Director Watch Podcast Ep.156 – ‘The Prestige’ (Christopher Nolan, 2006) with Special Guest Jake Tropila
On episode 156 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by film critic Jake Tropila discuss the next film in their Christopher Nolan series, The Prestige (2006).
Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys attempt to break down, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love.
Just a year after dazzling audiences with Batman Begins, Nolan returned with a film that would become one of the best films of his career, about two magicians dueling each other for the right to produce not only the best magic trick of all time, but to be the last man standing in a feud that costs more than anyone could imagine. In being a film about filmmaking as well as a stellar adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel, Nolan made his darkest, most cynical film to date; a twisted tale about the sacrifices it takes to create art, and the obsession that consumes someone when they are close to reaching an immortality level of fame. Ryan, Jay, and Jake break down their thoughts on the film, how much The Prestige is a cousin to Memento in terms of tone, where Christian Bale is within his career, why Hugh Jackman has never delivered a better performance than this, the power of David Bowie, the horrid accent of Scarlett Johansson, the logic of the film’s twist, the wild differences between the film and the original novel, and if seeing/knowing a film’s twist helps or hurts a film’s rewatchability.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.
This podcast runs 2h15m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Christopher Nolan with a review of his next film, The Dark Knight. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast, alongside members of the AwardsWatch Team. He is also the co-host of the Director Watch podcast with Jay Ledbetter, covering director movie series of cinemas’ greatest auteurs.
Ryan covers multiple film festivals a year including Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto, New York, Middleburg, and AFI where he reviews films and interviews top talent.
When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) and the Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS).
Jay Ledbetter is a finance manager by day, film critic by night living in Atlanta, Georgia. He began writing about film in 2013 and is not afraid to confront people of all ages if they are too loud in the theater.
As well as his reviews, Jay is the co-host of the Director Watch podcast with Ryan McQuade, our director movie series covering cinemas’ greatest auteurs. In addition to his work at AwardsWatch, Jay has written and hosted podcasts for Film Inquiry and InSession Film. He is an auteur obsessive, regularly diving deep into the filmographies of celebrated filmmakers.
Jay is a proud member of the Atlanta Film Critics Circle and the Georgia Film Critics Association.
- Director Watch Podcast Ep.156 – ‘The Prestige’ (Christopher Nolan, 2006) with Special Guest Jake Tropila - May 28, 2026
- Director Watch Podcast Ep. 155 – ‘Batman Begins’ (Christopher Nolan, 2005) with Special Guest Bob Goochman - May 21, 2026
- Director Watch Podcast Ep. 153 – ‘Memento’ (Christopher Nolan, 2001) - May 9, 2026
Director Watch Podcast Ep.156 – ‘The Prestige’ (Christopher Nolan, 2006) with Special Guest Jake Tropila 
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