Oscar Podcast #75: Post-TIFF 19 discussion and the awards forecast with Mina Takla
It’s crazy but this is our first Oscar podcast of the 2019/2020 awards season!
With Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Telluride and Toronto behind us the Oscar season prospects are coming into view. Some things that looked strong in spring and now wilting in the fall, while others have emerged as frontrunners.
I am joined (for the first time) by AwardsWatch’s own Mina Takla. Mina hit Cannes and TIFF for AW this year, knocking out over two dozen fantastic reviews and providing a much-needed looking at the non-English language selections that 2019 has to offer.
In this podcast, we begin discussing Mina’s experience at TIFF and the films and performances he liked the best. We end that section talking about the Grolsch People’s Choice winner Jojo Rabbit and its runners-up Marriage Story and Parasite, which propels us into the Oscar conversation.
We cover Best Picture, Best Actor (with a focus on Joaquin Phoenix and Adam Driver), Best Actress (with a focus on Renée Zellweger and Cynthia Erivo), Documentary Feature and dabble in the supporting categories, as well as the historical potential of the Best Director category having more than woman director and/or two Asian directors with Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) and Lulu Wang (The Farewell) both in contention, on our way to closing out with the huge success and awards potential of Hustlers and the potential for Jennifer Lopez.
My apologies in advance for some of the audio. Something’s a bit buggy with my side of the recording (and yes, that clickety-clack is me) lately and I’m still working it out. Thank you for your patience!
This podcast is 1h 17m with music.
Opening: “Over the Rainbow,” from Roadside Attractions’ Judy, sung by Renée Zellweger
Closing: “New York City By Day,” by Thomas Newman from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Desperately Seeking Susan
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2025 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTRESS (November) - November 20, 2024
- ‘Sugarcane,’ ‘Soundtrack to A Coup d’Etat’ Lead 40th IDA Documentary Awards Nominations - November 20, 2024
- AwardsWatch Partners with Vision Media to Revolutionize the Awards Season Experience - November 20, 2024
2025 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTRESS (November) 
‘Sugarcane,’ ‘Soundtrack to A Coup d’Etat’ Lead 40th IDA Documentary Awards Nominations 
AwardsWatch Partners with Vision Media to Revolutionize the Awards Season Experience 
Interview: ‘The Substance’ Special Makeup Effects Designer Pierre-Olivier Persin on Transforming Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley into a Funhouse of Horror and Using 4,000 Gallons of Blood