The Big Picture

The 2022 Movie Draft

December 17, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The participants immediately establish a highly informal and conversational tone, discussing personal anecdotes, fashion choices, and celebrity news (like Ethan Hawke's interviews) before addressing the core topic of the 2022 movie draft. 
  • Chris Ryan, who claims to be undefeated in these drafts, reveals his rigorous methodology involves watching nearly every theatrically released American film from 2022 (309 movies) to prepare. 
  • The initial draft picks show a clear preference for spectacle and auteur-driven cinema, with Chris Ryan taking *Top Gun: Maverick* (Blockbuster) and *Nope* (Blockbuster), Amanda Dobbins taking *Babylon* (Drama) and *Avatar: The Way of Water* (Oscar Nominee), and Sean Fennessey selecting *Top Gun: Maverick* (Oscar Nominee) and *The Batman* (Blockbuster). 
  • The final picks for the 2022 Movie Draft were revealed across six categories, with participants selecting films like *Downton Abbey: A New Era* (Amanda), *Pearl* (Sean), and *Ambulance* (Chris) for their respective slots. 
  • The conversation included a brief discussion about a future episode dedicated entirely to *Avatar: The Way of Water* (referred to as *Avatar Fire and Ash* in the closing remarks). 
  • Amanda Dobbins selected *Minions: The Rise of Gru* as her Blockbuster pick and *Jennifer Lopez: Halftime* as her Wildcard pick, highlighting the latter for its fascinating look at award season disappointment. 

Segments

Introduction and Guest Welcome
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(00:00:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris Ryan joins Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins for The Big Picture’s 2022 Movie Draft episode.
  • Summary: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins introduce the episode, confirming Chris Ryan as the guest. The opening banter touches upon a documentary possibly being made about Cameron Winter, potentially co-directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and Benny Safde. The segment concludes with the introduction of the first sponsor, Amazon Prime.
Transition to 2022 Film Landscape
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(00:01:23)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts briefly discuss the critical revival of the film Ella McKay and Ethan Hawke’s recent media appearances before pivoting to the main topic.
  • Summary: The conversation briefly addresses the ironic critical revival of Ella McKay and Ethan Hawke’s notable interviews, including one on The Joe Rogan Experience regarding Paul Dano. The hosts then explicitly state the intention to move directly into discussing the year 2022.
Personal Life and Pandemic Wake
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(00:02:40)
  • Key Takeaway: The year 2022 is characterized as emerging from the ‘wake’ of the quarantine period established in 2021’s ‘Project Popcorn.’
  • Summary: The hosts reflect on 2022 as the year following the intense quarantine period of 2021. This leads to a tangent about personal habits, specifically how often Chris Ryan recorded podcasts without pants during 2021, often while watching films like Gladiator.
Pants, Pregnancy, and Jim Cameron Tech
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(00:04:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Amanda Dobbins notes her return to wearing pants after a ‘dress phase’ during pregnancy, suggesting Jim Cameron should innovate postpartum technology.
  • Summary: The discussion shifts to the comfort and necessity of wearing pants, prompting Amanda to mention the lack of adequate clothing technology for pregnancy. This leads to a humorous suggestion that Jim Cameron should apply his technological prowess to improving prenatal and postpartum medical care.
Sartorial Uniforms and Draft Prep
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(00:05:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Sean Fennessey maintains a consistent ‘uniform’ of slim-cut Rag & Bone pants, contrasting with the widening silhouettes observed in others’ wardrobes.
  • Summary: Chris Ryan teases Sean Fennessey for his consistent fashion choices, noting his adherence to a specific cut of pants. The hosts briefly touch upon the idea of sartorial standards, referencing Frank Sinatra as a benchmark for morning dressing choices.
2022 Film Landscape and Slop Analysis
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(00:06:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris Ryan found the 2022 film landscape distinctively changed post-COVID, noting a loosening of competency standards in lower-tier releases (‘slop’).
