The Oscar Project Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is a special between Oscars conversation about the 1922 film Nosferatu . This was another suggestion from my son Joshua who came on last year between seasons to talk about The General with me and is another classic film that came along too early to be recognized by The Academy. Listen to hear about some of the early the visual effects the film used quite effec...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I interview Philip Clyde-Smith and Eliza Power, director and writer of the short film "A Hand to Hold." The film is a darkly funny body horror look at love and dealing with loss. Listen to hear about the single day writing process, the tricky balancing act between comedy and grotesque horror, and some advice to directors when casting a film. Book...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is a special between Oscars conversation about the 1933 film King Kong . Podcast regular Kevin Pettit from the See You At The Movies newsletter recommended this film and even though it's out of order, the film was never nominated for an Oscar which made it a perfect candidate to fill in some of these in between weeks. Kevin had a chance to watch King Kong...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I interview Blake Sherwyn, director of the short film "Chet Bond: License to Chill," a hilarious mockumentary about James Bond's nepobaby son. Listen to hear about he identified a gap in the market for action comedy mockumentaries, the difficulty of finding the right actors to play the supporting roles in the film, and an on set incident tha...

Send us Fan Mail The 98th Academy Awards are over and today I'm joined by Beth Lisogorsky from the You Need To Watch This! newsletter to recap everything that happened at last night's ceremony. Listen to hear us talk about the biggest winners and losers of the evening, some of the beautiful style we got to see, and anything that caught us by surprise. Other topics: Whatever Nevermind new...

Send us Fan Mail Today is the final episode in my preview of the 98th Academy Awards where I will have broken down every category over the course of this week. Today I am joined by Enrico Banson from the Director's Notes newsletter, Janelle Lathrop from the Right Now, You Like Me newsletter, and Kevin Pettit from the See You At the Movies newsletter to break down all ten films nominated for B...

Send us Fan Mail Today is the third of a five episode preview of the 98th Academy Awards where I have been breaking down every category throughout the week. Today I am joined by Swabreen Bakr from the Anti-Brain Rot newsletter and Maria Banson from the Brunello Bombshell newsletter to break down all four acting categories, both screenplay categories, Best Director and the new Best Casting category...

Send us Fan Mail Today is the third of a five episode preview of the 98th Academy Awards where I will be breaking down each and every category throughout the week. Today I am joined by Shawna Carroll from the Notes From Post newsletter to break down Best Animated Short Film , Best Live Action Short Film , and Best Documentary Short Film . I've listed the nominees below along with a few other...

Send us Fan Mail Today is the second of five episode previewing the 98th Academy Awards where I will be breaking down each and every category throughout the week. Today I am joined by Dan Pal from the PalCinema, Television, and Music newsletter to break down Best Animated Feature , Best International Feature , Best Documentary Feature , Best Original Score , and Best Original Song . I've list...

Send us Fan Mail Today's is the first of a five episode preview of the 98th Academy Awards where I will be breaking down each and every category throughout the week. Helping me through that process is Murray Mintz from the CineVibez Fanzine newsletter and Rob Thomas from the Not That Rob Thomas newsletter and we break down all of the technical categories. I've listed the nominees below a...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is my recap of everything from the third Academy Awards back in late 1930. I recap all 25 films I watched for this season, talk about the winners of each category and more. If you missed any of the episodes discussing specific films, you can go back in this feed or just tap on the links below. 3.72-Kicking Off the 3rd Oscars with Beth Lisogorsky 3.74-Bulldog D...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I interview Alejandro Vilpa, creator of the new streaming platform Vilpamax. The service is dedicated to showcasing short films from emerging filmmakers and is launched in early 2026. Listen to hear about how Alejandro decided to create the platform when he identified a gap in the marketplace, using films from acclaimed festivals and Oscar nominees to brin...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is my conversation about the 1930 film Romance . I'm joined by Janelle Lathrop who writes the Right Now, You Like Me newsletter, and we talk about confusing bits of plot development, an extremely long middle scene of the film, and the distinct lack of romance in a film titled Romance . You can watch Romance on Tubi or grab a copy of the film on DVD for yo...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I interview Nick Spake, author of the new book series, Bright and Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows . Listen to hear about how he approached breaking the book up from one long volume into the three separate volumes we have today, the long history of animation and how it permeates nearly every film made today, and what the future or animation mig...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is my conversation about the 1930 film Raffles . I'm joined by Madison Hatfield film writer and director who previously came on the podcast in 2025 to talk with me about her film "I Could Dom." In today's episode we talk about the now standard trope of pulling "one last job" in heist films, some incredible characters that populate...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m replaying an episode from earlier this winter, my interview with Christine La Monte, producer of two recent documentaries, Ai Weiwei’s Turandot and the Oscar shortlisted Viva Verdi! . Viva Verdi! is nominated for Best Original Song at the 98th Academy Awards and the film is available to stream on jolt.film today! Books mentioned in this episode include: The Paper Palace...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is my conversation about the 1930 film The Big House . I'm joined by Lewis Beer who writes the Slow Moving Pictures newsletter, and we talk about the key themes that weave throughout the film, how the writing of the film helps propel the narrative forward, and some of the real life prisoners and prison personnel that inspired characters in the film. You c...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is a re-air of portions of three interviews I did with several of this year's Oscar nominated filmmakers. You'll hear from Julia Aks and Steve Pinder, directors of the film "Jane Austen's Period Drama," John Kelly from "Retirement Plan," and Sam Davis of "The Singers." Full episodes are available at the links below...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is my conversation about the 1930 film With Byrd at the South Pole . I'm joined by Kevin Pettit who writes the See You At the Movies newsletter, and we talk about how the film is essentially a silent film in a world that has fully transitioned to talkies, how the editing of the film made a huge difference on the feel of what we see on screen, and the spec...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I interview Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, directors of the Oscar-nominated short film "The Girl Who Cried Pearls." The film is a wonderful lesson in the true value of a thing and is currently one of the five nominees for Best Animated Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards. Listen to hear about the inspiration for the film that came from th...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is my conversation about the 1930 film Hell's Angels . I'm joined by Vicki Lesley who writes the Vicki Lesley is...Documental newsletter, and we talk about the beautiful cinematographic moments that earned the film a Best Cinematography nomination, the realities of being called home from abroad to fight for your country in wartime, and an incredible...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I interview Luke Angus, director of the animated short film "Solstice." The film tells a story of loss and grief through the eyes of a lonely Inuit. Listen to hear about how he started from the end of the story and worked backward, the challenges of getting certain visual elements just right, and a unique approach to scoring the film. Books menti...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is my conversation about the 1930 film Song of the Flame . I'm joined by Taylor Lewis who writes the Luz Films newsletter, and we talk about how difficult it is to evaluate a film based on just the partial audio, how a film can take on a different focus when large parts are missing, and some music in the film that is incredibly recognizable even today. Yo...

Send us Fan Mail The nominees for the 98th Academy Awards are here. Take a listen to hear the full list, some fun trivia facts about the nominees, and my personal thoughts on the films that made the cut as well as those that were snubbed. You can check out the full list of nominees on my Substack newsletter at theoscarproject.substack.com . While you're there, be sure to subscribe to the news...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I interview Simon Panay, director of the short film "The Boy With White Skin." The film explores the world of artisanal gold mines in West Africa and the beliefs and superstitions the miners have. Listen to hear about the inspiration for the film in some of Simon's previous documentary work, the challenge of finding an albino child actor to...