The Awards Watch Podcast

On episode 177 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the final film in their Edward Yang series, Yi Yi (2000).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 y...

On episode 366 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello break down their highlights from the 2026 New York Film Festival, thoughts on Aaron Sorkin's latest, The Social Reckoning, and discuss their thoughts on the rising and falling contenders for the four major acting categories for this year's Oscars as they hit the final stage of the film festival season.

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

On episode 176 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, Mahjong (1996).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this Awards Watch podcast, the boys 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 y...

On episode 365 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate TV Editor Karen Peterson to review the latest film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu, Digger.

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

This podcast runs 1h26m. We will be back next week with a recap of the 64th New York Film Festival and a review of t...

On episode 175 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, A Confucian Confusion (1994).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 a...

On episode 174 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by Awards Watch contributor Trace Sauveur and film critic Jesse Nussman to discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, A Brighter Summer Day (1991).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 i...

On episode 364 of the Awards Watch podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello break down the winners and losers of the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals, which films rise and fall in the Oscar race, and offer a preview of some of the big titles headed to the New York Film Festival.

With three of the main fall festivals wrapped, the gang look at how the world premieres of films like The Debut, Elsinore and You Can See Everything at Telluride, I Play Rocky...

On episode 363 of The Awards Watch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and contributor Griffin Schiller to review the latest film from director Zach Cregger, Resident Evil (2026).

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

This podcast runs 1h8m. We will be back later this week with an awards temperature check post Venice/Telluride/TIFF and a preview o...

On episode 173 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, The Terrorizers (1986).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 y...

On episode 172 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the first film in their Edward Yang series, Taipei Story (1985).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 y...

On episode 362 of the Awards Watch podcast, it's a full house with Awards Watch Editor-In-Chief joined by Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, contributors Mark Johnson and Jorge Tenreiro, and AW friend and confidante Christina Birro of Pop Culture Confidential, as we break down last weekend's Telluride Film Festival.

It was another whirlwind Telluride for the group, with splashy world premieres including Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, Simon Stone's Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, and the big talk of the festival, the...

On episode 171 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello discuss the final film in their Jane Campion series, The Power of the Dog (2021).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 a...

In the early 2010s, no one showed more promise as a filmmaker than writer-director Adam Wingard. The young genre filmmaker from Tennessee had made a name for himself after the success of his break out films You're Next (2011) and The Guest (2014, one of the best films of that year). But much like many modern directors, Wingard took his talents to the cinematic worlds of big budget, existing IP, which saw him make Blair Witch, the third film in the franchise, the live-action Death Note, based on the popular Japanese manga. In this decade, he's explored t...

On episode 361 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to review the latest film from director Ridley Scott, The Dog Stars. 

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

This podcast runs 1h26m. We will be back next week with a recap of the 2026 Telluride Film Festival. Till then, let's get into it.

...

It's time for part 2 of Talking Madonna with Erik and Abdi, as one episode covering 'Confessions II' wasn't nearly enough. After part 1 covered the first seven songs: "I Feel So Free," "Good For the Soul," "One Step Away," "Bring Your Love," Danceteria" and "Everything," part 2 is where Madonna, and we, go deeper. While the rescue and release of the dancefloor is still in full effect on the second half of 'Confessions II,' Madonna begins excavating and reclaiming her past, especially her relationships, as she talks about Sean Penn, her stepmother, her brother Christopher and, maybe most...

On episode 170 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham discuss the next film in their Jane Campion series, Bright Star (2009).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 a...

"One of the most controversial things I've done is stick around."

It's been seven years since the Queen of Pop released 'Madame X,' the longest time between studio albums in her 40+ year career, and a lot's happened since then. A worldwide pandemic, of course, but for Madonna herself, a sudden and life-threatening experience in June 2023 when she contracted a severe bacterial infection that developed into sepsis and acute septic shock. She was hospitalized in the ICU, placed on a ventilator, and spent four days in a medically induced coma. And no one even knew...

We're less than two weeks before the 53nd Telluride Film Festival kicks off on Labor Day weekend and we have a packed show. On episode 360 AwardsWatch Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-chief Erik Anderson Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, contributors Jay Ledbetter, Mark Johnson, and Jorge Tenreiro, and Christina Birro of Pop Culture Confidential to break down what we think will be at Telluride this season, who might be getting the Silver Medallion festival tributes, and much more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from...

Director Andrew Patterson's big screen journey has been unconventional to say the least. With his debut feature film, The Vast of Night, Patterson patiently watched as his film was shopped around the festival circuit, landed a spot at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival, going on to win the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. It was then acquired by Amazon Studios, where they were going to give it a proper release in 2020, but then the pandemic happened, and most audiences had to discover this bright new talent from the comfort of his own home. In this t...

On episode 169 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Cody Dericks discuss the next film in their Jane Campion series, In the Cut (2003).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 g...