  • Summary: Chris Ryan details his process of reviewing all theatrically released American films for the draft, noting he avoids foreign language films. He points out the surprising volume of films, including two DJ Caruso releases, and identifies a drop-off in competency for genre films that were inexplicably long or poorly shot.
Lowest Rated Films of 2022
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(00:08:10)
  • Key Takeaway: The lowest-rated films of 2022, according to Chris Ryan’s Letterboxd list, included Morbius, The Bubble, Firestarter remake, and the Robert Zemeckis Pinocchio.
  • Summary: Chris Ryan reveals the bottom tier of his 2022 film list, which includes several high-profile streaming releases. The conversation briefly diverges into a discussion about Guillermo del Toro’s fascist-themed Pinocchio released the same year.
4DX Experience and Box Office Health
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(00:09:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Both Halloween Ends and Andrew Dominik’s Blonde were experienced by participants in the immersive 4DX theater format.
  • Summary: The lowest-rated films list prompts a discussion about 4DX screenings, with one host recalling seeing Halloween Ends in the format and another describing the birth canal sequence in Blonde as a wild 4DX experience. The hosts then review the top domestic box office performers for 2022, noting they were all sequels, led by Top Gun: Maverick ($720M).
Personal Milestones and Movie Going
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(00:13:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Amanda Dobbins associates her positive feelings toward Top Gun: Maverick with being released from ‘postpartum hell’ following the birth of her son, Knox.
  • Summary: The hosts recall the feeling of being ‘back’ in theaters, with Amanda citing A Quiet Place Part II as her first return, though she was texting Sean during her viewing of Old. Amanda reveals Knox was born around the time of the Oscar nominations podcast, and Top Gun: Maverick was her first movie back after postpartum recovery.
Personal Reflection on 2022 Happiness
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(00:15:49)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris Ryan felt his day-to-day life in 2022 was challenging due to the demands of caring for a very young child, contrasting sharply with his current feelings.
  • Summary: The hosts ask each other who they were in 2022; Chris Ryan notes his life settled into a routine but recalls the period as challenging due to his young child and severe rain in California that damaged his roof. Amanda Dobbins reflects that she was happiest working in a record store, though she is happy with her current professional path.
Draft Categories and Amanda’s Forfeit
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(00:22:23)
  • Key Takeaway: The 2022 Movie Draft will feature six categories—Drama, Action, Horror, Thriller, Oscar Nominee, and Blockbuster ($100M threshold)—with Amanda Dobbins forfeiting her picks.
  • Summary: After a State Farm ad break, the crucial draft order is determined, placing Chris Ryan first, Sean Fennessey second, and Amanda Dobbins third. Amanda immediately announces she is sitting out the entire draft because she felt there were no good films, leaving only two competitors.
Drafting Drama and Blockbuster
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(00:28:55)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris Ryan secures Top Gun: Maverick (Oscar Nominee) and Nope (Blockbuster), while Sean Fennessey takes Babylon (Drama) and The Fabelmans (Drama).
  • Summary: Chris Ryan opens the draft by taking Top Gun: Maverick in the Oscar category, praising its cinematic spectacle and enduring quality upon rewatch. Sean Fennessey counters by taking Damien Chazelle’s Babylon in Drama, citing its obsession with Hollywood evolution, followed by Spielberg’s The Fabelmans.
Final Picks in First Round
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(00:43:41)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris Ryan selects The Banshees of Inisherin (Drama), and Sean Fennessey selects The Batman (Blockbuster) and Avatar: The Way of Water (Oscar Nominee).
  • Summary: Chris Ryan praises The Banshees of Inisherin as Martin McDonough’s most satisfying film since In Bruges. Sean Fennessey takes The Batman due to his admiration for Paul Dano’s Riddler performance, and then selects Avatar: The Way of Water, admitting the film moved him to tears.
Downton Abbey & Pearl Picks
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(00:54:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Amanda Dobbins selected Downton Abbey: A New Era as her sequel pick, praising its fully realized plot involving the French Riviera and a Singin’ in the Rain subplot.
