Movie Pop Culture Showdown

Each year, around this time, for the next five weeks, we will be holding an ultimate showdown of pop culture film icons from all kinds of films. Each year, we will randomly select 32 participants from the pool of carefully selected movie heroes and villains, and then pit them against each other in five rounds of fisticuffs, gunfights, and battles of wits and you, our faithful listeners, will vote each week on who will win.

Here are the rules:

1. No characters from comic book movies. Comic books have a long and rich history that will undoubtedly color the judgment of voters. If we limit the selection to movies only, and only from non-mainstream comic book movies, this should help limit that problem. Therefore, no Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Hellboy, etc. Characters that began in film and were later adapted to comic book form is perfectly acceptable.
2. No characters from television. This is for movie roles only.
3. Most characters that originated in literature are also exempt.  There are some exceptions when the character has taken a genuine life of their own in their movies, and become something totally different from the original books.
4. Only one character is eligible from each film and film series. Therefore, only one character from the “Star Wars” films or “James Bond” films would be eligible.

Each week, we post the bracket for the weekly round, with a poll for listeners to vote for winners in each match. If we go with 32 characters, that means the first round would be 16 matches, the second round 8 matches, the third round 4 matches, the fifth round 2 matches, and then the final round.

This year, we will post the preliminary winners of the first round on January 29, the second round on February 5, the third round on February 12, the fourth round on February 19, and the ultimate winner on Oscar Night, February 26.

We’ll announce the winners on the shows the following week, when we will add in the votes of Ethan, Aaron, and whoever our guest host is that week.