Episodes
-
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 102 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 discuss the next film in their Peter Jackson series, King Kong (2005).
After making one of the most successful trilogies of all time, winning dozens of Oscars, making billions of dollars at the box office, and defying all odds due to the inadaptability of the source material, Peter Jackson was on top of the cinematic world. Following up The Lord of the Rings was going to be no small task, but the director had essentially created an opportunity that very few artists get to have in a career; he earned a blank check to make whatever he wanted. In doing this, he came back to a project he had been trying to make years before his work in Middle Earth; a remake of one of the most iconic films in the history of cinema, King Kong. In making a direct remake of the 1939 classic, Jackson was able to recreate and expand a film that changed his life when he first saw it as a child in a local theater with his mother. But in doing so, he made a heavily CGI'd spectacle filled with dinosaurs that bogs down the emotional, fantastical elements at the core of the original story, and an effort that showed the problematic signs of what happens when total creative control is handed to those that need a little bit of a guiding hand. Ryan, Jay, and Sean breakdown their thoughts on the film, the other versions of King Kong, the career of Naomi Watts, how Jack Black is still a giant movie star, Adrian Brody’s Oscar speech, why no one can make a good dinosaur film outside the first Jurassic Park, why this movie didn’t work, why Sean picked this film to come on and talk about, and how nice a guy David Cronenberg seems.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.
This podcast runs 1h43m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Peter Jackson with a review of his next film, The Lovely Bones. 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 289 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, AwardsWatch contributor Mark Johnson, and special guest Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly Content Update Editor and host of the And the Runner Up Is podcast. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night.
While everyone is settling into the summer blockbuster season and recovering from the Cannes Film Festival from the month of May, the AW team turn to the month of June by going back to a favorite exercise from last year, an extensive tier ranking of an Oscar category. After doing Best Director last year, the team moves the most popular category the Oscars has for the team; Best Actress and its 98 winners. In trying to place these winners in the correct spot, the team had to come together and decide on whether to place these performances in the S (all-time winner), A, B, C, D, or F tier and explain the ranking.
Only 49 of the winners are discussed on this episode, including Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind, Liza Minnelli in Cabaret, Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday, Elizabeth Taylor in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose, Loretta Young in The Farmer’s Daughter and Sally Field in Norma Rae, with the rest covered next week. For the first time in the tier ranking episodes, the performances have been randomized, making the show even more unpredictable as to who will be covered from the list of winners on this episode. Also, the team has instituted two rules that include only 15 winners being able to be in the “S tier” and if an actress has multiple wins, only one of their wins can make it into the 15. It adds a fun wrinkle for the team to try and figure out when they get to their final rankings. It may only be part one, but it’s a great episode and we hope you all enjoy it and listen next week to part two.
You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.
This podcast runs 3h58m. We will be back in next week for part 2 of our Best Actress tier ranking episode. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
-
Missing episodes?
-
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 101 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Griffin Schiller to discuss the next film in their Peter Jackson series, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
One final time, in the winter of 2003, the world ran to the theaters to see the final chapter in what was the greatest, most important cinematic trilogy with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In the climatic ending of Peter Jackson’s masterpiece, we find the war for Middle Earth taking full effect as Frodo and Sam get closer and closer to destroying the ring of power once and for all. With many memorable moments (and a few too many endings?), Jackson was able to stick the landing, resulting the movie event of the 21st century, the highest grossing film of 2003, and performing a clean sweep as Return of the King went on to win eleven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Jackson. Ryan, Jay, and Griffin break down their thoughts on the third film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, if the extended cut of the film adds anything but runtime to the final film, the ending controversy, every character’s arc and how they are wrapped up, how emotional the film is, if this is the most important, best blockbuster of the 21st century, 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 2h25m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Peter Jackson with a review of his next film, King Kong. 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).
-
The 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has ended but not without a few bumps along the way, including a full city power outage just hours before the Closing Ceremony.
AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello (along with a handful of contributors) were on the ground, watching the films that will soon be hitting future festivals and cinemas near you. On episode 288, we discuss our impressions of this year's fest as a first-timer (Ryan), a second-timer (Sophia) and a fourth-timer (Erik) from the city, the food, and of course, the films. And the coughing. So. much. coughing.
