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The Stacks
Unabridged: Let’s Never Talk About These Oscars Again with Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford
00:15:16
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- [00:00]
A
Hey, everybody, it's me, Tracy, and I've got some exciting news for you. This year, the stacks is turning 8 years old, and we are celebrating with our very first Meetup day on Saturday, April 4. We are inviting you all to meet up in cities across the country and around the world to hang out, play games, and build community around our shared love of all things books, reading, and, of course, snacks. Head to the stacks podcast.com meetup for more information. Over there, you're going to find a list of all the cities we have meetups scheduled for. You'll be able RSVP and if you don't see a meetup near you, there's also information on how you can host one again. The website is the stacks podcast.com meetup and meetup day is April 4th. Hey, everybody, it's Tracy, host of the Stacks, and you're listening to another episode of the Stacks Unabridged, our Patreon and Substack exclusive bonus episode. Today I'm joined by two friends of the show, Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford, hosts of the Vibe Check Podcast, one of my absolute favorites. And we are reunited to talk about this year's Oscars. We're talking Timmy, we're obviously talking Michael B. Jordan, and we're talking about one battle after another versus sinners. If you're listening to this episode and it cuts out after about 10, 15 minutes, that means you are not a paid subscriber on Patreon or Substack. And to finish listening, you must join. In addition to getting this episode, you're also going to get other perks, like access to our virtual book club, access to our discord, access to all of my hot takes over on my weekly newsletter unstacked. And you're going to get to know that you make it possible for me to make this show every single week. So if you like the Stacks, if you like what you're listening to, Please join@patreon.com the stacks and or Tracy thomas.substack.com All right, that's enough. Let's get into my conversation with Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford about the 98th Academy Awards. All right, everybody, welcome to another episode of the Stacks Unabridged, our exclusive Patreon substack content bonus episode for the month. I am joined today by two ladies that I love so much. We have been talking Oscars together since kind of the summer, since One Battle after Another came out. The three of us have been texting, voice, memoing, chatting about this movie and as it spirals about the broader Oscars. I am joined by the ladies of Vibe Check, Zach Stafford and Saeed Jones. Welcome to the stacks. Unabridged.
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B
Wow. Hi.
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C
Is that why we're here? Because we've been. It was like, I. We're going to get into. I couldn't even bring myself to actually watch the entire broadcast of the Oscars. I was like. I would dip in and out. I was watching it online because I was just like, it's been so long. We've been. We've been in this Oscar season for, like, four years.
- [03:19]
B
And, Tracy, I want to say thank you because I was mad at the heated rivalry guys last night because I thought they had had me by the chokehold for too long. But no, it's the Oscars because they have been. The Oscars have been going on longer than those two have been gay. I have been thinking about this Oscar campaign for so long, and they stepped into it in, like, October. So. No, no, it's the Oscars of one battle after another. And Timmy Chalamet, he started campaigning over a year ago when Marty Supreme's campaign began, like, in the wake of what was Dune. Like, Dune ended. And then this wasn't something.
- [03:53]
A
No. He also was in that Bob Dylan thing or something last year.
- [03:57]
C
So that's what I realized. And I know we're going to talk about Timothy Chardonnay in a second, but I was reading an article in Vulture that's kind of like the. Like, what went wrong? And it was like, everything. But they pointed out that Timothy has essentially been doing, if not Oscar, campaigning, you know, PR campaigning, since 2023, when Wonka came out, because it's like Wonka June, the Bob Dylan film, which was an Oscar campaign, and it did get a bunch of Oscar nominations, didn't win any. And then he went right into Marty supreme. And so what went wrong? It probably just. It's like. It's too much. We're tired. He's tired.
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A
Okay. I definitely want to do a. A Timmy postmortem here for sure.
- [04:40]
C
And shall.
- [04:41]
A
And we will. But before we even. Well, I mean, I think it's important to remember Sinners came out, I believe, in April of 2025. We are two weeks away from April 2026. And when that movie hit, that is when the Oscar season for me started, people started talking about it. So we really are at a year almost of the Oscars, partially because of the Olympics. They pushed everything back. So they had the super bowl, and then the Olympics kind of screws it up. It makes the Oscars late First and foremost, the Oscars needs to just pick a weekend and say, I don't care what happens. This is our day. What it could be. It could be Easter, it could be Super Bowl Sunday. I don't care. Just pick your day and stick with it. Because some years it's in February, and some this year it's damn near June. And I'm just over that. Yeah.
- [05:32]
C
Yeah. There was a moment I realized I was like, oh, yeah. Because as I've said, Sinners is to this day, actually the only movie in two school years at Harvard that students have proactively wanted to talk to me about. They came to class being like, say, can we talk about this? They were like, staying after wanting to talk about this. And then I realized I was like, wait, it wasn't this year's students. It was last year's students. Because to your point, Tracy, it was April of 2025.
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B
God.
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A
Yeah, I know. It's crazy.
