Pop Culture Confidential

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's documentary "You Can See Everything" about Elizabeth Holmes blew the roof off the Telluride Film Festival at its secret screening. Christina sat down with Jay Ledbetter and Ryan McQuade of the Director Watch podcast (AwardsWatch) to process the experience!

High above Telluride, Christina hops aboard a gondola with Jorge Tenreiro and Sophia Ciminello of AwardsWatch to talk about La Bola Negra, the new film from Los Javis. From the Telluride Film Festival.

Christina and Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com discuss two of Telluride's most talked-about films: Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine and Andrew Haigh's A Long Winter.

Emmy time! Eoin Daly is back for our final Emmy predictions ahead of the 78th Emmy Awards, hosted by Mariska Hargitay, (airing September 14th). Who will take home the gold? Tune in!Follow Eoin on instgram @eoin_daily

This week Christina has the honor of talking to actor, comedian, writer and activist Steve Way about his incredible performance as Alden on  Furious, creator Liz Meriwether's riveting crime thriller. (Furious was just renewed for a second season!) In a wide-ranging conversation, they talk about what drew Way to the role of Alden, what sets Furious apart from other police procedurals, Meriwether's uniquely complicated and multifaceted characters, and the show's moments of humor. Steve talks about the near-death experience at 14 that reshaped how he sees his own life, when he knew he was funny, and his years in stand-up comedy. As well as discussing his advocacy for disability rights, the gap between America's gestures of inclusion and its follow-through, and expanding opportunities for disabled actors in Hollywood, and so much more.

Christina joins the AwardsWatch podcast for a special episode! We’re less than two weeks before the 53nd Telluride Film Festival kicks off on Labor Day weekend and we have a packed show. On episode 360 AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-chief Erik Anderson Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, contributors Jay Ledbetter, Mark Johnson, and Jorge Tenreiro, and Christina Birro of Pop Culture Confidential to break down what we think will be at Telluride this season, who might be getting the Silver Medallion festival tributes, and much more.You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Summer's winding down but the watchlist isn't. Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch) is back on Pop Culture Confidential to review and discuss The End of Oak Street and The Invite, plus a couple of TV picks worth your time, Furious and Lanterns.

Christina is joined by director Brian L. Tan and co-producer Tara McNamara to talk about their new film Bandit & their filmmaking journey! Tan describes the film as "The White Lotus from the perspective of the help." Set in Indonesia, Bandit follows two childhood friends, desperate for cash, whose theft goes horribly wrong. The film is already making serious festival waves: it won the Grand Jury Prize at the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles and Best Foreign Film at the Burbank International Film Festival.

Christina talks to creator and showrunner George Kay.Kay is one of the most versatile and prolific creators working in television. His work spans genres and continents, with global hits like Lupin, The Long Shadow, and Hijack. George Kay is seemingly the busiest man in television, with two shows premiering soon: first his upcoming Swedish crime drama Blood Sacrifice, starring Jakob Oftebro and Peter Andersson as an estranged father-son detective duo hunting a killer targeting police, premiering August 20 on Netflix , and later the fall the legal drama War, starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller.In a wide-ranging conversation, Christina talks to Kay about his shows and process and they dig into the rules of a great cliffhanger, simplicity of character, writing a show not in your own language, and much more.

It's been an incredible first part of the year at the movies! Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch.com) joins Christina to talk about their 10 best movies of the year so far (not an easy task!) Plus, they talk about the Venice Film Festival 2026 lineup that just dropped, the steep decline of women directors in competition, and less studio and streamer films on the Lido.

Guest Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch.com) and Christina journey into Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey! Join us as we review, discuss, and dissect Nolan's latest epic.

We are thrilled and honored to be joined by Widow's Bay's own Ruth, the incredible K Callan (Widow's Bay just got 19 Emmy nominations!!!). At 90 years old, K Callan is a LEGEND , over 7 decades working in TV, from Norman Lear shows to Bosom Buddies with Tom Hanks, Martha Kent in ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Dawson's Creek, Veep, Great Nana in Knives Out and more. She is INCREDIBLE in the breakout show Widow's Bay, a scene stealing perfomance.In our wide-ranging conversation we talk about the show, working with Katie Dippold, the great female characters on Widow's Bay, working with Matthew Rhys, an alternative ending they filmed, how TV has changed over the decades, roles for women, staying in the Hollywood industry means being persistent, the highs and lows, her fabulous party-planning skills, and much more!Watch or listen on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's Disclosure Day! Christina is joined by Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch to discuss and review Steven Spielberg's latest film. They dig into how it fits into the director's filmography as well as his biography, exploring where his mastery shines through, where the film falls short, and how it all comes together. Includes spoilers!

Backrooms is the record-breaking horror phenomenon of the summer. Christina sat down with brilliant production designer Danny Vermette and VFX supervisor Edward J. Douglas to talk about their work on the film and their collaboration with 20-year-old YouTube creator Kane Parsons , A24's youngest-ever director. We dig into the 30,000-square-foot build that brought Parsons's Backrooms YouTube series to life on the big screen, the themes and anxieties of isolation, (and the horror of fluorescent lighting ;) in the Backrooms , the dreamscape of the "outside world" (inspired by the Windows Bliss wallpaper), influences ranging from Eraserhead to Mr. Robot, Portal, and One Hour Photo, how young content creators are shaping the future of cinema, and whether they'd ever enter the Backrooms themselves :) ... and much moreVideo edited by Anton Isiukovhttps://www.antonisiukov.com

Actor Brittany Allen (The Boys, Dexter: Original Sin, Jigsaw) joins the show to discuss her Emmy-buzzed performance as Roxie Hamler, a terminal cancer patient on HBO’s The Pitt. We dive into the research behind her role, her collaboration with Noah Wyle and the cast and crew of the medical drama, the emotional weight of the storylines, how the team unwinds after intense days on set, and so much more.

Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch.com joins Christina to discuss the mega-hits Obsession (directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker) and Backrooms (by 20-year-old Kane Parsons), the rise of YouTube content creators in cinema and more! Plus they talk basketball! :) Don’t miss it

524: Dispatch 10: Final Cannes Report! Guest Ryan McQuade, AwardsWatch.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cannes Film Festival Dispatch 9. Club Kid, Coward, The Man I Love & Jim Queen with guest: Erik Anderson, AwardsWatch. https://awardswatch.comVideo Anton Isiukovhttps://www.antonisiukov.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cannes Film Festival 2026 Dispatch nr 8. A Conversation with Sean Fennessey.Guest: Sean Fennesseyhttps://www.theringer.com/podcasts/the-big-picturehttps://substack.com/@seanfennesseyVideo: Anton Isiukovhttp://antonisiukov.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest Wendy Mitchell Contributing Editor for Screen International and ScreenDaily.comhttps://www.filmwendy.com/writing

Guest, author and film critic John Bleasdalehttps://www.johnbleasdale.comVideo by Anton Isiukovhttps://www.antonisiukov.com

On a special episode from Cannes 2026, Christina interviews (her husband:), screenwriter Peter Birro, and director Gustaf Skarsgård about their upcoming film. They are at the festival to introduce The Cannibal, a psychological horror film about a screenwriter who goes to the island of Fårö to write a movie about Bergman, but soon encounters a demonic presence. Production starts in 2026. Audio & Video Video by Anton Isiukov https://www.antonisiukov.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cannes Film Festival Dispatch 5: Review Paweł Pawlikowski 's 'Fatherland' (Guest Sophia Ciminello – AwardsWatch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Review! We are excited about Jane Schoenbrun's ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ starring  Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson. Guest Ryan McQuade AwardsWatch.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch joins Christina live from the Cannes Film Festival 2026 to discuss this year’s jury, predictions, and some of the fests biggest stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices