Podcast: Which way will Best Picture & Best Director go?

Joe, Nick, Katey and Nathaniel gather themselves for their first post-Oscar nomination discussion of the new year. Today, directors, pictures, and a discussion of Oscar's diversity problem. Please join in the conversation in the comments.

40 minutes 
00:01 Intro & Phoenix (for no apparent reason)
02:25 Bridge of Spies and Oscar tastes
04:30 Straight Outta Compton, Creed and Oscar's Diversification Initiatives
18:00 Cinematography and insular Oscar clubs
25:00 Mad Max vs The Martian vs The Revenant... is that good news for Spotlight?  
30;00 The Big Short, Screenplays, Precursors and Early Signs
33:00 Ridley Scott. Who gets Best Director now?

Related Reading For Context:
Joe's 20 Actors of Color List
Nathaniel's #OscarsSoWhite Article
Ridley Scott on "Little Gold Men"
The Revenant's Production Design & Costume Design 
Best Picture Chart 

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes soon. 

Oscar Nomination Reactions - Picture/Director

CCMA Live Blog

08:00 I was going to boycott the show this year because of The Shark Jump Awakens but I'm an addict. Awards shows. Red Carpets... excuse me Blue carpets. So I watch. TJ Miller begins the show with an okay monologue without many jokes. The recurring joke is the physical gag of his "four dancing critics." In comedy theory this is one fo those jokes that gets funnier and funnier as it goes from the sheer commitment and silliness but it's probably too early in the evening (read: everyone is too sober) to pull this off just yet.

Suddenly picturing a team of 4 puppets typing with me. Enjoying the fantasy.

08:03 There are approximately 1000 reaction shots of Matt Damon already. Which is weird since there are so many celebrities to choose from in the house. 

Netflix and Chill. I'd rather HBO Go Down on Someone."

08:05 That's a joke I laughed at. I am only human.

08:07 At some point critics are called "professional sifters"? Which hmmm. Semantic comedy? There's also an aside about Oscar Isaac that I didn't get. Miller also congratulates everyone in the room

All of you are in here. You're in the room. You already did it. you won.

I lost, I guess. I'm not in the room this year. But Kirsten Dunst and Rachel McAdams are. [More after the jump]

Click to read more ...

Box Office: Post Nomination Bump and Faulty Marketing Hooks

Ride Along 2, the umpteenth consecutive hit for the inarguably bankable Kevin Hart (and to a lesser extent Michael Bay's latest explosion filled thriller) serves as our monthly reminder --as if we needed one -- that the bulk of moviegoers would rather watch shoot-em-ups than Oscar nominated films. But congrats to Kevin Hart. He's on his fifth year of consistently big opening weekends now. If he's not one of the highest paid stars out there he needs to find new representation.

Meanwhile in alternate universe Oscar land: The Revenant showed amazing legs in its second wide release weekend, suggesting that Leonardo DiCaprio has yet another gargantuan hit on his hands. Leading the Oscar nominations surely didn't hurt. [More after the jump...] 

Click to read more ...

Sutton Foster and "The Revenant... on Ice!"

NPR's funny "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me" podcast welcomed Sutton Foster as its special guest this week. She's on the promotional circuit for the second season of her TV Land sitcom "Younger" (which she is amazing on though that won't surprise anyone who has ever seen her in anything). They tease her about soddering tap shoes to her feet, her education (she quit school for shows... multiple times), and her "Triple Threat" status as someone who excels at singing, dancing and acting. 

Because Sutton has starred in so many Broadway musical adaptations of movies, they also ask her about the Oscar hopefuls. 

Host: They just named the Oscars. Do you think we're going to have musicals of Spotlight or The Revenant?

Sutton Foster: That would be interesting... "The Revenant: on Ice!"

Host: It's amazing what they can get a bear to do these days."

LOL.

You can listen to the episode of "Wait Wait..." here or on their site 

Mark Your Calendars

It's time for a calendar update. It's the remains of Oscar season comin' atcha. You may have noticed that this weekend many of the Oscar nominees expanded (Carol) added a few cities (Anomalisa, Son of Saul) or significantly reversed their theater declines (Spotlight, Brooklyn, Room) hoping to capitalize on the nominations. What's next?

JANUARY 2016

17th Critics Choice Awards (on A&E)
21st Sundance Film Festival begins
23rd PGA Gala
29th SAG ballots due
30th SAG AWARDS (on TNT/TBS)
31st Art Directors Guild Gala / Sundance ends. Gives awards

Also in January: You should also expect Nathaniel's annual Film Bitch Awards daily announcements since we're down to the wire. Wish me luck. Other January festivities will include a celebration of Sundance Festival classics, and the Team Experience Awards. 

FEBRUARY 2016

2nd Visual Effects Society Gala
6th DGA Gala - who will it be?
11th Berlinale begins - Amir will be covering the festival for us
12th Oscar ballots out to AMPAS
14th BAFTA AWARDS /  American Society of Cinematographer's Gala
17th Embrace of the Serpent opens (last Oscar nominee release of year - Foreign Film)
23rd Oscar voting ends
23rd Costume Designers Guild Gala
27th Film Independent Spirit Awards / Golden Reel (sound editing) Gala
28th OSCAR NIGHT! (aka Hollywood's High Holy Night aka The 88th Annual Academy Awards)

Also in February: Final looks at various achievements of 2015, looking forward to 2016 film year, and a 25th anniversary celebration of The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

MARCH & APRIL 2016

It all starts again for a new film year, you hear? Which means some of your favorite series return like Supporting Actress Smackdown, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and more. Please don't be a fair weather reader. The cinephilia is even more rewarding when the crushing avalanche of Oscar news and happenings are over with. Many exciting things in store for 2016.