Welcome to Oscar Talk.

In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

It’s been a busy, busy week on the awards circuit, and it was a busy Tuesday in particular. Awards shows, screenings, nominations announcements and the first critics awards of the season were all thrown into the mix. Let’s see what’s on the docket today…

The Gotham Awards happened Sunday night and the Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced Tuesday. We talk a bit about how the indie field played out there.

Also dropping Tuesday was the New York Film Critics Circle’s announcement of year-end superlatives. We chew on a few of those as well.

Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought a Zoo” sneaked int heaters across the country last weekend and we both happened to catch screenings. We give our takes on the film, which doesn’t seem primed to be an Oscar contender, but is nevertheless a heartfelt endeavor.

Is anything in trouble? Anne seems to think “Midnight in Paris” is. I talk a bit about a potential resurgence for “The Ides of March.” We kind of just mull over where we are in the season after these announcements.

And finally, reader questions. We answer queries regarding the fate of Leonardo DiCaprio this season, the security of “The Help” and the FYC battle being waged on behalf of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”

Have a listen to the new podcast below with a little Crowe-inspired Dylan leading the way. If the file cuts off for you at any time, try the back-up download link at the bottom of this post. And as always, remember to subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

“Buckets of Rain” courtesy of Bob Dylan and Columbia Records.
“Hunger Strike” courtesy of Temple of the Dog and A&M Records.