Oscars Year In Preview 2025-26

Mike1 returns to break down the Spring & Summer release calendar as we speculate which films could have Oscar chances, which films could have a chance to be hits for their studios, and which films the Mikes will enjoy watching most/least.

Recent Oscar Noms from the Spring & Summer - 1:57 

THE SPRING & SUMMER FILM CALENDAR:
March Meltdown at the Box Office and a Death of a Unicorn Review - 4:22 
April’s Warfare, Sinners & The Wedding Banquet give us hope - 7:48 
May enters some marquis players like Tom Cruise & Wes Anderson - 18:09
June has serious potential with The Life of Chuck, Materialists, and F1 - 31:58 
July put pressure on Superman, the MCU & Adam Sandler, yes, Adam Sandler - 47:45 

August’s Together & Caught Stealing intrigue us. But even though it’s been moved to September, we cannot help discussing One Battle After Another and it’s awesome trailer from WB, PTA & Leo - 57:58 

OUTRO: https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar Please follow us on social media and leave us some good reviews and 5 star ratings if you enjoy what we do here. We also discuss upcoming episodes, including News Catchup Shows on Cinemacon, upcoming Cannes film festival coverage, and the rest of this Year In Preview Series. Plus, you get some hints at what our next rewatch series might be. 

The Spring & Summer Release Calendar: An Oscars Year In Preview Series (YIP) Part I - ORC 3/28/25

With Cinemacon in the rearview, we look ahead at the Fall & Winter Film Release Calendar and discuss the Oscars chances for all of the major films.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 2 - 1:03 

September’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, One Battle After Another, etc - 7:41 

October’s The Smashing Machine, After The Hunt, Good Fortune, etc  - 18:04 

November’s Bugonia, Wicked: For Good, Zootopia 2, etc - 32:01 

December’s Avatar: Fire & Ash, Marty Supreme, The Housemaid, etc - 39:15 

OUTRO - We discuss the next two episodes in the Year In Preview Series, and then we have some big picture thoughts about Cinemacon, Las Vegas, Film Festivals, and why not, going to the bathroom while traveling. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Fall & Winter Look Ahead: Wicked, Avatar + Leo, Julia & Rocky in Play - YIP 2, ORC 4/4/25

From A24 through Warner Bros, we go studio by film studio and discuss their known film slates and focus on the undated films that could vie for Film Festival love.

A24: Eddington, Highest 2 Lowest, The Entertainment System Is Down, etc - 2:21 
Amazon/MGM: After the Hunt, Madden, Hedda - 16:12 
Apple Original Films: The Lost Bus, F1 - 18:11 
Bleecker Street & Briarcliff: The Wedding Banquet, Sneaks, etc - 20:26  
Disney: Deliver Me From Nowhere, The Roses, Is This Thing On? Etc - 21:38 
Greenwich Entertainment & Janus: Diane Warren: Relentless, Peter Hujar’s Day, etc - 32:18 
IFC, Lionsgate, Magnolia: The Luckiest Man In America, Good Fortune, 40 Acres - 33:45 
MUBI: Father Mother Sister Brother from Jim Jarmusch - 36:28 
Neon: Sentimental Value from Joachim Trier, Alpha from Julia Ducournau, etc - 38:25 

Netflix: Wake Up Dead Man, GDT’s Frankenstein, Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, Edward Berger’s The Ballad of a Small Player, Train Dreams, etc - 41:02

Paramount: What’s their top priority? Plus, some recent history - 53:34 
Sony: Blue Moon, Eleanor the Great, East of Wall, etc - 56:07 
Universal: The Phoenician Scheme details, Hamnet, Anemone, etc - 1:02:09
WB: The Bride! + Sinners first reax and Superman Cinemacon reactions - 1:08:17 

NO DISTRIBUTION YET: Sundance Hits like Kiss of the Spider Woman, SXSW hits like The Rivals of Amziah King, Rosemead w/ Lucy Liu, At The Sea w/ Amy Adams, Sydney Sweeny as Christie Martin, The History of Sound + Greta Lee, Willem Dafoe, & Brendan Fraser vehicles - 1:11:34

OUTRO: We’ll end our Year In Preview Series with the Cannes Lineup reactions and then our 100% Accurate Predictions coming up next! https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

Studio by Studio Film Slates From A24 To WB, Chloe, Denzel & Sandler in play -  YIP3, ORC 4/8/2025

Christina Jeurling Birro of the outstanding podcast, Pop Culture Confidential joins us to discuss the Cannes Film Festival and the films announced in the lineup for its 78th edition. Plus, we happily begin with some talk about the new Oscars Category… 

Stunts! Finally, we are getting a Stunts Design Academy Award - 2:09

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE
Christina’s history attending & covering the Cannes Film Festival - 4:13
Eating on the run & the tight festival schedule - 6:51 
What’s the deal with all the clapping? - 10:03 
The Recent Oscar Streak & Last Year’s Incredible Cannes Slate - 13:51 

IN COMPETITION LINEUP HIGHLIGHTS FOR CANNES 2025:
Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, a 1980’s Aids Crisis Drama from Neon - 17:44
Ari Aster’s Eddington w/ Joaquin vs Pedro + Austin Butler & Emma Stone - 19:55
The History of Sound from Oliver Hermanus, Josh O’Connor & Paul Mescal - 21:23
Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, a Vietnam War art heist story - 22:44 
Richard Linklater’s New Wave on the making of Godard’s Breathless - 24:30 
Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme featuring Kate Winslet’s daughter - 25:58 
Sentimental Value from Neon, Joachim Trier & Renate Reinsve - 29:01 
Other Targets & Potential Discoveries In Competition for Christina - 30:44 

Palme D’or Statistics and Our Way Too Early Palme Predictions - 33:19 
Female Filmmaker Stats Improve, But Still Need More Improvement - 35:13 

Un Certain Regard Recent Oscars Crossover History, Debuts from Scarlett Johansson & Harris Dickinson + Pillion & Other Films we are targeting in this year’s section - 36:16 

OUT OF COMPETITION LINEUP HIGHLIGHTS: 
Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest is the most recent big name to enter Out of Competition following Marty & Baz films in recent years - 39:16 

Jodie Foster in a Murder Mystery & Other Special Screenings of interest - 41:26 
Tom Cruise returns with Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning - 43:28 
Our Reactions to the Star Studded Cannes Premieres Section - 44:20 

What films are NOT here that we thought would be? What films could be added later? And which films might be opting for a Fall Festival launch instead? - 46:02 

What Christina is most looking forward to showing first time Cannes festival goer, Ryan McQuade at this year’s festival - 50:07 

OUTRO: 51:48 - Our words of Wisdom today are to follow Christina Juerling Birro on her socials and to enjoy her work on the internet, (see the links below). Plus, we talk about her upcoming coverage of Cannes and what’s coming next for both our podcasts, Pop Culture Confidential and Mike, Mike and Oscar. So do please support our shows with positive ratings & reviews, and we thank you for doing so. 

Pop Culture Confidential: Pop culture conversations with today's innovators, entertainers and newsmakers - podcast hosted by Christina Jeurling Birro 
https://www.popcultureconfidential.com/

Where To Follow Christina Jeurling Birro on Social Media: 

Instagram 
https://www.instagram.com/christinabirro/
Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/christina.jeurling
Threads 
https://www.threads.net/@christinabirro
Twitter 
https://x.com/ChristinaBirro

MMO https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

The Cannes Lineup with Christina Jeurling Birro: An Oscars Year In Preview Part 4 - ORC 4/12/25

It’s Part One of our Way Too Early 2025-26 Oscars Predictions Special, or Guarantees Special as we should have called it. Screenplays, VFX, Sound, Score, Song, the Shorts, yes - The Shorts, Make-up & Hairstyling, plus Lead Actor and Actress are all discussed.

Original Screenplay reveals films where we’re heavy + where Vegas leans - 3:07 
Adapted Screenplay includes former winners, noms + a UFC champ - 11:37 
VFX w/ Avatar & F1 + sentimental favorites & trailers that look good to us - 18:00 
Sound Design w/ F1 as the favorite + other blockbusters - 23:00 
Original Score has a murderers row of legendary contenders - 25:22 
Original Song includes multiples by two films + the Diane Warren rule - 28:48 
Documentary Short included the most research ever - 31:48 
Animated Short included the least research ever - 35:09 
Live Action Short is as clear a vision into the future as we’ve ever had - 36:44 
Make-up & Hairstyling where we share 4 noms, but talk honorable mentions more - 39:26 
Lead Actor has huge stars and irrational confidence levels from us in our picks - 41:05 
Lead Actress - 47:07

OUTRO - 55:00 - Make sure to go back to the rest of our Oscars Year In Preview Series. We have specials to preview each section of the calendar, plus a Sundance review and a Cannes preview. Also stay locked on our feed for Part Two, where we’ll predict the Supportings, Director, Casting, Best Picture and the rest of the 24 Oscar categories. And as always, let us know your thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, and your predictions via our socials. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar



100% Accurate Oscar Predictions Part 1 for 2025/26 - Guarantees Really - YIP 5, ORC 5/10/25

It’s the second half of our 100% Accurate Way Too Early Oscars Predictions for 2025/26. In this episode, we discuss the Supportings, Casting, Director, Picture and 12 categories in all!

Cinematography - 2:16 
Film Editing - 5:07 
Animated 9:38 
International - 13:09 
Documentary - 17:51 
Costume Design - 20:24 
Production Design - 23:24 
Supporting Actor - 29:00 
Supporting Actress - 37:24 
Casting - 41:17 
Director - 45:00 
Picture - 52:00 

OUTRO - Go back and enjoy our entire Oscars Year In Preview Series as we discussed the calendar, reviewed Sundance, and previewed Cannes. Do look forward to our continuation of our Oscar Profile Movie Reviews series as we’ll do film study episodes on upcoming contenders. But first, we cannot wait to review the reviewers and time the standing ovations from the 2025 Cannes Film Festival later this week. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar


Part 2 of our 100% Accurate Oscars Predictions for 2025/26 - ORC 5/13/25

MMO is talk radio for movie fans with weekly news shows, reviews, previews, and special guests. We celebrate the Oscars by making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. If you love cinema, if you love showbiz, welcome home.

Oscars Year In Preview 2025-26

Mike, Mike, and Oscar