The Rolling Tape

The Awards Tape: Television in 2026 & Early Emmy Predictions

As the Cannes Film Festival rages on toward the end with premieres and social reactions flooding our feeds, The Awards Tape is shifting gears for a week to a new area of focus for the show, the Emmys. At the time of this recording, there are two weeks left in the window eligibility for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards for 2026. The nominations will be announced on July 8th, with the ceremony taking place on September 14th.  It's a new chapter for the Awards Tape as Oscar season is in deep slumber before the Fall festivals commence. We have the Emmys to occupy our awards punditory minds for the time being. We break down, in a broad general sense, what we could see nominated at the upcoming Emmy Awards between Best Comedy, Best Drama, Best Limited Series, and the respective major acting categories. Joining Paul, we bring in two of our most dedicated TV watchers on The Rolling Tape team to help share their early predictions. On this episode: Paul Rai [https://therollingtape.com/amritpal-rai/] Jake Fittipaldi [https://therollingtape.com/jake-fittipaldi/] Adam Patla [https://therollingtape.com/adam-patla/]  Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/therollingtape] Subscribe for Early Access and Video: The Rolling Tape Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/therollingtape] Listen Here: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0PQMLl7VaSKWFvMTqpYXhi?si=d000de8a9ad140d7] Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rolling-tape/id1642316834] All Listening Platforms [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/] Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com [info@therollingtape.com] Podcast Website Link [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/share] Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com [http://www.therollingtape.com] Social Platforms on Linktree [https://linktr.ee/therollingtape] Credits: * Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent * Artwork: Danny Jarabek * Editor: Danny Jarabek * Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

*CANNES 2026* Interview With 'Le Triangle d'or (Golden Triangle)' Director, Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz

For her first feature film, Le Triangle d’or [https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/le-triangle-d-or/], presented in the Special Screenings section at Cannes 2026, Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz joins Nandita Joshi live from the festival to discuss her work on the film. Going back to her last short, Mambo Queens, Rosselet-Ruiz's often interrogates the intersection of femininity and class struggle, which present themselves as major themes of her first feature. To make ends meet, Laura takes a job working for Souria in a grand mansion in Paris’s Golden Triangle. Installed there by her lover, a wealthy Saudi prince, Souria lives in anticipation of his visits. As Laura struggles to adjust to this world of excessive luxury and constant surveillance, a fragile bond begins to form between the two women. But Laura senses that Souria is in danger, and that this gilded cage may be closing in on them both. Follow our interviewees online: Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz IMDb [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9059088/?ref_=tt_ov_1_1], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/helenerruiz/] Follow our interview host online: Nandita Joshi [https://therollingtape.com/nandita-joshi/] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/therollingtape] Subscribe for Early Access and Video: The Rolling Tape Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/therollingtape] Listen Here: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0PQMLl7VaSKWFvMTqpYXhi?si=d000de8a9ad140d7] Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rolling-tape/id1642316834] All Listening Platforms [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/] Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com [info@therollingtape.com] Podcast Website Link [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/share] Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com [http://www.therollingtape.com] Social Platforms on Linktree [https://linktr.ee/therollingtape] Credits: * Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent * Artwork: Danny Jarabek * Editor: Danny Jarabek * Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Interview With 'Saccharine' Director, Natalie Erika James

After her first two features, Relic and Apartment 7A, Natalie Erika James has cemented herself as a regular name to watch within the horror space. James is an Australian filmmaker, and Saccharine is not only her third feature film but also her second to have its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. James often centers her filmmaking in horror around the dread and atmosphere of environments rather than jump scares, making for some incredibly chilling sequences, but Saccharine combines both her strengths in the horror space alongside new elements of body horror and comedic filmmaking, which makes for arguably her most intriguing feature yet.  Joshua Mbonu sat down with the writer/director to discuss nearly everything surrounding her latest feature and where she thinks Saccharine will differentiate itself from other horror films that have tackled similar themes. Follow our interviewees online: Natalie Erika James IMDb [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4013000/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/natalieejames/], Website [https://natalieerikajames.com/About-1] Follow our interview host online: Joshua Mbonu [https://therollingtape.com/joshua-mbonu/]  Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/therollingtape] Subscribe for Early Access and Video: The Rolling Tape Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/therollingtape] Listen Here: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0PQMLl7VaSKWFvMTqpYXhi?si=d000de8a9ad140d7] Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rolling-tape/id1642316834] All Listening Platforms [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/] Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com [info@therollingtape.com] Podcast Website Link [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/share] Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com [http://www.therollingtape.com] Social Platforms on Linktree [https://linktr.ee/therollingtape] Credits: * Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent * Artwork: Danny Jarabek * Editor: Danny Jarabek * Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

