Well, the Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Globes announced their nominations this week and shocked us with noms for both Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler and Jennifer Aniston in Cake, throwing the race a fantastic curve ball as we start to enter the nitty gritty of awards season. Veteran actor Robert Duvall also hit both precursors (for The Judge) and is now a formidable opponent in Best Supporting Actor. 

On this podcast, Gold Rush Gang member Peter and myself welcome Awards Circuit founder and editor Clayton Davis as a guest for the first time. He has a lot of insight on the race, how things might play out at the BFCA (of which he's a member) and the three of us discuss how the above-mentioned three will change the game. 

We get into the rise of The Grand Budapest Hotel and the likely Oscar coming out party for Wes Anderson, original screenplay gets a lot of talk as does Selma and the Golden Globe snubs of Unbroken and American Sniper. 

In this juicy edition of the AwardsWatch Oscar Podcast, Richard and I dive deep into the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards (tomorrow!) and our nomination predictions for the Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Globes happening next week. 

At LAFCA we talk about the potential battle for Best Actress between Julianne Moore in Still Alice (and possibly Maps to the Stars) and recent NYFCC winner Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night (and possibly The Immigrant). Mr. Turner, Timothy Spall (also the recent NYFCC winner) and Mike Leigh come up as heavy favorites and I push Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin as a possible alternate in Best Actress. 

With SAG there is a lot of agreement between Richard and myself as well as with the Gold Rush Gang. Selma seems to be the question mark since Paramount didn't get screeners to voters due to the film being locked too late. How much will that affect the film's chances in Cast and Best Actor? 

Over at the Golden Globes there is a lot of agreement in many categories but with Angelina Jolie's Unbroken a bit up in the air. Many of the GRG have Jolie in Best Director but I wonder if those predictions aren't as updated as they could (or should be). I have her in, and the film everywhere, in spite of the very mixed reception its gotten since its premiere. But this is the HPFA and they're going to want their star wattage. 

All that and more on this podcast. 

In this podcast Richard, Matt L. and I discuss the Film Independent Spirit nominations from this week; who got snubbed (The Imitation Game!) and who made a big play in the race (Selma!). We break down the categories to find a 30th Spirits Awards with a bit of a throwback to its early days to truly indie picks like Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. We talk about the hows and whys of Harvey Weinstein's failure to secure a single nomination for The Imitation Game and will it be a bellwether for the season to come. And what happened in the Best Screenplay category?

Then we dig into the two critics groups announcing next week; the New York Film Critics Circle on Monday the 1st and the National Board of Review on Tuesday the 2nd. Lots of Boyhood predictions, which is to be expected from the best rated film of the year. Also across the board predictions for Michael Keaton (Birdman) for Best Actor, Julianne Moore (Still Alice) for Best Actress, J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) for Best Supporting Actor but a split in Best Supporting Actress that finds a battle between Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year and Patricia Arquette in Boyhood but with a fun prediction from Matt L. You'll just have to listen to the podcast to find out who. 

Big happenings with some major premieres of Oscar hopefuls at AFI this last week in the form of Selma, American Sniper and A Most Violent Year give the Gold Rush Gang (Richard, Jason and myself, Erik) a lot to talk about in this podcast. We discuss the mixed test screening (attended by a trio of AwardsWatchers) that led to some frantic predictions changes to a complete reversal after its stellar debut at AFI. American Sniper didn't fare as well and might be out the majors as a result and A Most Violent Year gets the reviews it needed to stay in the race. 

We also discuss various tech predictions like Cinematography, Film Editing, Visual Effects and the Sound Categories. Is once frontrunner Interstellar out of the running here? Will a Best Picture frontrunner find itself with a few extra tech noms to pad its total? Can Roger Deakins finally win?

We end with some Independent Spirit Awards talk and predictions. Those are announced on Tuesday the 25th (not the 24th as I keep mentioning in the podcast) and we'll have a follow-up podcast post-nominations and before the wealth of critics awards start rolling in during the first week of December. 

In this new Oscar podcast, Erik, Kenneth, Matt M and Peter discuss where Selma and Unbroken are in the race. Have they fallen? Are they steady? With a handful of AwardsWatch members having just seen the first and only Selma screening, there's lots to tell and lots to talk about. 

We also take a crack at the juicy Best Actor category, overflowing with potential contenders with Michael Keaton in Birdman, Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything, Jack O'Connell in Unbroken and Sony Pictures Classics' dilemma of too many players. Of course, we also talk about Best Actress and just how locked Julianne Moore is for Still Alice. 

Later we talk about the resurgence of Into the Woods and its Best Picture chances and ponder some of the documentary and foreign language film contenders.

In this podcast, Peter and Jason (Dirk Diggler!) join Erik to discuss the flurry of fall festivals, including the just opened Venice Film Festival which began with rapturous reviews for Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman. We also venture into Telluride and TIFF (which Jason is attending), discuss Harvey Weinstein's track for The Imitation Game and the recent first test screening (attended by AwardWatch members) of A Most Violent Year starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. That breaks into a discussion of Supporting Actress which covers Chastain, Patricia Arquette, Laura Dern, Keira Knightley and Carmen Ejogo (which itself breaks off into a conversation about Selma). And all in under an hour and a half! Bonus!

