Hanging with Becky

About Hanging with Becky

Join movie studio marketing veteran, Becky D'Anna each week as she talks the latest movie release with one of her amazing friends and then puts them through a custom Becky Challenge

Publisher

Becky D'Anna

Category

tv & film · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Jun 2026

Latest episode

29 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Sept 2026

   When Justice Becomes Entertainment — PRIMETIME with Jon Laubinger | The Becky Challenge: This Is Jeopardy!

   This week, Becky welcomes back her wonderful friend Jon Laubinger for a very different kind of conversation about PRIMETIME, Lance Oppenheim's first narrative feature and a provocative look behind the scenes of Chris Hansen and To Catch a Predator. Jon is a filmmaker, writer and podcaster — and Becky's former co-host on Director's Take: A Sony Pictures Podcast — as well as someone she trusts deeply to approach difficult material with thoughtfulness, empathy and nuance. That made him the person she wanted beside her for a movie that raises uncomfortable questions without offering many easy answers. Neither Becky nor Jon were regular viewers of To Catch a Predator when it originally aired, but both remember its enormous cultural presence. Watching PRIMETIME gives them a window into a world they largely experienced from the outside — and into the complicated machinery that turned predators, sting operations and public humiliation into primetime entertainment. They dig into Robert Pattinson's unsettling portrayal of Chris Hansen, Merritt Wever's terrific performance as producer Andie Bender, the haunting innocence of Decoy Dan, and the movie's claustrophobic, almost nightmarish visual style. They also talk about the unexpected flashes of dark humor running through a film that left both of them fascinated, deeply uncomfortable and very certain they never need to watch it again. The conversation goes deeper into ambition, ratings, performative justice and the moral compromises that can happen when journalism becomes entertainment. Jon draws on his legal background to question the methods behind the original show, while he and Becky explore the film's refusal to provide simple heroes or villains — and the unsettling way nearly everyone involved begins to feel changed by what they're doing. They also discuss the film as a portrait of the early 2000s media landscape, the line between confronting disturbing material and exploiting it, and why challenging art doesn't necessarily have to make an audience feel good to be worthwhile. And after all of that... Jon desperately needs a palate cleanser. So naturally, it's time for The Becky Challenge: This Is Jeopardy! (39:21) The last time Jon visited the show, he scored an incredible 22 out of 25 and earned the title of Trivia Titan. This time, Becky brings him even closer to his dream of someday competing on Jeopardy! with 25 clues spanning world history, science, geography, literature, movies, art and general knowledge — complete with Daily Doubles, Final Jeopardy! and Jon's very own signaling device. Can Jon prove that he's truly Ready for the Podium? Get ready for primetime... and come hang out with Becky! Host: Becky D'Anna Guest: Jon Laubinger 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 Jon Laubinger Instagram:@jonjamesdt Twitter: @jonjamesdt (https://x.com/JonJamesDT) Follow Becky D'Anna: Instagram: @thebeckydanna Twitter: @hwoodminotaur Bluesky: @hwoodminotaur Letterboxd: @hwoodminotaur Listen to Becky and Jon's episodes of Director's Take: A Sony Pictures Podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/directors-take/id1840753945 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ek5Lzhi95Jk0YhWrQu1DB Website: https://directorstakepodcast.com/

2. 

   22 Sept 2026

   One Very Bad Night — RESIDENT EVIL with Martin Kessler | The Becky Challenge: Enter Survival Horror

