Mike, Mike, and Oscar

Oscar Race Checkpoint returns with a look at how the NYFF64 Premieres like Godzilla Minus Zero, Artificial, A Statement and Behemoth may affect Best Picture. We also discuss some official developments like the Skydance voltron assembled and the Digger Box Office flop. Plus, we dive into the Golden Globes category strategies, the Best International Feature selections, and reviews for Sense & Sensibility, Heart of the Beast, and a whole bunch of contender trailers.

The WB & Paramount merger is official, DC bosses stay - Top of the Show

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERES:

Artificial from Luca Guadagnino + Davis Exclusive on Garfield Campaign - 5:53

Godzilla Minus Zero gets rave reviews + Spielberg & Bay on next Transformers - 8:48

Behemoth! From Tony Gilroy, starring Pedro Pascal - 12:06

A Statement from Tom McCarthy - 15:53

CHECKPOINT: The Best Picture Race Right Now - 19:49

Box Office Report:

The Top 4 of Verity through Primetime + Heart of the Beast Review - 24:46

Our Eulogy for Digger + Influencer Issues - 27:29

The rest of the Top 12, including The Odyssey and Spider-Man - 36:01

AWARDS NEWS:

A Golden Globes Category Preview - 39:31

Including Scott Feinberg & Clayton Davis Exclusives. Obsession & Tender Loving Care go Comedy or Musical + Speculation on other Films + Early Predictions for Drama and Comedy or Musical at large ++ Cinematic or Box Office Achievement.

Best International Feature Selections + A Golden Globes Puzzle Theory - 46:09

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:

Sense & Sensibility from Georgia Oakley, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones - 48:01

Stop! That! Train! Is full of laughs - 52:40

M1 has been watching the Friday the 13th films - 53:36

TRAILER THOUGHTS:

Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott - 55:45

Clarissa and why isn’t this getting more Oscars Buzz - 58:48

Rose starring Sandra Huller - 1:02:00

Remain is the next great M. Night film? - 1:03:44

OUTRO: Please stay tuned to our feeds for upcoming coverage of the fall film festivals, including our coverage from Woodstock. You can also find our videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube + written reviews on Letterboxd. Here’s our linktree. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

What Is This Episode - Top of Show

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DIGGER OSCARS PROFILE, BIRDMIKE FINALE:

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Non-Spoiler Review:

BirdMike Ends with a Thud - Top of Show

Pam and Mike Leave WB - 2:53

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Digging a Box Office Bomb - 6:29

Tom as a Nom - 10:23

Political Satire is Dead - 13:54

Where is Cruise in the Oscars Puzzle Now? - 18:34

Does Anything Get Nominated if Tommy Isn’t? - 22:50

Production Values - 26:21

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List of Most Unprofitable Oscar Movies - 31:07

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SPOLER WARNING - 35:52

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Spoiler-Filled Review:

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The Big Spoiler - 36:43

Why Does This Movie Exist? - 41:17

Did Bardo Break Iñárritu? - 46:00

Dump the B Line? - 55:10

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FINAL GRADES - 1:05:04

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Mikes Fight/What’s Next From MMO/Leave Us 5 Stars! - 1:06:05

David Long returns to the show for a Fall Oscars Betting Special Episode, and we discuss the gambling lines and markets for Best Picture, the four acting categories and Best Director. Should you pay the vig on these favorites? Should you bet more longshots? And will The Odyssey reign supreme on the 99th Oscars Sunday or will challengers rise up?

INTRO:

David Long’s Walk Hard Moment - Top of the Show

Mike explains how the betting lines and +/- numbers work - 3:23

BEST PICTURE:

Why did the lines come out so late this year? Did The Odyssey cause this? - 5:30

The Odyssey vs La Bola Negra - 16:10

Dune Part III is looming. Could it contend? - 20:39

Wild Horse Nine’s candidacy & when to sprinkle - 26:01

Digger’s drift & the rest of the Best Picture field - 28:52

LEAD ACTOR - 40:45

Michael B. Jordan was 40/1 at Christmas last year. So will there be another longshot victory here in Lead Actor? Or will Scott, Malkovich or Damon likely take it?

LEAD ACTRESS - 53:24

Is this a coronation for Julianne Moore once again

SUPPORTING ACTRESS - 1:00:10

Do we buy Anne Hathaway as the favorite or are we tempted to maybe more than sprinkle?

SUPPORTING ACTOR - 1:08:02

Where’s the value here? Do we see Giammatti taking it all the way? Do we get another repeat winner? Or are there some unknown powerhouse performances laying in wait?

DIRECTOR - 1:15:11

Best Director cases for and against Nolan, Villeneuve and the Javier’s -

SPECIALS - 1:22:02

Odyssey Betting Specials Galore, including wins and nominations tallies to bet on.

OUTRO: The Words of Wisdom today are to follow David Long on X and Instagram for all his coverage of Awards Season betting. https://x.com/1DavidLong

https://www.instagram.com/davidlong1385?stkn=dXF3bG10dmhkdHhh&utm_source=qr

And stay tuned for all our upcoming coverage of new releases like Digger, upcoming film festivals, etc. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

What Is This Episode - Top of Show

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PRIMETIME OSCARS PROFILE:

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Non-Spoiler Review:

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Lance Oppenheimer: NOT OBAMA - Top of Show

“Not Interested in a Biopic” - 3:25

Chris Hansen, The Man: UnThrilled - 5:03

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Scores/Viewing Experience/Expectations - 9:38

A Cold Movie - 14:40

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Insane Casting - 18:49

Pattinson to the Oscars? - 22:22

It’s GizONdo - 26:27

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Production Values - 30:08

How Many Noms? - 34:00

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SPOLER WARNING - 35:23

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Spoiler-Filled Review:

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RPat IS Gen Z - 36:27

Comeuppance - 40:52

Law and Order - 47:28

License and Order - 51:16

Necessary Critical Convo - 55:25

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FINAL GRADES - 59:36

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Mikes Fight/What’s Next From MMO/Leave Us 5 Stars! - 1:03:11

Digger reactions are in, we talk about La Bola Negra’s big win at TIFF, Mike 1 discusses the Paramount Settlement, and we review a fresh bunch of Oscar Trailers for Cliff Booth, Wildwood, Ray Gunn and You Can See Everything.

AWARDS NEWS:

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DIGGER 1st Reactions & Tom Cruise’s Oscar Chances - 2:02

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La Bola Negra wins TIFF’s People’s Choice Award & the Best Picture Race - 17:18

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INDUSTRY NEWS - 28:55

The Paramount Settlement Details: Mike 1 answers questions on why certain details are favorable to Paramount, what leverage each side had in the negotiations and what the long term effects could be for the industry.

TIFF: Reviewing The Reviewers Part II - 44:51

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother starring Mahershala Ali - 45:31

River, a TIFF hit slasher acquisition by Blumhouse Universal - 47:25

The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd starring Amanda Seyfried - 50:12

Onwards and Sideways starring Laura Linney - 52:11

BOX OFFICE REPORT:

Mike 1 is on a roll, predicts Resident Evil’s Box Office exactly - 53:17

The rest of the Top 5, more Odyssey superlatives & sneaky big hits - 56:46

OSCAR TRAILERS:

The Further Misadventures of Cliff Booth from Fincher, Tarantino & Brad Pitt - 1:00:28

Wildwood from Travis Knight & Laika - 1:04:39

Ray Gunn from Brad Bird & Netflix - 1:11:57

You Can See Everything from A24, Nathan Fielder & Lance Oppenheim - 1:13:31

OUTRO: Make sure to check out our work on Tiktok, YouTube, Letterboxd, etc. Click this link to find us everywhere you are on social media or wherever you’d like to find your podcasts. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

What Is This Episode - Top of Show

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RESIDENT EVIL OSCARS PROFILE:

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Non-Spoiler Review:

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Cregger Getting to RE - 1:36

The Fan-Made Controversy - 3:44

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Scores/Expectations/M1 is Film Twitter King - 20:18

Video Game Nods - 26:28

Performances - 31:03

Production Values - 35:38

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SPOLER WARNING - 41:36

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Spoiler-Filled Review:

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Zombie Ladies on the Road - 44:19

Farm Scares - 49:52

PWH Thanks for Playing - 53:54

Garage and Going Up - 1:00:50

Austin A-Blob - 1:05:07

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FINAL GRADES - 1:07:30

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What’s Next From MMO/Leave Us 5 Stars! - 1:09:25

https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

We’re barely qualified to comment on the Emmys. But we forge onward. We were not in Venice or Toronto either. But we have Oscar Race takeaways nonetheless. You’re welcome.

THE 78TH PRIMETIME EMMYS:

Broadcast Highlights: Mariska & Brunson, Mulaney’s Moment & the last hour - 1:41

Widow’s Bay Wins Big in Comedy Series + The Gambling Odds Going - 7:16

The PItt & Pluribus each take 2 in the Drama Series Races - 8:55

Sally Field gets her big moment for Remarkably Bright Creatures - 12:38

And we discuss some Oscar Takes re: Kate O’Flynn, Zendaya & Mr. Isaac himself - 16:21

VENICE AWARDS 2026:

Woman Unknown takes the Golden Lion & the Volpi Cup - 21:05

Possible Love wins the Grand Jury Prize - 25:00

John Malkovich wins Lead Actor from Wild Horse Nine - 26:04

Dau and what if the Mikes both did an NYC day together - 30:28

NAZA and a new standing ovation record - 34:45

The Rest of the Awards including Good Little Soldier - 38:22

Other Venice Notable Receptions for Bunker & Musk - 41:12

TIFF REVIEWS PART I:

Being Heumann from Sian Heder, starring Ruth Madeley - 45:13

Misty Green from Chris Rock, starring Rosalind Eleazar - 48:22

I Play Rocky from Peter Farrelly, starring Anthony Ippolito - 50:26

Prima Facie starring Cynthia Erivo - 52:25

OUTRO: Listen to Mike1’s new and improved spiel to end the episode. Plus, we discuss the next 5 or 6 episodes on our calendar in far too much detail not to jinx them. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

What Is This Episode - Top of Show

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HOPE OSCARS PROFILE:

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Non-Spoiler Review:

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Na Hong-jin’s filmography and history/Film Numbers- 2:00

Expectations/Script Thoughts - 7:51

What Could’ve Been + Production Values - 12:12

Performances - 18:33

Production Values - 22:15

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Oscars Lens/A Quibi? - 28:37

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SPOLER WARNING - 30:55

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Spoiler-Filled Review:

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Incongruence - 31:42

The End - 35:08

Funny Uh-Oh, Hero - 38:19

Arbitrary Bullet Time - 42:48

Legitimate Highs - 44:48

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FINAL GRADES - 51:52

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What’s Next From MMO/Leave Us 5 Stars! - 55:00

The Oscars Race has exploded after Telluride and Venice. The Acting categories are much more formidable, the Best Picture 10 is all but impossible to predict, surprise documentaries have become headlines, and yet, the Standing Ovation times still don’t match. This is one of the wildest years we’ve ever covered, and the buzz isn’t getting any quieter. That’s for sure.

TELLURIDE PREMIERES:

The Debut from Jesse Eisenberg feat. Julianne Moore + Song Category Talk - 1:38

Elsinore starring Andrew Scott + Lead Actor Category Talk - 5:26

Tender Loving Care from Mike Leigh & starring Kate O’Flynn - 10:06

The Liberation starring Carrie Coon + More Lead Actress Talk - 14:18

A Long Winter from Andrew Haigh, starring Fred Hechinger & Caitriona Balfe - 15:53

You Can See Everything from Nathan Fielder + Best Picture Talk - 17:19

Berlin, Sundance & Cannes Film Updates + Turturro & Cruz Talk - 25:59

VENICE PREMIERES:

Ink from Danny Boyle + Standing Ovation Talk - 29:05

Wild Horse Nine from Martin McDonagh + Malkovich Shirt Talk - 33:59

Primetime starring Robert Pattinson - 44:24

Possible Love from Lee Chang-dong - 48:05

Bucking Fastard from Werner Herzog, starring Kate & Rooney Mara - 49:54

Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger -

OSCAR NEWS:

Inde Navarrette goes Lead - 52:12

All Of A Sudden Actresses pick their categories - 54:58

OUTRO: We discuss our larger presence on social media, the links we never knew we had, and some future plans. Plus, we discuss recent films we’ve watched and loved or loved to hate. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Another awesome movie, part 6 of our Inarritu Rewatch Series studies The Revenant, a 3x Oscar Winner for Best Director, Cinematography and Lead Actor, Leonardo DiCaprio.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW FOR THE REVENANT:

The Development Backstory involving Park Chan-Wook - 2:01

Inarritu’s Crazy Plans - 6:11

Critical, Audience & Box Office Reception Numbers - 8:55

Non-Spoiler Script Thoughts - 11:21

Performance Reviews including what Leo survived - 14:57

Production Values including what the crew survived - 24:16

An Oscar Lens and an Awards Season Revue - 32:55

Spoiler Warning - 36:59

SPOILER FILLED REVIEW OF THE REVENANT:

Immediate Carryovers involving bears - 38:29

Man vs Nature - 42:05

The Revenge Narrative - 47:20

That Ending & The Real Story of Hugh Glass - 53:26

A Film Set From Hell - 1:02:10

Final Thoughts & Grades - 1:08:50

OUTRO: Coming up next is our coverage of the Fall Film Festivals and September movie slate. We’re also planning some fun guests and film studies in September. So stay tuned to our feed for everything MMO. Plus, you should also subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Tiktok and Letterboxd for exclusive content. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar