This week, Megan takes a break to prepare for her coverage of the upcoming SCAD Savannah Film Festival, leaving Joey and Clarence to preview their coverage of this weekend’s Middleburg Film Festival. Check back at The Contending over the weekend for the latest in our coverage. We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’…

Writer-director Sean Baker broke onto the filmmaking scene in 2000 with his debut feature Four Letter Words, but it was his one-two punch of universally acclaimed films Tangerine and The Florida Project that caused critics and audiences to stand at attention. When Oscar called for Willem Dafoe’s Supporting Actor nomination for The Florida Project, …

Are you a fan of romantic comedies? Do we need more of them on television? For this week’s episode, Megan and Joey (where’d you go, Clarence?!) sit down at the Water Cooler to gab about the majesty and the delight of Erin Foster’s hit comedy series, Nobody Wants This. Megan swoons over Adam Brody and Joey makes a Mrs. Maisel connection (who is shoc…

This week, we’re breaking down our complicated reactions to two wildly different films and a television show. All three of us have seen Demi Moore in The Substance, so it’s finally time to break down those wild plot twists and turns. And that ending… Then, Joey and Clarence bring Megan up to speed on the horror… the horror… of Francis Ford Coppola’…

Joey recently dove into the 2025 Oscars Best Actress race, which he called “Another Best Actress Bloodbath.” He brings that analysis to Contending at the Water Cooler along with a first time guest to the podcast: The Contending staff writer Frank J. Avella. We all dive into the bloodbath, figure out who are the nomination locks, and who lives on th…

As is the tradition at the Water Cooler, Team Contending gathers in full (minus Frank J. Avella) to break down the winners, the losers, and the overall production of last night’s 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Instead of the media we’re most anticipating, we put series and performances in our Emmy Time Capsule to open this time next year! We’re…

This weekend’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards saw FX’s Shōgun receive a record number of wins for a series in a single year. So does that mean the series will dominate the Drama categories on Sunday night’s Primetime Emmy ceremony? Does Hacks‘ shut-out this past weekend mean it will receive similar treatment at the hands of The Bear? We talk about all o…

It’s only Joey and Clarence at the Water Cooler this week as Megan’s taking the weekend off. Clarence reviews his experience at this year’s fantastic Telluride Film Festival. Joey launches from there to preview his upcoming travel to the Toronto International Film Festival. What movies overlap? What new movies will Joey cover for The Contending at …

Welcome to The Contending’s Contending at the Water Cooler podcast! Hopefully, if everything goes well, you’re able to subscribe, download, and listen to our latest podcast. If not, then no worries! We will figure it all out. This week, Clarence, Megan, and Joey bring their annual tradition of the Fantasy Oscar pool to The Contending. They each sel…