The AwardsWatch Podcast
Podcasts from AwardsWatch on the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, SAG and more.

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Virgin.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 9:46am PDT

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 77th 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 25th 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep223.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 9:35am PDT

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 38 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the final film in their William Friedkin series, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023).

After a 12-year absence from making a feature film, William Friedkin returned with a faithful, reverent adaption of one of the most celebrated plays of all time, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Being a movie he’d wanted to make his entire career, the film came together over the course of two months in early 2023; a modern, relevant version of Herman Wouk's classic text, only to sadly pass away before the film premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. For a final film, it is a perfect end to a celebrated career by one of Hollywood’s most unique directorial talents. With an extraordinary cast lead by incredible performances from Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Clarke, Ryan and Jay break down Friedkin’s last film, the modern setting of his adaption, Lance Reddick’s career, the film’s explosive ending, favorite court room dramas, and they give their definitive rankings of William Friedkin’s filmography.

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 new series covering the films of Sofia Coppola with a review of her debut film, The Virgin Suicides. 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_CaineMutiny.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 8:56am PDT

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 37 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Killer Joe (2011).

After the successful collaboration with screenwriter Tracey Letts on his last film Bug, Freidkin went right back to work with him on an adaptation of Letts’s debut play about a family who hire a corrupt police detective with a side career as a contract killer to take out their estranged mother for her insurance policy. Based in a small Texas town, Killer Joe is slowly unfolds into a twisted, violent American Southern Gothic crime drama that explodes with one of the craziest endings in the acclaimed director’s career. Ryan and Jay break down their reactions to the film, if the ending justifies it’s grizzly conclusion, the overall journey of the McConaissance, fried chicken legs 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 1h35m. The guys will be back next week to conclude their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his last film, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. You can stream the film on Paramount+. 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Killer_Joe.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 11:11am PDT

On episode 222 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Josh Parham to give their thoughts on the 96th Academy Awards and wrap up the 2023-2024 Oscar season.

The Oscar season has come to an end as the 96th Academy Awards were announced this past Sunday, and not shocking anyone at all, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer took home seven Oscars including the night’s top prize, Best Picture. Nolan walked away with the Best Director prize, and his leading man Cillian Murphy won Best Actor, alongside his co-star Robert Downey Jr. for Best Supporting Actor. Emma Stone pulled the upset over Lily Gladstone to take home Best Actress for Poor Things, giving her a second Best Actress Oscar within her career. And Da'Vine Joy Randolph was able to complete her season dominance as she won Best Supporting Actress for her work in The Holdovers. A full list of the winners can be found in our article on the site. Beyond the winners, there was plenty to discuss including Jimmy Kimmel’s hosting, the telecast itself, Ryan Gosling’s incredible “I’m Just Ken” performance, favorite speeches, and shocking upsets within our predictions. Ryan, Dan, and Josh cover it all as they close the book on what was another long but successful Oscar season.

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 1h21m. On our next episode, we will be doing an Oscar retrospective on the films of 2004. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_EP222.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 10:14am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Bug.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 10:03pm PDT

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 96th 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep221e.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 10:44am PDT

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 35 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the latest film from director Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two (2024).

Due to the WGA and SAG strikes from 2023, Warner Bros decided to move the second installment in their new franchise, Dune, thus making moviegoers around the world, as well as Ryan and Jay, have to wait till March 2024 to not only see the film, but to truly conclude their Denis Villeneuve movie series from last year. Well, the time has come to talk about one of the year’s most anticipated films; one that has been called “a masterpiece” by many and worthy of being in the same conversation as movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Lawrence of Arabia, and even The Godfather. On this special episode of Director Watch, Ryan, Jay, and Sophia break down their thoughts on the latest sandworm epic by talking looking back on their thoughts on the first film, the relationship with the source material, and what about Dune: Part Two didn’t fully work. In a very tough but fair overview of the film, the trio thoroughly explain the parts of Dune: Part Two that worked for them (the performances from the all-star cast, the production design of each world, the final thirty minutes of the film) and what didn’t work (the screenplay and lack of visual wonder found in the first part), as well as look to the future and briefly talk about the film’s Oscar chances.

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 2h. 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Dune_Part_2.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 8:00am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_TheHunted.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 10:27am PDT

On episode 220 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 to give their reactions to the 2024 SAG Awards.

Before we get into talking about the SAG Awards, the first significant release of 2024 screened this past week, as many were able to get a first look at Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two before it arrives in theaters later this week. Ryan and Erik were able to be some of the lucky critics to catch it, and gave their quick, spoiler free reactions to the film at the top of the show. The full review from Ryan is live on the website, and there will be a new episode of Director Watch coming soon to discuss the film is its totality.

Onto the main topic for this week, the gang come together to talk about the 2024 SAG Awards, which streamed live on Netflix this past Saturday night. While the show was a bit of a mess, the winners for the acting categories started to take full shape for the Oscars as Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Robert Downey Jr. continue their award season dominance for Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor, while Cillian Murphy and Lily Gladstone took the lead in Best Actor and Best Actress as we head into the final week of Oscar voting. Listen as the AW team breaks it all down and previews next week’s show as we head into the final Oscar predictions for the season.

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 1h09m. On our next episode, we will be giving our final 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep220.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:05am PDT

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 33 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Blue Chips (1994).

Since the mid-1980s with To Live and Die in L.A., Friedkin started a stretch that would fully cement his journeyman status for the remainder of his career. After a couple of flops and uninteresting project, Friedkin was given a script by acclaimed screenwriter Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump) that dives deep into the world of college basketball, and the questionable tactics a coach would take to recruit players in the modern era. In what feels like a movie ahead of its time in terms of speaking out about the corruption within college athletics, as well as also outdated in some aspects given that the film is over 30 years old, Friedkin makes a more interesting film to discuss rather than one to watch. Led by a committed performance from Nick Nolte, Ryan and Jay discuss their relationship to the sport of basketball, their overall thoughts on the film, the connection between Nolte’s character and legendary coach Bobby Knight, the use of real players, Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, where this film ranks in the genre of sports movies, and if the final speech at the end is earned.

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 1h41m. 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 Hunted. 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_BlueChips.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 9:00am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep219.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:43am PDT

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 32 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, To Live and Die in L.A. (1985).

At the midpoint of the 1980s, Friedkin found himself in no man’s land, as the studios had made the full switch to more stylized, commercial vehicles that audiences would want to see, rather than blank check films made by popular directors. After failing hard with one of the worst films in his filmography in 1983’s Deal of the Century, he set his sights on an adaptation of Gerald Petievich’s novel To Live and Die in L.A., in which we follow two Secret Service agents go on a wild investigation to arrest a dangerous counterfeiter. Wild a mild success at the time, it’s influences could be traced throughout the rest of the decade, especially in the works of Michael Mann (whom Friedkin may have took a lot of ideas from). What we get in return is a lean mean neo-noir that ranks as one of the last great films from Friedkin. Ryan and Jay break down the film, the connections to Mann and other films and shows of the 1980s, the gruesome violence, the careers of William Petersen and Willem Dafoe, how cool it looks to make counterfeit money, and morality at play with the film’s ending.

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, Blue Chips. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: Director_Watch_ToLiveAndDieInLA.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 5:45pm PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep218.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:28am PDT

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 31 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson to discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Cruising (1980).

Entering the 1980s, Friedkin is still reeling from the fall out of the box office mess of Sorcerer and the flop that followed it up with The Brink’s Job. But as we entered the new decade, right as we is able to become a mostly “director for hire” for the good chunk of the next two decades, Friedkin delivered one of his most talked about features in Cruising, which is about a police officer that goes undercover in the underground, S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer. After being approached by multiple producers to adapt reporter Gerald Walker’s novel, Friedkin became interested in the project after string of an unsolved killings within gay leather bars within the 1970s. Working with the local Mafia members of New York City who owned the bars shot in the film, and having Al Pacino as his lead actor, Friedkin set out to make another significant, yet controversial film within not just his filmography but a milestone in the history of queer cinema. Ryan, Jay, and Erik break down the film’s legacy, the film’s depiction of S&M culture, the lost forty minutes of footage cut from the film, Pacino’s laughable performance, Friedkin’s intentions with the ending and violence throughout Cruising, pleasure vs. pain, 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 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, To Live and Die in L.A. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: Director_Watch_Cruising.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 8:30am PDT

On episode 217 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson stands in for AW Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and welcomes AW Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to talk a bit about the Oscars, review Argylle and dive into our favorite films of the spy and espionage genre.

Early February is a quiet time for Oscar predicting; there are very few critics groups to still chime in and all guilds and industry nominations have landed. It’s voting time for several, including SAG, DGA and PGA and idle hands are the devil’s playground. In our opening, Erik, Sophia and Josh root around the lead acting and screenplay categories which seem more open and elusive than usual and we take an early stab at what could shake things up and why.

Then it’s Argylle, Apple Films’ colossal box office, critical and audience flop that opened this weekend and Josh is tasked with stewarding that sinking ship as the only person on the pod who saw it. With its $16M opening, mid-40s Rotten Tomatoes score and C+ Cinemascore, the film is not long for theaters and Josh will tell you why.

Then we get to the meat of the podcast and that’s talking about spy and espionage films that do work for us and those that we count among our favorites. With the Mission: Impossible and Bond franchises looming so large over this genre – we give them space and due – we talk about some formative film in the genre for us like Goldfinger and the spy spoof Condorman and then into the films that we love the best like The Manchurian Candidate (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Conversation (1974), No Way Out (1987) and Spy (2015). Plus, what list would be complete without Hitchcock?

But we return to Bond and give out some of our choices to replace the iconic figure now that Daniel Craig is officially retired from the role. Hit us up in the comments with who you want to see play the dashing, rogue agent.

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 1h36m. On our next episode, we will be talking about our favorite rom-coms just in time for Valentine’s Day and our predictions for the BAFTA winners. Till then, let’s get into it.

Direct download: awardswatch-podcast-217.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:24am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Sorcerer.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 11:37am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Exorcist.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 8:30am PDT

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 96th 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep216.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:53pm PDT

On episode 215 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Kevin L. Lee to give out their final 2024 Oscar nomination predictions.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 will mark the moment we have all been waiting for; this year’s Oscar nominations. We’ve seen the Golden Globes and Critic Choice Awards hand out their winners, with SAG, PGA, BAFTA and many more industry groups hand out their nominations so far and it is shaping to be a big day for Oppenheimer, Poor Things, Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Holdovers.

But before we find out the nominations, out team came together early to break down who they think will get in, as well as which films they could see being shut out on Oscar nominations morning, and which film could pull out some surprise nominations. Early in their discussion, they give a brief overview of the below the line categories before they dive in the big eight categories (Best Picture, Best Director, the four acting and two screenplay categories), as well as Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary, and Best International Feature. It was a very detailed, fun show where the team laid out all the various scenarios in each category that could take place, leaving plenty of room for doubt as many categories are still wide open for surprises on the morning of the nominations.

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 2h39m. We will be back next week to talk about the 2023 Oscar nominations, what got in, what didn’t and everything in between. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_215.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:50am PDT

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 28 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, The French Connection (1971).

Though The Boys in the Band was a significant film in Friedkin’s filmography, the young director hadn’t quite yet made a hit, and was running out of chances within the Hollywood system. But along came The French Connection, a movie made right around the success of Bullitt, where audiences were ready for a cat and mouse cop movie with really good chance sequences. Though it fits that templet, The French Connection finds Friedkin dabbling into the grimy workings of a anti-hero cop who is looking to break the case of a lifetime, regardless of the collateral damage he leaves in his path. Led by an all time, Oscar winning performance from Gene Hackman, Friedkin made the hit of the year, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Director, and the film landed the Best Picture win of 1971. Ryan, Jay and Sophia breakdown all the crazy behind the scene stories from the making of the film, Friedkin’s account of the events, Friedkin thought’s on Hackman, the original ending of the film, the French New Wave influences, if Popeye Doyle is good at his job, if this is an all-time Best Picture winners for Dads, and more than a couple of signature tangents from the gang.

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 2h10m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, The Exorcist. 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_French.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 6:20pm PDT

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 this special episode of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by the Head of Content for The Ringer and co-host of The Big Picture podcast Sean Fennessey to give out the first awards for a Director Watch series, the PTA Awards.

Towards the end of last year, Ryan and Jay set out to cover the films of writer, director Paul Thomas Anderson, thus breaking down one of the great modern filmographies of any contemporary director. In doing this, they talked about dozens of great performances, lines of dialogue, needle drops, favorite scenes, and so much more. So it only made sense to come back one more time to the world of PTA to break down and single out the various categories and reasons why they love PTA’s films. Joined by Sean (a fellow lover of PTA’s work), they discuss give out awards ranging from Best Male Performance, Best Female Performance, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Needle Drop, Best Scene, the PTA Acting Muse award, Most Valuable Collaborator, and talk about the actor they would love to see in a future PTA film that hasn’t already worked with the director. It was a very loose, fun conversation that we hope you all enjoy.

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 1h27m. The guys will be back later this 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_PTA_Awards.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 11:57am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_BITB.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 5:07pm PDT

On episode 214 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson break down the winners of the 81st Golden Globes.

As we flip our calendars to 2024, the Oscar race has started to heat up at the winners of the 81st Golden Globe Awards were honored from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, live on CBS and Paramount +. The evening marked the first televised award show of the season, giving actors, writers, directors, producers and more the necessary opportunity to make the first speeches of the season, and see who can emerge as a front runner on the night. With an impressive haul, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer took home the most awards with 5 wins including Best Picture, Drama.

Over on the Comedy-Musical side of things, Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things took home the Best Picture prize, with Barbie, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, and The Boy and the Heron taking home many of the film awards.

For television it was a dominating night for Succession, The Bear, and Beef, showcasing their strength in the industry right before the long-delayed Primetime Emmy awards next week. Ryan and Erik discuss it all, and talk about how these wins will shape what we see further in the Oscar and Emmy races.

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 51m. We will be back next week to break down the winners of the SAG and DGA nominations and the winners of Critics Choice. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep214.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:10am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_LicoricePizza.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 4:41pm PDT

On episode 213 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, TV Editor Tyler Doster and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham, Dan Bayer, Cody Dericks, and Jay Ledbetter to discuss their favorite films of 2023.

As we begin the new year, we say goodbye to 2023 with our AW team’s favorite films of the year from a year filled with so many exceptional movies, it looks like we will be talking about 2023 as one of the great movie years for a long time. Instead of having everyone on one call together, the show is split up into four sections, each section covering the four films the team loved the movies. Those films included Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers (Erik and Josh), Celine Song’s Past Lives (Tyler and Dan), Todd Haynes’s May December (Sophia and Cody), and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (Ryan and Jay).

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 The Zone of Interest, Killers of the Flower Moon, Barbie, The Taste of Things, The Killer, Asteroid City, Priscilla, Passages, Godzilla Minus One, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., and many more. Please enjoy this wonderful first episode of 2024, thank you all for reading everything on the website as well as listening to the show in 2023. We 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 2h55m. We will be back next week to break down the winners of the 2024 Golden Globes. Till then, let’s get into it.

Direct download: AwardsWatch_213.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:23am PDT

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 25 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the next film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, Phantom Thread (2017).

The idea for PTA’s eighth film came to him when he was ill. As he laid helpless on his back in bed, he saw the look of his wife taking care of him, and knew there was something there to latch onto. In creating Phantom Thread, Anderson recruited his There Will Be Blood lead actor Daniel Day-Lewis, to craft a story about an eccentric, meticulously mannered dressmaker who meets his match with a strong-willed woman that becomes his muse. Within this period piece lies honest, captivating power dynamics that showcase not only what it is like to fall in love and live with an artist, but the realistic, day to day interactions one has with someone whom they’ve been in a long term relationship with. These interactions can be sad, sexy, hilarious, deliciously evil, or a combination of all of them at once, much like the film. Led by three fantastic performances, Ryan, Jay, Sophia breakdown why this is Sophia’s favorite film of all time, if the dress in the film are actually good dresses, the iconic breakfast order, if this is really Daniel Day-Lewis’s final role, their favorite lines from the film, their thoughts on Taylor Swift using the film as inspiration for one of her songs, and which of one our Director Watch co-hosts has the film as their favorite PTA 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 2h33m. The guys will be back next week to conclude their series covering the films of Paul Thomas Anderson with a review of his next film, Licorice Pizza. The film is streaming on Amazon Prime. 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_PhantomThread.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 9:50am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_24.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 7:56am PDT

On episode 212 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to discuss their reactions to the Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations, as well as talk about a slew of films releasing during the holidays.

Right as we head into the holiday break, the 2023 Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations were announced last week, with similarities and major differences to consider for the race to Oscar nominations next month. With the Globes, major love was found in the form of International films with Past Lives, The Zone of Interest, Fallen Leaves and Anatomy of a Fall landing big nominations in many of the major categories. At Critics Choice, Saltburn and The Color Purple landed in the Best Picture lineups, something they weren’t able to do at the Golden Globes. But what was clear is the four films that collected a ton of nominations at both, with Barbie, Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Poor Things leading all films at both ceremonies. Ryan, Erik and Dan break it all down and even give a give a Golden Globe prediction or two.

After this lovely, lively conversation, the guys transition to reviewing three of the major award season and commercial releases of the holidays, The Iron Claw, Wonka, and The Color Purple. While these weren’t all glowing reviews of these new titles, Ryan, Erik and Dan had a balanced discussion of what worked and didn’t work for each of them when it came to these titles.

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 2h23m. We will be off next week but we will be back the following week for our end of the year, best of 2023 episode. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep_212.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:01am PDT

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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_The_Master.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 10:05am PDT

On episode 211 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to discuss the four acting categories within the 2023 Oscar race.

Before we get into the Oscar conversation, two titles came out this past weekend that have sparked a ton of acclaim and conversation, Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron. Considered by many to be two of the best films of the year, Ryan and Dan briefly dive into both, talking about the themes these two director’s present in their respective new films, as well as the stunning visual language both offer. So far in their runs at the box office, both have been a success and look to continue to pick up critic’s and industry prizes throughout the rest of the season.

Once they are done talking about the new release, Ryan and Dan switch their attention to the four Oscar acting categories. While there are frontrunners in each category so far, no one has yet stuck out as clear winners this early in the race. With this, they dive deep into a long, detailed conversation about all four of the major categories, who they think they are confident could get in, who they are less sure about, and who are the long shots that need some help from critics groups or other outside help to get back into the mix.

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 1h45m. We will be back next week to talk about our reactions to the 2023 Golden Globe nominations, and talk a little bit about Wonka. Till then, let’s get into it.

This podcast is supported by Amazon MGM Studios presenting AIR, from award-winning director Ben Affleck and starring Matt Damon, Chris Messina, and Viola Davis. The film follows the gamble of an unconventional team and the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows her son’s worth.  RogerEbert.com calls it "a timeless underdog story of grit, dreams, and moxie" and Variety says it's "this generation’s ‘Jerry Maguire.’ AIR is awards eligible in all categories.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep211.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 10:45am PDT

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 21st 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_TWBB.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 9:16am PDT

On episode 2010 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia and AwardsWatch contributors Kevin L. Lee discuss the 2023 Best Picture race and the movies they watched way too young.

It is December so that means we are right at the beginning of awards season, where the various critics groups are going to start handing out prizes to the best films and performances from the year. This past week saw the Gotham Awards give Past Lives Best Feature Film, Lily Gladstone (The Unknown Country) and Charles Melton (May December) taking the Best Lead and Supporting Performance awards. Sophia was able to attend the ceremony and gave her reactions to the night’s events before the group talked about these wins alongside the NYFCC announcing their winners later in the week.

This led right into the first major discussion of the episode about the Best Picture race and where everything stands. As of now, there seems to be three films that stand as the frontrunners for Best Picture, and those are Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Oppenheimer. The group discuss the strengths and weaknesses in these films chances of winning Hollywood’s biggest prize, as well as the various films, The Holdovers, American Fiction, Maestro, Poor Things, The Color Purple, that are right there in the mix to win the Oscar.

After that great conversation, they transitioned into talking about a topic the team has wanted to talk about for a long time, movies that they were way too young to see. In a deep dive into their taste in films, Ryan, Erik, Sophia and Kevin revealed the films that they were shocked they got to watch at such a young age, as well as movies that scared them, and made them cry. Titles included Jaws, Alien, Jurassic Park, Basic Instinct, As Good as It Gets and a ton of Disney animated 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 1h45m. We will be back next week to talk about the Oscar Acting Categories, review Poor Things, and talk about our favorite coming of age films. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep210.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:25am PDT

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 21 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Associate Editor of RogerEbert.com Robert Daniels to discuss the next film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, Punch Drunk Love (2002).

Following his previous two features, PTA looked to strip things back, opting out of making another three-hour epic of storytelling, and instead making something that was ninety minutes. Hand selecting one of the biggest stars on the planet at the time in Adam Sandler, Anderson set out to make a unconventional romantic-comedy that challenged himself as a filmmaker to stay within the lines and parameters he personally set on himself. In doing so, he created what many consider to be his most underrated film of his career, with the best performance Sandler has within his career, In diving into Punch-Drunk Love, Ryan, Jay, and Robert explore their love of Sandler from this era, Barry and Lena’s relationship, an all-time supporting turn from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, a minor discussion on Robert Altman’s Popeye, and puka shells.

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 covering the films of Paul Thomas Anderson with a review of his next film, There Will Be Blood. 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_PDL.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 1:31pm PDT

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)

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep209.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 9:16am PDT

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 20 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico to discuss the next film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, Magnolia (1999).

After making a giant statement with Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson took it up a notch with his third feature film centered around a cast of lonely characters connected grief, chance, divine intervention, and the music of Aimee Mann. Inspired by the films of Robert Altman, in particular Short Cuts, PTA creates a masterful examination of the human condition and the complexities that exist in order to find peace within one’s self. Ryan, Jay and Brian dive deep into the dozens of interpretations Magnolia presents, if the film is a religious movie, PTA find his voice so early on, the darkness surrounding each story line, the performances from one of the best ensembles of the 1990s, and where Magnolia ranks in the epic year of cinema 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 1h32m. 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, Punch Drunk Love. 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_Magnolia.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 7:43am PDT

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 19 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the next film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, Boogie Nights (1996).

By the time you are done watching Hard Eight, you can just feel that there was something wonderful just waiting to get out, and that was the sexy, wild comedy-drama that PTA made as his second feature. Set during the late 1970s, early 1980s in the San Fernando Valley, Boogie Nights falls the rise and fall of the porn industry through the eyes of a hot shot actor, his filmmaker mentor, and a cast of eccentric, heartbreaking characters that make up this broken family. Inspired by John C. Holmes, a real life porn star, and his own short from high school called The Dirk Diggler Story. Anderson through everything but the kitchen sink at the creation of his film, ruffling feathers with his cast, crew, audiences, and people in the industry. But in doing so, he created the first of his signature masterpieces, and a film that is an essential piece of filmmaking from the 1990s. Ryan, Jay, and Sophia breakdown what makes the film so special, if PTA’s directorial influences get in the way of his creation, how is the MVP of this cast, if Leonardo DiCaprio would’ve made a good Dirk Diggler, and which character they identify with.

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 1h59m. 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, Magnolia. 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_BoogieNights.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 5:36pm PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep208.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:09am PDT

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 18 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Ethan Warren, Senior editor at Bright Wall/Dark Room and author of The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha Ethan Warren, to discuss the first film in their Paul Thomas Anderson series, Hard Eight (1996).

So begins a new series about a director that might not only be the best of his generation, but is a foundation filmmaker for both Ryan and Jay. But before he influenced them, a young PTA had to find his voice, and after breaking out with the short film Cigarettes & Coffee, he was given the chance to turn it into a feature film. In this somber directorial debut, Hard Eight follows an older gambler takes a younger, homeless kid (John C. Reilly) under his wing, and they do well making money, till they both meet a waitress (Gwyneth Paltrow) that will change their life, for better and for worse. Led a stellar performance from veteran actor Philip Baker Hall, Ryan, Jay and guest Ethan talk about the legacy of Anderson’s debut, if he wears his influences too much on his sleeve, how this movie lead to Boogie Nights, the final shot of the film, and read an interesting review for Ethan’s fantastic book.

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 Paul Thomas Anderson with a review of his next film, Boogie Nights. You can stream Boogie Nights on Paramount + with the Showtime plan, 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_Hard_Eight.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 7:59am PDT

On episode 207 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia and AwardsWatch contributors Josh Parham and Jay Ledbetter discuss who might they think will be the future stars of Hollywood with the Movie Star Stock Market.

For months, the AW podcast team have talked about the state of modern movie stars, and what the future of cinema looks like. Given how the trend of the film industry is leaning more towards IP driven films as well as a big point of emphasis on director’s names attached to projects, the role, and criteria of what we have considered a traditional movie star has changed. With this in mind, Ryan, Sophia, Josh, and Jay put together a list of forty names of actors mostly under the age of forty who they believe have the potential to be the movie stars of the future and help carry movies like the stars before them. The list of names included a wide range of talent like Timothée Chalamet, Margot Robbie, Emma Stone, Daniel Kaluuya, Austin Butler, Paul Mescal, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and many more the team had to decide if they were going to buy, sell, or hold the stock of these potential movie stars. It was a lot of fun doing this episode, 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 2h35m. We will be back next week to talk David Fincher’s The Killer and our Top 5 David Fincher films. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep207.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:05am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep17_You_Were.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 9:25am PDT

On episode 206 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello recap the AFI FEST 2023.

Before they get into their final festival experience of the year, the 2023 Gotham Awards were announced last week, giving us the first nominations of the upcoming Oscar season. Voted on by a jury system of selected critics, the films listed comprised of some of the best indie films of the year, including Past Lives, Passages, Showing Up, A Thousand and One, All of Us Strangers and more. This year, the organization removed the budget cap requirements, which limited the film’s that could be considered for consideration to anything made for less than $35 million. Once they were done discussing that, Ryan and Sophia moved on to briefly talk about a big release that debuted in theaters while the podcast was off last week, Killers of the Flower Moon, and why it is one of the best films of the year, in their opinion.

After they were done talking about Scorsese’s latest, they moved on to the AFI FEST, that saw the world premieres of films like Leave the World Behind and Freud’s Last Session and closed with Bradley Cooper’s Maestro. Ryan and Sophia talk about those films, as well as their thoughts on Perfect Days, La Chimera, American Fiction, and two highlights, A Matter of Life and Death and All That Jazz, from Greta Gerwig’s special Guest Director section, showcasing five big screen classics.

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 1h27m. We will be back next week to talk about a really fun topic, our Top 5 Modern Movie Stars. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep206.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:35am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep16_WNTTAK.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:45am PDT

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 15 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the next film in their Lynne Ramsay series, Morvern Callar (2002).

Three years after making her feature film debut, Lynne Ramsay returned with another fascinating character study in Morvern Callar, which follows a young woman whose life completely changes for better and worse following the suicide of her boyfriend. Based on the novel by Alan Warner, Ramsay and her co-writer Liana Dognini took the experimental nature of the book and expanded the scope of who this protagonist is and created a fascinating look into the life of someone who is making things up as they go in order to run away from their grief. Led by an extraordinary performance from Samantha Morton, Ryan and Jay discuss the vibrant direction by Ramsay, Morvern’s decision making process and how it fits within the rules of the film, the unsettled feeling they both had watching the film, and how this was their first experience using Freevee to watch a movie with commercials.

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 1h22m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of Lynn Ramsay with a review of her third feature film, We Need to Talk About Kevin. You can stream We Need to Talk About Kevin 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep15_MC.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 8:29am PDT

On episode 205 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Zach Laws talk about their Top 5 favorite, and least favorite, franchise remakes/reboots.

Before getting into the Top 5 for this week, Ryan announced the winner of the 2023 Summer Movie Draft, which ended up being a very close finish when the numbers were all added up, showcasing a lot of interesting lessons learned to be going forward into next year’s draft. Once the winner was announced, Zach briefly talked about his review of The Exorcist: Believer, which was the inspiration for the Top 5 this week. As it seems to be another bad horror remake/reboot for director David Gordon Green, it made for an interesting idea to look some of the best franchise remakes/reboots and what makes those work so well, as well as look at the ones that didn’t work out and set back their intellectual properties further than before. Ryan list covered a wide range of films and genres, while Zach primarily stayed in the horror genre for his selections, which included for both of them Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing, The Mummy, Ocean’s Eleven, Casino Royale, The Fly as examples of their favorites, and Man of Steel, Fantastic 4 (2015), Jurassic World, Alice in Wonderland, and the recent Halloween reboot as films that were their least favorite attempts at making a franchise relevant again.

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. We will be back in two weeks to recap the AFI Film Festival and give our thoughts on the latest film from Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep_205.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:49am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ratcatcher_Ep14.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 9:50am PDT

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 91st 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 91st 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep204.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 9:05am PDT

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 13 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the final film in their Denis Villeneuve series, Dune (2019).

As the guys talked about last week, Blade Runner 2049 wasn’t the biggest success in the world, though it won a couple of Oscars and was considered a perfect test for Villeneuve to explore existing IP and give his unique vision to it. In successfully making that film, he was then given the massive opportunity to adapt one of the greatest pieces of sci-fi canon with Frank Herbert’s classic novel, Dune. Obsessed with the novel as a kid, Villeneuve decided to split the book into two parts, only shooting the first film, and trusting audiences would like his take on the book enough for there to be a demand for more. It was a big gamble and it paid off with Dune being a good commercial hit that also bleed into multiple Oscar nominations and wins, and a part two that we will see soon. In their discussion, Ryan and Jay talked about the marketing of the film, if it works as a solo film or not, where they stand on Timothée Chalamet as a Hollywood leading man, the technical achievement behind the work, if Villeneuve was snubbed for a Best Director nomination, and give out their rankings to wrap of the series. Make sure you listen to the whole episode to hear the next two series the guys are going to cover to wrap up the 2023 calendar year.

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. Dune is currently available to stream on Max and Netflix as well as for rent on Prime Video. The guys will be back next week for the beginning of an all-new series covering the films of Lynne Ramsey, and her first feature, Ratcatcher. You can stream Ratcatcher on Max, 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep13_Dune.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:52am PDT

On episode 203 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman and Dan Bayer to give out their Top 5 Sci-Fi films of all time.

Before the team gets into the Top 5 for this week, they discuss the historic deal that the WGA was able to make with the major film studios. In an important step in the right direction, the 148-day strike came to an end on September 27, with the writers getting a three-year deal that met every important demand that they wanted, including better pay, full transparency when it comes to streaming numbers, and the avoidance of A.I being a part of writer’s rooms and letting creatives still run their own projects. While SAG-AFTRA is still looking to make their own deal and their strike is still ongoing, this is a huge win for not just the WGA but workers and unions all around this country.

Moving on from this very important news, Ryan, Nicole and Dan move on to talk about their Top 5 Sci-Fi films, a topic inspired by the release of The Creator, which Nicole reviewed on the website this past week. It is another difficult list for the team to put together, having to consider not just their favorite films in the genre, but which films also honor the genre the best in asking questions about the state of our modern world in mostly futuristic settings. It is one of the richest genres in film history, and the titles selected like Blade Runner, Never Let Me Go, Avatar, The Matrix, Star Wars, Total Recall, Children of Men, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Back to the Future only scratch the surface in how many wonderful sci-fi films there are, which led to a really great conversation by the team.

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 1h50m. We will be back next week with a brand new AwardsWatch Oscar retrospective, talking about the 91st Academy Awards, covering the films of 2018. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep203.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:22am PDT

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 12 of the Director Watch Podcast, Ryan and Jay are joined by fellow AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello as they discuss the next film in their Denis Villeneuve series, Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

After being nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards and having Arrival land a Best Picture nomination as well, Villeneuve took on his biggest project yet, a sequel continuing the story of the legendary sci-fi film, 1982’s Blade Runner. In working with his staple of regulars like cinematographer Roger Deakins and editor Joe Walker, and with the blessing of the original film’s director, Ridley Scott, Blade Runner 2049 was a technical marvel, that builds on the classic film before it and elevates itself as one of the best blockbusters (if not at the box office) of the last thirty years. In taking a trip to the near future, Ryan, Jay and Sophia talk about Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford’s dynamic performances, the mystery at the core of this story, the acting choices of Jared Leto, Hans Zimmer’s lackluster score, if this is the best film they have talked about so far, and how in the world did Warner Bros. even greenlight this movie, and if a continuation of this franchise is the right thing to do.

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 conclude their Denis Villeneuve series with a look at Dune. You can stream Dune on Max, 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep12_BR2049.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:47am PDT

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)

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep202.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:28am PDT

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 11 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by fellow AwardsWatch contributor Zach Laws as they discuss the next film in their Denis Villeneuve series, Arrival (2016).

Following the critical and commercial success of Sicario, Villeneuve returned a year later with his first stab into the sci-fi genre, making a film about a linguist who is tasked with the job of finding a way to communicate with extraterrestrials who have landed in twelve different spacecrafts around the Earth. But beyond the film, Villeneuve unexpectedly delivered a healing vessel for audiences who felt a sense of hopelessness with the results of the 2016 election. Lead by a career best performance from Amy Adams and the best work of Jóhann Jóhannsson career, Arrival is considered not just one of the best films of 2016, but one of the most important films of the last decades, and what many consider Villeneuve’s finest work of his career. In this episode, Ryan, Jay and Zach talk about where they were when they saw it in 2016, Zach’s star-studded screening story, why Amy Adam’s was subbed for a Best Actress nomination, the morality of the film’s ending, the fantastic supporting work from Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker and Michael Stuhlbarg, as well as one or two Tim Allen 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 2h17m. The guys will be back next week to continue their Denis Villeneuve series with a look at Blade Runner 2049. You can rent Blade Runner 2049 via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental (no streaming options) 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep_11_Arrival.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:33am PDT

On episode 201 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Kevin L. Lee to give their reactions to the films they saw at the 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

A couple of weeks back, Ryan and Erik gave their reactions to the Telluride Film Festival, one of the first film festivals to start of the fall festival season. After they left the mountains of Colorado, they got their passports ready and headed north to Canada for the annual Toronto International Film Festival. Known for having big Oscar contenders premiere and star-studded red carpets, because of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, TIFF was not as glamorous as years past. But with close to 300 movies from around the world screening across a week and a half, there was still plenty of good films that the gang saw that they were able to share their opinions on.

 Before getting into the films, Ryan, Erik, Dan, and Kevin talk about their TIFF experience in terms of what it is like to attend the festival, the ticketing system, and how the screenings work for press and general audiences going to the festival. Then they went on to discuss the three films that won the TIFF People’s Choice Awards: American Fiction, The Holdovers, and The Boy and the Heron. After giving their thoughts on TIFF winners, they went on to gives thoughts on tons of films that included Next Goal Wins, Monster, Dumb Money, Sing Sing, Rustin, His Three Daughters, Woman of the Hour, Dream Scenario, Evil Does Not Exist, Hitman, Origin, Wicked Little Letters, 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 2h38m. We will be back next week to talk about our Top 5 Directorial Debuts, in honor of the stellar year of debuts that have come out in 2023. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_EP_201.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:55am PDT

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 10 of the Director Watch Podcast, they discuss the next film in their Denis Villeneuve series, Sicario (2015).

After releasing Prisoners and Enemy back to back, Villeneuve returned the following year with his most confident film to date. Set around the U.S and Mexico border, Sicario dives deep into the murky waters of the ongoing fight to stop the drug cartels from moving their product into the U.S. Lead by an all-star cast that includes Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro, and stellar cinematography from Roger Deakins, Sicario ranks highly within Villeneuve’s filmography, showcasing a true sense of tension throughout each from of the film. Ryan and Jay break down the politics of the film, the rise of screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, Blunt and Del Toro’s magnetic chemistry, and even talk a little about the sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado

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 Denis Villeneuve series with a look at Arrival. You can stream Arrival on Netflix as well as rent 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep10_Sicario.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:16am PDT

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 9 of the Director Watch Podcast, they discuss the next film in their Denis Villeneuve series, Enemy (2014).

Following up the successful of Prisoners didn’t take long, as Villeneuve’s next film was actually shot just before it and was released to high acclaim in the spring of 2014. Enemy unites the director with Gyllenhaal again, this time playing a duel role about a two men who look the exact same but are completely different. In what would be the last small indie film for Villeneuve in his filmography to date, it has also led to problem the most discussed ending of any of his films with the reveal of the GIANT SPIDER. Ryan and Jay break down what they think the spider imagery means, Gyllenhaal’s double performance, the Canadian Screen Awards, Mélanie Laurent’s career, and if they think Villeneuve wants to ever make another film 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 1h31m. The guys will be back next week to continue their Denis Villeneuve series with a look at Sicario. You can stream Sicario on Paramount Plus as well as rent 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).

 

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep_9_Enemy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:45am PDT

On episode 200 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello are joined by journalist and host of the Pop Culture Confidential podcast, Christina Jeurling Birro, to give their reactions to the films they saw at the 50th edition of the Telluride Film Festival.

Two weeks ago on the podcast, Ryan, Erik, Sophia and Christina came together to preview the 2023 Telluride Film Festival. Flash forward to now where the gang arrived at the festival and spent five glorious days watching some of the biggest films of the year that we will be talking about throughout award season. Recorded on the last night of the festival, they breakdown some of the major world premieres that the lineup offered like The Bikeriders, Saltburn, All of Us Strangers, The Holdovers, NYAD, Rustin, as well as a couple of titles that premiered at previous film festivals like The Zone of Interest, Poor Things, and Anatomy of a Fall. The gang also discuss their experience at the festival, as this was Sophia and Christina’s first time in Telluride. They also briefly mention how the overall vibe of the festival was as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are still on-going during the festivities. 

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 1h40m.We will be off next week as most of the AW podcast team will be at the Toronto International Film Festival. We will be back in two weeks to recap the show. Till then, let’s get into it. 

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep_200.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:03am PDT

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 8 of the Director Watch Podcast, they are joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson discuss the next film in their Denis Villeneuve series, Prisoners (2013).

After breaking through on the festival circuit in America with Incendies, as well as receiving an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature, Villeneuve took some time off riding the success of his acclaimed film. He returned to cinemas in 2013, directing his first Hollywood studio project, Prisoners, a story involving the search for two missing young girls in Pennsylvania. Focusing on two perspectives, one being the father of one of the missing girls (Hugh Jackman) and the detective trying to solve the case (Jake Gyllenhaal), this bleak mystery thriller was a surprise hit back in 2013, as well as considered by many of his fans to be Villeneuve’s best. In this episode, Ryan, Jay and Erik break down the symbolism shown throughout the film (SNAKES, PUZZLES), Jackman and Gyllenhaal’s performances, Paul Dano’s punchable face, Melissa Leo’s wig, Roger Deakin’s cinematography, the film’s ridiculous logic, and if it is a David Fincher knockoff.

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 Denis Villeneuve series with a look at Enemy. You can stream Enemy on Cinemax on Demand as well as rent 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)

Direct download: Director_Watch_Prisoners.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:13pm PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep199.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:43am PDT

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 7 of the Director Watch Podcast, the guys discuss the first film in their Denis Villeneuve series, Incendies (2010).

As Ryan and Jay said goodbye to Todd Haynes on the last episode, so begins another series talking about one of the biggest directorial names in modern cinema. Over the last fifteen years, Denis Villeneuve has risen the ranks to be compared alongside the names of big budget directors with the likes of Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott. While he is a fairly recent director, his filmography has led to massive discussions by film fans around the world, and in anticipation for his latest film, Dune Part 2, it made sense for the guys to tackle his work. But before he was making sci-fi spectacles, he made heart wrenching, celebrated indie dramas, which leads us to Incendies, which is a tale about a mother (a deeply committed performance from Lubna Azabal), whose devastating trauma from her past life must be dealt with by her children before she is firmly laid to rest. In this episode, the boys set up their relationship with Villeneuve and his films, their thoughts on this bleak breakout film, the morality and construction of the film’s finale, and whether Radiohead’s music should be used in any film.

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 1h2m. The guys will be back next week to continue their Denis Villeneuve series with a look at Prisoners. You can stream Prisoners on Netflix as well as rent 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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep_7-Incendies.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:22am PDT

On episode 198 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello are joined by journalist and host of the Pop Culture Confidential podcast, Christina Jeurling Birro, to predict and preview the upcoming 50th edition of the Telluride Film Festival, whose official lineup will be announced on August 30.

We are less than ten days till the beginning of the fall film festivals, and thus the start of a brand new award season. While the Venice Film Festival is happening on the other side of the world, in the mountains of Colorado lies the small town of Telluride that will be the host of its 50th annual film festival that has been the launching pad for dozens of films Oscar chances. The Telluride Film Festival is known for being a director focused festival, taking titles from all around the world in it’s lineup, with plenty of world premieres of some of the biggest films of the fall. Erik and Ryan went last year, and talked about their experience at the 49th annual festival in a previous episode, and how that Labor Day weekend was the part of the award season momentum for titles like Women Talking, TÁR, Bardo, Aftersun and many more.

With this being Sophia and Christina’s first time going to the festival, the crew get together to talk about their festival expectations, how everyone is going to have to step up with festival outfit game compared to Erik, the films that won’t be at the festivals, the world premieres we expect to be there and the films from other film festivals that could and should be part of the lineup. The episode is full of laughs and insights into the start of another busy award season. Expect to hear back from the same crew in two weeks to wrap up the festival and see how many of the lineup shacked out.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep.198.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:29am PDT

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).

Direct download: Director_Watch_DW.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:36am PDT

On episode 197 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Zach Laws, and Josh Parham to discuss their 2024 pre-Fall festival Oscar predictions.

In less than three weeks, the Fall film festivals will be in full swing around the globe, as dozens and dozens of films premiere with great optimism that they will have what it takes to carry over in the award season conversation. While we know most of the film festival lineups and where everything will be playing, no one can predict at this exact moment in time what the nominations and winners will be come March 2024. With this in mind, we are at the start of a brand new Oscar season, thus the AW team has come together to give their first podcast Oscar predictions before the world premieres at the Venice, Telluride, and Toronto Film Festivals.

Erik has been covering the monthly Oscar predictions on the site, but these predictions are the first chance for Ryan, Josh, and Zach to talk with Erik as a group and see where everyone is right now, who are the early frontrunners, and which films have what it takes to make it all the way to Hollywood’s biggest night. Their conversation covered the Best Picture category, as well as Best Director, both Original and Adapted Screenplay, and all four of the acting categories. Among the several films that were highlighted the most in the team’s conversation include Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Zone of Interest, Barbie, Past Lives, The Holdovers, Dune Part Two, Maestro, May December, Anatomy of a Fall, Air, Saltburn, The Killer, Ferrari, Nyad, Priscilla, The Iron Claw and Poor Things, with a hand full of other titles like Asteroid City, Dumb Money, Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, The Color Purple, Long Day’s Journey into Night and Rustin also getting some consideration.It was a detailed, exciting podcast that 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 2h16m.We will be back next week to preview the 2023 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep197.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:12am PDT

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 5 of the Director Watch Podcast, they are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Zach Laws to discuss the latest film in their Todd Haynes series, Wonderstruck (2017).

Two years after Carol was released with worldwide acclaim, Haynes took a rather unpredictable turn in his filmography by crafting a multi-generational family drama aimed for young audiences. Working off a script from writer Brian Selznick (based on his novel of the same name), Haynes takes two time periods, the 1920s and 1970s, and melds two stories of two young deaf children who are searching for their parents in New York City. Working alongside actresses he’s worked with before in Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams, and discovering the breakout talents of Millicent Simmonds and Oakes Fegley, Haynes is able to takes us on an emotional ride through fifty years of family, as well as human history, to tell an earnest story about togetherness and sincerity. Ryan, Jay, and Zach dive into the right turn for Haynes, the look of each time period shot by Haynes’s regular cinematographer Edward Lachman, the child performances, and if a less cynical approach for a Todd Haynes films makes this stand out in a good or bad way for his filmography.

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. The guys will be back next week to conclude their Todd Haynes series with a look at 2019's Dark Waters. Till then, let’s get into it. Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep5_Wonderstruck.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:22am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep196.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:44am PDT

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 4 of the Director Watch Podcast, they are joined by Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly Content Update Editor and host of the And the Runner Up Is podcast, to discuss the latest film in their Todd Haynes series, Carol (2015).

After making I’m Not There, Haynes stepped away from feature films for a lengthy eight years to focus on other projects, most notably the 2011 Mildred Pierce mini-series for HBO. But in 2015, Haynes returned to the big screen with a dazzling, romantic period drama that is considered to be one of the best films of the last decade, Carol. Working off a script written by Phyllis Nagy adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s groundbreaking novel, the film follows two women, a young inspiring photographer (Rooney Mara) and an older housewife (Cate Blanchett) going through a divorce, who begin a forbidden affair that forms into a beautiful, heartbreaking love story over the course of the film. On this episode, Ryan, Jay, and Kevin dive into these two fascinating performances by Mara and Blanchett, Nagy’s perfect screenplay, the expert work by everyone in the crafts departments, why the film was nominated for Best Picture, and most importantly, Haynes’s evolution as a director as a filmmaker who specializes in making memorable period pieces.

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 1h26m. The guys will be back next week to continue their Todd Haynes series with a review of Wonderstruck. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep4_Carol.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:30am PDT

On episode 195 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer, Sophia Ciminello, Zach Laws, and Josh Parham conduct a classic Academy Awards retrospective for the 66th Oscars, covering the films of the year 1993.

Right now, while the world is still in the middle of the phenomenon that is Barbenheimer, the AW team go back thirty years to when director Steven Spielberg was the king of Hollywood. In 1993, Spielberg made two of what many people believe to be his best films in Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List, the latter being the film that would win the director his first Best Director Oscar and win Best Picture of the year. Alongside this success for one of cinema’s best artists, the year was a banner year for cinema all around, with a great variety of films celebrated at the Oscars that had massive cultural and critical success like The Fugitive, Philadelphia, The Piano, In the Name of the Father, The Remains of the Day, In the Line of Fire, The Firm, The Age of Innocence, and many more.

In this retrospective, the AW team take a look at the year as a whole, talk about the Oscar ceremony, any trends they see in the year, and the legacy of Schindler’s List and its Oscar wins. Throw in some Oscar trivia and an extensive version of “Should’ve, Could’ve, Would’ve”, where the team highlight what they think the real winners and nominees should be, and you’ve got a fun look back as the gang cover dozens of titles, filled with plenty of juicy hot takes.

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 2h47m. It is a big episode but worth the time to talk about this milestone year in cinema. We will be back next week talking about our Top 5 Modern Film Directors. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep195.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 7:58am PDT

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 3 of the Director Watch Podcast, they are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello discuss the latest film in their Todd Haynes series, I’m Not There (2007).

Following up his most successful film to date, Todd Haynes pivoted from the Douglas Sirk inspired world of Far From Heaven to tackle a music biopic about one of the greatest American figures in music history, Bob Dylan. Unlike Velvet Goldmine, where he wasn’t granted access to use the songs of the iconic singer David Bowie, Dylan gave his blessing to Haynes for this project, which explore the multiple personas of the legendary singer songwriter performed by six different actors of various age, gender and race. With this, Haynes made a film that is now celebrated amongst the other outstanding films of the vastly rich year that was 2007. On this episode, Ryan, Jay and Sophia breakdown if Haynes was able to stick this landing for this ambitious film, if it does right by Dylan’s legacy, why more modern biopics aren’t made this way, they aren’t looking forward to the new Bob Dylan biopic from director James Mangold, and which other music genius could get a similar I’m Not There style of film made about their life and career.

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 1h37m. The guys will be back next week to continue their Todd Haynes series with a look at Carol. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep3_ImNotThere.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:29am PDT

On episode 194 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Zach Laws, Kevin L. Lee and Jay Ledbetter to review the two biggest movies of the year, Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Barbenheimer is upon us! As audiences are selling out theaters around the world, it has become one of the most successful weekends in history of cinema. With this, the AW team takes a deep dive into the two most hyped films in a long time, starting with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie followed by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. A candy color dreamscape comedy and a three-hour historical epic about the making of the atomic box take center stage as Ryan, Erik, Zach, Kevin, and Jay go into what the liked about each film and if they struggled with any aspects of the film.

After the teams very in-depth and length reviews, they take a look at the 2023 Summer Box Office Draft and notice that Team Erik has gain some ground on Team Ryan, as we make our way into the final month of the summer. Moving on from there, the team answer some listener questions that included what they thought the Oscar chances were for both films, who the hottest Barbie and Ken was in the film, which Gerwig film was their favorite, and a fun game involving which director-actor pair they would’ve love to have seen taken on the story of Oppenheimer like Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy.

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. It is a long episode but worth it to talk about the cinematic event of the decade. We will be back next week doing an Oscar retrospective over the 66th Academy Awards that covered the films of 1993. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep194.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:35am PDT

Welcome to Director Watch! On this brand new 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 2 of the Director Watch Podcast, they are joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson discuss the latest film in their Todd Haynes series, Far from Heaven (2002).

Right off at the top of the show, we address that there won’t be an episode on Velvet Goldmine, as an error was made, and the episode has been lost forever. But Ryan, Jay and Erik give some brief thoughts on the 1998 film before diving into Haynes’s 2002 follow up. In a pivot away from the glam rock drama, he found his way back into the cinematic world with another look at the domestic life of a wife played by Julianne Moore. Unlike Safe, Far From Heaven takes place in the 1950s, and explores a traditional 50’s family crumbling due to sexual and racial relationships the married couple form in the film that were taboo for the time. Known for being one of the best films of the year 2002, Ryan, Jay, and Erik breakdown the film from every angle, from the brilliant score, Moore’s performance, Haynes’s screenplay, the homages to the genius director Douglas Sirk, and so much 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 1h31m. The guys will be back next week to continue their Todd Haynes series with a look at I’m Not There. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep2-FFH.mp3
Category:Director Watch -- posted at: 7:45am PDT

On episode 193 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello, Catherine Gonzales and Zach Laws to review the latest action packed epic Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and give out their Top 5 Tom Cruise films.

Before the team gets into the review, there was big news out of Hollywood this week, as SAG-AFTRA announced that they would be joining the WGA strike, joining forced in a strike for the first time since 1963. This historic move set a clear and loud message around the world and the AW team not only wanted to comment on the ongoing strike, but wanted to also share their full support in the fight for a fair deal for the writers and actors, whom without, none of this would exist.

Transition into the rest of the show, the number one film in the world finds Tom Cruise back in the saddle again as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. The team talk at length about the latest Mission adventure, what they like and don’t like about it, and try to figure out how much longer Cruise will keep making these movies before he ends up killing himself. After the review, they transitioned to talking about Cruise’s Top 5 films of his career. In a career that spans decades, and close to fifty films, this length conversation spanned multiple films that showed Cruise’s range not just as a movie star, but an incredible actor. Titles included Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia, Legend, Collateral, A Few Good Men, Mission Impossible: Fallout, 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 2h49m. We will be back next week to review the two biggest films of the year, Barbie and Oppenheimer. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep193.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:51am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep192.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:08am PDT

Welcome to Director Watch! On this brand new 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 1 of the Director Watch Podcast, they discuss the first film in their Todd Haynes series, Safe (1995).

After introducing the show, Ryan and Jay go into a review as to why Safe, Haynes’s second feature, is one of the most remarkable indie films of the 1990s. Released four years after his debut feature film Poison, Haynes makes a startling examination on a housewife slowly losing herself to a mysterious illness caused by the daily environment she lives in. Led by an all-time performance from Julianne Moore, Safe was a film that not only brought together this iconic director-actor duo for the first time, but both were brought to the attention of audiences around the world and would set the stage for their incredible careers going forward. We dive into the film’s themes, its lingering questions, the impeccable blocking by Haynes and his cinematographer Alex Nepomniaschy, if Julianne Moore is the greatest actress of the last thirty years and a whole lot 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 1h39m. We will be back next week to continue their Todd Haynes series with a look at 1998's Velvet Goldmine. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: Director_Watch_Ep1_SAFE_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:18am PDT

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 12th. 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep191.mp3
Category:Emmys -- posted at: 8:55am PDT

On episode 190 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Josh Parham and Zach Laws to review Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and talk about their favorite films of 2023 so far.

With the upcoming 4th of July holiday this week, families are usually trying to beat the heat and heading for the movies, with the big release this year being the latest entry in the beloved Indiana Jones franchise. Though the film received a mixed reception coming out of the Cannes Film Festival, our critic Ben Rolph was overall positive on the film in his review, stating that the film is a “thrilling joyride down memory lane as Ford puts the hat on for one last time.” And while audiences seem to be enjoying the film, it is on course to be yet another box office disaster this summer, and potential the first big bomb in our AW Summer Movie Draft of the films selected. Our podcast team break down the 5th entry, which finds Ford working alongside the always sensational Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the current day of the film's setting (1969) and with director James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) utilizing some questionable de-aging technology to send Ford back to 1944 to play the character at a younger age, battling Nazis once again. You can also see Zach's breakdown and ranking of all five Indiana Jones films here.

After the Indy talk, since we are at the half point of the year, the AW team discussed some of their favorite films and performances of the year, and why you should catch up on them if you haven’t seen them already. Around twenty titles were mentioned including Past Lives, Air, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Asteroid City, John Wick: Chapter 4, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and many more. Then the team briefly moves on to mentioning a couple of titles they are still looking forward to in 2023. Summer is going by fast and before you know we’ll enter in the Fall movie season; it’ll be here before we all know 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 1h50m. We will be back next week to give out our final 2023 Emmy nomination 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep190.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:47am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep189.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:30am PDT

On episode 188 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Nicole Ackman to review Pixar’s Elemental and take their first look at the 2024 Oscar Season.

Before getting into the meat of this episode, big news out of Hollywood this past week as the Golden Globes were bought out by Dick Clark productions and the HFPA has been dispensed. It is a big revelation as the Globes are still in an ongoing struggle to move on from their checkered past. The team discuss what this could all mean going forward for this year’s telecast as well as the future of their voting body.

After that, they moved on to talk about this weekend’s releases, with Nicole giving brief thoughts on WB’s The Flash, and the group at large talking about Elemental, both which underperformed at the box office. While the DCEU seems to be crumbling before our very eyes with each new entry in the franchise, Pixar seems to be at a crossroads as Elemental received good reviews but had the lowest opening weekend box office returns in the studio’s history. Part of it could be the film, or Pixar’s recent decisions to put their films on Disney+. Either way, the team talk about what they liked and didn’t like from the film and the studio’s future.

Usually when a Pixar film releases, this means we could talk about its Oscar chances or even potential win in the Best Animated Category. But since Elemental underwhelmed and Across the Spider-verse has exceeded expectations, it seems like we have our animated frontrunner that also has a small chance to get into Best Picture. Speak of that, since we are closing in at the halfway point of the year, and we are living in a post Cannes Film Festival world, the team take a look at the films that have been released so far that could make it into the Best Picture lineup, followed by the films this fall that they think will be the ones to look out for to win the Oscar’s top prize.

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. We will be back next week to review Asteroid City and give out our Top 5 Wes Anderson films. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep188.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:02am PDT

On episode 187 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello, Dan Bayer, Zach Laws and Josh Parham conclude their tier ranking of the 95 Best Picture winners from the Academy Awards.

AwardsWatch Podcast #186: Tier Rankings of all Best Picture Oscar Winners – Part 1

In the second part of the Best Picture tier rankings, the AW team start in the 1960s and go all the way to the most recent winners of Best Picture. 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 95 films. A truly fun exercise getting to talk about some of the best (and not so great) winners of all time.

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 2h21m. We will be back later next week to talk about Pixar’s Elemental and take an early look at the 2024 Oscars. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep_187.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 1:00pm PDT

On episode 186 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello, Dan Bayer, Zach Laws and Josh Parham to tier rank the 95 winners for Best Picture from the Academy Awards.

While this summer has provided some good films and the team has given out some fun top 5 lists inspired by them, the heart of AW is always the awards season, specifically what will win the Best Picture prize at the Oscars. So in a fun change of pace, the AW podcast team set out to tier rank the 95 films the Academy has handed out the prize of Best Picture to over their celebrated history. In trying to place these winners in the correct spot, the team had to come together and decide on whether to place the films in the S (all time winner), A, B, C, D, or F tier and explain the ranking. The episode was so much fun that it had to be split into two parts, with this episode covering all the films up to 1960, placing a couple of classic in the S tier early on.

