- This Year's Academy Award says almost everything, fast cars, conspiracies, classic tales, monsters, intrigue, and nature.

It's a remarkable collection of films and this week's guest has reviewed them all.

He's Pete Hammond this week on "Story in the Public Square".

(inspiring music) (inspiring music continues) (inspiring music continues) Hello and welcome to a "Story in the Public Square" where storytelling meets public affairs.

I'm Jim Ludes from the Pell Center at Salve Regina University, and my guest this week is an old friend of the show.

Pete Hammond is the awards columnist, chief film critic for Deadline and the man to go to if you want to understand what's coming out of Hollywood.

He's joining us today from Los Angeles.

Pete, it's so great to be with you again today.

- Hi, how are you doing?

- You know, it's a tremendous crop of films this year that the Academy has up for consideration for Best Picture.

We wanna spend some time talking to you about each of them, but before we do, I just wanna ask you real quick about the overall state of the film industry.

Lots of sales, lots of discussion of sales.

I look at Warner Brothers, I look at Paramount.

What's the overall health of the industry as we head into this award ceremony?

- Well, I think the theatrical industry is slowly recovering from the pandemic, the strikes, all the things that's hit it.

But when you see movies, breaking records like "Zootopia", and things like that, and "Avatar" doing really well, and those kind of tent poles that used to drive the industry, I think it's really encouraging to see that people still wanna go out to movies.

And we'll see that with some of the Academy Award nominees too.

A24 just had its biggest opening ever, the biggest movie they've ever released with "Marty Supreme", which also has nine Oscar nominations.

And it is right on top of their mountain now for people actually going out and seeing movies.

And that's happening not with the just independence like that, but some of the major studios.

Brad Pitt had his biggest movie ever with "F1" through Apple, a streaming service that they went theatrical and it had the longest run theatrically this year.

And now, it's a Best Picture Oscar nominee as well.

So, if you give them the movies, they will come.

And that's encouraging to me with all the changes, with all the mergers, Warner Brothers, Paramount trying to walk in and steal it away from Netflix, all that's a lot of drama going on right now.

But, you know.

And also, all the deals are up with the guilds again, SAG and the Writers Guild.

And so, we're hopeful that we're not gonna have another strike.

'Cause that'll just take us right back down.

So, we'll see.

But right now, I'm encouraged.

- Well, you mentioned some of them.

There are some really, this is a tremendous crop of films up for Best Picture this year.

Let's get right to them.

Beginning with "Bugonia".

- "Bugonia" is one of my guilty pleasures of the year.

I love this movie, but some people don't.

So, the fact that it's gotten this kind of awards recognition with a Best Picture nomination, and also for Emma Stone, it is a really out there kind of movie based on a obscure South Korean science fiction movie from years ago.

They got the basic premise from that Yorgos Lanthimos, the great Greek director who did "Poor Things" and many other movies.

He came up with this kind of wild concept that really plays with our head about what's real and what's not real.

It's a movie you don't wanna know too much about if you get a chance to see it, because it's full of surprises and little twist.

And a great acting, not just by Emma Stone, who's up for Best Actress, but by Jesse Plemons who plays opposite her and unfortunately got cut out of the Best Actor race.

There were just too many this year.

- I thought it was intense.

I enjoyed it as well.

"F1", this is a movie that was, I thought fun, Jerry Bruckheimer, but maybe not the kind of thing that I would expect to see in the Best Picture category.

- I actually predicted it would get a Best Picture nomination, be... Look, it came out last summer and I was talking to a lot of Academy members who said, "Finally, my favorite movie this year."

I could tell (Jim chuckles) they really responded to it.

And you have Brad Pitt in a role that he was born to play.

This is a throwback to the great movie star roles.

And also, auto racing movies have done well with the Academy in the past.

"Grand Prix" won three Oscars in technical categories, but not so much in Best Picture.

But this follows on the heels of "Top Gun: Maverick" with Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer, making that into a huge hit with Tom Cruise, and its director, Joseph Kosinski.

