Mailbag! Plus, What that BAFTAs Moment Means For Sinners

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18:32Rebecca:Welcome back to Little Gold Men. We've got our listener questions here. Chris is our guest, so I'm going to have you kick us off with the first one.

18:39John:Okay, let's do it. All right. First question comes from Nate. My question is about the Dumpster Fire that is the best original song category. It feels like every year there's one or two standouts, and for the rest of the nominees, they're scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill the category. This year is no different. Golden and I Lied to You are fantastic songs, and the other three are just there. What would you propose as a way to fix this category to make it more exciting or less predictable? Since this is one of the oldest awards, in my opinion, it's really fallen on hard times. P.S. What do you think of them not performing all the songs at the ceremony?

19:14John:And do you think Diane Warren's lobbying pushback will ensure they all get time on the stage? It's a good question.

19:21Rebecca:Well, I agree this category is a mess. When Nate says scraping at the bottom of the barrel, I don't think that's the problem, actually. I think that there were other good songs on the shortlist that didn't get nominated. And the last couple of years, I feel like this has happened where there have been songs that I felt like are a lock for getting in. And then they just miss and some song I've never heard from ends up in the group. So we can put the blame on the branch because they are the ones that vote on this. And I don't know if they need to shake up their membership or have some sort of come to Jesus moment about what kind of songs they pick here.

19:57Rebecca:But I agree, Nate, that there's some weird choices going on here.

20:02Chris Murphy:Well, I mean, everyone knows I'm all for them cutting the songs from the show. So they did. They need to change some of the rules. So they have very strict rules in this category about how much of the song was written just for the movie. So if there's any part of the song that was ever developed, say, as just like a regular pop song that then gets ported over into the soundtrack of a film, it becomes ineligible. Or if it's from a musical. Right. I can wrap my head around not nominating Miley Cyrus for the Avatar song, even though she's Miley Cyrus. Because, you know, listen, that song didn't really catch on and it plays over the end credits.

20:51Chris Murphy:Not having Wicked or even the songs from Ann Lee to me feels stranger. now Golden is an example of the merge of both a song that's on the radio and is performed in the movie and that's why it's going to win I mean also because it's a great song and it's the biggest

21:11John:song of the year yeah I mean Diane Warren has campaigned a lot over the years and she's not always successful so I don't think Diane Warren being like please let us play all of our songs is necessarily going to change anything I agree with John I do think a diegetic song that is like in the context of a film, should be weighted more than, you know, Hold My Hand from Top Gun Maverick, which got Lady Gaga an Oscar nomination. Love her to death, but credit songs shouldn't... Well, it's not Chris.

21:35Rebecca:John does not allow any anti-gag. Yeah, there's no lady that's not on the table.

21:40John:It's just gotta speak truth to power then. But no, those songs shouldn't be considered in the same way as they serve a different purpose. But I do think I'm gonna be a little bit of a devil's advocate. I like that they're eclectic, the branch. I like that it's some weird songs that we haven't always heard of, as well as, you know, some of the big puppets because it expands, you know, now I'm Googling songs from movies that I never would have seen, you know, and listening to things that I wouldn't necessarily have heard. Do I think they all need to perform for the same amount of time on the ceremony?

22:11John:Absolutely not. But I think, you know, it is such an important category and it should stay, you know, we shouldn't get rid of the best original song category. I mean, we wouldn't have Shallow without it. There's a little Lady Gaga love for you there, John. Not enough. But yeah, I do think, you know, changing the rules, loosening it a little bit to include some more deserving nominees, which I think I'll say Testament of Van Lee had some great bangers, would be nice.

22:37Rebecca:All right, Chris. I expect you to sing Sweet Dreams of Joy from Viva Verde now that you're so familiar with these random inclusions. Let me warm up a little bit first.

22:47John:And I mean, we've had some great moments with original songs. I mean, recently, think about how much fun I'm just Ken was. It still serves a purpose and went done well. And I think Golden, you know, I'm personally sick of hearing that song after the Olympics and everything. But it's a bop for sure. And a deserved, you know, potential probable winner at that. So, yeah, I wouldn't count out the category just yet, although I think a slight overhaul could be good.

23:14Rebecca:I feel like whenever that is said, sometimes these branches just kind of dig their heels even more into the mud. So we may not see changes coming. But I think it's great that they're just doing a couple of the performances. And I do not think that's going to change despite Diane Warren's lobbying. Okay, I'm going to take on the next one, which is from our listener, Liz. We've been hearing all season about how Jessie Buckley has Best Actress fully locked. The performance was undeniably amazing, and I think she deserves to win. But is there a chance that voters will get bored by how many awards she's won and vote for someone else just to mix it up?

23:51Rebecca:Or on the other hand, might voters pick someone else like Rose Byrne, assuming that enough other people will vote for Jessie Buckley, that it won't actually spoil her chances? Basically, how sure are you that this race is already over?

24:03Chris Murphy:We're absolutely sure.

24:05John:Yeah, I was going to jump in and say we're absolutely sure, but I think I have a reason for this. Let's hear it. I'm a Rose Byrne truther. Love Jesse, but I'm a big Rose Byrne head, gotta say. A truther. True. Love her. I love that movie and that performance. But I think in part, Jesse Buckley has this all sewn up because there's so much confusion in the other awards. I think because we don't really know what's happening in supporting actor and actress and lead actor feels shakier every day, it is kind of nice and it's sort of like nice to have a foundation where people are like, okay, well, Jesse Buckley's got this sewn up in the bag.

24:37John:Like, we're not as focused on that race. We can spend our time sort of delineating and picking and choosing between the other three. So I think she's actually been served by the general confusion in other categories because usually there are like two or three locks. You know, they're multiple. So for this year to only have one lock, that is a locky lock. It is as locked as it can possibly be because there's confusion in other categories.

25:00Chris Murphy:However, I think that this thinking is correct, but not for this category this year. I think it's for Best Actor. I think in Best Actor, Timothy has won everything up until the BAFTAs, which was an oddball. But I do think there is a little stuff going on in people's heads right now about Best Actor and wanting to mix it up. I think to what our listeners, Liz, is saying is, yes, there is something that happens in your head where you want to go against the grain in the final vote sometimes. And that's why we see Olivia Colman when she went over Glenn Close. Some people say Mikey Madison over Demi Moore.

25:49I personally believe that Mikey was getting that award the whole time because she's in every frame of the film and it was Best Picture. but yes

26:00Chris Murphy:I think that that is correct that that mentality exists and a lot of the times it is in the actress category but this year I think it's in the actress category

26:11Rebecca:I totally agree especially what you're saying Chris the voters want one category where they don't have to think they're just like this is it I vote for this person Kieran Culkin, Divine Joy Randolph like there's always it's usually a supporting category actually so that because the other three are so up in the air, I think voters are just like, she deserves it. It's incredible performance. Enjoy your statue with Jessie Buckley. So, and I think we all don't mind. Like in such a crazy year, it's okay to have one that, you know, we can feel comfortable predicting.

26:44John:Yeah, I'm glad I'm predicting that on our Oscar prediction. It's a very easy blurb to write.

26:49Rebecca:Easy categories, I'm very jealous. Okay, Chris, I think you're up for the next one. Let's do it.

26:54John:All right. Well, we've got a letter from Lauren. All right. Lauren asks,

27:16Chris Murphy:Lauren, you're 100 % correct. And YouTube is going to have ads. Yeah. They just haven't figured it out yet. But they are an ad-supported platform, and they are going to do very creative advertising and integrations that won't necessarily feel maybe like a commercial break, is my guess. But you'll start to realize it's a commercial break where they show people at the bar drinking, I don't know, Don Julio margarita. I mean, they've done this before, but YouTube is the most advanced and progressive ad market in the world. And so they're going to do some pretty interesting stuff. But I 100 % agree that, yes, you do need the breaks.

28:08Chris Murphy:I mean, not just because people are like, I got to go to the bathroom or I've got to go to the kitchen and get a beer. Make a sandwich. Refill my plate. It is hard as a viewer to go back to back to back to back to back to back. The breaks also like for the guests in the room allow them to mill about more, which is good for like that sort of like getting people talking to one another, whispering, you know, the famous sort of clip of Emma Stone running back to her seat when when the woman who won for best hair and makeup. So I believe that YouTube and the Academy are going to figure out a solution to that that will satisfy your needs, Lauren, and mine, because I 100 % agree.

