JADE HINDMON Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindmon. Today's midday movies hits the red carpet for an Oscar edition. So joining me once again are KPBS cinema junkie Beth Accomando and Moviewallas podcaster Yazdi Pithavala. Welcome to you both.
BETH ACCOMANDO Thank you.
YAZDI PITHAVALA Thank you.
JADE HINDMON Okay, so the 97th Academy Awards announced its nominations last Thursday. And here were the nominees for best song.
CLIP El Mal from Amelia Perez, the journey from the 6888. Like a bird from Sing Sing Mi. Camino from Emilia Perez. And Never Too Late from Elton John. Never too late. Woo.
JADE HINDMON So, you know, Beth, I know the best song category really kind of annoys you, but, you know, there's been a change this year that I know you're quite pleased with.
BETH ACCOMANDO Yes. So this year they decided they will not present all the best songs in production numbers during the Oscar broadcast. So I am thrilled about this. I am hoping this is a harbinger of them actually removing the category completely from the nominations list because having the nomination means that people keep adding songs to their movies for no reason other than to try and get a Oscar nomination. Very happy about this news.
JADE HINDMON All right, Yazdi, your thoughts?
YAZDI PITHAVALA Yeah, I'm happy. The Oscar ceremony runs like three and a half hours. If you can cut out half an hour just from just half an hour. Yeah, just with. I'm good with that.
JADE HINDMON Okay, well, let's start looking at the nominees this year. And Yazdi, what are the biggest snubs that you found?
YAZDI PITHAVALA Many, many, many, many snubs. But top on the list for me is the Room Next Door, which is Pedro Almodovar's first English language film, which is a beautiful, magnificent kind of meditation on life and death and with gorgeous acting. And that movie was completely shut out, which is a shame. Say what you might about the movie Night pitch, I thought Amy Adams in that is so good, and she definitely deserved recognition in the best female category. And then I think the one that stings the most of all for me is that the movie challengers was completely left out. Was left out from best film, best director, the lead actors. But even within that, I think the one nomination that it missed which is completely inexcusable is for its score because the musical score in that film is just incredible.
JADE HINDMON Let's listen to some of it. This is Match Point by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Well, it's got a lot of energy, for sure. Beth. The score is the only thing you like about the film.
BETH ACCOMANDO Though, yes, I can't agree with Yazdi about the film as a whole being snubbed, but I do agree the score was awesome. In fact, it was the only thing that kept me watching the movie.
JADE HINDMON All right, well, what did Oscar fail to recognize this year?
BETH ACCOMANDO All right, I'm going to say this, even though it may not be a popular thing, but Megalopolis. I'm sorry. I know it was kind of a glorious mess, and it was flawed, but the craft categories, the production design, the costume design, hair and makeup, I mean, all of those things were just spectacular. And I feel like it should have gotten something in one of those categories. But I do feel that Hollywood was prejudiced against it. I think they didn't like the fact that Coppola made this film completely outside the Hollywood studio system, and this is kind of their way of punishing him for that. Another one that I feel got overlooked unfairly is Blitz, and this is from the British director Steve McQueen. And this so captured what it must have felt like to be in the blitz in London during the war. The soundscape on this was amazing. The performances, the young kid. I'll also quickly mention Last Showgirl, which the actresses in that. Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis, unfairly overlooked. But I think the snub that hurts the most or stings the most is Clarence Macklin. So he is part of the rta, which is this rehabilitation through the arts.
BETH ACCOMANDO He was in the film Sing Sing, playing a character much like himself. And, you know, his whole life represents this healing through the arts, this rehabilitation through the arts. And his performance was just spectacular. And when he reads Shakespeare, you just want to see him do a whole performance.
JADE HINDMON When we are born, we cry because we're born to a stage of fools.
BETH ACCOMANDO And I said, whoever wrote this man had to do the baby fool, you know? So I really feel like that was something unfairly overlooked.
JADE HINDMON Very powerful movie, for sure. Beth, were there any nominations that really surprised you and just made you smile?
