'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Previewing the 2025 Movie Year

It's a new year, which means it's time to start thinking about the films worth getting excited about in 2025. I was on Press Play alongside Shawn Edwards to discuss everything from Wicked: For Good to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to Sentimental Value. Listen below.

The Magnetic Fields - "'70: They're Killing Children Over There"

Lately, I've been listening to 50 Song Memoir, Stephin Merritt's ambitious project in which he wrote a song related to each of the 50 years he'd been alive. (He turns 60 in February.) It was my favorite album of 2017, and plenty of songs still strike a chord. But right now, I'm really feeling "They're Killing Children Over There."

How Did 'Longlegs,' 'Anora' and 'Conclave' Become Arthouse Hits?

This was fun: For the Los Angeles Times, I spoke to the marketing teams behind three of this year's indie/arthouse success stories to find out how they did it. We keep hearing that audiences won't go see specialty films in theaters anymore. Here are three examples that contradict that received wisdom. Learn more about the campaigns behind Longlegs, Anora and Conclave here.