David and Craig are back in the saddle with a total of five films receiving the Is It Worth It treatment. After a catch up about life, film and current events the episode kicks off with the box office rundown. With plenty to discuss a theme begins to emerge about contemporary film; is profit becoming more important than content? The lads discuss the every growing number of remakes and sequels and how they are doing at the box office before diving into the first of 5 film reviews.

The first film reviewed is ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider Verse’. After the great critical acclaim of the first film in this trilogy David and Craig review this film on its own merits and also discuss how it fits into the wider and ever growing super hero cinematic universe. No pun intended.

After this it’s time for a blast from the past. Harrison Ford returns to reprise his role as the iconic Indiana Jones in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’. How does this film compare to the previous four? Is this truly the end? And is it worth it? Tune in to find out. 

Next up is the seemingly infinite Fast and Furious franchise. Is a five film series not enough for you then try ten and a spin off! Craig dives in Han Solo and reviews Fast X.

The show draws to a close with David and Craig discussing Wes Anderson’s latest film ‘Asteroid City’ and where it ranks amongst all his work. 

Finally, the show concludes with David sharing about a near death experience whilst watching ‘Insidious: The Red Door’ before going on a rant about Shepherd’s pie! 

To finish David and Craig share your messages about the best and worst films of 2023 so far and a bizarre revelation from one listener about what they had for tea! 

We're back, we're recapping the time we've had off, talking about film, the Oscars and what's to come!

On the 7th and final episode of this ‘Road To The Oscars’ series David Long is joined by special guest Erick Weber as they discuss and unpack all the events which took place at the 94th Academy Awards and boy is there plenty to discuss! 

The show begins with a discussion about the controversial decision to cut eight of the categories from the live broadcast before David And Erick discuss the highs and lows of the telecast as a whole. History making moments are mentioned and reflected upon before the nights major incident is discussed. Yes that’s right, Will Smith slapping Chris Rock live in front of millions of horrified viewers. Chris Rock says he didn’t know about Jada’s alopecia but was the joke still in bad taste? Both David and Erick give their thoughts on the incident before discussing the potential repercussions for Will Smith. Will Smith has resigned from the Academy but is the worst still yet to come? 

The topic of discussion then turns onto what the long term implications may be for Will Smiths career and what this means for the Academy Awards going forward. Are the Oscars in crisis? 

David and Erick then finish the show off by looking forward to Oscars 2023 and everything that it may encompass. Who are the major players? What actors could take home Oscars gold come 2023 and can anything top the drama of 2022?

Tune in to find out! 

Erick Weber is the Editor-in-Chief of https://www.awardsace.com

On Episode 6 of Road to The Oscars join David Long and special guest Craig Fields as they go head to head in a battle for the ages! The speculation is over, the precursors have happened and its time for the lads to lay their cards on the table and boy do they. David battles with heart vs head as Craig dives into the deep end with some outrageous and daring predictions. Who will win? All will be revealed come Oscars Sunday. 

The show begins with David and Craig predicting the 8 categories which won’t be shown live as well as Craig paying homage to people and films he think deserved a nomination this year; none more so than Nic Cage. Once the pleasantries are over the battle begins. The First eight categories discussed are Best Original Score, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Documentary Short, Best Animated Short Film and Best Live Action Short. Both David and Craig state clearly that they believe that all 23 categories should be shown live and this is disrespectful to many of the creatives involved in the film making process. Do they agree on who will win? Absolutely not! 

After this history making Flee is discussed in the Best Documentary feature. Nominated in three categories; is this the one it can win? Craig and David debate. Then its onto the screenplay categories which look wide open and cause David a real headache! In Best Adapted Screenplay looks like a match race between CODA and The Power Of The Dog and this category will surely have a major impact on the Best Picture race. The Same can be said for Original Screenplay; can Belfast beat Licorice Pizza? Or will Don’t look up spoil the party? 

Both David and Craig then pay respects to The Tragedy Of Macbeth in Best Cinematography but who do they think will win? The lads then discuss Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Visual Effects and Best International Feature. All of these categories have strong betting favourites but will Craig play it safe? Of course not! Craig makes some outlandish predictions in 2 of these categories. 

It’s then onto Best Original Song, a category that should be locked up but looks strangely open. David and Craig select different songs, but who will be right come Oscars Sunday?

