Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins host an Oscar snubs draft with guests Joanna Robinson (Vanity Fair, The Ringer), Katie Rich (The Ankler, Prestige Junkie podcast), and Chris Ryan. The conversation covers the current Oscar race between Anora and The Brutalist, with discussion of recent nominees' luncheon attendance and campaign dynamics.

The draft features seven categories spanning Oscar history: Best Picture nominee snubs (20th and 21st century), Best Picture winner snubs, Best Actor/Actress winner snubs, Best Director winner snubs, and a wildcard category. Participants must select different years, creating a complex strategic element across 90+ years of Academy Awards history.

The episode concludes with Fennessey's interview with Oliver Lashé, writer-director of Surat, discussing the film's intense approach to cinema as catharsis and its unexpected success in American awards season despite its challenging, provocative content.

Current Oscar Race Dynamics and Campaign Season

Joanna Robinson attended the nominees luncheon where 'Ryan Coogler and Zinzi Coogler definitely got the biggest applause in the entire room' for The Brutalist, showing continued enthusiasm for the film.

Katie Rich conducted 38 interviews at the nominees luncheon, asking about favorite Oscar-winning movies and celebrating below-the-line nominees who often get less attention during awards season.

The Anora versus The Brutalist race 'keeps staying unsettled' with both films representing 'two great movies' that make for compelling Oscar drama according to the panel.

Best Actor remains focused on Timothée Chalamet, with Katie noting 'he's 30, we just have to deal with that' and his strong performance at the DGA awards.

Defining Oscar Snubs and Historical Context

Amanda Seyfried not getting nominated over Kate Hudson represents a clear snub 'from a purely emotional and analytical perspective' - Sean, while acknowledging snubs are inherently subjective.

Distance provides clarity on snubs: 'you can only have distance to understand a snub' - Joanna, explaining why historical perspective matters more than contemporary reactions.

The industry's campaign-focused nature creates real snub feelings when 'someone doesn't get the phone call on Oscar morning' after building expectations through awards season.

Mark Harris has 'famously for years been saying there's no such thing as a snub' but the panel disagrees, arguing that over time 'the body tends to recognize greatness.'

Strategic Draft Picks and Historical Corrections

Joanna's opening pick of Mad Max Fury Road over Spotlight (2015) reflects how the film 'almost everyone acknowledges is an absolute classic' and has Blood and Thunder written about it by Kyle Buchanan.

Amanda's Social Network pick over The King's Speech represents David Fincher's lack of directing Oscars, calling it 'insane' that he lost 'to a Tom Hooper movie.'

Katie's complex historical fix: giving Jack Nicholson the Oscar for Chinatown (1974) creates a domino effect allowing Al Pacino to win for Dog Day Afternoon, then Denzel Washington for Malcolm X.

Chris Ryan's Goodfellas pick over Dances with Wolves emphasizes how 'history has proven that this is a much more significant piece of cinema' with larger cultural footprint.

Genre Films and Academy Recognition Evolution

The Dark Knight's 2008 snub 'created mass hysteria among Nolan fans' and led to the Academy expanding Best Picture categories to better include genre films.

Mad Max Fury Road represents the transition period where the Academy was 'trying to show that we are hip to genre, but before a bigger pivot to actually honoring genre in the top category.'

2001: A Space Odyssey losing to Oliver (1968) exemplifies how the Academy historically ignored science fiction despite the film 'predicting how this world is going to end.'

The Matrix not being nominated for Best Picture in 1999 shows the Academy's lack of readiness for innovative filmmaking that 'captured the culture' and changed cinema.

Director and Performance Legacy Corrections

Alfred Hitchcock never winning Best Director gets corrected with Rebecca over John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940), addressing one of cinema's most famous oversights.

Steven Spielberg's delayed recognition gets addressed with E.T. over Gandhi (1982), noting how 'another one of these people who just had to wait weirdly too long.'

Denzel Washington for Malcolm X over Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman (1992) represents 'one of the great insanities' and 'one of the greatest screen performances ever.'

Betty Davis for All About Eve over Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday (1950) corrects 'one of my five favorite performances ever, probably' - Chris.

Oliver Lashé on Surat's Cinematic Philosophy

Lashé describes his creative process as 'visceral' rather than intellectual, explaining 'I wanted to die making the film' and create cinema that confronts audiences with mortality.

'Cinema is a place for catharsis' and 'we have to learn to die before dying' - Lashé's philosophy positions film as spiritual preparation for life's ultimate experience.

The film's shocking moments serve as 'shock therapy' designed so that 'when the film finished, you are more alive' through confronting personal limits.

Surat was cast through 'raves and communities' with non-professional actors chosen for their 'fragility' because 'we are fragile and we like to see fragility in front of the image.'