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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On episode 145 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor and Chief Erik Anderson, as well as AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer, Josh Parham and Kevin Lee to give their takes on Thor: Love and Thunder, answer some listener questions, and play a brand new game.

Before they get into their thoughts on the latest film in the MCU, there have been a lot of recent classic film anniversaries this year, and with Ryan seeing The Godfather on the big screen this past weekend, the group got to talk about some of their favorite moments of seeing classic films at their local art house theaters. This was a fun, informative discussion on how important these films and theaters can be in the landscape of modern cinema.

Getting into their review of Thor: Love and Thunder, the crew talk about the film overall, the performances, and the general look of the film from director Taika Waititi. Within this conversation, they talk about the vision of the MCU going forward, as well as the grand plan for this franchise, since many of the complaints by members on the podcast, and fans of the MCU, have been that these movies aren’t being executed to the level of care and consistency as a couple of years ago. It is a fascinating conversation that goes many places, even leading into a little more praise for Top Gun: Maverick by the end.

Next up were the weekly listener questions, and continuing with the theme of talking about the MCU, they discuss if the franchise is becoming over-saturated and is becoming too much. They then talk about their feelings on the Penny Marshall film A League of their Own, which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year (check out our retrospective here). Then they reveal which fictional movie restaurant they would want to eat at, what movie they would like to see a documentary made about, and which superhero they would want Taron Egerton to play in the MCU.

Lastly, the group play a new game title, How to Name a Franchise and Get Away with It. The basic rules of the game are Ryan reads a name of a subtitle of a film and the other hosts name the franchise it is a part of. They play of round competitively till a winner is name, then a free for all with the final titles leads to some pretty hilarious, crazy film title reveals from the history of cinema.

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

This podcast runs 1h37m. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” used by permission from AShamaleuvmusic

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

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

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

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

Music: “Modern Fashion” used by permission from AShamaleuvmusic

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

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

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

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

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

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

Music: "Modern Fashion" used by permission from AShamaleuvmusic