The Lorehounds

Writer and photographer Katherine Oktober Matthews joins Elysia to discuss this year's writing and directing nominees for the 2026 Academy Awards. After they each unleash some of their hottest takes breaking down the three categories, they reconvene after the credits for a separate spoiler-filled discussion of eight of the nominees (01:47:05).

Note: All film discussion in this episode is spoiler-free (until the separate post-credits spoiler section)!

Links discussed:
Katherine's writing and photography
Elsewhere: A Personal Essay in Words and Photos
The Emotion Mixer
Oscars 2025: Live-Action Shorts & the Emotion Mixer (with Katherine)
The Craft (1996) & The Craft: Legacy (2020) (with Katherine)
Interview w/ Hamnet author – Not Just the Tudors podcast

Subscriber bonuses:
What is real witchcraft? (with Marilyn, and a Katherine double-Macbeth cameo)
Hamnet – WhachaWachin (with spoilers)

The nominees:
Best Original Screenplay (00:10:37.453)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (HBO Max, our coverage)
Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein – Marty Supreme (to rent)
Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt – Sentimental Value (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])
Jafar Panahi w/ Mehdi Mahmoudian, Shadmehr Rastin, & Nader Saïvar – It Was Just an Accident (Hulu)
Robert Kaplow – Blue Moon (Netflix)

Best Adapted Screenplay (00:45:19.607)
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3) – based on: The novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
Chloé Zhao & Maggie O'Farrell – Hamnet (to rent, our coverage [subscribers]) – based on: The novel Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix, our coverage) – based on: The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams (Netflix) – based on: The novella Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
Will Tracy – Bugonia (Peacock) – based on: The film Save the Green Planet! (2003) by Jang Joon-hwan

Best Director (01:25:21)
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (HBO Max, our coverage)
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (to rent)

Other films mentioned: Fruitvale Station (2013, Starz), Creed (2015, to rent), Uncut Gems (2019, Netflix), The Smashing Machine (Prime), The Worst Person in the World (2021, Kanopy / Tubi / etc.), Me and Orson Welles (2008, Plex / to rent), Twinless (Hulu), No Other Choice (to rent), The Long Walk (Starz, to rent), Civil War (2024, Prime / Hulu, our coverage), Shakespeare in Love  (1998, Paramount+ / etc.), Frankenstein & Bride of Frankenstein (1931 & 1935, YouTube, our coverage), Sing Sing (2024, Prime), CODA (2021 [BP winner], Apple), La Familie Bélier (2014, YouTube), Phantom Thread (2017, Mubi [NL] / to rent), Nonnas (Netflix); hive minds (TV): Star Trek: The Next Generation (Paramount+) & Pluribus (Apple)

The 98th Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 15, 2025 at 7 pm ET (on ABC/Hulu in the US) – where it's aired around the world
Check how many Oscar nominees you've seen at OscarsDeathRace.com – or with extended stats via DeathRaceTracking.com

Oscars 2026 coverage
Nominations + Best Picture preview
Live-Action, Animated, & Documentary Shorts 
Production Design, Costumes, Makeup & Hair
International Features
Documentary Features
Animated Features
Score & Original Song
Cinematography, VFX, Editing, Sound
Adapted & Original Screenplay, Director (this episode)
Lead & Supporting Actor & Actress, Casting
Ceremony reactions + Best Picture rankings

Deep dives into 2026 Oscar nominees
Sinners
One Battle After Another – pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3
Frankenstein
Weapons
Shorts: “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” “Jane Austen’s Period Drama,” “The Singers,” “Retirement Plan,” and “The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
For subscribers: 
Hamnet – WhachaWachin (with spoilers)
Leiden IFF – WhachaWachin (Sentimental Value, If I Had Legs I Would Kick You, Arco)

Additional awards coverage
BAFTA shorts
BAFTA features
Independent Spirit Awards

Revisit Oscars 2024 & 2025: links in these show notes

Contact Us
Questions or comments? Visit us at our website where you can use the contact form or use the voicemail feature. Or, send an email to [email protected].

Links to Patreon, Supercast, Discord, and Network Affiliates
linktr.ee/thelorehounds

Any opinions stated are ours personally and do not reflect the opinion of or belong to any employers or other entities.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Assistant directing and lighting industry professional, and the host of the ContraZoom podcast, joins Elysia to get into the technical details behind this year's Oscar nominees for Cinematography, Visual Effects, Film Editing, and Sound. They look at why a movie is nominated, what makes it special, and others they would have liked to see make the cut. Stick around after their conversation for updates (02:17:37) on these races!

Note: All film discussion in this episode is spoiler-free.

Links discussed:
Explore the ContraZoom podcast and blog
One Sentimental Bugonia After Another (audio, Elysia guests)
Elysia's ContraZoom review of Resurrection
Corridor Crew's Oscar VFX nominees review
Inside Sinners' VFX
Sirāt sound design (video)

Cinematography nominees (00:05:01)
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams – trailer (Netflix)
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners – trailer (HBO Max, our coverage)
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another – trailer (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)
Darius Khondji – Marty Supreme – trailer (to rent)
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein – trailer (Netflix, our coverage)

Other films mentioned: The French Connection (1971, Disney+ [EU] / to rent, our coverage [subscribers]), Sound of Falling (eventually Mubi), Ballad of a Small Player (Netflix), Resurrection (to rent), No Other Choice (to rent / Netflix [Korea] / later Hulu [US]), The Long Walk (Starz / to rent), Materialists (Netflix) 

Visual Effects nominees (00:51:46)
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett – Avatar: Fire and Ash – trailer (in theaters, eventually Disney+)
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, Donnie Dean – Sinners – trailer (HBO Max, our coverage)
Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen, Brandon K. McLaughlin – The Lost Bus – trailer (Apple TV)
David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan, Neil Corbould – Jurassic World Rebirth – trailer (Netflix [US], Skyshowtime [NL])
Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington, Keith Dawson – F1 – trailer (Apple TV)

Other films mentioned: Tron: Ares (Disney+), The Creator (2023, Prime, our coverage), Monsters (2010, Prime / Tubi / etc.), The Electric State (Netflix), Superman (HBO Max, our coverage), Predator: Badlands (Disney+, our coverage), Thunderbolts* (Disney+, our coverage), The Fantastic 4: First Steps (Disney+, our coverage), Warfare (Prime), Mickey 17 (HBO Max)  

Film Editing nominees (01:29:57)
Stephen Mirrione – F1 – trailer (Apple TV)
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another – trailer (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme – trailer (to rent)
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners – trailer (HBO Max, our coverage)
Olivier Bugge Coutté – Sentimental Value – trailer (to rent, our coverage [subscribers])

Other films mentioned: If I Had Legs I Would Kick You (HBO Max, our coverage [subscribers]), Better Man (2024, Prime / Paramount+), Black Bag (Prime [USA] / Skyshowtime [EU]), 28 Years Later (Netflix, our coverage), Good Boy (AMC+ / Shudder / etc.), Sore: A Wife from the Future (YouTube)  

Sound nominees (01:55:54)
Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary Rizzo, Juan Peralta, Gareth John – F1 – trailer (Apple TV)
Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas, Yasmina Praderas – Sirāt – trailer (to rent: Mar 24, later Hulu [US])
Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker – Sinners – trailer (HBO Max, our coverage)
José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Villaflor – One Battle After Another – trailer (HBO Max, our coverage: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3)
Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern – Frankenstein – trailer (Netflix, our coverage)

Other films mentioned: Wicked: For Good (to rent, our coverage), Superman (HBO Max, our coverage), Predator: Badlands (Disney+, our coverage), Warfare (Prime)    

The 98th Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 15, 2025 at 7 pm ET (on ABC/Hulu in the US) – where it's aired around the world
Check how many Oscar nominees you've seen at OscarsDeathRace.com – or with extended stats and access to the animated shorts via DeathRaceTracking.com

Oscars 2026 coverage
Nominations + Best Picture preview
Live-Action, Animated, & Documentary Shorts 
Production Design, Costumes, Makeup & Hair
International Features
Documentary Features
Animated Features
Score & Original Song
Cinematography, VFX, Editing, Sound (this episode)
Adapted & Original Screenplay, Director
Lead & Supporting Actor & Actress, Casting
Ceremony reactions + Best Picture rankings

Deep dives into 2026 Oscar nominees
Sinners
One Battle After Another – pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3
Frankenstein
Weapons
Shorts: “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” “Jane Austen’s Period Drama,” “The Singers,” “Retirement Plan,” and “The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
For subscribers: 
Leiden IFF – WhachaWachin (Sentimental Value, If I Had Legs I Would Kick You, Arco)

Additional awards coverage
BAFTAs shorts
BAFTAs features
Independent Spirit Awards

Revisit Oscars 2024 & 2025: links in these show notes

Contact Us
Questions or comments? Visit us at our website where you can use the contact form or use the voicemail feature. Or, send an email to [email protected].

Links to Patreon, Supercast, Discord, and Network Affiliates
linktr.ee/thelorehounds

Any opinions stated are ours personally and do not reflect the opinion of or belong to any employers or other entities.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

David is joined by Lorehounds co-host Jean and Nichole from the Nevermind the Music podcast to check in on Hulu's Paradise, starring Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden. The conversation opens spoiler-free with their pitches for why you should be watching, then dives into season one's twists and character-driven storytelling before breaking down season two's bold expansion to the surface, the introduction of new characters like Annie and Link, and the show's unique use of contemporary cultural touchpoints in its post-apocalyptic setting.
Contact Us Questions or comments? Send emails to: [email protected]
Or, send us a voicemail! You can use the voicemail tool on our website, thelorehounds.com/contact OR record a note on your smartphone and email it to us at the same address.
Links to Patreon, Supercast, Discord, and Network Affiliates https://linktr.ee/thelorehounds
Any opinions stated are ours personally and do not reflect the opinion of or belong to any employers or other entities.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

