The AwardsWatch Podcast (AwardsWatch)

On episode 230 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer, Josh Parham, and Karen Peterson to give their thoughts on The Fall Guy and discuss their favorite movies that are about making movies.

The summer movie season is in full swing as stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt take to the big screen again, this time ditching their Barbie and Oppenheimer crews to come together for The Fall Guy, an action-adventure-romance spectacle about a stunt guy who is hired by a Hollywood producer to find the missing star (whom he used to double for) of a major studio film that is being directed by his ex-girlfriend. Lead by the chemistry between Gosling and Blunt, The Fall Guy is a kind of movie that “can remind you that going to the movies is a magical, highly entertaining experience.”, Ryan, Dan, Josh and Karen break down their reactions to the film, its underperformance at the box office, and why they think people should give it a shot and go see it before it leaves theaters.

In the second half of the show, the gang discuss their favorite movies about movies, which is a big part of the overall plot of The Fall Guy, speaking a ton about the film industry and the personalities that are at the center of it. But movies about movies can be a multitude of things, ranging from being a love letter to the art form to an examination of the dangerous, heartbreaking mirage that fame and filmmaker can be. This allowed the team to talk about a wide selection of films that included Sunset Boulevard, Get Shorty, Singin’ in the Rain, The Player, American Movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Sullivan’s Travels, Ed Wood, Dolemite Is My Name, Pain and Glory, Mank, and many more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h47m. On our next episode, we will be discussing the latest release from A24, I Saw the TV Glow, and revealing our top five A24 films.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)

On episode 202 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello, Josh Parham, and Zach Laws to give out their Top 5 Directorial Debuts of all time.

2023 has been a pretty great year of films so far, based on what has been released and what most of the team as already seen at the fall film festivals from earlier in the month. With that there has been some standout directorial debuts, most notable Chloe Domont's Fair Play, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. With it set to release in theaters this upcoming weekend (with a streaming date of October 13 on Netflix), the AW team got together for a Top 5 list inspired by the highly acclaimed debut to talk about some of the best first time features to ever be release. In breaking down their lists, Ryan, Sophia, Josh, and Zach talked about a wide range of debuts that were both meaningful to them personally, as well as shaped the course of cinema history when they arrived to audiences around the world. Some of the titles discussed on this episode were Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Night of the Hunter, Badlands, The Parent Trap, Thief, Ordinary People, Bound, The Virgin Suicides, Citizen Kane, and so many more, as the list of honorable mentions were long and full of films everyone should catch up with.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h27m. We will be back next week to talk about our Top 5 sci-fi films in honor of the release of The Creator. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)

The Oscar shortlists dropped earlier this week in nine categories: Original Score, Original Song, Makeup and Hairstyling, Visual Effects, Documentary Feature, International Feature Film, Documentary Short Subject, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film.

On this podcast, my guest Will Mavity of Next Best Picture and discuss the first six of those shortlists, identifying the biggest surprises and the biggest snubs but also the bigger picture (and potential) what it means for a film like Parasite to get into Original Song or 1917 to make the cut in both Visual Effects and Makeup & Hairstyling. We also give our predictions in each category.

This podcast is sponsored by Amazon Studios and their films Les Misérables, which made the Oscar shortlist for International Feature Film and One Child Nation, which made the shortlist for Documentary Feature.

This podcast runs 1h 32m with music.

Opening: “Modern Fashion” by AShamaluevMusic

Closing: “New York City By Day,” by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

On episode 270 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Karen Peterson and Mark Johnson to give out their final Oscar nomination predictions for the 97^th Academy Awards.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 3h23m. We will be back next week with a brand new episode. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 49 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Karen Peterson to discuss the latest film in their Tony Scott series, Days of Thunder (1990).

Four years after making the monster hit that was Top Gun, Tony Scott reteamed with Tom Cruise and producers Dom Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to take their collaboration from the skies to the racetrack with Days of Thunder. After making Beverly Hills Cop II and Revenge (which are discussed briefly on the show), Scott was tapped to recreate the magic of his 1986 hit, this time with his leading man a bigger star and co-writer on the project, inspired by Cruise falling in love with racing, as well as the producers loving this new idea. While Scott clashed with Simpson and Bruckheimer throughout the production, the end result is an entertaining sports action drama with tremendous performances by Cruise and Robert Duvall, as well as the breakout role for Nicole Kidman. Ryan, Jay and Karen (the biggest Tom Cruise fan we know) discuss the film, their relationships to the sport of racing and their overall love of sports, Karen’s favorite Tom Cruise movie, the overt boyish behavior the characters have throughout the film, if the ending/John C. Reilly side plot works, the racing scenes, the infamous wheelchair race scene between Cruise and Michael Rooker, and if this movie is better than Top Gun.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h05m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Tony Scott with a review of his next film, The Last Boy Scout. 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).

On episode 144 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor in Chief Erik Anderson and TV Editor Tyler Doster as they give out their final Emmy nomination predictions before they are announced next week.

Over the course of the last three weeks, Ryan, Erik, and Tyler have discussed the 2022 Emmy landscape, talking about what they think is going to be nominated when it is all said and done. Well, this is the moment of truth, where all their prognosticating and lineup shifting of potential nominees in their respected categories comes to a halt. They break down who they think will be nominated in the Limited Series, Drama, and Comedy categories. While they do agree on a lot on this show, there are moments where they break from the group, which could lead to some fascinating surprised come nomination morning. They also give an update on who they think is the front runner still in the categories at this stage of the Emmy race. For a full rundown of Erik and Tyler’s Emmy nomination predictions, you can check them out on the website.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h17m. We will have a new podcast next Monday, as the AwardsWatch podcast team talks about Thor: Love and Thunder, answer some listener questions and plays some games. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” used by permission from AShamaleuvmusic

On episode 209 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Josh Parham and Kevin L. Lee discuss Ridley Scott’s latest film Napoleon and give out their Top 5 Ridley Scott films.

With one of the most interesting filmographies of all time, director Ridley Scott’s mark on cinema is one that will always leave you curious. In making some of the best, most influential films of his time, Scott has become a Hollywood journeyman, specializing in visual spectacle. Though he has just as many misfires as he does hits, there is always something drawing you into the theaters to see his latest film, regardless of how good or bad the last one was. With this in mind, Ryan, Josh, and Kevin review Napoleon, Scott’s nearly three-hour epic about the French Emperor and the love of his life Josephine, played by Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby. Their reactions to the film vary, leading to a very good conversation. Afterwards, they transitioned into talking about their Top 5 Ridley Scott films, with discussions over titles such as The Last Duel, Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Thelma and Louise, Matchstick Men, and more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h46m. We will be back next week to talk about our updated Oscar predictions and our Top 5 Films We Saw Way Too Young. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)

On episode 178 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer, Zach Laws and Josh Parham to dive deep into another AW Oscar retrospective, covering the 2003 season which awarded The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King the Best Picture of the year.

20 years ago, the Academy Awards were viewed by almost double the eyeballs of a modern telecast, and across the world people gathered to see Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy get awarded Hollywood’s top prize. Not only did Return of the King win Best Picture, but it went on that night to win ten more Oscars for a grand total of eleven, a clean sweep, and tying it with 1997’s Titanic and 1959’s Ben-Hur for the most Oscar wins ever by a single film.

Ryan, Nicole, Dan, Zach and Josh break down the year 2003 as a whole, see if Return of the King holds up as a good to great Best Picture winner, and talk about some of the best and worst nominations from the lineup. Throw in Oscar trivia and some “Should’ve, Could’ve, Would’ve” rounds to highlight who they would give the Oscar to and it's an extensive yet fun look back as the gang covers dozens of titles, filled with plenty of hot takes.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and more.

This podcast runs 2h27m. We will be back next week to review Ari Aster’s latest film, Beau Is Afraid. Till then, enjoy the show.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 132 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer and Kevin L. Lee to talk about the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Daytime Emmy Nominations, previewing Tony Nominations and playing a new game.

Starting off this week’s show are our listener questions, which consist of asking everyone if there is a 2023 Oscar nomination the panel is willing to lock in right now based on the films released in theaters. They then break down if there are any other films like Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick that they would love to see get a long awaited sequel for. And speaking of Top Gun: Maverick, they also discuss which directors they would love to see the film’s star Tom Cruise work with in order to get out of his action movie phase of his career and go back to his most dramatic focused work that made him a star.

Moving right along, the group then break down the recently announced Daytime Emmy Nominations, and then dive into a Tony Nomination preview, with those nominations set to announce on Monday, May 9, 2022. This discussion was very insightful, and for more coverage of both these topics, we encourage you to take a look at Erik’s Daytime Emmy Nomination article as well as Dan’s two articles covering the Tony Awards (Musical & Plays) from last week.

Finishing out the episode is a brief conversation on the Avatar: The Way of Water trailer, which is being shown exclusively in theaters right now in front of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And speaking of Doctor Strange, the gang then give their full thoughts on the first blockbuster of the summer, going into extensive details as to why it works on some levels and doesn’t on others. It is a SPOILER FILLED review so if you haven’t seen the film, skip over to the last segment of the show, where Ryan, Nicole, Dan and Kevin play a new game called AwardsWatch…or Not, where two films are pitted against one another and they must decide what they want to keep while the other film is lost forever. They played two rounds, covering films in the MCU and Non-MCU movies featuring members of the extensive cast of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 2h16m, and it’s an absolute blast. Let’s get into it.

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 75 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Pop Culture Confidential host Christina Jeurling Birro to discuss the first film in their Nancy Meyers series, The Parent Trap (1998).

After nearly two decades of writing acclaimed screenplays that earned top dollar at the box office as well as an Oscar nomination, Nancy Meyers set out in the late 1990s to make her directorial debut with a remake of the 1961 Disney family film, The Parent Trap. Centering around two identical twins who discover each other while they are at summer camp who switch places on their return home in order to get their parents back together, Meyers used this property to not only establish her special cinematic we’ve all come to love, but as a vessel to handle her divorce from her co-collaborator for many years, director Charles Shyer. In doing this, she made a film that is far superior than the original, while also finding a star in the making with newcomer Lindsay Lohan. Ryan, Jay, and Christina break down their thoughts on the film, the plot of the film, Lohan’s incredible performance, if Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson play the worst parents in the history of film, best camp movies, and the Disney live action film era of the late 1990s to early 2000s.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h34m. The guys will be back next week to begin continue their series on the films of Nancy Meyers with a review of her film, What Women Want. 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).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 14 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the first film in their Lynne Ramsay series, 1999's Ratcatcher.

Gaining notice throughout the 1990s for her short films, director Lynne Ramsay became a name cemented in the fabric of modern cinema as someone who was able to distinctly exam human relationships at such a raw yet honest perspective. After winning the 1996 Cannes Prix de Jury for her graduation short film, "Small Deaths," she spent some time working on various short films, all with critical success, leading her to develop one of the most personal debuts of the last 25 years, Ratcatcher. In telling the story of a young boy trying to move on in his life after a tragedy to one of his best friends, Ramsay showcases what happens when the innocence of childhood is taken too soon before you are ready to grow up, and announces herself as one of the best visual storytellers of her generation. Led by a cast of mostly unknown actors and shot impeccably by cinematographer Alwin H. Küchler, Ryan and Jay breakdown down Ramsay’s debut and where it ranks as some of the best debuts of the 90s, the child performances in the film, the open ending for the film, and the film year that was 1999.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h19m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of Lynn Ramsay with a review of her second feature film, Morvern Callar. You can stream Morvern Callar on Max, as well as rent it via iTunes or Amazon Prime Video 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).

In this very first AwardsWatch Cannes Podcast, I am joined by Aaron Locke, who will be attending the festival for the first time. This will be my third but first as press under my own moniker. We both of a slew of films we're looking forward to and why.

A truly international festival, Aaron and I chat about the new Lee Chang-Dong (Burning), Kore-eda (Shoplifters) and Knife + Heart from Yann Gonzalez. On the American side, two films are represented - Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman with John David Washington, Adam Driver and a very buzzed about Topher Grace and Under the Silver Lake from David Robert Mitchell starring Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough and again, Topher Grace. 

We also talk the interesting choice of Cannes and Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows as the festival opener and about potential controversies with the new Lars von Trier (The House That Jack Built) and Terry Gilliam (The Man Who Killed Don Quixote) in the age of #MeToo. Both films, and their directors, are likely to be under tremendous scrutiny this year, especially during the press conferences.

This is a brisk podcast, coming in at just over 45m with music. Keep your ears open for a mid-festival podcast too. 

Opening music: Cannes Film Festival opening theme

Closing music: "New York City By Day" by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

The AwardsWatch Podcast returns this week, with episode 146, as executive editor and host Ryan McQuade fell ill but, the trooper that he is, and who called in from the hospital (!), is here on this week's show with me back in the host seat (just this once). We are joined by Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer and Josh Parham.

After a brief check in with Ryan we dive into this year's Comic-Con, which unveiled Marvel's closure of Phase 4 of their worldwide domination and the entering of Phases 5 and 6. While the con itself was a little light on actual content, the one that stood out was the very first trailer (and look of any kind) of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Stunning visuals, a performance from Angela Bassett that looks immediately memorable and quotable (hello, Keke Palmer!), this epic teaser took San Diego and the world by storm, racking up 15M views on the Marvel YouTube and 32.6M on its Twitter in less than 24 hours.

Up next is fall festivals news about what's going to be playing where, highlighted by the big surprise news last week that Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, his first-ever appearance there. Could it be the stage for a return to Oscar glory? It certainly won't hurt.

We move into Emmy talk is with the group looking at how the notorious 'vote-splitting' believers could rear their ugly heads in categories were few shows dominated. The White Lotus, Succession, Ted Lasso and Hacks all find themselves with the lion's share of acting nominations in several categories but does that mean they'll cancel each other out? Not so fast, as history has shown that not to be the case, especially when there are built-in frontrunners in more than one.

Opening this weekend with high anticipation and expectation was the latest from Oscar winner Jordan Peele (Get Out) with his sci-fi/horror and homage to directing greats, Nope, starring Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer. Thoughts are wildly mixed among the panel (Nicole sits this one out as she hasn't seen it yet) with Josh (who reviewed the film for the site) liking it better on his second viewing, Ryan being a full-fledged superfan of the film, and Dan and I, who both liked it but with reservations about its screenplay hobbling it from being great. This conversation, which runs from the 52:00 mark to 1:22:50, is spoiler-heavy so if you haven't seen the film, skip on over.

Listener questions are next from Bryan Sudfield, S2S Movie Reviews, JacobK2022 and TV Fontaine who want to know our thoughts our favorite Emmy nominations and biggest snub, what's to be done about shows dominating Emmy categories, career comebacks like Cameron Diaz and why certain Oscar narratives fail and others succeed.

Next week's show will revisit the listener questions that went unanswered from two weeks prior, plus the group reveals their favorite Criterion releases ever.

This podcast runs 1h47m. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro) and "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro) used by permission

On episode 153 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer, and Kevin Lee to talk about the best films from the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, as well as give out their predictions for the TIFF Audience Award.

Over the past week, the Toronto International Film Festival has been shaping out the Oscar season with plenty of World premieres and North American premieres. Some of the big titles included Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion, the Viola Davis led The Woman King, and the Billy Eichner-led Bros. Other notable films included My Policeman, The Menu, The Inspection, Pearl, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Whale, The Son, Broker. These films and more were discussed by our panel, who were more than eager to discuss why many of these titles were some of the best and worst films of 2022 so far. They also gave out their predictions from the TIFF audience awards, which hadn’t been announced yet at the time of recording. Listen to see if any of them got the top three correct.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h59m. A little on the longer side this week about there was a lot of great cinema to cover. So without further ado, let’s get into it.

On episode 237 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Karen Peterson to discuss the latest film from Jeff Nichols, The Bikeriders, and talk about their Top 5 Hang Out Movies.

Before getting into this week’s topics, Ryan and Karen give a little update to the AW Summer Box Office Game as we are about to head into the month of July. For most of summer, Team Erik held a healthy lead in the friendly competition but things have changed with the entrance of Pixar’s Inside Out 2. With Despicable Me 4, Deadpool and Wolverine, and each teams “bomb pick” still in play, the game looks to still have plenty of twists and turns that we will keep you updated on throughout the upcoming weeks.

Transitioning to the main discussion, Jeff Nichols returns to theaters with his first film in eight years, The Bikeriders. Following a gang of bikers in the 1960s in Illinois, the film has been considered on the best releases of the year so far, but our two podcasters were left impressed that others and explained their thoughts as to way Nichols’ latest effort felt half baked. Once they gave their thoughts on The Bikeriders, they used this new release as a chance to do a Top 5 over their favorite “hang out” movies, stories where the plot takes a back seat to a group of characters and their usually fun, vibrant interactions. During their Top 5, some of the films discussed during this conversation included Empire Records, Almost Famous, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Lost in Translation, American Graffiti, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Everybody Wants Some, A Hard Day’s Night, and more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h46m. We will be back next week to talk about Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film, Kinds of Kindness, and discuss our Top 5 Westerns inspired by the release of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 266 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Josh Parham to give their thoughts on some of the films releasing this holiday season, Queer, Babygirl, A Complete Unknown, and Nosferatu.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h7m. We will be back next week for retrospective over the 92nd Academy Awards, covering the films of 2019.

This podcast is sponsored by Focus Features presenting Conclave. Your choice changes everything. In theaters now.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Cort L. Hessler lll, with his 2014 Emmy for Stunt Coordination on 'The Blacklist'

Emmy-winning stunt coordinator Cort L. Hessler lll got his start in Florida, where he grew up, at Disney when the theme park came to his high school scouting for talent. He water skied, did live shows, anything and everything that was available to him.

When Universal Studios opened in 1990 he auditioned for, and got, a Miami Vice-style show in the park's lagoon and that kicked off his film and television stunt career. With live shows and film and television being shot for onlookers and tourists to see, Hessler jumped in head first, filming stunts in the park. That led his first big break, the NBC primetime show SeaQuest 2032 starring Roy Scheider and Jonathan Brandis. Hessler doubled for Brandis and he became a go-to for water and underwater stunt work.

On The Blacklist, a job he got over Facebook while working on Blue Bloods, Hessler is proud of the level of practical stunts he employs (including more than one character on fire, CGI-free) and the safety he demands on his set.

In our chat we talk about his directorial debut on the show last season (he'll have another one next season), his favorite types of stunts, his favorite sequences from this last season, his advice for those interested in this (sometimes literally) backbreaking work, and if the Oscars will catch up to the Emmys and Screen Actors Guild in recognizing stunt work.

Season 6 of The Blacklist will return this September on NBC.

The Emmy voting period ends August 27th at 10pm PST.

The Creative Arts Emmys will be a two-night affair on Saturday, September 8th (where Hessler’s category is slotted) and Sunday, September 9th.

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards will be Monday, September 17th.

Editors Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo had already worked  together on several of Ridley Scott’s movies, including House of Gucci and Napoleon, before embarking on Scott's massive motion picture Gladiator II.

Restivo has previously worked with directors like Michael Mann and Cameron Crowe and Claire Simpson received an Academy Award for her work on Oliver Stone's Platoon.  And, in a nice bit of symmetry with Gladiator,  started her career as assistant editor on Caligula, with Malcom McDowell and Helen Mirren.

For AwardsWatch we talked about the sheer volume of footage Ridley provides them with every day, the research process, the kiss Denzel Washington says was edited out and much more.

Last week, when the Academy announced Oscar nominations, hair and makeup designer Donald Mowat was on set in Spain, hard at work on his next project. When he found out that his fantastic work for Dune was nominated, it was the culmination of over 35 years of incredible creations being celebrated for the first time by his peers. For Mowat, an Academy member who over 20 years, he couldn’t believe it happened, and still can’t we I spoke with him recently, but takes a lot of pride in this honor because it’s for a movie and team he truly loves.

Known for working with actors Mark Wahlberg, Daniel Craig, Ryan Gosling, and Jake Gyllenhaal as their make-up artist, and being the department head for movies like First Man, The Fighter, Skyfall, Prisoners, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049, Mowat’s dedication to his craft has garnered praise by many in the industry, thus making him one of the most reliable artists working today in the business. On Dune, he and his team’s collaboration built upon their director’s vision to create unique looks for each character and the story they are telling. Between extensive research and detailed “vision boards,” they were able to successfully separate the work on this film from any of the previous versions of Dune we had seen before.

I sat down with Mowat back at the 2021 Middleburg Film Festival, right before the release of the film and before he and his team have gone on to win award after award for their work on Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi spectacle. In this interview, I asked him about his reaction to being nominated for his first Oscar nomination, what Dune has meant to him, his team’s work on the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), dealing with weather difficulties on shooting on location in Budapest, and his excitement for working on Dune: Part 2. And while he’s a little nervous about the outcome of the Oscars in late March, he is mostly excited to get back together with Denis and the team behind Dune one last time to celebrate their epic achievement.

This audio interview, which runs 51m, might contain spoilers, so if you have not seen Dune, go watch the film and come back to this conversation.

Dune is available to buy on Blur-ray and DVD, as well as to own or rent on all VOD platforms. It will return to HBO Max in March 2022.

On episode 196 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello, Zach Laws, and Josh Parham to discuss their Top 5 Modern Directors.

With Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan’s films dominating the box office, having audiences racing to see Barbie and Oppenheimer over and over again, we thought that it would be a good idea to do a list inspired by two of the biggest directors working in movies today. For the Awards Watch team, directors and their filmographies are the backbone of why they are the writers and film enthusiasts they are. In do this list, Ryan, Sophia, Zach and Josh dive head first into the directors that speak to them during our modern era of filmmaking. In doing so, the gang set an age requirement of 60 or below and the director had to have at least three films to their filmography to qualify. In doing this, some of the biggest, most influential filmmakers of our time were mentioned, including Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, David Fincher, Sofia Coppola, Céline Sciamma, David Lowery and Wes Anderson, alongside some names that were new discoveries for the group, and many more.

NOTE: The audio to this episode was damaged but that still shouldn’t stop you from listening to this fantastic, fun conversation.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h13m. We will be back next week talking about our pre-fall festival 2024 Oscar predictions. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 6 of the Director Watch Podcast, they are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Nicole Ackman to discuss the final film in their Todd Haynes series, Dark Waters (2019).

On the surface, Dark Waters may seem like an odd choice for Todd Haynes to direct, making the project almost seem like a “director for hire” situation. But once you dive into this legal thriller, the more of Haynes you will find. In a story about an environmental lawyer who puts everything on the line to expose DuPont, one of the world’s largest chemical companies, of a lengthy history of pollution, Haynes dives into not just how the danger threatens everyone in the local small towns that are being poisoned by DuPont, but the millions of people around the world using their products. In doing this, Haynes makes a visually striking, cynical drama about one man’s endless such for accountability.

Led by Haynes’s excellent direction, Ryan, Jay, and Nicole discuss Mark Ruffalo’s performance, Ed Lachman’s bold cinematography, which character actors stand out in the cast, if Anne Hathaway’s performance is underwritten, and if Dark Waters is the most underrated gem from 2019 film year. 

Warning, the audio to this episode was damaged but that still shouldn’t stop you from listening to this fantastic, fun conversation.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h28m. The guys will be back next week to begin their Denis Villeneuve series with a look at Incendies. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 268 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, and AwardsWatch Contributors Dan Bayer, Cody Dericks, Jay Ledbetter, Josh Parham, Karen Peterson, Trace Sauveur, and Griffin Schiller breakdown their favorite films of 2024.

As we are about to begin an exciting new year of cinema in 2025, we say goodbye to 2024 with our AW team’s favorite films of the year. Instead of having everyone on one call together, the show is split up into six sections, each section covering the six films the team loved the most. Those films included Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu (Karen and Griffin), Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Trace), Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light (Josh) Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow (Dan and Cody), RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys (Erik and Jay), and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist (Ryan and Sophia).

In each segment, each person talks about why they selected the film as their favorite of the year, as well as an in-depth discussion over the film. At the end, the team gave honorable mentions for other films that they loved that included Challengers, Queer, Juror #2, Maria, Hit Man, Babygirl, Hundreds of Beavers, Hard Truths, Anora, Trap, Dahomey, The Substance, and many more. Please enjoy this wonderful last episode of 2024, thank you all for reading everything on the website as well as listening to the show this past year. We here at AwardsWatch hope you all have a Happy New Year.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 3h50m. We will be back next week to breakdown the winners of the 2025 Golden Globes.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “Once Upon a Time” from Robin Carolan, “Basm epic” from Z.O.B., “Imagined Light” from Topshe, “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl” from yeule, “Color Memory” from Alex Somers, “Overture (Bus),” “Intermission” from Daniel Blumberg, “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 77 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the latest film in their Nancy Meyers series, Something’s Gotta Give (2003).

With her third feature film, Nancy Meyers reunited with Diane Keaton and recruited Jack Nicholson to star in a romantic comedy about famous, neurotic playwright and elder playboy, philanthropist falling in love with each other, despite being complete opposites. Considered to be the best film in her filmography, Meyers’ signature attention to detail and charm is matched by two incredible performances by Keaton and Nicholson, all wrapped within a hilarious, steamy screenplay that makes this film extremely rewatchable and quotable. Ryan, Jay, and Sophia extensively dive into why they love this movie, wearing turtleneck sweaters in the summers, the birth of the Nancy Meyers’ kitchen obsession, the food in the film, how time works in this story, Nicholson’s star power, how Keaton’s character reflects Meyers’ personality, the performances of Keanu Reeves and Frances McDormand, if Keaton picks the right man at the end of the film, and a new movie franchise “pitch” for the ages.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h34m. The guys will be back next week to begin continue their series on the films of Nancy Meyers with a review of her film, The Holiday. 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).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 22 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to discuss the next film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, There Will Be Blood (2007).

At the midpoint of the series, the boys have reached one of the most important films of the 21^st century, and a vital film for both hosts in terms of their film taste and inspired them to become the writers/podcasters they are today. With There Will Be Blood, PTA created a film that broke through the zeitgeist, crossing over with audiences and the Academy, and thus he made the film he’d arguable be most remembered for, as Anderson constructed a captivating, darkly humorous masterpiece that clashes capitalism and religion in an oil filled epic set in the small, imaginary town of Little Boston. Led by an all time performance by Daniel Day Lewis, Ryan, Jay, and Josh discuss the film overall, Day Lewis and Paul Dano’s performances, how There Will Be Blood shares a bond with No Country for Old Men in more ways than one, downloading movies in the early 2000s, Jonny Greenwood’s iconic score, the morality of these characters, milkshakes and so much more.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h57m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of Paul Thomas Anderson with a review of his next film, The Master. The film is streaming on MAX. 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).

On episode 149 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, as well as AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello to talk about their pre-fall festival Best Picture predictions and answer some listener questions.

The fall movie season is upon us, as the Venice Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival are in less than two weeks and will kick off the new Oscar season. With this, Ryan, Erik, and Sophia dive deep into what they think the race for Best Picture will look like, and which films they think will make the line-up. This is a fun exercise in an evolving race that we will look back on and see if our group were right about their predictions, or if just how far off they were. Again, it is just August and most of these films haven’t been screened just yet, but it is also a good time to overview what will most likely be in competition for Hollywood’s biggest prize.

Before they leave, the trio answers some listener’s questions. They talk about the films that might end up on their Top Ten of the year list that have a zero percent, what films they are looking forward to at the Toronto International Film Festival, and name their favorite Oscar nominees that didn’t win or weren’t nominated for their best work.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h9m. We will be back next week with our final Emmy predictions. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro) used by permission

On episode 221 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to give out their final 2024 Oscar winner predictions.

And just like that, the time has come for the final winner predictions for the 96^th Academy Awards. In a year where the critic and industry awards have been dominated by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the chances are near zero that the three-hour epic won’t walk away with the top prize this coming Sunday. But just because Best Picture is all but certain doesn’t mean some of the below the line categories and Best Actress race aren’t still open for discussion. In an extension conversation, Ryan, Erik and Sophia break down every possible outcome as well as pick their winners for all twenty-three categories. They also speculate which former winners will show up in the presentation of the acting categories, something that hasn’t been done on the telecast since the Oscars in 2009.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h48m. On our next episode, we will be back to wrap up the Oscar season. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 66 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by hosts of the Screen Drafts podcast Clay Keller and Ryan Marker to discuss the next film in their Terrence Malick series, Song to Song (2017).

The final film in Malick’s modern, personal trilogy finds the director searching for love, loss, inspiration and faith in the music scene set in Austin, Texas. Filmed over multiple years, and at various music venues and festivals, Malick was able to explain the dirtiness that surrounds being in an artistic industry and how much of your soul you have to give up in order to find success. At the same time, he displays a location of this country that is evolving from it’s “weird” roots and becoming more conventional, losing the very thing that makes the fabric of a town like Austin so unique. In one of the liveliest DW episodes the boys have ever had, Ryan, Jay, Clay, and Ryan break down the thoughts on the film, the use of real life musician’s as actors throughout the film, Malick’s relationship with casting movie stars, their love for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, first reactions to seeing a Malick film, which one of the guys on the show is actually in the film, who got cut from the film, how it is showcases Austin, and what is the best Malick movie to show someone if they have never seen one of his films.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h11m. The guys will be back next week to conclude their series on the films of Terrence Malick with a review of his next film, A Hidden Life. 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).

On episode 133 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson, as well as AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello and Josh Parham, as they dive deep into the website’s first Oscar Predictions for the 2022-2023 season.

In the wake of the news that the 2023 Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2023, it was only right for the first predictions of the Oscar season to go live on the site this week. Ryan, Erik, Sophia, and Josh breakdown the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress races, who the early contenders are, who they would like to see make it into the race, and which performances they are a little skeptical about already. It is a long way till the nominations on January 24, 2023, and with most of these performances as of yet unscreened, it will be fascinating to take a look back on this conversation to see how spot on everyone was, as well as how far off some of these predictions might be.

Then they transitioned over to listener questions, where they discussed what the Academy needs to do to attract younger viewers to the watch the Oscars next year, as well as which films from the beginning of the year can sustain their momentum into the fall. They also talked about the film from Cannes they are most interested in based on first reactions, as well as talk a little about if one or both of Hirokazu Kore-eda or Park Chan–Wook could be an international director to break into the Best Director lineup. Lastly, they mention what debut directional efforts they are looking forward to in 2022 and if they think Top Gun: Maverick has any chance in Best Picture. A wide range of listener questions, but we thank everyone who sent in their questions in.

In the final segment of the show, the gang played two games. The first game was another round of AwardsWatch or Not, this time pitting the top ten lists of 2020 and 2021 against each other to see which film year was better. The first round of lists consisted of Erik’s favorite films, while round two focused on Ryan’s taste in film. Then they played a new game titled Call Me by Your Tagline, in which Erik, Sophia and Josh had to match the poster tagline of an Oscar–winning or nominated film to its respected title. It got a little competitive but it was a lot of fun.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h47m, and it’s blast. Let’s get into it.

On episode 267 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributors Jay Ledbetter and Dan Bayer to go back a couple of years to take a look at the 92nd Academy Awards, celebrating the films of 2019.

Five years ago, the Academy handed out one of the coolest Best Picture winners in our lifetime, awarding Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite alongside a surprising win for Best Director as well as wins in the Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature. It was a historic win as it was the first non-English language film to win the Oscar’s top prize, and might go down as one of the influential wins in the modern era. This film released inside a fantastic year of cinema to end the 2010s, though it was nominated in a selection of films that more or less didn’t showcase just how strong of a year 2019 was. But that is what episodes like this is for, for the AW team to come in and make the changes necessary to the nominations (and winners) to showcase just how great a year in film is was.

In their in-depth discussion, the AW team talked about the film year of 2019, briefly discuss talk about Parasite as a Best Picture winner, do an extensive conversation over the below the line categories and nominees for the year, and then the new version of the AW Shoulda Woulda Coulda game, where instead of individual replacements, they must decide as a group who the nominees and winners should be in the top eight categories. The rules of the game state they can only replace two of the nominees that year from each category, except in Best Picture, where the group could replace up to five films to make up the final set of five nominated films. Like past retrospective episodes, it was a fascinating, fun conversation including spirited debates, alliances, vote swinging, celebrating various movies, performances that aren’t normally talked about and more that we all hope you enjoy. They also do something for the first time in this episode in one category not yet done before, making for a wonderful new wrinkle to the game.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h14m. We will be back next week for our episode on the AW team favorite films of 2024. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 208 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Jay Ledbetter discuss David Fincher’s latest film The Killer and give out their Top 5 David Fincher films.

One of the most celebrated directors of our time is a man that is fully obsessed with every detail about making a film. Known for being a perfectionist, director David Fincher has made a body of work that stands amongst many as one of the best to ever do it. From police procedurals to adaptations of popular novels to important stories based on a real life events, he prides himself in being a man that loves to showcase the process of how things are done or how we arrive at the most difficult moments humans can make. On this episode, Ryan, Sophia, and Jay breakdown why Fincher is one of their guys, what they love about him, and how his movies have shaped the good and bad tendencies of modern Hollywood. This includes talking about his latest thriller The Killer, which is streaming on Netflix and is one of the best films of the year so far, with stellar performances from Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton, as well as the usual excellent craft work done by Fincher and his collaborators. After that, the group breakdown their Top 5 Fincher films, that include Se7en, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network, Gone Girl, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Zodiac.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h25m. We will be back next week to talk about our Top 5 Best and Worst Prequels of all time. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

With the Creative Arts swinging big for Game of Thrones, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Chernobyl, will the Primetime Emmys follow suit?

In this final Emmy winner prediction podcast, Amanda Spears and I delve into all Drama, Comedy and Limited Series categories with our winner predictions plus the spoiler in those categories.

Even with Game of Thrones as the obvious winner for Drama Series (can you imagine the upset if it lost?) where else will it win? It's at 10 Emmys from the Creative Arts, just two away from the all-time record of 12 for a single season (a record owned by GOT itself, twice) so breaking that record should happen. But, by how much?

Creative Arts Emmy Award Winners – ‘Game of Thrones’ leads with 10; ‘Chernobyl 7,’ ‘Maisel’ with 6

Comedy is a fight between Barry, Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Veep. Barry picked up two wins at the Creative Arts (yet lost stunts and sound editing, strangely), Fleabag snagged the casting award (a huge get) and Veep went 0/4. Its chances of taking the crown back from Mrs. Maisel seem like a pipe dream at this point.

Limited Series categories at the Creative Arts loved Chernobyl, giving it seven big wins. When They See Us, only managed a single win but it was for casting, a good bellwether for Sunday. There is a lot of history to be made if the series and its creator/director Ava DuVernay win. She's the frontrunner for writing and directing right now, making her first African-American woman to achieve that if she does.

This podcast runs 1h 14m with music.

Opening: Main title of Game of Thrones

Closing: Trailer for season two of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel featuring the song "Get Happy"

On episode 219 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to give their reactions to the 2024 BAFTA Awards, and give out their predictions for the upcoming 2024 PGA, SAG, and Independent Spirit Awards,

As discussed on last week’s show, the 2024 BAFTA awards were this past Sunday, with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer taking home seven awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor for Cillian Murphy. With the film’s other wins in Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Editing and Score, it has solidified itself not only as the frontrunner for Best Picture at the Oscars, but it is the forgone conclusion that it will be our winner this year. But with three weeks to go, can any other film set forward as a challenger and take Best Picture right at the last second? Poor Things looked to be the latest challenger to Oppenheimer as made its case by winning five BAFTA’s including Best Actress for Emma Stone. But it lost Best British Film in a upset to Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, thus making it clear which film the BAFTA voting membership was going to reward its top prize to. Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, and American Fiction also took home prizes, while films like Barbie. Saltburn, All of Us Strangers, Maestro, and Killers of the Flower Moon went home empty handed. The gang discuss the impact of these results and how much they will factor them in going into the final stage of season.

After discussing the BAFTAs, Ryan, Erik, and Dan gave their full predictions for the PGA, SAG, and Independent Spirit Awards, which included plenty of talk about Oppenheimer another big step towards it’s Best Picture win, discuss how the four acting races will conclude, how SAG will vote in their television categories, and what they think the unpredictable Film Independent voters will vote on for its winners. All in all, it was a fun predictions portion segment filled with tons of possibilities for various winners to walk away with the top prizes at each show.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h46m. On our next episode, we will be giving our reactions to the SAG Awards, as well as doing a review of the latest sci-fi epic, Dune: Part Two. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Is Game of Thrones running away with the Drama Series Emmy win? All signs point to yes but that doesn't mean there isn't a conversation to be had about this year's drama races. 

I am joined once again by Amanda Spears to break down Drama Series, Lead Actor and Actress and Supporting Actor and Actress (guest, writing and directing categories will be tackled later). 

In this podcast we tackle if GOT can break NYPD Blue's all-time record for most nominations by a show in a single season, how the acting races could play out for Killing Eve's Jodie Comer, Pose's Billy Porter and the Emmy fate of This is Us and House of Cards and much more.

This podcast runs 56m 30s with music.

Opening: The theme from Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi

Closing: "New York City By Day,' by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

On episode 262 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Jay Ledbetter to give their thoughts on Gladiator II and discuss their Top 5 Denzel Washington performances.

Big weekend at the movie as audiences around the world got to see the long awaited Wicked Part 1 and Gladiator II. Before the guys get into their thoughts on Ridley Scott’s latest, Ryan shares his reactions to Wicked Part 1, and why for him, the film is mostly frustrating experiences with a couple of good performances in it. After that, Ryan and Jay dive right into Gladiator II, a film over twenty years in the making, as Scott dives back into the world he created in 2000’s Best Picture winning epic. Much like the original, the film is a tale of revenge, centered around a main character looking to take on not just the ones of betrayed him, but the most powerful of Rome, leading to bloody battles and political intrigue around every corner. The boys were mixed on it, with Jay not being as positive on the film as Ryan is, with the totality of the conversation focusing on the film’s script, Scott and his team’s craft of recreating Rome, if Paul Mescal is a “movie star,” and Denzel Washington’s incredible performance.

Once they are done reviewing the film, the episode shifts solely to Washington, one of the greatest movie stars of all time and his magnificent, celebrated career. The two time Oscar winner has built a career on and off screen that rivals many legendary actors and actresses. And after covering plenty of his films on Director Watch this year, Ryan and Jay give out their Top 5 Denzel Washington performances. The films discussed ranged from Remember the Titans, Malcolm X, Man on Fire, He Got Game, Crimson Tide, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Roman J Israel, Esq., John Q, Training Day, Philadelphia, Glory, Devil in a Blue Dress, and more. A fun, extensive dive into a career of one of the best to ever do it, and we hope you enjoy it.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h11m. We will be back next week for a retrospective of the 67th Academy Awards, covering the films of 1994. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 36 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Bug (2007).

Moving away from his early 2000s action thrillers era, Friedkin set his sights on a project of much small scale, as he saw a play by writer/actor Tracy Letts that blew him away. Set mostly in a single location, motel room, Bug follows Agnes (a fantastic Ashley Judd) as she begins a new relationship with Peter (an excellent Michael Shannon), a stranger that turns unstable and unpredictable as layers of his past unfold and we start to see the lines of what is real and what is fake collide. With this, Friedkin creates an effective paranoid thriller with stellar performances and a scorching good ending. Ryan and Jay break down what they like about the film, the careers of both Judd and Shannon, the wild choices made by Harry Connick Jr. with his work in the film, how the film handles PTSD, and once again discuss the great film year that was 2007.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h35m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, Killer Joe. You can stream the film on Amazon Prime Video. 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).

Within the first few moments of speaking with writer-director Mike Mills, you vibe with his calm energy and gentle spirit, therefore making it a very soul enriching experience to have during an interview. This feeling isn’t a stranger to most who have seen his films, as Mills has been making audiences feel this way over the last sixteen years since his debut feature Thumbsucker. In taking time between his debut and his next three projects, he was able to find distinct connections that span into grand ideas about not just the world his character inhabits, but our modern culture and society.

Films like Beginners and 20^th Century Women are, respectively, pieces of art used as an ode to his father and mother. The former earned massive acclaim, including the late Christopher Plummer’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor. The latter was hailed as one of the best films of the last decade and landed Mills his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. But it is his latest film, C’mon C’mon, that finds him examining new territory, as Mills is making a film about a new family member, his relationship with his child, thus his most personal film to date. Within C’mon C’mon, we follow a journalist named Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) and his precocious nephew Jesse (Woody Norman) as their bond grows while Jesse’s mom Viv (Gaby Hoffman) is tending to the needs of Jesse’s struggling father (Scoot McNairy). Built within this simple narrative lies some of the most honest screenwriting of the year as Mills is able to balance this familial dynamic as well as the difficult themes he suggests about humanities future and how unsure our world is, with no solutions in sight.

From talking with him, he is someone who cares deeply about his craft, and the connection his work has with audiences across the world. In doing so, he understands the human soul better than anyone working today in film right now. C’mon C’mon is, as stated in our review, “the best film of his career” and “crafts one of the best screenplays of the last ten to fifteen years.” In my conversation with the writer-director, Mills spoke about his creative process, his inspirations for the film, and tells stories and antidotes of his cast, including the relationship between the veteran actor, Joaquin Phoenix and the newcomer of the year, Woody Norman. Here’s hoping the one time Oscar nominee can add not just another Oscar nomination to his leaguer, but a gold statue as well, thus honoring him and one of the best films of 2021.

C’mon C’mon is currently playing only in theaters from A24.

On episode 235 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer, Cody Dericks, and Josh Parham conclude their tier ranking of the 97 Best Director winners from the Academy Awards.

In the second part of the Best Picture tier rankings (listen to Part 1 here), the AW team start in the 1980s and go all the way to the most recent winners of Best Director. This is where our hosts and audience are able to talk about the films they have most likely seen the most, and see the expansion of the limited “S tier,” where compromise and sacrifices of some member’s favorites are placed lower than you would be expected. But there are plenty of surprises amongst the team, leading to a fascinating final ranking of these 97 winners, including Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Sam Mendes, Steven Soderbergh, Christopher Nolan and Chloé Zhao. This was another fun exercise getting to talk about some of the best (and not so great) winners of all time and the team really hopes you enjoy this part as much as part one.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 3h06m. We will be back next week to review Richard Linklater’s latest film Hitman and participate in a fun draft to determine who are the greatest movie stars of all time. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 172 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Sophia Ciminello break down the winners of the 2023 SAG awards and where the Oscar race is at before the start of voting.

We are down to the final two weeks of the Oscar season, and it has become clear that we are heading towards a historic night at the 95th Academy Awards for A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. After it’s win last Saturday night at the Producers Guild of America (PGA), the little movie that could took home the most SAG awards in the Screen Actors Guild history on Sunday, with three acting prizes and Best Cast. This is a big change from the BAFTA awards the week before, and the perfect scenario for the film going into Oscar voting. Ryan, Dan, and Sophia break down the winners, what they mean for the overall race, the chaos of Best Supporting Actor, and tease a very long show next week with our final predictions.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h10m. We will be back next week to give our final Oscar predictions. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

2021 has been the year of the musical. Whether it was Encanto, Vivo, tick…tick…BOOM, Annette, Cyrano, West Side Story, and many more, audiences have experienced a resurgence of the once staple genre of Hollywood. But for many, including myself, the musical that still stands out over the rest this year came out during the summer, Warner Bros' In the Heights.

Based on the Broadway hit musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the film is set over the course of a couple of days in the mostly Latinx based neighborhood of Washington Heights, where people are navigating the modern world and fight to obtain their sueñitos, their little dreams that will change their lives forever. With this, we many follow Usnavi, played by recent Golden Globe nominee Anthony Ramos, is saving enough money to go back to his home in the Dominican Republic and start fresh. But leaving isn’t easy when the community he is in, surrounded by family and friends, rely on him to move forward as much as he needs them.

With awe-inspiring choreography, impeccable performances by this talented ensemble, and lavish cinematography by Alice Brooks, In the Heights provides wonder not found in many modern musicals today. In large part, this has to do with the direction of Jon M. Chu, whose vibrant energy and passion for musicals comes through in almost every moment we see in the film. Chu, known for starting his career making dance movies with Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D, followed by blockbuster sequels with G.I Joe: Retaliation and Now You See Me 2, he found his biggest success in the 2018 worldwide smash hit, Crazy Rich Asians. With that film he not only made the highest grossing romantic comedy of the 2010s, but landed major awards nominations including a SAG Ensemble, thus making a commercial, celebrated film that all audiences can enjoy while given a vehicle for Asian actors to be seen by audiences in a light that they hadn’t been seen since The Joy Luck Club. Therefore, when it was announced he was attached to In the Heights, it made all sense in the world that he would carry his sincere, detailed approach over to this mostly Latinx, yet universal story.

In a recent conversation with Chu, I talked to him about his passion for the project, his love of the genre, what he carried from making the film’s extravagant musical numbers like "9600," and what he has learned, good and bad, from his experience post the film’s release. With his schedule getting bigger by the day as he starts preparations adaptation of the film version of the monumental musical sensation, Wicked, it was nice to sit down and speak with Mr. Chu about his process and passion to tell diverse stories. His affection for this world and time with Miranda, Ramos, the rest of the cast, and crew still shows in how he speaks, displaying the same feeling the audience has when watching his film, that of an unforgettable experience.

In the Heights is available to stream on HBO Max, as well as to own or rent on Blu-ray and all VOD platforms.

On episode 147 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor and Chief Erik Anderson, TV Editor Tyler Doster and AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer talk about their Top 5 favorite films in the Criterion Collection, Beyoncé’s new album, and the latest fall film festival announcements.

Ryan is back in the host chair, and right off the bat, the group discuss their thoughts on Beyoncé’s Renaissance, the long awaited follow up to her 2016 album Lemonade. They talk about their favorite songs on the album, and brief mention if it will have the momentum to get nominated for Album of the Year at next year’s Grammys.

Moving right along, the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival announcing a big chunk of their festival lineups, the table is set for a fun, chaotic fall festival slate. The group mention their observations between the two festivals and what they are looking forward to seeing the most, since Erik and Dan will be at TIFF in a little over a month from now.

On to the main topic of the show, which was supposed to be the main topic two weeks ago before Ryan got sick, which is a deep dive into their Top 5 films with the Criterion Collection. With thousands of films to choose from all around the world, the Criterion Collection has cemented itself as the go to place for film preservation and appreciation of physical media. And with the annual July Barnes and Noble sale ending, the group give out their 5 favorites within the collection, as well as a variety of stories to match each selection. Tons of great cinema was discussed, with even a running theme from Tyler that was absolutely delightful. 

Last up this week are our weekly listener questions, and continuing with the theme of the show, the panel was asked what was their favorite non-Criterion Collection piece of physical media, as well as what films they would like to see added to the collection. They also gave out recommendations for first timers seeking out their entry point into the Criterion Collection, as well as what Best Picture winners they would like to see join the other eleven that are already a part of the famous collection. Finally, they talk about actors they would like to see get a second Oscar nomination.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h43m. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro) used by permission

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 27 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to discuss the first film in their William Friedkin series, The Boys in the Band (1970).

Early in his career, director William Friedkin started out unlike most directors, making studio for hire work like Good Times starring Sonny Bono and Cher. After a couple of other moderate to unsuccessful films, Friendkin was brought onto a project that would change his career, as he helmed one of the most influential LBGTQ+ films of all time, The Boys in the Band. Centered around a group of friends celebrating one of their owns birthday, the movie unravels into a look at the regrets and unspoken truths gay men were and still are feeling to this day. In this episode, Ryan, Jay, and Josh break down the film’s themes, if it holds up, the over the top performances, if Friedkin’s style and voice is found in the project, the 2020 Netflix remake, and if they would nominate this movie for any Oscars for the 1971 ceremony.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h54m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, The French Connection. You can stream the film on Max. 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).

On episode 143 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman and Kevin Lee to give out their Top 5 most anticipated films remaining for 2022, answer some listener questions, and play a quick game.

A few weeks ago, the podcast crew talked about their favorite films of the year so far. As we cross over into July, we are starting the second half of 2022, where bigger budget spectacles release alongside all the films that will play apart within the awards season conversation. With this, Ryan, Nicole, and Kevin give out their top 5 most anticipated films remaining within the calendar year. From films like Blonde, Women Talking, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Decision to Leave, Nope, Avatar: The Way of Water and many more are mentioned in this discussion, which shows a bountiful slate of films for all audiences to enjoy as well as provoke fascinating discussions.

Moving on from their top 5 lists, the group answers some wonderful listener questions, starting with if they would give Natalie Portman or Christian Bale a second Oscar from the work in their career (a question brought up because of the release of the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder). Next, they talk about which non-English language performance from the last ten years they would give an Oscar nomination to. They also give out their top 3 Madonna songs, give an update on if The Whale will be released this year, and the Oscar chances for Nope. As things wrapped this segment up, they also talked about which actors they think will win a second acting Oscar, and what they think of the fourth season of Stranger Things.

Lastly, the three host play a quick round of Cinephile Filmography, competing over the films of the legendary Meryl Streep. It was a great reminder of just how many movies the three-time Oscar-winning actress has been in, including a lot of dramas and, more recently, musicals that provide a long, fascinating round. After they finish the game for the week, they each give a recommendation for readers and listeners to go watch right now

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 2h06m. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Music: "Modern Fashion" used by permission from AShamaleuvmusic

On episode 204 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello and Dan Bayer dive the newest AwardsWatch Oscar retrospective covering the 91^st Academy Awards and the films of 2018.

If you can remember back to just five years ago, the Oscars were coming off the heels of a couple of years of great winners from the Academy, with Spotlight, Moonlight, and The Shape of Water taking home the previous three Best Picture prizes. It looked like, with new members added every year, the Oscars were done giving disappointing winners their top honor, but the 2018 Oscar season proved to be a massive step back for the Academy as Green Book won Best Picture, and went down in history as one of the worst winners in Oscar history. Moreover, the season not only had other films of questionable quality nominated as well, but it started a path towards a host-less ceremony, ideas of cutting categories, not inviting the acting winners from the year before to the ceremony to present, and other problems that would come up in one form or another for the next few years at the Oscars.

In this in depth retrospective, Ryan, Sophia and Dan break down the year in film, the good and bad nominees, and the overall legacy of Green Book’s win and the rest of the winners on the night. They also talked about where they were at just five years ago, the campaigning that got us this Best Picture win, and how similar tactics have been used since for both good and bad reasons. After doing that, Ryan gave out some Oscar Trivia for Sophia and Dan to answer, and then they got into playing 'Should’ve, Could've, Would’ve,' where they replace nominees from the 91^st Academy Awards and give out their personal winners for the year. The films included in their discussion ranged from If Beale Street Could Talk, Burning, Leave No Trace, A Simple Plan, First Reformed, Hereditary, Widows, BlacKkKlansman, Private Life, Roma, First Man, The Old Man and the Gun, Disobedience, Suspiria, The Favourite, Paddington 2, Can You Ever Forgive Me, Blindspotting, Wildlife, and so many more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h32m. We will be back next week to talk about our Top 5 Best/Worst franchise reboots, inspired by the latest Exorcist revival. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Bill Groom is no stranger to the Emmys, he's a four-time winner for HBO's Boardwalk Empire. With its expansive sets and designs of Atlantic City, both the boardwalk and interiors, Groom was more than ready to take on the mid-century look of New York City for Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which earned 14 Emmy nominations for its freshman season, including one for Groom's meticulously detailed production design. 

In my interview with Groom we discuss his incredible body of work which includes HBO's Vinyl, ABC's miniseries When We Rise and the feature films Eat Pray Love and Milk, the process of location vs sets and the leg work involved in recreating the period with accuracy and detail. 

Bill Groom is nominated in Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel episode "Ya Shivu v Bolshom Dome Na Kholme."

The next season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will hit Amazon in late 2018 or early 2019.

This interview runs 34m with opening and closing music.

Opening music: "Egh-choh-choh" by The Barry Sisters

Closing song: "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie

The Emmy voting period ends August 27th at 10pm PST.

The Creative Arts Emmys will be a two-night affair on Saturday, September 8th and Sunday, September 9th.

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards will be Monday, September 17th.

Patti LuPone’s been busy. Between starring in the new Ryan Murphy Netflix show Hollywood, performing in Zoom concerts, giving no-holds-barred interviews in her signature outspoken fashion and giving us regular video updates from her basement, there’s no question that 2020 – coronavirus be damned— has already been Patti LuPone’s year.

But to many of us, EVERY year is Patti’s year. My love for the legendary diva spans decades of seeing her perform in countless shows and settings, including an evening almost 10 years ago when I got to see her sing at a Barnes and Noble in New York City to promote her deliciously honest memoir. Watching LuPone in that intimate setting solidified my love and admiration for this woman and was an evening I’ll never forget (partly because I was also seated right next to the late, great Zoe Caldwell— but that’s a story for another day.)

So you can imagine how thrilled and honored I was to get a chance to talk to her briefly in the midst of her busy quarantine schedule. Patti filled me in on the challenges of trying to stay productive while stuck at home, chatted about the current state of the arts in general and theatre in particular, filled me in on how she prepared to play a female studio executive in 1947 Hollywood, and, yes, gave me some insight into those basement videos that have turned her into a full-blown Twitter legend.

On this episode, I am joined by the twin team of Cole and Justin, better known as The Oscar Expert and Brother Bro, who return to the AwardsWatch Oscar Podcast to talk about the Screen Actors Guild and offer our predictions.

We hit all categories and dive into both likely nominations, weird SAG-only possibilities (like Viola Davis and Sandra Bullock in The Unforgivable) and break down how many nominations Belfast and The Power of the Dog can score. Each stand a chance to to get in 3 or even 4 individual actors plus the SAG Cast category. The all-time record still stands at 5 nominations for a single film and we could see it happen once, or even twice, this year.

West Side Story is a big part of the conversation, which was recorded on December 26, because at the time no screeners, digital or physical, had been sent to the SAG nominating committee for voting. As of this writing, digital screeners have now reached the 2000-2500 voters but is it too late? Voting opened on December 6 ends on January 9 and many might have already submitted their picks, deciding not to wait on 20th Century/Disney to drop those screeners. Our predictions for WSS reflect that here.

Support for this podcast comes from Amazon Studios, presenting Being the Ricardos. Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) are threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear, and cultural taboos in Academy Award-winning writer and director Aaron Sorkin’s behind-the-scenes drama Being the Ricardos. 

A revealing glimpse of the couple’s complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers’ room, onto the soundstage, and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom I Love Lucy. 

Featuring J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, Jake Lacy, Linda Lavin, Ronny Cox, and John Rubinstein. Now nominated for three Critics Choice Awards for Best Original Screenplay Aaron Sorkin, Best Actress Nicole Kidman, and Best Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons. Variety raves the film is “intoxicating; a beautiful illustration of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz." Being the Ricardos is streaming now on Prime Video.

Support for this podcast also comes from Amazon Studios’ The Tender Bar, which tells the story of J.R. (Tye Sheridan), a fatherless boy growing up in the glow of a bar where the bartender, his Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck), is the sharpest and most colorful of an assortment of quirky and demonstrative father figures. 

As the boy’s determined mother (Lily Rabe) struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her — and leave the dilapidated home of her outrageous if begrudgingly supportive father (Christopher Lloyd) — J.R. begins to gamely, if not always gracefully, pursue his romantic and professional dreams — with one foot persistently placed in Uncle Charlie’s bar. 

The Tender Bar is based on the best-selling memoir of the same name by J.R. Moehringer. The Los Angeles Times calls the film “a nostalgic coming-of-age drama lovingly directed by George Clooney... Affleck has never been better." The Tender Bar is in theaters now and streaming January 7 on Prime Video.

This podcast runs 1h 20m with music and sponsorship content.

Before earning an Emmy nomination last week for her work on the series finale of Once Upon a Time, Cindy O'Connor began her career as a musical theater composer...well, actually it goes back further than that. Her parents love to regale their friends with stories of Cindy composing at the age of 5, writing song on her keyboard called "The Aku-Aku Foot Disease" while her family was living in Japan. It all began there. Flash forward to 1993, writing the music for All That He Was in collaboration with Larry Todd Johnson where she won the National Playwright Award and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for New Play. The darkly comic musical, about one man’s struggle with AIDS where the deceased functions as host and narrator, invisible among the friends and family assemble to pay him final respects, has since been produced in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and several theaters across the US.

O'Connor worked from the ground up in television and film, with Emmy-winning Oscar-nominated composer Mark Isham taking her under his wing. The two have collaborated for over a decade and share that 2018 Emmy nomination with Michael D. Simon. Throughout her musical career she's worked on the Oscar-winning film Crash, Blade, The Conjuring 2, The Black Dahlia and as the composer for shows like The Black Donnellys and the television adaptation of Crash. 

I chatted with Cindy about her first Emmy nomination (and being the only female nominated in the Music Composition categories), jamming with Pat Benatar and the importance of advocacy for women composers and in the film and television industry. She's also a member of the Alliance of Female Composers. On September 4th she'll be a part of KCRW Presents The Future is Female: A Concert Celebrating Female Composers at The Wiltern in Los Angeles that will also include Tamar Kali (Mudbound) and Ronit Kirchman (The Sinner), both featured in 5 Female Composer You Should Know. Tickets are available here. 

Here is my interview with Emmy nominee Cindy O'Connor. 

On episode 135 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, as well as AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer, as they review Top Gun Maverick, and talk about the prize winners for the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

As discussed on the last couple of episodes, the Cannes Film Festival is going on, and as of this past week, it wrapped up with the jury prize winners announced, with NEON landing their third straight Palme d’Or winner with Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness. Ryan, Erik, and Dan break down the full list of winners, as well as if they think any of these wins will translate over into an Oscar campaign for the respective films or performances that won.

Transitioning over to listener questions, the guys talk about their favorite moments they have experienced at a film festival, and what they watch to decompress after a rough last couple of weeks. They also choose who which musician they would like to see making the jump to the big screen. Diving into some more Oscar related questions, they breakdown some of their favorite VFX Oscar winners of all time, which network they thing the SAG Awards will end up on, and how they would fix the Best International Feature Film category qualifications. Lastly, they look at this year’s Best Animated Feature category and examine why there is so much genre bias within the Academy.

After that, Ryan and Dan review Top Gun: Maverick, which landed in theaters this past weekend. They talk about the film’s spectacle, smocking hot cast, and how it is exceeding all expectations, with both of them clearing expressing that it is better than the original in almost every way. They also give some thoughts on the first trailer for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which premiered online this past week. Basically, we live in Tom Cruises world right now, and they are okay with it as he seems to be the only one making these types of practical big-budget films that dare to go above and beyond with each outing.

And in the final segment of the show, the gang play the beloved AwardsWatch or Not Game, this time breaking down the filmography of Tom Cruise and pitting his films up against each other. They also give out recommendations for which shows or movies you should be watching right now.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h27m. Let’s get into it.

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 17 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the last film in their Lynne Ramsay series, You Were Never Really Here (2018).

In her fourth film of her career, Ramsay seemed to change direction back to the style of films she was making before We Need to Talk About Kevin, and strip everything back to a singular focus and tone rather than grander ideas. In doing so, she collaborated with one of Hollywood’s most in demand actors, Joaquin Phoenix, to create a violent, tight neo-noir crime thriller about a mercenary haunted by his past, who is hired to rescue a politician’s daughter who was kidnapped by a human trafficking network. Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017, Ramsay and Phoenix would go on to win prizes for her screenplay and his fully committed performance as Joe, some of the best work of his celebrated career. Ryan and Jay break down the film, speak briefly about Phoenix’s filmography, the film’s beautiful yet haunting ending, Jonny Greenwood’s subtle score, and give out their rankings of Lynne Ramsay’s small but fascinating body of work.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h18m. The guys will be back next week to begin their next series covering the films of Paul Thomas Anderson with a review of his debut film, Hard Eight. You can stream Hard Eight on Pluto TV, as well as 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).

On episode 216 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to give their reactions to the 96th Academy Award nominations.

Bright and early on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 96^th Oscar nominations, celebrating the films released within the year 2023. If you have been listening to the show, and following the race this season, it is no shock at all that Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer lead all films on nomination morning with 13 nominations, followed by Poor Things with 11 nominations, Killers of the Flower Moon with ten, and Barbie with eight. Speaking of Barbie, the biggest snubs and surprise of the nominations came when director Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie missed in the Best Director and Best Actress category, only for America Ferrera to sneak into the Best Supporting Actress line-up. There were other surprises that included five-nomination tallies for Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, The Holdovers (but missing Best Director), and a solid showing for American Fiction. Ryan, Erik, and Josh break down every aspect of the above the line nominees, which predictions they got right as well as the ones they missed, and as they get into the below the line categories, question some of the stranger choices the members of the Academy made. An overall good conversation surrounding a (for the most part) good group of nominees.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h12m. On our next episode, we will be talking about our favorite spy/espionage films due to the release of Matthew Vaughn’s latest film, Argylle. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 82 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Cody Dericks to discuss the final film in their Mike Nichols series, The Graduate (1967).

Just a year after his impressive, celebrated debut film, Mike Nichols returned with one of the most important American films of all time; an era defining feature film that is still as vital, thorny, and thematically rich as it was in the late 1960s. The Graduate was a signature film that ushered in what would become the “New Hollywood,” and showcased a generational anxiety of growing up and growing beyond the ease of one’s college life, and the refusal to want to accept your place in the world. It also is a hilarious comedy featuring sexy, memorable performances anchored by the most confident, boundary-pushing directorial work from Nichols in his career. Simply put, it is a masterpiece. Ryan, Jay, and Cody break down their thoughts on the film, Nichol’s camera work, their favorite moments of hilarity, the iconic soundtrack, the film’s remarkable ending, the films of 1967, the relationship dynamics found in the film and share where they were at in their life post their time in school.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h52m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Mike Nichols with a review of his next film, Carnal Knowledge. 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).

On episode 249 of the AwardsWatch Podcast it's another all editors edition as yours truly, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello are packed and ready to head to mountains of Colorado for the 51st Telluride Film Festival with special guest Christina Birro of Pop Culture Confidential.

As Telluride famously does, the actual lineup of films isn't released until the day of the festival (August 30) but with Venice, Toronto and New York announcements and designations of films as a 'world premiere,' 'international premiere,' 'North American premiere' or 'Canadian premiere' we have a pretty good idea of many of the films we'll be seeing, with all important world premiere titles that we'll likely be seeing before anyone like Edward Berger's papal thriller Conclave (Focus Features) starring Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci, Michael Gracey's Robbie Williams biopic Better Man (Paramount Pictures) with the UK star playing himself, Jason Reitman's Saturday Night (Sony Pictures), telling the story of the first night of SNL in 1975 with Gabriel LaBelle, Dylan O'Brien, Rachell Sennott, Cory Michael Smith and Willem Dafoe, Malcolm Washington's adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson starring Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington and RaMell Ross's Nickel Boys (Amazon MGM), adapting Colson Whitehead's Nickel Boys with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Hamish Linklater and more.

We also expect a healthy selection of Sundance and Cannes features to make their way to Telluride for a fall resurgence like A Real Pain, Emilia Pérez, Anora, The Seed of the Sacred Fig and more. Telluride medallions are also a topic of conversation with three traditionally up for grabs. Based on the expected lineup we think it will be Jason Reitman, Angelina Jolie and Samuel L. Jackson but there's a handful of possible contenders here.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h10m. We will be back the week after next to recap the 2024 Telluride Film Festival. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On this 76th Oscar podcast I welcome Variety's Awards and Features Editor Jenelle Riley, a first time guest, to discuss the upcoming Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for film.

While we don't really get into line by line predictions, Jenelle and I dig into the recent National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle wins, including The Irishman breaking from the pack early, but also the stealth contenders we're seeing come out of these announcements. Namely, Richard Jewell and Knives Out.

We talk a bit about potential 'controversies' this year but highlight and recognize that no amount of internet chatter keeps voters from voting what they want to vote for. 

We close with a bit of hopedicting and, wonderfully, we have the same single pick. #NominateNaiNai

This podcast runs about 52m with music.

Intro: "Modern Fashion" by AShamaluevMusic

Outro: "New York City By Day," by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

When you go to a film festival, you never know who you are going to meet. At the opening night after party of the Middleburg Film Festival, I was introduced to one of the most talented, hardest working people of their or any craft, the great make-up artist Donald Mowat. What started as a meet and greet turned into multiple conversations over the span of four days, talking about not just his work and the festival, but every other topic in between. Thus was the case when we sat down for a conversation at the Salamander Resort and discussed his extraordinary work.

In a career spanning over 35 years, Mowat has created some of the most iconic looks for some of the most celebrated films in that time span. His highlighted work as a department head includes 8 Mile, The Fighter, Skyfall, Nightcrawler, First Man. He’s worked closely as a personal artist for actors such as Mark Wahlberg, Daniel Craig, and Jake Gyllenhaal. But his biggest collaborations of late have been his work with director Denis Villeneuve on Prisoners, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, and their latest project, Dune. When talking with Mowat, there is an infectious glee that comes out of him when he talks about working with Villeneuve because of how proud he is of not just his work, but the work of all involved to make these movies successful.

Though his stellar work has been celebrated by many over the decade, Mowat has yet to receive an Oscar nomination. With Dune however, that is bound to change at it is not only some of the bes make-up and hairstyling of the year, but it is some of Mowat’s best work of his career. In the conversation below, we talked about his relationship with Villeneuve, how he came up with the looks of the different character groups in Dune, and what it would mean to Mowat, an Academy member since 1999, to be celebrated by his peers.

The interview might contain some mild spoilers, so if you want to go in blind, see the film before listening to the conversation.

Warner Brothers released Dune in theaters and on HBO MAX on Friday, October 22.

On episode 231 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to review the latest film from A24, I Saw The TV Glow, and give out their Top A24 films.

Since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, audience have been raving about Jane Schoenbrun’s psychological drama, I Saw the TV Glow, which is a fascinating examination of our consumption of media as well as a queer allegory about trying to find yourself within a small town that doesn’t accept you. The movie is considered by many to be the film of the year, with our own Savina Petkova calling it “fiercely beautiful” with her review out of the Berlin Film Festival. Ryan and Dan breakdown all the beautiful, complex aspects of this stellar second feature in a lengthy, spoiler free discussion.

In the back half of the episode, in honor of the latest film released by the famous yet young studio, the duo takes a trip down memory lane and talk about their favorite film released by A24. With films ranging from modern horror classics, heartwarming coming of age comedies, experimental genre films, and even two Best Picture winners, A24 has released a wide range of films that can be considered some of the most vital, celebrated cinema from any studio in the last two decades. Some of the films they talked about included The Green Knight, Hereditary, Eighth Grade, 20^th Century Women, A Most Violent Year, Past Lives, Moonlight, The Zone of Interest, Lady Bird, and many more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h18m. On our next episode, we will be discussing the latest release from NEON, Babes, and talking about our favorite films about parenthood.  

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 80 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by film critic Ema Sasic to discuss the final film in their Nancy Meyers series, The Intern (2015).

It’s hard to imagine that the Nancy Meyers’ series is already coming to an end, as the director feels like she has so many stories to tell, but alas here the boys are with the (for now) final film in the director’s filmography. Six years after her last film, Meyers returned with a workplace dramedy about a retired widower that signs up to becoming a ‘senior intern’ for an up and coming, online clothing company. Over the course of the film, we see generations collide and a true friendship arise, making for one of the most delightful, heartwarming entries in the series so far, and one of Meyers’ best films to date. Ryan, Jay, and Ema break down their thoughts on the film, if Meyers is a fan of Workaholics, how genuine these characters are, riding a bike in the office, Robert De Niro’s incredible performance, why people need to stop hating on the great Anne Hathaway, and why the world needs more Nancy Meyers movies. They boys also give their personal ranking of Meyers’ filmography and announce the next director movie series they will be covering.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h48m. The guys will be back next week to begin their series on the films of Mike Nichols with a review of his first film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. 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).

It's crazy but this is our first Oscar podcast of the 2019/2020 awards season!

With Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Telluride and Toronto behind us the Oscar season prospects are coming into view. Some things that looked strong in spring and now wilting in the fall, while others have emerged as frontrunners.

I am joined (for the first time) by AwardsWatch's own Mina Takla. Mina hit Cannes and TIFF for AW this year, knocking out over two dozen fantastic reviews and providing a much-needed looking at the non-English language selections that 2019 has to offer.

TIFF 19 Wrap-Up: From jokers to popes and birds to hustlers, here are the Best Films and Performances of the Toronto International Film Festival

In this podcast, we begin discussing Mina's experience at TIFF and the films and performances he liked the best. We end that section talking about the Grolsch People's Choice winner Jojo Rabbit and its runners-up Marriage Story and Parasite, which propels us into the Oscar conversation.

We cover Best Picture, Best Actor (with a focus on Joaquin Phoenix and Adam Driver), Best Actress (with a focus on Renée Zellweger and Cynthia Erivo), Documentary Feature and dabble in the supporting categories, as well as the historical potential of the Best Director category having more than woman director and/or two Asian directors with Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) and Lulu Wang (The Farewell) both in contention, on our way to closing out with the huge success and awards potential of Hustlers and the potential for Jennifer Lopez.

My apologies in advance for some of the audio. Something's a bit buggy with my side of the recording (and yes, that clickety-clack is me) lately and I'm still working it out. Thank you for your patience!

This podcast is 1h 17m with music.

Opening: "Over the Rainbow," from Roadside Attractions' Judy, sung by Renée Zellweger

Closing: "New York City By Day," by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 39 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the first film in their Sofia Coppola series, The Virgin Suicides (1999).

Over the past thirty years, there have been few female filmmakers who have been as influential as Sofia Coppola. As the child of one of cinema’s greatest America directors, the deck could be stacked against them to succeed. But Sofia Coppola directorial vision was focused from the beginning because when she read Jeffrey Eugenides’s acclaimed novel, she knew exactly how to make this story come to life. Setting aside her acting career, her transition to writer director proved to be the correct decision as The Virgin Suicides was not only one of the great films released in 1999, but it was one of the best directorial debuts of all time. As we follow a group of young boys who become enamored with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s, we see that Coppola is also examining not just how these boys see these girls, but rather the society around them. As a commentary on suburbia, adolescence, desire, and human insecurities, The Virgin Suicides is still as relevant as when it premiered 25 years ago. Ryan and Jay give a full break down into their thoughts on the film, Coppola’s style and visual language, the incredible ensemble at work here, and give their overall thoughts on Sofia Coppola as an artist as they jump into this brand new, exciting series.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h46m. The guys will be back next week to begin their new series covering the films of Sofia Coppola with a review of her next film, Lost in Translation. You can stream the film on Amazon Prime Video. 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).

On podcast #86 I welcome, for the first time, Christina Jeurling Birro, from Pop Culture Confidential. You probably know Christina from her PCC podcast, which I've guest on several times but she's finally here and I couldn't be happier.

In just an hour, Christina and I break down the Golden Globes winners and non-ceremony last Sunday, and the one-two punch of BAFTA longlist and Screen Actors Guild nomination announcements announcements that happened within an hour of each in the early hours of Wednesday morning. We dive into the surprise SAG mentions for Bradley Cooper and Ben Affleck at the expense of the Belfast boys, the shocking snub of Kristen Stewart and who showed up at BAFTA and why it matters.

Support for this podcast and the following message comes from MGM Studios’ and United Artists Releasing’s House of Gucci. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Lady Gaga, Adam Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, with Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino,House of Gucci is inspired by the true story of the family empire behind the Italian fashion house of Gucci.

Critics have hailedHouse of Gucci as “One of the best films of the year. A supremely entertaining and revealing drama from Ridley Scott.” and that the cast displays a “masterclass in acting” with “the best performances of the year.” Nominated for 4 Critics Choice Awards and 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards including Best Supporting Actor Jared Leto and Best Actress Lady Gaga, winner of the New York Film Critics Circle for Best Actress Spanning three decades of love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately murder, we see what a name means, what it’s worth, and how far a family will go for control.

For Your Consideration in all categories including Best Picture of the Year.

This podcast runs 1h 5m with sponsorship, intro and music.

At the age of 85, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior's rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her
biggest fans – until now. RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg 's exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films.

I spoke with Betsy West and Julie Cohen, the directors of RBG, the double Oscar-nominated documentary of the life and victories of the judicial powerhouse. In our conversation we talk about the directing duos first meetings with RBG, her unique relationship with fellow Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and what it could tell us about how we interact with each other today.

RBG is currently available to rent or buy on DVD or streaming on Amazon. The 91st Oscars will take place on Sunday, February 24th, 2019 and air live on ABC.

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 23 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson to discuss the next film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, The Master (2012).

How does someone follow up one of the most important films of the 2000s you may ask? It’s simple, you make a film that is to its level and one of the best films of the 2010s. That’s what PTA did with The Master, a philosophical drama with dark humor splashed throughout about a World War II vet who’s struggling to fit back into society and finds himself in a religious movement (a cult) under the leadership of its charismatic leader and wife, who is always keeping a watchful eye on everything. What forms from there is one of Anderson’s most complex films, exploring the dangers of religious fanaticism, toxic masculinity, mental health, alcoholism, and just about everything else you can think about when it comes to the human condition. Led by three titanic performances, Ryan, Jay and Erik dive right into deep process to discuss the film’s themes, Amy Adams' career choices of late, weird Joaquin Phoenix performances, scientology, the film’s lack of Oscar recognition for PTA, missing Philip Seymour Hoffman, and how the visual language of the film is so alluring.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h02m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of Paul Thomas Anderson with a review of his next film, Inherent Vice. 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)

It's one week after the close of the 71st Cannes Film Festival and guest Aaron Locke, who guested on the first Cannes podcast, returns to chat with me about it. 

We talk about Aaron's impressions as a first-time visitor of the fest, those early pieces about the lack of prestige and importance of Cannes and then move into our favorites like Burning, Shoplifters and Lazzaro Felice and least favorites (sorry, Godard) of the two week extravaganza. 

We close revealing our picks for dream jury members for the future. 

With music this podcast runs 1h 5m. 

Opening music: Cannes Film Festival opening theme

Closing music: “New York City By Day” by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

On episode 154 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer, and Josh Parham to have an extensive conversation over the 2022 Best Actor and Actress races, as well as answer listener questions and play a fun new game.

Before the group get into their Oscar conversation, the results of the 2022 Summer Box Office Draft were announced, as well as the film the losing team will be watching as a ‘reward.’ There will be another draft in two weeks, as well as a review of the film selected for the losing team.

Jumping from there, Ryan, Erik, Nicole, Dan, and Josh gave their updated views on the ever-changing races for Best Actor and Actress. With a thin crop to pick from, the Best Actor race is looking to have a ton of new faces, with many surprises coming along the way. As for Actress, it is the most competitive, stacked category of the year with ten to fifteen performances vying for the five Oscar spots. These conversations were filled with tons of great insight, as we trek forward into another wild award season. [NOTE: this podcast was recording a day before the official announcement that Apple will release Emancipation, starring Oscar winner Will Smith, in December]

Moving along, the crew answered listener questions, starting with what they think Netflix should prioritize with their awards campaign. They also discuss what makes movies an important art, their early thoughts on the 2022 DGA nominees, what the Best Adapted Screenplay looks like, and what their favorite horror performances are. Lastly, they mention some contenders for the Best Original Score and Song categories for this year, as well as the influences of Golden Globes, who should host the Oscars, and many more questions.

And before they signed off, they played a new game called ‘This is NOT 40’ where they each take a turn in naming all the acting nominees that are under 40 years old. This went over really well and will be played in other iterations in the coming weeks.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 2h10m. It’s a long one but it needed to be after not having a show last week. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro) used by permission

On episode 192 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson are joined by Griffin Schiller of FilmSpeak to discuss the filmography and legacy of director Christopher Nolan.

There have not be many writer-directors over the last twenty plus years who has become one of the bigger names in Hollywood than Christopher Nolan. From starting off with small indie thrillers, he morphed overnight into one of the most well-known names in the business, making countless box office hits, landing critical success, and dozens of accolades along the way. So with the release of his latest film, Oppenheimer, coming out next week, Ryan and Erik invited Griffin on to talk about Nolan, and what the director has meant to the landscape of modern cinema and what their relationship is with his films. They also discuss his greatest strengths and weaknesses as a filmmaker, his influence (good or bad) on cinema, and talk about some of the favorite scenes from his films. They also give out their Nolan film rankings and give out their expectations going into not just his newest project, but what they would like to possibly see him do next.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h42m. The AwardsWatch Podcast will be back next week to discuss Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and talk about our Top 5 Tom Cruise performances. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 52 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the latest film in their Tony Scott series, Crimson Tide (1995).

Back in 1993, the U.S Navy allowed studio executives to come in and film their day-to-day operations in the hope of Hollywood making a submarine film in the vein of Top Gun. But what director Tony Scott and producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer took from their experience was a much more serious, deeper connection to the mindset of the officers below, thus became the beginning of a research process that would result in one of the great action thrillers of the 1990s, Crimson Tide. Based on a script by Michael Schiffer (with significant additions by Quentin Tarantino), Scott crafted a masterpiece in tension, pitting two generational actors, Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington, against each other for the battle of not just the ship they are on or the idea of going to all-out war with their enemy, but an examination of who people really are when they are faced with pressure, and just how dangerous or stubborn they can become in the name of having to be provide right. Ryan, Jay, and Sophia break down their feelings on the film, talk way too much about college football, the behind-the-scenes disagreement between Washington and Tarantino, dive deep into Hackman’s career at this time, the racial component at the core of the film, the stacked supporting cast, and even sing a little bit of Seal once they get to the Oscar conversation at the end of the episode.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h13m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Tony Scott with a review of his next film, Enemy of the State. 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).

On episode 171 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer break down the winners of the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards and DGA Awards and give their predictions for the upcoming SAG Awards.

With less than a month before the Oscars, the awards race has shifted its focused to the industry, where on Saturday night, The Daniels took home the top prize at the DGA and continued the storybook run for Everything Everywhere All at Once. But the Sunday came and the BAFTA chose to go a very different route, with Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front taking home seven awards including Best Feature. Alongside this came some pretty big upsets by the hands of The Banshees of Inisherin, leaving a lot of questions to be answered about what this means going forward in the race.

After a lengthy discussion on BAFTA, Ryan, Erik and Dan broke down who they think are going to win the SAG Awards next Sunday and if any of the BAFTA winners will carry over, thus placing some contenders in perfect position to win. Mix in some listener questions and you got the receipt of another jammed backed, fun show from the AW crew.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h47m. We will be back next week talk about some new releases and potentially another game. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 24 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the next film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, Inherent Vice (2014).

In what is his most controversial film of his career amongst cinephiles, PTA set out to do what many in the literary and film world deemed impossible; adapt a novel by author Thomas Pynchon. In doing this exercise, he was able to take this stoner neo-noir comedy and mold it into another brilliant examination of how power structures of the world is built on a system of corrupt that will eat you alive the more you go down the rabbit hole looking for answers. With an all-star cast led by a gonzo performance by Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice rewards viewers more and more over time, making it a rewarding, layered puzzle box film within Anderson’s filmography. Over the course of this episode, Ryan and Jay discuss their initial viewing experiences with the film, PTA’s love of making movies in LA, the wild adaption process PTA took to bring the book to the screen, how great Josh Brolin and Reese Witherspoon are, how much paranoia was at play in the 1970s, the use of perfect needle drops throughout the film, and showcase their Jay Leno impressions.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h40m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of Paul Thomas Anderson with a review of his next film, Phantom Thread. The film is streaming on Netflix. 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).

On episode 246 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to go back 45 years to take a look at the 52nd Academy Awards, celebrating the films of 1979.

Before we step back into another AW Oscar retrospective, the team take a look at the summer movie box office game as we enter the final month of the summer. With Deadpool and Wolverine, Inside Out 2, and Despicable Me 4 dominating the box office, they take a look at how the summer has shown to prove many of their initial thoughts right about the box office, as well as the couple of surprises that took over the box office like Longlegs. Ryan’s team is in the lead by there is still plenty of time left for Erik’s team to make a comeback.

Onto the main portion of the podcast, Ryan, Sophia, and Josh travel back forty-five years, to 1979, where Hollywood was in the middle of a transition from the auteur filmmaking of the 1970s to the more conventional, franchise, populist filmmaking of the 1980s. The 52nd Academy Awards were a good showcase for this shift in focus as Kramer vs Kramer took home five Oscars, including Best Picture, a small family drama that was one of the top grossing films of the year; beating out All that Jazz, Apocalypse Now, Breaking Away, Norma Rae for the top prize. In their in-depth discussion, the trio talked about the film year of 1979, briefly discuss talk about Kramer vs Kramer as a Best Picture winner, do a little Oscar trivia as it relates to this year, and then the new version of the AW Shoulda Woulda Coulda game, where instead of individual replacements, they must decide as a group who the nominees and winners should be in the top eight categories. The rules of the game state they can only replace two of the nominees that year from each category, except in Best Picture, where the group could replace up to three films to make up the final set of five nominated films. As usual, it was a fascinating, fun conversation including spirited debates, alliances, vote swinging and more that we all hope you enjoy.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h42m. We will be back next week to talk about the latest release, Alien: Romulus, as well as break down the Alien franchise as a whole. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 30 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined film critic Jake Tropila to discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Sorcerer (1977).

Riding off the high of two of the biggest films of his career, and having the cachet to make whatever film he wanted, Friedkin set out to make a semi remake of the classic film The Wages of Fear, about four outcasts who are forced to take a job transporting unstable dynamite through the Colombian jungles. On the screen, it is one of the most tense, cynical thrillers of the 1970s, looking deeply into the souls of these men, their circumstances, and the inevitability of their dangerous actions catching up to them; thus it is a masterpiece. But behind the scenes, Sorcerer was a financial disaster, and consider one of many films that push studios to get away from the auteur, blank check driven vehicles of the 1970s, and the studios controlled filmmaking processes of the 1980s. Ryan, Jay and Jake break down the creation of this project, where the production went wrong, the restoration of this film, how this movie impacted Friedkin’s career going forward, and how a little film from a galaxy far, far away came in and stole Sorcerers thunder, and if the title of the movie actually fits the film.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h44m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, 1980's Cruising. 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).

Since graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Brian A. Kates has edited many acclaimed films, with 14 films selected to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and 5 films in Cannes.

He has been honored with an Emmy Award for his work on Taking Chance, and an Emmy nomination for editing the pilot episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He also won two ACE Eddie Awards for his work on Bessie and Lackawanna Blues, in addition to two other Eddie Award nominations.

His collaborators have included Andrew Dominik (Killing Them Softly), Dee Rees (Bessie), Joseph Cedar (Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer), Michael Cuesta (Kill the Messenger), Tamara Jenkins (Private Life and The Savages), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Jack Goes Boating), John Cameron Mitchell (How to Talk to Girls at Parties and Shortbus), Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer and The Butler), Nicole Kassell (The Woodsman), George C. Wolfe (Lackawanna Blues and Nights in Rodanthe), Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project), Ross Katz (Taking Chance), John Krokidas (Kill Your Darlings), and Jeremiah Zagar (We the Animals).

In addition to his work in fiction, he was Jonathan Caouette's co-editor on the groundbreaking documentary Tarnation.

His television work has included collaborations with Alfonso Cuarón (Believe), Bill Condon (The Big C), David Simon and Eric Overmeyer (Treme), and Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel).

He is currently finishing his third collaboration with John Cameron Mitchell, a 10-episode original audio musical, featuring the music of Bryan Weller and Mr. Mitchell, and a cast including Glenn Close, Patti LuPone, Cynthia Erivo, Ben Foster, Nakhane, Bridget Everett, Justin Vivian Bond, and Laurie Anderson, entitled Homunculus.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Brian this week about his Emmy nomination for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, his summer camp background that got him into film and his collaborations with Lee Daniels and John Cameron Mitchell.

By the end it turns a bit into an impromptu gushing about his work on NBC's Kings and a promo for his new film We the Animals, which is in theaters now. GO SEE IT.

You can see Brian's work next in the upcoming Tamara Jenkins film Private Life, which will world premiere at the New York Film Festival next month.

There also might be a bit of tea spilled on an upcoming sequel to a gay classic. 

This interview runs just shy of 37m with music.

Opening: "A Wonderful Day Like Today" from The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd (Original 1965 Broadway Cast) 

Closing: "Girls Talk" by Dave Edmonds

On episode 252 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributors Karen Peterson and Josh Parham to go back 50 years to take a look at the 47^th Academy Awards, celebrating the films of 1974.

Fifty years ago, the Academy Awards gave out the Best Picture Oscar to the first sequel in their history by awarding The Godfather Part II their highest award, as well as Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction and Best Original Dramatic Score. 1974 not only featured one of the greatest sequels of all time, but multiple masterpieces like Chinatown, The Conversation, Young Frankenstein, and many more. The Best Picture lineup, as well as the nominees, showcased a pretty stacked, diverse year at the movies, with comedies, ensemble action films, costume dramas being represented alongside prestige crime dramas that spoke to the moment. In their in-depth discussion, the AW team talked about the film year of 1974, briefly discuss talk about The Godfather Part II as a Best Picture winner, do an extensive conversation over the below the line categories and nominees for the year, and then the new version of the AW Shoulda Woulda Coulda game, where instead of individual replacements, they must decide as a group who the nominees and winners should be in the top eight categories. The rules of the game state they can only replace two of the nominees that year from each category, except in Best Picture, where the group could replace up to three films to make up the final set of five nominated films. Like past retrospective episodes, it was a fascinating, fun conversation including spirited debates, alliances, vote swinging, celebrating various movies, performances that aren’t normally talked about and more that we all hope you enjoy.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 3h17m. We will be back next week to do discuss the latest film release, The Substance.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 26 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to discuss the final film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, Licorice Pizza (2021).

In his latest film to date, PTA embarked on a cinematic return to his home, the San Fernando Valley, to create a nostalgic look back on the time and place he grew up in. In collecting stories from friends, permission to create characters based on real life people, and filming a movie with his friends and family during the end of the 2020 pandemic, PTA set out to make a hot bottom film that got a lot of people talking about the story of Alana and Gary, to lost souls that collide for a series of adventures during the summer of 1973. With two all-time first-time performances from Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman, PTA made relaxed comedy on the surface that works equally as a commentary on the uneven power dynamics men and women deal with throughout their lives. In this film episode of the series, Ryan, Jay, and Dan talk about the central relationship of the film, what the ending really means, some of the internet chatter surrounding the film, the veteran actor work from Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper, Alana Haim’s real life family playing roles in the film, water beds, pinball machines, gas shortages, peanut butter sandwiches and a whole lot more.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h15m. The guys will be back next week to begin their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, The Boys in the Band. 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).

2025 Oscar nominations for the 97th Academy Awards have been revealed and on episode 271 of the AwardsWatch podcast Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson is joined by Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to break down everything that went down.

From the field best 13 nominations for Emilia Pérez (is this finally their Oscar Best Picture win?) to how The Brutalist, Wicked and Anora played out, the gang look at who is the frontrunner as we enter the second phase of awards season, who falls and our favorite nominations of the day. We try and crack some of those '5th spot' nominations like Fernanda Torres over Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Sebastian Stan over Daniel Craig and much more.

For ways to donate or help with the ongoing fires in Los Angeles and their aftermath, go here.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 57m. We'll be back next week to talk about our favorite Steven Soderbergh films and our thoughts on his newest, Presence.

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 29 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined film critic Jesse Nussman to discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, The Exorcist (1973).

How does a director follow up his Oscar winning effort that landed him the prize for Best Director? That’s simple, he goes on to make one of the greatest, most influential horror films of all time, and in the process, makes the film we would all remember him by. Friedkin’s The Exorcist, which follows the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests, was one of the biggest films of the 1970s. Controversial upon release, it’s staying power in the mind of cinephiles is in large part to creating the template for every exorcist/possession/horror film to come along after it, as well as being notoriously known for its rocky behind the scene’s production. But through all the good and the bad, Friedkin, alongside screenwriter and author of the original novel William Peter Blatty, made a flat out masterpiece. Ryan, Jay, and Jesse break down their love for The Exorcist by talking about the ambiguous opening to the film, their favorite scene, Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair’s performances, the film’s iconic score, the god awful sequels in this franchise, and ponder how long they would last in a room where an exorcism was being performed.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h03m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, Sorcerer. 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).

On episode 223 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham and Dan Bayer to do a look back twenty years at the 77^th Academy Awards, celebrating the films of 2004.

As the 2023 Oscar season and the 2024 SXSW Film Festival is behind us, the AW team are refreshed after a week off and ready to go back in time twenty years to discuss the Oscar ceremony where Million Dollar Baby took home the top prize, giving director Clint Eastwood his second Best Director Oscar of his career, and rewards Jamie Fox, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, and Cate Blanchett the acting awards for their work in Ray, Million Dollar Baby, and The Aviator. Hosted by comedian Chris Rock (his first time hosting), the ceremony represented a pretty good year in cinema, with movies like The Incredibles, Sideways, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Collateral, Vera Drake, Shrek 2, Closer, Finding Neverland, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and more making up the winners and nominees.

On this episode, the team talk about where they were in 2004, their thoughts on the overall film year as well as the Oscar ceremony, what they think of Million Dollar Baby as a Best Picture winner, do a little Oscar trivia as it relates to this year, and then they play a new version of the AW Shoulda Woulda Coulda game, where instead of individual replacements, they must decide as a team who the nominees and winners should be in the eight categories. Only catch is, they can only replace two of the previous nominees from each category. It made for a lively, fun show that we all hope you enjoy.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 3h12m. On our next episode, we will be covering a retrospective review of The Matrix for its 25^th anniversary and talk about their favorite 90s action movies.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 142 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor in Chief Erik Anderson, as well as AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Josh Parham to give deep with their thoughts about Elvis, give out their Top 3 music biopics, answer some listener questions and play a game.

Before they dive into Baz Luhrmann’s latest film, Ryan and Erik give a shout out to the AwardsWatch team, who have been working hard this entire Emmy season with reviews and interviews you can find on the website daily. Please continue to read everyone’s fantastic work weekly, as we will have more coming within the next couple of weeks.

Transitioning over to the conversation about Elvis, Erik and Dan speak to what work for them about in this film about the king of rock ‘n’ roll, while Ryan and Josh have some reservations about this film. Each host gave detailed, respectable opinions on a film that has divided some film critics and audiences, but has become a box office success this past weekend. After they speak on their thoughts about Elvis, the group breakdown their Top 3 music biopics and what makes them their favorites. Some of the films included were I’m Not There, Sid & Nancy, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Get On Up, Amadeus, and many more. Considering this is a bountiful sub-genre with plenty of films to select from, this was a conversation that covered a lot of ground.

