The Losers: Recent Episodes
theloserspod
A podcast that takes a look at the LOSERS of cinematic history, the people who lost at the Academy Awards. Hosted by Shay & Wendy, two unqualified women, twenty years apart in age.
WE ARE SELF ISOLATING, BUT WE STILL GOT OPINIONS.
- The 77th Academy Awards. Best Animated Feature.
Shay and Wendy discuss all three films that we nominated that year. Enjoy!
The 74th Oscars. History was made when Halle Berry became the African American woman to win Best Actress for her role Monster's Ball. Was this the role that should have made history, though? Wendy and Shay take a look at the film, along with fellow nominee Renee Zellweger's Bridget Jones' Diary, and discuss who the real loser was.
WARNING: The sound on this episode is garbage. I tried to fix it the best I could, but it doesn't sound good. I liked our conversation way to much to just trash the episode. Listen with caution!
On this week's episode, Shay and Wendy are joined by the fabulous Ariel Italic from Nobodies Watching Wrestling! She joins us to discuss how the hell Julia Roberts won an Oscar for Erin Brockovich, when Ellen Burstyn was RIGHT THERE doing the job in Requiem for a Dream.
Who is to blame for this upset? We drank a lot of wine and tried to figure it out.
THE LOSERS ARE BACK!
After months aways, Shay and Wendy are back and angrier than ever! What better way to burst back onto the scene than recapping the 2020 Oscar nominees?
We're confused. We're angry. We have A LOT to say.
Shay and Wendy wrap up the 51st Oscars by looking at An Unmarried Woman and Heaven Can Wait. Both films were nominated against The Deer Hunter for Best Picture. Are they better? Do they hold up? Who will be Shay and Wendy's pick for Best Picture? Tune in to find out!
We've got another two-parter episode for you!
That's right, we are going back to 1979 and the 51st Academy Awards to look at EVERY Best Picture that was nominated that year.
In this first part, Shay and Wendy pit the winner, The Deer Hunter, against two of the four losing films of that year. Were Coming Home and Midnight Express better than The Deer Hunter? Should they have won?
On this episode, we go back to 1972 with the 44th Academy Awards!
Let's take a deeper look at the Best Original Screenplay category and how The Hospital won over Klute. Never heard of The Hospital? Neither had we! How did this win over Klute? One of the great mysteries of life, I guess.
Back in 1994, at the 67th Academy Awards, an 11yr old Anna Paquin faced off with her co-star, Holly Hunter, in the Best Supporting Actress category. Holly Hunter was nominated for The Firm, and Anna Paquin for The Piano.
Shay and Wendy take a look at the two roles, submitted by listener Spencer, and see who deserves the win. (hint - it was Paquin)
It's Gene Kelly's butt vs. Montgomery Clift's face on this week's episode!
Wait....that's not what we sat down to discuss. My bad, it's actually BEST EDITING! That's right, we're back to take a look at 24th Oscars, which pitted A Place in the Sun vs. An American in Paris in a variety of categories. Yes, we talk about editing, but we also scream about Gene Kelly a lot.
This week's episode is short but sweet!
Shay and Wendy take a look back on the 11th Academy Awards and the Best Actor category! Unfortunately, Wendy found Spencer Tracy and Boys Town to be an absolute snooze fest, and Shay couldn't find anything special about James Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces.
We may have struggled to find something to even talk about with both these films, but we still had fun talking about it!
Oof.
The 2011 Academy Award nominees for Best Foreign Film were an interesting bunch. You had three directors nominated who would go on to become household names, if they weren't already. (Household in the film nerd world, anyways). On the flipside, you have a film that would go on to become only the 3rd film for Denmark to win this category.
On this episode, Shay and Wendy look at how In a Better World from Denmark won over Biutiful from Mexico. We try to understand how the members vote for one film over another. It honestly seems as if the members don't even watch these films, they just vote on plot summary.
TIGGER WARNING: This episode does have discussion about rape, and violence towards women.
This week, the ladies look at the Best Supporting Actress category from the 2006 Oscars. Frances McDormand was great in North Country, but was she in it enough? Rachel Weisz is wonderful in everything she does, but does The Constant Gardener deserve any awards at all? Join us to find out!
Uh-oh, the water works come out on this episode of The Losers.
The ladies discuss the 52nd Academy Awards by looking at the Best Song category for that year. In a shock to everyone, 'It Goes Like It Goes' from the film Norma Rae won over 'The Rainbow Connection' from The Muppet Movie.
Apologies, in advance, for Wendy becoming over-emotional every time Jim Henson's name is said.
Link to articles mentioned:
- Vanity Fair article about the making of 'The Rainbow Connection'
- AV Club article about the saddest Muppet song
In part two of our look at the Best Actress category at the 1954 Oscar ceremony, Shay and Wendy get down to business and discuss the final two ladies who competed with Grace Kelly. Judy 'The Gemini Queen' Garland in A Star Is Born and Jane Wyman in Magnificent Obsession.
Wow, ya'll. Just wow. Things get heated. You don't wanna miss this.
McGruff the crime dog gets mentioned.
The best actress race in 1954 was so crazy, Shay and Wendy decided to look at ALL the contenders. In a special two-part episode, we'll try to dive into how Grace Kelly won best actress for The Country Girl over Dorothy Dandridge, Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, and Jane Wyman.
In part one, we'll take a look at The Country Girl, Carmen Jones, and Sabrina. We also go off on our love for William Holden who appears, YET AGAIN, in two of the Oscar nominated films.
Somehow, this episode manages to be our thirstiest yet. Sorry.
From behind the paywall comes....
THIS BONUS EPISODE! That's right, kids, we wanted to give you a taste of what you can expect if you become a Flying Machine Patreon supporter! Each month, we'll be releasing one of these bad boys exclusively to Patreon. We'll talk a non-Oscar movie, current or classic. There are three levels of sponsorship, but with just $5/mo, you'll get a bonus episode from every podcast on the network.
Go sign up today, you losers!
On this episode, Shay and Wendy are very excited to take a look at the 53rd Academy Awards from 1981. Why are we excited? Well, not only are we looking at two excellent films, Raging Bull and The Elephant Man, but both films were edited by women!
Martin Scorsese regular, Thelma Schoonmaker, went up against veteran Anne Coates in the editing category this year. Find out what the films have in common, how we think the female perspective helped these films, and what happens to the brain when you record in un-air conditioned circumstances.
After a month's break, we're back!
Shay and Wendy return full force to talk about the 47th Academy Awards, the year Federico Fellini's Amarcord took home the Best Foreign Language Oscar. We'll be putting it up against Karoly Makk's Catsplay. Italy vs Hungry, whole town narrative vs. the tale of two sisters. Did Amarcord really deserve this Oscar or even a nomination? Who are the real losers, here? Are skunks really that smelly? Questions, people, we got questions.
On this week's episode, Shay and Wendy can't understand how Simone Signoret won BEST ACTRESS over Doris Day at the 32nd Academy Awards. We ponder how Simone even got nominated for Room at the Top since she was barely in it, and squeal about Doris and Rock's chemistry in Pillow Talk.
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
On this week's episode, Shay and Wendy travel back to 23rd Academy Awards to take a look at why Franz Waxman's score for Sunset Boulevard won over Victor Young's score for Samson & Delilah.
It's BIBLE vs HOLLYWOOD, who will come out on top?
Wow. Just wow. Shay and Wendy are back with another Listener's Choice episode! This time, we examined how Transformers LOST Best Visual Effects to The Golden Compass. Come for the 20 minute plot summary of The Golden Compass, stay for the extreme wine-drunkenness of Shay. This episode is a long, wild ride.
On this week's episode, Shay and Wendy take a look at the 61st Academy Awards and best director winner Barry Levinson (Rain Man). We put him up against Charles Crichton and the brilliant A Fish Called Wanda. While we clearly think A Fish Called Wanda was a better film, we ponder whether either director should have been nominated.
Articles Wendy brings up in the episode:
- Rain Man at 30
- Rain Man made autistic people visible
- Michael Palin discusses stammering
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
After a two week hiatus, the ladies are back!
1977 may have been a bit of a lackluster year for cinema, but the Oscars must go on! At the 50th Academy Awards, Richard Dreyfuss won best actor for The Goodbye Girl. Thank god he did, because Shay and Wendy DID NOT want to have to watch Annie Hall. We did watch Saturday Night Fever because John Travolta was nominated for his iconic role of Tony Manero. Did the Academy make the right choice in Dick Dreyfuss? Should the award have been given to the best chest hair instead? Who has the best chest hair out of the two of them?!
Listen, and be impressed with how little we talk about John Travolta's tiny black underwear.
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
Join us on this episode for our very first 'Listener's Choice' episode!