We break down our favorites that we saw (and a few we really didn't like) like Sentimental Value, The Mastermind, Highest 2 Lowest, The History of Sound, Pillion and more, plus we look at the winners as chosen Academy Award-winning French actress Juliette Binoche and her jury, including Academy Award-winning American actress and filmmaker Halle Berry, Indian director and screenwriter Payal Kapadia, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher, French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani, Congolese director, documentarist and producer Dieudo Hamadi, Korean director and screenwriter Hong Sangsoo, Mexican director, screenwriter and producer Carlos Reygadas and American actor Jeremy Strong.
We had to talk about the NEON of it all, winning its sixth Palme d'Or in a row with Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident, and buying up the lion's share of In Competition contenders to help shore that up. We look at how these wins could factor into the upcoming Oscar race as Cannes has become the new kickoff of awards season.
You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.
This podcast runs 1h24m. We'll be back next week with the first part of our Best Actress Rankings.
-
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 100 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello to discuss the next film in their Peter Jackson series, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
Once The Fellowship of the Ring released into theaters, and became the biggest film of the year, audiences didn’t have to wait too long to go back and continue the journey in Middle Earth as the winter of 2002 brought the second chapter of The Lord of the Rings to the big screen. Continuing the events of the saga just after the separation of the fellowship, our heroes venture off into three separate but vital storylines for the ultimate destination of destroying the ring of power and saving Middle Earth from a dark war. Though the middle chapter, many, including Ryan, hold The Two Towers as their favorite entry into the trilogy, one with heart, action, and a new, game changing character in Gollum that makes for one of the most important villains in modern film. Ryan, Jay, and Sophia break down their thoughts on the film, the revolutionary work on Gollum, casting what ifs, the introduction to the Kingdom of Rohan and its incredible characters, why Jay doesn’t think Legolas isn’t that cool, what the gang was like in high school, space missions, favorite type of potato, and so many more thing about and not about the film. It’s the 100th episode and it’s a damn good one.
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 2h54m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Peter Jackson with a review of his next film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. 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 99 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Cody Dericks to discuss the next film in their Peter Jackson series, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
After making The Frighteners, Peter Jackson set out to make an epic, and had the blessing of the Hollywood studio system to do so. He spent a lot of his time trying to come up with an idea to remake the monster movie classic King Kong (more on that in a couple of weeks). After a failed attempt to get that project off the ground, he set off to make an action adventure film in the vein of The Lord of the Rings, and after a first draft, his partner Fran Walsh told Jackson that a lot of what he was writing basically was J.R.R Tolkien’s trilogy of books. From that moment, Jackson decided to make his version of a collection of novels that were deemed unadaptable for the big screen, and in doing so, created one of the single most influential trilogies in cinema history. Ryan, Jay, and Cody break down their thoughts on the first entry into The Lord of the Rings saga, the behind the scenes drama leading up to making the film, re-casting what ifs, the earnestness of these films, the building and breaking apart of the fellowship, who is the character they relate to the most, and we finally find out after fifteen years of being agnostic to this trilogy if Jay now likes Lord of the Rings. You’ll have to listen to find out.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.
This podcast runs 2h30m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Peter Jackson with a review of his next film, The Lord of the Rings: The Tw Towers. 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 287 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, and special guest Christina Birro of Pop Culture Confidential to preview the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, which they will all be attending for the next two weeks. They talk about what it is like going to the festival, the film’s in and out of competition that they are looking forward to see, and which film they think will win the Palme d'Or this year.
You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.
This podcast runs 55m. We will be back in next week for our thoughts on the first week of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
-
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 98 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Brian Tallerico, Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, to discuss the next film in their Peter Jackson series, The Frighteners (1996).
The critical success of Heavenly Creatures proved to put Jackson on the map, with Hollywood calling for him to start making bigger pictures. In writing a treatment in 1992 for an idea that would become The Frighteners, Oscar winning director Robert Zemeckis viewed their idea as a chance to be a spin off to the television series Tales from the Crypt, centering on a small town private eye who can see and speak to the dead. In working with Jackson and Fran Walsh, Zemeckis liked the idea of the young director making the film, and thus became the last film he would make before the biggest project of his life. But is it good, is it successful, or is it a forgotten relic that doesn’t make sense within Jackson’s filmography. Ryan, Jay, and Brian debate where The Frighteners lands, the importance of Weta Digital, the career of Michael J. Fox, Jackson getting the movie filmed in New Zealand even though it takes place in America, and preview the start of the boys’ journey to Middle Earth over the next couple of weeks.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.
