Another awards season has begun in the most elegant of fashions with some of cinema’s finest (no small thanks to Jury President Juliette Binoche). Sophia and Nick are excited to recap this 78th rendition of the Cannes Film Festival including the big winners, some highlights and disappointments, and just how this could start to shape the 2026 Oscars…

With another great season comes great responsibility…to craft an entertaining theme that showcases a new crop of Oscar nominees and winners. For season six, Nick and Sophia are excited to announce a series on frequent cinematic collaborators, between directors and actors, cinematographers, costume designers, writers, and more! This inaugural episod…

A life lost way too soon at 24 years old, James Dean will always be remembered as one of Hollywood’s greatest actors. Add to that feat the fact that he only had leading roles in three films and his potential becomes infinitely more devastating. In honoring him seventy years after his passing, Sophia and Nick look back at two of his films that were …

With summer right around the corner, Nick and Sophia recap 2025 releases thus far to highlight some of their recommendations and analyze the dynamic state of Hollywood. First, they announce some recent Oscar changes and category updates. Then, to celebrate the one year anniversary of Challengers, their first favorite film of 2024, they share a spoi…

Welcome back to Oscar Wild’s sixth season! Sophia and Nick are excited to premiere with a film they both love, one about responsibility and passion and art and rock music: Almost Famous. What do they love about it? In the famous words of Russell Hammond, “To begin with, everything.” In celebrating its 25th anniversary, they review the film and shar…

And that's a wrap on the 97th Academy Awards and Season 5 of Oscar Wild! Listen as Nick and Sophia recap the exciting ceremony and relive all of the performances, surprises, and WTF moments. They share all of their opinions and fun new stats about the winners, hold out hope for the losers, and congratulate Anora, the new Best Picture winner and rei…

After an unexpectedly wild awards season, Sophia and Nick are excited to share their final Oscar predictions. Like in previous years, they break up all 23 categories into three groups: In the Bag, Toss Up (11:38), and Anybody’s Guess (38:51). With more than half of the categories too close to call, they debate every possibility and look forward to …

Here’s to the final installment in this year’s Oscar Contenders series, when Nick and Sophia discuss each nominee in the final four above-the-line categories. They share their write-in votes along with some fun facts for: Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay (11:08), Director (20:26), and last but not least, Best Picture (26:49). Less than one w…

If you’re following along in the Contenders series, you’ve heard about some films three, four, or even eight times! Today though, Sophia and Nick discuss a whole new slate of movies save for three. For feature films, they share the significance of International Feature, Documentary Feature (18:13), and Animated Feature (29:35), highlighting their w…

In nearing the halfway point of the Contenders series, it’s time to focus on the wonderful performances nominated this year! Listen as Nick and Sophia break down the following categories while also sharing their favorite scenes they hope will be shown during the Oscars telecast: Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress (35:42), Actor (58:49), and Actre…

For the final crafts related Contenders episode, Sophia and Nick share all of the fun looks and designs, including practical and digital effects, in building out all of these imaginative, Oscar-nominated worlds. Listen to find out more about your favorite nominees in: Makeup and Hairstyling, Costume Design (23:32), Production Design (41:57), and Vi…

For their continued discussion of the craft categories, Nick and Sophia look at two of their favorite technical aspects in moviemaking: Cinematography and Film Editing (38:05). Listen as they talk through each nominee and share captivating facts about each production! Lol Crawley & The Brutalist featurette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80zMHi_bx…

With the final countdown to the Oscars underway, it’s time once again for the most thorough series on this year’s nominees! Sophia and Nick begin with the sonic categories to not only hear from their expert song guest, Bennett Prosser, but to also understand how epic studio films and music heavy movies all function to transport audiences alongside …

The race to the 97th Academy Awards has officially begun! Nick and Sophia are excited to discuss all of their reactions, ecstatic and mournful, to the Oscar nominees being announced a few days ago. Listen to hear about all of the Best Picture nominees, the most nominated films and what records they’ve set, and of course the many surprises and snubs…

It’s nearly time to find out the nominees for the 97th Academy Awards! Sophia and Nick have done plenty of deliberating, and even though it may not be over until they hear the nominees, it’s time to share their picks and their complex reasoning. Enjoy predictions in all 20 feature categories, including plenty of alternates that could spoil or surpr…

There’s no better way to celebrate a new year than by perusing a fresh slate of movies that is sure to dazzle and shock us. Nick and Sophia are back and excited to share 75 new releases coming throughout the year, and they’re positive there’s something for everyone! First, they recap the Golden Globes from this past weekend where Emilia Perez came …

There’s no better way to look forward to an exciting new year and a fresh slate of movies than by sharing the best of 2024. In typical fashion, Sophia and Nick start by going through their Letterboxd Wrapped to highlight how many movies they watched, which actors and directors they watched most, and some other fun stats. Then, they use a bunch of v…

