SOPHIA ARNDT: Hi, this is Sophia Arndt.

EMMA VASA: And Emma Vasa.

ARNDT: And welcome to The Daily Beat, our podcast dedicated to the arts and entertainment news of the Twin Cities and today, the nation, because we’re talking about The Oscars.

VASA: Oh yeah.

ARNDT: Ooh. So at the jump, I feel like it’s important for me to say that I am a huge Oscars fan. And I’m really excited about this year. I think it’s such a great year for the movies. 2026 saw a lot of really fantastic films and I just couldn’t be more excited. But Emma, where do you fall on that scale?

VASA: See, I am not really a subscriber to the award season, and it’s not for any like crazy radical idea or stance. It’s simply because I don’t find enjoyment in sitting in front of the TV for two hours watching a presentation. All my love goes to the arts, goes to the actors, love the work they do. I’ll see those clips on social media.

ARNDT: So this upcoming Sunday, March 15 is the 98th Oscar Academy Awards. We actually did a little bit of research ahead of the episode just to see why The Oscars was named The Oscars. 

What we found out was that it is named for someone’s uncle. A former executive director and academy librarian, Margaret Herrick said that The Oscar statue, like the award itself, resembled her uncle Oscar, and that is rumored to be the reason the show is named The Oscars, which I just thought was really funny. 

VASA: Oh my God, we’re gonna be coming up on a hundred years of The Oscars.

ARNDT: Yeah. Hundred years.

VASA: In three years.

ARNDT: That’ll be great. All right, so jumping right in. I feel like it’s important to say this is a stacked year.

VASA: Oh yeah.

ARNDT: For The Oscars.

VASA: Oh, a hundred percent.

ARNDT: Really, really great films. Great performances. 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: I’m super excited. OK, so off the bat, we’re gonna start with casting. This is a new category for The Oscars, and it’s one I’m so, so excited about because I personally believe that casting can make or break a film, and this year was no different. We saw so many great movies with so much great casting.

And personally I predict it, going to Nina Gold for her work on “Hamnet.” She was the mind behind casting Jacobi Jupe in the role of Hamnet, which is the son of William Shakespeare.

VASA: Mm-hmm.

ARNDT: And she also casted Noah Jupe to perform as the young man playing Hamlet. I thought that that was such a great bit of casting with the younger brother playing the inspiration behind the character of Hamlet. And it’s, I’ll also say it’s been so sweet this award season watching the two brothers like.

VASA: Oh, they’re cute. 

ARNDT: It’s so sweet.

VASA: The older one, Noah, him being like, “Yeah, my little brother, like he’s the one that got me here.” 

ARNDT: Neop baby.

VASA: Yeah, nepo-babied his way in with his little brother. However, “Sinners” did win for the Critic’s Choice for casting.

ARNDT: They did.

VASA: OK. So pretty top competitor there too.

ARNDT: I will say. Yeah.

VASA: I do have a lot of love for “Hamnet” though. I did write a review on it, so of course.

ARNDT: Yeah, it was, yeah. I just thought that casting was so fantastic for that. 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: And that can lead us just right into, I think we should talk about actress and the leading role.

VASA: Oh, yes. And my girl, Miss Jessie Buckley.

ARNDT: Yes.

VASA: Her. Wow. Can I just say, wow, what a woman, what a performer. What an actress. I think she’s really like finally going to emerge within western like film. And guys, I can’t say enough how much I loved her performance at “Hamnet.” Truly just like the range that she has of emotion. 

Her portrayal of grief, joy, you know, laughter, whimsy like this just everything. Like she truly brought it out and I like fully saw her as Agnes in that film. 

ARNDT: Mm-hmm. 

VASA: And she deserves her flowers one hundred percent. Without a doubt.

ARNDT: Yes.

VASA: I’m really excited to see her future work in “The Bride” which is actually coming out this weekend.

ARNDT: I agree. I think absolutely it should go to Jessie Buckley. She was phenomenal.

VASA: And she did win an award. 

ARNDT: She’s so, she’s swept.

VASA: Yeah.

ARNDT: For every category she’s been nominated.

VASA: Mm-hmm.

ARNDT: For in this role, she has taken.

VASA: Hundred percent. 

ARNDT: So that includes the Golden Globes, the BAFTA, the Critic’s Choice, and if she wins the Oscars, that means she will have all five of the major acting categories.

VASA: That’s insane.