They re-team on this one and sort of followed the Formula, but instead of flying, its driving.

And it worked, didn't it?

- It absolutely did.

Pete, another one that was, I thought, an epic retelling of a classic was "Frankenstein".

(Pete chuckles) - Yeah.

- Just incredible in its scope.

And tell us your take on it.

- Well, "Frankenstein" is the passion project of Guillermo del Toro, the great Guillermo del Toro, who won an Oscar for Best Picture and Director for "The Shape of Water" several years ago in 2017.

But this movie is something he's wanted to do since he was 11 years old.

And he has written forewords and things for five different versions of the book by Mary Shelley.

He knows it inside and out, and he had a vision.

And what he's done is build a beautiful gothic world here and done a "Frankenstein" for the ages.

No previous "Frankenstein" movie has gotten anywhere near a Best Picture nomination from the Academy.

And this one is not only the production value is stunning, but so is the acting.

And Jacob Elordi got nominated for playing the creature.

That sure has hell never happened before either.

So, it's pretty wild.

- Well, and how unusual is it for a horror movie or a monster movie to get this kind of recognition?

- It's fairly unusual, but it's not unprecedented.

The first big winner people consider a horror movie, I consider it more of a suspense thriller kind of thing, is "Silence of the Lambs" - Right.

- in 1991.

But every now and then, one thing will come around and break a precedent.

People say, "Oh, the Academy's not into that."

There was another good one this year, "Weapons", and got a nomination for Amy Madigan.

And then, of course, you have "Sinners" this year, and we'll talk about that too, but that's got a lot of horror elements.

So, maybe the Academy's loosened up on saying that horror movies aren't just as good as anything else.

- Well, we have to talk about "Hamnet".

(Pete chuckles) - "Hamnet" is great when people stop calling it "Hamlet".

(both laughing) I mean, they keep saying, "Yeah, I think they made a mistake on the spelling."

No, they didn't.

Obviously, "Hamnet" is the son of William Shakespeare and it's a tragic story.

But it is the story of what drove him actually to write "Hamlet", what went beyond that, his own personal life, and what was going on in it.

And stunning performances here, particularly by the Oscar-nominated Best Actress, a front runner, I think, Jessie Buckley, who's tremendous in this movie.

From Chloe Zhao, who won the Oscar five years ago for "Nomadland".

And she has now come back with this movie that you would look at it as a smaller, more independent movie, but it isn't really because it's produced by among others, Steven Spielberg - Yeah.

- and Sam Mendes.

And it was actually Spielberg who came up with the idea.

He was originally gonna direct it himself, and then he felt he wasn't quite right for it.

He came up with the idea of giving it to Chloe Zhao.

The rest is history.

And the movie has really moved audiences ever since I first saw it at it's very first screening at the Telluride Film Festival, and it just blew people away.

- This is one of the movies, and so I get the list of Best Pictures, and the ones that I haven't seen, I then, I track down before we have our conversation.

This is one I had to still go to the theater to see.

And it seems to me like they're lingering in theaters a little bit longer this year than they did in years previous.

Am I just imagining that or is there something going on there?

- No, no, you wanna keep it in theaters as much for the idea that it's a theatrical thing.

The problem when you have a lot of streaming movies is that they come on, they're big for a couple of weeks, and then people forget they're there.

They go into what Paul Schrader described to me once as the larder.

It's just there.

And here, if you're in theaters, it's still front of mind.

And this movie, I was talking to Chloe Zhao just last week, she thinks it's so important for people to see this one in theaters, to have this kind of communal experience watching this movie.

And that is why they're expanding the theatrical run, not limiting it or diminishing it.

- That's interesting.

So, "Marty Supreme", another one I saw in the theater.

There's so much to say about this.

Why don't you go ahead?

(Pete laughing) - Well, what can you say, it's the first ping-pong movie nominated for Best Picture, and, ever.

