Last weekend, Marvel unveiled its plans for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (along with a few hints and winks and nods about Phase Five -- which is mostly notable 'cause it means they're planning a Phase Five).
And we're currently in the middle of a year when, when it's all said and done, the top eight highest-grossing movies may well have all come from Disney or Marvel or both. The top eight. That's not a typo. Here, look:
- Aladdin (2019) (Disney)
- Avengers: Endgame (Marvel/Disney)
- Captain Marvel (Marvel/Disney)
- Frozen II (Disney)
- The Lion King (2019) (Disney)
- Spider-Man: Far from Home (Marvel/Sony)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Lucasfilm/Disney)
- Toy Story 4 (Pixar/Disney)
And so the question is: Is the future of movies Marvel and Disney?
And then The Nose takes a look at the present of movies from the opposite end of the box office spectrum with three indie films: The Art of Self-Defense, Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love, and Wild Rose.
Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:
- We've just lived through the greatest period of restaurant growth in U.S. history. Here's why it's ending.
- A petition to move Halloween to the last Saturday of October is picking up steam
- Does This Red Cap Make Me Look MAGA?
- A Crazed Arsonist Just Killed 33 People at a Great Japanese Anime Studio
- Miss America pageant leaving Atlantic City for Connecticut
- We Have A Lot Of Thoughts About The Trash-Fire Netflix Film, 'Secret Obsession'
- Homer Simpson, Tony Stark, and more fictional characters that definitely would've voted for Trump
- Rutger Hauer, 'Blade Runner' Co-Star, Dies at 75
- How 'Orange Is the New Black' Changed TV
- Jamie Lynn Spears in Talks with Nickelodeon for a 'Zoey 101' Reboot
- Bette Midler Under Fire After Suggesting Trump Paid 'African American Men' To Be 'Blackground' At Rally
- Why Anne Hathaway and So Many Other Famous Women Are Opening Up About Their Fertility Struggles
- 'Happy Birthday Loser' Mistakenly Written On Toddler's Cake Bought At Walmart
- Lebanese pop band faces death threats over 'blasphemous' song
- The Case of Al Franken
- These Memes Highlight the Absurdity of ScarJo's Comments About Playing 'Any Person'
- Cheez-It's Brand-New Dual Box Comes With Wine And Cheese, Because What Else Do You Need?
- Connecticut Public Offers Buyouts To Its Longtime Employees
GUESTS:
- Lucy Gellman - Editor of The Arts Paper and host of WNHH radio's Kitchen Sync
- Mercy Quaye- Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project and a columnist with Hearst Connecticut Media Group
- Pedro Soto - An aerospace executive working on a secret project
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.