Becky welcomes back her friend, film writer and podcaster Martin Kessler to talk about WILDWOOD, LAIKA's sprawling new stop-motion fantasy from director Travis Knight.

The episode came together unexpectedly. With nothing from the following week's releases grabbing Becky enough to cover, she turned back to WILDWOOD — a movie that opened the same weekend as KLARA AND THE SUN — and immediately thought of Martin, one of the biggest stop-motion animation fans she knows.

And it turns out there is a lot to talk about. Becky found WILDWOOD visually breathtaking, frequently harrowing and far darker than she expected — but despite everything she admired about it, she couldn't quite make the emotional connection she thought the story was asking for.

Martin enjoyed the film too, and their conversation eventually leads to a fascinating question: Can stop-motion animation become too perfect?

Martin breaks down what he loves about the handmade quality of stop-motion and why he believes LAIKA's extraordinary pursuit of technical perfection may actually be smoothing away some of the imperfections that give the art form its charm. From 3D-printed faces and increasingly fluid animation to the tactile beauty of older stop-motion, he makes the case that sometimes doing less can create something more alive.

That sends Becky and Martin into a larger conversation about what makes stop-motion special, with detours through CORALINE, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, WENDELL & WILD, Eastern European animation and the filmmakers who embrace the rough edges of the medium rather than trying to erase them.

They also dig into WILDWOOD itself — its astonishingly dark opening, the film's willingness to scare younger audiences, why it reminds them of the more adventurous children's movies of the '80s and '90s, its enormous voice cast, Prue and Curtis' journey, Alexandra's grief, some genuinely shocking character deaths and perhaps the most questionable parents Becky has encountered in a family movie in quite some time.

In a spoiler-filled conversation, they explore a film filled with imagination, danger and visual wonder — and try to figure out why something so meticulously crafted can still feel like it's missing just a little bit of magic.

Then Martin gets to prove just how deep his love of stop-motion really goes. For The Becky Challenge: Frame by Frame, he faces 25 questions covering LAIKA, Aardman, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, CORALINE, CHICKEN RUN, WALLACE & GROMIT, FANTASTIC MR. FOX and other strange little handcrafted worlds from across stop-motion history.

Embrace the imperfections... and come hang out with Becky!

Host: Becky D'Anna

Guest: Martin Kessler

Producer: Kyle Reardon

Produced and Edited By: KPR Media

Subscribe to Hanging with Becky on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HangingwithBecky

Follow Hanging with Becky:

• Instagram: @hangingwithbecky
• Twitter: @hangwithbecky
• Bluesky: @hangingwithbecky
• TikTok: @hangingwithbecky
• Letterboxd: @hangwithbecky

Follow Martin Kessler:

• Twitter: @MovieKessler
• Bluesky: @MovieKessler
• Instagram: @moviekessler

Follow Becky D'Anna:

• Instagram: @thebeckydanna
• Twitter: @hwoodminotaur
• Bluesky: @hwoodminotaur
• Letterboxd: @hwoodminotaur

Becky welcomes her friend, podcaster, film writer, yoga instructor and former librarian Leanne Kubicz to talk about KLARA AND THE SUN, Taika Waititi's adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's acclaimed novel.

Becky and Leanne are both huge fans of NEVER LET ME GO, so when they learned KLARA AND THE SUN was coming to the screen, they made a pact to read the novel first. They both fell in love with the book — its quiet sadness, strange futuristic world and deeply human relationships.

So what happens when an adaptation changes the very things you loved most about the source material?

Becky and Leanne dig into why the film ultimately disappointed them despite strong performances and beautiful production design. They compare it with Ishiguro's novel, exploring how its introspective, haunting tone becomes a brighter, more whimsical interpretation — and what gets lost when the book's ambiguity, emotional restraint and relationships are reshaped for the screen.

They talk about Klara's devotion to Josie, Josie and Rick's bond, Klara's faith in the sun, the unsettling idea of parents genetically altering their children to compete, and the larger challenge of translating a deeply internal literary novel without losing the soul of what made it special.

The conversation also expands into other Ishiguro adaptations, including NEVER LET ME GO and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, and whether KLARA AND THE SUN might someday deserve another attempt.

Then, after all that heavier British storytelling, Leanne provides the perfect counterbalance. A huge ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS fan, she takes on The Becky Challenge: Sweetie, Darling! — 25 questions covering Edina, Patsy, Saffy, Bubble, Mother, famous guest stars, fashion, behind-the-scenes history and ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: THE MOVIE.

