Little Gold Men by Vanity Fair

John, Rebecca, and VF Staff Writer Chris Murphy answer listener mailbag questions on everything from how they'd fix the often-confounding Best Song category to how new Academy members get sorted into branches and whether the Best Actress race is as certain as it seems. They also talk about the incident at the BAFTA Awards this weekend, and discuss how the outcry might alter the Oscars chances for Sinners. 

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Stellan Skarsgård has acted in over 150 films and television shows, from independent projects in his native Sweden to some of Hollywood's biggest franchises. But his performance in Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value, as a filmmaker trying to connect with his estranged daughters, earned the actor his first-ever Oscar nomination. Rebecca and John sat down with Skarsgård in London ahead of the BAFTAs to talk about his career, his favorite directors, and how he advises (or not!) his children, who've pursued their own acting careers.

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Michael B. Jordan is so busy right now he'd actually benefit from having a twin to help lighten the workload. The actor, a self-proclaimed workaholic, is nominated for his first Oscar for his performance as twin brothers in Ryan Coogler's Sinners, and he's also in post-production on a project he's both directing and starring in, The Thomas Crown Affair. Rebecca caught up with him after the Academy Nominees Luncheon to talk about why Sinners was the hardest role of his career, how therapy has helped him as an actor, and how he protects his personal life. Plus, he answers a slew of rapid-fire questions about movies and filmmaking.

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This week, John, Rebecca, and Hillary preview the 5 films nominated for Best International Feature: The Secret Agent (Brazil), It Was Just An Accident (France), Sentimental Value (Norway), Sirāt (Spain), and The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia). They recap their favorites and evaluate each film's chance in the race. Plus, they explain why more and more non-English-language films have been breaking into other categories at the Oscars in the last few years.

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This week, Rebecca and John take a pause from this year's Oscar races to dish about Emerald Fennell's buzzy, divisive, and tongue-forward "Wuthering Heights". Then, VF Staff Writer Chris Murphy joins to break down why sexy TV shows like Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette and Heated Rivalry have captured our imagination and created rabid fan bases for its stars. They also discuss how the Academy has historically rewarded (or not) depictions of romance and sexuality, and whether there might be an imbalance in the accolades.

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