(both laughing) Timothee Chalamet has been on a roll forever.

He's had three previous Oscar nominations, the youngest ever to have all these Best Actor nominations consistently in that number at his age, which is 30.

And he was just nominated last year for playing Bob Dylan.

And here he is again.

And I think driving this movie a great performance.

It is loosely based on a real guy, but they changed the name and it's sort of inspired by a book this guy wrote about his ping-pong exploits and everything.

But it takes it in a whole other direction.

And it is that, for that reason, an original screenplay.

And also nine nominations for A24.

It's become their biggest grossing movie ever.

- Wow.

- And they've had two past Best Picture winners, "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and "Moonlight".

And they're a very successful company, but this one is their biggest success.

People have latched onto it, even though I think "Marty Supreme" is an unlikeable character for much of this movie.

And also marks a return for the first time in seven years to Gwyneth Paltrow, who I thought was really good in it as well, the whole cast.

Kevin O'Leary, if you watch "Shark Tank", - Right.

- I mean, he's never acted before.

He was perfect in this.

- Well, and so Timothee Chalamet, I totally agree with you about sort of carrying the storyline forward and his performance is exceptional.

When you think about Best Actor nominees, he's gotta be at the top of that list.

- Yeah, he's the front runner right now.

He's won at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice, and he's definitely there.

He's got big competition with Leonardo DiCaprio going for his second Oscar in a movie we'll talk about.

But also a little sleeper, Ethan Hawke in "Blue Moon", he's fantastic and he's a very popular actor in the business.

If somebody's gonna upset Timothee, it might be him.

But right now, clearly, the front runner and people are seeing the movie, which is also key, and it's nominated in all the major categories.

- Well, you mentioned Leonardo DiCaprio, "One Battle After Another".

- Yeah.

- It just an incredible performance.

- This movie is just bulldozing its way through the award season ever since it was unveiled in September.

And I was moderating the official screening for the Academy.

And it was the first time I'd seen that theater, which is a thousand seats packed.

Usually, I've done stuff there where there's 40 people, 40 members showing up.

(Jim chuckles) Here, it was packed, massive standing ovation.

You never see that either.

That was extraordinary for Paul Thomas Anderson, who has been nominated previously 11 times and for various movies.

And now, finally, I think they feel he's overdue.

And this has won every precursor award this season, everything, at the Golden Globes, at Critics' Choice, at all the critics groups, nominated across the board for everything you can imagine, 13 nominations here.

This is a movie that is classified as a comedy, although I think it's hard to just call it a comedy.

It's wild.

And, you know.

But it is very funny.

And what a great ensemble cast.

Not just Leonardo DiCaprio, who I think has never been better.

- Well- - Certainly never funnier than any is in this role.

- And I don't know how long ago they actually filmed, did primary production on the filming of this, but the- - Couple years ago.

- But the storyline, particularly around immigration, which is sort of a sub-narrative that's going on throughout the film, seems like it's pulled from 2026.

- I know.

It's actually become very, very prescient here.

And not just there, but with the whole immigration thing, the guy that just lost the job in Minne- - Bovino.

Yeah.

- Yes.

They're saying, there's memes out there saying he's Sean Penn in this movie, Steven Lockjaw.

(Jim laughing) - Yeah.

- Suddenly, Sean Penn didn't know he was playing a real guy, but now the real guy, it just shows you the crazy business that we're in.

And also, the whole idea of the Christmas Adventurers Club is also a very real, as we've read the Epstein reports and there was one just like it.

- Yeah, yeah.

It's remarkable.

So, a couple of international films are in the 10 Best Picture nominees this year as well.

Let's start with the "Secret Agent".

- Yeah, the international wave in the Oscar nominations is relatively new, but it goes along with the increase in membership of global membership of the Academy.

They made an effort to get more international directors and artisans in the Academy.

And that's why every year now, we're seeing more and more.

This year, we have two nominees now.

"Secret Agent" comes from Brazil, which won the International Award last year and is on a roll itself.

