Big White Elephants
Director and Choreographer Rob Marshall once said, ”The thing about movie musicals is that there have been some brilliant ones, but when they’re bad, they’re really bad - big white elephants.” On this podcast, Grace and Scott discuss a range of Movie Musicals, from classics to DCOMs and everything in between to analyze what makes them work or why they’re Big White Elephants!
Episodes
On episode 51, Grace and Scott dive into the world of Girltrash!, a 2007 lesbian crime web series created by Angela Robinson (D.E.B.S., The L Word, Herbie Fully Loaded, etc.) that was never fully finished, and the prequel feature-length movie musical, Girltrash: All Night Long, directed by Robinson's partner and cinematographer Alex Kondracke which was shot in 2010 but released in 2014. The characters are as messy as the production...
For our 50th episode, we're covering the theatre kid classic Rent (2005). Grace and Scott go deep on Jonathan Larson's adaptation of Puccini's opera La Boheme, talking about the (aging?) cast, the cuts from the stage show, and how you measure a year in the life (love).
Directed by Chris Columbus and written by Stephen Chbosy, Rent stars Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Tracie Thoms, Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Jesse L Marti...
With Scott back from vacation, he and Grace go on their own trip to Belgium for Chantel Akerman's shopping mall musical, Golden Eighties (1986). Is it a brilliantly quirky examination of consumerism and romance through a feminist lens? Is it a poor attempt at recreating the lushness of an MGM Technicolor Musical? Do songs need to be good?
Golden Eighties was directed by Chantal Akerman and written by Akerman, Pascal Bonitzer, ...
While Scott is out on vacation, Grace's co-host from the Sounds Of Silvestri podcast Clarence fills in to talk about Jonathan Demme's final film, Ricki And The Flash (2015). We get into bald eagle back tattoos, Lady Gaga bar rock covers, and Boomer politics while trying to figure out if Meryl Streep can convincingly play a conservative struggling rock star and how a Midwesterner would really respond to a rude conversation in a doug...
For episode 47, Grace and Scott discuss the 1953 film adaptation of Cole Porter's musical Kiss Me Kate, starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, and Tommy Rall with an early appearance from Bob Fosse. Is Shakespeare's The Taming Of The Shrew too misogynistic? Is Ann Miller's dancing too darn hot? Should musicals be in 3-D? We attempt to answer all these questions and more!
Connect with us on Instagram @bigwhiteelepha...
We've made it to the final week of Big Bad Elephants month, and it's a big one: Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie. For each week of Big Bad Elephants Month, we let the Omni-Wheel randomly select which film to cover from a list of movies suggested to us by our audience that they think will be Big White Elephants, aka bad movie musicals.
This week, Grace and Scott wade into Christian children's programming with the first feature film f...
Big Bad Elephants Month continues with Rob Marshall's Into The Woods (2014). For each week of Big Bad Elephants Month, we let the Omni-Wheel randomly select which film to cover from a list of movies suggested to us by our audience that they think will be Big White Elephants, aka bad movie musicals.
This week, Grace and Scott journey Into The Woods to discuss Disney's adaptation of the classic Stephen Sondheim and James La...
Big Bad Elephants Month continues with Top Secret! (1984). For each week of Big Bad Elephants Month, we let the Omni-Wheel randomly select which film to cover from a list of movies suggested to us by our audience that they think will be Big White Elephants, aka bad movie musicals.
This week, we tackle SoRef's suggestion of the Zucker, Abrahms, Zucker comedy Top Secret! Val Kilmer's first movie role, pastiche and parody so...
Welcome to Big Bad Elephants Month, where we cover movie musicals our listeners suggested would be Big White Elephants, aka bad movie musicals! Randomly selected by the Omni-Wheel, we're kicking off the month with The Little Mermaid! No, not the live action one...the original!
It was suggest by our friend and theatrical lighting designer Jamie Roderick! And it was such a bold suggestion that we had to get him on the podcast to defe...