David sings the praises of The Mitchells Vs The Machines but will he stand by it or chose the betting favourite Encanto? It’s then onto one of the hardest and most open categories of the night; Best Actress. Arguably any of the five nominees could win, but who do David and Craig pick? David struggles to decide. The show then moves onto Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor And Best Supporting Actor which looks much simpler to predict but this is the Oscars, you just never know.

The Show concludes with the big one… Best Picture! Will it be The Power Of The Dog or will it be CODA? Or could Belfast cause a massive shock and take home the big prize? David and Craig make their predictions and it may not be what you expect. 

On this episode join David Long and Special guest Rotten Tomato approved critic Amy Smith as they discuss and analyse the 75th BAFTA awards, The Critics Choice Awards and also touch upon the Best Director category for the 94th Academy Awards. 

The show begins on home turf as David and Amy discuss the BAFTA awards. They talk about the telecast itself as well as the awards handed out and the speeches made. David was not a fan of Rebel Wilson and believes BAFTA got the tone of the show completely wrong but Amy has more positive things to say. As always there was some shocks and surprises as well as many awards being handed out as expected. Dune lead the way with 5 wins and looks to hold a strong hand for Oscars Sunday but both screenplay categories rendered surprise results and this may have an impact on the results come March 27th. The acting categories are beginning to look somewhat locked up with Best Actress perhaps the most open after Joanna Scanlan won Best Actress at the BAFTA’s. She beat a fine selection of nominees but none of them have been nominated at the Oscars. The other three acting categories are now looking like a done deal but some remain wide open at the Oscars; none more so than the editing category which went to No Time To Die. 

After analysing BAFTA David and Amy move onto the Critics Choice Awards and they both have some serious concerns. Are the Critics Choice just trying to predict the oscars? And if so, what impact does this have on the wider awards season calendar? There is no doubt viewership of awards ceremonies in down, but what’s the solution? David and Amy discuss. After a rough time at BAFTA, where Belfast surely needed to win it bounced back with a Best Acting Ensemble win but will this have any impact on the Oscars race? David of course uses this platform to once again champion Critics Choice winning The Mitchells Vs The Machines and credit Is given to Ari Wegner, the first female cinematographer to ever win a Critics Choice Award. 

The show concludes with some discussion and analysis of the Best Director category which looks absolutely locked up for Jane Campion, although her speech caused controversy! Will this impact the race? And who if anyone can beat her? 

Finally David and Amy answer some questions from twitter before David plugs the next episode; the predictions, featuring the one and only Craig Fields! 

On this episode join David Long and special guest Luke Hearfield as they discuss and analyse the 4 acting categories in all their glory. The show kicks off with some broad discussion about the four categories in question, specifically looking at who made it in and who didn’t. There was of course snubs, none bigger than that of Lady Gaga who made all four of the previous precursors yet somehow missed that coveted Oscar nomination. David and Luke then talk about some of their favourite performances of the year, some of which didn’t receive Oscar nominations before discussing what’s the best nominated performance and why. 

In the main body of the show the four acting categories are dissected and analysed; begging with Actress in a leading role. Of all the four categories in question this is perhaps the biggest minefield with, in theory, any of the five nominees still able to win the Oscar. David And Luke discuss the winners of the Golden Globe award for Best Actress and how much impact they think this may have this season, in light of the awards show not being shown televised or discussed as much as previous years. The Screen Actors Guild Awards is also discussed and how this may impact the result on Oscars Sunday. Both David and Luke then struggle, but do manage, to make their predictions for the big night. 

The men then get the Oscars deep dive. Can Will Smith win his first Oscar? Will he sweep this awards season? Or can Benedict Cumberbatch win at the Critics Choice Awards plus BAFTA and really shake the race up? Predictions are made. 

Best Supporting Actress looks like the most predictable category with Ariana DeBose looking set to sweep this awards season but David, in his usual bonkers fashion, is terrified of Judi Dench and believes she may just spoil the party come Oscars Sunday. Has he gone mad? Is DeBose a lock win? This is discussed. 

Finally before the show concludes David and Luke analyse another intriguing category in Best Supporting Actor. Can Troy kotsur build on his SAG victory and take Oscars gold? Or is Kodi Smitt McPhee still the leader in the clubhouse? David and Luke both sing the praises of Troy Kotsur’s performance and his general personality but will Jesse Plemons nomination ultimately help Kotsur’s cause? This is also discussed. 