*MOUNTAINFILM FESTIVAL* Interview With 'Paper Town' Director, Jeremy Seifert

Mariana Fabian joins director Jeremy Seifert for the Mountainfilm Festival premiere of Paper Town, a film that follows a paper mill that defined Canton, North Carolina, announcing its sudden closure. Filmed in real time, its is a raw look at a town blindsided by corporate silence and suspicious profit. As shock turns to anger, the people of Canton must navigate the wreckage of an industry that shaped their past and now threatens their future.  Seifert is an award-winning film director, cinematographer and editor whose documentaries have premiered at Sundance, Berlinale, Hot Docs, Tribeca and AFI DOCS. He co-directed The Devil We Know, a 2018 Sundance documentary in competition and Netflix premiere. His short documentary The Church Forests of Ethiopia [https://www.mountainfilm.org/films/the-church-forests-of-ethiopia/] (Mountainfilm 2020) premiered with The New York Times Op-Docs, followed by Ark of the Apocalypse [https://www.mountainfilm.org/films/ark-of-the-apocalypse/] (Mountainfilm 2021), which explores certain interpretations of the Bible that foretell an apocalypse and what that means for our world today. Seifert also co-directed God’s Plant [https://www.mountainfilm.org/films/gods-plant/] (Mountainfilm 2021) alongside Malek Asfeer. He is the co-director of Papertown [https://www.mountainfilm.org/films/papertown/] and A Mystical Ornithology [https://www.mountainfilm.org/films/a-mystical-ornithology/] (both Mountainfilm 2026), alongside Benjamin James Roberts. His films GMO OMG and Dive! Living Off America’s Waste won over 30 awards at festivals around the world, and both debuted on Netflix. Follow our interviewees online: Jeremy Seifert IMDb [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2378257/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_4_in_0_q_jeremy%20seifert], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jeremy_seifert/], Website [https://www.jeremyseifert.com/] Follow our interview host online: Mariana Fabian [https://therollingtape.com/mariana-fabian/] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/therollingtape] Subscribe for Early Access and Video: The Rolling Tape Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/therollingtape] Listen Here: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0PQMLl7VaSKWFvMTqpYXhi?si=d000de8a9ad140d7] Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rolling-tape/id1642316834] All Listening Platforms [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/] Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com [info@therollingtape.com] Podcast Website Link [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/share] Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com [http://www.therollingtape.com] Social Platforms on Linktree [https://linktr.ee/therollingtape] Credits: * Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent * Artwork: Danny Jarabek * Editor: Danny Jarabek * Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

RETRO//RANKED: Star Wars (11-12): Solo & The Rise of Skywalker

In a galaxy far, far away...we started our Star Wars journey long ago. Since then, we have encountered the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, theatrical spin-offs, and now, at last, the final episode to cap off our rankings. We rank the 2 most recent Star Wars theatrical releases: Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. These are two of the more controversial Star Wars entries, which create a fun conversation to close out our Season 6 rankings.  We’ve made it to another season finale of RETRO//RANKED, The Rolling Tape network series in which we discuss various franchises and filmographies that we love and rank their individual entries leading up to some of the biggest new releases.  Today, for the last time, we talk about Star Wars leading up to the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu. It’s so close, I can taste it. And it tastes like capitalism. Our current collaborative ranking so far: 1. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 3. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 5. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens 6. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi 7. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 8. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 9. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 10. Star Wars: The Clone Wars On this episode: Evan Miller [https://therollingtape.com/evan-miller/] Ethan Simmie [https://therollingtape.com/ethan-simmie/] Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/therollingtape] Subscribe for Early Access and Video: The Rolling Tape Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/therollingtape] Listen Here: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0PQMLl7VaSKWFvMTqpYXhi?si=d000de8a9ad140d7] Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rolling-tape/id1642316834] All Listening Platforms [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/] Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com [info@therollingtape.com] Podcast Website Link [https://therollingtape.buzzsprout.com/share] Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com [http://www.therollingtape.com] Social Platforms on Linktree [https://linktr.ee/therollingtape] Credits: * Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent * Artwork: Danny Jarabek * Editor: Danny Jarabek * Assistant Producer: Evan Miller