ARNDT: And that’s insane and I think it’s so well deserved. I thought that Buckley was so captivating in this role of a woman whose whole thing is, she’s truly ingrained herself into nature and into like the heart of the world. And I thought that Buckley did such a wonderful job of encapsulating that sort of like wild woman. She’s so captivating in that role.

VASA: Like wild in a way that it’s also just so, just like rooted in nature. Like so.

ARNDT: Mm-hmm.

VASA: Steady and sure of herself.

ARNDT: Buckley was.

VASA: So phenomenal. Gorgeous.

ARNDT: I can’t imagine anyone else in that role. I think it was such a career defining role. 

VASA: Absolutely. 

ARNDT: Um, I’m excited to see her in more work. I will also say, I think it’s so important to acknowledge Rose Byrne’s performance in, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” which is like in the same way Buckley is so captivating in “Hamnet,” Byrne is so like captivating in this film.

Like she is that emotional core of the film, and I think her performance was really, really strong. And I do think in any other year it would’ve been like The Oscar winning performance, but I just think Buckley like. The entirety of the “Hamnet” film is so beautiful, and Buckley is such a strong core of that film that I, she absolutely hands down should win this. 

I think from that, let’s absolutely get into actor in a leading role.

VASA: Yes. 

ARNDT: So this has been the most debated and talked about category purely because. I don’t think it’s predictable at this point. Who’s gonna take it away? There’s been so much back and forth between who’s gonna win. It’s been, you know, we’ve seen a lot of skewing in this category, like throughout award season.

It’s gone to Chalamet. It went to Jordan. 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: Like, it’s kind of been all over the place. I personally think this needs to be Michael B. Jordan’s win.

VASA: Yeah.

ARNDT: Like.

VASA: Mm-hmm.

ARNDT: He had this in like, almost impossible task of portraying two twins.

VASA: Yes.

ARNDT: In the movie “Sinners.” And he did such a beautiful and no other word, but captivating job of having two distinct personalities to the point that you have the twins on screen together interacting, and I can tell who is who.

I think that also goes to like the directing and the costuming of it, because they did a really good job of making the twins seem so distinct. But to its core, that movie would not have worked without Michael B. Jordan. 

VASA: Oh yeah. 

ARNDT: And I think not many other actors could have been in that role, been in that movie, and done it justice. And I think Michael B. Jordan has such a wonderful career. He’s had so many strong acting performances. 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: From “Creed” to “Fruitvale Station” to “Black Panther.” Like he is an actor and he’s a powerhouse. And I really think he was so perfect in this movie.

VASA: Has he really received his flowers much?

ARNDT: Michael B. Jordan just won the Actor Award, like the lead actor award for what was formerly known as the SAG-AFTRA Award. 

VASA: OK. 

ARNDT: Which is like the union’s award season. So those movies and those awards are decided by the actual union and those voting within it. So it’s an award given to actors by actors. So him taking that home and he had a beautiful speech, I highly recommend everyone and check it out like it was huge. 

But that was his first really big award and it was his first award for this role. And I think that’s so important because I think fellow actors acknowledging like this was a career moment is so huge and I, just, I really think it was an Oscar winning performance. 

VASA: Yeah. 

ARNDT: I will however say there’s been a lot of talk about Mr. Timothée Chalamet. 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: The Timothée Chalamet of it all. Personally as someone who watched “Marty Supreme,” I don’t think it was the kind of role or the kind of movie that you should win an Oscar for. I am of the mind that playing a contentious or an unlikeable character doesn’t automatically make it like such a strong, perfect performance.

VASA: Right.

ARNDT: I think Chalamet was great. I think he had a really strong performance. I don’t think that he should necessarily win an Oscar for this role. I think he’s had other roles that were a lot stronger. Personally, I just, “Marty Supreme” was not that movie you guys, and I think there’s been a lot of pushback on his recent Oscar campaign for this movie.

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: I think it’s alienated a lot of people and like. It’s one of those movies where it’s like, I watched it and I don’t feel the need to ever see it again. It was not my favorite performance of the season. So I think Timothée Chalamet has an Oscar in his future, but not for this role. 

I was gonna say, I’m open to being proven wrong. I’m not. I really want Michael B. Jordan to win this. I think he’s.

VASA: Oh yeah, I don’t think there’s really much of a conversation around it. I think there has to be.

ARNDT: Please. So when looking at the actress in a supporting role, first time nomination for Elle Fanning, which I think is so huge and really well deserved. I will say for this category, it’s so cool to see that two of the strongest performances of the year are women in horror films, which is historically an under-recognized genre at The Oscars.

