A time like now, as fires rage around Los Angeles, makes awards season start to feel just a little more insignificant than, in the grand scheme, it already is. This week, events like the AFI luncheon and Critics Choice Awards ceremony were postponed. So were the Oscar nominations themselves, moved from Friday, January 17 to Sunday, January 19, with voting extended to January 14 to give people extra time to fill in their ballots. Will that matter, and is that what people in Hollywood really care about right now?
These are questions we ask on the latest episode of IndieWire’s “Screen Talk” podcast before diving into a debate and speculation around how a flurry of awards nominations and wins coming in from the past week will impact the Oscars. The Screen Actors Guild Award nominations left out Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. The Directors Guild of America award nominations went for James Mangold and “A Complete Unknown” over an edgier pick like Coralie Fargeat for “The Substance.” But “A Complete Unknown” had a huge showing at the SAGs, not only nominating the ensemble cast but Timothée Chalamet (of course), Edward Norton, and Monica Barbaro. Next up, Chalamet is expected to perform as Bob Dylan on “Saturday Night Live.” That has the potential to be a truly viral pre-Oscar moment.
Plus, this week, “Babygirl” star Kidman and “The Brutalist” lead Adrien Brody had their own viral awards moments at the NBR and NYFCC galas, respectively. Will voters respond to Kidman drinking a glass of milk “to all the babygirls out there” or Brody’s emotional speech in tribute to Los Angeles?
Listen to the episode below or watch in the video above.
Screen Talk is produced by Azwan Badruzaman and available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify, and hosted by Megaphone. Browse previous episodes here, subscribe here, and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk.