Between Screenings
Between Screenings is a film podcast hosted by Neil Jeram-Croft and Tom Percival — two critics who live for cinema and the conversations it sparks.
Each episode dives into what’s new on screens big and small — from festival discoveries and arthouse standouts to the biggest blockbusters and hidden gems. Expect honest reviews, spirited debates, insider perspectives from the festival circuit, and the kind of film chat that usually happens in the lobby, between screenings.
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Between Screenings
Final Oscar Predictions and More Manchester Film Festival Build Up
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Join Neil Jeram-Croft and Tom Percival as they discuss recent films, industry trends, and upcoming film festivals. They share candid reviews, Oscar predictions, and insights into the film industry, making this episode a must-listen for cinephiles.
Hi, and welcome back to Between Screenings. I'm joined again by Tom Percival for all your film chat. Today we're going to be talking about the things we've seen recently. We'll do a bit more of a preview of the Manchester Film Festival, and we're going to make our Oscar predictions, aren't we, Tom? We are indeed, Neil. I feel like we've been talking about Oscar predictions for like the last three months.
SPEAKER_00To be honest, I find it all very tedious. Like, I feel like I hate, I know we're going to talk a little bit about uh Timmy Chalamet, but I think his old school put out an Instagram post this weekend saying that ranking art is by itself inherently stupid. And I do dislike the notion that there is a best or worst film. And I just think it's all it's all people want to talk about. Like, um, there's a film that I saw this week, and as I was leaving the screening room, the immediate conversation among critics was, oh, well, it's probably too early for it to be a best picture contender. And you're like, why does that matter? Like, this film should exist as a piece of art on its own merit. Why do we care? And I realize I'm an outlier in dis not giving a shit about the Oscars, but I just don't. And aside from occasionally putting eyes on a film that otherwise people wouldn't see, like Parasite, I'm just not that arsed. I'll be honest with you. I'm just don't care.
SPEAKER_02No, I think, like you say, we we watch a lot of films, and we've probably seen most, if not all, of the best picture nominees and kind of make sure we do because we want to watch good films, not because we want to rank the Oscar movies and have a say in the conversation necessarily. Um, I think the conversations around it's maybe too early is uh is it? Sinners came out at the end of March, April last year, and that's uh in the conversations. I think, you know, yes, there is a strategic corridor that people try and release in, but if your film's a banger, your film's a banger.
SPEAKER_00Completely agree. Um again, when we talk when we go through what we've seen, I'll talk a little bit more about the Sinners comparison with this movie because it was giving me those vibes.
SPEAKER_02Right, okay. Um, so why get let's get into it, Tom. What have you seen since we last chatted?
SPEAKER_00So I've seen two movies since we last chatted. I've seen Scream Seven, I can do this review super quickly. Bag of shit. Uh genuinely one of the most disappointing things I've seen this year. But did quite well at the box office. Did very well at the box office because essentially, you know, people 7 million quid to get Neve Campbell back? Yeah, basically, you know. Um, and I mean, I'm not gonna lie, when I saw this film, the killer took off the mask, and my mate, who was sat next to me, turned to me and went, Who's that? Um, it's just it isn't what you want in a slasher movie. It's it's just clunky, like it's everything people, everything you think the scream reboot was gonna be. That's what this movie is. Just like lazy cliches, uh, it's boring, doesn't make a lot of sense, just terrible. And like I'll say this, what really annoys me about it is the kills in it are actually quite good in a way. And that means that every but that just means everything around it irritates me more because it's like, oh, so you put in, you know, you did try a little bit, but then you just couldn't be asked to finish it. It's like a student who you know is good, you know, is smart, but then is constantly getting C's in their homework, and you as a teacher just get irritated with them. I don't know why I'm using a teacher metaphor. I have never been a teacher in my life. Maybe I'm appealing to you, Neil. Uh, but it just maybe piss pissed me off. Piss me off to be blunt.
SPEAKER_02Um I hope the other film you saw was better then.
