Amanda Peet, Matthew Shear: Fantasy Life and grown-up rom-coms

Amanda Peet, Matthew Shear: Fantasy Life and grown-up rom-coms

From Popcorn Podcast by Leigh Livingstone and Tim Iffland

March 27, 2026 · 12 min · Season 16

About this episode

Amanda Peet and Matthew Shear discuss their film Fantasy Life, its personal themes, and the challenges of directing.

Amanda Peet and Matthew Shear are here to talk about  Fantasy Life , their New York-set romantic comedy that won the Audience Award at South by Southwest and earned Peet a Special Jury Award for what Variety called the performance of a lifetime. They dig into what drew Peet to this unusually specific script, how writer, director and star Shear drew on his real-life experience as a Manhattan manny to write something deeply personal, and what it was like directing legends, including Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban and Holland Taylor as a first-time filmmaker. There's also a frank and fascinating conversation about whether acting is a void that can ever truly be filled. More Popcorn: Addition director Marcelle Lunam on Teresa Palmer, anxiety and power of love Nick Offerman on humour and humanity Talking The Travellers with Bryan Brown and Bruce Beresford Know someone who loves movies? Please share  Popcorn Podcast  with your friends. Keep Popcorn Podcast on the air by  shouting Leigh and Tim a movie snack . Visit  popcornpodcast.com  for movie reviews, celebrity interviews and giveaways. Popcorn Podcast interviews the biggest stars on YouTube:  Popcorn…

People in this episode

Hosts: Leigh Livingstone, Tim Iffland

Guests: Amanda Peet, Matthew Shear

Topics covered

  • romantic comedy
  • film awards
  • directing
  • acting
  • personal storytelling

Keywords

  • Fantasy Life
  • Amanda Peet
  • Matthew Shear
  • romantic comedy
  • South by Southwest
  • acting
  • directing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: South by Southwest, Variety

Books & works: Fantasy Life

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