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.

Today I’m in snowy Park City, Utah for the 28th annual Sundance Film Festival and Anne is back home in Los Angeles (though on her way to the fest herself). But while next year’s crop of potential awards contenders takes a bow here, the week saw plenty of news relating to the current awards season. So let’s see what’s on the docket today…

First and foremost, speaking of Sundance, Anne has been vocal about studio pick-ups from last year’s fest missing out on the Oscar season this year. We talk about that a bit and a little about this year’s festival films.

Last weekend brought a busy couple of days full of parties leading into Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards. We reflect on those awards and the various celebrations that night.

One of last weekend’s parties was the annual pre-BAFTA nods tea party. The nominations themselves, though, dropped earlier in the week, reflecting some strength amongst that crowd (which has cross-over AMPAS membership) for certain contenders. We discuss.

Suddenly this leads to a discussion of “The Descendants,” which I’m struggling with more and more as it succeeds throughout the season. Anne, naturally, remains in the tank for it.

Also scattered throughout the week were a few industry/guild nomination announcements. The editors, sound mixers and costume designers all spoke up, reflect strength here, weakness there.

And finally, reader questions. We address queries regarding how this year’s Oscar slate is likely to be viewed in the future, what chance Michael Shannon might have to pop up and the odds of “A Separation” getting a major nomination or two.

Have a listen to the new podcast below, with Led Zeppelin 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.

“Immigrant Song” courtesy of Led Zepplin and Atlantic.
“Shake It Out” courtesy of Florence + the Machine and Universal Island.