Settle in folks, this Emmy winner prediction podcast clocks in at 2h 30m. I know, I know, but we tried! Emmy Experts Chris, Peter and myself dig deep into the TV/Miniseries categories (Fargo or The Normal Heart? Sherlock?!), Comedy (Will Orange is the New Black unseat Modern Family?) and Drama (an epic battle between Breaking Bad and True Detective). 

As per usual for AwardsWatch, the Lead Actress (Drama) category becomes a fight as Erik fights for his #1 placement of Robin Wright against the slings and arrows of Chris and Peter. 

So, grab a cocktail or go for a long drive for this epic podcast that you'll need to hear before the Emmys next Monday!

In this Oscar podcast the gaggle of Gold Rush Gang members (Erik, Matt M, Kenneth and Evan) dish on all things ladies; Lead Actress, Supporting Actress plus the hot Best Director race that could feature, for the first time, two women - Angelina Jolie and Ava DuVernay. We also discuss their films, Unbroken and Selma, respectively. 

Despite Chris and Erik being members of the Getalong Gang of similar Emmy predictions, there's still a lot of conversation to be had and even some votes changing mid-podcast! How poorly will Mad Men do? Can Showtime pull off a big haul for Masters of Sex? Will Orange is the New Black be the one to topple Modern Family?

Find out, on the AwardsWatch FINAL Emmy Prediction podcast. 

In this podcast Chris, Peter and Erik discuss the Emmy Drama categories in full (Series, Writing, Directing, Lead, Supporting and Guest Performances) as well as Miniseries and the Writing and Lead categories within the TV Movie/Miniseries section.

With so many categories up for grabs and a finite amount of nominations (or are there?) someone will be snubbed. Will former Best Drama Series winners Mad Men and Homeland lose their hold on nominations in favor of newbies True Detective and Masters of Sex? What about The Good Wife? Have they really blundered their campaign to return to a Drama Series nomination?

The Lead Actress in a Drama Series seems to be the category giving us (and most Emmy predictors) the most grief. With last year giving us seven nominees, will we see that again? Or will it be six with someone left off the list? We talk about Tatiana Maslany's chances, who's on the outs and was Scandal's Kerry Washington a one-and-done nomination. 

In this podcast, Erik, Jonathan and Nicole discuss their predictions in the Comedy categories as well as TV Movie, TV Movie/Mini Directing and Supporting categories. Any more and you'd be listening for three hours. We'll be breaking the Emmy prediction podcasts into two parts, next week will be Drama categories, Miniseries, TV Movie/Miniseries Writing and Lead categories. 

Today we discuss whether Modern Family can be toppled and kept from a record-tying five wins in Comedy Series and by whom? Orange is the New Black? Veep? Brooklyn Nine-Nine? Does Showtime's move of Shameless from Drama to Comedy help or hurt it and can the network get THREE Lead actors in Comedy?

In this podcast, Erik, Peter and new Gold Rush Gang member Matt L. discuss the Cannes Film Festival and its winners and losers and how it will affect the Oscar race. We also discuss our current Oscar predictions, featuring Foxcatcher, Unbroken, Angelina Jolie, Julianne Moore, Harvey Weinstein and Fox Searchlight.

In this Oscar podcast Erik, Peter and Richard discuss the Cannes Film Festival lineup for 2014 and how it may affect or reflect the Oscar potential for films like Foxcatcher and The Homesman. We also analyze our first predictions of the season and compare them with the forum polls, featuring Gone Girl, Big Eyes, Interstellar and A Most Violent Year. There also might be a little bit of shade directed at Gold Rush Gang member Jason, aka Dirk Diggler. Enjoy!

In this podcast, recorded March 29, 2014, Awardswatch Emmy Experts Erik, Chris and Jonathan discuss their early predictions for the 2013/2014 Emmy season. How will HBO's decision to put True Detective into Drama Series affect its chances? Will The Good Wife see an Emmy renassiance? All that and more right here on the Awardswatch Emmy Podcast. 

In this epic Oscar podcast, recorded February 25th, 2014, Erik, Ben, Kenneth and Peter discuss their final Oscar predictions, possibly change their minds in the middle of the conversation. Meanwhile, Erik forgets 12 Years a Slave isn't nominated for Original Score, Cate Blanchett gets unironic love from the group and one of the straight guys throws the biggest shade?

Settle in folks, because this 'cast clocks in at 2h 25m. But it's so worth it. 

In this podcast, Erik and Peter discuss their BAFTA predictions plus mull over the recent surge by Captain Phillips in some very important precursors. Oh, and Erik's house catches fire. 

In this epic podcast, recorded Monday, January 13, 2014, Erik and Kenneth discuss the recent Golden Globe winners and make our final Oscar nomination predictions. Wigs are flying so sit tight.

On this podcast, recorded Friday, January 10, 2014, Erik, Ben and Long discuss the DGA and BAFTA nominations and their predictions for the Golden Globe winners this Sunday.