It’s a spring news catch-up episode! Conan & Nikki return as show hosts, Will Smith raps about the slap, and the Academy apologizes for their statement re: Hamdan Ballal. Plus, we dive into lots of Emmys, Sundance, studio shake-ups, and early takeaways from Cinemacon. Otherwise, sorry… the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood news dropped after we stopped recording on Tuesday night. So that’ll be discussed next episode.

ACADEMY NEWS:

Conan O’Brien returns as host for the 98th Oscars - 1:30

Will Smith raps about ‘The Slap’ - 6:29

The Academy apologizes for its statement after violence against Hamdan Ballal - 8:49

OTHER AWARDS NEWS:

Nikki Glaser returns as host for the 83rd Golden Globes - 13:47

The ACE EDDIE Award Winners - 15:16

The 2025 Emmys set a date + we look at the TV Awards “Season” - 18:05

INDUSTRY NEWS:

Sundance moves to Boulder, Colorado - 21:23

MGM ousts Jennifer Salke + a James Bond update & the state of streaming films - 24:47

Zazlav looks to replace WB studio heads - 32:54

WB sells Coyote vs Acme to Ketchup Entertainment - 35:47

AMC to expand Dolby & IMAX locations, Mike1 quotes Seth Rogen to give us hope - 38:21

FUTURE MOVIE NEWS:

The Beatles film series sets its cast - 42:35

The Legend of Zelda sets its release date - 47:02

Kendrick Lamar & Trey Parker’s film gets pushed to 2026 - 49:00

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:

One New Film: Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna - 50:06

Plus, a bunch of films we watched from previous years including Touch of Evil, The Killing, Chungking Express, Joint Security Area, Midnight Run, Shiva Baby, & Clue - 52:18

Adolescence - 55:38

Plus, a bunch of other TV Series watches we did including American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson, A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Frankie, Reacher, Invincible, The White Lotus, Abbott Elementary, and Shoresy - 58:38

OUTRO: Our Oscars Year in Preview Series continues next. Then we’ll return with an Oscar Race Checkpoints on Cinemacon & the Cannes lineup announcement. We’ll also be announcing upcoming series and new MMO endeavors. So stay tuned. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Mike1 returns to break down the Spring & Summer release calendar as we speculate which films could have Oscar chances, which films could have a chance to be hits for their studios, and which films the Mikes will enjoy watching most/least.

Recent Oscar Noms from the Spring & Summer - 1:57

THE SPRING & SUMMER FILM CALENDAR:

March Meltdown at the Box Office and a Death of a Unicorn Review - 4:22

April’s Warfare, Sinners & The Wedding Banquet give us hope - 7:48

May enters some marquis players like Tom Cruise & Wes Anderson - 18:09

June has serious potential with The Life of Chuck, Materialists, and F1 - 31:58

July put pressure on Superman, the MCU & Adam Sandler, yes, Adam Sandler - 47:45

August’s Together & Caught Stealing intrigue us. But even though it’s been moved to September, we cannot help discussing One Battle After Another and it’s awesome trailer from WB, PTA & Leo - 57:58

OUTRO: https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar Please follow us on social media and leave us some good reviews and 5 star ratings if you enjoy what we do here. We also discuss upcoming episodes, including News Catchup Shows on Cinemacon, upcoming Cannes film festival coverage, and the rest of this Year In Preview Series. Plus, you get some hints at what our next rewatch series might be.

Andrew Morgan of Recent Activity & What’s On Netflix returns to MMO for this Best (& Worst) of the 2025 Film Year Special Episode. We begin with how we handled our Oscars Hangovers, and then dive into some preliminary talk about how critics got onto their high horses after watching The Electric State. NOTE: All reviews in this episode will be spoiler free, only getting into some plot premise information.

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OUR TOP 10 BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR THUS FAR:

10’s: Good parenting by Andrew & a good doc for Mike - 6:47

9’s: We lose credibility & try not to barf - 11:23

8’s: We both enjoyed this year’s winter horror corridor - 17:54

7’s: Andrew as Daddington & Mike’s indie pick - 22:10

6’s: Andrew’s indie pick & Mike’s fun comedy + our talk on the state of Comedies - 27:40

5’s: The 1 Big Budget Film, where we have very different opinions - 34:34

4’s: We rejoin forces on this indie hit + Mike’s 2nd doc - 40:20

3’s: Fee Fee Men Are We - 49:44

2’s: We’re united on this genre bending thriller - 55:42

1’s: James Bond Auditions & Casting Predictions Included - 58:50

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OUR BOTTOM 5 MOVIES OF THE YEAR THUS FAR:

5’s: When Big Budget Sci-Fi Goes Wrong - 1:06:51

4’s: When Streamo Comedies Give Us Nothing Funny - 1:07:43

3’s: When we really start to fear for the Marvel Cinematic Universe - 1:10:14

2’s: Streaming Curiosities Don’t Land For Either Of Us - 1:16:04

1’s: Our Worst Films of the Year - 1:18:00

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Comparing 2025 to Previous Years & Looking Forward to the Spring - 1:22:34

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OUTRO: Make sure to follow Andrew Morgan & MMO at the links below. Plus, we also discuss the Oscars Year In Preview Series to come.

Andrew Morgan:

https://x.com/jokesondrew

https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/author/andrew-morgan/

Recent Activity:

https://x.com/recentactpod

https://recent-activity.captivate.fm/listen

MMO: https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Izzy of Be Kind Rewind returns to MMO to give her Oscars thoughts and, most importantly, take Mike1 to school!

Be Kind Rewind Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@bkrewind

Be Kind Rewind Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/c/bkrewind/posts

Mike, Mike, and Oscar Linktree

https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Variety's Chief Awards Editor Clayton Davis rejoins MMO to put a final bow on Oscars 2025...and cast the Awards Circuit Off-Broadway Conclave Play?!

***Spoiler Warning for Conclave at the end during the final question***

Make sure to check out Clayton's work at Variety!

https://variety.com/author/clayton-davis/

https://variety.com/t/awards-circuit-podcast/

What Is This Episode - Top of Show

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OSCARS 2025 RECAP EPISODE:

Red Carpet Fashion Takes From 2 UnFashionable Mikes - 1:53

Pros/Cons of the Broadcast - 7:53

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Show Open/Conan’s Monologue - 15:46

Culkin Finishes His Supporting Actor Sweep - 20:51

Video Packages for BP Noms - 23:04

Flow Upsets in Animated Feature - 24:12

A 50:1 Winner in Animated Short!!! - 27:12

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Paul Tazewell Makes Costume Design History - 28:55

Catholics vs Convicts Foreshadowed After Screenplay, MUAH wins - 31:22

The Bond Tribute Miss & Conan Movie Theater Video Hit  - 33:51

Sean Baker wins his 2nd on the night for Editing - 36:29

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Zoe Saldana wins & we put the Emilia Perez controversies to rest - 38:59 

Ben Stiller & Mick Jagger both kill for PD & Score + Diane loses again - 41:43

Docs make fools us & LA Firefighters get their due, but not enough applause  - 45:45

Dune Part Two + Live Action short wins secured by Mike1 & Radiohead - 52:38 

A moving, but oddly constructed in Memoriam - 55:53 

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Everything Brutalist was long, but Cinematography Fab 5 was great - 57:09 

Broadcast Speeds Up for Brazil’s big moment, Brutalist Score & The Whiz! - 58:45 

Adrien Brody big times the play-off music - 1:02:08 

Sean Baker wins Director & AM echoes his pro indie theater speech - 1:05:40 

Mikey Madison over Demi Moore in Lead Actress - 1:10:12 

Anora wins Best Picture! - 1:12:56 

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Tallies, Stats, Our Predictions + a string of history making Best Pictures  - 1:15:07

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OUTRO: 1:18:57 - What’s coming next includes lots of great guests and potential early 2026 contending films that come out this spring.  Our Oscars thank you speech includes our heartfelt gratitude to all of our guests, our sponsors, and most of all, all of our listeners.

What Is This Episode - Top of Show

WELCOME THE DUKE, DAVID LONG!

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OSCARS PREDICTION + GAMBLING PREVIEW SHOW:

Explaining Odds + Welcoming Our Sponsor: Kalshi! - 2:02

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Sign Up kalshi.com/mmo and bet on the Oscars!

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Best Picture: Anora v Conclave - Literally, Place Your Bets - 8:47

(Predictions - 22:43)

Director: DGA All The Way? - 28:18

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Lead Actress:

Odds + Any Love For Fernanda? - 33:36

Mikey vs Demi. Demi vs Mikey…And Glenn?! - 35:37

Predictions - 46:48

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Lead Actor: But You Can’t REALLY Pick Timmy… - 51:39

Supporting Actress/Actor + Why Historic Upsets Are In Play - 1:04:40

Screenplays: A Fight and a Blowout - 1:11:56

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Editing - 1:24:52

Cinematography - 1:30:02

International Feature (You Need to Hear The Odds) - 1:35:33

Original Song (Dianne Warren?!?!) - 1:42:38

Original Score - 1:50:50

Best Sound - 1:53:03

VFX - 1:57:05

Animated Feature - 2:02:01

Doc Feature - 2:07:21

The Wicked Ones (Costumes/Production) - 2:17:23

MUAH - 2:20:30

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Live Action Short - 2:25:18

Documentary Short - 2:30:19

Animated Short - 2:33:51

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MMO’s Kalshi Info - 2:37:48

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Where to Find Dave’s Work - 2:39:23

https://x.com/1DavidLong

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WHAT’S NEXT/LEAVE US 5 STARS/WORDS OF WISDOM - 2:40:58

https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

What Is This Episode - Top of Show

WELCOME SCOTT FEINBERG OF THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/author/scott-feinberg/

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THE FEINBERG FINAL W/ SCOTT FEINBERG!:

Who’s Scott’s Best Picture Winner? - 3:11

How Scott Forecasts in Feinberg + The Role of SAG This Year - 10:40

So Lead Actress Will Be…?? - 16:40

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What Happened at DGA, and The Brutalist’s Burden - 20:43

Why This Year’s Ratings Will Dive - 24:40

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How Netflix Didn’t Guard Against The Emilia Perez Debacle - 27:08

And Gascon’s Plans to Attend Sunday - 31:50

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Post Fires, The “Weirdness” of Hollywood- 34:35

Controversy-less Conan - 38:10

So Just How Much Did The Brutalist’s Controversy Matter? - 41:31

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Awards Chatter’s Format + Working in the Music - 44:40

Story vs Run Time - 51:47

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Did Dune 2 Hurt Its Awards Chances by Announcing Dune 3? - 54:36

Why Aren’t More Animated Movies In Best Picture? - 56:13

Which Win or Loss is the Biggest Indicator For BP Sunday? - 57:32

Can This Year’s Show Be Without Controversy? - 1:01:15

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Where to Find Scott’s Work - 1:03:22

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WHAT’S NEXT/LEAVE US 5 STARS/WORDS OF WISDOM - 1:05:20

What Is This Episode - Top of Show

WELCOME JAZZ TANGCAY OF VARIETY!

https://variety.com/author/jazz-tangcay/

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ANNUAL ARTISANS CHAT WITH JAZZ TANGCAY!:

Checking in on Jazz/Talking LA Post Fires - 1:17

Jazz Interviewing at the SBIFF - 4:29

The Emilia Perez Controversy in the Tech Categories - 9:10

The Brutalist’s AI Use and AI Going Forward - 10:40

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Dianne Warren - Now?! Finally?! - 13:25

The Makeup Artists as Part Genius, Part Therapist, All Amazing - 17:28

Production Design’s Perpetual Surprises - 22:30

Jazz’s Defining Shots of 2024 - 31:07

Live Action Techniques in Animated Features - 34:47

The Widespread Knowledge of VFX Use - 38:42

Jazz Explains Robbie Williams to the Mikes - 41:00

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Who’s Winning Best Picture? - 44:55

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Where to Find Jazz’s Work - 46:38

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WHAT’S NEXT/LEAVE US 5 STARS/WORDS OF WISDOM - 48:13

Here’s our instant reactions to the BAFTA winners including some potential Oscar Race shakeups in MAJOR categories, and we open with the stats to both prove & disprove that statement.

BAFTA recent Oscar crossovers & this year has been drunk - 2:20

Conclave wins 4: Was it just a British thing? Will SAG clarify anything? - 4:26

The Brutalist wins 4: we guess lines & what British frogs are called - 8:12

Anora wins a big one for Mikey - 11:30

But Anora’s loss to A Real Pain is a headscratcher - 15:09

Emilia Perez, Wicked hold onto certain wins & we wonder about future upsets - 21:14

Other Hot Mess Categories shook up by Wallace & Gromit, Dune & Super/Man - 23:47

Kneecap, David Jonsson & Wander to Wonder pickup BAFTAs as well - 27:48

OUTRO - Let us know your thoughts on these winners and make sure to stay tuned to our feed for some upcoming special guest interviews. We also discuss some SNL 50 lead in stuff that we’ve enjoyed including the Docuseries and Homecoming Concert. Anyway, seek us out via our socials here: https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar