Oscar Poker Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Jeff Wells and Sasha Stone for a quickie chat about recent events. What happens when someone’s career ends overnight after a hit piece in a Hollywood trade? Tune in to find out.

The free version of the first half of Misfits #6 is also at www.hollywood-elsewhere.com.

Does Anyone Remember Diane English’s “The Women”?

The ensemble farce about wealthy, ambitious women was released in 2008 (i.e., over 15 years ago), and truly represents a world that no longer exists. Sasha explains how it all changed while Jeff (who watched this remake of George Cukor’s 1939 original last night) patiently takes it all in.

Will Emma Stone…

Developing Award Trends, Forecasts (NSFC, Golden Globes)

National Society of Film Critics Calls. The N.Y. Times vs. Taylor Swift. I’m a Cannibal, You’re a Cannibal. Random Golden Globe Predictions. What is life without a little suspense?

NY Times story on Taylor

Taylor Swift playing All Too Well

The Beatles’ I Want to Hold Your Hand

Past Lives trailer:

Society of the Snow trailer:

Paul Schrader on the witness stand — should he give a damn about cultural appropriation? And should he man up about his “Flower Moon” diss?

Plus what’s up with the curious but apparently undeniable rejection of “Maestro” on the message boards?

And will the advancing Macedonian army of Paul Giamatti take the city of Alexandria? And is there a stronger consensus out there for any contender other than “Oppenheimer”?

Subjects covered:

Paul Schrader’s reluctance to direct a script he wrote about three black brothers.

Paul Schrader’s comments on Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

What happened with Maestro?

Radical Chic by Tom Wolfe

What would David Carr’s fate be now?

2022 Oscar year and why the same patterns play out.

Oppenheimer as the frontrunner - can it win?

Even though Oscar Poker had been moribund for two weekends / sidelined by tech issues and whatnot, it was time to record again, and so  Jeff and Sasha went to own on a rainy Sunday afternoon and went to tow. All hail Adam Carolla’s spot-on analysis about sports vs. award season and politics.

Points hit:

How the Oscars lost their brand.Adam Corolla and Rob Schneider on the Oscars.Leave the World Behind - a movie produced by the Obamas and whether or not that creatively healthy.

Having freedom of mind as opposed to being “in the bubble.”Complimenting Jeff for not being an Oscar whore.Jeff’s ongoing annoyance with Lily Gladstone and Barry Keoghan.The Best Picture standouts, according to Jeff — Poor Things, Maestro, The HoldoversThe Boys in the Boat is an “old-fashioned” movie.The return of “traditionalism” with Barbenheimer.

The 4K Titanic Blu-ray is great.Was Joan Baez molested? What is she trying to say?Therapy is ruining everything.How erasing boundaries led to helicotper parenting in the 90s, which led to “safetyism.”Why is Todd Haynes’ May December so successful with critics?

The first 30 minutes are free, the rest is behind the paywall. All proceeds go to keeping Hollywood-Elsewhere afloat.

Jeff and Sasha actually converse within the same time zone! (Sasha is in Lakewood, Ohio — a flush lakeside suburb of Cleveland — while Jeff is in the equally flush Wilton.) The most staggering moment comes when Sasha predicts that “Barb…

It’s a podcast on the fly, with Jeff on his phone and Sasha in a hotel room in Nebraska.

—Jeff continues to grapple with Lily Gladstone and her frontrunner status.

—Was Poor Things too much sex that it obliterates any deeper meaning? How does it compare to Barbie?

—Is the “woke” thing forever? Is it our new normal?

—The Holdovers is an unusual film in its depiction of a strong male role model for wayward boys.

—The reactions to the Color Purple, Jeff finally will be seeing American Fiction.

—The Oscars don’t decide quality. They never have.

—Jeff on Napoleon and why didn’t they case someone short?

No timecode this week.

Please think about becoming a paying subscriber, then you will get all episodes for the month. This is a free episode.

Here’s the Barbie scene referenced:

/end

This podcast will offer a free excerpt for the first 30 minutes. The rest is behind the paywall.

Jeff and Sasha again settle into the reality of things.  Alas, the topics aren’t coming to mind, but please be patient.  Most of our chat is paywalled, but you know how that goes.  We definitely discussed Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor contender, and…

Jeff and Sasha recap some of his 11.3 “Maestro” screening, a turn-on event, which also included the Incredible Weeping Guy plus the (hopefully temporary) loss of his elephant-hide wallet. Plus “Anatomy of a Fall”, Best Supporting Actress contenders, a fight with an old friend…We chatter a bit about politics, then move on to whether or not the identity-focused politics of Hollywood has ruined storytelling.

0:00:00 - Jeff’s fight with his childhood friend over politics. 0:13:00 - Politics stuff — Israel/Hamas briefly.0:14:00 - Jeff’s cat meows. 016:00 - Joe Biden and Dean Phillips0:18:00 - Trump Derangement Syndrome0:26:18 - Jeff on Maestro0:28:00 - A Star is Born0:36:00 - Nyad0:39:00 - Grading on a curve0:40:00 - Jeff’s friend openly weeping during Maestro0:43:00 - Why storytelling matters0:44:00 - The Holdovers - Alexander Payne’s film about kids left over at boarding school over Christmas0:48:00 - The Taste of Things - a French film starring Juliette Binoche.0:48:47 - Jeff’s friend “gasping and weeping” - what makes us cry in movies. 0:56:20 - May December - Todd Haynes’ film starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore1:00 - Anatomy of a Fall - a French movie starring Sandra Huller about whether or not she murdered her husband. 1:20 - Most searched sex positions in New York Post1:21 - Sasha’s road trip to Ohio for Thanksgiving.1:22 - Best Actress is heating up.1:30 - Sex in Anatomy of a Fall?1:33 - Supporting Actress - Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers, Penelope Cruz for Ferarri, etc. 1:33 - Outro