Brand New OscarWatch Podcast, Episode One

After far too many months away, Sasha and I have relaunched a weekly podcast all about the Oscars, both current and historical. Beyond our usual close-up view of the awards race here and abroad, in months ahead we’ll try to step back for a wider view, to talk about industry trends and the exciting opportunities emerging on new platforms of distribution. We’ll sometimes cover movies that won’t be nominated and try to figure why they weren’t. Adding to the excitement and anxiety this year, you can expect an occasional dollop of politics to get stirred into the mix.

Should we ease back into this gradually? Of course not. In our first brand new installment, we’ll jump right into the most important film festival of the year, with a brief preview of films presumed to be premiering in Telluride. Then, next week, Sasha will make her pilgrimage to Colorado and we’ll podcast while she’s there.  To round out this week’s episode we’ve warily decided to dig deep into something troubling, provocative and tragic: the controversy that has erupted around The Birth of a Nation and the rape case faced 17 years ago by its screenwriter and director, Jean Celestine and Nate Parker.

We’ve reached back to the birth of AwardsDaily to find a fresh but classic name for this reincarnated podcast:

Welcome back to OscarWatch, Episode One.