This podcast runs 1h21m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Peter Jackson with a review of his next film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. 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 286 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Karen Peterson to review the latest film from the MCU, Thunderbolts*, in a discussion full of SPOILERS. They also take a look into what the future plan for the Marvel Cinematic Universe looks like via the post credit scene of this newest project.
You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.
This podcast runs 1h26m. We will be back soon preview the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. 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 97 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by film critic Jesse Nussman to discuss the next film in their Peter Jackson series, Heavenly Creatures (1994).
After making a name for himself as a horror director, Jackson took a different route for his next film, incorporating his genre sensibilities for a drama about a real life murder case in New Zealand. Centered around two young girls who become friends and a tight bond that is threatened by their parents, who find it stranger than your average friendship. In an attempt to be with each other forever, the two girls come up with a plan to run away, and in doing so, commit a heinous crime that shocked the entire country. By tackling this subject, Jackson was able to embody a magical realism to the entire film, particularly in the imaginative world the girls have built for each other, and in doing so, created a one of a kind bio-pic that is haunting and heartbreaking. Ryan, Jay, and Jesse breakdown their thoughts on the film, if running away was a good plan, the murder weapon used in the crime, the breakout performances for Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet as well as the different paths each actress took, Jackson’s imagery in the dream world, if the extended cut adds anything new to the story, and how hard it is to find this film on streaming and physical media.
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 2h20m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Peter Jackson with a review of his next film, The Frighteners. 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 285 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Karen Peterson and Mark Johnson to preview the films coming during the 2025 Summer.
Summer movie season is upon us. As Sinners and A Minecraft Movie dominate the Spring box office, we’re heading into the time of the year where everyone is going on vacation, out of school, and looking to cool off from the heat by going to see some of the biggest films of the year. The AW team opts out of a Summer Movie Draft this year, and instead, breaks down the titles coming out over the course of the next four months, with extensive conversations over their box office potential as well as the groups anticipation for the live action Lilo and Stitch, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Jurassic World Rebirth, the live action How to Train Your Dragon, Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, F1, Pixar’s Elio, Thunderbolts, Weapons, Materialists, M3GAN 2.0, The Naked Gun, and more. Stay tuned to the end to hear what they think will be the Top 3 highest-grossing films of the summer.
You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music, YouTube and more.
This podcast runs 1h45m. We will be back in next week for a review of the latest film from Marvel, Thunderbolts. 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 96 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the first film in their Peter Jackson series, Braindead (1992).
The journey for the boys to talk about Peter Jackson has taken a long road, winding road to get here, much like the director’s acclaimed trilogy. But in one of the more fascinating careers of the last thirty years, Peter Jackson saw a rise to fame after years of making scrappy, independent horror-leaning films that landed him a couple of big checks that became some of the most known films of the 21st century. By 1992, Jackson had already made two films; lesser known titles Bad Taste and Meet the Fables (which the guys give their brief thoughts on at the beginning of the episode). But it was his third film, Braindead, that was his breakout; a zombie comedy splatter film about a son’s relationship with his needy mother that turns gory when she is bitten by a hybrid rat-monkey creature and begins to transform into a zombie. In the vein of the Evil Dead franchise, Jackson goes all out with the gore and mayhem to allow for a unique, memorable horror experience like no other. Ryan and Jay breakdown their thoughts on the film, the level of gore and blood in Braindead, ponder how this guy went on to make the films that he did, discuss their favorite kills in the film, preview the rest of the Jackson series and explain why this was the right time to finally do this series.
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 1h48m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Peter Jackson with a review of his next film, Heavenly Creatures. 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 284 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Dan Bayer to review the latest film from director Ryan Coogler, Sinners, and talk about their favorite horror films of the century so far.
