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 12 of the Director Watch Podcast, Ryan and Jay are joined by fellow AwardsWatch contributor Sophia Ciminello as they discuss the next film in their Denis Villeneuve series, Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

After being nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards and having Arrival land a Best Picture nomination as well, Villeneuve took on his biggest project yet, a sequel continuing the story of the legendary sci-fi film, 1982's Blade Runner. In working with his staple of regulars like cinematographer Roger Deakins and editor Joe Walker, and with the blessing of the original film's director, Ridley Scott, Blade Runner 2049 was a technical marvel, that builds on the classic film before it and elevates itself as one of the best blockbusters (if not at the box office) of the last thirty years. In taking a trip to the near future, Ryan, Jay and Sophia talk about Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford's dynamic performances, the mystery at the core of this story, the acting choices of Jared Leto, Hans Zimmer's lackluster score, if this is the best film they have talked about so far, and how in the world did Warner Bros. even greenlight this movie, and if a continuation of this franchise is the right thing to do.

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 conclude their Denis Villeneuve series with a look at Dune. You can stream Dune on Max, as well as 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)