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The Town with Matthew Belloni

Oscars Preview! Timmy Trouble, a ‘Sinners’ Surge, and a Big Lead for 'One Battle'

The Town with Matthew Belloni

The Ringer

Society & Culture

4.31.1K Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2026

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Matt is joined by Mosaic talent manager and Oscars insider Michael Lasker to preview the 2026 Academy Awards. They parse the biggest narratives Hollywood will be watching closely, like Timothée Chalamet’s latest slide in the Best Actor category, whether the late-season surge for ‘Sinners’ should be taken seriously, if the big lead for 'One Battle After Another' is shrinking, and other races that could surprise you on Sunday night (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Paramount president Jeff Shell (30:09). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Michael Lasker Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series streaming March 14th - only on Paramount+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode of The Town is brought to you by The Madison, the new original series on Paramount Plus.

0:10.2

Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan's most intimate story yet, unlike anything he's ever done before.

0:15.9

The Madison follows a family raised in a world of digital distraction, forced by by tragedy to truly see one another and come together.

0:23.6

Authentic, multi-layered,

0:25.5

and did I mention starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell?

0:28.5

Don't miss the Madison.

0:30.3

New series streaming March 14th, only on Paramount Plus.

0:35.1

It is Wednesday, March 11th.

0:37.4

It's Oscar Week. Craig and I will be there on Sunday. Look for us.

0:40.9

We'll be quickly escorted away from the real red carpet to the side carpet for the non-famous people.

0:46.6

It's been a fun if kind of paint-by-numbers award season. One battle after another has pretty much

0:51.4

dominated all the precursor awards all season, except for the actor awards, formerly the SAG Awards.

0:57.4

That top honor went to Sinners, which some people think could signal it's going to pull off a major upset.

1:03.1

It did get the most nominations ever with 16, though 44% of movies that lead the nominations do not end up winning Best Picture.

1:12.5

One Battle and Sinners are facing off in a record 11 categories that makes this one of the most epic contest between two contenders

1:18.2

ever. And either way, great for Warner Brothers, it's very rare for studio heads like Mike Toluca and Pam

1:23.5

Abdi to sit there in the crowd knowing they're going to win regardless of which way the academy leans. I'm a little skeptical of the sinner's narrative, but for the real expert opinion,

1:32.8

we've got Michael Asker back on the show. Michael is not a professional awards prognosticator.

1:38.0

He's actually a talent manager at Mosaic, has some great clients in the comedy world. But he's also a

1:42.7

longtime Oscar watcher and knows this stuff from the inside,

1:45.7

meaning he actually talks to the voters

1:47.5

and goes to the events that aren't necessarily for media.

...

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