The Awardist podcast talks Oscar nominations, from Black Panther to Barry Jenkins

After months of speculation, this year's Academy Award nominations have finally arrived.

Alfonso Cuarón's sumptuous black-and-white drama Roma and Yorgos Lanthimos' razor-sharp 18th-century dramedy The Favourite lead the pack with 10 nods apiece, while the superhero smash Black Panther, the barbed Dick Cheney biopic Vice, and the star-crossed romance A Star Is Born are also among the movies in the mix.

On this week's episode of The Awardist podcast, EW digital director Shana Naomi Krochmal and senior writer Piya Sinha-Roy are breaking down everything you need to know about the 91st Oscar nominations, including the biggest snubs, surprises, sadly-not-surprises, and much more.

Plus, Shana chats with Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), whose new film If Beale Street Could Talk is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (by Jenkins), Best Supporting Actress (Regina King), and Best Original Score (Nicholas Britell).

Jenkins, who spoke to The Awardist before nominations were announced, tells EW about bringing James Baldwin's 1974 novel to the big screen and King's powerhouse performance.

"When we started thinking of who to cast as Sharon in this film, and knowing that there's going to be a 15-minute stretch where this satellite character…basically becomes the center of the film, we wanted someone who was identifiable in a very emotional way," Jenkins says. "And I think Regina just has so much depth to her person, and she brings those things to her characters. It was one of those things where we first met via Skype, and I knew right away. I was like, yeah, this is the right woman for the part."

Reflecting on one of King's most potent scenes, Jenkins says, "When she's in Puerto Rico and she's acting basically against herself in the mirror, I think that's just one of the most singular moments in the film. And that's what I love the most about adaptations which is, how do I synthesize three pages of interior dialogue, of interior life, into very concrete sound and imagery? And Regina King and [cinematographer] James Laxton and Nicholas Britell all coming together to basically translate, transmute the feeling of James Baldwin with a woman putting on and taking off a wig in a mirror, that will always stick out to me."

The Awardist podcast is part of EW's comprehensive awards coverage, online and in the magazine. This week we're also interested to hear what you think about this year's nominees and the unusual hosting situation, so let us know in the comments.

Listen to the longer discussion below, or on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. <iframe src="https://art19.com/shows/chasing-emmy/episodes/cbcd53dd-d9be-4d09-9479-0b9cb77de467/embed" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="460" frameborder="0" class="" allowfullscreen="" resize="0" replace_attributes="1" name=""></iframe>Ó¶ºs—|é··ãÞç§ùM´éí^Û½tí¾6u¶º

Related content:

• See all the 2019 Oscar nominees
• Watch trailers for the eight Oscars Best Picture nominees
• The biggest snubs and surprises of the 2019 Oscar nominations