What's the Best Movie About the Subway?

"Movie nerds lined up outside the 92nd Street Y on a recent Saturday to watch a live taping of "The Big Picture," a podcast hosted by a couple of friends whom one ticket-holder called "the modern Siskel and Ebert." Before the audience arrived, Amanda Dobbins and Sean Fennessey (the Siskel and Ebert in question) were onstage at the Y for a walk-through. The set design was West Elm meets lecture hall: five greige armchairs in front of two whiteboards."

"Fennessey, who is the head of content at the sports-and-pop-culture network the Ringer, was wearing a dark sweater and green chinos, and had the carefully combed hair of a fifties movie detective. He looked out at the empty seats and said, "From the people who brought you James Baldwin, Susan Sontag, Yo-Yo Ma, and all the other geniuses who've stood on this stage, come two assholes who like movies!""

"Fennessey, who is forty-three, started "The Big Picture" in 2017, as a way to interview directors for the Ringer. His boss soon asked him to add a conversation segment. "I was, like, 'If I'm going to do it, I pretty much only want to do it with Amanda,'" he said. The two were already close, having spent their twenties bouncing among magazine job"

Movie fans gathered at the 92nd Street Y for a live taping of "The Big Picture," hosted by Amanda Dobbins and Sean Fennessey. The stage featured five greige armchairs and two whiteboards. The event centered on a draft of New York movies across six categories: drama, comedy, action/horror/thriller, Oscar-winner, blockbuster, and subway. Podcasters took turns selecting films and explaining their meanings while the audience would choose a winner. Fennessey, head of content at the Ringer, and Dobbins traded irreverent banter. Fennessey launched the podcast in 2017 and added a conversational segment to interview directors.

Read at The New Yorker