This Had Oscar Buzz

Епізоди

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  397 – The Thin Blue Line (w/ Pamela Ribon!) 20.07.2026 1год 56хв

  We welcome back Oscar-nominated My Year of Dicks filmmaker Pamela Ribon this week for [gasp] our very first documentary episode! In 1988, Errol Morris made a documentary hit out of The Thin Blue Line. Detailing police corruption and bias that led to the wrongful conviction of Robert W. Wood for a police shooting, the film became a non-fiction landmark for unpacking the the case’s inconsistencies and ultimately led to Wood’s vindication. This episode, we talk about how the documentary branch overhauled their nominating process in the wake of snubs for films like this and Hoop Dreams. We also discuss the stigma of non-fiction reenactments, how the film would influence later true crime doc style, and Pam’s work on her upcoming documentary, One Act. Topics also include Morris’ Gates of Heaven, Werner Herzog eating his shoe, and what the hell a malt is.
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  396 – The Stepford Wives (with Nicholas Colia!) 13.07.2026 2год 29хв

  We’re back talking about Nicole Kidman’s post-Oscar years this week and Griffin in Summer filmmaker Nicholas Colia is here to join us! After winning her Oscar for The Hours, each of the many projects Kidman attached herself to carried some degree of pedigree and buzz. One of them just happened to be a famous disaster: 2004’s The Stepford Wives. A remake directed by Frank Oz and scripted by Paul Rudnick, the film fell subject to bad test scores and a barrage of reshoots that ultimately resulted in a ho-hum release and a notorious production. This episode, we talk about the gossip around the the numerous reported on-set clashes and how the final film differed from its first versions. We also discuss Kidman’s post-Oscar aughts schedule, the screen debut of Faith Hill, and Oz’s non-puppet directorial efforts. Topics also include The Producers, pre-Obama gay politics, and the great Griffin Nafly.
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  395 – Insomnia 06.07.2026 2год 10хв

  After becoming a critical and arthouse sensation with Memento, Christopher Nolan leaped to studio filmmaking with American remake Insomnia. The film (based on the 1997 Norwegian film) stars Al Pacino as a corrupt cop sent to Alaska to solve a murder, only to be caught in the web of the killer (Robin Williams). Though a successful summer release, the film did not ultimately receive the enthusiasm of Nolan’s previous effort, but it would nevertheless catapult him towards his Gotham directing duties. This episode, we’re talking about the rise of Nolan and how this film stands as one of his more flawed. We also discuss Williams’ era of unsettling characters and subject matter, Hilary Swank between her Oscar wins, and Pacino’s downshift here from bigger late 1990s performances. Topics also include Memento‘s awards run, old age Makeup nominees, and The Insider.
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  394 – Queer (with Mitchell Beaupre!) 29.06.2026 2год 36хв

  Letterboxd head of editorial Mitchell Beaupre returns to us this week to close out Pride month with one of Luca Guadagnino’s most divisive films. In 2024, with audiences still under the spell of Challengers, the director also brought to the screen a long-gestating passion project: an adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ Queer. Starring Daniel Craig as Burroughs alter ego William Lee, the film baroquely mines queer longing in an addiction story that earned as many fans as it did detractors. This episode, we talk about Guadagnino’s preference for Queer over Challengers in the 2024 race and how Craig was in the Best Actor race until the final minute. We also talk about expectations that Guadagnino would return to Call Me By Your Name territory, how this film might troll critics of that film’s sexual modesty, and Lesley Manville’s brief turn as wild doctor in the jungle. Topics also include Drew Starkey’s breakthrough role as Allerton, Craig plagued by Bond questions, and Jason Schwartzman playing gay in a fat suit.
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  393 – C’Mon C’Mon 22.06.2026 1год 58хв