And this movie debuted at the Cannes Film Festival like so many of these international films do now, and won a prize there and won the Best Actor award for Wagner Mour, who's up for the Oscar for Best Actor too in this movie, which is kind of a fascinating movie.

It really looks at the government in Brazil and what happened there, but puts it, wraps it up in a very unique kind of story that I think grabbed people here.

And as it did when it debuted last May, when I saw it and reviewed it in Cannes, you sort of knew this movie was gonna go places.

And for Brazil, it's a very big deal to have this Best Picture nomination.

- Well, in the other international film in the category this year is "Sentimental Value".

- Yeah.

And that one's huge.

That's nine nominations for a Norwegian movie.

(laughs) I mean, think about that.

But it comes from very smart director, filmmakers, and what a great cast.

Right from the beginning of the season, this cast has been in lockstep with each other going from Q&A to Q&A.

So, you have Stellan Skarsgard.

You have Elle Fanning, the only American in the cast.

You have Renate Reinsve, and you have Inga Ibsdotter, who is all nominated.

They're all nominated for acting, all four of them.

And it's really a remarkable achievement just on that level.

But it shows that it's a universal story.

It's one about a father, an estranged father reaching out, trying to communicate to his daughter who he hasn't talked to in forever, and he's a filmmaker and he's brought a script that he's written for her.

This is way of getting back into a, some kind of relationship with her.

And it's a very moving movie, but not the kind of film you think, oh, people are gonna rush out and see.

It's quiet, it's reflective, and beautifully acted.

So, it's nice to see it get this kind of attention.

- Well, it's a, and again, just remarkable category this year.

"Sinners", a lot of buzz around this - Yeah.

- as the big winner, more nominees than any other film in the Academy's history.

Tell us about "Sinners".

- Yeah.

Not only more nominations, 16.

It did that, it could have been 15 and broken that record.

(Jim laughing) This was amazing.

That was something that we predicted would happen though, because it's got every possibility of every category that it's eligible in of doing that.

And it's musical in its own way.

It's a story about the blues in some ways.

It's a vampire movie in some ways.

It's a throwback to the great Warner Brothers gangster movies in some ways.

Michael B. Jordan, playing opposite himself, nominated there.

A great, great musical score by Ludwig Goransson.

Great song called "I Lied to You".

Among its many nominations, this one is hard to categorize in so many ways 'cause it came out of nowhere.

It opened last April.

That is not prime time for a movie that you want to get on this level at the Oscars.

It rarely, rarely happens.

And for this to be remembered in this way is extraordinary.

And of course, all credit goes to Ryan Coogler, who had the idea.

This is the man behind "Black Panther" and so many other movies.

But this is an original film and that is something rare too.

It's not based on anything and comes out of there.

And it just has made a mark, not only with critics and with awards, but also with audiences.

This was a huge hit.

- Well, there's one more that we have to talk about.

And I gotta tell you, this was the one that stopped me cold.

This was my personal favorite this year, "Train Dreams", which was just a utterly beautiful film.

- Yes.

You know, it's interesting you say that's your personal favorite, 'cause I've talked to many Academy members, actors along the way, Michael Keaton, I did something with him, and he asked me, "What do you think this year, about this year?"

And I go like, oh, there's a lot of good movies.

He said, "My favorite, I'll tell you what my favorite is.

It's "Train Dreams"."

And then, I realized it's really resonated.

This premiered at the Sundance Film Festival a year ago, and it was picked up by Netflix.

And at the time, I said, well, it's a nice little movie, but seeing that it could go all the way here to a Best Picture nomination and screenplay, and also up for a song and also cinematography, it's gorgeously made, - Yeah.

- is a real tribute to the little movie that could, the one that people just saw and told their friends, and this is how the Academy works too.

It's word of mouth often.

And so, they saw this movie and it moved them.

I'm only sorry that it got no recognition for Joel Edgerton, who I thought was so good in the lead.

But again, that Best Actor category was so crowded this year.

- And- - And even William H. Macy in a smaller role here, in another year, might have squeezed into supporting actor.

But nevertheless, this kind of recognition the "Train Dreams" got shows that the Academy still likes those little small, little gems that come along somehow.

And thanks to Netflix getting in a big audience.

- Yeah, it's, again, I thought it's just a tremendous film and understated in so many ways where some of the films are clearly these are big, big massive productions.

And this one just sort of told, I thought, in a remarkable story.

- [Pete] Yeah.

- You've been at this for a while, you've seen a lot of great movies, and you've been covering the award season for a long time.

Is there something you think that is common to the films that typically get this kind of recognition for best film?

- No, I think it changes year to year.

I think it always depends on the year and the movie, the circumstances of how they get released, how they are seen.

There's a lot of good little movies that get lost in there that I think should have been there.

There's a little movie this year called "The Life of Chuck" that came out, that was so good, and it just didn't quite make it.

In another year, it might have, maybe with another distributor, maybe with less competition.

Who knows.

You never know what's gonna make up the year here.

Look, I go to the Cannes Film Festival every year and you see these movies just, you have no idea what they are.

And last year, four of the five international film nominees at the Academy this year debuted at Cannes.

I first saw them all last May.

And that's an extraordinary kind of track record that didn't use to happen.

People said, "Oh, that's opening it too early."

But now, we're finding that people remember these movies or catch up with them later or see them and they get tender loving care.

And that's when we have this variety, this wide variety of films.

To answer your question, I couldn't begin to predict.

(Jim laughing) (laughter drowns out Pete) Gonna be next year.

I don't know.

It could be anything, it could come from anywhere.

So, we'll see.

- That's what part of the joy of it is, right?

- Yeah.

- I always feel like I need to ask you, are there any films that you saw this year or that you expected to be on this list that aren't?

I know there are a lot of people who initially thought that "Oz" - Yeah, well.

- was gonna make it.

- I hate the word snub.

They said, when something doesn't get a nomination or something, "Oh, it was snubbed."

The Academy is like 10,000 people that vote privately.

- Right.

- They're not all sitting in a room going, "Hey, let's snub this movie."

They don't do that.

It just, there aren't that many things.

But in the short, what they have, a short list that the Academy, of 12 categories, and that movie, "Wicked: For Good", which of course, was the follow up to "Wicked", they took the same thing and basically made it two parts, which had 10 nominations last year, led the shortlist this year with eight mentions.

It tied "Sinners" for that.

And so, we thought, well, it's, the Academy really likes it.

And I think they did like it, but boy, it, I have to say, when it got nothing, that is a snub, that is telling you all these different branches did not go for it this time that went for it last time.

And I think the reason is, they feel like been there, done that.

- Huh.

- And that they didn't wanna go back and reward a movie like that.

And you could have said, "Lord of the Rings", that got three nominations in a row for Best Picture.

And it certainly worked for that.

And then, one big time on the last one.

I think that was the thing, "Dune" got two - Yeah.

- Best Picture nominations and it's going for a third next year.

In the case of "Wicked: For Good", don't know.

I don't know what happened, but Universal was shocked, the distributor there.

- Well, if Pete Hammond doesn't know, I would fancy that nobody knows.

But Pete Hammond.

- Yeah, you know.

- I gotta tell you, it's always a treat to talk to you.

Thank you so much for walking us through this.

He's Pete Hammond from Deadline.

And the Academy Awards, we wanna note, broadcast Sunday, March 15th, 2026, beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern.

That's all the time we have this week, but if you wanna know more about the show, you can find us on social media or visit salve.edu/pellcenter, where you can always catch up on previous episodes.

Thank you for spending some time with us.

I'm Jim Ludes.

I hope you'll join me next time for more "Story in the Public Square".

(inspiring music) (inspiring music continues) (inspiring music continues) (inspiring music continues) (soft upbeat guitar music) (no audio)