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 all come down to this. Pencils down, the music has stopped, find a chair, etc. The Academy Awards are a mere two days away and we’re entering Oscar weekend. Before you know it, it’ll all be a memory. So let’s see what’s on the docket today…

Well, just one thing, as it happens: OSCAR PREDICTIONS. Anne and I run through each of the 24 categories and make our final(ish) calls. My in-stone picks will be revealed in a column later this afternoon, so if anything changes from this podcast, you’ll know then.

That kicks off with an in-depth discussion of the Best Documentary Feature category, which is one of many we agree on this year..

Which ones do we not agree on? Just four: Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Editing. And if I make a couple of potential changes, that could be upped by one to five.

And that’s that. Have a listen to the new podcast below and listen to our final calls. 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.

“The Final Countdown” courtesy of Europe and Epic.

“I Stay Away” courtesy of Alice in Chains and Columbia.