The Awards Watch Podcast

On episode 366 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello break down their highlights from the 2026 New York Film Festival, thoughts on Aaron Sorkin's latest, The Social Reckoning, and discuss their thoughts on the rising and falling contenders for the four major acting categories for this year's Oscars as they hit the final stage of the film festival season.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h57m. We will be back two weeks with recap the AFI Film Festival and the 2026 regional film festivals. Till then, let's get into it.

Music: "Modern Fashion" from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 176 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, Mahjong (1996).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this Awards Watch podcast, the boys 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.

In his second modern satire of the mid 1990s, Edward Yang looked inward again at the youth of his homeland, mirroring the violent, aimless nature of young men much like his masterpiece A Brighter Summer Day. Instead of being located in a small city, he sets Mahjong in the heart of a downtown Taipei, where every interaction comes with a dollar and personal price to it that can't be quantified, resulting in a riveting drama about a group of young men, and the women they know, trying to make enough money to escape the world they live in and the fate destined for them if they continue down their dangerous paths. Ryan and Jay break down their thoughts on the film, how Yang is an observer more than a commenter about his world and the characters that live in it, the power dynamics at play involving the young men in the film and those who are old than them, the outside, western cultured forces at play in the film, as well as the guys pitching some cool business ideas, and a few fun stories from their time at Telluride.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 2h. The guys will be back later next week to conclude their series on the films of Edward Yang with a review of his final film, Yi Yi. 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 365 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch Associate TV Editor Karen Peterson to review the latest film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu, Digger.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h26m. We will be back next week with a recap of the 64th New York Film Festival and a review of the latest film from Aaron Sorkin, The Social Reckoning. Till then, let's get into it.

Music: "Modern Fashion" from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 175 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, A Confucian Confusion (1994).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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.

After making one of his grand masterpieces, Yang stripped everything back down and created a contemporary commentary about the generational mobility of the future 20-30 year olds of his country. In exploring the intersecting lives of his characters, Yang humorously dives into how the decision they make now will affect their future, and set them up for either lives of happiness or eternal regret, and in doing this, Yang creates a testament to the time and a look to the future of his country. Ryan and Jay discuss their thoughts on the film, how funny the film is to them, the strongest characters in the film being the female characters and the worst characters being the male ones, and how his familiar structure as a storyteller shines in a modern comedy like this.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h20m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series on the films of Edward Yang with a review of his film, Mahjong (1996). 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 174 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by Awards Watch contributor Trace Sauveur and film critic Jesse Nussman to discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, A Brighter Summer Day (1991).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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.

In what felt like a massive build up to his point in his career, Edward Yang come out with a methodical, heartbreaking coming of age story that becomes the longest film ever covered on the podcast. This Taiwanese epic is about a group of young boys that have no sense of direction, lawless and forming violent connections that result in a real life tragedy, a perfect cocktail for the director to cover as his country was shifting from its traditions to something more modern, and sadly more sinister. Ryan, Jay, Trace, and Jesse break down their thoughts on the film, the fall of the films protagonist, the rise of violence and anger from the boys as the film goes on, the punishment their decisions had on their family society, and the show learns a valuable lesson; Jay does not like to be surprised, listen to the episode to hear about this.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h50m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series on the films of Edward Yang with a review of his film, A Confucian Confusion. 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 364 of the Awards Watch podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello break down the winners and losers of the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals, which films rise and fall in the Oscar race, and offer a preview of some of the big titles headed to the New York Film Festival.

With three of the main fall festivals wrapped, the gang look at how the world premieres of films like The Debut, Elsinore and You Can See Everything at Telluride, I Play Rocky and Being Huemann at Toronto, fared with Cannes flyovers and more. This opens the conversation about where the state of the Oscar race is now, determining if The Odyssey is still the default frontrunner or if a new fighter has emerged, like TIFF People's Choice winner La Bola Negra. Then we venture into the New York Film Festival, kicking off this week, with a huge slate of major premieres like Godzilla Minus Zero, Behemoth! and more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h8m. We'll be back this week with the latest in the Director Watch series featuring Edward Yang, A Brighter Summer Day (1991). Till then, let's get into it.

Music: "Modern Fashion" from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

On episode 363 of The Awards Watch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and contributor Griffin Schiller to review the latest film from director Zach Cregger, Resident Evil (2026).

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h8m. We will be back later this week with an awards temperature check post Venice/Telluride/TIFF and a preview of the 2026 New York 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).

On episode 173 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the next film in their Edward Yang series, The Terrorizers (1986).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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.

After a very heavy, introspective look at themselves via Yang's first film in their series, the DW boys return with a dive into the lives of several people, connected by their aimlessness of a modern world that has no place for the young, and the deals we make with ourselves at a young age to settle instead of finding the happiness we deserve. The Terrorizers was a bold film for its time, as the intersection of multiple characters' lives and genres became not only something common within cinema from that side of the world, but made a massive influence on American filmmakers in the coming decades. Ryan and Jay break down their thoughts on the film, Yang's bold swing as a director with this project from his last, which characters stories work more than the others, and the sheer scope of a director expanding from just one project.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h42m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series on the films of Edward Yang with a review of his film, A Brighter Summer Day (1991). 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 172 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the first film in their Edward Yang series, Taipei Story (1985).

Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys 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.

As Campion came to a close last week, the DW boys take a pivot to a Taiwanese master behind the camera, Edward Yang. Known for being one of the signature voices in the Taiwanese New Wave of the 1980s, Yang is mostly a blind spot filmmaker for the show's hosts, as Yang's vital filmmaking has been celebrated as some of the best films of the era, making the list for Sight and Sound multiple times, and being regarded as one of the masters of international cinema. With his first feature in the series, Taipei Story a look at a relationship dooms to fail, and the peaks and valleys the characters go through in order to understand what they want and need out of life in their present and futures; a massive, powerful film to start the series within. In what might be one of the most open, honest episodes of the podcast yet, Ryan and Jay break down their thoughts on the film and Yang, and where they see themselves right now in their lives next to the events of Taipei Story.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 1h50m. The guys will be back later this week to continue their series on the films of Edward Yang with a review of his film, The Terrorizers (1986). You can watch it via Amazon Prime 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 362 of the Awards Watch podcast, it's a full house with Awards Watch Editor-In-Chief joined by Executive Editor Ryan McQuade, Associate Editor Sophia Ciminello, contributors Mark Johnson and Jorge Tenreiro, and AW friend and confidante Christina Birro of Pop Culture Confidential, as we break down last weekend's Telluride Film Festival.

It was another whirlwind Telluride for the group, with splashy world premieres including Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, Simon Stone's Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, and the big talk of the festival, the surprise TBA of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's secret film You Can See Everything, about Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, which was shot with unprecedented access during the month before she went to prison in 2023.

During our zippy and efficient conversation, we talk about our favorite films of the festival (where titles like Club Kid and La Bola Negra pop up), what everyone non-film and film awards-related at the festival was talking about (again, La Bola Negra and Club Kid) and our favorite moments from the many, many parties thrown during this very short window of cinephile celebration.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.

This podcast runs 46m58s. We'll be back next for the main show talking about director Zach Cregger's new Resident Evil film and with a recap of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which just kicked off.

Music: "Modern Fashion" from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), "B-3" from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).