SPEAKER_00It certainly was because I saw Project Hail Mary, uh, the new Ryan Gosling sci-fi film, where, and I'm careful to avoid spoilers, even though the trailer literally gives away the big reveal of the movie, uh, the sun is dying, and he goes on a mission into space to save Earth, basically. I this is my favorite film of the year and seems likely to stay in my top 10, barring disaster. I've seen a lot of people selling online. I mean, it's done its Rotten Tomato score came out today. I think it's currently sat on 94%. Um, so you know, done really well with critics. I've seen some people say it's a bit cloying, it's a bit too overly um optimistic. I don't care. I really needed it. It's uh one of those sci-fi movies where yes, there is peril, but you never think for a second that these people aren't gonna get out of it. But it doesn't matter because you enjoy their company so much. I was moved to tears at points, I was thrilled at points, I had a fantastic time with it. It reminded, as I said, as I say, this is the movie that as I left, people were like, oh my god, that was incredible. It's a shame it's come out so early because it's gonna get forgotten in the best picture race next year. I don't think it would ever have a chance because sci-fi is not one of the genres that people particularly enjoy. But people were comparing it to Sinners in terms of you have a big populist movie that would, in theory, get some awards attention. Like it feels like it has that sort of gravitas to it, if you know what I mean. Maybe not to the extent that Sinners does, because obviously Sinners made by Ryan Kugler, starring Michael B. Jordan, their names have been in contention for awards for a while. But it felt to me like it's one of those movies that you just as soon as you're out of it, you're like, that is a DVD bug. That's going on the shelf, you know, like it needs to be owned. I absolutely loved it. I thought Ryan Gosling was amazing in it, especially because he's essentially playing off himself for the majority of the film. Um, if you can see this, I would say see this in IMAX, the biggest screen possible, and you'll have a fantastic time. Um, I also, for those people who've read the book, had someone who had read the book, sat next to me, and they spent the walk to the tube station after the film telling me how close it was to the book and how impressed they were that they'd managed to honour the uh the spirit of the book so much. It's by the guy who wrote The Martian. Um so it's got a lot in common with that. But it I I adored this movie, and I think Neil, you're gonna love it.
SPEAKER_02It sounds right up my street, so I can't wait to see it. Um so I've seen two sort of contrasting films since we last um saw each other, neither of them particularly cheery. Uh I saw If I had legs, I'd kick you. Uh starring Ros Byrne. Um she's Oscar nominated for Best Actress for it. And she, you know, she turns into stellar performance.
SPEAKER_00It's I've seen it, by the way. So I know exactly what yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean it's the sort of film it is the sort of film that it's her close-up for pretty much the whole two hours runtime, which didn't need to be two hours. I mean, if I was gonna do anything with this film, I'd cut half an hour out of it. Uh I thought her performance was really good. It is not a fun watch. It is hard, it is stressful, it is frustrating, which is meant to be, you know, I could get that. Um, not seeing the kid, you're sort of like, is this what's wrong with like it? There's a bit of an uncanny valley sort of thing. Like, is she just spiraling and going mad? Like, is this postpartum depression, or is she actually just dealing with everyone around her just letting her down? Um because it seems like everyone around her, all the men around her, are just letting her down. Um so yeah, I I came out of it and I didn't really know what I was meant to take away from it, I think was the difficult bit. I was like, what am I meant to think about this afterwards? So it's one of those ones where I I then spent some time reading about it online and things. I didn't really, no one really had a particularly good answer of what I was meant to take away from it. There were bits that just really frustrated me. Like there was a there's there's bits at the end where her husband comes back and suddenly is renovating the house in the middle of the night. And I'm like, but I don't know any builders who'd work in the middle of the night all of a sudden. Like, none of this makes any sense. But is this meant to be so is this meant to be like a figment of her imagination, or isn't it? I uh she was great, the film wasn't, I didn't think.
SPEAKER_00I I I I think the film is meant to be a little those moments are meant to make you question, what are we seeing here? Because you know, she keeps looking into the hole in the ceiling and there's what's what's up there, those types of things. I do agree, it's a film anchored by a great performance that otherwise I don't necessarily think people would be that interested in.
SPEAKER_02I mean, it's kind of a horror film. I kind of I think I wish I wish it had done more of a horror turn in the the third act. I wish it had gone full on, like when the guy falls through the hole in the ceiling and stuff. Um, and she's you know, the bit where she's there are spoilers here, so please, if you haven't seen the film and you really want to watch it, uh don't. But there's a bit where she's pulling the tube out. Um like those are sort of slightly body horror y bits, and there's I I think I wish it had just gone a bit more mad at the end, because I think that kind of would have been more fun, a bit more leaned into the horror. Um But it it's a it's not a bad film. Uh it's not something I'll ever watch again because it's a bit too much. Um I'm kind of glad I saw it. Her performance, like you say, is great, but I don't think she'll be winning a best actress for it, because I think Jessie Buckley has got that sonar just to make Jesus chat in.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, aside from the fact that Jessie Buckley tried to self-sabotage by telling everyone she hates cats and then had to come out and explain that she doesn't hate cats, and because there's some major damage control going on there.
SPEAKER_02You can't even say you just dislike cats nowadays, because it might affect your Oscar's chances. That's mad.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you can't you can't say anything. You can't say you hate the ballet, you can't say opera's boring. Anything like that will ruin your chances.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well let's quickly talk about the Chameley stuff then. I mean, I kind of get where he was coming from. I think the first the the th the silly thing he said was that that's the reason he's not doing those things, rather than maybe that he couldn't, because he doesn't have the talent or the determination to be a ballet dancer or an opera singer. But I think his general point of they are not something that the general population are interested in is kind of valid. Like it's they're not. They're niche. It is. But they don't diminish them as art forms, but they are more niche.
SPEAKER_03No, I completely agree.
SPEAKER_00And I think it speaks to I think that this that the reason why this has caught on with people to quite the extent it has is that there has been a lot of talk about the arrogance that Chalamet is displaying during this year's awards season. And I actually don't see it, to be completely honest. I saw people criticizing him after the screen actors uh the SAG awards, saying like that there was a really arrogant speech. And I didn't really get what people were on about, to be honest, because to me, I thought he was he wasn't comparing himself to the greats, he was saying, I wish these are the people I aspire to be. And I think if it had just been one of if it had if this had been an isolated incident, people probably wouldn't have said anything. But the fact that it happened with this increasing narrative that Charmele's gone off the deep end and he's smelling his own farts, like that's the type of like it's a narrative that's building, and it this type of thing allows critics to come in and say, oh, he's mad, he's gone mad, he's ranking art. And obviously, what he meant to say is movies have a wider appeal and are watched by more people. Like, that's basic that and that's undeniable. Like, you know, we I have never been to the ballet, I've never been to the opera, but I have I go to the movies three times a week. Do you know what I mean? Like it's it's it's more accessible, that's part of it, but it's more accessible because it's more popular, you know.
SPEAKER_02Um yeah, you don't have to learn anything to go and watch it. You can anyone with with no knowledge can go in and enjoy it. And I think I don't know if that is the case with uh ballet. I've been to the ballet and I I'm not a uh I can massively appreciate the technical ability of the dancers, I can massively appreciate the skill, the the the the years of work that have gone into it and how unbelievable they are as performers. Do I really enjoy watching it for two hours? Sadly, not really, but I kind of feel like is that because I don't know enough? I don't like I'm not I'm not denigrating it in any way because I it I think it's really impressive. I just don't connect with it. Um and I think if he'd maybe framed it slightly differently, it'd have been alright. But it does seem like they're you know rival studios do like to run slight smear campaigns against their competitors for in best actor and best picture races. Uh, and he seems to have been a quite an easy target recently. Um because all you can attack Leonardo DiCaprio for is um all you can attack Leonardo DiCaprio for is his the age of his girlfriends because he doesn't let anyone know anything else about him.
SPEAKER_00Yep, that's very true.
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, I mean every single studio, if they want to pick one of those best actor nominees, Timothy Chameley, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan, or Wagner Mora, if you're picking one of them in 2026 to open your movie and get people in the cinema, I'm picking Timmy.
SPEAKER_00I think that's a very fair thing to say. He's also the you know, he's the easiest, isn't he, to pick up of them, basically. But that's you're right.
SPEAKER_02He's the young upstart, isn't he? So, you know, pick on the young upstart. Yes. Um, what else have you seen this week, Neil? Uh so I've also seen Waste Man, which uh uh follows on from me seeing Animal at the Berlinale, which was a young offender's prison uh drama. This is an adult prison drama. Uh Tom Blythe is in it, and he is great as a sort of not very nice but also nice kind of new prison in prison cellmate of David Johnson. Um so David Johnson's uh suddenly discovers partway through the film that he's he's gonna get out and he can get out, but Tom Blythe's character is very much uh just uh making the most he can of this his situation. So he's dealing drugs in prison, he's making sure he's got everything he needs. He's he's sort of the man the man inside. But then he butts up against the people he's who are already the the main guys. There's a lot of uh general prison drama type stuff happens in it. But it I think there's enough twists in it to keep it interesting. I think uh I I the sort of the runtime absolutely whipped along. The performances were were really, really good. Um I really enjoyed it. I thought it was great. Um, yeah, there was lots of aspects of it I really enjoyed. I liked the I liked the the way it was shot, I thought it was really cool. They sort of mixed in phone footage a lot of the time as well, which made it feel a lot more real. Um I it was a it was a very solid prison drama. But if you don't like prison dramas, don't go and watch it because you won't, you won't.
SPEAKER_00I would expect nothing less basically based on the cast alone. I mean David Johnson, of course, uh festival alumni, because he was in Riley, which opened 2024, did it?
SPEAKER_02I believe yeah, I think 2024.
SPEAKER_00Um although I've been watching industry basically for the last two weeks at night as my going to as my before bed programme. Uh he is very good in the first two seasons of that uh as well.
SPEAKER_02Obviously, also starring Kit Harrington, who will be at the opening night of Manchester Film Festival. You'll be having a chat with him after his film Psychopom.
SPEAKER_00I will indeed. I'm very looking very much looking forward to it. Shall we have a little bit more of a chat about Manchester Film Festival, which is terrifyingly close now, to be completely honest with you, Neil?
SPEAKER_02It is terrifyingly close. It's it's sneaking up on us. I mean, the exciting thing is the we seem to be selling out screenings already, which is nice. So there's a few screenings that have already sold out. Some that you just don't predict. I think we talked about last time that The Last Viking seems to have sold out. Mad Mickelson heist movie, people just going mad for. Um other films that are doing really well. We've got obviously some Manchester stuff that sold out uh uh is screenings at home, so two world premiers of of uh Manchester directors' films. We've got um The Northwest Shorts always sells out, so they're pretty much done. So if you want tickets and you actually want to be able to get into the things you want to see, you need to you need to book now, really, because everything's going everything seems to be selling really well. Like Arukja, the Charlie X film, that's pretty much gone. Um surprising. Yeah, I mean, it would be lovely if Charlie came, but she's not going to. She's a busy lady.
SPEAKER_00I mean, to I'll give you that's fair. I mean, she would have she could have had a great time with us here, you know, at the after party, but I understand she's got busy, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. But no, I mean, yeah, there's so there's loads going on. We've got uh we sold so far, yeah, we're about 10% up on individual ticket sales from uh this point last year, and we're 25% up on pass sales from the entirety of last year. So yeah, we've already sold over 500 passes, and we only sold 400 total last year. Jeez. So you're doing very well. It is all doing very well. Um and I'll be on I was on, I did an interview with BBC Radio BBC Northwest tonight on Monday, so that'll be going out just before the festival, and I'm gonna be on Nick Grimshaw's breakfast show on Six Music on Monday. Oh, yeah, actually. You're gonna meet Grimy. Gonna meet Grimy on the phone.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's pretty cool. Um I mean, I'm quite nervous now because I've normally started watching the films at this point. But a combination uh of you sending them late, yes, I am blaming you, and the my busy social schedule, and the fact that Emily, who's also on the jury with me, has been in LA until late last week means I haven't even started, and I've got 14 movies to watch, I think, for the in-competition stuff. And that doesn't include Q ⁇ A bits and bobs that presumably that I'll have to watch as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm assuming most of those will be QA stuff. I don't think you'll have much more QA stuff than than those.
SPEAKER_00I'd hope so. I'd hope well, I'd hope not. But you know, normally there is always a slightly I wouldn't say rushed screening, but me in a hotel room at 7 a.m. watching a movie that morning for a QA I'm doing that afternoon, um, which is never a way I particularly enjoy watching films, I'll be completely honest with you, but needs must sometimes.
SPEAKER_02These things happen. Um, but not like one of our shorts jurors. One of our shorts jurors, um, I sent all the shorts to them. There was like six hours worth of shorts. Um, and she replied to me and said, I'll get I'll get to these, uh I'll I'll get to these over the weekend. And then she watched them all on a Sunday afternoon.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02I was like, how have you managed that? But fair play to her.
SPEAKER_00I mean it's impressive. I have feature-length films to watch. I've got how God, I don't even want to know.
SPEAKER_02Four more than must be 25 hours at least, I would have thought.
SPEAKER_0025 hours. So in fact, you know what? That's only a day. So it begins soon. Begins soon. Anyway.
SPEAKER_03You can, of course, sit and watch some of them in the cinema top.
SPEAKER_00Which I mean well, because I'm doing the QA's for them, nothing gives me more anxiety than watching a film and writing notes. So I was actually having this conversation with a film critic the other day, which might this may not be of interest to anyone except me and this film critic. But we were watching Wuthering Heights, and they didn't have a notebook. And that the other film critics sat with us did have a notebook, and there was a philosophical debate about whether you are watching the movie properly if you're taking notes. Um and uh there it was a it was a really interesting debate to be in the middle of. Some people were saying, like, no, I feel like you're concentrated concentrating too much on keeping track of what's happening, so you lose track of what's happening, while the other person was saying, Well, I can't remember what happens, you know, like so I write down quotes to trigger memories as I'm watching it. And I was sat in the middle thinking, the reason I don't take notes is because I can't see in the dark, like an idiot. Yeah, so that's the reason I I have I write over myself while I'm doing it, so I don't take notes.
SPEAKER_02Uh talking about Wuthering Heights, my wife saw Wuthering Heights last week. Um she wasn't a big fan.
SPEAKER_00No. Um I can imagine. My sister went to see it the other week, and she similarly was like, Why did you recommend that to me? And I was like, Well, thought you might enjoy it. Turns out I was very wrong.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think she I think she really wanted to enjoy it and she thought visually it was a treat. Yes. But the in terms of the story itself, it was just a bit all over the place and a bit dark.
SPEAKER_00Well, since we've last spoke, I have watched, because I wanted more Withering Heights in my life, I watched the ITV uh serial starring Tom Hardy and his lovely lady wife, whose name I can't remember at the moment, uh, which is far more accurate. To the butt, I am told, and I enjoyed a lot more than I enjoyed the uh Emerald Finnell, Wuthering Heights. I hate to say it. Mainly because Tom Hardy, all I ever hear is the brand voice. So even when he's Heathcliff, all I can hear is this.
SPEAKER_02Yes, that is. I mean, or the Welsh accent he does in Locke. Oh yeah, yeah. Forget his Welsh accent lock. My we're gonna carry on, but my screen has just decided to to turn off.
SPEAKER_03Die? I can still see you. You do look slightly confused. I mean, I feel slightly confused. Yeah, no, it's it's definitely not happy about something.
SPEAKER_02It's because I tried to Google Wuthering Heights, Tom. It went, no, you're not looking at any nonsense about this film.
SPEAKER_00You've spoken about it enough. It's been out for over nearly a month now. Stop talking about it. Uh shall we very quickly go through our Oscar picks then as the ceremony is this Sunday? Um I don't think we should do everything. Best picture. Let's start at the top. Best picture. Should we do what we want to win and what we think we'll win? Both. I want Sinners to win. I do not think it will. I think it's gonna be one battle after another.
SPEAKER_02So I voted for one battle after another at the BAFTAs. Um, so I'm not gonna change my mind and I'm gonna vote again for one battle after another. I must say, I think it is one of the best years for best picture nominees we've had in a long time. Um splitting Sinners one battle after another and Marty Supreme for me was really tough.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, like, I think uh uh with the exception of F1, which we've spoken about at length, which I do still like. Yeah, we still like it, but it's not a best picture movie. I think yeah, I think that if any of those three won, I'd be quite happy, I'll be honest with you. What did you say?
SPEAKER_03Sorry, I just thought I thought you said something.
SPEAKER_00Oh no, I said if any of those three won, I'd be quite happy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Um yes, it uh and I think that's rarer the uh from the last few years. I think there's normally been either one front runner or maybe two way or or sometimes where you're like, really? Is that the best we've got?
SPEAKER_00I mean, we've spoken about this. Coda, a movie we both enjoy, but do not think is a best picture winner.
SPEAKER_02Uh no, it doesn't stand up against the other best picture winners of of the last 20 years. Um okay, uh, best director. Ooh.
SPEAKER_00I mean. I think Josh Safety's out of the bets. I'll be honest with you. I don't think he stands a chance. Um, after some of the recent allegations that have come to light that we I won't mention here. Um, I think that's probably poisoned any chance. I think it's Paul Thomas Anderson, really, isn't it? Like, best one in the world. I'd love it to be Ryan Kugler, but I just I don't see it. I don't know how you feel about it.
SPEAKER_02I think it's Paul Thomas Anderson's time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_02And again, I voted for I voted for I voted for him again in the BAFTAs. Um, so I'll stick with I'll stick with PTA.
SPEAKER_00Fair. What about best supporting actor? So I voted uh Sean Penn. Did you? Yeah. See, I think I think he'll win it. I don't want him to win it because I don't like Sean Penn. Like, I think that's a great performance, but I genuinely dislike the man. So uh I'd love Delroy uh Lindo to win it. Um I don't think he will. I mean basically, I know it's any of this time I'm just picking the Sinners. I'm picking Sinners as well. I was gonna say I was gonna bring that up, Tom. Yeah, I mean, I I think it's probably Sean Penn's uh award to lose. I do wonder if Delroy I um voting closed last week, didn't it? And I do wonder what happened at BAFTA may have influenced some of the voters to give Delroy a moment. I'm not necessarily I think he's he's worthy of it anyway, I genuinely do, but I could see if we're looking at, you know, like how the Academy think about these things, and to be blunt as well, sometimes the the way they seek attention, um you know, I can see a world where they give it to Delroy sort of as a we're making up for what the BAFTAs did, which again, you know, I don't want to get into what the BAFTAs did, but I could see a world where that happened. But I would, if I was betting, I'd say Sean Penn.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I I I would say Sean Penn. I think the BAFTAs thing was tough, wasn't it? I mean, I don't blame I don't blame him for shouting out. Uh uh if you've seen I swear, you understand the condition. I do not understand why someone didn't go and put an arm around them afterwards and explain properly to them what what had happened. Genuinely bizarre. Like because from what I've read, they were kind of just left on their own and no one spoke to them at all, really, after it afterwards. Which seems bad.
SPEAKER_00Uh it seems very confused as well as to obviously uh Alan Cummings made a an apology on stage or he sort of explained what had happened, but I think there's just a huge it BAFTRA fucked up massively, you know, in part um by not explaining ahead of time what was, you know, what had happened, by not apologizing the moment it happened to them directly. Um just, you know, I believe what's his name? Uh is it John Davidson?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Um he said, why was there a microphone put near him? Do you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02I mean, they've claimed that that microphone was just for audio balancing issue, balancing rather than picking up sound.
SPEAKER_00So well, regardless, um, you know, I think the blame here lies with BAFTA and the BBC for not airing it.
SPEAKER_02I mean, BAFTA for not addressing it very well in the room and the BBC for airing it. I mean, and that was someone someone's gone for that, surely.
SPEAKER_00You'd imagine so.
SPEAKER_02I mean, if you watch the Brits, if you watch the Brits, wow, they were quick on the button for muting anything that happened in that show. They were indeed. Um after the watershed, and you can't say S off F. It was mad.
SPEAKER_00Let's go on to Best Supporting Actress. And I do think for once, I'm not voting for Sinners. As much as I love Wonme.
SPEAKER_02I think this is a tough one. I think it'll go to um I think it'll go to one other one battle after another actresses.
SPEAKER_00No. Do you think? I think it's I think it's between One Me and Amy Madigan from weapons.
SPEAKER_02I don't I don't think the Academy will go for uh I don't think the Academy will go for Amy Madigan. Do you not think? I think they're too serious.
SPEAKER_00Are you telling me that that's not serious? Yeah. I just I think this is I think Wonme will win this one. I do, which is why I feel easy to say I want Amy to win, because I don't think she will. But I I yeah, I I think Tiana Taylor. I don't no, I just don't see it. Okay. We're gonna look back on this in a week, aren't we, and be like, wow, we really got that wrong. Who would have thought Alfine?
SPEAKER_03Uh okay, best actor then.
SPEAKER_00So realistically, I think is Leo the favorite again?
SPEAKER_03I don't know.
SPEAKER_00I think we've previously said it was Chameleys to Lose. I thought it was Chalamets to lose, but I just so obviously we were addressing before this what the comments he made about ballet and opera, and he made them after academy voting had stopped. So I you know, so they shouldn't have impacted this at all, to be to be honest. It's just I don't know, I see a world where Leo wins it. I don't want Leo to win it, I want Michael B. Jordan to win it. But I've Michael B. Jordan, I've I was reading a I was reading so um uh something today, and people were saying like Michael B. Jordan's is good in Sinners, but he's better in everything else that he's made, which I don't necessarily agree with, because he was saying he's better in Foot Fruit Vell Station and Creed and Black Panther, which I don't agree with. Um I'd like Michael B. Jordan to win it. I just I I fear it will fall into the it's a horror movie, it's not a serious film type trap that you ful see for Amy. Um and I could see a world in which you know what? I just don't know because everyone in the even uh Wagnamora uh of in The Secret Agent, a movie I didn't really like that much. I could see he's fantastic in it, and I could see a world where he wins. Like this is the I think it's a very, very close category for me. I don't know who will win, to be honest. I could any of them.
