Pop Culture Confidential

Renowned casting directors Eva Leira and Yolanda Serrano join Christina for a fascinating conversation about casting La Bola Negra, the epic new film from Los Javis (Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo), starring Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau and Carlos González.Eva and Yolanda take us inside their casting process and explain why representation mattered so much on this project, including the directors' commitment to casting gay actors to play gay characters. They also look back on casting Javier Calvo in his very first acting role at just 15, and share their admiration for the talents of Los Javis.Plus, they talk about the three powerful women of the film: Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas and Glenn Close.

The acting races are heating up! Ryan McQuade of AwardsWatch joins Christina to predict where all four Oscar acting categories stand, as well as share their personal picks. Plus, You Can See Everything sweeps the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, and more.

Oscar-winning editor Mikkel E.G. Nielsen (Sound of Metal, The Banshees of Inisherin) joins Christina for a veritable editing masterclass on his latest collaboration with Martin McDonagh, Wild Horse Nine, starring John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, and Steve Buscemi.Mikkel takes us inside his process: how he shapes McDonagh’s masterful dialogue in the cutting room, what makes their creative partnership tick, the very special story behind the film’s final scene, and much more.

What is truth, and who gets to tell it? Christopher Rosen, Deputy Editor of The Ankler, joins Christina for a fascinating conversation about why so many of this year’s films and filmmakers are exploring and interrogating the idea of “truth.” From YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING to FJORD to LA BOLA NEGRA and beyond: what questions are they asking in 2026, how is it changing filmmaking, and why now?

It’s the film event of the year! Thirty-four days before she’s sent to prison, Elizabeth Holmes invites Nathan Fielder to move in with her. The result is You Can See Everything, Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s masterful, riveting, mind-bending documentary about the Theranos founder. Christina Birro and Ryan McQuade dig into Holmes’s elusive nature, the filmmaking, the film’s potential to make Oscar history, and much more. Be warned: spoilers ahead!

Freelance critic Jorge Tenreiro joins Christina to dig into The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin’s follow-up to The Social Network. The film stars Mikey Madison as Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White as Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, with Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg. Jorge, who is a litigator, also weighs in on some of the interesting legal questions at the heart of the story.Follow Jorge Tenreiro on Instagram @⁠awards_predix⁠

In this dispatch from the New York Film Festival 2026, Christina and Ryan McQuade (AwardsWatch) dig into the festival's Centerpiece film, Tony Gilroy's Behemoth!, starring Pedro Pascal. Plus, Digger talk!

A special episode of Pop Culture Confidential! Christina had the honor of interviewing Cristian Mungiu, director of the Palme d'Or film Fjord. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss the film, the themes that run through his body of work, the conversations Fjord has sparked, and much more.Recorded live on stage following a screening in Stockholm, Sweden, September 2026.

Toronto just wrapped, closing out the fall festival trio of Venice, Telluride, and TIFF, and the Oscar picture is starting to come into focus. This week, Christopher Rosen (deputy editor at The Ankler, co-host of the Prestige Junkie podcast) joins the show to break it all down.We dig into TIFF winner La Bola Negra, the sensation that had the festival buzzing, plus Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine (which won John Malkovich Best Actor at Venice) and Simon Stone's Telluride/TIFF drama Elsinore starring Andrew Scott. We look at who's in the running for Best Picture and the acting categories, and look ahead to some of the fall's biggest swings, including Iñárritu's Digger with Tom Cruise, and so much more.It's a big one, so settle in.

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's documentary "You Can See Everything" about Elizabeth Holmes blew the roof off the Telluride Film Festival at its secret screening. Christina sat down with Jay Ledbetter and Ryan McQuade of the Director Watch podcast (AwardsWatch) to process the experience!