  On deck this week is a sentimental recent fav, Mike Mills’ beautiful black-and-white tribute to modern day youngsters and the state of mind that is “uncle.” C’Mon C’Mon casts Joaquin Phoenix as a radio journalist who takes in his sister’s kid when she has to handle the father’s mental health crisis. With Gaby Hoffman and Scoot McNairy giving great performances as the parents, the film was a gently composed gem that earned its share of ardent fans but failed to garner Oscar nominations. This episode, we talk about Mike Mills’ emotionally expansive directorial efforts, starting with his 2005 breakthrough Thumbsucker. We also discuss Woody Norman’s surprisingly naturalistic performance, the film’s optimistic vantage on the mind of America’s youth, and how the film was one of many that struggled to gain an audience amidst the Omicron season. Topics also include A24 in 2021, CODA as the year’s anointed movie about family, and Mills’ upcoming Criterion box set.
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  392 – Robin Hood (2010) 15.06.2026 1год 43хв

  We’re back to discussing the filmography of director Ridley Scott this week, though this episode was recorded… before the news of his Honorary Oscar. Nope, there is also a new riff on a Robin Hood this week, so we’re talking his ongoing collaboration with Russell Crowe and their 2010 take on the fable. Arriving at the beginning of the summer, the film did respectable business but failed to match the respect and Academy love for their first epic together Gladiator. This episode, we discuss the film’s intended origins as a Sheriff of Nottingham film and its final approach as an ensemble piece of political intrigue. We also talk about Oscar Isaac’s eyeliner-forward performance, the miscasting of Cate Blanchett as a Marion more derivative of other female action characters, and Scott’s stretch of darker movies post-Gladiator. Topics also include the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, the non-controversy of The King’s Speech’s set locations, and slow mo bow and arrows.
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  391 – The BFG (with Kyle Amato!) 08.06.2026 2год 20хв

  With Steven Spielberg returning to theatres with this week’s Disclosure Day, we’re taking the rare opportunity to discuss one of his films! Kyle Amato returns to talk about Spielberg’s take on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s fable The BFG. The film was a reuniting of Spielberg with his recent Oscar winning actor Mark Rylance in the role, all brought to life through ever-evolving motion capture technology. While Spielberg has found some of his greatest successes in family friendly fare, The BFG was one of his most underwhelming at the box office and went quickly forgotten. This episode, we’re talking about Spielberg’s less well-received films and the many flaws that make this film feel like one of his weakest. We also talk about Rylance’s Tony tally prior to his Oscar win, motion capture discourse, and the dire summer offerings from 2016. Topics also include Penelope Wilton as a Queen Elizabeth stand-in, Dahl adaptations, and Backrooms.
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  390 – Les Miserables (1998) 01.06.2026 1год 46хв

  We’re back after our May Miniseries and it’s Tonys week! Rather than a musical, we’re talking about a movie that disappointed in part because it wasn’t a big screen version of the Broadway smash… In 1998, director Bille August brought a condensed version of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables to the screen. With Liam Neeson headlining as the legendary man imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean, the film is a hyper focused version of Hugo’s sprawl that is nevertheless a droning bore. This episode, we talk about August’s two Palme d’Or wins and what this story loses by focusing so closely on only the Valjean/Javert storyline. We also talk about Neeson’s period between his sole Oscar nomination and becoming an action star, Geoffrey Rush cementing his typecast here, and Uma Thurman back-to-back misfires in Batman and Robin and The Avengers. Topics also include this year’s Cannes, Shine as forgotten Oscar winner, and Claire Danes backbackback again.
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  CATEGORY IS… – Stunts 25.05.2026 2год 3хв

  CATEGORY IS… comes to a close this week and we’re ending this May Miniseries by looking to the future. Next year’s 100th Academy Awards will bring the Academy’s first award to Stunts! This episode, we go into the decades-long effort to make the category happen, how we want to see the category presented on the monumental telecast, how the 1970s’ craze of disaster movies might have influenced the category, Tom Cruise and the influence of the Mission: Impossible franchise, and of course, our picks for ten films in movie history that we would award with a Stunts Oscar.
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  CATEGORY IS… – Choreography 18.05.2026 2год 4хв

  The May miniseries CATEGORY IS… chugs along this week with Choreography! You know we love talking about dance on film, so this was a category we couldn’t pass up discussing. We’re talking about the three (early) years that Oscar once awarded Dance Direction, when the lines might blur between choreography and fight choreography, iconic musical numbers throughout movie history, when there might have been showdowns between dueling worthy dance movies, “Shipoopi,” So You Think You Can Dance, and the ten films we would retroactively honor with a choreography Oscar.
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  CATEGORY IS… – Voice Acting 11.05.2026 2год 9хв