Back at the 56th Academy Awards, Terms of Endearment won Best Picture of The Right Stuff. One of our listeners thinks this is an outrageous injustice. Were they right? Shay and Wendy dive into these two films and compare the winning 'woman's picture' versus the losing 'man picture'. Hashtag space jizz.
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
Join us, as we travel back to just a couple of years ago, and take a look at the 88th Academy Awards. This episode we'll be trying to figure out how Alicia Vikander won Best Supporting Actress for The Danish Girl over Rooney Mara in Carol. Justice for Carol!
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
On this episode, we travel way back to 1932 for the 5th Academy Awards! At this awards ceremony, history was made when you had your first ever tie at the Academy Awards. Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde) and Wallace Berry (The Champ) both won over Alfred Lunt (The Guardsman).
After two unsuccessful attempts to record this episode, Shay and Wendy exhaustively talk for a third time about these three films. Hilarity ensues.
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
What makes a song from a film THE best song from a film? Should it be one that works both with the movie and outside of the movie? Or a song that just perfectly conveys what is happening in the film? Shay and Wendy tackle the topic of Best Original Song on this episode. We take a look at the 48th Academy Awards, the year Nashville's "I'm Easy" won over Funny Lady's "How Lucky Can You Get".
Find us online:
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Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
On this episode, Shay and Wendy dive into the category of Best Production Design with Grand Budapest Hotel and Into the Woods. Both films were nominated at the 87th Academy Awards, and Grand Budapest Hotel took the Oscar home.
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Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
How can you determine what the best film from another country is? Are the Oscars good judges in this category?
Wendy and Shay look at the 63rd Academy Awards (1990), and pit two entries against each other. The winner from this year was Switzerland's Journey of Hope, and the LOSER is Cyrano de Bergerac. But who should have really won?
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
Did you watch the Oscars? What were your thoughts?
Shay and Wendy spend TWO HOURS going over the entire ceremony, and what the Oscars got right and what they got wrong.
We laugh a lot, shout a lot, and thirst a lot in this episode. Buckle in, because it's a long one!
Shay and Wendy go back to 1955 this time to the 28th Academy Awards, where an absent Anna Magnani won Best Actress over Jennifer Jones. Magnani won for her portrayal of a grieving widow in The Rose Tattoo, while Jennifer Jones lost for Love is a Many-Splendored Thing.
Tune in to hear Wendy and Shay spill the tea on how Jennifer Jones acted on set for her film, how racist Love is a Many-Splendored Thing is (and how Hollywood hasn't really changed since 1955), and we thirst over William Holden. We also can't stop calling Jennifer Jones, Jessica Jones. sigh
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Facebook group: The Losers Podcast
On this episode, Shay and Wendy dive into the world of costumes with a discussion of the 38th Academy Awards! Travel back to 1966 when Bill Thomas and Jean Louis LOST best costume design in a black & white film for Ship of Fools to Julie Harris with Darling.
Tune in to hear Shay say 'Bitch' a lot, Wendy try earnestly to pronounce everyone's name, and a discussion about what the Academy is really looking for with the Best Costume award.
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
We are going WAY back this week to 1949 and the 21st Academy Awards! Hamlet may have won the most awards that year, but it LOST in the Best Supporting Actress category. Claire Trevor's Gaye Dawn from Key Largo beat Jean Simmons' Ophelia in Hamlet.
Tune in as Shay goes down memory lane talking about acting school, we debate and ultimately fail at remembering a scene from Hamlet correctly, and get thirsty for Humphrey Bogart and Lawrence Olivier.
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
At the 74th Academy Awards, back in 2002, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius LOST the best animated feature academy award. It was the first time the Academy had an animated feature category, and Jimmy just wasn't as smart as Shrek.
Tune in for a discussion on different animation styles, how Jimmy Neutron probably grew up to be an incel, and how Shrek promoted ass-eating.
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
At the 75th Academy Awards, back in 2003, Daniel Day Lewis LOST the best actor academy award. His role as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York was no match for Adrian Brody's transformation in The Pianist.
Tune in for a discussion on Daniel Day Lewis's performance in Gangs of New York, Adrian Brody's Oscar speech, Shay's thirst for...pretty much everyone, and why we think Cameron Diaz was never given a fair shot at drama.
Find us online:
Twitter: @loserspod
Instagram: @theloserspod
Email: theloserspod@gmail.com
Wendy and Shay are a couple of losers who thought it would be fun to take a look at the LOSERS of cinema's greatest achievement, an Academy Award.
Get to know us in this intro episode. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and here to see when we release new episodes.