Pour the Bolly. Can Leanne prove just how much Ab Fab knowledge she has and earn the title of ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS?

Follow the sun... and come hang out with Becky!

Host: Becky D'Anna

Guest: Leanne Kubicz

Producer: Kyle Reardon

Produced and Edited By: KPR Media

Subscribe to Hanging with Becky on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HangingwithBecky

Follow Hanging with Becky:

• Instagram: @hangingwithbecky
• Twitter: @hangwithbecky
• BlueSky: @hangingwithbecky
• TikTok: @hangingwithbecky
• Letterboxd: @hangwithbecky

Follow Leanne Kubicz

• Instagram:@leannekyogaarts

Follow Becky D'Anna:

• Instagram: @thebeckydanna
• Twitter: @hwoodminotaur
• Bluesky: @hwoodminotaur
• Letterboxd: @hwoodminotaur

Becky welcomes her friend, writer and former Hollywood book club member Eliot M Gerstel to talk about one of her favorite films of the year: YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING, the extraordinary new documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim about Elizabeth Holmes.

This conversation has actually been eight years in the making. Back in 2018, Becky, Eliot and three other Sony executives read John Carreyrou's Bad Blood together for their Hollywood book club and became completely fascinated by Holmes, Theranos and the almost unbelievable story of how she convinced some of the most powerful people in the world to believe in her.

Years later, Becky and Eliot finally get to return to that story together — but YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING takes them somewhere neither could have anticipated.

The film follows Holmes and her partner Billy Evans in the period before she enters federal prison, with Fielder and Oppenheim gaining astonishing access to their home, their relationship and their attempts to control the story being told about her.

Becky was lucky enough to see the film at an advance screening at the Academy Museum, followed by a Q&A with Fielder and Oppenheim moderated by Bill Hader, and walked out feeling like she had experienced something unlike any documentary she had ever seen.

In a spoiler-filled conversation, Becky and Eliot dig into the film's many layers and the questions it raises about Elizabeth Holmes, the people around her and our own instinct to decide whom we believe.

They explore why so many intelligent and powerful people trusted Holmes in the first place, whether she genuinely believes she did nothing wrong, the unsettling absence of remorse they see in her and the strange power she continues to have over people who spend time with her.

Eliot argues that the documentary ultimately becomes something much bigger than a story about Theranos or corporate fraud: an exploration of trust itself. Why do we choose to believe another person? What instincts tell us someone is safe or trustworthy? And what happens when those instincts fail us?

Becky and Eliot also unpack the fascinating and increasingly unsettling presence of Billy Evans, Nathan Fielder becoming a character inside his own documentary, the complicated empathy that develops when a filmmaker spends years with his subject, and the blurred lines between truth, performance and the version of ourselves we choose to show other people.

The deeper the film goes, the harder it becomes to know exactly whom — or what — to trust.

They also talk about Fielder and Oppenheim's extraordinary filmmaking choices, the documentary's wildly funny and deeply disturbing tonal shifts, the phenomenon surrounding its secretive production and viral marketing, and why a film running nearly three hours can somehow feel like it flies by.

Then it's time to turn up the volume. Eliot asked for perhaps the broadest Becky Challenge subject yet: 20th-century music. So The Becky Challenge: Soundtrack of the Century takes him through 25 questions spanning jazz, classic rock, Motown, pop, alternative, hip-hop, landmark albums, legendary performers and nearly an entire century of music. Can Eliot prove that his musical knowledge really does stretch across the decades and earn the title of Music Icon?

Trust your instincts... and come hang out with Becky!

Host: Becky D'Anna

Guest: Eliot M Gerstel

Producer: Kyle Reardon

Produced and Edited By: KPR Media

Subscribe to Hanging with Becky on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HangingwithBecky

Follow Hanging with Becky:

• Instagram: @hangingwithbecky
• Twitter: @hangwithbecky
• BlueSky: @hangingwithbecky
• TikTok: @hangingwithbecky
• Letterboxd: @hangwithbecky

Follow Becky D'Anna:

• Instagram: @thebeckydanna
• Twitter: @hwoodminotaur
• Bluesky: @hwoodminotaur
• Letterboxd: @hwoodminotaur