David, John, and Marilyn complete their journey through the Earthsea Cycle, this time covering the final novel, The Other Wind. They discuss the inversion of power balances, the anthropology at the heart of LeGuin's work, and the reexamination of past works by their creators.
Marilyn's Website
Marilyn R. Pukkila, Research & Instruction Librarian Emerita, Colby College
Links to Patreon, Supercast, Discord, and Network Affiliates
linktr.ee/thelorehounds
Deep lore questions, comments and/or thoughts to share? Send us an email at [email protected]
Any opinions stated are ours personally and do not reflect the opinion of or belong to any employers or other entities.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Mark returns to the CinemaHounds Oscars coverage series for the second annual "Nevermind the Oscars Music" crossover special discussing not only this year's crop of Original Song and Original Score nominees but also their musical influences, lookalikes, and others they would have liked to have seen on the ballot. Expect plenty of clips from an eclectic collection of genre with deep-digging analysis of their role in this year's nominated films.
Best Original Song (00:10:11) 
Best Original Score (01:24:36)

Note: All film discussion in this episode is spoiler-free.

Links discussed:
Nevermind the Music:
The 2026 Grammys deep dive
Authenticity in the age of AI
What is hopepunk? (with Elysia)
Last year's Nevermind the Oscars Music crossover

Max Richter's "Undiscovered Country" and Hamnet / Arrival (AV Club)
The Hamnet Rihanna dance take

Best Original Song nominees:
“Golden” – Ejae, Ido, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Mark Sonnenblick, Teddy & 24 (music & lyrics) – KPop Demon Hunters – trailer, info (Netflix)
“I Lied to You” – Ludwig Göransson & Raphael Saadiq (music & lyrics) – Sinners – trailer, info (HBO Max)
“Dear Me” – Diane Warren (music & lyrics) – Diane Warren: Relentless – trailer, info (Hoopla, Kanopy)
“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave & Bryce Dessner (music); Cave (lyrics) – Train Dreams – trailer, info (Netflix)
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” – Nicholas Pike (music & lyrics) – Viva Verdi! – trailer, info (Jolt)

Also discussed:  
“Free” – KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
“Exile” – Bon Iver/Taylor Swift (album: Folklore, 2020) – produced by Aaron Dessner (etc.)
“I Need My Girl” – The National (album: Trouble Will Find Me, 2013) – written by Aaron & Bryce Dessner (etc.)
“Our Love” – The Ballad of Wallis Island (Prime) – from the shortlist
“Falling Slowly” – Once (2006, to rent)
“Silver Dagger”, “Here in the Vineyard”, theme – The History of Sound (Mubi)
“Và pensiero” – Giuseppe Verdi (opera: Nabucco, 1842)

Best Original Score nominees:
Sinners (Ludwig Göransson) – trailer, info (HBO Max)
One Battle After Another (Jonny Greenwood) – trailer, info (HBO Max)
Bugonia (Jerskin Fendrix) – trailer, info (Peacock)
Hamnet (Max Richter) – trailer, info (to rent, later Peacock)
Frankenstein (Alexandre Desplat) – trailer, info (Netflix)
  
Also discussed: Tron: Ares (Disney+) – soundtrack – from the shortlist

The 98th Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 15, 2025 at 7 pm ET (on ABC/Hulu in the US) – where it's aired around the world
Check how many Oscar nominees you've seen at OscarsDeathRace.com – or with extended stats and access to the animated shorts via DeathRaceTracking.com

Oscars 2026 coverage
Nominations + Best Picture preview
Live-Action, Animated, & Documentary Shorts 
Production Design, Costumes, Makeup & Hair
International Features
Documentary Features
Animated Features
Score & Original Song (this episode)
Cinematography, VFX, Editing, Sound
Adapted & Original Screenplay, Director
Lead & Supporting Actor & Actress, Casting
Ceremony reactions + Best Picture rankings

Deep dives into 2026 Oscar nominees
Sinners
One Battle After Another – pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3
Frankenstein
Weapons
Shorts: “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” “Jane Austen’s Period Drama,” “The Singers,” “Retirement Plan,” and “The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
For subscribers: 
Leiden IFF – WhachaWachin (Sentimental Value, If I Had Legs I Would Kick You, Arco)

Additional awards coverage
BAFTAs shorts
BAFTAs features
Independent Spirit Awards

Revisit Oscars 2024 & 2025: links in these show notes

Contact Us
Questions or comments? Visit us at our website where you can use the contact form or use the voicemail feature. Or, send an email to [email protected].

Links to Patreon, Supercast, Discord, and Network Affiliates
linktr.ee/thelorehounds

Any opinions stated are ours personally and do not reflect the opinion of or belong to any employers or other entities.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy