Last weekend’s Oscar Poker podcast was postponed due to Sasha being under the weather (cough, scratchy voice)….apologies. We recorded the current one (“Suspended Animation”) yesterday. Here’s the link.

Without an agenda or any sense of urgency, Sasha and Jeff acknowledge that there’s nothing to discuss about the Oscars other than the Best Actress situation (i.e., Emma Stone vs. Lily Gladstone) and that nothing will be finally and absolutely known until the SAG Awards on 2.24, which is two and a half weeks hence. (Good God.)

Sasha believes that the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and BAFTA awards are next-to-meaningless and that only when the big guilds are heard from we understand what the real sentiments are.

Sasha also mentions that now is the time for the various campaigners to turn up the heat and also for whisper campaigns, and Jeff asks “who is whispering anything about Gladstone?” because no one (and I mean NO ONE) has whispered a damn word. Because they don’t dare.

Again, the link.

Timecode:

006:20 – Woody Allen’s Coup de Chance will probably open here (at least via streaming) in the US. Does this signal an ebbing in our culture of terror?

011:00 – Shane Gillis and Saturday Night Live. Why do we need comedy in our lives? Why do we need to laugh?

013:40 – What was it like to take drugs? Which drugs? Acid, cocaine, smack, etc.

020:00 – Any surprises in the Oscar race? Is it only Best Actress that has any suspense? Will there be a shock at the DGA or the PGA?

022:00 – How to pull off an Oscar upset.

026:00 – How Kate Winslet won.

027:00 – Lily Gladstone needs a style-sexy photo shoot (i.e., wear a tuxedo) to give her an edge.

029:00 – Glenn Close’s Oscar loss to Olivia Colman.

029:53 – Lauren Bacall losing to Juliette Binoche.

036:00 – The big guilds will decide the Best Picture race.

040:00 – Predicting the Oscar race vs. trying to influence it.

048:00 — Whisper campaigns and how they can derail movies.

053:00 — Why Oppenheimer is a strong contender.

057:00 —The Barbara Film Festival starts now.

PAYWALL

1:00 — The Curse

1:10 – Jeff and Sasha talk about when they first realized they were writers.

1:14 — Sasha’s writing prize at UCLA and first screenplay. Best and worst moments in writing.

1:25 —Jeff’s army days, political C.O. to Vietnam War, getting thrown in the brig for being AWOL.

1:27 — Will the draft ever return?

Extras…