Anatomy of an Oscar

Welcome to the Era of the Ten, members of the jury! For this week's case, it is just Dean and Claire as they break down the 2010 race for Best Director! They get into how much they struggle with Precious even though Lee Daniels is doing good work, Ask the question "Did George Clooney actually direct Up In The Air ?", declare Inglorious Basterds Tarantino's best, and examine all t...

Aliens are REAL, members of the jury! For this new BONUS episode, we're diving deep on Disclosure Day, as well as unpacking the HORROR BOOM of 2026. Obsession, Backrooms, the full nine yards! Thank you for bearing with us as I FINALLY get our audio under control. We will be back to a regular schedule soon! You can follow the show on Twitter and Letterboxd @oscaranatomypod and on Instagram @anatomy...

We've done it yet again, members of the jury! For the finale of our 1978 miniseries, we are digging yet again into the same nominees we've... kept talking about! Yep! Turns out The Turning Point still barely exists, the Goodbye Girl is fun, Dean still doesn't like Julia, Star Wars... is Star Wars and maybe Annie Hall SHOULD have won picture! You can follow the show on Instagram and Blu...

The Academy got it right, members of the jury! For this weeks trial, your detectives investigate the 1978 Oscars' Best Actress Race. Who *is* the Goodbye Girl? Did the double nom for The Turning Point rally do what they were hoping it would? Jane Fonda is here! But most important is Diane Keaton. You can follow the show on TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky @anatomyofanoscar and on Twitter and Let...

Be ready to blast some eardrums, members of the jury! For this week's case, your detectives are investigating the wonderful and strange world of sound at the 1978 Oscars! There is talk about how the dance sequences in The Turning Point lead to interesting use of mixing, how you craft an underwater world with The Deep, and get BIG and LOUD with Close Encounters. There's a lot of Jawa noises...

Time to take your measurements, members of the jury! For this week's investigation your detectives are diving deep into the fascinating world of Best Costume Design of 1978! There are some true legends of the industry in this category doing some not amazing work. How does Julia translate the femininity of its characters through costumes? What's up with A Little Night Music just in general?...

We're heading back to the 70s, members of the jury! For this week's inaugural case, your detectives are analyzing the Best Director nominees from the 1978 Oscars. How did Fred Zinnerman take his cultural cache to make Julia, a movie that is literally just great gowns? Herbert Ross directed two movies this year that are BOTH nominated for Best Picture? Spielberg's alien arrival epic cla...

It's time to put on our prognosticator hats, members of the jury! For this special bonus episode, we're diving deep on two of the biggest releases of the year, Michael and Project Hail Mary . Your detectives discuss if they believe that either of those films have a chance at major Oscar glory. Project Hail Mary seems likely, but Michael seems like a real question mark as the race moves for...

We are finally at the end, members of the jury! For the series finale of 1997 we are covering that hallowed category of Best Picture. We have a much more polite conversation about Jerry Maguire, talk about the importance of film festivals in particular this year, and unlock some new forms of understanding about The English Patient! We also announce our new series of bonus episodes and our next min...

Call your agents, members of the jury! For this week's trial, your hosts are diving DEEP on Billy Bob Thornton, Woody Harrleson, Geoffrey Rush, Ralph Fiennes, and Tom Cruise in the case of Best Actor in 1997. What caused the sort of great explosion of Billy Bob Thornton? Does The People vs. Larry Flynt work as a movie? How does Geoffrey Rush, who's barely in a movie that has basically noth...

As we continue our investigation into what exactly happened with the 1997 Academy Awards, a new prime suspect emerges: A little musical called Evita ! It's just Dean and Morgan this week members of the jury as they continue down the rabbit hole with Best Cinematography! They talk about vistas, geese, lens smudges, and Roger Deakins' Podcast. It's a bit of a wild one! You can follow our...

We're double-dipping this week, members of the jury! For this episode, your prosecutors are diving into the double sized categories for Original Score. That's right, the Oscars split score between dramatic and comedic for a while! It was... weird! There's a lot of movies here, and we don't particularly love any of the score options, but at least we get to reminisce about some child...

Welcome back to the stand, members of the jury! For this (slightly belated) case, we're diving into the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1997. What the hell happened with Sling Blade ? Why was this not an absolute layup for The English Patient ? Both play adaptations from this year are kind of weird and not good, but you know what is? Trainspotting . All this and more in this episode of...

We're opening up a new case, members of the jury! For this investigation, we're looking back to the 1997 Academy Awards, covering the films of 1996. Hope you're ready to hear the words The English Patient a LOT. For this episode, we're looking to Best Supporting Actress. Juliette Binoche's surprise win, the absolute insanity that is The Mirror Has Two Faces , a pair of absolute...

The season has come to a close, members of the jury! That's right, we are here to react and recap the 2026 Academy Awards for the final time. Your prosecutors share what they thought of the winners, how the show went, the surprises and upsets, and One Battle After Another's major wins across the board. We will be back to our regularly scheduled programming this upcoming Friday, but for now...

Time to lock in your picks, members of the jury! For this special bonus episode, your detectives are breaking down their picks for the 2026 Academy Awards! They dive deep into what they believe will and should win in every feature category this year. They talk about locks, toss-ups, potential upsets, and whether or not Sinners wave is real. Dean gets on a soapbox about Train Dreams, Morgan HATES K...

We are officially closing this case, members of the jury! For this episode, your prosecutors break down EVERY film nominated for Best Picture at the 2018 Oscars. They examine the release strategies, the narratives they had leading up to the Oscars, make a case for some and try to ignore others, discuss snubs and a few additional categories before they give their rankings. We then announce the futu...

We're adapting our own stories today, members of the jury! We are continuing our coverage of the 2018 Academy Awards by discussing Best Adapted Screenplay. Your council ponders what it means to have four of these films not be in Best Picture, how Call Me By Your Name is a peculiar winner, the merits of Mudbound, the split decision here about Logan, how The Disaster Artist is a bit of, well, a disa...

We'd like every female member of the jury to please stand up! We are continuing our coverage of the 2018 Academy Awards by discussing Best Actress in a Leading Role. They ask important questions like "Does Sally Hawkins actually anchor The Shape of Water?" "What does it look like when Meryl isn't phoning it in?" and "Seriously what the hell were we thinking about w...

Welcome back to the stand, members of the jury! For this episode, your detectives are breaking down the clash of generations that is the Best Actor 2018 race. They dive deep into what happened when three legends over 55 duel against two up-and-comers in their 20s, why this category has historically been bad (and didn't change this year), and actors in fat suits. They also discuss what this may...

Welcome, people of the jury, to the inaugural episode of Anatomy of an Oscar! In this show, your hosts exhume the corpse of the 2018 Academy Awards and ask: Did the Academy get it right? For our first episode, we are diving headfirst into an exciting category: Best Director. What happens when five first-time nominees in this category go head- to-head? How are we able to contrast the three establis...