In this week’s listener question segment, the hosts discuss Austin Butler’s Oscar chances for Elvis, as well as give out there ranking of Baz Luhrmann’s filmography. They then give their selections of which comedians they would like to see take their talents to the director’s chair, as well as which established they think will win an Oscar within the next ten years. Next, they answer which actors or actresses they think has way too many Oscar nominations, as well as which actor or actress they think is in need of getting there first Oscar. Lastly, in honor of TV Editor Tyler Doster, they choose which of Amy Adams nominated performances they would give her the Oscar for.

Then to wrap up the episode, they gang play another round of Part of the Ensemble, aka the SAG Ensemble game. While it is Dan and Josh’s first time playing the game, they picked up quickly, leaving to some good competition amongst the host, with even a couple of ensembles stumping them.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 2h01m. A little on the long side but another fun episode. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

On episode 175 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello and Kevin L. Lee give their thoughts on the latest film in the John Wick franchise, John Wick: Chapter 4, and discuss their Top 5 Action Movie Sequels.

After a week off due to the end of the Oscar season and SXSW, the AW podcast is back and ready to talk about the number one film in the world, John Wick: Chapter 4. In a spoiler free review, Ryan, Sophia and Kevin talk about their thoughts on the film overall, the action sequences, and where they want to see the franchise going forward.

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ review: The operatic fourth edition of the action series proves that too much is never enough

In the second half of the show, in a Top 5 list inspired by the latest action vehicle from star Keanu Reeves, the team talk about their favorite action movie sequels. Some big titles were put in the penalty for each member of the team but overall, even with some crossover picks, there were plenty of titles mentioned and a great discussion over tons of great action movie sequels.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h59m. Next week we'll be doing a retro review of The Big Lebowski and talk about our Top 5 Coen Brothers movies. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 16 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the next film in their Lynne Ramsay series, We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011).

After coming out with two films back to back early in her career, Ramsay took nine years to return to the big screen with her third feature film that sparked tons of divisive reactions and was regarded as one of the best films of 2011 and of the 2010s decade. A tense psychological thriller about a mother’s bond with her strange, disturbed child showcased Ramsay’s unique ability to build tension throughout a complicated story, as well as the talents of one of the best working actresses in modern cinema, Tilda Swinton. Ryan and Jay breakdown their thoughts on the film, if it’s still relevant subject matter about massive killings in America is handled properly as well as the narrative logistics of the aftermath, Swinton’s stellar career, the titular actor in this film and their body of work, and how much bleak punishment is okay to put on the audience with a movie like this.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h32m. The guys will be back next week to conclude their series covering the films of Lynn Ramsay with a review of her fourth feature film, You Were Never Really Here. You can stream You Were Never Really Here on Amazon Prime Video, as well as 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).

This 70th AwardsWatch Oscar podcast I am joined by someone I've followed and enjoyed listening to for a long time, Isabel Custodio. You may know her better as be kind rewind from her fantastic YouTube videos that deconstruct the Best Actress Oscar races over the last 90 years. Always succinct and thoughtful; thorough and completely engaging, Isabel's passion for the Oscars, and especially, the history of actresses, is a natural fit for the AW podcast and I am so happy she was able to come aboard in a year with such a bandwidth of roles, performances and women heading up female-fronted films and controlling the narrative in them. 

The podcast opens with Isabel talking a bit about why she loves the Oscars and actresses so much and how it got her into creating her wonderful videos. 

As we start to dig into this year's race we quickly settle on the prevailing belief that the top 3 of Glenn Close (The Wife), Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite) are as closed to locked in as can be and that it's nearly a dozen others fighting for the 4-5 spots. 

While we both think those two spots look the most likely for Viola Davis (Widows), Yalitza Aparicio (ROMA) and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), each also comes with enough drawbacks that make room for a Felicity Jones (On the Basis of Sex), Nicole Kidman (Destroyer), Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns) or KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk), just to name a few. 

We also dive into actress wins of the past and and offer some thoughts on the concept of a musical biopic vs a musical with regards to the Golden Globes.

Isabel and I offer our predictions as well as our hopefuls to get in in such a competitive year.

This podcast runs 1h 49m 30s.

Opening: "Look at me" clip from The Favourite, The Wife clip, "One Reason" clip from A Star Is Born

Closing: "New York City By Day" by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan

Emperors! Gladiators! Nearly 1000 extras! We talked to Jana Carboni (makeup designer) and hair designer Guiliano Mariano about their immense work on Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II. How they were inspired by Fellini's Satyricon and the Sex Pistols. Battling the heat and the elements to get Paul Mescal’s gladiator tan and body paint just right. Denzel's manicured hands and much more.

On episode 191 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, TV Editor Tyler Doster to discuss our predictions for the 2023 Emmy nominations.

Taking a break from movies for this week, the Television Academy will announce the nominations for the 75th Emmy Awards on July 12^th. The AW team, led by Erik and Tyler, have put together an amazing season so far of coverage on the site, with reviews, interviews and prediction pieces that cover the wide range of television that is up for this year’s Emmys. A lot of shows said goodbye this year – like Succession, Better Call Saul, and Ted Lasso - but there are a ton new shows that have become popular, some just within the time of voting. It will be very interesting to see which shows and artists get nominated and which will be snub in this massive fields of talent.

In a lengthy but spirited and informative episode, Ryan, Erik, and Tyler break down who they think will get nominated in the major, televised categories for Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Comedy Series, and Drama Series. While they agreed on a lot, there were some deviations in their predictions that led to an entertaining conversation as to what each editor thinks will be considered by the voters this year.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h30m. We will be back next week to discuss Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and talk about our Top 5 Tom Cruise performances. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

With all of the episodes submissions in for Drama Series and individual performers, the first Emmy winner prediction podcast is here, tackling the guest, supporting and lead acting acting categories as well as the big one itself.

I am joined once again by Amanda Spears, who correctly predicted the path for Game of Thrones to earn its historic and record-breaking 32 Emmy nominations this season. While it's kind of a forgone conclusion that the incest and dragons page-turner will triumph in Drama Series, there's a lot of room for spoilers, upsets and surprises in the acting categories.

Can Peter Dinklage make history and win his fourth? Will Pose's Billy Porter be the first out, queer, black man to win Lead Actor in a Drama Series? Will Lead Actress go to Killing Eve's Jodie Comer or Sandra Oh? Or is Emilia Clarke going to fly in destroy their chances? All these questions and more get answered.

With music, this podcast runs 1h 16m 38s with music.

Opening: Into to FX's Pose

Closing" "Home," sung by Mj Rodriguez, Billy Porter and featuring Our Lady J from FX's Pose

On episode 264 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributors Karen Peterson, Jay Ledbetter and Josh Parham to go back 30 years to take a look at the 67th Academy Awards, celebrating the films of 1994.

Thirty years ago, it was Bob’s year as Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump took home the Oscar for Best Picture, alongside Tom Hanks winning his second straight gold statue for back to back wins. It was one of the most commercially successful films of 1994 that went on to win the big prize, and is part of one of the most influential years from the 1990s. Films like Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Three Colours: Red, Hoop Dreams, The Lion King, and more highlight a crossover of studio films blending success with indie darlings to make for a fascinating film year to talk about.

In their in-depth discussion, the AW team talked about the film year of 1994, briefly discuss talk about Forrest Gump as a Best Picture winner, do an extensive conversation over the below the line categories and nominees for the year, and then the new version of the AW Shoulda Woulda Coulda game, where instead of individual replacements, they must decide as a group who the nominees and winners should be in the top eight categories. The rules of the game state they can only replace two of the nominees that year from each category, except in Best Picture, where the group could replace up to three films to make up the final set of five nominated films. Like past retrospective episodes, it was a fascinating, fun conversation including spirited debates, alliances, vote swinging, celebrating various movies, performances that aren’t normally talked about and more that we all hope you enjoy.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h28m. We will be back next week to discuss some of the latest 2024 film releases before the end of the year.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On this 87th podcast I am joined by AwardsWatch staff writer Zach Gilbert to break down the big guild nominations - WGA, DGA and PGA - that are happening this week.

With the Writers Guild eligibility list omitted several top contenders, including Oscar frontrunners, Zach and I agree on most of our predictions with a few outliers seeking one of the final spots. Same goes for the Directors Guild, in both the main award and the First Time Feature award, where we are 4/5 in agreement in two very competitive categories.

The Producers Guild of America nominations is where things get tough as we align on 8/10 in a year where the Oscars return to a straight 10 nominees. Not even in the first two years of 10 nominees (2009 and 2010) did PGA and Oscar lineup exactly so the race is on between House of Gucci, No Time to Die, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Nightmare Alley, The Tragedy of Macbeth and more for those spots, both at PGA and Oscar.

Nominations for the Writers Guild, Directors Guild and Producers Guild are Thursday, January 27.

Support for this podcast and the following message comes from MGM Studios’ and United Artists Releasing’s No Time to Die, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. Daniel Craig concludes his five-film portrayal of James Bond in No Time to Die. ‎Joining forces with his MI6 team and a new generation of agents, Bond faces the highest stakes of his espionage career and emotionally explores the sacrifices of heroism.

Critics are hailing -  “No Time to Die will be remembered for its emotional impact above all.” You can watch it everywhere you rent movies. For Your Consideration in all categories including Best Picture of The Year.

This podcast runs 1h 1m 30s with intro and music.

That was two-time Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss invoking the iconic Maggie Smith line from Downton Abbey as we began our chat on a Sunday morning. Reminding ourselves that we aren't in chosen industries where phrases like 'weekends' and 'business hours' are non-existent, it's a funny icebreaker before diving into talking about her work.

Moss may play some of film and television's most taunted and tormented characters but she as opposite of that in possible in real life. Jovial and effervescent (I don't think I've interviewed someone who laughs as much), our conversation digs into her new role and new show Shining Girls, which recently finished airing on AppleTV+. Moss plays Kirby Mazrachi, an archivist for a Chicago newspaper in the mid-90s who was savagely attacked six years prior. When a recent murder is discovered to have a similar calling card to her own assault, she forges a bond with a reporter (played by Wagner Moura) to find and nab the killer (Jamie Bell).

We jump right into the fact that the show throws the audience into this story, one of split personalities, time shifting and time travel, and gives them just enough information to stay afloat, much like Kirby herself. Often as an audience we're one step ahead of our protagonist but in Shining Girls, based on the novel by Lauren Beukes and from showrunner Silka Luisa, the viewer is a part of the unfolding mystery and sharing in the suspense.

Moss received the script back in 2018 ("I just thought it was the coolest thing") to act in and produce, but her time behind the camera on The Handmaid's Tale more than prepared her to helm this new project that features all women directors; Moss is joined by Michelle MacLaren (Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad) and Daina Reid (The Handmaid's Tale) as well as a crew largely comprised of women ("It was just the natural thing to do...and all the best people for the job were women") and talk about the ever-important penultimate episode, .

We of course dive into working with her co-stars Wagner Moura, aka "Wag," who Moss says is "so unbelievably alive, he's so facile. He has a presence that is absolutely electric." On Bell, playing heavily against type as the series bad guy, she remarks, "This is the best performance he has ever given. I think that man is going to be somebody who is going to win an Oscar."

This is AwardsWatch so I would be remiss if I didn't take a look at how Moss is poised to make Emmy history if she's nominated for her performance in Shining Girls. She is currently tied with 10 women who have earned Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy nominations for two different shows, including Glenn Close, Connie Britton and Barbara Stanwyck. Moss earned lead actress nominations for Mad Men and The Handmaid's Tale, winning for the latter. She would be in a place all her own if she can nab a nom this year for a third show.

Listen to our conversation below. Major spoilers of the series in the last third of the interview so if you haven't seen the show, I recommend it.

After a spirited debate on the Drama categories for this year's Primetime Emmy Awards, Amanda Spears and I return to tackle Comedy and it's a much more open race across the board than their more serious counterparts.

While Game of Thrones is the clear frontrunner and runaway winner in many categories over in Drama, the Comedy side is rich with major contenders and no clear shot at who's going to end up on top. The return of Veep, for its final season, is surely a serious threat to take the crown back from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, who triumphed during Veep's hiatus and sits at a field-best 20 nominations, but we also have Barry, a big winner last year with double the noms this year, and the return of Fleabag, the cult hit that turned into a pop culture phenomenon this spring.

Emmy Podcast #27: Winner predictions in the Drama categories

While it doesn't seem to leave much room for the other nominees, there stands a chance for Schitt's Creek stars Eugene Levy or Catherine O'Hara to surprise - especially O'Hara who, back in the tape-based era, could probably run away with this with her submission "The Crowening." Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfus stands in her way though, looking for her 9th career win, which would break her tie with Cloris Leachman as the female actor with the most Emmy wins. JLD has never lost here for Veep yet, a six-year streak.

Speaking of Schitt's Creek, late in the podcast (just before we reveal out Comedy Series winner predictions), Amanda has a special announcement to share. 

With music this podcast runs 

Opening: Theme to Veep by Rupert Gregson-Williams

Closing: Ending theme to Schitt's Creek (composer unknown)

On episode 254 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Karen Peterson and Dan Bayer to review and give their reactions to the movie everyone is talking about, The Substance.

Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, audience can’t stop talking about the latest body horror thriller from director Coralie Fargeat, The Substance. Led by powerhouse performances from actresses Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, and filled with tons of blood, twists, and turns, the film just came off of winning the TIFF People's Choice Award for the Midnight Madness section of the program. As it heads into theaters across the country, Ryan, Karen, and Dan break down their inventive, unique world that Fargeat created, the make-up design as well as the stellar work by the entire ensemble, making for one of the team’s favorite films of the year. They did their best to not give any of the film’s reveals away, knowing audiences show go into The Substance knowing little to nothing about it in order for the full wave of shocking moments Fargeat’s second feature presents. Also on the show this week was brief thoughts by Karen about Transformers One, and Dan’s thoughts on the TIFF Audience Winner, The Life of Chuck. A rare one-hour episode with lots packed in, so we hope you enjoy!

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h08m. We will be back next week to do discuss the latest film release, Megalopolis.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

The 2018-2019 awards season pulled itself across the finish line last night with the 91st Academy Awards giving Best Picture to Green Book. 

The night gave us the widest spectrum of wins where Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book sit beside BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther and If Beale Street Could Talk as Oscar winners in the same year, from the same voting body.

On this 74th podcast, the Oscar post-mortem, I am joined by New York film critic Tomris Laffly of Time Out and RogerEbert.com to work our way through this bizarre season of over the top controversy and scandal, of show producers' tone deaf ideas and how it ultimately fed into a telecast that gave us inspired wins, unique moments and tearful speeches.  

Tomris and I also dig into the how the producers listened to the backlash (albeit seemingly oblivious to it), what we thought of the show having no host, our favorite wins and moments and what we hope and want for next year's show.

This podcast runs 1h 30m with opening 2019 Oscar moments and closes with, as usual, "New York City By Day," by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Desperately Seeking Susan. 

On episode 148 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, and AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman and Josh Parham, who gather to talk about film festival news, answer listener questions, and discuss their thoughts on the HBO Max/Discovery + and the ongoing struggles within the streaming service landscape.

Before the main topic this week, the group talk about some positive news stories that were announced this week, like the Academy naming producer Janet Yang at the new President of the Academy, our first look of Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in Rustin, TIFF announcing more films to their slate including WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, and NYFF will screen James Gray’s Armageddon Time and Noah Baumbach’s White Noise.