BETH ACCOMANDO There actually were a few. I think the one that was the biggest surprise for me was Nickel Boys. The film is done completely from the point of view of the two characters, so the perspective changes, but it's told. It's a lot like a Terrence Malick film where it's told in these brief moments, moments and flashes and memories. It's not a linear narrative script in a traditional sense. So I was really surprised that a film that kind of blew past these traditional boundaries got recognition from the Academy, especially in the Best Picture category. So I was really thrilled to see that in the documentary category, soundtrack to a coup d'et. Again, this was a dense documentary, heavily layered. You were getting images with information, text and graphics with information, voiceover with information. And you were trying to pay attention to all of this in a two and a half hour documentary. And it was so engrossing and engaging. But again, I thought the complexity of the format might be something that would put off some Academy voters. But I will say, in the acting category, my big joy was Yora Borisov in Anora. He plays Igor and he hardly has any lines, and yet he is so compelling and engaging and with so little dialog.
BETH ACCOMANDO He completely wins us over. And then, of course, as a horror fan, I was thrilled to see the amount of award nominations for the Substance and especially for Demi Moore. And we can hear a little bit of her in this clip from the Substance when she's running her workout show.
JADE HINDMON Hang in there, ladies.
BETH ACCOMANDO You've got it. You've got it. Ah. Great workout, baby.
JADE HINDMON All right, I hope I see you.
BETH ACCOMANDO Next week for Sparkle youl Life. We're gonna work on the lateral abs. You know, the most difficult part to sculpt. But in the meantime, take care of yourself.
JADE HINDMON Wow. It reminds me of the trips to Victani's when my mom was going and I was little. Oh, my gosh. Well, Yazdi, which nominations were unexpected for you and really pleased you.
YAZDI PITHAVALA Yeah. So first of all, I would agree with Beth on the Yura Borisov nomination on Anora. He's a pretty famous actor in Russia, but not well known stateside at all. And he's kind of the movie's secret weapon. You don't really realize how important his character is until that character develops. And so I'm so glad that he got the recognition, but I'm really happy that Sebastian Stan is having such a good year. He was in two movies which were very well. Interestingly, he got the Best actor nomination for the Apprentice. Actually, in my opinion, I think he should have been nominated for the other film, which is a different man. I'm also a big, big fan of the movie Flo, which picked up a Best Animated Movie, but also surprisingly, picked up a Best International Film nomination as well. And that movie is just a sal for the soul. I think it's finally. I'm just so pleasantly surprised that a movie that nobody's heard of, which actually isn't even released, it's releasing this Friday. A Brazilian movie called I'm Still Here, did so well at the Oscars, and it picked up Best Film, Best International Film as well.
YAZDI PITHAVALA As the lead female acting category. So I'm very pleasantly surprised.
JADE HINDMON All right, well, okay, so if you could replace three of the Best pick nominees that you disapprove of, which would you remove and what would you replace it with? Yazdi. I'll start with you on that.
YAZDI PITHAVALA Yeah. So I actually think if you look at the 10 movies nominated this year for best film, it's actually a pretty good list. There is something for everyone. You have the big blockbusters like Dune and Wicked. You have a movie like the Substance, which even three or four years ago would not have even been considered for nomination. There are smaller movies like the Nickel Boys. It's a really good category. Having said that, I would personally replace Wicked, which I think is celebrated. I mean, everybody loves it. I would replace that.
BETH ACCOMANDO Not everybody.
YAZDI PITHAVALA I'm just kidding. So I would replace Wicked with Challengers. Again, I've spoken about this movie before. Unlike Beth, I really love it. It's sexy and it's original and it's unpredictable and it's just these three characters literally bumping against each other. Love that. I would also replace Amelia Perez with the movie that Beth talked about just a few minutes ago, which is Sing Sing. I think Sing Sing is such a beautiful, heartfelt movie. Don't get me wrong about Amelia Perez. That movie has so much energy to spare. It is all razzle dazzle, but I think it kind of makes a lot of missteps as far as the plot is concerned. And finally, A Complete Unknown is a perfectly good film. But I think it's very workmanlike. It does its job and it does it very well. But I would personally have replaced it with wonderful, smaller films that could have used the recognition. Movies like Dee Dee or Love Lies Bleeding or All We Imagine Is Light.
