything he's ever loved in there. It's just like constant references, um, done in the campy as possible way, uh, you feel like camp and, uh, hilarity.

All right, maybe I will. That will be my summer viewing. Like, I feel like I owe it to you to understand you, to watch this thing that's so.

Important to you.

Um, my captain's call has to go to Taylor Swift and the eras tour. She has stolen the year, really, hasn't she? Like, I keep thinking Taylor Swift can't get any bigger, and then she just continues to obviously named Time Person of the year Travis Kelce. Biggest selling tour of all time. I think I've enjoyed all the TikToks around the tour like I, I don't have tickets at this stage. If you would like to go with me, please just.

Uh, yeah.

If you already hit me up. But, um, I like all the TikToks and memes, and I like all the chat around how she changes each show and the little shout outs to Travis Kelce. So I think she deserves the captain's pick for the year, surely?

Yes. I mean, she definitely needs all the support she can get.

I enjoyed that day in the office where the, uh, lounge room, uh, Circle of Doom was just on everyone's.

Computer trying to get into the.

So stressful. And then everyone was like, it's the ISP going to stop us all.

Yeah.

Big, big. You didn't get tickets, did you?

No. No.

Yeah. And you still don't, right. No. Well, there you go. Hit us all up. Take the three of us, um, for.

A good time. All right?

Now we've done some looking backwards. Oh, firstly, congratulations for presenting the first pop culture awards. You all did fantastically. Um, now we might do. We're going to do a bit of a brief look forward to 2024. Lots on the schedule, some kind of hypothesised yet to be confirmed, a few confirmed. Um, Robin 2024. What are you most looking forward to?

There's a few things. There's a lot already confirmed coming up that that is pretty exciting. Like, the thing I'm most excited about is the return of pops superstars. So Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Cardi B, they all have new albums, either like scheduled or rumored for 2024. Um, just the other day, Ariana Grande shared some, uh, shots of herself in the studio. Uh, and I saw a comment under them saying something like, thank you for your service, Renee.

What do you want to see from her new album? Like, what do you hope Ariana does with this one?

Well, obviously we want to see her touch on, uh, the whole, uh, divorce and, uh, hook up.

Right. Do you want.

Her most personal.

Album today? Okay, yeah.

There are also some big movies coming out, like Furiosa with Anya Taylor-Joy. Uh, but the one I'm going to pick that I've been waiting for is challenges Luca Guadagnino's, uh, tennis slash, uh, sex movie, I guess.

With.

Zendaya. Yeah. So it was supposed to come out in September. It got delayed because of the, uh, the strikes. And I read that Zendaya, uh, to prepare for it, had six months of training with Brad Gilbert, Andre Agassi's coach.

Wow. So that's.

Something.

It looks so good, that film. And like the stills they've released and the trailer, I think it's going to be I think it.

Was the year.

Yeah, I think it was. People were excited for it last year. So anticipation just built.

Yeah yeah yeah.

So true. Thomas 2024. What's it hold.

For you uh.

Like for me personally?

Sure. I'm going for.

A total rebrand.

Um, I've been encouraging that for some time.

I know there's lots of lots of, lots of cool shit coming out, but I'm mostly excited about these two things. Uh, first one is a TV series which I've already spoken to, I think both of you about. But Ripley, uh, so we obviously love The Talented Mr. Ripley. The film, uh, we all hated Saltburn. Um, but this is like a reboot, uh, headed to Netflix, an eight part series. And it stars Hot Priest from Fleabag, Andrew Scott, um, who is so good.

2024 black and white. Feels like a big call.

Yeah, I know it does. Like one of those ones that maybe after it comes out it's like, is this an annoying artistic choice? And you probably didn't need to do it.

Yeah, particularly.

Like lush scenes and beautiful people like you want to see the color, right?

The whole thing about Talented Mr. Ripley that everyone loved was the beautiful Italian kind of, uh, countryside.

Yeah.

The sunlight, the sunset.

Yeah.

I get the feeling it's going to be darker. Um, speaking of darker, uh, the my other pic is Civil War. So you guys across this new A24 film. So it's from Alex Garland, obviously. Mel, you would know him from riding the beach, but he also he also directed Ex Machina, Annihilation and Men. This film looks fucking amazing. So basically the plot has been kind of kept under wraps, but we find America on the brink of civil war. Um,

You've got Ron Swanson. Yeah.

You've got the mustache for it. And then you've got Kirsten Dunst playing a journalist who was swept up in a riot, which I think is meant to be like a kind of mirror of the Capitol riots. And you've also got Jesse Plemons playing a kind of, like, right wing nutjob. Um, so I think it feels very meta, very of the time. And also, you know, I think we can all agree A24 always worth checking out their stuff. So, yeah, big wraps on this one coming in 2024, that Civil War.

Well, I wanted to ask you, actually, I know you're a big fan of A24. You have an A24 shirt. I often talk about their movies. How do you feel? I Rob and I were talking about this. The momentum is kind of shifting against A24 now. Yeah.

They have. I'm so glad I spent $80 us on the t shirt and shipping. Um.

It's good. Actually, it's going.

To be the year eight, 24 and 24.

I know now I know what you mean, I feel like, but this is the thing, obviously, whenever you have like so much success, they crushed it last year and also like they still had a really good year. Beef was like one of the best TV shows of the year. Inevitably you're going to start to slip. I still am going to be like, I'm an A24 fanboy. And yeah, so yeah, no use trying to talk me out of it. Yeah.

Yeah.

When you have so much success, people would definitely want to see you fail. Exactly.

Yeah, yeah.

Good, good. You stand by you. You stand by you A24. I'm happy for you. Um, my, um, the one I'm looking forward to in 2024. Dua Lipa's album. I'm a big fan of Dua Lipa. It's so fun. I think she's fun and funny. She she runs a book club. I should probably get in on that, right? Um, yeah. So I'm looking forward to her new album, like to stuff on Barbie. And she released a new single, which I didn't think was that amazing. But, you know, I still like the vibes produced.

By, uh, Kevin Parker, Tame Impala.

Oh, really? Yes.

But, uh, yeah. So I think that will be good. But also there's some few, like, few lady writers that are.

Here we go, boys. Trap in. All right.

Well, yeah. 24 year old, um, Leslie Jamison has a new book coming out, Maggie Nelson. These are all kind of they they write memoir crossed with social analysis and cultural analysis. I think both of those books will be great. And Miranda July also has her first novel in a decade, coming out first. Bad man was her last novel. It's really kooky, quirky book about a woman. Hard to describe, but, um, I read that book.

Did? Yeah. Did you like it? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I thought that would be up your alley. Um, but. Yes. So I'm excited to see her new one. Are you a fan of Miranda July?

I haven't read a books, but I know her movies. Kajillionaire masterpieces.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah, totally. I must have.

Been on the way in to record this podcast. I panicked, googled Sally Rooney new book 2020 for nothing coming, so I can't recommend that.

Taking a break.

Yes.

Um, well, let us move on to our final Impress Your Friends of the year. These are our recommendations that we give to you that you can kind of. Well, as the name says, impress your friends. Rob, what are you impressing us with?

Okay, uh, this week I watched The Holdovers. Um, it's Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne reuniting 20 something years after sideways. Uh, everyone remembers sideways. Uh, it's the movie that single handedly killed Merlot.

Um, what is it?

What's the quiet? No fucking Merlot or something?

Yeah, exactly.

Um, they're a good pair. Payne's got that deadpan humor, and Giamatti plays like a misanthrope. Uh, he plays a boarding school teacher and.

Ever not play a misanthrope.

I didn't know too much of his work outside of Alexander Payne, so, um, I feel like he's always kind of that dowdy, uh, kind of.

Depressed.

Old man. Yeah. Um, anyway, if you like 70s movies like Harold and Maude, uh, or movies with lots of brown suits, um, or like Cat Stevens on the soundtrack, I love cats. Yeah. This is your thing. Uh, and, you know, in movie credits where they, uh, list the date it was released or made in Roman numerals. Yes. This one has MCM LXI, which, if my, uh, Roman counting is correct, is 1971. So they're in on the joke a bit.

Well, anyway.

It's out Jan 11, so a good holiday viewing. I have seen.

It. It's been released overseas and it has been on heaps of, um, best of the year film list, so I'm very much looking forward to that. Um, Thomas, would you like to attempt to impress me for once? Uh.

I mean, you can't be impressed because you've long given up being impressed by other people because you're only impressed by yourself. But my one is not as, like, probably as highbrow as Rob's. But I really enjoyed season two of Doctor Death. That's on Stan. So do you guys watch the first season of Doctor Death? They're based on

Wow.

You have to remember.

I surely.

Do, yes.

But the actual Wondery podcast is great. So this is based on a real man, Paolo Macchiarini, who was named The Miracle Man. A charming surgeon like we all know this story, particularly here in Australia, a charming surgeon who's, you know, the kind of rogue guy who only does these type of life changing operations that no one else will do. Uh, but Mandy Moore plays an investigative journalist who starts to kind of look into him, but then also falls under his spell, and then line starts to

Oh very good I like that. And um, I've got a podcast. I think it's the first time I've mentioned a podcast in this section. You can't mention.

Another podcast unless it's. Please explain, which is so good.

Yeah, we love that.

Well, well-produced. Yeah. Um, have you are you guys across Esta Perel.

Of course. Yeah.

The psychologist. So this real like, pop psychologist figure who I feel she's on every podcast ever at the moment.

She also makes a cameo in season three of The Morning Show.

Oh.

Does she as a guest. Yeah. Good. Um, who is a couples therapist and kind of does talk therapy and, um, really gets into the weeds with couples, but she's got a podcast where she recalls the sessions with the couples as she tries to figure out their problems and help them see each other in different ways. Um, well, there's a very funny spoof of that Amy Poehler's podcast, Say More with Doctor Sheila. Next question mark above. The doctor

Listen, I'm shocked she got Tina Fey. That must have been a hard get for her.

Good.

Um, good. I think you could learn a lot from it personally.

Yes.

I think we should go. You and I probably need to go on a podcast and unpack our relationship. So you're.

Gonna say we need to go.

On to say a.

Therapist?

Well, either that or a podcast.

Well, I mean, we have that, so. Well, that's it guys. That's our last the drop for the year. Thank you so much for being part of the inaugural awards. Any feedback for next year?

It was that perfectly oiled machine I think.

Good. Great reviews. Well, um, have a great new year and we'll be back in 2024 to do this whole thing all over again.

Looking forward to it.

This episode of The Drop was produced by Kai Wong. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of The Drop, make sure to follow us on your favorite podcast app. Leave us a review or better yet, share the episode with a friend. I'm Melanie Kimbra. See you next year.