3.18-97th Academy Awards Preview-Part 2

3.18-97th Academy Awards Preview-Part 2

Author: Jonathan Ytreberg February 25, 2025 Duration: 30:04

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Today is the second of a five episode preview of the 97th Academy Awards where I will be breaking down each and every category throughout the week. Today I am joined by Enrico Banson from the Director's Notes newsletter to break down Best Animated Feature, Best International Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song. I've listed the nominees below along with a few other films mentioned throughout the episode.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get all the preview episodes this week, and head over to my Substack to submit your guesses for my annual Oscar prediction contest.

The nominees for each category are listed below.

Best Animated Feature:

  • Flow
  • Inside Out 2
  • Memoir of a Snail
  • Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
  • The Wild Robot

Best International Feature:

  • Emilia Pérez (France)
  • Flow (Latvia)
  • The Girl with the Needle (Denmark)
  • I'm Still Here (Brazil)
  • The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)

Best Documentary Feature:

  • Black Box Diaries 
  • No Other Land
  • Porcelain War
  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
  • Sugarcane

Best Original Score:

  • The Brutalist
  • Conclave
  • Emilia Pérez
  • Wicked
  • The Wild Robot

Best Original Song:

  • "El Mal" from Emilia Pérez
  • "The Journey" from The Six Triple Eight
  • "Like a Bird" from Sing Sing 
  • "Mi Camino" from Emilia Pérez 
  • "Never Too Late" from Elton John: Never Too Late 

Other films mentioned in this episode include:

  • "Incident" directed by Bill Morrison
  • 20 Days in Mariupol directed by Mstyslav Chernov
  • The Eternal Memory directed by Maite Alberdi
  • Navalny directed by Daniel Roher
  • Summer of Soul directed by Ahmir-Khalib Thompson
  • My Octopus Teacher directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed
  • Will & Harper directed by Josh Greenbaum
  • Piece by Piece directed by Morgan Neville
  • Flee directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
  • The Remarkable Life of Ibelin directed by Benjamin Ree
  • "The Last Repair Shop" directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
  • The Last Showgirl directed by Gia Coppola
  • Armageddon directed by Michael Bay
  • The Lion King directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
  • Rocket Man directed by Dexter Fletcher
  • Coco directed by Lee Unkrich
  • Encanto directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush
  • Aladdin directed by John Musker and Ron Clements

Other media mentioned in this episode include:

  • "Never My Love" performed by The Association
  • "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Diane Warren, performed by Aerosmith
  • "How Do I Live" by Diane Warren, performed by LeAnn Rimes
  • "Remember Me" by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
  • "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by Lin-Manuel Miranda
  • "Dos Oruguitas" by Lin-Manuel Miranda
  • "A Whole New World" by Alan Menken and

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There's a whole century of stories waiting in the Academy's archives, and The Oscar Project Podcast is digging through every single one. Instead of just focusing on the current awards season, this show takes the long view, working its way through every film ever nominated for an Oscar starting all the way back in 1929. Each episode is a deep dive into a specific year or a particular film, unpacking not just the cinematic craft on screen but the historical context that shaped it. You'll hear about forgotten gems, surprising snubs, and how the art of filmmaking has evolved over decades. Alongside these detailed reviews and discussions, the podcast regularly features conversations with filmmakers, historians, and authors who provide unique insights into the industry's past and present. It’s for anyone who loves film history as much as the movies themselves, offering a structured but fascinating journey through Hollywood's most celebrated-and sometimes controversial-moments. Tune in to this thoughtfully crafted podcast for a richer understanding of how the Oscars have reflected, and sometimes directed, the entire trajectory of modern cinema.
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