  Our 2026 May Miniseries CATEGORY IS… continues this week with a discussion about a dreamed-for category that stirred a lot of conversation, particularly in the 2000s. We’re talking about Voice Acting! This episode, we dive into a Disney-centric history of celebrated Disney performances and which of them might have been Oscar frontrunners, from Robin Williams to Ellen DeGeneres. We also talk about voice performances that earned major precursor nominations, Andy Serkis making waves in motion capture as Gollum, and how narration and documentary work might also be considered. And of course: the ten voice acting performances we would hand a retroactive Oscar!
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  CATEGORY IS… – Casting 04.05.2026 2год 18хв

  It’s May Miniseries time!! Presenting CATEGORY IS…! We’re in a moment of the Academy Awards introducing new categories for the first time in many years, and we’ll be spending the whole month discussing the categories already announced and a few we think should be! First up: Best Casting! This episode, we discuss the Oscar’s newest category and how we felt about the nominees for 2025, how we would like to see the category evolve in the years to come, what shortlisted films we think might have deserved the nomination, and we close the episode with the most important part: we name 10 films in movie history that we would retroactively award with a Casting Oscar.
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  389 – The Manchurian Candidate 27.04.2026 1год 34хв

  If you make a remake to a cinema classic (and Oscar nominee), chances are the buzz starts there. But in revamping The Manchurian Candidate to the post-9/11 culture, Oscar winning director also added the pedigree of recent winner Denzel Washington and then-recent nomination record breaker Meryl Streep, the buzz multiplied. But this version of a paranoia thriller about a political candidate whose brain has been hijacked was a mild summer success, kept only in the race by Streep in villain mode. This episode, we talk about whether or not the material comfortably fits in with the era’s concerns and the period after Washington won his second Oscar. We also discuss Liev Schreiber breaking out of Cotton Weary mold, the film’s pseudo-incestuous bath scene, and a double Six Timer hottie quiz for Washington and Schreiber. Topics also include surprise Ann Dowd, the 2004 Supporting Actress race, and sleeper cell activation phrases.
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  388 – La Chimera 20.04.2026 2год 2хв

  We’re talking about one of our favorite films of the 2020’s this week with Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera. Told with magical realism and an earthy bespoke quality, the 2023 film follows Josh O’Connor as a British archaeologist in Italy who belongs to a crew of tombaroli, grave robbers who sells off their findings. With O’Connor speaking mostly in Italian, the film launched to strong reviews at Cannes but had its fate sealed when Italy chose not to select the film for International Feature. This episode, we talk about the film’s qualifying release that left it underdiscussed in 2023 and it’s surprisingly long run at New York’s IFC Center. We also talk about Anatomy of a Fall‘s Oscar success despite not being its country’s submission either, Neon’s 2023 Cannes lineup, and O’Connor as king of the last day of Cannes. Topics also include the linen suit in the film, Rohrwacher’s previous films, and Palme Dog.
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  387 – Ain’t Them Bodies Saints 13.04.2026 2год 6хв

  As maverick director David Lowery returns to theatres this week with Mother Mary, we’re looking back at his 2013 film Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. The film follows two Texas lovers played by Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara torn apart by a showdown with local police, where he accepts guilt and jail time when she shoots a police officer. The film is an unpacking of romantic outlaw myths that caused a stir at the Sundance Film Festival and helped establish Lowery as one of the most unpredictable directors working today. This episode, we talk about the influence of Terrence Malick’s Badlands on the film and Lowery’s subversion of story expectations. We also discuss Mara’s filmography between Oscar nominations, Ben Foster’s emergence into character roles, and beloved cinematographer Bradford Young. Topics also include the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Santa’s WikiFeet rating, and Chris’s favorite Huppert performance.
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  386 – Contagion 06.04.2026 2год 13хв

