THE HOLLYWOOD PODCAST

For our pre-Oscars episode, former Variety editor Jenelle Riley joins me to discuss our final predictions for Hollywood's biggest night.

Today’s guests took one of the most universal human gestures — a kiss — and made it feel entirely new.Their Oscar-nominated live action short Two People Exchanging Saliva takes place in a dystopian world where kissing is punishable by death.I’m joined by the filmmakers behind it, Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata.

Oscar-nominated film editor Olivier Bugge Coutté is a filmmaker whose work has quietly shaped some of the most emotionally resonant European films of the past decade. His previous films include Beginners, Oslo August 31st, The Worst Person in the World, and The Apprentice. His latest project, Sentimental Value, is what has earned him his first Oscar nomination in addition to 8 other nominations including Best Picture.

Today's episode features the Oscar-nominated visual effects team behind Jurassic World: Rebirth — four artists whose work has helped define modern blockbuster spectacle.Charmaine Chan is a veteran VFX supervisor whose past credits include A Quiet Place Day One, The Acolyte and The Creator. Jurassic World: Rebirth is her first Oscar nomination.David Vickery is a VFX supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic. He has overseen groundbreaking work on films such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 for which he was previously nominated as well as films such as Avatar: The Way of Water and Jurassic World: Dominion. Steve Aplin’s previous credits also include Gladiator 2 and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker as well as Aladdin, Jupiter Ascending and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. This is also Steve’s first nomination2-time Oscar winner Neil Corbould, one of the industry’s leading special effects supervisors, has worked on films such as Gravity & Gladiator (both of which he won for), as well as Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawn Down and so many other Blockbuster spectacles. He’s been nominated 9 times.Together, this team brings a rare fusion of cutting-edge digital artistry and practical effects expertise to Jurassic World: Rebirth, continuing the legacy of cinematic innovation that audiences have come to expect from the franchise.

Writer and director Lee Knight, whose latest film A Friend of Dorothy has quietly become one of the most powerful and personal films of the year, culminated in an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short. The film stars acclaimed BAFTA winning actress Miriam Margolyes as a lonely widow who befriends her teenage neighbour, depicting an unlikely, poignant bond over shared loneliness. The film also stars the legendary Stephen Fry.

Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski are an Oscar-nominated directing duo known for their hauntingly tactile approach to stop-motion animation. Their latest short, The Girl Who Cried Pearls—now nominated for Best Animated Short—continues their fascination with inner psychological worlds, blending surreal imagery with deeply human emotion. The film is about a poor boy living in Montreal at the dawn of the 20th century who falls in love with a girl whose sorrow turns into pearls. He sells them to a ruthless pawnbroker, who hungers for more. Tempted by greed, the boy must choose between love and fortune. The choice could damn his soul.

Director John Kelly and producer Andrew Freedman are the filmmakers behind the short film Retirement Plan has just earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film. The film is about a middle-aged man fantasizing about his future retirement. The 7-minute film has won numerous awards at festivals like SXSW and Palm Springs in addition to its' Oscar nomination.

Tony-nominated actress Lauren Worsham has built a dynamic career across Broadway, regional theater, and television. She was Tony nominated & won the Drama Desk Award for her performance in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, and has previously appeared in shows such as Sunday in the Park, Call Me Madam, Big River, and Where’s Charley (NY City Center Encores); Turn of the Screw  (NYC Opera), Showboat (NY Philharmonic), and Candide  (NYC Opera). She now stars in Amadeus at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Byron Howard, one of the key creative forces behind modern Disney animation, is nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar for ZOOTOPIA 2, which he directed alongside Jared Bush. He’s been at Walt Disney Animation Studios for decades and has directed or co-directed films like BOLT, TANGLED, ZOOTOPIA, and ENCANTO.His work has earned multiple Academy Award nominations and wins, including Oscars for ZOOTOPIA and ENCANTO.

