The Way Too Early Oscar Podcast: Best Director and Best Documentary

You can listen to The Way Too Early Oscar Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, and Google Podcasts.

Don’t forget to check out our other podcast: And The Winner Still Is… a retrospective Oscar podcast hosted by Marisa Carpico (Film Editor at ThePopBreak.com) and Matt Taylor.

It’s a two-episode day! In the first, Matt and Marisa break down the Best Documentary Feature category—which unfortunately includes a blind spot for them both. Then, they discuss the Best Director lineup—allowing for more chances to praise West Side Story, debate about The Power of the Dog, and discuss which snubs stung the most.

This year, the nominees for Best Documentary are Flee, Ascension, Attica, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), and Writing with Fire.

The nominees for Best Director are Kenneth Branagh (for Belfast), Paul Thomas Anderson (for Licorice Pizza), Jane Campion (for The Power of the Dog), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (for Drive My Car) and Steven Spielberg (for West Side Story).

Check back tomorrow for our Actor showcase episode.

Don’t forget to check out these previous episodes:

Best Live Action Short and Best Documentary Short: Hosts Marisa Carpico (Film Editor at ThePopBreak.com) and Matt Taylor discuss two of the shorts categories. These are a depressing bunch of nominees, but there are some real gems to be found.

Best Cinematography, Production Design, and Editing: Hosts Marisa Carpico (Film Editor at ThePopBreak.com) and Matt Taylor discuss the categories they care about, even if the Academy doesn’t! Topics include the stage-y sets in The Tragedy of Macbeth, the craftsmanship behind King Richard, and the mind-blowing experience of seeing Dune on the biggest screen possible.

Best Sound and Best Visual Effects: Hosts Marisa Carpico and Matt Taylor discuss some of the year’s highest grossing films thanks to these technical categories. Marisa talks about the face-melting sound of No Time to Die and they’re both forced to finally acknowledge Spider-Man: No Way Home.