The Rolling Tape

The Critics Choice Awards (CCA) have released their 2025-26 nominations as a key precursor for the award season circuit. We debrief their selections and update various Oscar prospects for films and performances in above and below the line categories as the season continues to evolve. The 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, January 4, 2026.

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Joshua Mbonu on Letterboxd, and X

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Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

The Awards Season Draft returns for round 3! In this recurring series where we competitively draft winners across one year's full awards circuit, we have covered 2015 and 2022, but our third stop is the 2012-13 season featuring Argo as the Best Picture winner.

Our draft options include Oscar winners, Precursor winners (Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, CCA), festival winners (TIFF, Venice, Cannes, Sundance), and critics group winners (NSFC, LAFCA, NYFCC) from the 2022 year for 2023 ceremonies.

Each of our drafts must include:

• 2 above the line Oscar winners
• 2 below the line Oscar winners
• 2 Precursor award winners that did not win the Oscar for the same category
• 1 Festival/Critics Group winner

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Paul Rai
Danny Jarabek
Jacob Diedenhofer

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Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Óliver Laxe’s Sirât, which made its World Premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and took home the prestigious Jury Prize, features an immersive sonic landscape that blurs the line between the physical and metaphysical, echoing the film’s themes of transcendence and inner pilgrimage. Laxe worked closely with Supervising Sound Editor Laia Casanovas (Nowhere, Parallel Mothers) to develop the texture of tone of the world and music.

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Laia Casanovas IMDb, Website

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Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

We are in the thick of award season with the Gotham winners announced earlier this week, and CCA nominations coming on December 5. Another big ceremony on the horizon is the Golden Globes, and today we discuss our nomination predictions for all categories of the 83rd edition of the ceremony. The Golden Globe nominations will be announced on Monday, Dec. 8, with the ceremony scheduled to air live on Jan. 11.

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Owen Wilczek on Letterboxd, and X

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Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

After multiple drafts of above the line predictions we are now officially in the phase of rolling out our specialized prediction episodes that feature 3-4 categories at a time until we’ve covered all categories ahead of nomination morning. Today we round out the primary above-the-line categories focusing on performances with Best Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress. All the while, our team’s predictions will be available in real time on our website.

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Danny Jarabek Letterboxd, Instagram, Bluesky, X, TikTok, and Linktree
Paul Rai on Letterboxd, Instagram, and X
Jacob Diedenhofer on Letterboxd, Instagram, X
Adam Patla on Letterboxd, Instagram, Bluesky,  X, TikTok, and YouTube

Have questions? Email [email protected]

Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

This is a preview podcast. To listen to the full show, watch on video, and see the rest of the Stranger Things recap mini-series, subscribe to our Patreon.

The first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 have arrived! One last adventure battling Vecna with the party is here and our team is stationed at the Squawk to discuss. This mini-series has run the gauntlet through recapping all four previous seasons up until the release of Season 5: Volume 1, the first four episodes of the final season. Stranger Things 5, which will consist of eight episodes, is set to be released in three parts. The first volume premiered on November 26, 2025, with the second slated for December 25, and the finale on December 31. The series will close with one more episode after the series finale to culminate the final adventure in the upside down. Subscribe to our Patreon for the full conversation.

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Danny Jarabek Website, Letterboxd, Instagram, Bluesky, X, TikTok, and Linktree
Tate Fowler on Letterboxd and Instagram
Jake Fittipaldi on Letterboxd, Instagram, and TikTok
Adam Patla on Letterboxd, Instagram, Bluesky,  X, TikTok, and YouTube
Gabe Lillianthal on Letterboxd, Bluesky, X, and TikTok

Have questions? Email [email protected]

Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

The Gotham Film & Media Institute held their ceremony for the 35th edition of The Gothams. We recap the winners across all categories including Best Feature for One Battle After Another after the film led the way, receiving six nominations. It Was Just an Accident, however, was the big winner of the night taking home three awards. 

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Danny Jarabek Letterboxd, Instagram, Bluesky, X, TikTok, and Linktree
Jacob Diedenhofer on Letterboxd, Instagram, X

Have questions? Email [email protected]

Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Hamnet is written and directed by Chloé Zhao, with the screenplay co-written by Maggie O'Farrell, based on her 2020 novel of the same name. The film is described as a powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, "Hamlet". Hamnet had its premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival back in August and received a limited theatrical release by Focus Features on November 26 before expanding wide this coming week in December. The film stars Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Jacobi Jupe, Emily Watson, and Joe Alwyn.

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Chapter Timestamps:

• 0:00:00 Initial Thoughts
• 0:27:56 Spoiler Review
• 1:50:03 Oscars Assessment
• 2:01:25 Final Ratings

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Sara Ciplickas on Letterboxd, Instagram, and X
Kam Ryan on Letterboxd, Instagram, X, and Empty Theater Podcast
Nandita Joshi on Letterboxd, X, Instagram, TikTok, and Linktree
Timmy Lee on Letterboxd, X, and YouTube
Paul Rai on Letterboxd, Instagram, and X

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Credits:

• Image Credit to Focus Features
• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

After multiple drafts of above the line predictions between April and October we are now officially in the phase of rolling out our specialized prediction episodes that feature 3 categories at a time until we’ve covered all categories ahead of nomination morning. This episode features our updated predictions for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Adapted Screenplay. All the while, our team’s predictions will be available in real time on our website's Oscar Board.

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Follow our team online:
Danny Jarabek Website, Letterboxd, Instagram, Bluesky, X, TikTok, and Linktree
Paul Rai on Letterboxd, Instagram, and X
Ethan Simmie on Letterboxd, Instagram, X, The Movie Draft Podcast

Have questions? Email [email protected]

Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

This is a preview podcast. To listen to the full show, watch on video, and see the rest of the Stranger Things recap mini-series, subscribe to our Patreon.

Happy Stranger Things week!!! Tomorrow we'll receive Part One (the first four episodes) of the fifth and final season, and to celebrate, here's our full recap and discussion on Season 4! Grab your eggos and travel with us to the upside down. Season 4 released worldwide on Netflix in two volumes. The first set of seven episodes was released on May 27, 2022, while the second set of two episodes was released on July 1, 2022. This mini-series will follow the Stranger Things season by season through its newest and final season 5 which will be released in 3 parts over the holidays. The main cast and season by season additions are now joined by Jamie Campbell Bower, Joseph Quinn, and Eduardo Franco.

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Danny Jarabek Website, Letterboxd, Instagram, Bluesky, X, TikTok, and Linktree
Tate Fowler on Letterboxd and Instagram
Jake Fittipaldi on Letterboxd, Instagram, and TikTok

Have questions? Email [email protected]

Credits:

• Theme music by Eugene Rocco Utley
• Artwork by Danny Jarabek
• Edited by Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
All Listening Platforms

Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller