This Had Oscar Buzz

With last week’s announcement of this year’s Academy Award nominees, we can now discuss the episode a year in the making (or, in the case of The Current War, several years): the This Had Oscar Buzz Class of 2019. In keeping with last year’s tradition, we’ve broken the films up into several categories: The Cake … Continue reading "Class of 2019"

As Brad Pitt cements his status as a frontrunner in this year’s Oscar race for his performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we decided to take another look back at his reign as prestige hottie in the 90s. After nearly missing a win on his first nomination for 12 Monkeys, Brad Pitt’s red … Continue reading "077 – Seven Years in Tibet"

Though it was not the victor of our Listeners’ Choice, the very vocal fans of In Her Shoes told us we shouldn’t make you wait for this one any longer. Starring Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette, this one has slowly gained its admirers after  disappointing box office and failing to turn Shirley MacLaine’s 2005 comeback … Continue reading "076 – In Her Shoes"

We’re bringing 2019 to a close with another Listeners’ Choice, and our listeners have chosen perhaps what will be our most daunting title yet: 2012′s interconnected science fiction opus from Lana & Lilly Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, Cloud Atlas! This tale of several stories spanning generations, genres, and continents launched its Oscar hopes with a … Continue reading "075 – Cloud Atlas"

As an exciting holiday treat to show our love to our lovely listeners, Joe and Chris have wrapped up a special mailbag episode to answer all of your burning questions! This week, we’ll be unpacking everything from This Had Oscar Buzz lore to the current Oscar season to Oscar history. We’ll be looking back at … Continue reading "A Holiday Mailbag!"

We’re cracking open the lid on the coffin of the This Had Oscar Buzz Class of 2018 for the first time this week! And as promised, the first title that we’re diving into is Robert Zemeckis’s uncanny valley disasterpeace Welcome to Marwen. Based on the documentary Marwencol and the life of artist Mark Hogancamp, the … Continue reading "074 – Welcome to Marwen"

We’ve got a film notorious in the history of the IMDb Game this week: 2007′s Hairspray! After pointing out the film’s omnipresence in our trademark game during our first Mailbag episode, the nicest kid in town The AV Club’s Cameron Scheetz joins us this episode to talk about the film’s delights, from its stellar cast … Continue reading "073 – Hairspray (with Cameron Scheetz)"

Fox Searchlight celebrates their 25th anniversary this year, and this week we’re looking back at their ascension to the Oscar titan that they are today. While 2004 saw Sideways become instrumental in their rise, they also shepherded a different offbeat comedy ultimately too quirky for Oscar’s tastes: David O. Russell’s farce I Heart Huckabees. The … Continue reading "072 – I Heart Huckabees"

This week, we welcome back our first ever returning guest: VanityFair.com deputy editor Katey Rich! And what better topic to discuss (as mutual defenders of the work of director Joe Wright) than 2015′s Pan? The film was yet another retelling of the Peter Pan story, this time arriving amidst expectations for Wright to deliver another … Continue reading "071 – Pan (with Katey Rich)"

Robert Altman had a major comeback in the early 90s, scoring back-to-back lone Director nominations for The Player and Short Cuts. His follow-up, 1994′s Prêt-à-Porter (that’s Ready to Wear for American audiences and fellow philistines), aimed to skewer Paris Fashion Week to comedic effect, but instead ended Altman’s Oscar hot streak that wouldn’t be reignited … Continue reading "070 – Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear)"