‘Michael’ Wants to Start Something It Can’t Finish. Plus: ‘Mother Mary’ With David Lowery!
The Big Picture dives into two music-adjacent films: the controversial Michael Jackson biopic Michael and David Lowery’s surreal pop star fable Mother Mary, exploring fame, legacy, and the messy divide between art and artist with equal parts reverence and skepticism.
**TOPICS COVERED
Sign up to read the full summary
Free AI-powered recaps of every episode, delivered to your inbox.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
Guest
Yassi Salak
conversational on The Big Picture
Mentions
Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.
People
Topics
Listen to This Episode
More from The Big Picture
Paramount Wins Warner Bros. Now What? Plus: ‘Scream 7,’ Heat 2,’ and ‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie’ With Matt Johnson!
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ and the Movies That Feel Like Our Lives
The Best Movies of the Year … So Far. Plus: 15 We Missed!
The Meryl Streep Hall of Fame
The "Anything But Oscars" Mailbag! Plus: ‘Hoppers’
The 10 Wildest Reboots in Movie History and ‘The Bride!’ Plus: A ‘Secret Agent’ Second Look and the Best Doc Contenders.
Related episodes
From other shows on similar topics.
The Michael Jackson "biopic"
Today, Explained
The Resurrection of Michael Jackson
The Daily
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” And The Future Of Tastemakers (With Who? Weekly)
Critical Darlings
The Hairspray Rabbit Hole: Thursday, February 19th, 2026
The Toast
Ben Shapiro vs. 2026 Movie Trailers
The Ben Shapiro Show
How Should We Think About Michael Jackson?
Morning Wire
Get summaries like this every morning.
Free AI-powered recaps of The Big Picture and your other favorite podcasts, delivered to your inbox.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.