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B
And it's also become a. It's become a thing because, you know, as Oscar season gets so protracted, you know, there is this game of what film can be released right at the start of the season that has the legs to run the longest. Race and Sinners was one of those movies that, when it first was being marketed, you didn't know what it was. I go to the theaters once a week, famously. I. We talk about this on the show. Saeed doesn't go to theaters very much. I go way too much, maybe. And I was like, what is this movie with Michael B. Jordan? Is this a vampire movie? Is it so slavery movie? What is this? And finally they got the marketing down right, maybe week two of the movie's release as all, like, kind of the culture caught up to it, and it felt like they were trying to redo everything everywhere, all at once. And I remember back then being like, will this last a year of marketing? And it didn't. Like, it did disappear for a while, and then suddenly, this. This last month. Thank you. Bafta's racism, it really skyrocketed back. And now here we are in a world in which it is at the top of the world. Even though it didn't win Best Picture, but it is the top of our minds today.
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A
Yeah.
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B
In the wake of the awards, I.
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A
I am stunned that it even was, like, so close to the Oscars. Needs to release the final voting. I need to know how close. I need to know, like, was it.
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C
I feel like it was neck and neck.
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A
That's how I feel in, like, the cultural. Like, that's what it feels like, but I wonder how close it really is, because I do feel like when one battle after another came out, all the, like, white film, bro people and even, like, some black people were like, this movie is a great. This movie is so great. Blah, blah, blah. And then I feel like in the last few months, there's been, like, a huge push culturally, like, from the public towards Sinners, similar to how it was when Sinners first came out. And so I just. I really. I want, you know, come on, Academy, give us something here, people.
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B
Yeah, let's see the numbers.
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C
I mean, I think. I think the numbers should always be released.
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B
Yeah.
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C
And actually, I think it would be smart for the Academy from a marketing perspective if, like, if we just knew, like, a month after the awards, all of it would be released, because it would get us talking about it all over again. It only makes the Oscars more important and more fascinating and. Yeah. And I mean, you know, I. Tracy and I, you know, you and I have talked about judging book awards and that as it turns out, there are many different frameworks that judges and juries and of course, the Academy, you're talking about, like, hundreds of people, maybe even thousands bring to their decisions. But I think what we saw with Sinners and one battle after another in particular is that I think one battle after another works best for people who viewed it in a vacuum.
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A
Yes.
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C
They're not interested in the history of the Academy. They're not interested in who's won, what, when, where, that. They're just like, I. I really like this director, you know, and I really liked this film. Yeah, that's it. That's the beginning and the end. And I think Sinners has that. I mean, of course, people adore Ryan Coogler, rightfully so. People adore the film, rightfully so. And I'm certainly one of them. But I think for people who like with Sinners, there's a holistic. We're thinking about the history of the Academy. We're thinking about the nature of race. We're thinking of da da da da da da. And that's how you end up with how things kind of, I think, panned out, which is to say, not only did one battle after another, Wind, best director, best picture, and several other awards, all only white people won for one battle after another. Like, the issue we've been debating about the politics of the film are reiterated through who was celebrated and similarly with. In some ways, with. With Sinners as well.
- [09:53]
A
Okay. So before we sort of dive into some of the things that I want to talk about because that I want to spend a good chunk of time later on talking about sort of the Paul Thomas Anderson vs. Ryan Coogler Leadership model and style. I think it was pret. I think what was said by each of them at the award show last night spoke volumes. So I want to talk about that and I think it's tied to what you're saying. I definitely want to spend some time talking about just like kind of like maybe highlights and maybe some like random moments. Saeed, you won't be able to weigh in because you didn't watch everything I watched. Yeah, you watched enough. A bit.
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C
Enough.
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B
How much?
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A
How much of Barbara Streisand.
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C
I was out. I was by Barbra Streisand. I was getting it from Blue sky and I was like, see, that's exactly why. Exactly why.
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B
But Robert Redford looks so good in that memorial.
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A
Does he ever not look so good in his life?
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B
He always looks so good.
- [10:52]
A
Can get it, stays getting it, getting it from the grave, but from the grave. Broadly, broadly for me at least I'll speak for myself. The moment of the night is Michael B. Jordan's win. To me, that is the. Was the only true surprise for the night. For me, I think maybe Autumn's win was what I had hoped for and what I thought was the best. Cinematography just made sense, but I wasn't surprised because it felt correct. Michael B. Jordan felt correct, but I just thought there was no chance for him.
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B
Well, I would like to just applaud all of us on this zoom that that we are gathered on because we reviewed the data today, Saeed and I on a call and as folks know, we did a an episode a week ago, not a week ago. Weeks ago by the way. Weeks ago. Bravo to us.
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C
Weeks ago.