28:57Rebecca:I also really want studios to think about debuting trailers for movies like they do at the Super Bowl. Like, make it an event. I don't quite understand why they don't do that more already. You have a Captain movie-loving audience. I mean, they do it every once in a while, but I feel like that'd be a great place to put those commercials because the global reach will be even bigger than it was before. I think that I think they will.

29:22John:Yeah. And I mean, I think that's really smart, Rebecca. And I, you know, as the resident New York correspondent, I should say that at the Tonys, they often tease shows for next season. Right. And the commercial breaks, which gets everybody really excited and whatnot. So I think, yeah, it doesn't make sense that there aren't more commercials or, you know, product placement or like integrated ads for the films that are coming up next year. So, yeah, we need breaks. We can't just sit for three hours straight watching people in a ceremony. So, yeah.

29:51Rebecca:It might be four hours. There's no time limit on YouTube. That's a good point. We don't know.

29:54Chris Murphy:Oh, my God. It won't be four. I know everyone keeps saying that, guys. It's not going to be four hours. YouTube is a short form. Well, actually, they, well, now I'm, as I say it out loud, they're investing heavily in long form. But four hours is too long form.

30:14Rebecca:After another break, we're answering more of your award season questions. Stay with us.

30:29Rebecca:Hi, I'm Nicole Phelps, Global Director of Vogue Runway and Vogue Business and host of the Run-Through Podcast. Every Tuesday, join me for the latest fashion news like the shakeups of Balenciaga and Dior and what's trending in Paris and Milan. You'll also hear interviews with top designers from Marc Jacobs and Rick Owens to Daniel Roseberry, Sarah Burton, and many more. On Thursdays, Chloe Maul, editor of Vogue.com, and Choma Nadi, head of editorial content at British Vogue, take you behind the scenes at Vogue and share their thoughts on fashion through the lens of culture. You'll hear interviews with some of your favorite stars like Julianne Moore, Pharrell Williams, and celebrity stylist La Roche.

31:08Rebecca:Join us to get your fashion and culture news twice a week. Listen to The Run-Through with Vogue every Tuesday and Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts.

31:22Rebecca:Welcome back to Little Gold Men.

31:24Chris Murphy:Okay, should we do the next question? Okay, from Francis. Hi, Francis. I'm hoping you can help me with a practical question about the Oscar nominations process and the branches, which I'm finding perplexing. As I understand it, each Academy member is aligned to a particular professional branch, and those branches vote to determine the nominations in their own discipline. My question is how the Academy allocates people to specific branches. As a member, do you self-identify or does the Academy decide for you? To qualify for a branch, do you have to have a valid body of work in that area? And what happens to multi-hyphenate members like Sean Baker or Emma Thompson or Lady Gaga, who could in theory qualify for more than one branch?

32:09Chris Murphy:Do they have to pick their main discipline and stick to that branch? Or can they be in and vote in more than one branch? which would turn them into a highly prized voter, presumably. If you have to pick one, can you switch from year to year, which could make for some interesting tactical voting and campaigning and a news slant on category fraud? This is a great question.

32:31John:I'm going to let Rebecca take this one, actually.

32:34Rebecca:I'm going to work backwards here. So if you are accepted to the Academy, when they announce those new memberships every year, certain people have a star by their name, and they are allowed to pick which of the categories they will be in. Like Sean Baker could pick between writer and director or an editor probably. I didn't ask him which one he picked, but once you're in and you're a multi-hyphenate, you determine which of those branches you can be in. You cannot switch branches. That's a great idea. That would create a whole other level of drama to this. But once you're in your branch, you're in your branch.

33:07Rebecca:Now, getting into the academy is actually pretty difficult to do. If you were a nominee, you get invited. But if you were not, you have to be sponsored by two members of your branch. So you already kind of know what branch you're going for. So if you're an editor, you need two existing academy editors to sponsor you to apply to even get in. And then it's approved by the executive committee of your branch. So you already kind of know what branch you're going in for. So I think it's a little more straightforward applying. You're already sort of aware of which branch you're going to end up in. Did I answer all the questions?

33:46John:Yeah, I think you did. And I learned something too.