   This week, Becky welcomes back her wonderful friend Martin Kessler for a movie they've been waiting a very long time to talk about: RESIDENT EVIL. Martin is a longtime fan of both the games and movies — so much so that when Becky first dreamed up Hanging with Becky, he was one of the first guests she booked because she already knew he was the person she wanted to talk with when the new RESIDENT EVIL film was released. For Becky, the anticipation was just as high. After loving BARBARIAN and naming WEAPONS her favorite film of 2025, Zach Cregger's take on RESIDENT EVIL became her most anticipated movie of the fall — and after seeing it twice, she's thrilled to say it delivered. Becky and Martin dig into the film's wonderfully strange combination of horror, action and comedy, Austin Abrams' hilariously vulnerable performance as Bryan, and the decision to tell a completely self-contained story rather than simply recreate characters and plots from the games. They break down the movie's relentless 90-minute journey through one escalating nightmare after another — including the farmhouse, mutant creatures, disastrous attempts to use guns, locked doors that stubbornly refuse to behave like action-movie doors, and a protagonist who keeps trying to do the right thing even as everything around him goes completely off the rails. The conversation also gets surprisingly thoughtful as Martin reads the horrors Bryan encounters as manifestations of his fear about becoming a father — from domestic life to children to the movie's wildly grotesque maternity ward — while Becky sees a parallel emotional journey in Bryan's growing realization of what his girlfriend and future family mean to him. Their different interpretations lead to one of the episode's most interesting discussions about how much of a filmmaker's thematic intent is deliberate and how much an audience brings to a movie themselves. And somehow, Becky and Martin also find time to mount an enthusiastic defense of RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY, compare this new film to earlier entries in the franchise, talk about Zach Cregger's comedy background, and celebrate all the little game references hiding throughout the movie. Then it's time to see whether Martin can survive another Becky Challenge (1:23:23). After tying the all-time record with an incredible 24 out of 25 on Going Ape, Martin returns for The Becky Challenge: Enter Survival Horror — 25 questions spanning the RESIDENT EVIL games, live-action movies, Raccoon City, Umbrella, monsters, characters and franchise lore. Survive the night... 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 Celebrate ADAPTATION with Becky and Zach Cregger on Director's Take: A Sony Pictures Podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zach-cregger-adaptation/id1840753945?i=1000729183843 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6H16LiwpgrEPQ8uhHE3FRU Website: https://directorstakepodcast.com/

3. 

   15 Sept 2026

   The Thrill of the Unknown — HOPE with James Hancock | The Becky Challenge: The Magnificent Welles

   This week, Becky welcomes back her longtime friend James Hancock, host of Wrong Reel and creator of Geekin' with James Hancock, to Hanging with Becky for the show's first-ever international film: Na Hong-jin's South Korean sci-fi action epic HOPE. Becky and James are also fresh off their recent Fall Preview collaboration, which brought their movie conversations together across both of their YouTube channels. They dive into a movie that absolutely blew them away for much of its epic runtime — from its breathtaking cinematography and practical stunt work to its relentless action, gnarly creature design, dark humor and a remote village near the Korean DMZ that becomes the setting for some of the most electrifying genre filmmaking they've seen this year. They also explore the film's surprisingly layered ideas about fear, morality and perspective — including a reveal that reminds Becky of her favorite STAR TREK episode — and discuss how HOPE pushes South Korean genre filmmaking into an even larger-scale blockbuster space. But neither of them can ignore the movie's divisive final stretch, as an exhilarating experience takes some very unexpected turns and leaves them wondering how something so spectacular could become so frustrating in its final minutes. Even with those reservations, both agree that HOPE is a must-see theatrical experience for genre fans — one filled with jaw-dropping imagery, memorable characters and some of the most exciting action of the year. Then James gets exactly what he asked for. When Becky gave him the choice between being quizzed on something he knew absolutely nothing about or facing brutally difficult questions about something he truly loves, she chose the latter — and built a 25-question challenge around his favorite director, Orson Welles. In The Becky Challenge: The Magnificent Welles, James faces questions covering Welles' films, acting career, radio and theater work, collaborators, troubled productions and some genuinely nasty deep cuts. Can one of Becky's most knowledgeable movie friends survive her hardest Welles questions and earn the title of Mercury Theatre Master? Embrace the unknown... and come hang out with Becky! Host: Becky D'Anna Guest: James Hancock Producer: Kyle Reardon Edited By: Bill Scurry 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 James Hancock: Subscribe to Geekin' with James Hancock on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@geekinwithjameshancock Twitter: @colebrax

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

19 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.