Keeping up with movie awards season is full time job — literally. For the span of November to late February, film critics and entertainment writers ride the Oscars buzz wave. They see and evaluate films, coax up excitement, make predictions, and then cover the results of each awards show, especially as it relates to the Academy Awards.
These people are so plugged into pop culture they practically vibrate with movie trivia. And if you, too, aspire to become an awards show expert, then they're the ones you should be listening to. Each of these podcasts are hosted by movie and pop culture writers of different publications. Instead of reading their reviews, you can partake in their warm, lively thought process as it pertains to individual Oscar movies and general awards show phenomena.
You have until March 4, 2018 to catch up on the must-see movies. These podcasts will complement your movie-watching scramble.
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For the person who loves discussing nominees:
Pop Culture Happy Hour
A funny thing will happen when you start listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour regularly. The show's hosts — NPR entertainment blog editor Linda Holmes, book and movie reviewer Glen Weldon, and music editor Stephen Thompson — will become your close personal friends. You will start to watch TV shows and movies because you want to hear their perspective. The lively, entertaining chats on the PCHH roundtable will be the highlight of your week.
In each half-hour episode, the hosts and a guest discuss a different pop culture work. So far, they have done episodes on many Oscar-nominated films, like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Phantom Thread, I, Tonya, Get Out, and Lady Bird, among many others.
For the person making calculated bets on an Oscars ballot:
Next Best Picture
The aim of the Next Best Picture podcast is obvious in the title: It's dedicated to predicting the next best picture, and covering all possible awards season angles along the way. The episodes vary from interviews with composers of Oscar-nominated movies, to award show reactions, to full-blown movie reviews. Spoiler: The vast majority of the podcast hosts expect The Shape of Water to take Best Picture.
For the awards show trivia buff:
Little Gold Men
Hollywood exists on a cycle. We're currently at the climax — the home stretch before the Oscars on March 4. But why is this the status quo? What's the point of awards shows, anyway? Little Gold Men explains the history and mechanics of awards shows, and also analyses the specific movies getting buzz. Little Gold Men is a lively movie podcast about how awards shows work, and why you should be paying attention.
If you're interested in the Best Picture race, listen to the most recent episode, which makes the case for Dunkirk. For a recap on the season so far, listen to the February 8 episode on "The Most Surprising Awards Season Stories." Finally, for an explanation on that magical substance known as Oscar Buzz, listen to the September 28 episode on how movie studios work for their films to be remembered over the course of the year.
For the person who never wants to fall behind:
/Film Daily
Forget the daily news podcast. Here's the daily movie podcast you need in your life. Each morning, the writers of SlashFilm.com discuss trending pop culture and movie topics. While many episodes aren't directly related to the Oscars, listening to the podcast will help you keep your finger on the ever strumming, ever thumping, ever moving heart of the movie industry.
For the indie movie lover:
Indiewire: Screen Talk
Last year, Moonlight, an indie movie with a tiny budget, walked away with the award for Best Picture. How does a movie like Moonlight climb from film festivals to country-wide distribution to finally, the Oscars? Indiewire: Screen Talk is interested in talking all aspects of the indie film world, and how those movies like Moonlight might cross over into awards season. For example, the movies discussed in the Sundance 2018 Highlights episode might also turn up in next year's Oscars 2019 (!) podcast episodes. For more general awards show content, check out their episode on "Why the Golden Globes Don't Predict the Oscars " and "Why Top 10 Lists Matter in Awards Season."
For the statistics expert:
GoldDerby: Oscars Predictions
If you're really into tracking the odds of awards winners, your first stop should always be to GoldDerby.com, the internet's foremost awards show predictor. The GoldDerby Oscars podcast is where all the pop culture writers congregate to duke out their awards show-related opinions. This season, there have been episodes devoted to the acting races, how the BAFTAs may affect Oscars odds, and whether Three Billboards or Shape of Water should reign supreme, among others.
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