33:49Rebecca:I'm going to take the next one from Simon. I've struggled to watch the Oscars each year from the UK since the early 90s, but always managed to, either asking next door to record it on VHS, or in recent years subscribing to Sky or ITV in the UK. However, I always stay up and never miss it, despite the all-night shifts before going to work the next day. Anyway, here's my question from the good old UK. Who's your favorite ever British win at the Oscars? And why on earth do we still not have Ralph Fiennes as an Oscar winner? He is a bone-temple genius, but did not win for Schindler's List. Come on, Academy, wake up and remember who won and who has not.

34:28John:Yeah, I mean, as a conclave truther, too, I agree with you. He was great in that. We love Ralph Fiennes.

34:34Rebecca:I do think people didn't know that Rafe hadn't won. Like, I remember that conversation last year. People thought he was already a winner.

34:39John:People assumed that he had won before. I think even in an anonymous ballot, I was like,

34:43Rebecca:ugh, do a little bit of research.

34:45John:Yeah, just Google's your friend. So we agree with you, is what we're saying.

34:49Chris Murphy:So the question is, who's your favorite Brit to have won? I can answer.

34:52John:I actually have one already.

34:53Chris Murphy:You gotta go first, yeah.

34:55John:Yeah, okay. I mean, there are some great honorable mentions to Miss Olivia Colman for her win, and Mark Ryland's two surprise wins. that Oscar ceremony. I love a surprise win, both very well-deserved. But I gotta go with Catherine Zeta-Jones, our Welsh queen for Chicago, Miss Velma Kelly. It's a perfect performance. I probably have seen it over 30 times at this point. I never get sick of it. She sounds great. She looks great. She acts amazing. She dances amazing. It's sort of like the quintessential, you know, one of the quintessential musical theater Oscars. And her winning when she was like eight months pregnant and performing at the ceremony with Queen Latifah, performing class, If you can imagine, it was a seminal Oscar moment, an Oscar win for me.

35:37John:So, yeah, we're going to give it up for Wales and Catherine Zeta-Jones over here.

35:41Rebecca:It's not a little Goldman episode with Chris Murphy if he hasn't brought up a musical.

35:45John:And say that. Also a musical expert, as well as sex and New York City.

35:52Rebecca:I was also going to say Olivia Colman because I loved her speech. She's like crying and she's like saying it's hilarious. Yeah, it's one of the best speeches. But my other pick was Steve McQueen, who won for 12 Years of Slave, because he did this jump on the stage and is so genuinely excited. And then after, I was backstage that year, I think, and people were like, why did you jump on the stage? And he's like, I don't know, Van Halen jump. It was just the wildest answer. And I just loved seeing that joy when he had that win.

36:27Chris Murphy:That's a good one. Mine is the best one. Okay. No, I'm kidding. Let's hear it. Roger Deakins. That's a good one.

36:37John:That is a good one.

36:38Chris Murphy:Who is the cinematographer for Blade Runner 2049. He's a legend. He had been nominated like, I don't know, 100 ,000 times. Had never won. He just, if you look at his filmography, it's just like incredible visual masterpieces one after the other. so but oh I mean also Emma Thompson for best adapted screenplay in Sense and Sensibility just because I love Emma Thompson so much but the Brits are fabulous they're great at the Oscars they don't like to go on too long and they're funny yeah there's a lot

37:20Rebecca:of self deprecation

37:21Chris Murphy:often in the speeches which I think plays well it's concise and witty brevity is the soul of wit and the Brits really take that Shakespeare Shakespeare was a Brit. Take that. Yeah, Shakespeare was a Brit. One of the best Brits. One of the best Brits.

37:36Rebecca:Okay. Chris, I think you're going to do the last one for us.

37:40John:Let me close this up with a question from Sebastian. My girlfriend and I are big Oscar fans. We have a party every year. However, we will be in L.A. this year for a friend's wedding on that Oscars weekend. That's tough, Sebastian. And I've been wondering if there are any popular places or good venues you'd recommend people go to or that you may have gone to that were available to the public. I think that means to watch the Oscars. And related, do you have a favorite year of watching the Oscars? Ours had to have been the 2020 Oscars when Parasite won in a bit of an upset, since that was one of our bigger parties with more casual friends, and it was probably the last big memory we had before the pandemic.

38:16John:That's a good question. Well, I'm not an L.A. native, famously, so I'm going to hand it off.

38:21Rebecca:But you will be out here this year for it. That is true. I will be in L.A.

38:24John:for the Oscars. But yeah, let's ask the L.A. girlies.

38:27Rebecca:John, my problem is, and it's a ridiculous problem to have, is I've always been at the Oscars. We have the same problem. So I don't know where people go in town. I mean, lots of my friends have viewing parties. I think that really is the thing rather than going to a bar or a restaurant or something. It's just like a hosted thing. I don't have any recommendations. Do you have any places they should go to watch it?

38:52Chris Murphy:I think this is my advice. order some pizzas, throw a party in your hotel room.

38:59John:That's a good idea. That's good.

39:01Chris Murphy:Going to a bar, I mean, there must be bars that are showing it.

39:07John:A gay bar in, you know, high tops. All the gay bars are, yeah.

39:11Chris Murphy:I mean, I was going to say, yeah. I know a little bit of LA. Yeah, all the gay bars will be showing it. Yeah. And actually that will be maybe the most viewing party-esque of any of the bars in Los Angeles. But the Oscars are very long. So being at a viewing party at a bar could get a little uncomfortable. So my advice is do it from your Airbnb or hotel room. and then my favorite Oscar I mean memory it has to be the La La Land Moonlight thing it's just iconic wow just what a moment it was iconic I was a real Moonlight supporter and I really wanted them to win over La La Land so to see that all happen in real time that was just absolutely wild.

40:13John:Yeah, that's a good answer. And jealousy. I was at home watching, but it was fantastic. Okay, I'm going to go way back in the past too and not actually say the Chicago Oscar, but I'm going to say 2002, Denzel Washington and Halle Berry both winning their historic Oscars. It was huge. I remember my family, my parents had like a watch party that I was allowed to stay up late for because, you know, maybe history was going to happen. And so like, I very much remember, you know, it was very much like the beginning of my falling in love with the Oscars and awards ceremonies. And it was, you know, I'll never forget, you know, Halle crying and Denzel and Sidney Poitier being there.

40:51John:It was just a very iconic and fantastic ceremony. But yes, Halle and Denzel at the Oscars, 2002. That's my favorite. That's a great one.

41:01Chris Murphy:Also greatest Oscar dress of all time. Yeah, amazing.

41:04John:By far.

41:06Rebecca:I guess I would also pick one I was at that's more recent because it's honestly, it's really hard to not pick one where you were there in person. But when Everything Everywhere All at Once...

41:15Chris Murphy:It's really hard for you. I know.

41:19Rebecca:It's really hard. I hate hearing myself talk this time of year. I love it. But when Everything Everywhere All at Once won, I had been rooting for Michelle Yeoh for so long. I'm such a fan of her entire sort of film history. And like being in there and seeing, you know in in the Asian American community we all call her mother like seeing her win was something I'll never forget and then I had to rush out of the Oscars to make it to our event to be on our like live stream so I was obviously working but I was standing outside on like Hollywood Boulevard in my Oscar dress just being like wow it really happened and I and just like the surrealness of of that was really special and I feel like it's just one of those core memories that stilled my bones because it was just like such a cool cool year especially for her so

42:07John:it was that's a really good one and she came to our Oscar party and she was dancing Night Away there's a clip of me dancing with Michelle Yeoh holding her Oscar you know celebrating so it was a really it was a really fun night it went well into the morning so that was that was a great one it's a great one really good choice

42:22Rebecca:well listeners if you have an LA bar that you love that we can recommend to Sebastian please send it in to us because we're We feel like we're failing you a little bit on that front, Sebastian. So it's littlegoldmen at vf.com if you've got a great bar that you go to every year to watch the Oscars.

42:40Chris Murphy:Or if you want to invite them to your viewing party. Yeah. Community is so important.

42:46Rebecca:Well, Chris, thank you again for joining us today. We'll see you out here in just a few weeks for the Oscars. So excited.

42:52John:I can't wait. Can't wait to link up in L.A. for the big show.

42:56Rebecca:This episode of Little Gold Men was produced by Michelle O 'Brien with engineering and mixing by Pran Bandy. Our executive producer is Stephen Valentino. Thank you for listening.

43:25John:godfather of artificial intelligence, Jeffrey Hinton, or some of my extraordinarily well-informed colleagues at The New Yorker. So join us every week on The New Yorker Radio Hour, wherever you listen to podcasts.