On episode 302 of the AwardsWatch podcast, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson is joined by Executive Editor Ryan McQuade and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello as we look at the state of the Oscar race post-TIFF and NYFF lineup announcements and ahead of the Venice and Telluride film festivals.

In our conversation, which begins looking at how a film's surplus of festival appearances can help or hurt its chances and, on the other side, how a minimal footprint can be a hindrance or a benefit, especially for voters who feel they can discover a film rather than be told what to vote for.

We turn our eyes to two specific categories on this episode: Best Casting and Best Supporting Actress. With the new Casting category making its Oscar debut this season, we wanted to look at not just the types of films we expect to see - like Sinners, Jay Kelly, Sentimental Value, Wicked: For Good and more - but also why, and how much the branch might raise up titans in their industry who will be earning the highest accolade for the first time. Our focus then moves to Best Supporting Actress as the fervor over Amy Madigan's performance as Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger's horror hit Weapons this last weekend has people pounding the alarm to take her seriously as a potential nominee. We look at the reality of it happening in a race full of potential contenders.

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 47m. We will be back in next week for a preview of the 2025 Telluride 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).