Podcast: Oscar's Self Destruction, Guild Prizes, and Sundance Winners

with Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl 

 In this episode Murtada and Nathaniel sound off on Sundance buzz, and the current madness of the awards race and Oscar's late-life identity crisis and one shockingly ill-thought-out decision after the next, ad infinitum.

Index (58 minutes)
00:01 Sundance buzz: The Farewell, Clemency, One Child Nation, Them That Follow , and The Report
17:25 Recent guild prizes: Bryan Singer & Rami Malek's Bohemian Rhapsody and how everything keeps going wrong this awards season.
22:34 Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade's surprise DGA win
26:00 Oscar's identity crisis and its increasingly terrible decisions. Murtada tries to talk Nathaniel off the ledge.
36:00 Spike Lee and Bradley Cooper at the DGAs and guilds confusion about Best Picture
45:40 Trying to survive Oscar's dwindling sense of self and we're back to Sundance to talk about next year's Oscar possibilities, especially in regards to Clemency
56:00 Annie Awards and wrap-up

Referenced in the Podcast
• Nathaniel's "Awards Season is Killing Me" Rant
• DGA winners
• Murtada's Sundance Coverage

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Sundance Glory / Oscar Doom

"Awards season is trying to kill me," a paranoid confession.

by Nathaniel R

You guys. WHAT is happening? Not to sound paranoid but award season is trying to kill me. Day after day things worsen. Am I inside a Black Mirror episode through the use of some technology I wasn't even aware of? Or have I fallen through a rabbit hole to an alternate dimension where all obsessions curdle in on themselves to become one's worst fears? Are you also experiencing this nightmare with me? Please tell me it's not all in my own head.

The film year started out so well...

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That controversial ending to "The Favourite"

by Mark Brinkerhoff

Happy post-Oscar nominations week! Despite a fair amount of rubbish (*cough* Bohemian Rhapsody), the Academy has blessed The Favourite with a deservedly (co-)leading 10 nominations. Bravo! Well done. On that note, it’s high time we talk about the film’s—shall we say—polarizing ending. Are you ready? Let’s go… (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)

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Podcast: On the nominations for the 91st Academy Awards

with Nathaniel R, Nick Davis, and Murtada Elfadl 

Hopefully you're not sick of talking Oscar nods, yet, since here's the last bit of the post-nomination blitz coverage... though obviously Oscar discussions will continue through Oscar night but we can diversify our attention after this one. 

Index (63 minutes)
00:01 Marina de Tavira for Roma (!) and women's stories at the Oscars
05:00 Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman & Coen brothers Buster Scruggs
12:00 Netflix and working hard for your nominations; it pays off
17:00 The joy of reaction videos: Richard E Grant and more
20:30 Best Cinematography: Caleb Deschanel for Never Look Away
23:30 Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, or Rami Malek?
29:45 No more Potterverse nominations but that Elizabeth vs Mary franchise never goes away. And the same people are rewarded for it again!
32:35 Nominations we don't quite understand but aren't opposed to.
40:00 A24 Oscar fate: First Reformed and Eighth Grade
43:15 Discussions of these career moments and potential futures for the 20 acting nominees. 
57:00 Saying nice things about Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody
60:00 Random happy thoughts to wrap-up

Referenced in the Pod
• Bobby Pontillas (animated short) reaction video
• Richard E Grant (supporting actor) reaction video
• Oscar Charts
• And this Blanchett-obsessed acceptance speech from Jenny Shircore...

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Deep dive into the nominations

Team Experience: Joyful News and the Best/Worst Oscar Branches

by Nathaniel R

Later today a special edition of the podcast as Murtada, Nathaniel and Nick discuss the Oscar nominations. But, for now, our final group survey on the nominations so we can then move on to the nitty gritty of each category as well as return to new and old movies,  Film Bitch Awards, regularly scheduled programming, and all of that good stuff. We asked the team two more questions about the nominations and they answered like so. Please let your own voice be heard in the comments.

WHAT NOMINATION GAVE YOU THE MOST JOY TUESDAY MORNING?

JORGE MOLINA: I woke up my entire neighborhood when Marina de Tavira's name was called out. I was expecting a surprise Supporting Actress nomination, but not her. Marina's performance is such a striking and beautiful contrast to Yalitza Aparicio's (whose nomination was a lesser but equally great surprise), and one that reflects much deeper things about female and class relationships in the movie. It's not a big performance, but it's so nuanced and raw. I couldn't be happier she's getting the recognition, and that she's only the second supporting actress to be nominated for a foreign film ever! Viva Marina!

CHRIS FEIL: No single craftsperson deserves their nomination (or eventual win) more than costume designer Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther). I don't make the facts, I just relay them...

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