VASA: Yeah. 

ARNDT: And honestly like overlooked performances within the genre. 

VASA: Oh yeah. 

ARNDT: I think often when we think about horror, we think about like, oh, the final girl. 

VASA: Yep. 

ARNDT: The girl getting killed. Like these two roles that are nominated, so we have, Wunmi Mosaku, who played Annie in “Sinners,” and we also have Amy Madigan for her role of Gladys in “Weapons.”

I just, I am so excited that these two roles are being rewarded because you know, you have the hero of “Sinners” and you have the villain of “Weapons,” and I think that’s so cool. I would personally, in this category, I would love for it to go to Mosaku. 

Just because, I like, I think she’s so wonderful. She’s such a talented actress. She’s so wonderful as Annie. I think like in the same way, Buckley is the heart of “Hamnet,” Mosaku is the heart of “Sinners.” 

Like she is that role that you sort of like find comfort in. And then that being said, like Amy Madigan is a wonderful, like very talented actress. This is kind of her first time being recognized for award season, which is super exciting. Like she’s got a wonderful filmography. 

So this is one where it’s like either or could win, and I’d be really excited. We also have Teyana Taylor in this category for “One Battle After Another.” She was phenomenal in that. I don’t necessarily, I wouldn’t necessarily say she outdid the other women in the categories, but she has you know, this is another category where we have like it being a different winner every time.

VASA: Oh yeah.

ARNDT: So it’s like kind of hard to predict who’s gonna win, but you know, we can have favorite performances in that. And I think I stated by two. 

Looking at the actor in a supporting role. I personally would love it to go to Delroy Lindo or Stellan Skarsgård. Two strong actors who have had amazing thriving careers. I would love it to go to Delroy Lindo a little bit more. Just because like I thought he was so fantastic in “Sinners.”

VASA: Yeah. 

ARNDT: But. I think, again, we’re looking at one of those things in award season where it’s the, it’s not just the role being awarded, it’s also your former work. And I think Delroy Lindo and Stellan Skarsgård have the filmography to back up like an Oscar winning performance. 

I think it’s honestly insane that neither of them have been awarded. Also within this category, we have Benicio del Toro for “One Battle After Another,” Jacob Elordi for “Frankenstein” and Sean Penn for “One Battle After Another.”

Now these were like, this is another category where it’s a bunch of really, really phenomenal performances. I personally would love, like we know who I want it to go to.

VASA: Yes.

ARNDT: But I do think it’s really specifically for the case of Jacob Elordi.

VASA: I think, was his performance in “Frankenstein” great?

ARNDT: Yeah. 

VASA: Absolutely. Obviously it is because he’s nominated.

ARNDT: Nominated. Yeah.

VASA: Do I think this is like the award? Like I don’t think this is the role that he will get an Oscar for.

ARNDT: No.

VASA: I think like.

ARNDT: No, no, no, no, no.

VASA: When I did see that film, like when it comes to someone like Jacob Elordi who has such a strong presence or just like an admiration of fans and everything. You see a face like that and it’s like, oh, that’s Jacob Elordi playing a character. In “Frankenstein,” I did see him as the monster. 

ARNDT: Yeah. 

VASA: Like I saw him.

ARNDT: Yeah.

VASA: As like Frankenstein’s creature. And so, I mean, I think that ties more so into like costuming and makeup as like that was a total success to make me be like, I’m not looking at Jacob Elordi.

ARNDT: I do think this is gonna go to either Delroy or Stellan Skarsgård. But that being said, looking at costume design as we spoke about, I think that this will ultimately go to Kate Holly who did work on “Frankenstein.” 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: She’s a longtime collaborator of Guillermo del Toro. She did the work on his film “Crimson Peak,” which is phenomenal. And I truly think “Frankenstein” when looking at the other movies in this category, it is strong. 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: We have “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme” and “Sinners.” These are all like really good costumes. 

VASA: Yeah. 

ARNDT: But I think specifically when looking at “Frankenstein,” Kate Holly is like a well renowned costume designer, and I think her work on “Frankenstein” and the language she has with the fabric she uses and the design she incorporates. Like specifically thinking about the skeleton dress.

VASA: Mm-hmm.

ARNDT: That’s in the film. That really like.

VASA: My gosh. Yes.

ARNDT: Oh, it’s beautiful. 

VASA: It was so good.