Oscar-winning producer Ron Dyens is nominated at this year's Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film for BUTTERFLY - a beautiful film from director and acclaimed French animator Florence Miailhe which tells the story of Jewish French swimmer Alfred Nakache, who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Nazi Germany. Dyens won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature last year for FLOW.

Geeta Gandbhir and Christalyn Hampton are the directing duo behind the Oscar-nominated short documentary The Devil Is Busy, now streaming on HBO Max. The film chronicles a day on the frontlines in the battle for reproductive rights at a women's healthcare clinic in Atlanta.

Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian are the directors of the Oscar-nominated animated film, Pixar's Elio.Shi is an Academy Award–winning filmmaker who directed Pixar’s Oscar-winning short Bao and the feature Turning Red.Sharafian is a director and longtime Pixar storyboard artist who worked on films such as Coco, Onward, and Turning Red. She directed the acclaimed Oscar-nominated SparkShort Burrow, and Elio marks her feature co-directing debut.

Today’s guest is cinematographer Ashley Barron who shot Episodes 1–3 of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, now streaming on Netflix. The series is about three lifelong friends who  reunite after the death of an old classmate and turns a wake into a dark mystery. They embark on a thrilling adventure across Ireland, piecing together enigmatic truths amid complicated lives. Ashley helped establish the visual language of the series — balancing grief, mystery, and dark comedy while grounding the story in a richly atmospheric take on Ireland.

Co-writer John Kinnane and executive producer Jeffrey Azize discuss their work on their latest film SOLO MIO starring Kevin James and Alyson Hannigan.Left heartbroken in Rome after a wedding disaster, Kevin James plays a stranded groom who finds his ruined honeymoon transformed by a determined local and a few meddling travelers-proving that sometimes heartbreak is only the beginning.

Erica Dasher is an actor, writer, and director you know from Jane by Design. She’s back on TV in Peacock’s new series The Burbs, premiering February 8. Starring Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall, the show is inspired by the cult-classic film — and Erica’s character sits at the center of the mystery driving the entire season. She’s fresh off a year on Broadway in the Tony Award–winning Leopoldstadt.

Ric Roman Waugh, a director and producer known for grounded, high-stakes storytelling, returns to the Greenland world with its' sequel Greenland 2: Migration, now being released on digital. His past directing credits include Angel Has Fallen, Shot Caller, Snitch, and Felon — films that combine large-scale action with deeply human stakes.

In celebration of the Blu Ray re-release of the 2009 modern indie cult comedy classic MYSTERY TEAM, the film's co-writer/director Dan Eckman and co-writer/actor DC Pierson are joining the show today. In this episode, they share how their viral online sketch comedy led to the making of the film.

Emmy–winning visual effects supervisor Eran Dinur has shaped unforgettable effects work across film and television, contributing to major titles like The Trial of the Chicago 7, Uncut Gems, Hereditary, The Greatest Showman, The Lost City of Z and The Wolf of Wall Street, as well as acclaimed TV such as Boardwalk Empire—for which he earned a Primetime Emmy and two Visual Effects Society awards. He’s joining us to talk about his latest film, the nine-time Oscar nominated film MARTY SUPREME directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothee Chalamet, and the ambitious VFX work behind its stylized table-tennis action, massive period environments, and large-scale crowd sequences.

Costume designer Malgosia Turzanska, whose credits include The Green Knight, Hell or High Water, Stranger Things, X, Pearl, Expats, brings deeply emotional storytelling to her costuming work. She’s had two incredible films come out this year, Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar’s Train Dreams with Joel Edgerton and the other film, which is what we’re discussing, Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet with Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.  Her work uses natural textures and subtle Elizabethan references to reflect grief, memory, and the inner lives of Agnes and William Shakespeare—earning her major awards attention this season.

Michael Ralla and James Alexander are part of the VFX team from Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS starring Michael B Jordan - which became a cultural phenomenon of a film this past year and now an awards juggernaut. Michael’s past credits include John Wick Chapter 4, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Tragedy of Macbeth. James’s previous credits include The Marvels and the Disney+ series WandaVision.