Throughout the show David of course touches on the gambling odds to give the listener an idea of who is likely to win and what these odds mean for the Oscars race. The show concludes with Luke reminding you, the listener, where you can find his work and David tells us what’s coming next! 

On this episode Join David Long and special Guest Andrew Morgan of the Nomcast (The Netflix Original Movie Podcast) as they discuss and analyse the power of the streaming services. Streaming services have become increasingly important in recent years, especially during COVID times but is the academy finally ready to crown a film from a streaming service with the coveted prize of Best Picture? David and Andrew discuss. Netflix earned 27 Academy Award Nominations this year marking its third consecutive year as the most-nominated studio, while Disney earned 23 honours. It is no secret that streaming service giants such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Hulu for example did good business in lockdown but will this translate to Oscars success? Both David and Andrew have thoughts. 

In the introduction guest Andrew Morgan tackles three questions about the impact of streamers on the film industry as a whole, the ability of streamers to attract big name stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and what impact the growing numbers of streamers are having on the worlds most popular streaming service; Netflix. 

In the main body of this episode David and Andrew dissect each individual streaming service including HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Hulu, Disney+ and Netflix and their power and potential come Oscars Sunday. A variety of topics are discussed including day and date releases, Dunes Box Office Success, why Amazon seems to care less about the Oscars than Netflix, Apples potential power going forward and the fact that Disney+ may become the worlds biggest streamer by 2026 due to its expansion into India and Indonesia. 

The Episode is rounded off with Andrews expert analysis and opinion on Netflix’s Oscar nominations and what they may win come the 94th Academy Awards. Andrew discusses snubs, potential wins and the biggest question of them all; can The Power Of The Dog win Best Picture? The episode then concludes with Andrew looking forward to the 95th Academy Awards and what films may potentially be involved for Netflix. 

There is definitely a war raging between these streaming services and only time will tell if the dog will have its day. 

Join David and not one but two special guests; Mike 1 and also Mike from the ‘Mike, Mike And Oscar Podcast’ as they break down all the nominations for the 94th Academy Awards. Every category is discussed and the nomination tallies are analysed. The Best Picture race still looks like a three headed monster but The Power Of The Dog leads the way with 12 nominations, with West Side Story and Belfast sitting behind with a tied seven nominations each. Denis Villeneuve was a shock snub in the directing category but his epic Dune showed a strong hand with a total of ten nominations. Perhaps one of the biggest shocks of nominations morning came in the Best Actress category as Lady Gaga was snubbed but Kristen Stewart made it in for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Spencer. David and the two Mikes asses how and why this may have happened, was it snub power? Or did the Academy just hate House Of Gucci. Denzel Washington made the Oscars five after yet another snubbing from BAFTA; why did this happen? Both David and the two mikes have thoughts. The Supporting categories were also full of drama with Dame Judi Dench picking up a nomination for her supporting role in Sir Kenneth Branghs film Belfast. No Caitriona Balfe or Ruth Negga though. The Supporting Actor categories are also fascinating with Jesse Plemmons getting his first Oscar nomination. What does this mean for Kodi-Smitt McPhee? Cannibalisation? David and the two mikes Discuss. Unanimous praise for Troy Kotsur who becomes only the second deaf actor to be nominated for an Oscar after trail blazing Marlee Matlin. Both Star in Best Picture Nominated CODA. Both Adapted and Original Screenplay categories get the Road To The Oscars deep dive. The worst Person in the world was a shock nomination here but Being the Ricardos Missed Original Screenplay although it had the Writers Guild Of America Nomination. As well as the major categories this show dives deep into the undercard and what it could mean for the Best Picture race. Is Dune just an undercard player? Or does it have Best Picture capability. Best International and Best Documentary feature are discussed, with Flee being nominated in both. No Time To Die heads up the field in Best Original song and Hans Zimmer goes head to head with Jonny Greenwood in Best Original Score. The Tragedy Of Macbeth lands a Cinematography nomination, in a fine year for this category.

Spiderman: No Way Home lands a Best Visual Effects nomination, but can spidey swing to victory? 

Cruella looks the front runner in Best Costume Design but can Dune or West Side Story cause a surprise? both receive nominations. Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Make Up and Hairstyling are all discussed before the panel rounds off the show by listing and briefly discussing the nominees in Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short and Best Documentary Short.