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 later this week with Part 2 of the Best Picture Tier rankings. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AWEP186_PART_1.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 11:00am PDT

On episode 185 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 to review Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and give out their Top 5 Non-Disney/Pixar animated films.

Before diving into the Spider-verse, the gang went over the first month’s results of the 2023 Summer Movie Draft. After four titles released, Team Ryan has taken the lead, scoring more the 300 million dollars at the box office so far than the films selected by Team Erik. But there is still plenty of time for Erik’s team to come mount a comeback, as this summer’s box office seems to be rather unpredictable.

Moving over to the main review, it’s been five years since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse debuted and not only became known as one of the best films of 2018, but is considered by many to be the best Spider-Man film ever released and an absolute masterpiece. So Across the Spider-Verse had a lot to live up to but based on the groups conversation, and our review on the website by Sophia Ciminello, this is a sequel you aren’t going to want to miss and sets up the potential of what could be one of the greatest trilogies of the 21st century.

After the review, the team gave out a list of their Top Non-Disney/Pixar animated films, inspired by the release of Across the Spider-Verse. It was a difficult list to make given that there are so many titles to choose from, thus the selection varied amongst the group, with selected titles including Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Iron Giant, Wolfwalkers, The Lego Movie, Your Name. Listen to the show to find out the full lists given by the AW team.

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 to do something new, a tier ranking episode where the podcast crew will rank each Best Picture winner. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_EP185.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:10am PDT

On episode 184 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, TV Editor Tyler Doster and AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello to discuss the series finales for HBO’s Barry and Succession.

Before getting into the main part of the episode, the 2023 Cannes Film Festival wrapped up with the winners announced this past Saturday. For the fourth Cannes in a row, NEON took home the Palme d’Or, the top prize of the festival for Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, with the runner up Grand Prize award going to Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest from A24Other films of notable interest included Fallen Leaves, The Pot-au-Feu, and Monster. Expect a lot of these titles and more from the festivals make the rounds at Venice, Telluride and TIFF later this fall with upcoming podcasts to anticipate and follow.

Moving on, the last two months of television have brought audiences together for two of HBO’s recent flagship programs with Barry and Succession. After weeks of speculation, and years of episodes and awards, the two shows come to an end in epic fashion with what the panel believes might be two of the best finales in years. Ryan, Erik, Tyler, and Sophia break down what they love about these episodes, the shows at large, and give a look at how the 2023 Emmy season will look like with these two final seasons included.

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 1h51m. We will be back next week to discuss the latest animated superhero film, Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep184.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:48am PDT

On episode 183 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AW Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AW contributors Zach Laws and Catherine Gonzales to review Fast X and discuss the Fast and the Furious franchise as a whole.

Before the gang gets behind the wheel of their Fast conversation, a big trailer dropped this past week for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which will be released in theaters later in October. To put it mildly, it’s one of the best trailers of the year, and in light of the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, there was a lot to discuss.

Moving on, the team got to dive deep into the latest entry in the Vin Diesel led action packed extravaganzas, Fast X. The franchise hits the home stretch, as this film alongside the eleventh and twelfth installment look to close out the long running story for Dom and his family, and there is plenty to talk about including, a fantastic new bad guy, tons of cameos, moments of absolute nonsense, and insane, over the top set pieces. Ryan, Erik, Zach and Catherine break it all down as well as give out their rankings for the franchise as a whole, say who their favorite and least favorite characters are, what is the dumbest moment in this franchise, and more.

Shut up and drive: ‘The Fast and the Furious’ franchise ranked

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 discuss the series finales of Barry and Succession, and take a look a little at the 2023 Emmys. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep183.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:16am PDT

On episode 182 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by TV Editor Tyler Doster and AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello to give out their Top 5 Romantic Comedies.

Coming off last week’s episode about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the groups Top 5 Comic Book Movies, the AW podcast switches over to talk about the latest entry in the romantic comedy genre, Book Club: The Next Chapter. Sophia was able to catch up with it and gave her brief thoughts on the film, which quickly turned into a side conversation on which streaming platform it would go onto and the news that Disney + and Hulu might be merging. Once off the side tangent, Ryan, Sophia, and Tyler delivered their Top 5 romantic comedies, with films ranging from About Time, Bull Durham, Roman Holiday, Something’s Gotta Give, Up in the Air, and so many more. If you love these movies just as much as they do, you aren’t going to want to miss this wonderful 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 1h39m. We will be back next week to discuss the latest entry in the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast X. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep182.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:33am PDT

On episode 181 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello and Dan Bayer to talk about the latest film in the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, give out their Top 5 Comic Book Movies.

Coming off the heels of last week’s Summer Box Office Draft, a major trailer release that shifted the focus for film fans this week as the first trailer for Dune Part Two. The gang talked about it, what they liked and didn’t like about it, then shifted their focus to the Tony nominations, which were announced earlier in the week. Dan, with a little help from Sophia, broke down the nominations, their favorites of the nominees and who were the biggest snubs.

After that, Ryan and Sophia reviewed Guardians, talking about why they think it was a good time a theater, while also discussing a little why it underperformed at the box office domestically this past weekend. Once they are done talking about the film, the team gives out their Top 5 Comic Book Movies, which included not just comic book superhero films, but films that originated from graphic novels and mangas. Some of these titles included The Dark Knight, The Rocketeer, Josie and the Pussycats, Road to Perdition, X2, Edge of Tomorrow, and so many more, making for a fantastic conversation.  

Tell us in the comments and on our social media pages what you think of each team’s picks and who you think is going to win.

Don't forget to subscribe for the new AwardsWatch Newsletter, a twice a week roundup of AW reviews, interviews, news, predictions, podcasts and more. Sign up 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 2h10m. We will be back next week to discuss our Top 5 romantic comedies, in honor of the release of Book Club: The Next Chapter (review by Sophia Ciminello here). Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep181.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:52am PDT

On episode 180 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, TV Editor Tyler Doster and AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello, Dan Bayer, Zach Laws, Josh Parham, Nicole Ackman, and Catherine Gonzales to take part in the 2023 Summer Box Office Draft.

Returning for the second year in a row, the AW podcast team comes together to draft what they think will be the highest grossing films at the worldwide box office. Last year, Team Ryan came out on top, mostly due to the surprise box office hit that was Top Gun: Maverick. In the fall, Team Erik came back with a blowout victory in large part because of the other biggest film of 2022, Avatar: The Way of Water. With a new year comes new teams and an extra pick, along with a couple of surprises announced during the show, this summer season looks to be stacked with plenty of films for everyone to pick, as well as a lot of uncertainty in the selections.

For any first-time listeners, here is how the game goes. The two teams are comprised of our AW podcast crew – Team One: Ryan, Sophia, Zach, Josh, and Kevin (who couldn’t make it on the show) vs. Team Two: Erik, Tyler, Nicole, Dan, and Catherine. Each team built a strategy of what films we think will be the biggest summer hits of the year worldwide as well and factoring in what films will be the most critically lauded. For a fun bonus, each team presented the other with a ‘bomb’ pick; a film they think will tank and negatively impact the other team’s score.

Tell us in the comments and on our social media pages what you think of each team’s picks and who you think is going to win.

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. We will be back next week to discuss the latest film in the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep180.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:03am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep179.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:42am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep178.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 8:37am PDT

On episode 177 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Nicole Ackman and Dan Bayer give their thoughts Ben Affleck’s latest film, Air, as well as their Top 5 films that are ‘based on a true story.’

Since its premiere at SXSW, the buzz has been building for Ben Affleck’s Air, which is the story about how Nike was able to get the deal done with Michael Jordan to get the Air Jordan shoe deal done. With being a little box office surprise as well as being a critical success, the AW crew give their thoughts on the film overall and what they think works and doesn’t work. After the review, in a Top 5 list inspired by the Affleck’s latest directorial effort, as Ryan, Nicole and Dan breakdown their favorite films that are ‘based on a true story,’ speaking about a variety of films that include Moneyball, Dog Day Afternoon, The Last Duel, Malcolm X, and more.

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 2h29m. We will be back next week to do an Oscar retrospective episode covering the 76th Academy Awards, the films of 2003.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep177.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:05am PDT

On episode 176 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello, Josh Parham and Zach Laws review The Big Lebowski for its 25th anniversary, and give their Top 5 Coen brothers movies.

At the top of the episode, the AW crew welcome Zach to the team, and he shares a little bit about himself before everyone goes right into their review of the Joel and Ethan Coen's LA-based, noir inspired comedy that is considered to be one of the best film of the 90s and an influential film from its time. Turning 25 years old, the team go into what makes the film so special after all these years and why it might be on their Top 5 list. And speaking of lists, with 18 films to choose from, and being among the most popular directors of all time, Ryan, Erik, Sophia, Josh and Zach count down their choices and examine which films they think are the Coen brothers' best.

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 2h05m. We will be back next week to review Ben Affleck's Air and talk about our Top 5 ‘Based on a True Story’ films.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_EP_176.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:27am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep_175.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:33pm PDT

On episode 174 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer, Kevin L. Lee and Josh Parham to breakdown their thoughts on the 95th Academy Awards. 

Well, the 2023 Oscar season has ended and it resulted with a historic night for A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once winning seven Oscars including Best Picture. A day after its one-year anniversary at SXSW, the film carried its momentum a full year and landed the most above the line wins in Oscar history, as well as historic wins for the Daniels, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. But they weren’t the only ones who has a big night, as Netflix walked away with another impressive haul, including four wins for All Quiet on the Western Front. Recorded shortly after the telecast, Ryan, Dan, Kevin, and Josh cover every moment and stat the night have to offer and put a bow on another long but rewarding award season.

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

This podcast runs 1h43m. We will be back next week to talk about the films that premiered at SXSW. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep174.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 8:16am PDT

On episode 173 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AW Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AW contributor Sophia Ciminello give out their final predictions for the 2023 Academy Awards.

Well, there is no backing away now. We are in the final week of the Oscar season, leading up to the Oscars being handed out in just six days. As we stand, we are looking at what could be a history making night for A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, and the biggest question remains, how many Oscars do we think the film is going to go home with? There also are plenty of categories still wide open, making this one of the most exciting finishes to an Oscar season in years. Ryan, Erik, and Sophia break it all down and give out their final predictions, though they still have the right to change one or two things at the last second.

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

This podcast runs 2h42m. We will be back next week to wrap up the 95th Academy Awards. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep173.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 10:30am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep172.mp3
Category:Screen Actors Guild -- posted at: 8:15am PDT

There is more than one queen that reigns over Wakanda. That queen is costume designer Ruth Carter, a 4-time Academy Award nominee (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Black Panther, Amistad and Malcolm X), and winner for 2018’s Black Panther. She is also an Emmy nominee for Roots, a 3-time Costume Designers Guild Award winner (Coming 2 America, Black Panther, Career Achievement Award), a 3-time Critics’ Choice Award winner (Black Panther, Dolemite Is My Name, Black Panther: Wakenda Forever), and so much more. 

Carter is responsible for the iconic outfits that Marvel favorites like Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) wear. She was also tasked with creating the outfits for the newly-introduced world of Talokan, like Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Namora (Mabel Cadena). Carter continues to raise the bar higher and higher, not only for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but for any individual in the profession. In result, Carter was honored with her fourth individual Academy Award nomination for the film, where the film itself garnered five nominations (Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Song, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects).

When asked about The Hollywood Reporter article that was penned by The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood around omissions of Black women for Academy Award nominations, Carter responded, “It’s not myopic representation. It’s global and I find representation in Bardo. I find representation in Everything Everywhere All At Once. I find representation in Pinocchio. I find representation in Camille Friend, in Angela Bassett, in myself, in Ludwig Göransson. There is a lack of representation of black voices and black images, and for that, I feel sad. Women directors, for that, I feel very sad. I do hail the efforts of those who have films that do speak to the Black community and such. I cannot turn my back on that type of representation as well this year.” 

We will find out the winners of the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12.  

What’s next for Ms. Carter? She will continue to stay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by designing for the reboot of Blade. While tight lipped, she did reveal that, “Mahershala [Ali] has been training for weeks… months. I think we are going to see another Mahershala that I haven’t seen yet because he is dedicated.” Blade will be directed by Yann Demange and will be released on September 6, 2024. 
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe winner Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Michaela Coel, Martin Freeman, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The film is currently streaming in the Academy screening room and on Disney+.

Direct download: ruth_carter_interview.mp3
Category:Interview -- posted at: 10:06am PDT

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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep171.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:50am PDT

On episode 170 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Nicole Ackman, Sophia Ciminello and Dan Bayer review James Cameron’s Titanic and take a look back at the 1998 Oscars.

Over the past weekend, the epic, billion-dollar love story from director James Cameron returned to theaters for its 25th anniversary, and finish in the top five of the box office. Now as modern audiences are going back to Titanic again, the AW crew review the film, their history with it, and what it was like to see it on the big screen again.

Once the review is over, the team moved on to talking about the 1998 Oscars, where Titanic dominated the night with 11 Oscar wins, with Big Jim Cameron claiming he was “the king of the world.” But as the team look back, they talk about the other films that were nominated from the 1997 film year, answer trivia questions about the ceremony and then play a game called “Should’ve, Would’ve, Could’ve,” in which each host say which of the nominees they would pick as the winner, and then who they would replace in the category alongside which film/performance they would replace it with. It was a lot of fun hearing all the fascinating answers selected by all the AW team on the show.

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

This podcast runs 2h22m. We will be back next week to talk about the BAFTA and DGA winners plus SAG predictions. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: "My Heart Will Go On" (Love Theme from Titanic sung by Celine Dion) via Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc. (intro) and "Hymn To The Sea" (Music From The Motion Picture music by James Horner) via Sony Soundtracks (outro).

Direct download: awardswatch-podcast-170.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 8:39am PDT

On episode 169 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham review the latest film from director M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin, and talk about their favorite twist endings.

Jumping right into things, the crew jump into Knock at the Cabin, the first film to take down Avatar: The Way of Water at the box office. The film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, and follows a gay couple and their daughter vacationing at a remote cabin, but things take a turn for the worse when they are held hostage by four strangers, who demand they sacrifice one of their own to prevent the apocalypse. In the follow up to Old, Shyamalan adapts the best-selling novel by Paul G. Tremblay, and based on the reception on the podcast and audiences around the world, the film has garnered a mixed reception, thus leading to a very detailed, SPOILER-FILLED discussion. Josh also wrote the review for the film, which you can read on the site right now.

After the review of the film, Ryan, Erik and Josh talked about some of their favorite films that featured a twist ending. They also discussed the various degrees a twist is used in a film, the various genres that use them well, directors who are known for them, and which films also had some pretty bad twists the ruined the whole experience. As they signed off the week, they gave a little prediction for next week’s Super Bowl and picked which films from the 2023 slate they would like to see a trailer drop for during the big game.

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

This podcast runs 1h16m. We will be back next week talk about the re-release of Titanic and to do a retrospective on the 1998 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep_169.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:44am PDT

On episode 168 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Kevin L. Lee give their reactions to the best and worst films they saw for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Before the guys get into their Sundance discussion, they briefly give their thoughts on the ongoing conversations surround last week’s Oscar nominations. It was announced that the Academy would be doing an investigation into the campaign practices surrounding Andrea Riseborough’s nomination. We will know more in the coming days, but until then, Ryan, Erik and Kevin take a little time to talk about all the angles of this story and what could potentially happen.

Moving on from there, the crew talk about the Sundance Film Festival, were there over 110 films featured across the in person and virtual programs. In our first look at the independent films releasing in 2023, there were a ton of fine films they may have not hit the mark entirely, but enough gems for a great discussion. First up is a discussion of a Sundance selection that just released in Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, which led to a balanced conversation of the positives and negatives of the film (you can read Kevin's review here). From there over a dozen of films are mentioned, there is plenty to look forward to within the next couple of months. 

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

This podcast runs 1h44m. We will be back next week talk about some new releases and potential a 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep168.mp3
Category:Film Festivals -- posted at: 8:35am PDT

On episode 167 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and special guest Mark Johnson (Editor, film critic, and Oscar prognosticator at Awards Daily) give their reactions 2023 Oscar nominations.

Well they are finally here, the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards. All the buildup and anticipation led to the nominations announced on the morning of January 24, and there were plenty of great, history making moments from these batch on nominees as well as a lot of misses, snubs, and one wild nomination that has sparked a massive conversation. Ryan, Erik, and Mark leave no stone unturned and break down all the aspects of these nominations, who came out looking the best, and who is the strongest going into the next phase of the Oscar season.

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

This podcast runs 1h24m. We will be back next week to give our reactions to the 2023 Oscar nominations. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_podcast_167.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 8:52am PDT

On episode 166 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello, Josh Parham and Dan Bayer give their final 2023 Oscar nomination predictions.

With the final pieces of the puzzle announced this week with the BAFTA nominations, the AW crew have come together to the longest episode to date to discuss all of the predictions for the feature length categories for the Oscar. Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Banshees of Inisherin, and The Fabelmans look to be the three leading contenders to lead the nominations tally come next Tuesday, January 24, 2023. But will another film emerge to take the top spot with the most nominations? Who are going to get into all the acting categories? Who is the fifth spot in Director and Original Screenplay going to be? What are the team’s ‘no guts, no glory’ picks? All of the answers to these questions and more are broken down category by category with plenty of reason and details to support each team member’s answers. It’s the must listen episode of the season so far.

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

This podcast runs 4h 9m. We will be back next week to give our reactions to the 2023 Oscar nominations. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Ep166.mp3
Category:Oscars -- posted at: 8:24am PDT

On episode 165 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman and Dan Bayer discuss the biggest week of the Oscar season so far with SAG, PGA, and DGA nominations released.

Before they get into the guilds, the team circle back to the beginning of the week with their reactions to the Golden Globes. Between the speeches, winners, and overall vibes of the show, the Globes were everything they said it would be, even if the winners were a little more predictable than they thought they would be.

Going to the news of the week, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced not only their 2023 nominations, but they announced that they will be streaming exclusively on Netflix for the foreseeable future, starting on their YouTube page this year before making it to the full platform next year. Ryan, Erik, Nicole and Dan break down this news, as well as the shocking misses and inclusions in their crop of nominations, as well as some interesting scenarios that could possible happen on Oscar nomination morning. They moved on to talk about the Producer Guild (PGA) and Directors Guild (DGA) nominations, and who they think might be in right now and which films or filmmakers are on the outside looking in.

This conversation serves at the appetizer to this week, as the Critics Choice winners and BAFTA nominations will be announced by the time they record next for the final episode before Oscar nominations.

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

This podcast runs 1h52m. We will be back next week to give our Oscar Nomination 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).

Direct download: AwardsWatch_Podcast_Ep165.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:26am PDT