  With The Christophers finally arriving in theatres, we are returning to the ever-evolving filmography of director Steven Soderbergh. In the period of his one-for-you-one-for-me jostling between micro budgets and mainstream fare, 2011 offered his paranoid eco-thriller Contagion about a virus that overtakes the world. Though the film was an early fall box office success with major Oscar winners as Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, and Marion Cotillard, Warner Bros. only launched the film’s campaign at the end of the season. A decade later, the film would become a major mass rewatch for… totally normal, everyday reasons! This episode, we talk about Soderbergh’s period between Oscar and “retirement” and Paltrow joins our Ten Timers club. We also talk about Laurence Fishburne and Jennifer Ehle as best in show, our reticence to watch the film during COVID, and Soderbergh’s current underrated era. Topics also include Paltrow’s terrifying death scene, the 2011 Venice Film Festival, and the Saturn Awards.
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  385 – Billy Bathgate 30.03.2026 2год

  We’re journeying back to the early 1990s this week to discuss the forgotten failure Billy Bathgate. Adapted from E.L. Doctorow’s Pulitzer finalist, the film cast Dustin Hoffman as real-life mobster Dutch Schultz opposite a Loren Dean as the fictionalized street kid who falls under his wing. With Bruce Willis in a supporting role at the peak of his fame and Oscar-winning director Robert Benton at the helm, the film ultimately bombed at the box office but earned Nicole Kidman her first Golden Globe nomination. This episode, we talk about the much publicized clashing between Hoffman’s ego and his reunited director and we have a (gasp) triple Six Timers quiz for Hoffman, Dean, and Stanley Tucci. We also talk about the film’s mild approach to crime material, the 1991 Supporting Actress race, and Benton’s somewhat forgotten Oscar comeback Places in the Heart. Topics also include Highlander 2: The Quickening, Hook‘s surprising Oscar nominations, and surprise Frances Conroy.
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  384 – Jarhead 23.03.2026 2год 19хв

  We’re tackling Sam Mendes’ third feature this week, 2005’s war adaptation Jarhead. The film followed Jake Gyllenhaal as Gulf War marine Anthony Swofford trapped in an existential wartime malaise. With a supporting cast that included recent Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard, expectations were sky high for the film before it received a muted critical reaction and the season proved more positive for Gyllenhaal’s turn in Brokeback Mountain. This episode, we talk about the film’s craft pedigree that made its on-paper potential sky high, from Mendes to cinematographer Roger Deakins to composer Thomas Newman to editor Walter Murch. We also discuss Gyllenhaal joining our TEN Timers Club, Sarsgaard’s early aught supporting actor run, and how the film cracked the lid on post-9/11 political THOB cinema. Topics also include Jake thirst gifs, John Krasinski Six Timers, and Oscar winners’ Zodiac signs.
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  383 – Joker: Folie à Deux 16.03.2026 1год 59хв

  Continuing our Oscar hangover tradition, we’re cracking the seal on the previous Oscar season’s lineup and have we got a doozy of a Class of 2024 title for you! After Joker walked away from the 2019 season with a Golden Lion and an Oscar for Joaquin Phoenix, souring opinions kicked into high gear when follow-up Joker: Folie à Deux was announced. Yes, the sequel would not only be a musical but it would star Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, and the results were an immediate critical and box office bomb. This episode, we talk about director Todd Phillips’ middle-finger approach to this sequel and why the original film works against making his case for genre divergence here. We also discuss Phoenix facing the heat for backing out on Todd Haynes, the film’s non-canonical take on the characters, and its off-putting musical stylings. Topics also include the 2024 Venice Film Festival, The Bride!, and Connor Storrie’s small role in the finale.
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  382 – Get Low 09.03.2026 2год 1хв

  We keep losing movie legends, but this week we wanted to memorialize the great Robert Duvall. In 2010, the actor entered the race with Get Low, a tale (based on regional legend) of a town outcast who decides to throw his own funeral. With Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, and Lucas Black filling out the ensemble, the film is a forgiveness and guilt fable that has its humble charms, but ultimately was unable to net the career honors for Duvall that would come a few years later with (eek) The Judge. This episode, we talk about Duvall’s Oscar history and his place in some of the most important films of the 1970s. We also discuss Spacek’s post-2000s run of brilliant supporting turns, hostile Today Show appearances, and Sony Classics many 2010 Oscar nominees. Topics also include Murray Six Timers, video games, and the 2010 Best Actor race.