SPEAKER_02No, I think that I think that's probably one of the tighter categories in terms of it could be one of three or four of them.
SPEAKER_00Because you could say, right, well, Timmy is the favourite, but then you only need some strategic voting one way or the other, and all of a sudden it opens the field up to Michael, Ethan, Wagner. Um then, you know, and that's how you get something like Coda winning. You know, like none of us saw it coming, and it's because most people put it as their second or third choice that year, and it just stacked up enough votes that way, and Kate's snuck him through the back door. And I I could see a world in which people want to unthrown Timothy, so that lets like Ethan Hawke win, or as I say, Michael.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And I think we've already covered Best Actress. Yeah, it's Jesse Buckley's, isn't it? Like Yeah, I mean, I'll be if it's not, I'll be absolutely blown away. It's definitely though she doesn't like cats.
SPEAKER_00Even though she doesn't like cats and made her husband get rid of his cats before they moved in together. Which she has since denied, we should say. She's since said that didn't happen. But, you know, she's made an enemy of the internet and me. But dogs are better than cats, so that's all we need to do. They're not, Neil. They're not. They are Tom. I do feel that we should very quickly address best animated feature, mainly because I want K-pop demon hunters to win. I'll be surprised if it doesn't. It's not gonna be Elia. Elio, is it? Let's be honest. That's not gonna be Elio. Elio was not good. Elio, no. Uh Zootroph.
SPEAKER_02Zootope Zootopia slash Zootropolis 2. Obviously the highest grossing amongst them, but uh it's not a best, it's not not doing anything, it's not doing anything new, is it?
SPEAKER_01There's a booker.
SPEAKER_02It's I mean, is the other one up for nomination Arco? Yes. Now I've not seen that. And uh maybe could that do a flow and come out of nowhere and uh win the win the award?
SPEAKER_00I feel like I'm this is you know, I'm showing my ignorance here around the animated movies, but I flow I saw everywhere in the build up to you know the in to the Oscars. Uh yes, true. Whereas with Arco, I I I've not heard of it, I'll be honest. Like, I'm sure it's great. Like, I'm sure I'll watch it in a year or so and be like, wow, that actually was better than K-pop Demon Hunter. I just feel that like K-pop Demon Hunter. The Oscars like to be populist at times as much as we say they don't like to be, they like these moments, you know. And K-pop Demon Hunter is arguably, even though Zootopia 2 was bigger, you know, had the biggest box office. That's only because someone at Netflix messed up and didn't put it in cinemas.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I mean, we can't there's no contest for best original song, surely.
SPEAKER_00No, absolutely not. Uh it's golden!
SPEAKER_02Yeah, just in case anyone wasn't aware, there's a song called Golden from K-pop Demon Hunters. Um, yeah, I it it would be mad if that didn't win.
SPEAKER_00No. It's gold golden to to win. Presumably they'll be alive, they'll sing it. I should imagine that's probably already been announced. Shows how much attention I pay to the actual ceremony. Um I hope the ceremony is more interesting than the BAFTA ceremony, because I did think the BAFTA ceremony was pretty dull. I think they're all pretty dull. I think there hasn't been this makes me sound deranged, I am aware. Ever since the Oscar Slap, basically, award ceremonies have felt very tame. Yeah, I just I like it.
SPEAKER_02You know, I I I like Alan Cummings. He's a he's a he's a he's a good actor, I'm sure he's a good host on traitors in America, but I don't think he was the right host. I think you need a stand-up. You think you need someone with a bit of lightness, a bit of comedy, someone who's not going to take it too seriously. Because I think the problem is when these awards things take themselves so, so seriously. I understand it's serious for the industry, and you know, as I when I when I'm casting my votes and and watching the films, I take that very seriously. But the awards itself serious, and whilst we're celebrating the best in the industry, you need a bit of likeness to that as well to appeal to someone watching on the BBC. Oh, that's why I go to the body. Who isn't in the industry?
SPEAKER_00But that's why I'd say having someone like Conan O'Brien, I think he could do a good job. I think he's a very funny guy. I've enjoyed some of the skits that I've seen him filming and putting out on Instagram and TikTok this week. I could see him doing a decent job with it. I wasn't sold on Alan, I'll be honest with you. But that's because I basically I miss David Tannant.
SPEAKER_02I don't I don't think David Tennant was a great present presenter for it. I think you need someone who's going to bring a bit of levity to it. Who can balance that sort of seriousness and levity? Who would you put British wise, I mean not Ricky Gervais, he did a great job at the uh Golden Globes, but I don't think he's the right fit for a BAFTA. Um I think probably a bit too far that way. Get Ant and Deck on there. No, they did the soap awards. Um I think it's it's tough. It's it's tricky, isn't it? You kind of want someone from the world of film. Um I mean Jack Whitehall didn't do a huge horrendous job at the BAFTAs. I thought he was good at the I thought he was good at the Brits. And I think I think he would do the BAFTAs very differently to how he does the Brits. Um, and he is a serious actor. Um, you know, I think someone like him would be a great shout.
SPEAKER_00I mean, he was literally the one I was thinking of. I think he did a good job at the Brits. I think he's got industry, he's got enough industry sort of like hull, you know. He's made Disney movies, he's made, you know, he's he's done loads at this point, he's made documentaries with Netflix, like he's a figure in the industry. Like, I'd certainly I'd pick him over Anton Deck any day of the week.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, or Graham Norton. I don't love Graham Norton to do it, but I just don't think I think Yeah, you know what? He would be good. Like, I was trying to think, like he's but he's is it the same skill set though that he uses in his channel show?
SPEAKER_02No, but he's he's been a present, he's presented before, like it's not outside of his skill set, is it?
SPEAKER_00You're a vision. Yeah, yeah. When he's clearly drunk on a couple, clearly had a glass of wine. I won't say he's drunk because that's libelous, but he's you know, maybe had a wine or two before he starts filming.
SPEAKER_02So I just think so I just think you need a bit more levity to it. I think I'd uh the BAFTAs didn't have any music uh seem to have any music either, or something just to break it up. I think you need something just to lighten it.
SPEAKER_00The The BAFTAs is because I I mean I I used to report on the Oscars back in the day when the ceremony would run for six hours and you'd just be like, end this now. You know. Um but I would say that BAFTA has always been, but well, you know, it's a tight lot. 90 minutes is the actuals, is what we see of the ceremony, of what they actually broadcast. Maybe you could go to two hours and have a musical act or two, do you know, throughout real? Yeah. You don't need the full skits that the academy liked to put in a bell.
SPEAKER_02I don't I don't know about skits. I don't the pre-recorded skits, I think, don't and I think the one at the start of the BAFTAs was excruciating. Okay, that wasn't good. But again, that's not Alan Cummings' fault. Right. I think we probably best leave it there because I think this is uh probably enough award awards chat. And thankfully, um we can we can maybe reference what one next time we talk. But um next time we talk, we might actually be at Manchester Film Festival time. We might record a live pod in person. Oh my god, when I'm there from Thursday. Yeah, after you've interviewed Kit after opening night's been and gone, and um we're all sort of six days, seven days into the 11 days of the festival, having to discuss what's gonna win the awards at our festival.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. And we'll be like, do you think this is how the occurrence? You'll be like saying, we need a skit to break up the awards. We need a musical number.
SPEAKER_02Get them handed out and get to the pub. Agreed. Yeah, I mean, people have asked, are you gonna do a sit-down dinner for it before? Um, and I just I can't think of anything worse. Sit-down, I mean, think how much that would cost. Yeah, well, some film festivals do sit-down dinners and charge the filmmakers like 200 quid a ticket to attend the awards.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, shan't be couldn't wouldn't be made.
SPEAKER_02Sorry, Nero. Uh no, I mean it's not something I would do. I'm not gonna charge filmmakers to have to come to their own awards ceremony. Um, that would be madness. So uh yeah, it's uh we we'll present them in the cinema again this year, and then we'll all go to home to get um merry afterwards and celebrate the the festival as a whole.
SPEAKER_00Lovely stuff.
SPEAKER_02And realistically, we do awards because the filmmakers do like it. Even the ones who don't win like the idea of uh like having the awards. So, you know, it's there for them and it's there to celebrate and give them a platform and a springboard. Because having that Laurel on, the official selection Laurel on is great, but having a I won an award laurel does does help. Um does this a lot. Add gravitas to your film and opens up those doors for those conversations with sales agents and distributors. Everyone wants a buzzer, everyone wants, and it's also a beautiful little trophy to put on your shelf. It is indeed. I've got one myself. Cool, right. Well, we will leave it there, Tom. Uh, fantastic chatting to you as always. Uh, catch us wherever you get your podcasts, and we'll see you next time between screenings. Bye.