On episode 42, Grace and Scott travel from the magical land of Andalasia, do some chores with cockroaches, and dream of true love's kiss while discussing Disney's Enchanted (2007)
Plus, we get visited by The Omni-wheel to decide what movie to cover for the first week of Big Bad Elephants Month!
Connect with us on Instagram @bigwhiteelephantspod and send emails or voicemails to bigwhiteelephantspod@gmail.com ...
To mark the 25th anniversary of Jason Robert Brown's musical The Last Five Years, Grace and Scott cover the 2014 movie adaptation. Except Scott talks about it going forward and Grace talks about it going backwards. Just kidding, that would be silly! Either way, Jeremy Jordan is involved.
Connect with us on Instagram @bigwhiteelephantspod and send emails or voicemails to bigwhiteelephantspod@gmail.com so we can s...
For episode 40, Grace and Scott pop up their camping tents in the woods, rev their engines, and try to avoid getting married while talking about Elvis's car racing musical Spinout (1966).
Connect with us on Instagram @bigwhiteelephantspod and send emails or voicemails to bigwhiteelephantspod@gmail.com so we can share them on future episodes!
Chag Pesach Semeach! Grace and Scott are joined by JoeJazzy to travel back to Egypt, free the enslaved, and part the red sea while talking about The Prince Of Egypt (1998)
You can follow Joe on letterboxd @JoeJazzy
Connect with us on Instagram @bigwhiteelephantspod and send emails or voicemails to bigwhiteelephantspod@gmail.com so we can share them on future episodes!
Grace and Scott get by with a little help from their friend. Namely, Katherine Mohr, co-host of This Is The Greatest Song I've Ever Heard In My Entire Life, who joins us to discuss Julie Taymor's Beatles fantasia, Across The Universe (2007).
You can follow Katherine on letterboxd @katherinesfilms and check out This Is The Greatest Song I've Ever Heard In My Entire Life wherever you get your podcasts or on instagram @gr8s...
Put on your Sunday clothes and ride the train from Yonkers down to the 14th street parade! It's time to discuss the film that arguably killed the big Hollywood Studio Musical, Hello, Dolly! (1969) featuring the one and only Barbra Streisand.
Grace and Scott fly down to a fancy resort to be caught in flagrante delicto while discussing their first Fred and Ginger movie, The Gay Divorcee (1934)
Plus we recap the 98th Academy Awards
Connect with us on Instagram @bigwhiteelephantspod and send emails or voicemails to bigwhiteelephantspod@gmail.com so we can share them on future episodes!
The Oscars may have been last night, but Awards Season isn't done quite yet! Introducing: The Ivory Elephant Awards. Our very own award show to celebrate the year in Movie Musicals and Movies With Musical Moments. Grace and Scott select winners for such prestigious awards as "Best Song and Performance in a Non-Musical Movie," "The Troy and Gabriella Award For Most Romantic Love Song," and of course, the two biggest awards of the ni...
Grace and Scott close out the Big Gold Elephants series with the film nominated for more Academy Awards than any film in history, Ryan Coogler's Sinners (2025). They get into all the music, the vampires, and the blues!
Connect with us on Instagram @bigwhiteelephantspod and send emails or voicemails to bigwhiteelephantspod@gmail.com so we can share them on future episodes!
Grace and Scott are joined by the host of Soundtrack Your Life Ryan Pak to become a trio of pop singers, fight some demons, and seal the honmoon for this episode of Big Gold Elephants on the 2025 sensation KPop Demon Hunters, which is nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Original Song at the 98th Academy Awards
Follow Soundtrack Your Life on instagram @soundtrackcast and listen wherever you get your podcasts!
On episode 33, Grace and Scott continue the Big Gold Elephants journey of Oscar Winning movie musicals by tightening up their three part harmonies and telling you we are going! Going to talk about Dreamgirls (2006), that is, which won 2 Academy Awards for Best Sound Mixing and Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Hudson.
Connect with us on Instagram @bigwhiteelephantspod and send emails or voicemails to bigwhiteeleph...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.