Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 73 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the next film in their Krzysztof Kieślowski series, Three Colours: White (1994).

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

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

This podcast runs 1h16m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski with with a review of his film, Three Colours: Red. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 72 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the next film in their Krzysztof Kieślowski series, Three Colours: Blue (1993).

Moving right along into the trilogy that made Kieślowski a legend in the cinematic community, the director set out to make a trio of films based around the colors found in the French flag, the country to which he could get funding for the film. With Blue, we enter his first phase, liberty, and in the case of the film, a complex look into a woman recovery as she tries to go on living her life after a tragic car accident kills her husband and daughter. In turning cold on the world and everyone around her, Julie (Juliette Binoche in a masterful performance) slowly opens back up, and it is within the final act of the film we see her recover beyond her understandable, heartbreaking grief. It makes for a wonderful start to this important trilogy. Ryan and Jay break down their thoughts on the film, the idea of grief and how everyone handles it differently, the use of the color blue throughout the film, the balance of the loss of Julie’s husband and daughter, the guy’s thoughts on Binoche’s career and what type of reality, trash television shows people are watching today.

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 1h42m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski with a review of his film, Three Colours: White. 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).

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

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

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

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

On episode 261 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributors Mark Johnson and Karen Peterson discuss where we are at in the 2024 Oscar race, giving an updated temperature check on the current award season.

A lot has changed in the world since the last time the AW podcast talked about the Oscars and which films and performances will go home with the gold. A post-election shift could be coming, with audiences and voters seeing the contenders in the race differently than before the political results from two weeks ago. Ryan, Sophia, Mark, and Karen break down how they think the election will connect and effect the award season, where the Best Picture, Best Director, and Acting categories are right now, as well as give their reaction to the news that the Oscars have selected a host, former late-night talk show host, comedian Conan O'Brien. This discussion also includes who the team has at the front runners in all of these categories, as well as the other contenders that could come in overtake the films, performances in the lead right now. It was a fun conversation we hope you all 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 1h55m. We will be back next week to do discuss the latest film release, Gladiator II, and talk about our Top 5 Denzel Washington performances.

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

On episode 260 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to review Steve McQueen’s Blitz and A24’s latest horror film, Heretic.

It is a short, simple episode of the AW podcast this week as tons of films are being released right now before the holiday season, campaigning events are happening all around the country, and the world is still reeling from the results of last week’s U.S. elections. Instead of a grand show, Ryan and Josh are here to talk about two films that hit theaters this weekend, Blitz and Heretic. The first is Blitz (read review here), the latest film from Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), and premiered at the London Film Festival last month before making stops at the New York Film Festival (Closing Night selection) and Middleburg Film Festival (Opening Night selection). The boys talk about the film’s relation to McQueen’s filmography, the lackluster script, beautiful craft work, the performances from Saoirse Ronan and Elliott Heffernan, and where it sits in the Oscar race right now. Next up is the religious, psychological horror film Heretic (read our review here), from the writers of A Quiet Place. Led by an excellent performance from Hugh Grant, Ryan and Josh talk about the tense, exciting pace of the first act, Grant’s monologue’s, hint at hilarious pop culture references within the film, A24’s run of films this year, and why the film crumbles, like a blueberry pie, in executing a thrilling finale.

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 59m. We will be back next week to do a discussion on where everything is at in this year’s Oscar race. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 71 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the first film in their Krzysztof Kieślowski series, The Double Life of Veronique (1991).

Known for being a documentarian in the 1970s and making smaller, personal films and television shows in the 1980s, Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski broke through in the 1990s with four films that became some of the most influential films of the last 30 years. For the first film in this month long series, Kieślowski dives into the world of two young girls (both played by Irène Jacob) who feels connected to each other, a bond that transcends time, language and geography. In a unconventional, beautiful version of a coming of age story, Ryan and Jay talk about their relationship with Krzysztof Kieślowski, thoughts on the film, the differences between Weronika and Véronique, sex used as a vital tool for storytelling, the film’s haunting tone and ending, and many stories about Jay’s recent family Disney trip.

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 2h04m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski with a review of his film, Three Colours: Blue. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

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

On episode 259 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Josh Parham to go back 10 years to take a look at the 87th Academy Awards, celebrating the films of 2014.

 Ten years ago, Hollywood’s biggest night was won over by Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Birdman, a dramedy about a washed up actor trying to form a comeback away from the big screen and back on stage in New York City, and while doing this, also making sure he can keep him mind sane. The film was a critical, commercial success, though winning Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay for Iñárritu that night has put a target on his back for not only beating films like Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel, but was the first of back to back years where the director found himself capturing Oscar gold. With these wins, it has become one of the most divisive years of the Oscars in recent memories, alongside a slew of other questionable winners and nominees inside a bountiful year of incredible cinema from the year 2014. A lot of Oscars from this year need to change hands, and the AW team is here to rewrite some Academy history.

 In their in-depth discussion, the AW team talked about the film year of 2014, briefly discuss talk about Birdman as a Best Picture winner, do an extensive conversation over the below the line categories and nominees for the year, and then the new version of the AW Shoulda Woulda Coulda game, where instead of individual replacements, they must decide as a group who the nominees and winners should be in the top eight categories. The rules of the game state they can only replace two of the nominees that year from each category, except in Best Picture, where the group could replace up to three films to make up the final set of five nominated films. Like past retrospective episodes, it was a fascinating, fun conversation including spirited debates, alliances, vote swinging, celebrating various movies, performances that aren’t normally talked about and more that we all hope you enjoy.

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

This podcast runs 3h21m. We will be back next week to do discuss the latest film release, Blitz, and doing a character actor movie draft.

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