In this AOM show, hosts Marisa Serafini & Sara Stretton discuss Milos Forman’s Amadeus. Amadeus is a 1984 American period drama film directed by Miloš Forman, written by Peter Shaffer, and adapted from Shaffer’s stage play Amadeus (1979). The story is a variation of Alexander Pushkin’s play Mozart i Salieri (Моцарт и Сальери, 1830), in which composer Antonio Salieri recognizes the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but thwarts him out of pride and envy. The story is set in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the 18th century. The film was nominated for 53 awards and received 40, including eight Academy Awards (including Best Picture), four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, and a Directors Guild of America (DGA) award. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked Amadeus 53rd on its 100 Years… 100 Movies list.

In this AOM show, hosts Marisa Serafini, Demetri Panos, and Phil Svitek discuss A Most Violent Year. A Most Violent Year is a 2014 crime drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor. The film stars Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain with Alessandro Nivola, David Oyelowo, Albert Brooks, andCatalina Sandino Moreno. It had its world premiere as the opening film of the AFI Fest on November 6, 2014 and was released theatrically on December 31, 2014.

In this AOM show, hosts Marisa Serafini and Phil Svitek interview director/actor/producer Adam Green. Best known as the creator of the worldwide slasher franchise Hatchet and as the creator and star of the US television sitcom Holliston, Adam Green was raised in Holliston, Massachusetts and currently resides in Los Angeles. After finishing high school in 1993 he graduated fromHofstra University in New York in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Television and Film Production. Green’s first job out of college was producing and directing local commercials for cable in the Boston area. Green made his feature film debut with the comedy, Coffee & Donuts, which was in part, based on his own life. Green founded the feature film and television production company ArieScope Pictures with director of photography Will Barratt in 1998. He was the lead singer for the heavy metal band Haddonfield, based out of Salem, Massachusetts from 1997 – 2000. He also worked as the DJ at the world famous Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood when he first moved to Los Angeles and was still struggling to get his start in the film/television industry.^[1][2] To date, Green has made nine theatrical feature films including the critically acclaimed and Sundance darling “Frozen” which was a worldwide success in 2010. He is also a member of the “Splat Pack”, a title coined by UK critic Alan Jones for a revolutionary group of filmmakers who brought back gore and splatter to the horror genre in the 2000s that includes Eli Roth,Alexandre Aja, Neil Marshall, Rob Zombie, Greg McLean, Darren Lynn Bousman, and James Wan.

In this AOM show, hosts Marisa Serafini, Demetri Panos, and Phil Svitek discuss Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), a 2014 American dark comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. It stars Michael Keaton with Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, andNaomi Watts. Keaton plays a faded Hollywood actor famous for his superhero role struggling to mount a Broadway adaptation of aRaymond Carver story. Birdman was the opening film of the 71st Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered on August 27, 2014 in competition for theGolden Lion. It received a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 17, 2014 and a wide release on November 14, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film grossed over $50 million worldwide. Birdman received critical acclaim, and was named one of the best films of 2014 by organizations including the AFI and the National Board of Review. It was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards at the 72nd ceremony, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Director, Best Score and won for Best Screenplay. Keaton won Best Actor, while Norton and Stone were nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively at both the Golden Globe Awards and the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the cast won for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture.^[5][6] At the 87th Academy Awards, Birdman received nine nominations, joint most for the ceremony (with The Grand Budapest Hotel), including Best Picture, Best Director, and acting nominations for Keaton, Norton and Stone.

In this AOM show, hosts Marisa Serafini, Sara Stretton, and Josh Tapia discuss Selma is a 2014 American historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb and Ava DuVernay.^[4] It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel,^[5][6] Hosea Williams, and Martin Luther King, Jr. of SCLC andJohn Lewis of SNCC. The film stars British actors David Oyelowo as King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon Johnson, Tim Roth as George Wallace, Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, and American rapper and actor Common as James Bevel. Pathé financed the film, with Plan B Entertainment, Cloud Eight Films and Harpo Productionsco-producing the film. Paramount Pictures distributed Selma in the United States and Canada. Selma premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11, 2014, began a limited U.S. release on December 25, and expanded into wide theatrical release on January 9, 2015, just two months before the 50th anniversary of the march. Selma had four Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama,Best Director, and Best Actor, and won for Best Original Song.^[7] It is also nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards.