The Film Comment Podcast

Boots Riley on I Love Boosters

On this week’s Podcast, Boots Riley joins to discuss his new film, I Love Boosters. The director of 2018’s Sorry to Bother You [https://new.filmcomment.com/issues/may-june-2018/?pdfviewer=issue&pdf-page=8] and the 2023 streaming series I’m a Virgo [https://new.filmcomment.com/the-film-comment-podcast-boots-riley-on-im-a-virgo/] has returned with a movie that provides a new, invigorating riff on the theme that runs through all his work: the destruction of capitalism by an organized working class. I Love Boosters, which opens in theaters later this month, is a kaleidoscopic joyride that features professional shoplifters, lurking demons, a Marxist teleportation device, and more, all anchored by a cast par excellence: Keke Palmer in the lead, with Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Demi Moore, Eiza González, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, and LaKeith Stanfield making up a pitch-perfect ensemble.  Film Comment Editor Devika Girish had a long conversation with Boots about everything from how he got into fashion when he was depressed to why it’s important for him to make movies that show that the left can win.

In Conversation with George Clooney

Subscribe to Film Comment today [https://www.filmcomment.com/subscribe/].  Next week, on Monday, April 27, Film at Lincoln Center honors George Clooney with their annual Chaplin Award [https://www.filmlinc.org/chaplin-award-gala/]. Clooney has been a shining star in the American media firmament since the 1990s, from his breakout role on E.R., through innumerable hits, like O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Michael Clayton (2007), The Descendants (2011), just to name a few—to Noah Baumbach’s recent Jay Kelly (2025), in which he gave a twinkling, reflexive performance as a movie star looking back on the choices made during a long and illustrious career. Throughout roles big and small, as well as directorial outings, Clooney has combined versatility, humility, humor, and strong moral convictions, with an undeniable screen presence.    As Adam Nayman writes in an essay for The Film Comment Letter, dropping this Friday: “Pauline Kael, who shouted out Clooney’s performance in Three Kings (1999) in her final on-the-record interview (‘he was very good’), once called Cary Grant ‘The Man From Dream City.’ Clooney’s gifts put that phrase in reverse. Instead of materializing out of thin air, he’s grounded, earthbound—not a figure of fantasy but a stickler for mischief. Tasked consistently with playing petty thieves, swindlers, and ethically flexible professional types, Clooney traverses familiar actorly terrain and transforms it, by sheer force of presence.”   In advance of next week's Chaplin Award Gala, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish chatted with Clooney about the depth and breadth of his career—his key roles, his approach to his craft, and his vision of the world which he brings to every performance and work. Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter [https://www.filmcomment.com/newsletter-sign-up/], our free weekly newsletter featuring podcasts, features, reviews, interviews, streaming picks, news, and more.

Melissa Anderson on The Hunger

Subscribe to Film Comment today [https://www.filmcomment.com/subscribe/].  For more than two decades, Melissa Anderson has been one of New York City’s most important film critics—and one of Film Comment’s favorite writers. From her start as a freelancer in the 2000s, through her editorships at Time Out, The Village Voice, and most recently 4Columns, she has regaled readers with her peerless wit, her attunement to desire, especially queer desire, and her facility for writing about actors. A new book published by The Film Desk—evocatively titled The Hunger: Film Writing, 2012–2024 [https://www.filmdeskbooks.com/shop/p/the-hunger-film-writing-20122024-by-melissa-anderson]—offers an invaluable compilation of Melissa’s writing.  Film Comment editors Clinton Krute and Devika Girish invited Melissa on this week’s episode to talk about her formative experiences of film and film criticism, her development as a writer and editor, and the genesis of this new collection. Subscribe today to The Film Comment Letter [https://www.filmcomment.com/newsletter-sign-up/], our free weekly newsletter featuring podcasts, features, reviews, interviews, streaming picks, news, and more.

The Films of Peter Watkins, with J. Hoberman

Subscribe to Film Comment today [https://www.filmcomment.com/subscribe/].  On October 30 of last year, we lost one of cinema’s most daring auteurs: the British director Peter Watkins. Starting out in television in the 1960s, Watkins developed an utterly unique and militantly political mode of filmmaking. In works like Culloden (1964), The War Game (1966), Punishment Park (1971), and his magnum opus, La Commune (Paris, 1871) (2000), he cast nonprofessional actors in enactments of political events from the past, present, or a dystopian future, which he then shot in the style of live news reporting on TV. The results are thrilling films that startle with their naturalism and urgency, and provoke thorny questions about authoritarianism—not just of the state, but also of the media.  To commemorate this great filmmaker’s legacy, Film Comment editor Devika Girish invited critic J. Hoberman, who has not only admired and written about Watkins’s work, but also took a class with the man himself back in the 1970s. They talk about the trajectory of Watkins’s life and work, what makes his films feel so singular even today, and the contemporary directors that carry forward his legacy.

Oscars 2026 Preview, with the Los Angeles Review of Books

Subscribe to Film Comment today [https://www.filmcomment.com/subscribe/].  It’s that time of year again: the Academy Awards are just around the corner. In anticipation of the winners being revealed this Sunday, Devika and Clint teamed up with some colleagues from Tinseltown—the writers and editors of the Los Angeles Review of Books—to scrutinize this year’s nominees. The publication’s Editor-at-Large Eric Newman, Senior Humanities Editor Annie Berke, and Contributor Elizabeth Alsop joined for a special collaboration with their podcast, the LARB Radio Hour. The group debated the relative merits and shortcomings of this year’s Best Picture contenders—from Sinners to The Secret Agent to F1—and also discussed trends, surprises, and snubs.