While the shortlists receive a good amount of coverage after their announcement, there are three categories that don’t get as much coverage. The short film categories (Animated, Documentary, and Live Action, respectively) are some of the biggest prognosticator blind spots since these films don’t get talked about as much year-round, but you can find articles […]

The post Podcast: A Reaction to the Shorts Shortlist with ShortStick’s Brandon MacMurray appeared first on The Contending.

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of ABC’s Desperate Housewives. To celebrate this anniversary, Clarence Moye and Joey Moser break down each episode of the first and best season. Welcome to the first podcast in Desperate Housewives Revisited, a look back at the Emmy-winning first season of the enormously successful ABC dramedy series. We break down why we’re […]

The post ‘Desperate Housewives’ Revisited: “Pilot” (S1, E1) appeared first on The Contending.

Jonathan Abrams grew up on the potboiler legal thrillers of the 1990s. I’m talking about films such as A Few Good Men or The Firm or The Client or any of the John Grisham or Grisham-esqe adaptations that ruled multiplexes 30 years ago. These are films that have a storied cinematic legacy based in classic films like The […]

The post ‘Juror #2’ Screenwriter Jonathan Abrams On Creating a Character-First Legal Thriller [PODCAST] appeared first on The Contending.

We’re reacting to the recent drop of the 2025 Oscars official shortlists. What films missed out? What performed well? We look at all 10 categories and break things down for you. Then, we talk about what Christmas-adjacent films populate our viewing times this year. We’re not talking It’s A Wonderful Life but more films that might […]

The post Oscars 2025: ‘Twas the Shortlists Before Christmas [PODCAST] appeared first on The Contending.

Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5 is one of those films where their crafts don’t draw attention to themselves. The artisans supporting Fehlbaum’s taut direction and the fantastic ensemble cast so convincingly orient the audience within the world of the 1972 Munich Olympics that one almost takes for granted this isn’t a documentary. Everything from the expert production […]

The post ‘September 5’ Cinematographer Markus Förderer Rose To the Challenge Of Lensing Action Inside a TV Studio [PODCAST] appeared first on The Contending.

Twisters sound mixer Devendra Cleary spent many hot, humid days on location in Oklahoma capturing all aspects of sound for Lee Isaac Chung’s summer blockbuster. The shoot was a fast-paced one, particularly so for a large film. Daily safety briefs came first, but the shoot required extensive planning on how to capture live sounds as […]

The post ‘Twisters’ Sound Mixer Devendra Cleary On Braving the Oklahoma Elements For Sonic Authenticity [PODCAST] appeared first on The Contending.

Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Nickel Boys tells a fictionalized account of two young men — Elwood and Turner — who bond amidst the horrors of the Nickel Academy. The novel was heavily influenced by the real life Dozier School in Florida that operated for 111 years after which dozens of bodies were uncovered in […]

The post ‘Nickel Boys’ Director RaMell Ross On Leveraging the Lyricism Of Imagery To Relay a Lived Experience [PODCAST] appeared first on The Contending.

Joey, Megan, and Clarence are joined by The Contending contributor Mark Johnson to break down the 2025 Golden Globe nominations. Plus, we look at whether or not critics awards matter in the Oscar race and who benefitted most from week one of the critics phase. We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward […]

The post Podcast: 2025 Golden Globe Film, Critics Week Reactions With Mark Johnson appeared first on The Contending.