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.

Welcome to the first podcast of the new year. The holidays and 2011 as a film year are memories and we forge ahead into the rest of the season and whatever 2012 may have to offer. So let’s see what’s on the docket today…

We’ve had a few guild announcements this week, starting with the PGA nominees on Tuesday. We address the guild’s choice of 10 and what that might mean for Oscar.

Next up was yesterday’s WGA announcement, which was somewhat easy to peg down given the list of ineligible scripts. We discuss how that might change or be similar when it comes to what the writing branch of the Academy has to say on the matter.

The DGA announces nominees on Monday, which will keep the guild train rolling. We offer up our predictions on that, which differ in just one area.

Finally, reader questions. We address queries regarding the strong industry showing for “Bridesmaids,” what nomination would make us happiest and what films from 2011 will be more appreciated by critics and film journalists than Academy members.

Have a listen to the new podcast below with something bubbly 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.

“When You’re Smiling” courtesy of Louis Prima and Capitol.
“Big News I” courtesy of Clutch and Eastwest Records.