The AwardsWatch Podcast

On episode 222 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Josh Parham to give their thoughts on the 96th Academy Awards and wrap up the 2023-2024 Oscar season.

The Oscar season has come to an end as the 96^th Academy Awards were announced this past Sunday, and not shocking anyone at all, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer took home seven Oscars including the night’s top prize, Best Picture. Nolan walked away with the Best Director prize, and his leading man Cillian Murphy won Best Actor, alongside his co-star Robert Downey Jr. for Best Supporting Actor. Emma Stone pulled the upset over Lily Gladstone to take home Best Actress for Poor Things, giving her a second Best Actress Oscar within her career. And Da'Vine Joy Randolph was able to complete her season dominance as she won Best Supporting Actress for her work in The Holdovers. A full list of the winners can be found in our article on the site. Beyond the winners, there was plenty to discuss including Jimmy Kimmel’s hosting, the telecast itself, Ryan Gosling’s incredible “I’m Just Ken” performance, favorite speeches, and shocking upsets within our predictions. Ryan, Dan, and Josh cover it all as they close the book on what was another long but successful Oscar season.

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

This podcast runs 1h21m. On our next episode, we will be doing an Oscar retrospective on the films of 2004. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 36 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Bug (2007).

Moving away from his early 2000s action thrillers era, Friedkin set his sights on a project of much small scale, as he saw a play by writer/actor Tracy Letts that blew him away. Set mostly in a single location, motel room, Bug follows Agnes (a fantastic Ashley Judd) as she begins a new relationship with Peter (an excellent Michael Shannon), a stranger that turns unstable and unpredictable as layers of his past unfold and we start to see the lines of what is real and what is fake collide. With this, Friedkin creates an effective paranoid thriller with stellar performances and a scorching good ending. Ryan and Jay break down what they like about the film, the careers of both Judd and Shannon, the wild choices made by Harry Connick Jr. with his work in the film, how the film handles PTSD, and once again discuss the great film year that was 2007.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h35m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, Killer Joe. You can stream the film on Amazon Prime Video. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 221 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to give out their final 2024 Oscar winner predictions.

And just like that, the time has come for the final winner predictions for the 96^th Academy Awards. In a year where the critic and industry awards have been dominated by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the chances are near zero that the three-hour epic won’t walk away with the top prize this coming Sunday. But just because Best Picture is all but certain doesn’t mean some of the below the line categories and Best Actress race aren’t still open for discussion. In an extension conversation, Ryan, Erik and Sophia break down every possible outcome as well as pick their winners for all twenty-three categories. They also speculate which former winners will show up in the presentation of the acting categories, something that hasn’t been done on the telecast since the Oscars in 2009.

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

This podcast runs 2h48m. On our next episode, we will be back to wrap up the Oscar season. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision-making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 35 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the latest film from director Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two (2024).

Due to the WGA and SAG strikes from 2023, Warner Bros decided to move the second installment in their new franchise, Dune, thus making moviegoers around the world, as well as Ryan and Jay, have to wait till March 2024 to not only see the film, but to truly conclude their Denis Villeneuve movie series from last year. Well, the time has come to talk about one of the year’s most anticipated films; one that has been called “a masterpiece” by many and worthy of being in the same conversation as movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Lawrence of Arabia, and even The Godfather. On this special episode of Director Watch, Ryan, Jay, and Sophia break down their thoughts on the latest sandworm epic by talking looking back on their thoughts on the first film, the relationship with the source material, and what about Dune: Part Two didn’t fully work. In a very tough but fair overview of the film, the trio thoroughly explain the parts of Dune: Part Two that worked for them (the performances from the all-star cast, the production design of each world, the final thirty minutes of the film) and what didn’t work (the screenplay and lack of visual wonder found in the first part), as well as look to the future and briefly talk about the film’s Oscar chances.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, Bug. You can stream the film on Pluto TV. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 34 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, The Hunted (2003).

In the early 2000s, William Friedkin had transitioned into work in some mainstream adult action-dramas that looked into ideas of the military industrial complex and how those institutions can break and corrupt a man. With his 2000 feature, Rules of Engagement, he unsuccessfully tried to tackle these issues in a run of the mill court room drama that fell flat for most audiences, as well as Ryan and Jay. But with The Hunted, Friedkin makes a bloody, lean, mean action thriller about an FBI deep-woods tracker who attempts to capture a trained assassin he mentored who is going on a killing spree and must be stopped. Led by two entertaining performances from Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro, the guys break down this underrated gem in Friedkin’s filmography, the wild action sequences, Tommy Lee Jones’s career, the biting commentary Friedkin is able to pull off with making a cat and mouse thriller, and they get into a little bit of a debate on the correct year you should say when referring to a previous Oscar season.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h38m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, Bug. You can stream the film on Pluto TV. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 220 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to give their reactions to the 2024 SAG Awards.

Before we get into talking about the SAG Awards, the first significant release of 2024 screened this past week, as many were able to get a first look at Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two before it arrives in theaters later this week. Ryan and Erik were able to be some of the lucky critics to catch it, and gave their quick, spoiler free reactions to the film at the top of the show. The full review from Ryan is live on the website, and there will be a new episode of Director Watch coming soon to discuss the film is its totality.

Onto the main topic for this week, the gang come together to talk about the 2024 SAG Awards, which streamed live on Netflix this past Saturday night. While the show was a bit of a mess, the winners for the acting categories started to take full shape for the Oscars as Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Robert Downey Jr. continue their award season dominance for Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor, while Cillian Murphy and Lily Gladstone took the lead in Best Actor and Best Actress as we head into the final week of Oscar voting. Listen as the AW team breaks it all down and previews next week’s show as we head into the final Oscar predictions for the season.

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

This podcast runs 1h09m. On our next episode, we will be giving our final 2024 Oscar 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).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 33 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Blue Chips (1994).

Since the mid-1980s with To Live and Die in L.A., Friedkin started a stretch that would fully cement his journeyman status for the remainder of his career. After a couple of flops and uninteresting project, Friedkin was given a script by acclaimed screenwriter Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump) that dives deep into the world of college basketball, and the questionable tactics a coach would take to recruit players in the modern era. In what feels like a movie ahead of its time in terms of speaking out about the corruption within college athletics, as well as also outdated in some aspects given that the film is over 30 years old, Friedkin makes a more interesting film to discuss rather than one to watch. Led by a committed performance from Nick Nolte, Ryan and Jay discuss their relationship to the sport of basketball, their overall thoughts on the film, the connection between Nolte’s character and legendary coach Bobby Knight, the use of real players, Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, where this film ranks in the genre of sports movies, and if the final speech at the end is earned.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h41m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, The Hunted. You can stream the film on Max. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 219 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to give their reactions to the 2024 BAFTA Awards, and give out their predictions for the upcoming 2024 PGA, SAG, and Independent Spirit Awards,

As discussed on last week’s show, the 2024 BAFTA awards were this past Sunday, with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer taking home seven awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor for Cillian Murphy. With the film’s other wins in Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Editing and Score, it has solidified itself not only as the frontrunner for Best Picture at the Oscars, but it is the forgone conclusion that it will be our winner this year. But with three weeks to go, can any other film set forward as a challenger and take Best Picture right at the last second? Poor Things looked to be the latest challenger to Oppenheimer as made its case by winning five BAFTA’s including Best Actress for Emma Stone. But it lost Best British Film in a upset to Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, thus making it clear which film the BAFTA voting membership was going to reward its top prize to. Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, and American Fiction also took home prizes, while films like Barbie. Saltburn, All of Us Strangers, Maestro, and Killers of the Flower Moon went home empty handed. The gang discuss the impact of these results and how much they will factor them in going into the final stage of season.

After discussing the BAFTAs, Ryan, Erik, and Dan gave their full predictions for the PGA, SAG, and Independent Spirit Awards, which included plenty of talk about Oppenheimer another big step towards it’s Best Picture win, discuss how the four acting races will conclude, how SAG will vote in their television categories, and what they think the unpredictable Film Independent voters will vote on for its winners. All in all, it was a fun predictions portion segment filled with tons of possibilities for various winners to walk away with the top prizes at each show.

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

This podcast runs 1h46m. On our next episode, we will be giving our reactions to the SAG Awards, as well as doing a review of the latest sci-fi epic, Dune: Part Two. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 32 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, To Live and Die in L.A. (1985).

At the midpoint of the 1980s, Friedkin found himself in no man’s land, as the studios had made the full switch to more stylized, commercial vehicles that audiences would want to see, rather than blank check films made by popular directors. After failing hard with one of the worst films in his filmography in 1983’s Deal of the Century, he set his sights on an adaptation of Gerald Petievich’s novel To Live and Die in L.A., in which we follow two Secret Service agents go on a wild investigation to arrest a dangerous counterfeiter. Wild a mild success at the time, it’s influences could be traced throughout the rest of the decade, especially in the works of Michael Mann (whom Friedkin may have took a lot of ideas from). What we get in return is a lean mean neo-noir that ranks as one of the last great films from Friedkin. Ryan and Jay break down the film, the connections to Mann and other films and shows of the 1980s, the gruesome violence, the careers of William Petersen and Willem Dafoe, how cool it looks to make counterfeit money, and morality at play with the film’s ending.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h44m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, Blue Chips. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 218 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to give their 2024 BAFTA predictions and talk about their favorite romantic comedies.

Before getting into the meat of this week’s show, there was major Oscar news this past week, as the Academy announced the addition of a brand new category for the 2025/2026 season, Best Casting. While there is a lot of speculation as to the rules of this new category, but this is a welcome addition to the Oscar lineup. The gang speculate what they want to hear from the Academy when they announce the specifics to their new category in April 2025.

Moving onto the awards talk, the guys talk about the recent wins at the DGA and ADG awards ceremonies from this past weekend, which saw not only Christopher Nolan get closer to an Oscar win for Best Director, but a real race for Best Production Design between Poor Things, Oppenheimer, and Barbie. This led right into the BAFTA predictions conversation, which could open up the race and lead to some surprises from this overseas voting body that has a big cross over with the Academy. Films like Oppenheimer, Poor Things should do well, with The Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers and All of Us Strangers looking to play spoiler in a few categories. Winners will be handed out next weekend and we will discuss them on next week’s show.

Then in the back half of the episode, as Valentine’s Day rolls around this coming week, Ryan, Erik and Dan discuss their favorite romantic comedies. They talk about what they love about the genre, what makes them work, some of their favorite films and memorable theater experiences seeing them, as well as what they would like to see going forward when it comes to rom-coms. Some of the films discussed included My Big Fat Greek Wedding, When Harry Met Sally, Moonstruck, Bottoms, Fire Island, Annie Hall, Harold and Maude, The Shop Around the Corner, Sleepless in Seattle, and so many more.

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

This podcast runs 1h53m. On our next episode, we will be giving our reactions to the BAFTA awards, as well as give our predictions to the SAG Awards and talk about the latest film from Ethan Coen, Drive-Away Dolls. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 31 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson to discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Cruising (1980).

Entering the 1980s, Friedkin is still reeling from the fall out of the box office mess of Sorcerer and the flop that followed it up with The Brink’s Job. But as we entered the new decade, right as we is able to become a mostly “director for hire” for the good chunk of the next two decades, Friedkin delivered one of his most talked about features in Cruising, which is about a police officer that goes undercover in the underground, S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer. After being approached by multiple producers to adapt reporter Gerald Walker’s novel, Friedkin became interested in the project after string of an unsolved killings within gay leather bars within the 1970s. Working with the local Mafia members of New York City who owned the bars shot in the film, and having Al Pacino as his lead actor, Friedkin set out to make another significant, yet controversial film within not just his filmography but a milestone in the history of queer cinema. Ryan, Jay, and Erik break down the film’s legacy, the film’s depiction of S&M culture, the lost forty minutes of footage cut from the film, Pacino’s laughable performance, Friedkin’s intentions with the ending and violence throughout Cruising, pleasure vs. pain, and so much more.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h03m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, To Live and Die in L.A. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 217 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson stands in for AW Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and welcomes AW Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to talk a bit about the Oscars, review Argylle and dive into our favorite films of the spy and espionage genre.

Early February is a quiet time for Oscar predicting; there are very few critics groups to still chime in and all guilds and industry nominations have landed. It’s voting time for several, including SAG, DGA and PGA and idle hands are the devil’s playground. In our opening, Erik, Sophia and Josh root around the lead acting and screenplay categories which seem more open and elusive than usual and we take an early stab at what could shake things up and why.

Then it’s Argylle, Apple Films’ colossal box office, critical and audience flop that opened this weekend and Josh is tasked with stewarding that sinking ship as the only person on the pod who saw it. With its $16M opening, mid-40s Rotten Tomatoes score and C+ Cinemascore, the film is not long for theaters and Josh will tell you why.

Then we get to the meat of the podcast and that’s talking about spy and espionage films that do work for us and those that we count among our favorites. With the Mission: Impossible and Bond franchises looming so large over this genre – we give them space and due – we talk about some formative film in the genre for us like Goldfinger and the spy spoof Condorman and then into the films that we love the best like The Manchurian Candidate (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Conversation (1974), No Way Out (1987) and Spy (2015). Plus, what list would be complete without Hitchcock?

But we return to Bond and give out some of our choices to replace the iconic figure now that Daniel Craig is officially retired from the role. Hit us up in the comments with who you want to see play the dashing, rogue agent.

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

This podcast runs 1h36m. On our next episode, we will be talking about our favorite rom-coms just in time for Valentine’s Day and our predictions for the BAFTA winners. Till then, let’s get into it.

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 30 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined film critic Jake Tropila to discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, Sorcerer (1977).

Riding off the high of two of the biggest films of his career, and having the cachet to make whatever film he wanted, Friedkin set out to make a semi remake of the classic film The Wages of Fear, about four outcasts who are forced to take a job transporting unstable dynamite through the Colombian jungles. On the screen, it is one of the most tense, cynical thrillers of the 1970s, looking deeply into the souls of these men, their circumstances, and the inevitability of their dangerous actions catching up to them; thus it is a masterpiece. But behind the scenes, Sorcerer was a financial disaster, and consider one of many films that push studios to get away from the auteur, blank check driven vehicles of the 1970s, and the studios controlled filmmaking processes of the 1980s. Ryan, Jay and Jake break down the creation of this project, where the production went wrong, the restoration of this film, how this movie impacted Friedkin’s career going forward, and how a little film from a galaxy far, far away came in and stole Sorcerers thunder, and if the title of the movie actually fits the film.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h44m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, 1980's Cruising. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 29 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined film critic Jesse Nussman to discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, The Exorcist (1973).

How does a director follow up his Oscar winning effort that landed him the prize for Best Director? That’s simple, he goes on to make one of the greatest, most influential horror films of all time, and in the process, makes the film we would all remember him by. Friedkin’s The Exorcist, which follows the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests, was one of the biggest films of the 1970s. Controversial upon release, it’s staying power in the mind of cinephiles is in large part to creating the template for every exorcist/possession/horror film to come along after it, as well as being notoriously known for its rocky behind the scene’s production. But through all the good and the bad, Friedkin, alongside screenwriter and author of the original novel William Peter Blatty, made a flat out masterpiece. Ryan, Jay, and Jesse break down their love for The Exorcist by talking about the ambiguous opening to the film, their favorite scene, Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair’s performances, the film’s iconic score, the god awful sequels in this franchise, and ponder how long they would last in a room where an exorcism was being performed.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h03m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, Sorcerer. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 216 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to give their reactions to the 96th Academy Award nominations.

Bright and early on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 96^th Oscar nominations, celebrating the films released within the year 2023. If you have been listening to the show, and following the race this season, it is no shock at all that Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer lead all films on nomination morning with 13 nominations, followed by Poor Things with 11 nominations, Killers of the Flower Moon with ten, and Barbie with eight. Speaking of Barbie, the biggest snubs and surprise of the nominations came when director Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie missed in the Best Director and Best Actress category, only for America Ferrera to sneak into the Best Supporting Actress line-up. There were other surprises that included five-nomination tallies for Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, The Holdovers (but missing Best Director), and a solid showing for American Fiction. Ryan, Erik, and Josh break down every aspect of the above the line nominees, which predictions they got right as well as the ones they missed, and as they get into the below the line categories, question some of the stranger choices the members of the Academy made. An overall good conversation surrounding a (for the most part) good group of nominees.

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

This podcast runs 1h12m. On our next episode, we will be talking about our favorite spy/espionage films due to the release of Matthew Vaughn’s latest film, Argylle. 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 215 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Kevin L. Lee to give out their final 2024 Oscar nomination predictions.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 will mark the moment we have all been waiting for; this year’s Oscar nominations. We’ve seen the Golden Globes and Critic Choice Awards hand out their winners, with SAG, PGA, BAFTA and many more industry groups hand out their nominations so far and it is shaping to be a big day for Oppenheimer, Poor Things, Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Holdovers.

But before we find out the nominations, out team came together early to break down who they think will get in, as well as which films they could see being shut out on Oscar nominations morning, and which film could pull out some surprise nominations. Early in their discussion, they give a brief overview of the below the line categories before they dive in the big eight categories (Best Picture, Best Director, the four acting and two screenplay categories), as well as Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary, and Best International Feature. It was a very detailed, fun show where the team laid out all the various scenarios in each category that could take place, leaving plenty of room for doubt as many categories are still wide open for surprises on the morning of the nominations.

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

This podcast runs 2h39m. We will be back next week to talk about the 2023 Oscar nominations, what got in, what didn’t and everything in between. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 28 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the latest film in their William Friedkin series, The French Connection (1971).

Though The Boys in the Band was a significant film in Friedkin’s filmography, the young director hadn’t quite yet made a hit, and was running out of chances within the Hollywood system. But along came The French Connection, a movie made right around the success of Bullitt, where audiences were ready for a cat and mouse cop movie with really good chance sequences. Though it fits that templet, The French Connection finds Friedkin dabbling into the grimy workings of a anti-hero cop who is looking to break the case of a lifetime, regardless of the collateral damage he leaves in his path. Led by an all time, Oscar winning performance from Gene Hackman, Friedkin made the hit of the year, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Director, and the film landed the Best Picture win of 1971. Ryan, Jay and Sophia breakdown all the crazy behind the scene stories from the making of the film, Friedkin’s account of the events, Friedkin thought’s on Hackman, the original ending of the film, the French New Wave influences, if Popeye Doyle is good at his job, if this is an all-time Best Picture winners for Dads, and more than a couple of signature tangents from the gang.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h10m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, The Exorcist. You can stream the film on Max. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On this special episode of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by the Head of Content for The Ringer and co-host of The Big Picture podcast Sean Fennessey to give out the first awards for a Director Watch series, the PTA Awards.

Towards the end of last year, Ryan and Jay set out to cover the films of writer, director Paul Thomas Anderson, thus breaking down one of the great modern filmographies of any contemporary director. In doing this, they talked about dozens of great performances, lines of dialogue, needle drops, favorite scenes, and so much more. So it only made sense to come back one more time to the world of PTA to break down and single out the various categories and reasons why they love PTA’s films. Joined by Sean (a fellow lover of PTA’s work), they discuss give out awards ranging from Best Male Performance, Best Female Performance, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Needle Drop, Best Scene, the PTA Acting Muse award, Most Valuable Collaborator, and talk about the actor they would love to see in a future PTA film that hasn’t already worked with the director. It was a very loose, fun conversation that we hope you all enjoy.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h27m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, The French Connection. You can stream the film on Max. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 27 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to discuss the first film in their William Friedkin series, The Boys in the Band (1970).

Early in his career, director William Friedkin started out unlike most directors, making studio for hire work like Good Times starring Sonny Bono and Cher. After a couple of other moderate to unsuccessful films, Friendkin was brought onto a project that would change his career, as he helmed one of the most influential LBGTQ+ films of all time, The Boys in the Band. Centered around a group of friends celebrating one of their owns birthday, the movie unravels into a look at the regrets and unspoken truths gay men were and still are feeling to this day. In this episode, Ryan, Jay, and Josh break down the film’s themes, if it holds up, the over the top performances, if Friedkin’s style and voice is found in the project, the 2020 Netflix remake, and if they would nominate this movie for any Oscars for the 1971 ceremony.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h54m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series covering the films of William Friedkin with a review of his next film, The French Connection. You can stream the film on Max. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 214 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson break down the winners of the 81st Golden Globes.

As we flip our calendars to 2024, the Oscar race has started to heat up at the winners of the 81st Golden Globe Awards were honored from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, live on CBS and Paramount +. The evening marked the first televised award show of the season, giving actors, writers, directors, producers and more the necessary opportunity to make the first speeches of the season, and see who can emerge as a front runner on the night. With an impressive haul, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer took home the most awards with 5 wins including Best Picture, Drama.

Over on the Comedy-Musical side of things, Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things took home the Best Picture prize, with Barbie, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, and The Boy and the Heron taking home many of the film awards.

For television it was a dominating night for Succession, The Bear, and Beef, showcasing their strength in the industry right before the long-delayed Primetime Emmy awards next week. Ryan and Erik discuss it all, and talk about how these wins will shape what we see further in the Oscar and Emmy races.

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

This podcast runs 51m. We will be back next week to break down the winners of the SAG and DGA nominations and the winners of Critics Choice. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).