But all of that news was overshadowed by the drama with the merger of HBO and Discovery and the cancellation of the Batgirl movie that was about to wrap and head to post production with a premiere on HBO Max. This promoted the gang to talk about the good, the bad, extreme discomforts, and even confusion of this topic of the moment and what it means for the streaming services and their competitors in the business going forward.  

Next up our weekly listener questions, where they are asked if they think Babylon will play at the fall festivals or just release in theaters, as well as The Fabelmans Oscar chances going in based on how West Side Story did for Steve Spielberg last year. They also talked about if Amsterdam will be a contender this award season, if this year’s acting nominations will be more diverse given the film landscape and choices become more diverse for consideration, and what their dream cast would be for a film.

Lastly, the AW podcast team played a new game simple titled ‘The Percentages Game,’ in which Ryan throws out a prompt and the group give him their percent chance that the prompt will happen. Topics include if Top Gun: Maverick will still be the highest grossing film of the year, if the Golden Globes will happen, if a female director will win Best Director for the third year in a row, and many more. It was a fun game and we would love if you sent in your own prompts for the next round by tweeting at either Ryan (@ryanmcquade77) or Erik (@awards_watch), and they will be answered on the next show.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h52m. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro) used by permission

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 73 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the next film in their Krzysztof Kieślowski series, Three Colours: White (1994).

The next entry into Kieślowski trilogy might go down as one of the most surprising films the guys have covered so far, as this anti-comedy is a completed shift from the tone and ideas covered in Blue. Following a couple from two different countries playing a manipulative game of chess with one another over time, Kieślowski is able to use this duo as a personification of geo-political warfare and how smaller countries have to react and fight in order to relevant in the world. It makes for a fascinating examination of European ideals wrapped within a twist tale of love and country. Ryan and Jay break down their thoughts on the film, how the logic of it only makes sense from a non-literal perspective, shifting point of views throughout the film, the film’s ending, if these two really do love each other, what they each like to put on a sandwich, and what a “dumpster Whopper” is.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h16m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski with with a review of his film, Three Colours: Red. 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).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 53 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Robert Daniels, Associate Editor of RogerEbert.com, to discuss the latest film in their Tony Scott series, Enemy of the State (1998).

The paranoid conspiracy, political thriller seemed like a perfect vehicle for Tony Scott at this moment in his career, and with Enemy of the State, it turned out to be the excellent choice after Crimson Tide. Based on a script by David Marconi, with additions by writers Aaron Sorkin, Henry Bean and Tony Gilroy, Scott and his team set out to create on the great paranoid thrillers that existed in a pre-9/11 world, using one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Will Smith, and pairing him with veteran actor Gene Hackman, who is no stranger this genre as his performance in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation was an inspiration on the film. Ryan, Jay, and Robert break down their thoughts on the film, the stacked supporting cast of the film, how Will Smith’s career seems like a massive missed opportunity, Hackman’s incredible work in Enemy of the State, and reminiscing on the nominations for the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h33m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Tony Scott with a review of his next film, Spy Game. 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).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 34 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, The Hunted (2003).

In the early 2000s, William Friedkin had transitioned into work in some mainstream adult action-dramas that looked into ideas of the military industrial complex and how those institutions can break and corrupt a man. With his 2000 feature, Rules of Engagement, he unsuccessfully tried to tackle these issues in a run of the mill court room drama that fell flat for most audiences, as well as Ryan and Jay. But with The Hunted, Friedkin makes a bloody, lean, mean action thriller about an FBI deep-woods tracker who attempts to capture a trained assassin he mentored who is going on a killing spree and must be stopped. Led by two entertaining performances from Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro, the guys break down this underrated gem in Friedkin’s filmography, the wild action sequences, Tommy Lee Jones’s career, the biting commentary Friedkin is able to pull off with making a cat and mouse thriller, and they get into a little bit of a debate on the correct year you should say when referring to a previous Oscar season.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h38m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, Bug. You can stream the film on Pluto TV. 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).

On episode 138 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, as well as AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Nicole Ackman to break down all the winners and major moments within the 2022 Tony Awards.

Before the group gets to the Tony Awards, there was a major casting announcement this past week that made Erik lose his mind and that they had to talk about. Per reports from all major outlets, it was confirmed that two-time Emmy Award winner Julie Garner has accepted the role within the upcoming Madonna bio-pic, which will be directed by the pop icon. While the film is still in pre-production, this didn’t stop the gang (mostly Erik) from bragging about getting this casting correct, and what they would like to see covered within the film once it is release. Doesn’t have to be good, you all know we will be covering it when it comes out.

Beyond this piece of film news, the rest of the show is dedicated to the 75^th Annual Tony Awards, which took place at Radio City Music Hall just last night. The show was hosted by recent Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, who the panel agreed was a fantastic choice as host and should return to host this show and any other award show. They went over who won the top prizes of the night, as well as the performances for the nominated revival and new musicals, which showcased the best that Broadway had to offer. On the musical side, A Strange Loop, MJ, and Company walked award with the most Tonys on the night, while on the stage play side of things, it was a big night for the Sam Mendes drama, The Lehman Trilogy.

Not only was every big moment of this show covered by the group, but they also talked about what this Tonys telecast could mean for the upcoming Oscars telecast, in terms of being a confident show that is willing to embrace what they are and who they are putting on a show for. It was a very knowledgeable, well rounded discussion on Broadways biggest night. For a full list of the winners, please read Erik’s piece on the show which includes all the winners on the night.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

This podcast runs 1h12m. Movie and TV talk, as well as listener questions and games will be back next week. Till then, let’s get into it.

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 41 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the next film in their Sofia Coppola series, Marie Antoinette (2006).

Three years after Sofia Coppola was riding high off her Oscar winning, smash hit Lost in Translation, she cashed in her black check to create a stylized, personal account of the life of one of history’s most recognizable figures. With Marie Antoinette, she took a forty-million-dollar budget and made it feel like a hundred-million-dollar epic about a young women force into a social, political world she is not ready for, and must find a way to blend in before she is devoured from the inside out. Led by a magnificent ensemble, as well as luscious costumes, production design and a modern soundtrack, Marie Antoinette may have been criticized by audiences at the time of release for not being the movie they wanted after Coppola’s era defining masterpiece, but over time, it has become an essential piece of filmmaking within her celebrated career. Ryan, Jay and Sophia break down Dunst’s brilliant performance, the non-existing French accent work by the casts, Coppola’s confident scope and vision for the film, the idea of a ‘birds in a cage’ that the director loves to explore, the career of Jason Schwartzman, and what their favorite type of pie is (they aren’t that big on cake).

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h13m. The guys will be back next week to begin their new series covering the films of Sofia Coppola with a review of her next film, Somewhere. 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).

On episode 189 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Zach Laws to discuss Wes Anderson’s latest film, Asteroid City, and then talk about the director’s top 5 films of his career so far.

Before the group go down the Wes Anderson rabbit hole, with June coming to a close, it was time to give another update in the AW Summer Movie Draft. While Team Ryan still holds the lead over Team Erik, it is all going to come down to a busy July and August at the movies to decide the winner. What can be seen though are some interesting domestic and international trends that could benefit or fail both teams going down the wire. Should lead to an exciting finish.

Moving on to the main portion of the show, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City hit theaters wide this past weekend and has garnered critical and commercial acclaim yet again for the highly celebrated career of the talented writer-director. In our review out of Cannes from earlier this year, our writer Ben Rolph called the film “a wonderfully rousing and whimsical ride of idiosyncrasies,” and our podcast team couldn’t agree more, proclaiming one of the best films of the year so far. After talking about Asteroid City, they then broke down Anderson’s filmography by giving out their picks for their top five Wes Anderson films, which included Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Rushmore, and more. You can also read Zach's piece ranking all 11 Wes Anderson films, Everything in its right place: Ranking the films of Wes Anderson from ‘Bottle Rocket’ to ‘Asteroid City’.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h14m. We will be back next week to review Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and talk about our favorite films of 2023 so far. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 240 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson is joined by AwardsWatch TV Editor Tyler Doster to give our final predictions for the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations in Drama and Comedy Series, Limited Series and TV Movie and all lead and supporting acting categories.  

I know it seems like we just had the Emmy Awards and because...we did. Just six months ago, the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards were held in January after the Television Academy vacated their usual September date due to the ongoing writers and actors strikes last year. Not only did we have the Emmys plunked right down in the heart of Oscar season, because the Television Academy uses its traditional eligibility period of June 1 - May 31 and groups like the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild use a regular calendar year (January 1 - December 31) that put, for example, the first season of The Bear winning Emmy Awards and the second season (which aired last June) winning Globes and SAGs. Messy and confusing for the average viewer, to say the least.

Speaking of The Bear, after its domination last season (winning Comedy Series, Directing, Writing, Lead Actor, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress), the second season should find itself among the most-nominated comedy seasons of all time when nominations are announced next week. The current record holder for a comedy is 30 Rock when it earned 22 in 2009. With expanded supporting and guest categories, The Bear is very likely to tie if not surpass that this year.

This year's nominations will also give us a wealth of new contenders, both as first seasons and as one or more in, as many shows have either ended their run or did not make the eligibility cutoff. Shows we won't hear on nomination morning include The White Lotus, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, Yellowjackets, Jury Duty, and Wednesday while shows canceled or that have ended their run include Succession, Better Call Saul, Barry, and Ted Lasso.

As Tyler and Erik break down who we think is getting in, it becomes clear that not only will some of these five-nomination slot categories be bloodsport competitive, the move by FX to soft greenlight more seasons of Shōgun, therefore allowing it to submit in Drama Series, has really shaken up the race. A race that seemed like a bit of a cake walk for the final season of The Crown as it limped to its finale. We start off with the limited series categories, which prove to be the most competitive with so many categories limited to five spots. Faves will fall on nomination morning. Moving into comedy, the dominance of The Bear after its season one triumphs point to a likelihood of it being able to take up half of any given supporting (or guest) acting category. Finishing off with drama, it's a similar story, figuring out how many actors from Shōgun will make it in.

The 76^th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations will be announced on Wednesday, July 17^th at 8:30am PT by previous Emmy winners Tony Hale and Sheryl Lee Ralph (Hale is in Unfrosted and Quiz Lady, Ralph is in Abbott Elementary) on emmys.com.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h30m. We will be back next week for a Oscar retrospective covering the 72nd Academy Awards, celebrating the films of 1999. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 218 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to give their 2024 BAFTA predictions and talk about their favorite romantic comedies.

Before getting into the meat of this week’s show, there was major Oscar news this past week, as the Academy announced the addition of a brand new category for the 2025/2026 season, Best Casting. While there is a lot of speculation as to the rules of this new category, but this is a welcome addition to the Oscar lineup. The gang speculate what they want to hear from the Academy when they announce the specifics to their new category in April 2025.

Moving onto the awards talk, the guys talk about the recent wins at the DGA and ADG awards ceremonies from this past weekend, which saw not only Christopher Nolan get closer to an Oscar win for Best Director, but a real race for Best Production Design between Poor Things, Oppenheimer, and Barbie. This led right into the BAFTA predictions conversation, which could open up the race and lead to some surprises from this overseas voting body that has a big cross over with the Academy. Films like Oppenheimer, Poor Things should do well, with The Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers and All of Us Strangers looking to play spoiler in a few categories. Winners will be handed out next weekend and we will discuss them on next week’s show.

Then in the back half of the episode, as Valentine’s Day rolls around this coming week, Ryan, Erik and Dan discuss their favorite romantic comedies. They talk about what they love about the genre, what makes them work, some of their favorite films and memorable theater experiences seeing them, as well as what they would like to see going forward when it comes to rom-coms. Some of the films discussed included My Big Fat Greek Wedding, When Harry Met Sally, Moonstruck, Bottoms, Fire Island, Annie Hall, Harold and Maude, The Shop Around the Corner, Sleepless in Seattle, and so many more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h53m. On our next episode, we will be giving our reactions to the BAFTA awards, as well as give our predictions to the SAG Awards and talk about the latest film from Ethan Coen, Drive-Away Dolls. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, 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. On episode 43 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Nicole Ackman to discuss the next film in their Sofia Coppola series, The Bling Ring (2013).

Following her most subtle work to date, Sofia Coppola took a full swing the other way in tackling a larger than life, true story that is all about how we consume celebrity culture and consumerism. The Bling Ring follows a group of young, fame-obsessed teenagers in the late 2000s, that use the internet to track where their favorite movie and reality stars are so they can rob their homes while the stars are away. Led by Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, and a mostly unknown cast, Coppola examines the newest generations obsessions with the figures and institutions that she grew up around, how this mindset has gotten worse since the actions seen in the film, and how it all seems inconsequential in the grand scheme of things once all the dust settles on the robbers. Ryan, Jay, and Nicole break down their impressions on the film, if Coppola was the right choice to tackle this modern subject matter, Watson’s career path (a lively, respectful argument between Ryan and Jay), the minimalist approach to the screenplay, the sharp contrast in the cinematography between the day and night sequences, what is the best sandwich they’ve ever had, and is this the best social film commentary released in 2013.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h01m. The guys will be back next week to begin their new series covering the films of Sofia Coppola with a review of her next film, The Beguiled. You can stream the film on Netflix, as well as 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).

On episode 179 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Zach Laws to give their thoughts Beau Is Afraid and Evil Dead Rise, as well as answer some listener questions.

Director Ari Aster has become one of the most popular directors of the last ten years, creating his own brand of horror films with hits like Hereditary and Midsommar. With his third feature, he has made an anxiety filled dark comedy that is three hours long and packed with just about anything that can come from the director’s mind. By doing this, Aster has made the most divisive film of the year, one that team dive fully into with not just a discussion of the context of the film, but the discourse that has followed since its release. Once they are done, they give their brief reactions to the latest entry into the Evil Dead franchise.

Towards the end of the episode, the team answer some listener questions, with topics including movies that they ‘hate,’ going into detail as to what point of their viewing experience did they realize that didn’t like the movie. They also talk about their favorite films about ‘nature’ and what are some of their favorite needle drops in films.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h03m. We will be back next week the 2023 Summer Movie Draft. Till then, enjoy the show.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 199 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman and Jay Ledbetter to give out their Top 5 Sports Movies.

With just days before the fall festivals begin, the AwardsWatch podcast takes a left turn before all the madness begins. As one of the final films of the summer, Gran Turismo, finally made its way into theaters, giving the podcast team a chance to do a Top 5 Sports Movies episode inspired by the newest racing release. While not everyone is a sports fan, sports movies can be films made for all audiences, with some popular themes and messages that are larger than life, making audiences connect with the characters on their athletic journeys, thus becoming inspiring in the process. But not every film about sports is uplifting, as they can also be a looking glass into the soul of a human being, as well as examination of the time we live in and the dangers that the sporting world could bring to those who participate. Ryan, Nicole and Jay examine what makes a great sports film, what they love about them, and even stretch out the idea of what even qualifies as a sports movie in a fun episode featuring conversations over films like A League of Their Own, Bull Durham, Speed Racer, I, Tonya, The Color of Money, He Got Game, Warrior, Bend it Like Beckman, and many more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h34m. We will be back next week to the films that premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).