On episode 359 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor (and his Director Watch co-host) Jay Ledbetter to give their thoughts on the latest film from director David Robert Mitchell, The End of Oak Street, as well brief thoughts on the D23 announcements from this past weekend.

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 1h23m. We will be back next week with our p...

On episode 358 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson is joined by Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to look at the final announcements from the New York Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival and our Oscar predictions in the acting categories.

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

This podcast runs 2h12m. We...

On episode 168 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Jane Campion series, The Portrait of a Lady (1996).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 e...

On episode 357 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Josh Parham and Karen Peterson to go back 55 years and take a look at the 44th Academy Awards, covering the films of 1971.

In another Oscar retrospective, the team go back this week to the start of the 1970s, where Hollywood was in a transition period within the films of the past; costume dramas and period pieces, and the films that would dominate the decade; auteur, original filmmaking from new voices in cinema. One of those voices...

On episode 167 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by film critic Nadia Dalimonte to discuss the next film in their Jane Campion series, The Piano (1993).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 g...

On episode 356 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Mark Johnson and Karen Peterson to give their thoughts on the latest film MCU, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as well as discuss their favorite films of 2026 so far.

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 1h48m. We will be back next week with an Oscar retrospective of the 44th Academy Awards, covering the f...

On episode 166 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter to discuss the second film in their Jane Campion series, An Angel at My Table (1990).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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...

Over the course of his career, no other director has documented the passage of time better on screen than writer-director Richard Linklater. The Texas filmmaker, synonymous with being one of the vital voices of the independent film movement of the 1990s, has used his filmography to record the most vital parts of our lives, and how those moments from our past and present can shape our future. Whether it's our first love and the long romantic journey with that person (the Before Trilogy), the magic of his childhood (School of Rock, Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood), the gl...

On episode 355 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Josh Parham and Karen Peterson to go back 20 years and take a look at the 79th Academy Awards, covering the films of 2006.

The AW team goes back twenty years to take a look back on a time that was a nail biter of a season that resulted in Martin Scorsese coming out on time, winning his long awaited Oscar for the crime, gangster thriller The Departed. Alongside that, it was a...

On episode 165 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter to discuss the first film in their Jane Campion series, Sweetie (1989).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 y...

On episode 354 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, and Mark Johnson, aka The Awards Alchemist, to chat about the lineup for the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and to share their first Oscar podcast predictions for Adapted and Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. 

First, they dive into Venice's world premieres, including Wild Horse Nine, Primetime, and Bucking Fastard. Does this lineup look a little bit lackluster compared to previous editions? The group gives an overview of how they th...

On episode 164 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by AwardsWatch Editor In Chief Erik Anderson and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the last and latest film in their Christopher Nolan series, The Odyssey (2026).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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. A...

On episode 163 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the next film in their Christopher Nolan series, Oppenheimer (2023).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 g...

On episode 353 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, and AwardsWatch contributors Mark Johnson, Josh Parham, and Karen Peterson come together for part two of their Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner tier ranking.

In the second part of the Best Actress tier rankings (listen to Part One here), the team return to the scene of the crime from last week to rank the remaining 45 Oscar winning performances, and discuss where they place them in their all-ranking. In trying to place t...

On episode 162 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by the host of The Waffle Press Movie Podcast, Diego Crespo to discuss the next film in their Christopher Nolan series, Tenet (2020).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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...

On episode 352 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, and AwardsWatch contributors Mark Johnson and Josh Parham, for part one of their long-awaited Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner tier ranking.

It's that time of year for the AW team to dive deep into a two-part tier ranking episode. After doing Best Actress last year, the team moves on from those fiery episodes to the another popular category; Best Supporting Actress and its 90 winners. In trying to place these winners in...

On episode 351 of the AwardsWatch podcast, TV Editor Tyler Doster is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson to predict the Emmy nominations that will come out on Wednesday, July 8, announced by Emmy winners Jeff Hiller and Liza Colón-Zayas. 

The AW duo provided predictions for 78th Primetime Emmy Award nominations in series and performance categories and dabble with possibilities in writing and directing. The two discuss the likelihood of The Pitt sweeping nominations, how Hacks could get more noms than ever before, and how anthology series' like Monster and Love Story will affect the race. Going th...

On episode 161 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Trace Sauveur to discuss the next film in their Christopher Nolan series, Dunkirk (2017).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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...

On episode 350 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to go back 45 years and take a look at the 54th Academy Awards, covering the films of 1981.

The AW team goes back nearly fifty years to a year dominated by a group of young men running on the beach to the score of Vangelis, as Chariots of Fire took down Reds and Raiders of the Lost Ark to win Hollywood's top prize. In the same year, the four acting...

On episode 160 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by AwardsWatch contributors Cody Dericks and Josh Parham to discuss the next film in their Christopher Nolan series, Interstellar (2014).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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 f...