There’s something for everyone this episode as Nick and Sophia dive into three of the last and most exciting releases of 2024: Babygirl (12:45), A Complete Unknown (31:04), and Nosferatu (51:09). But before they opine and share a spoiler-free review of each film, they start with an update on the ten Oscar shortlists and what this could foreshadow w…

There’s nothing more idyllic than waking up Christmas morning and finding everything outside dusted with a glistening layer of snow. Or so the song goes. That isn’t quite the case traveling with the performing duos Wallace & Davis and the Haynes Sisters during their misadventures in White Christmas. Listen as Sophia and Nick celebrate the movie’s 7…

Nick and Sophia welcome back returning guest and Best Original Song category extraordinaire, Bennett Prosser, to talk through critics prizes and initial nominations that have kicked off this year’s awards season. They highlight the films that earned the most nominations at the Golden Globes and debate what happened with certain solo nominees. Does …

Stanley Kubrick went all out for what would become his final picture— and it’s nothing like you’d expect. Its subtext descends into Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell then does a U-turn at the corner of Pop Culture and Reality. Christopher Nolan would ask you, “Are you watching closely?” Kubrick assumes the impossible, that the viewer may, like the film’…

Way before Dorothy Gale landed in Oz, The Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t wicked at all! The origin story to The Wizard of Oz is all laid out in this season’s most spectacular book to stage to screen adaptation, Wicked. Nick and Sophia, along with special returning guests Connor and Dylan MacDowell from the DRAMA. podcast start by discussing their …

Sophia and Nick are channeling their Italian heritage this week as they re-enter the Colosseum and prepare for the grand battles in Gladiator II. Enjoy their spoiler-free review of the new release and see how they compare it to the original Gladiator which won 5 Oscars and 12 total nominations. Then, they chat about the film’s Oscar potential and p…

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! That phrase, let alone many, many others, is instantly and universally recognized from the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz. Nick and Sophia are excited to share their in depth discussion of this inspirational gem and shocking facts from its production, how the Emerald City has fascinated (and scared) them since the…

Sophia and Nick return for an historic episode to discuss the director with the most Oscar wins and the first to win consecutively: John Ford. Revered by many filmmakers throughout history and known for his Westerns, Ford blazed a trail that also showcased his Irish background, his actors- many of whom also won Oscars- and the fractured American Dr…

“The secret lies with Charlotte.” So begins an unforgettable treasure hunt to some of America’s most historic monuments and beyond. This week, Nick and Sophia join Nicolas Cage and his motley crew in their search for gold in National Treasure. This adventure has remained a staple for them after all these years, so listen to find out why it’s one of…

Sophia and Nick are excited to celebrate Halloween with their devilish review of The Omen. They share their thoughts on both the recent prequel, The First Omen, and the original classic along with exalting its winning performance at the Academy Awards. (They promise there’s no chanting of “Ave Satani.”) Listen to find out their favorite scenes, per…

The second half of this year’s New York Film Festival brought other previous festival favorites, like the Sundance hit A Real Pain, featuring Kieran Culkin and writer-director Jesse Eisenberg, and highly-anticipated auteur releases, like Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, and Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door. Nick and Sophia den…

Audiences have been flooding Lincoln Center for this year’s exciting 62nd edition of the New York Film Festival and Sophia and Nick are here to highlight its exceptional first week. They begin with reactions to some hits and award winners from Cannes and Telluride, like The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Emilia Pérez, Maria, and Nickel Boys. Then, they sh…

“Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? Younger, more beautiful, more perfect.” This simple, yet expansive idea frames the timely new release, The Substance, a hyper-stylized modern fairy tale that heavily satirizes Hollywood and the beauty industry. Nick and Sophia thoroughly break down this wildly thrilling body horror award winner…

Now that all of the Big Five film festivals (Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, and Venice) have ended and handed out their awards, it’s time for Sophia and Nick to recap how their premieres will influence the rest of awards season. Listen as they discuss initial reactions from Venice, Telluride (18:31), and TIFF (37:21), and preview some releases …

Even though the yearly transition from the dog days of summer into sweater weather always feels too abrupt, it also means that there’s an exciting crop of new releases on its way! To talk about over 40 of these movies headed to the big screen and on streaming, Nick and Sophia are joined by Benjamin VanHoose, @People’s Associate Editor, Movies. List…

Sophia and Nick are looking back on 1974 once more, this time to a wonderful comedy double feature: both Oscar nominees and both made by the same director! Here’s to Mel Brooks’ odd couple, the unforgettable Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein (22:09). Listen as they uncover behind the scenes facts and share their favorite quotes and scenes alik…

Fall festivals are about to begin which means it’s time for Oscar Wild’s biggest episode of the year! Nick and Sophia are excited to invite back eight extraordinary guests to compete in their fifth Awards Season Fantasy Draft: All-Stars Edition. Part competition, part movie madness, the draft showcases what they believe to be the biggest players th…