ARNDT: I just like, I think, yeah, the other movies have really wonderful costuming, but Kate Holly continues to tell a story. 

VASA: Yes. 

ARNDT: With her costume and with the silhouettes and the, the design she implements, like she truly makes the fashion its own character.

VASA: Yep.

ARNDT: And I think she should get an Oscar for that, personally. 

VASA: I hundred percent agree. A hundred percent agree with you.

ARNDT: Another creator who has their own personal language that I absolutely adore when looking at cinematography is Autumn Durald. Her work on “Sinners” is truly stunning. 

She is also another collaborator of Ryan Coogler and oh, I’m so excited they’re working together again. It’s rumored they’re working together again on his adaptation of the “X-Files.” Oh my goodness. I’m so excited. But again, her visual language is so striking, and I also think it’s identifiable.

Like if you were to see another movie made by her, you would know it was her because she has this like eye for landscapes and color and the camera itself is a character, and I think that that’s so beautiful. I also think within this category, I mean we have the work of Michael Bauman. 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: On “One Battle After Another” who is like another, like prolific cinematographer.

VASA: Yeah.

ARNDT: But I love that this year we’re really seeing a lot of these creatives with their own language in the medium they’re working in. So like casting, directing, costuming, cinematography, like this is really a year where there are distinct players and characters within these categories.

I would also love to talk about animated film of the year.

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: Because, OK, I’m coming at this from someone whose older sister is an animator, so I do have a really deep love and appreciation for animated films. I am one of those people that like always argues animated films are not kids films. 

VASA: Yeah.

ARNDT: I did also talk with her prior to this episode to get her thoughts on it as someone within the industry. The consensus is realistically.

VASA: “K-pop Demon Hunters”

ARNDT: “K-pop Demon Hunters” is gonna take it home.

VASA: And guess what. I loved it. I loved it when I first watched it. I recently just watched it like a few days ago, and guess what? It’s still good. When I first watched it, it was kind of like, OK, let me get through like the first 10, 15 minutes, get used to like the style, the energy, like the humor of it.

And once I got past that, then I was like, OK, yeah, I’m rocking with this. Such a range of people like love and give so much energy and appreciation to “K-pop Demon Hunters.” Like whether you’re a kid or even like other like 20, 30-year-olds like love on this movie.

ARNDT: Yeah. Yeah.

VASA: And so I think it’s pretty clear it’s gonna take the category.

ARNDT: For those listening, I do believe we saved the best for last and the two most contentious categories of best picture and director. So for director, this is a very like stacked category, let me say that. 

We have Chloe Zhao from “Hamnet,” Josh Safdie from “Marty Supreme,” Paul Thomas Anderson for “One Battle After Another,” Joachim Trier for “Sentimental Value,” and of course, Ryan Coogler for “Sinners.” Three guesses for who you think, I think should take this. 

VASA: Ryan?

ARNDT: Yes. Yes. So I think. OK. This is like one of my categories I’m really excited about. 

VASA: Yeah.

ARNDT: I’m a huge Ryan Coogler fan.

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: I think it is long deserved that he wins something for directing. This is my, my explanation of it.

VASA: Yeah, go for it.

ARNDT: I think Coogler has such a strong directing language, and I know I’ve revisited the concept of like having a art language a lot this episode, but I think when you watch a Ryan Coogler film, you know it’s a Ryan Coogler film. 

He has this way of approaching his films where he treats everything with such respect and reverence and he really puts in like the research and the time that is required for creating a film like “Sinners.”

I think one of the most admirable things and like one of my favorite things he did with this film was the research he conducted. You know, he had specifics like a whole team of specialists for every single culture represented in the film, and he really put in the work. I’m specifically thinking of the scene in the the juke club when they’re dancing with the ancestors.

Like that was such a breathtaking scene. And he represented so many different cultures and different celebrations of music and life in it. I was so captivated by “Sinners,” and I think his work is so strong. I can really only describe him as like, I think he’s an artistic genius. I will also say Chloe Zhao, I would be happy if she won.

VASA: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

ARNDT: She’s another director that has just such a distinct language in her film. I was so blown away by the way. She incorporated themes of nature and like. She’s one of those directors that really puts her heart into a film and like you can see elements of her within it. And I think she should absolutely be applauded for “Hamnet.” Like it was beautiful.

VASA: Yeah. There was an interview that I saw her do. She was talking about like the costuming. I do remember just the absolute like intention and yet also simplicity. 

ARNDT: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

VASA: That she talked about when it comes to it, of just like why, you know, Agnes is wearing like predominantly red.

ARNDT: Mm-hmm. 

VASA: Whereas William.

ARNDT: Is in blue.

VASA: Yeah. Is in blue. 

ARNDT: Yeah. 

VASA: And it was just like the heart that she put into that film. I mean, I could also say like the cinematography was gorgeous. Everything about that film truly just drew you in. Through that film Both costuming, the cinematography, these like longer scenes where it’s, you know, filled in.

Like we’re watching William like walk from the main house, all the way like through the yard over to like this wheelbarrow or something like that. That’s a scene that you normally just like wouldn’t get. 

ARNDT: Yeah. 

VASA: And yet it was included and it just made everything so much more real, so much more like human. The way that Chloe brought it all together, the intentionality of it all, it was just, it was so beautiful. And I do think “Sinners” will probably take the cake. I think Ryan will win this section. But Chloe, I wanna give you your flowers because it was stunning.

ARNDT: Yes Yeah. I’ll also say within this category we do, I, it is important to acknowledge, we do have Paul Thomas Anderson for “One Battle After Another.” That was another really huge film this year. I have a lot of complicated thoughts and feelings towards this film.

VASA: Really? Wait.

ARNDT: We can get into it a little bit. I think it’s a great film. 

VASA: Yes. 

ARNDT: Like truly, I think. I mean, it’s Paul Thomas Anderson. That man doesn’t make bad films. 

VASA: Mm-hmm. 

ARNDT: Do I think it’s his strongest work? No. Do I think it was the best film of the year? No. I think it was good. I also think it mistepped in a couple spots. I think the performances within that movie, I think are what it’s so many people are drawn to. I think Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti is so good in that film. 

But I don’t think necessarily that it, it made me feel or connect in the same way I connected to other movies this year. It’s one of those films where it’s like, I watched it and I don’t feel the need to rewatch it. I’m not like, “Oh, I need to watch that again.” Like it.

VASA: Right. There’s nothing else to like divulge

ARNDT: Like it was a, it was good. It was really well made. It’s been a critic favorite. I do think Paul Thomas Anderson is a fantastic director. I don’t think this was his year. I don’t think this was his movie in the way that “Sinners” and Ryan Coogler were this year. And I also will say I think “Sinners” has like kept the momentum through the year.

VASA: Oh, hundred percent.

ARNDT: In a way that “One Battle After Another” didn’t. “Sinners” you’re really beloved by the A&E desk here.

VASA: Yeah.

ARNDT: We really love you a lot. Yeah. That being said, right in the best picture, you can absolutely guess who I think it should be. I think it should be “Sinners.”

“Sinners” was, I think the movie of the year. It was such a phenomenon, both when it came out and how it sustained itself. I, it’s a movie I wanna watch again, like it’s a movie I wanna show people, and I think it’s also a movie with such heart and hard work poured into it. 

I think it’s a once in a lifetime movie. I don’t think we’ll see anything like it again, just because like everyone was at the top of their game. I think it is a movie that we will talk about for years to come. I think within this category you do have a lot of really good movies.

“Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Marty Supreme,” yeah, “One Battle After Another,” I will also say “The Secret Agent” was one that got a lot of praise. I have yet to see it so. This is such a strong category. 

VASA: Yeah. 

ARNDT: Again, like further in, you have “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners” and “Train Dreams,” which was another one that got a lot of praise. But again, like I think there are some movies on this list who maybe haven’t had enough time to breathe and really like cultivate a reaction.

VASA: Yeah.

ARNDT: Versus “Sinners,” which is “Sinners” sweep. Come on, get the broom. 

VASA: Oh yeah. I mean.

ARNDT: Get the broom. Come on.

VASA: It’s won, “Sinners” has won 32 awards.

ARNDT: Yeah.

VASA: From 2025 through 2026, two Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, four Critics Choice. If “Sinners” doesn’t sweep.

ARNDT: That has been our thoughts on The Oscars.

VASA: Let us know your thoughts.

ARNDT: Let us know your thoughts. Honestly, I’m so excited for this year’s Oscars season, so I’ve been, Sophia Arndt.

VASA: And this is Emma Vasa. 

ARNDT: This episode was produced by Ceci Heinen, and if you have any questions, comments or concerns, you can reach us at [email protected].

This is Sophia Arndt. 

VASA: And Emma Vasa.

ARNDT: Thank you so much for listening, and we will see you next time.