#00 - Best Whatever, Whenever
Join us in this inaugural episode of Best Whatever Whenever, where Jim and Mark introduce their unique film podcast, driven by a haunted wheel of fortune that dictates their Oscar-themed discussions. With decades of experience in the film and TV industry, including insights from a former BAFTA voter, the duo dives into the chaos of the Oscars, where they watch every nominee in a randomly generated category and year, and debate what truly deserves the accolades. This episode sets the stage for their first official discussion, focusing on the Best Actor in a Supporting Role from the year 1960. Get ready to explore classic performances and questionable nominations as they spin the wheel and embark on this cinematic journey together!
AI Transcript:
Mark: Hello and welcome to Best Whatever Whenever, the film podcast where we let a haunted wheel of fortune control our lives.
Jim: It picks a random Oscar category and year. We watch every nominee, question our life choices and argue about what should have won.
Mark: It's just like film school, but way more fun and way less useful.
Jim: I'm Jim.
Mark: And I'm Mark.
Jim: And this is a new podcast, which is why this is episode zero and much shorter than later episodes, because we just needed to introduce ourselves and generate a year and category for our first episode proper.
Mark: So who are we and why should you listen to us talk about the Oscars? Well, we've been doing this for the longest time. We've lectured on Steven Spielberg, we've made our own films and taught other people how to make films.
Jim: Between us, we've worked in the TV and film industry for decades. And I used to be a BAFTA voter, so I kind of have a little bit of insight into the process, at least from the British Academy point of view, of choosing what gets nominated and what wins.
Mark: Also, we make the patrons of our other non film related podcasts listen to us talk about films all the time. So this seemed like an obvious next step.
Jim: For the past few years, we've done what's called the Oscars Death Race. So from the moment the nominations are announced in January, we spend the next couple of months watching all of the films that have been nominated for all of the categories. And then we spend a long time talking about all of them. And as we'll be doing here, what should have won, should have been nominated and all the rest of it.
Mark: Yep, and the randomization adds in a bit of jeopardy, forcing us to watch stuff we might not have seen from, you know, the dawn of time. Well, not quite, but the. The dawn of cinematic time.
Jim: And it gives us a use for this haunted wheel that's been cluttering up the place.
Mark: Speaking of which, they say the Academy built a secret wheel to settle tied votes forged from old recycled would haves and the broken dreams of runners up.
Jim: It worked for a while, but then someone spun it backwards during a screening of Plan 9 from outer space. And now it's possessed by the souls of Hollywood stars.
Mark: That's where we come in. Every episode we spin the cursed relic. It picks a random year and category.
Jim: We obey because once we didn't. And Green Book won Best Picture.
Mark: Yeah. So it's time to rev up the chaos engine. Fuelled by pure adrenaline and a deep disregard for our spare time.
Jim: All he cares about is family. It's Spin. Diesel. And the winner is the year 1960. The category Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Mark: M. Okay. I'm immediately thinking of Rod Steiger.
Jim: Yeah.
Mark: James Coburn.
Jim: Right. era So, yeah, if you want to watch along with us, now's your chance to start watching the films that were nominated for that category in 1960.
Mark: Before we get played off by loud music, there's just time to tell you that our first episode comes out on July 11th. Then it's the second and fourth Friday of every month. But if you support us on Patreon at patreon.com/BWWpod that stands for best whatever, whenever. Pod. BWW pod. You get episodes a whole week early ad free, and definitely not approved by the Academy.