THE HOLLYWOOD PODCAST

Michael Brandt is the screenwriter of the new adventure film Arthur the King, starring Mark Wahlberg and Simu Liu. The film is an adaption of adventure racer Michael Lindnord’s 2016 memoir where he shares the story of how he befriended a wounded stray dog named Arthur, who then goes on to accompany the team on a grueling 435-mile (700-km) endurance race through the Dominican Republic. Arthur the King is now playing in theaters.

Michael is perhaps best known as the creator of the NBC series Chicago Fire as well as being a producer and writer on Chicago PD and Chicago Med. Previous writing credits include Wanted, 3:10 to Yuma, Catch the Kid, and 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Max Burkholder stars as the lead of Peacock’s new series TED, which premiered on January 11.  It’s a prequel series to the Seth MacFarlane films, and he portrays the character that Mark Wahlberg played. Most fans know Max from his role on PARENTHOOD, in which he raised awareness while portraying a young boy with Aspergers. He has now ascended into his first leading role.

Dr. Ernest H. Harrison is the music director and conductor of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.

Now in its' 45th year, the GMCLA is putting on their annual spring concert which this year is entitled WE LOVE BOY BANDS!, a pop music extravaganza featuring hits from charting-topper boy bands who melted the hearts of countless fans from The Jackson 5 and *NSYNC to the Backstreet Boys and One Direction. There will be two performances of the show, on Mar 23 and 24, at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills. You can buy tickets at GMCLA.org.

Sean Albertson is the editor and co-producer of the supernatural horror film IMAGINARY produced by Jason Blum of Blumhouse and directed by Jeff Wadlow. IMAGINARY is about a woman who returns to her childhood home only to discover that the imaginary friend teddy bear Chauncey that she left behind is very real and unhappy that she abandoned him.

Sean’s previous credits include FANTASY ISLAND, TRUTH OR DARE, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, THE EXPENDABLES 3, ROCKY BALBOA, and RAMBO.

The 96th Oscars are just days away, meaning it's time for our now-traditional chat with IndieWire's Anne Thompson as we prognosticate what will win on Hollywood's biggest night.

One of the top Oscars prognosticators in film journalism, Anne is the editor-at-large of IndieWire and the founder of the Thompson on Hollywood blog. She's previously written for publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and the LA Weekly. She co-hosts IndieWire's Screen Talk podcast, which releases new episodes every Friday.

Filmmakers Kris Bowers and Ben Proudfoot are Oscar-nominated this year for their short documentary The Last Repair Shop, which showcases a few devoted craftspeople tasked with keeping over 80,000 student instruments in good repair for kids going to school in the LA public school system. They’ve previously been nominated for A Concerto is a Conversation, with Proudfoot winning in 2022 for directing The Queen of Basketball. Bowers is noted for composing the scores for film and TV series including Green Book, King Richard, The Color Purple, Bridgerton and Dear White People. In addition to his two Oscar nominations, he’s been nominated for a Critics Choice Award, two Grammys, and has received an Emmy.

Chris Burdon, James Mather, Chris Munro, and Mark Taylor make up the sound team behind Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. The team is Oscar nominated for their work in the film for Best Sound.

Sound mixer/engineer Chris Munro is a 2-time Oscar winner for Black Hawk Down and Gravity in addition to his nominations for The Mummy and Captain Phillips.

Sound mixer/engineer Chris Burdon won the Oscar for Best Sound last year for Top Gun: Maverick and was previously nominated for Captain Phillips.

Sound mixer Mark Taylor is 2-time Oscar winner for 1917 and Top Gun Maverick. He's also been nominated for Captain Phillips, The Martian and No Time to Die.

Sound editor James Mather won and Oscar for last year's Top Gun: Maverick and was nominated the year before for Belfast.

Nicky Bentham is the producer of the Netflix short film The After, directed by Misan Harriman and starring David Oyelowo. Nicky is nominated in the category of Best Live Action Short Film for her work on the film. The After tells the story of a grieving rideshare driver (played by David Oyelowo) who. after losing family members to a violent crime. picks up a passenger who helps him confront the past.

David Hemingson is the screenwriter and producer of the Oscar-nominated film The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne.

This film is about a curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school who remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.

The Holdovers is nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Paul Giamatti, Best Supporting Actress for Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Best Original Screenplay for David Hemingson, and Best Film Editing.

Michelle Mizner is the Oscar-nominated producer and editor of the documentary feature 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL. The film tells the story of the twenty days that Mistyslav Chernov spent with his colleagues in besieged Mariupol after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Chernov compiled footage that he collected in Mariupol together with the team from Frontline and the Associated Press (AP).

20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL is nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year's Academy Awards.