JADE HINDMON Beth, I think you were even less pleased.
BETH ACCOMANDO So I always seem less pleased than Yazdi. Really?
JADE HINDMON This is becoming a pattern. I see. What would you do? What would you replace?
BETH ACCOMANDO Definitely, I would take Wicked out two and a half hours and it's not even done. So one of my favorite films from last year was a horror film called Strange Darling, which I hate to say anything about it because it's the surprise of where it goes that is so effective. But I will say that it is such a carefully calibrated movie. Excellently scripted, precisely edited, well acted, like, so good on so many points that I would definitely put it up there in the best film category and replace Wicked with that. I also have some problems with Emilia Perez. I love this director, Jacques Odillard. He's Very flamboyant and audacious. And I love that he tackles cinema in very exciting ways. But I had some issues with how the plot used transitioning and a character who transitions as kind of a gimmick in the plot. So I would replace it with a film that I think has much more interesting and layered representation of trans characters. And that's I saw the TV glow. I also think even as audacious as Emilia Perez was, I think I saw the TV glow as even more ambitious. And this was directed by Jane Schoenbrunn and she identifies as trans feminine and non binary.
BETH ACCOMANDO And I think she tells a story of the trans community, I think in a much more interesting way. And I think part of the problem with that film is that there is a bleakness and darkness to it. And I think Amelia Perez feels much more celebratory. So I can understand why, like voters might not have picked it, but I just think it was an amazing film from last year. And then I would also replace a complete unknown, but I would probably put in blitz because I really thought that was a wonderful film.
JADE HINDMON Well, we asked some San Diego cinephiles their thoughts on the Oscars and here's what they had to say. Hey, it's Eddie Garolla from Popcorn Reef and I am upset about some of the things the Academy did this year.
BETH ACCOMANDO Gladiator 2.
JADE HINDMON Not getting a best Picture nod, not getting a Ridley Scott nod, not getting.
BETH ACCOMANDO A Denzel Washington nod.
JADE HINDMON I thought that movie was top tier Ridley Scott. Hi, this is Gabby, aka 7 Octobers, the host of Nightmare on Sedgwick Avenue podcast. I was really shocked that Strange Darling didn't get a nomination for either best cinematography or best Picture. It was one of my favorite films of 2024. Hello, my name is Celeste Lopez and I'm a full time security security here in San Diego. I believe that one of the biggest snubs to come out of the Oscars was the omission of Nicole Kidman as she did not receive a nomination for.
BETH ACCOMANDO Best Actress despite all the critical acclaims.
JADE HINDMON Of her role in Baby Girl. Baby Girl not getting major nominations. I think that that movie was really a triumph for a 24 and everybody involved in it. If I had to like replace any nomination, I think it would be in the best original song category and I would remove Mikamino from the Milie Perez movie and replace it with Smile 2. New Brain is the name of the song.
BETH ACCOMANDO I was also very happy to see.
JADE HINDMON This substance, a personal favorite of mine.
BETH ACCOMANDO Getting notoriety as I feel the film.
JADE HINDMON Truly deserves all three nominations. Hey, everyone. Sterling Anno here. I just wanted to take a moment to thank the Academy from the bottom of my heart for nominating Luca Guadagnino's challengers for not only Best Original Score, Best Editing and Best Lead Actor. Oh, wait, I forgot. They gave all of those actually to Wicked and Amelia Perez. Well, the Oscars are all about looking back at the best of 2024. But what are you both looking forward to in the cinemas for 2025?
YAZDI PITHAVALA Yeah. So Jade, 2025 could shape up to be a great year for cinema with so many wonderful big name filmmakers releasing films. This year, I want to recommend a couple. One is a movie called Materialists, which is the latest film from Celine Song, who made Past Lives a year ago, and I just love that movie. And then Bong Joon Ho, who has been quiet since Parasite swept the Oscar several years ago, finally has a new movie coming out actually very, very soon in a couple of weeks. And it's called Mickey 17 and it's SCI fi and set in the future. And I cannot wait.
BETH ACCOMANDO I am really looking forward to Guillermo del Toro's take on Frankenstein. And surprisingly, Edgar Wright is doing a remake of the Running Man. So I love Edgar Wright. He has done no wrong so far for me, so I will go out and see that. But two kind of horror themed films that I'm really looking forward to are the Rule of Jenny Penn, which has Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow and a creepy doll in an old people's home. I love the fact they're setting a horror film. It's kind of like Bubba Hotep was set in a rest home. So I'm looking forward to that. The doll is creepy. And then I'm also really looking forward to Ryan Coogler's vampire tale called Sinners. And this stars Michael B. Jordan. And here's a little taste of it. I've been all over this world. I seen men die in ways I ain't even know was possible.
JADE HINDMON Love you, brother.
BETH ACCOMANDO Be careful.
JADE HINDMON I will. Okay, so we've been talking a lot about movies and I'm curious to know if you all ever leave the theaters and then just kind of get out in the world and do something fun.
BETH ACCOMANDO Not in the sun, but yes.
JADE HINDMON No. Okay, what's happening this weekend?
YAZDI PITHAVALA My second love after movies is food. So you know, food and movies, nothing's better than that. So I'm really excited that the San Diego restaurant week starts. It's a really good opportunity to go to some of the more expensive restaurants and have a tasting of their menu at much lower prices. So I'm looking forward to that. And then this weekend is also the Chinese Lunar New Year, and there's gonna be celebrations all around town at SeaWorld San Diego at the Mission Valley Mall. And finally, the old Globe opens its new season with the play Appropriate, which was playing on Broadway a little while ago. And it's supposed to be about two siblings, two brothers who show up at their deceased father's home to kind of clean out the home and they find a relic which makes them rethink their whole family. So I kind of like those kind of deep dark secrets kind of place. So I'm looking forward to watching that as well.
JADE HINDMON Wow, great recommendations there, Beth. What do you have?
BETH ACCOMANDO Well, speaking of Lunar New Year, my grandfather was Chinese, so I am hosting the Chinese New Year meal at my home on Saturday. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do anything else this weekend, but if I did, I was desperately trying to get into puppy yoga. I feel like world events are making me a little stressed out and having a bunch of puppies run over me while I try to do yoga sounds really appealing. But if you're into games. GamerCon is returning to 10th Avenue Arts center this week, and that's always fun. And then I am a total vintage flea market type person. So Vintage Social Club San Diego has a vintage flea market this weekend over at the Normal Heights Masonic Center.
JADE HINDMON That sounds interesting. What kind of vintage things do you find at that market?
BETH ACCOMANDO I mean, you can find all sorts. Dolls, ventriloquist dummies.
JADE HINDMON Come on. All the creepy things.
BETH ACCOMANDO Well, I mean, you can find lovely things also. I mean, I was at one and I found an old Italian cookbook. So you can find books, you can find clothes, you can find all sorts of things. But I do look for ventriloquist dummies just to scare my friend.
JADE HINDMON Okay, Yassi, what do you think about that?
YAZDI PITHAVALA No, I think I'll come. I'll come for the cookbook, but not for the dummy.
JADE HINDMON Well, for our final recommendations for the weekend, let's go to a local artist.
JENNIFER COOKSEYHi, I'm Jen from Horrorgasm. We're an indie comic imprint and we. Also host horror themed events throughout San Diego. But this weekend I'm excited about Punxsutawney Sunday at Winston's in Ocean beach. Doors open at 3pm it features Mo And the Failure, the Midnight Block, and more. I love shows like this because it's punk rock at a reasonable hour and I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday in San Diego than listening to local punk music and enjoying the beach.
JADE HINDMON All right. Well, I want to thank the artist and our guest, KPBS cinema junkie Beth Acomando and movie Wallace podcaster Yazdi Pithavala. The 97th Academy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2nd. You can find the complete list of nominees as well as more information on our Weekend recommendations at kpbs.org Thanks so much for joining us.
BETH ACCOMANDO Thank you.
YAZDI PITHAVALA Thank you.
