Oscar Podcast #17: AFI – Selma Soars, American Sniper Shoots Blanks
Big happenings with some major premieres of Oscar hopefuls at AFI this last week in the form of Selma, American Sniper and A Most Violent Year give the Gold Rush Gang (Richard, Jason and myself, Erik) a lot to talk about in this podcast. We discuss the mixed test screening (attended by a trio of AwardsWatchers) that led to some frantic predictions changes to a complete reversal after its stellar debut at AFI. American Sniper didn’t fare as well and might be out the majors as a result and A Most Violent Year gets the reviews it needed to stay in the race.
We also discuss various tech predictions like Cinematography, Film Editing, Visual Effects and the Sound Categories. Is once frontrunner Interstellar out of the running here? Will a Best Picture frontrunner find itself with a few extra tech noms to pad its total? Can Roger Deakins finally win?
We end with some Independent Spirit Awards talk and predictions. Those are announced on Tuesday the 25th (not the 24th as I keep mentioning in the podcast) and we’ll have a follow-up podcast post-nominations and before the wealth of critics awards start rolling in during the first week of December.
- DiscussingFilm’s Global Film Critics Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Leads with 20 - January 10, 2026
- Pittsburgh Film Critics Association (PFCC) Winners: 9 Wins for ‘Sinners’ - January 9, 2026
- Critics Association of Central Florida (CACF) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Wins 7 - January 9, 2026

DiscussingFilm’s Global Film Critics Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Leads with 20
Pittsburgh Film Critics Association (PFCC) Winners: 9 Wins for ‘Sinners’
Critics Association of Central Florida (CACF) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Wins 7
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 134 – ‘Dick Tracy’ (Warren Beatty, 1990)