The movie at the heart of this week’s episode deeply embodies the passion behind Oscar Wild’s favorite mini-game, Smash or Pass. Men can be unreliable, deceitful, temperamental, or just plain old rude. But at the end of the day, they can also be charming, hot, upstanding, and in endless supply, and I know, my toast is burning. Sophia and Nick rewin…

“Her web connects them all.” Nick and Sophia are back to answer some fun listener questions! Find out about their favorite (and worst) theatrical experiences, which Oscar winners they would form an alliance with on Survivor, awards potential for multiple upcoming releases, how they would reallocate Meryl Streep’s wins, and many more! Comment below …

“I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody.” Sophia and Nick are back to discuss another Best Picture-winning classic, On the Waterfront, which is also celebrating its 70th anniversary. Marlon Brando’s career-defining performance earned him his first Oscar and one of eight for the film. Listen as they talk about the film’s other wins and if…

Thirty-nine light-years from Earth, crew members aboard the cargo ship Nostromo take one small step onto an unknown planet, leading to an endless number of giant disasters for mankind. So begins the interstellar saga that sends its heroine, Ellen Ripley, to hell and back, with corporate-fueled alien adventures continuing to this day. It’s no wonder…

“I’ve gotta go Julia, we’ve got cows.” Well, there might not be flying cows in this unconventional sequel to the original 1996 disaster movie, but there's enough daredevil tornado wrangling to last a lifetime. Give your best "Yee Haw" and saddle up as Sophia and Nick entertainingly review Twisters side-by-side with Twister. They marvel at Glen Powe…

Greta Gerwig was right: maybe going back to the beginning after some time really does put everything into perspective. Whether it’s the dawn of time in Barbie or a star-defining role that solidified Ryan Gosling’s fame in The Notebook, there’s no denying that that early spark set Hollywood on fire. And for Rachel McAdams, too, who so effortlessly m…

There’s no drought of horror movies this year, and we’re only getting started! Great news for ghoulish fans of the genre, like Sophia and Nick, who discuss three recent releases that are sure to give you nightmares for weeks…or will they? Listen as they talk through- spoiler-free of course- the prequel A Quiet Place: Day One, Ti West’s trilogy clos…

This episode serves as a perfect example of this season’s theme, They Didn’t Win For That?! Or even better (however you look at it), how ludicrous it was that Donald Sutherland was never nominated, let alone for his challenging performance in Ordinary People. So Nick and Sophia are here to break down the film and get to the bottom of why the Academ…

Trailers for fall and winter movies are slowly appearing, which means it’s time for one of our favorite episodes of the year: sharing our Oscar predictions for the ceremony that is over 8 months away. Listen as Sophia and Nick debate who and what they think could take home the gold this coming awards season in all four acting categories, Director (…

“Commonality of experience” brought people back to the cinema in droves to experience Riley’s expanding, pubescent world in Inside Out 2. There’s no one better nor happier to celebrate Pixar’s continued success than returning guest and friend of the pod, Ryan Lamb. He breaks down the film with Nick and Sophia as they all share their various opinion…

It’s time to stick it to the man in this high voltage episode all about Richard Linklater’s School of Rock. Sophia and Nick have loved this classic for over 20 years and they’re here to share all of their favorite scenes and quotes including how this special film has transformed through rewatches over the years. Today’s assignment: answering fun li…

Leave it to Richard Linklater, one of our greatest and most meditative filmmakers, to team up with Glen Powell, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars (who also writes!), and create one of the best movies of the summer! Based on a true story, Hit Man embodies as many genres- romcom, thriller, noir- as Powell does personalities as fake hit men: it really …

First, Sophia and Nick review Furiosa, George Miller’s latest adrenaline-fueled film and prequel to his previous masterwork, Mad Max: Fury Road. They debate if parallels between the two films work or not, including structure, visual effects, and performances, before predicting how it may do at next year’s Oscars. Then, they travel to La Croisette a…

Nick and Sophia are excited to share this MEGA episode discussing nearly 50 movies released so far this year. They include everything from pre-Oscars releases like Madame Web and Mean Girls to biopics like Back to Black, and horror flicks like Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil. Then, they recap festival releases (32:44), including those from…

1999 brought audiences a remarkable number of unforgettable films, like: The Matrix, The Virgin Suicides, 10 Things I Hate About You, Eyes Wide Shut, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Magnolia, The Mummy— the list is nearly endless. Some were appreciated by the Academy while some were forgotten, but one movie did impress both voters and viewers alike: Ameri…

Challengers isn’t just the hottest movie of the year, it’s a game changer when it comes to coming-of-age stories, exciting sports films, and dramas of the love triangle variety. Nick and Sophia are buzzing with excitement, ready to break down Luca Guadagnino’s latest and discuss how he creates another tantalizing universe full of electricity. In th…