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Sure, this year’s best actress race may have included a bit of extra drama, but for true Oscar fanatics, there’s always something about the lead actresses that captures the most attention. Maybe it’s the fashion — which the men (notably best actor nominee Colman Domingo) are starting to keep up with — or maybe it’s the fact that meaty lead actress roles have been a rare joy in Hollywood for so long. I might even argue that, for the last decade or so at least, the best actress winning performances are generally leagues more interesting than their equivalents in best actor.
My guest on today’s podcast, Variety’s chief correspondent Dan D’Addario, knows more than maybe anyone about why the best actress race remains so fascinating. He’s also the author of the new novel The Talent, which follows a fictional awards season and the group of five actress nominees navigating press appearances, precursor awards shows and their rivalries with one another. Dan got to fulfill every Oscar nerd’s dream of basically inventing your own awards season, but he also got to dive deep on the kinds of narratives that emerge around the nominees each year — this year very much included.
Dan and I get into the details of his book, plus we take a broad look at this season overall as final Oscar voting winds down (deadline: today at 5 p.m. PT), and the many twists and turns of this race get closer to the history books. We talk about Demi Moore’s seemingly unbeatable comeback story, how Sean Baker and Mikey Madison have been an effective double act on behalf of Anora, and why Timothée Chalamet’s campaign has been one of the most unusual and fascinating of recent years.
Hear it all on today’s episode of the podcast, and don’t forget to join our Prestige Junkie Oscar pool if you haven’t yet — the competition will be fierce, but that will make your victory all the sweeter.
