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 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