Oscar Podcast #77: Discussing the Oscar Shortlists with guest Will Mavity
The Oscar shortlists dropped earlier this week in nine categories: Original Score, Original Song, Makeup and Hairstyling, Visual Effects, Documentary Feature, International Feature Film, Documentary Short Subject, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film.
On this podcast, my guest Will Mavity of Next Best Picture and discuss the first six of those shortlists, identifying the biggest surprises and the biggest snubs but also the bigger picture (and potential) what it means for a film like Parasite to get into Original Song or 1917 to make the cut in both Visual Effects and Makeup & Hairstyling. We also give our predictions in each category.
This podcast is sponsored by Amazon Studios and their films Les Misérables, which made the Oscar shortlist for International Feature Film and One Child Nation, which made the shortlist for Documentary Feature.
This podcast runs 1h 32m with music.
Opening: “Modern Fashion” by AShamaluevMusic
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), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) 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.
- 2026 Cannes Film Festival Winners: Cristian Mingiu’s ‘Fjord’ Takes the Palme, Seventh Win in a Row for NEON - May 23, 2026
- Cannes 2026: Sandra Wollner’s ‘Everytime’ Wins Un Certain Regard Grand Prize - May 22, 2026
- ‘Coward’ Review: Belgian Soldiers Find Love in Lukas Dhont’s Hidden Romance Masterpiece [A] Cannes - May 21, 2026
AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 345: Recapping the 79th Cannes Film Festival and Looking to the Awards Future 
‘The Beloved’ Review: Javier Bardem Makes a Meal Out of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Movie-Making Buffet [B] 
‘The Dreamed Adventure’ Review: Valeska Grisebach’s Observant Thriller Examines the Grey Zones of Morality [B+] 
‘Minotaur’ Review: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Timeless, Domestic Epic is an Unflinching Look at Putin’s Russia [A] Cannes