The film world has been buzzing the last two weeks in the anticipation for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a Southern gothic vampire musical that in one of the most original, authentic studio films released in sometime. After a strong opening box office and even stronger word of mouth from audiences, receiving an “A” CinemaScore this past weekend, Sinners is being considered one of, if not the best film of 2025 released so far. Ryan and Dan breakdown their extensive thoughts on the film, avoiding spoilers yet diving deep into the complex, exciting world Coogler has built. After they are done reviewing the film, they dive into a discussion over the horror genre for the last 25 years, and how it has evolved and changed over the course of the last two and a half decades. Films mentioned in their conversation ranged from Get Out, Saw, The Ring, The Cabin in the Woods, The Conjuring, Drag Me to Hell, The Others, American Psycho, The Witch, Midsommar, It Follows, Green Room, The Substance, Nosferatu, Suspiria, Titane, and 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 1h17m. We will be back in next week for an extensive 2025 Summer Movie Preview. 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 95 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the final film in their Elaine May series, Ishtar (1987).
It had been a few years since Elaine May had been behind the camera, and her return to the big screen was likely her most talked about film, as Ishtar was considered by many at the time to be one of the worst films of all time, and a financial calamity. Following two down on their luck singers who take a gig in the Middle East and get caught up in international espionage, on paper, these films had two big movie stars in a what could be comedy gold. But the behind-the-scenes turmoil mixed with studio interference caused the film to be a disaster, and thus became the final film the director has ever directed. But is it as bad as history made it out to be? Ryan and Jay give their thoughts on the film, the music sung throughout the runtime, Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty’s careers, why May hasn’t been able to make another film, and give out their rankings of her films within the series and how they rank against her pal, Mike Nichols.
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 begin their series on the films of Peter Jackson with a review of his film, Braindead. You can rent it via YouTube 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 283 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributor Josh Parham to breakdown the 2025 Cannes Film Festival lineup and then review the latest film from A24, Warfare.
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 48m. We will be back in next week to review the latest film from director Ryan Coogler, Sinners, and talk about their favorite horror films of the century so far. 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 94 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Trace Sauveur to discuss the next film in their Elaine May series, Mikey and Nicky (1976).
Just a few years after the second film, Elaine May set out to make her follow-up to The Heartbreak Kid, and in doing so, made one of the most memorable films of the 1970s in Mikey and Nicky. While the movie was another step forward for the director as a visual storyteller and featured to dynamite performances from Peter Falk and John Cassavetes, its journey to the big screen was wild, as it took May years to hand the studio a finished edit of the film, as she tinkered with it until she was forced to hand it over. Even after its release, she still wasn’t fully satisfied with the final film, reworking on it some when it got into the Criterion Collection. In the end, what she gave us is an intense, heartbreaking looking into a crumbling friendship set over the course of one night. Ryan, Jay, and Trace breakdown their thoughts on the film, May’s direction, the behind the scenes stories of the making of the film, their thoughts on the main character’s friendship, the harsh ending, and the fall of auteur driven cinema of the 1970s.
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 1h53m. The guys will be back next week to conclude their series on the films of Elaine May with a review of her final film, Ishtar. You can rent it via YouTube 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 282 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello as well as AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer, Jay Ledbetter, Josh Parham, and Karen Peterson to go back 10 years and take a look at the 88th Academy Awards, covering the films of 2015.
The team take a trip back to just a decade ago where the Oscars were at a moment of reflection as the #OscarsSoWhite movement rang loudly as the nominations didn’t fully show the diverse, talented artists that made the year in film so strong. Chris Rock (whose jokes this night would spark the later controversy for “The Slap” at the 2022 ceremony) hosted the ceremony and highlighted perfectly that the Academy had a long way to go to show the world that they can change and allow everyone the chance to be nominated and win an Oscar. For the telecast, it was a night dominated by Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant in the technical categories, Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning an Oscar, a cool, shocking upset in Best Visual Effects, and Spotlight winning the top prize, along with just Best Original Screenplay, making it the first film since The Greatest Show On Earth to win Best Picture while only winning one other award.
In their in-depth discussion, the AW team talked about the film year of 1980, briefly discuss talk about Spotlight as a Best Picture winner, do an extensive conversation over the below the line categories and nominees for the year, and then the new version of the AW Shoulda Woulda Coulda game, where instead of individual replacements, they must decide as a group who the nominees and winners should be in the top eight categories. The rules of the game state they can only replace two of the nominees that year from each category, except in Best Picture, where the group could replace up to four films to make up the final set of eight nominated films. Like past retrospective episodes, it was a fascinating, fun conversation including spirited debates, alliances, vote swinging, celebrating various movies, performances that aren’t normally talked about and more that we all hope you enjoy.
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 3h14m. We will be back next week for a review of the new A24 drama, Warfare, as well as talk about some of the best war films of the decade/century so far. 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 93 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by film critic Jake Tropila to discuss the next film in their Elaine May series, The Heartbreak Kid (1972).
It didn’t take long for Elaine May to make her second feature, as she released The Heartbreak Kid just a year after A New Leaf was released. But much like her longtime friend and collaborator Mike Nichols, May elevated just about every aspect of her skills from behind the camera to make one of the greatest comedies of all time; a film that follows a newly married salesman who falls in love on his honeymoon with another woman, and will do whatever it takes to fix the “mistake” he has made. Written by great Neil Simon, May’s sophomore feature is a great mirror to Nichol’s The Graduate, and represents the same determination but ultimate sadness found within the decisions of the heart found within the younger generation of the 1970s. Ryan, Jay, and Jake break down their feelings on this masterpiece, how they were able to few this film given its copyright issues, the hilarious dialogue, the performance from Charles Grodin, the film’s ending, the 2007 remake feature Ben Stiller, who would Hollywood cast as Lenny if The Heartbreak Kid was made today, and the importance of pecan pie.
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 2h2m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Elaine May with a review of her film, 1976's Mikey and Nicky. You can rent it via YouTube 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 281 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Josh Parham to review Death of a Unicorn from A24, as well as talk about their favorite comedies of the 2020s as well as their favorite comedies of the last 25 years, the first quarter of the century.
Before getting into their thoughts on the latest release, Ryan and Josh discuss the big trailer that dropped last week for Paul Thomas Anderson’s film One Battle After Another, starting Leonardo DiCaprio. In the first glimpse of the biggest film of the director’s career, there was plenty to love as well as be cautious about in anticipation of the film’s release this coming September. After their brief thoughts on the trailer, they transition to Death of a Unicorn, which premiered earlier in the month at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. Ryan, who reviewed the film at the festival, was mixed on it, and Josh joined him for a mixed reaction of a fascinating concept that never amounted to much in the final product. A disappointing comedy featuring a mostly wasted all-star cast.
The conversation moves to talking about their favorite comedies of the 2020s so far, as the website and podcast will start to look at the best films of the decade so far. Films like Hundreds of Beavers, Bottoms, Anora, Benedetta, Barbie, Anora, and more. After discussing those films, they opened up the conversation to the best comedies of the last 25 years, as the team will also be taking a look at the best films of first quarter of the century. Films included in the conversation was Anchorman, A Serious Man, MacGruber, Bridesmaids, Spy, Mean Girls, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Walk Hard, Superbad, Hot Fuzz, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and plenty ore.
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 1h39m. We will be back in next week for a Oscar retrospective over the 88th Academy Awards, covering the films of 2015. 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 92 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Karen Peterson to discuss the first film in their Elaine May series, A New Leaf (1971).
The first series of 2025 covered one half of the dynamic comedy duo of Nichols and May, so it only seemed right the guy’s new auteur deep dive explored the fantastic (yet limited) work of Elaine May. Known as a renowned playwright and actress in the 1950s and 1960s, May turned in a script for A New Leaf based on the short story by author Jack Ritchie, about a New York City playboy has run out of money and decides to find a wealthy bride, and in doing so, finds a shy heiress who becomes fond of him. May never intended to direct the film, much less being one of the leading performances in the picture, but studio convinced her to do it, paying her much less than male counterparts at the time to create the project. While over-budget and with tons of delays withstanding, the film is a hilarious, sometimes heartwarming picture about opposites attracting to each other, while also maturing into the person you were meant to be. Ryan, Jay, and Karen break down their thoughts on the film, all the behind-the-scenes mess of the film’s production, Walter Matthau and Elaine May’s performances, the film’s ending, finding May’s films on physical media, and the impeccable screenplay at the heart of this debut.
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 1h52m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Elaine May with a review of her film, The Heartbreak Kid. You can rent it via YouTube 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).
- Show more