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B
We weeks ago in February we made Oscars predictions and guess what friends? We were correct across the board. We got Michael every single step. We got Michael B. Right. We said we think if it's not Tim, that's the only one we didn't get right. We said Timothee Chalamet will probably go but if he does it, it's Michael B. Michael B. Deserves it and that would be the surprise if it happens. And it went exactly how we thought
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C
for best supporting said we wanted Teyana Taylor to win but I felt turned
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A
towards Amy, Maddie Madigan and if you
- [12:18]
B
look at even our Instagram, it even shows in our group chat. It's like Amy Maddox would be so fun but it's going to be Tiana Taylor. Yeah. So we were in that tension consistently a month ago before all the drama and. But you're right, the very clear surprise. And at the Oscars party I was at, I was at our friend Sam Sanders house and I was playing with the remote because he had the TV too damn low. And I was like, girl, let's turn this up. I can't hear people because people being too loud. And so I grabbed the remote and turned the TV off on accident. And so right as they were about to announce. So everyone's like fumbling and we turn it on. And it came back on right as they said, Michael B. Jordan. Perfect theater, by the way. Perfect moment. It was. It really raised the stakes and we all were not expecting it. And it made us even more excited because we didn't expect his name to be called. It happened. And we were crying and screaming and the theater was as well, and people all jumped up. And I'd never seen a win so celebrated. Right. It felt like the whole theater was like, what is going on here? And Saeed, you took the blue sky with swiftness.
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C
I. I texted friends, I'll do this about all kinds of things. I'm just like, I'm out, but text me if something happens. But fortunately, yeah, because, I mean, that's the thing. I mean, it really. It does speak to, you know, it's increasingly a rarefied event where, like a live television event, you don't have to be watching it to watch it.
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A
Right.
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C
And. And blue sky really was it. I was not divorced. Divorced from the experience because I wasn't watching it visually, like. Yeah. So, Mike. So I ended up texting some friends who were watching before they saw it. I think they were like in the kitchen getting snacks or something. I'm like, Michael B. Jordan. Michael B. Jordan. It was incredible and beautiful. As someone who, you know, started watching the Wire while it was still airing, like, I think of watching the Wire in college was the beginning of me taking television seriously.
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A
Right.
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C
Storytelling medium. And. And so to. To have kind of grown up with him and through, you know, through the Creed movies, he's been giving incredible performances and somehow has managed, at least publicly, not to become a monster in. Yeah, it was beautiful. And of course, it means even more when you've just kind of given up hope. It did not feel that it was going to be a great night for. That was not the vibe. I wasn't liking the bits. I was like, Conan, love you, but not that much. And then for me, I was like, when Delroy Lindo didn't win for Best Supporting Actor. It kind of broke my heart. And for it to go to Sean Penn. Y' all know how I feel about him. You know how I feel about that character in film. But also that he didn't even show up. Like what a like insult to injury. You know what I mean? Like, oh, I don't even need this when clearly it means so much to the other nominees. That was me being like, you know what, Saeed, you don't have to watch this. What I will say it's not on the scale of Michael B. Jordan winning. This is the first time I'm saying this foreign.
- [15:27]
A
That's it. If you want more of this episode of the Stacks on a Bridge, you must join the Stacks Pack on Patreon by going to patreon.com the stacks or subscribe to my newsletter Unstacked at Tracy Thomas substack.com and remember, by joining either of those places you make it possible for me to make the Stacks every single week free to all. Thank you so much for your support and we will see you in the Stacks. We are finally transitioning into spring and as the weather begins to change over the coming weeks, there's one thing you can count on staying the same. It's your weekly dose of great reads, exclusive author interviews and behind the scenes book gossip, AKA this very podcast. Your support on Patreon and Substack is what makes it possible for me to consistently deliver you the bookish nonsense of your dreams on Patreon, which you can find@patreon.com the stacks. You can join the Stacks Pack community. We do a monthly meetup where we discuss our book club pick. There is a private, extremely active Discord plus members get an exclusive bonus episode every single month. If you're looking for other book nerds to geek out with, the Stacks Pack is your place. And then over on Substack, which is Tracy Thomas substack.com you can subscribe to my newsletter. It is called Unstacked and that is where I drop my hot takes on all things like books, but also pop culture and sports and so much more. That is where the Nonsense lives. Plus you also get that bonus episode if you are part of the Substack. And listen, I know you might not have a few dollars to spare these days. Don't worry, there is a free option on both the Patreon and the Substack. But I do want to say that making this podcast is a team effort. So much goes into every single episode. And by joining on a paid tier for the Patreon or the substack. You make it possible for me to dedicate my life to making the show and also to pay my amazing team. Come hang out with me on Patreon or Substack or both. I would love to have you. I just got up there and I was just like, oh my God, thank you, thank you. And then I heard someone, anyone, please help.
- [17:41]
B
Like Superman being able to carry me off the mount.
- [17:47]
A
The award winning Tell Me what happened podcast from OnStar is back. New emergencies, new heroes.
- [17:53]
B
Find out what happens in season six of Tell Me what Happened out now.