  • Summary: Amanda Dobbins chose Downton Abbey: A New Era as the best of the Downton movies, noting it features a new cast of characters on the French Riviera. The plot involves Lady Mary singing in the rain while filming a movie at Downton, mirroring a Singin’ in the Rain scenario. Sean Fennessey countered with Pearl in the Action Horror Thriller category, noting it completes a trilogy of films dealing with silent film transitions (Babylon, Downton Abbey, Pearl).
Barbarian and Wellness Tangent
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(00:59:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Sean Fennessey selected Barbarian for Action Horror Thriller, praising director Zach Cregger, while the conversation briefly diverted into personal wellness advice involving Pilates and creatine supplements.
  • Summary: Sean selected Barbarian as his Action Horror Thriller pick, expressing excitement for director Zach Cregger’s future work. The discussion briefly paused for personal advice regarding strength training and wellness, including a humorous exchange about ‘girl creatine.’ Sean also noted that Barbarian is not yet available on 4K, prompting a direct appeal to Bob Iger.
Chase Utley AI and Ambulance
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(01:02:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts engaged in a humorous exchange about creating AI slop featuring Chase Utley crying at his Hall of Fame induction, immediately followed by Chris Ryan picking Ambulance.
  • Summary: The AI discussion escalated into a challenge to create an image of Chase Utley crying at his induction, which Chris Ryan immediately countered by picking Ambulance for Action Horror Thriller. Chris praised Ambulance for having one of the best chase sequences of the century in its second half, despite the first half resembling Michael Bay attempting to make Heat. The characters in Ambulance are adoptive brothers, one Black and one white.
Confess Fletch and Prey Picks
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(01:08:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris Ryan selected Confess Fletch as his sequel pick, praising director Greg Mottola and John Hamm’s performance, while Amanda Dobbins took Prey for the sequel category, accepting it despite it being a chronological prequel.
  • Summary: Chris selected Confess Fletch, a charming comedy mystery starring John Hamm, as his sequel pick, noting it was overlooked on Paramount Plus. Amanda took Prey for the sequel slot, acknowledging it is chronologically a prequel to the Predator franchise, but accepted it due to Chris’s earlier pick of a reboot (Confess Fletch). Chris ranked the Predator films with Prey at number three, behind Predator 1 and Predator 2.
Blockbuster and Wildcard Final Picks
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(01:14:27)
  • Key Takeaway: Amanda Dobbins selected Minions: The Rise of Gru for Blockbuster and Jennifer Lopez: Halftime for Wildcard, while Sean Fennessey chose Everything Everywhere All at Once for Wildcard, noting its initial awards hype hurt its long-term reputation.
  • Summary: Amanda chose Minions: The Rise of Gru for Blockbuster, citing a funny scene involving a minions choir singing Rolling Stones. For Wildcard, she picked Jennifer Lopez: Halftime, finding the documentary fascinating for showing Lopez’s intense disappointment over not winning a Golden Globe for Hustlers. Sean selected Everything Everywhere All at Once for Wildcard, appreciating its sincere portrait of immigrant family dynamics despite the strange awards cycle it endured.
Final Draft Recap and Wrap Up
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(01:24:23)
  • Key Takeaway: The final draft recap confirmed Sean’s picks included Avatar: The Way of Water (Oscar Nominee) and Nope (Blockbuster), while Chris Ryan’s picks included Top Gun Maverick (Oscar Nominee) and The Batman (Blockbuster).
  • Summary: The hosts recited their final selections: Sean took Avatar: The Way of Water (Oscar Nominee) and Nope (Blockbuster); Amanda took Tar (Oscar Nominee) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (Blockbuster); and Chris took Top Gun Maverick (Oscar Nominee) and The Batman (Blockbuster). Chris Ryan confirmed this was his last appearance for the year, with six episodes remaining to record, including one on Avatar: The Way of Water.