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).

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 95^th 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).

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).

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).

On episode 164 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Sophia Ciminello, Dan Bayer and special guest, Kevin Jacobsen (host of And the Runner Up Is) give their predictions for the 2023 Golden Globes

Before the gang get into their predictions, Ryan, Erik, Sophia and Dan give their thoughts on the first major release of 2023, the horror-comedy M3GAN. Talked about already as a new camp classic, they go through their brief reactions to this wild little film, which they all can’t wait to see the next film featuring the new horror icon.

Moving on from there, the full group talks about their Golden Globe predictions. While they are a wild, controversial bunch, this will be marked as the first big televised event of award season, and could be big for many films that need to keep up or get some momentum in the race. First up were the television categories, followed by the film categories. The group picks were a mixture of safe plays and big swings, leading to a fun conversation. Stay tuned for the end of the episode, as everyone gives their wild prediction for what might come on SAG nomination morning.

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

This podcast runs 2h31m. We will be back next week to give our reactions to the Golden Globe winners, as well as PGA and DGA 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) and the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of The Banshees of Inisherin by Carter Burwell used with permission.

This podcast is sponsored by Searchlight Pictures presenting The Banshees of Inisherin – one of the best reviewed films of the year with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, a Metacritic “Must See” film, and named one of the top 10 films of the year by the National Board of Review. Now nominated for nine Critic’s Choice Awards including Best Director Martin McDonagh, Best Actor Colin Farrell, Best Screenplay, and Best Feckin’ Picture of the Year. For your consideration in all categories.

On episode 163 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Nicole Ackman, Dan Bayer and Kevin Lee to talk about their favorites of 2022.

In the first episode of 2023, the AW crew takes a look back at their favorite movies, performances and theater going experiences of the past year. Lots of love for Aftersun, RRR, TÁR, The Fabelmans. Nope, and more as they also talked about their favorite scenes of the year, favorite opening/endings, and what it means when a movie moves you emotionally over others you see throughout the year. At the end of the conversation, they also mentioned the movies they are looking forward to seeing the most in 2023 too.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.This podcast runs 2h. We will be back next week to give our Golden Globe predictions and talk about M3GAN! Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro) and "Speak Up" by Hildur Guðnadóttir from Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Women Talking used by permission.

This podcast is sponsored by the United Artists Releasing film Women Talking. Critics hail Sarah Polley’s Women Talking as “Unlike Any Film You’ve Seen Before” and “One of the Cinematic Events of the Year,” and it is now nominated for 6 Critics’ Choice Awards including Best Picture. 

Starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand, Women Talking has also been named one of the 2022 AFI AWARDS Movies of the Year, one of the Top Films of the Year and winner of Best Ensemble by the National Board of Review, and is nominated for Three Independent Spirit Awards, Including Best Feature.  For Your Consideration in all categories including Best Picture.