Oscar Night Reactions: Part 2

If you missed part one, click HERE.

Some of the Team Experience writers were almost as happy for Amy Madigan's win as Ed Harris.

For the second half of our Team Reaction blurbs from the 98th Academy Awards, we asked Team Experience about the moments that perplexed them, broke their hearts, and brought them joy... and if there's any last thing about awards season anyone would like to get off your chest.

It's all after the jump...

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Split Decision: "Sinners"

In the Split Decision series, our writers pair up and face off on an Oscar-nominated movie one loves and the other doesn't. Tonight, LYNN LEE and NICK TAYLOR discuss Sinners.

NICK: Lynn, I think you’re one of the only people on this site - maybe in the entire world - whose opinion on Sinners I don’t know. The most nominated film in Oscar’s history deserves a volley before the big night! For my part, I think Ryan Coogler’s ambition is off the charts, and I genuinely can’t wait to see what he and his team are going to do with their blank check. The execution of that ambition, from plotting to formal execution, is very uneven to me, and I have a hard time reconciling what’s so exciting with what’s undernourished. But before I continue, please tell me what you think of Sinners!!

LYNN: Funny, I feel like I've been singing the praises of Sinners so much lately, I'm finding it difficult to avoid repeating myself!  It was my #1 movie of 2025, and I think it deserved many, if not most, of its Oscar nominations...

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Oscar Volley: “Best Supporting Actor” is one wild ride!

The Oscar Volleys continue. Today, NATHANIEL R and CLÁUDIO ALVES discuss the volatile Oscar race for Best Supporting Actor. 

Andrew Scott in BLUE MOON | © Sony Pictures Classics

NATHANIEL: So Cláudio, it falls to you and me to discuss Best Supporting Actor, and I will try reeaaaaaaaaly hard not to bring up my broken-record pet peeve about this category because I know readers have heard it a million times.  I don't want to talk about it anymore, so for the duration of this conversation, I'm going to pretend that all the actors are in roles perfectly sized for this particular category. And so we're here to discuss everything else... but not that!

Performance quality-wise, I think this is a good quintet - even if I'm still seriously angry that people wouldn't give Andrew Scott the time of day for Blue Moon since his performance is stronger than Hawke's AND he is giving you so much backstory and giving it so economically and with laser minimalist precision. Such a generous actor - he doesn't steal scenes so much as immerse you in them and what's going on between these characters. Anyway, I just love him, and I had to get that off my chest first. It's been a struggle.

So my opening question to you is struggle-themed. I'm curious who you think had the most difficult role to play here and why...

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Team Experience Oscar Predictions: The Final Scores

by Cláudio Alves

Nobody predicted SINNERS to secure Delroy Lindo his first Oscar nomination. | © Warner Bros.

How did your Oscar predictions turn out? At The Film Experience, ten writers did their best, and now we have results. Baby Clyde achieved the highest accuracy, dethroning former champion Eric Blume. But there’s more, so check the full data below. When we aggregate predictions, surprises emerge: none of us saw Delroy Lindo or Avatar in Costume Design coming. Conversely, everyone expected Paul Mescal in Best Supporting Actor, so we all misjudged that race.

Without further ado, here’s the final score…

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Oscar Volley: Is there space for supporting actors in the Best Supporting Actor race?

The Oscar Volleys are back! Tonight, it's time for Eric Blume and Cláudio Alves to discuss Best Supporting Actor...

Stellan Skarsgård in SENTIMENTAL VALUE | © Neon

ERIC: Hi, Cláudio. I'm very excited to tackle this year's Best Supporting Actor race with you! This is often the most boring acting category, but am I naive to think this year might be different? There are a lot of really fantastic performances that are not only nomination-worthy but win-worthy in my opinion. Are we to be disappointed that once the precursors start naming nominees, things will narrow too small too quickly? 

For the moment, it's an open book. I would love to discuss with you the two performances that do seem like locks even at this early stage: Sean Penn for One Battle After Another and Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value…

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