Daniel Howat

Those are my favorite first-time reads of the year. Give me a book to add to my reading list for 2025!

1. Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry

I wasn’t excited to read this at first. Early on, I begrudgingly started to admit I liked it, but by the end, I didn’t want to say goodbye. These cowboys became friends. Their journey moved me. A perfect book, and one of my all-time favorites.

2. James, by Percival Everett

This re-imagining of Huck Finn starts as a thrilling adventure with the same wit and spirit of Twain’s novel, but quickly descends into a much darker, human tale of the different worlds that James and Huck inhabit. A thrilling, challenging novel.

3. Star-Spangled Jesus, by April Ajoy

April’s story of growing up and leaving Christian nationalism is different from mine but I related to so much of it. It’s genuinely funny, and painfully insightful. Most of all, it helped me feel a bit less alone. Can’t recommend it enough.

4. The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

One of the more surprising entries in my list this year, Simsion’s Rosie trilogy really caught me off guard. A rom-com (not my typical genre) with characters I just fell in love with. Hilarious, heartfelt, and just purely charming.

5. Powerhouse, by James Andrew Miller

This tells the story of CAA, the legendary talent agency that changed how Hollywood operated. It’s extensive and engaging, with so many behind-the-scenes stories I had never heard before. A remarkable, authoritative Hollywood history.

6. Different Seasons, by Stephen King

I chose to limit myself to just one King book on the list. With this anthology, Shawshank and The Body are two of King’s greatest stories ever, while Apt Pupil and Breathing Method are excellent pitch black thrillers. A perfect anthology.

7. Wild & Crazy Guys, by Nick de Semlyen

A deep dive into the comedians who came out of SNL and SCTV and revolutionized the films of the 70s & 80s. It’s a captivating read, and gives a new perspective on the highs and lows of comedy over the years. Really loved it.

8. The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead

Another basis for one of my favorite films of the year, this is a powerful, grim story of injustice. Whitehead’s personal writing draws you into the world of Elwood and Jack, making the horrors of their tale all the more maddening.

9. Dylan Goes Electric!, by Elijah Wald

Tells the true story of how Bob Dylan became a hero of the folk music scene before revolutionizing it. It thoroughly covers how audiences revered Dylan, and also felt betrayed by him at the time. Really engaging and illuminating.

10. Matilda, by Roald Dahl

I didn’t read many of Roald Dahl’s books as a kid, but my kids and I have been devouring every one of his novels we can get our hands on. Matilda was our favorite of the lot. A funny, moving story about growing up different. A classic for a reason.

My favorite books of 2024!

This year, I read 85 books, from classics, to non-fiction, to anything Stephen King. This was also my first year reading chapter books with my kids, and it’s been an absolute joy discovering Roald Dahl, Wizard of Oz, and more with them.

Here we go!

The Next Best Picture Podcast - A Behind The Scenes Look At "The Brutalist" “The Brutalist” had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, where it received enthusiastic reviews for its direction from Brady Corbet (which won him the Silver Lion for Bes...

THE NEXT BEST PICTURE PODCAST - A BTS Look At #TheBrutalist
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More:

Terrence Malick
Noah Baumbach
Domee Shi
Alejandro Iñárittu
Rian Johnson
Yorgos Lanthimos
Osgood Perkins
Wes Anderson
Luca Guadagnino
Mona Fastvold
Steven Soderbergh
Danny Boyle
Maggie Gyllenhaal
David Lowery
James Cameron
Kogonada
James Gunn
Derek Cianfrance
Travis Knight

2025 is gonna be another banger year with movies from:

Guillermo del Toro
Kathryn Bigelow
Paul Thomas Anderson
Ryan Coogler
Bong Joon-ho
Celine Song
Spike Lee
Josh Safdie
Benny Safdie
Lynne Ramsey
Ari Aster
Park Chan-Wook
Edgar Wright
Kelly Reichardt
Darren Aronofsky
Chloe Zhao

Surprises & Omissions From The 30th Critics Choice Award Nominations Days after this year’s Golden Globe nominations were revealed, the Critics Choice Award (CCA) nominations are here. As usual, CCA has so many nomination slots in each category that shocking misses are...

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Surprises, Misses, And More From The 82nd Golden Globe Award Nominations After an eventful week, which included winners from the Gotham Awards, NYFCC, LAFCA, NBR, the AFI 10, and the Spirit Award Nominations, CBS unveiled the Golden Globe nominations this morning. As the f...

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My breakdown of this week’s awards! Why the AFI list feels solidly like our Best Picture lineup, why SING SING is back, and why WICKED should feel good about a nomination…but not a Picture win.

Give it a read:

Chalamet fills his Bob Dylan with the right amount of mystery and enigma. It’s a riveting role that he nails.

Ed Norton and Monica Barbaro shine too, filling out these other sides of Dylan perfectly.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN really worked for me.

James Mangold’s confident direction makes A COMPLETE UNKNOWN sing.

Every musical moment is filled with such authenticity, it feels like you’re there witnessing history. An arresting biopic that captures a culture shift.

It’s a defining performance for Chalamet. Outstanding.

MOANA 2 is a cheap knockoff of the original. It tries to copy the beats of the first film, losing any authenticity or originality along the way. Poor music, bland animation.

It’s fine at best, but a disappointingly mediocre entry into the Disney canon.

The Next Best Picture Podcast - Interview With "Hundreds Of Beavers" Director/Writer/Editor Mike Cheslik “Hundreds Of Beavers” had its world premiere all the way back at Fantastic Fest in 2002 and has had this wonderfully organic rise to this year’s awards conversation bolstered by strong word of mouth a...

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I spoke with Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch about sorting through the myth to find the real Bob Marley.

Give our conversation a listen:

Made a dream come true by interviewing ALAN MENKEN, the legendary composer behind Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid and more.

I spoke with him and Glenn Slater about their new songs from Netflix’s SPELLBOUND. The music is excellent!

Give the interview a listen:

The Next Best Picture Podcast - "Wicked" For this week’s main podcast review, I am joined by Ema Sasic, Dan Bayer, Lauren LaMagna, Daniel Howat & Alyssa Christian to review and discuss the long-anticipated Broadway-to-film adaptation of “Wic...

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Michael Gracey crafts some stellar musical numbers that propel the story forward. And the visual effects really take the film to the next level.

It doesn’t reinvent the musical biopic genre by any means, but it does its job well.

BETTER MAN doesn’t eschew the biopic cliches we know and loathe, but it’s got a bold energy that just makes it work.

Robbie Williams tells his own brash, arrogant story, but with a simple enough twist to stick the landing.

Worked well for me, even as a total newbie to Williams.

BLITZ worked for me in fits and starts. Lots of compelling moments, but they’re lost among a non-linear narrative without much of a punch.

Still, McQueen has an eye for beautiful snapshots of life that help this time period come alive. Good, yearning for great.

No Best Actress lineup should be complete this year without Fernanda Torres.

Her stunning performance in I’M STILL HERE holds the entire film together. She’s understated in the best way, capturing the joy of her family and pain of loss.

Ariana steals the show with every hilarious hair toss, but still matches Cynthia’s emotional depth.

So many goosebump-inducing moments, made possible by stunning craftwork all around.

It didn’t need to be quite so long, but it doesn’t matter. #WickedMovie stuns.