The Big Picture

The Oscars Snubs Draft. Plus: ‘Sirāt’!

February 16, 2026

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  • The central focus of this episode of *The Big Picture*, titled "The Oscars Snubs Draft. Plus: ‘Sirāt’!", is a draft session where hosts and guests rectify perceived historical Academy Award injustices across seven defined categories. 
  • The participants debated the current Best Picture race, noting the persistent 'Sinners vs. One Battle' narrative, while also acknowledging the importance of the upcoming Producers Guild Awards (PGAs) as a key indicator due to its ranked-choice voting format. 
  • The draft rules establish that selecting a film or performance from a specific year removes that entire year from the board for all subsequent picks, creating a challenging strategic element for the participants. 
  • The participants in this segment of "The Oscars Snubs Draft" for "The Big Picture" are actively engaged in rewriting Oscar history by strategically reassigning wins to correct perceived snubs, often creating complex domino effects across multiple years and categories. 
  • The discussion revealed significant debate and detailed research regarding film eligibility years, particularly concerning the 2000 release of *In the Mood for Love* versus its 2001 U.S. release date. 
  • Several iconic films and performances were highlighted as major snubs, including *Citizen Kane*'s failure to win Best Picture in 1941, *The Dark Knight*'s absence from the 2008 Best Picture nominees, and Jeff Bridges' 1998 Best Actor snub for *The Big Lebowski*. 
  • The participants in *The Big Picture*'s "The Oscars Snubs Draft. Plus: ‘Sirāt’!" engaged in a lively debate over numerous historical Oscar snubs, highlighting films like *Seven Samurai* and *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* as major oversights. 
  • Director Óliver Laxe discussed his film *Sirāt*, emphasizing his intention to use cinema to force the audience to confront and experience a form of 'death' or catharsis to achieve a feeling of being more alive afterward. 
  • The discussion on *Sirāt* revealed the film's deeply affective and polarizing nature, particularly regarding the shocking on-screen death of the young boy, Esteban, which Laxe felt was crucial for the audience's transformation. 
  • Director Óliver Laxe emphasizes that his film 'Sirāt' is meant to be watched with the body, not the brain, aiming to suspend the rational side of perception to evoke feeling and transformation. 
  • Laxe reveals that casting for 'Sirāt' involved finding non-professional actors within rave communities, seeking out human fragility, and that rehearsals included watching American road classics like 'Two-Lane Blacktop' and 'Apocalypse Now' to establish a shared cinematic language. 
  • Laxe believes the essence of cinema is its ability to provoke lasting, transformative images that shake the viewer, contrasting this with modern content that often lacks such penetrating visual impact, and he views his film as a form of healing for the collective imaginary. 

Segments

Podcast Introduction and Guests
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(00:01:16)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts introduce Joanna Robinson and Katie Rich for a draft focused on Oscar snubs.
  • Summary: Sean Fennesy and Amanda Dobbins welcome guests Joanna Robinson and Katie Rich to discuss and draft Oscar snubs. They briefly discuss the nature of being an ‘Oscar pundit’ and preview an interview with the director of ‘Sirāt’.
Current Oscar Race Discussion
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(00:03:01)
  • Key Takeaway: The Best Picture race remains unsettled, with anticipation building for the PGAs.
  • Summary: The hosts discuss the ongoing Best Picture contest (Oppenheimer vs. Poor Things), noting the enthusiasm for Poor Things but expecting Oppenheimer to prevail. They highlight the importance of the upcoming Producers Guild Awards (PGAs) as a predictor.
Defining Oscar Snubs
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(00:09:27)
  • Key Takeaway: Snubs are subjective, but historical consensus can identify clear injustices.
  • Summary: The group debates the definition of an ‘Oscar snub,’ concluding that while subjective, some omissions (like 2001: A Space Odyssey) are clear historical travesties that the draft aims to rectify.
Setting Up the Snubs Draft Rules
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(00:13:13)
  • Key Takeaway: The draft will cover seven specific categories, locking out the year of any pick made.
  • Summary: Sean Fennesy details the seven draft categories, including nominee snubs, winner snubs (Actor, Actress, Director), and a wildcard. A key rule is that selecting a film/performance from a specific year removes that year from the board for all participants.
Draft Order and First Picks
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(00:21:32)
  • Key Takeaway: The first round of picks immediately targets major Best Picture winner snubs from the 1990s and 2010s.
  • Summary: The draft order is set (Joanna first, Katie last). Joanna kicks off by taking ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015) as a Best Picture winner snub. Chris Ryan takes ‘Goodfellas’ (1990), Amanda Dobbins takes ‘Crash’ (2005) over ‘Brokeback Mountain,’ and Katie Rich selects ‘Do the Right Thing’ (1989) as a nominee snub.
Fixing Actor and Director History
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(00:43:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The participants use their picks to correct major perceived injustices for Denzel Washington and Alfred Hitchcock.
  • Summary: Amanda Dobbins takes Denzel Washington’s win for ‘Malcolm X’ (1992) from Al Pacino. Joanna Robinson takes Alfred Hitchcock’s directing Oscar, giving it to him for ‘Rebecca’ (1940) over John Ford for ‘The Grapes of Wrath.’ Amanda Dobbins also secures ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968/69) as a nominee snub.
John Ford and Greg Toland’s Filmography
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(00:48:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Greg Toland was an incredibly prolific cinematographer in the early 1940s.
  • Summary: The hosts discuss John Ford and then pivot to cinematographer Greg Toland, noting he shot 11 movies between 1939 and 1941, including Wuthering Heights and The Grapes of Wrath.
Oscar Nomination Count History
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(00:48:38)
  • Key Takeaway: The discussion briefly touches on the historical number of Best Picture nominees.
  • Summary: The speakers note that in 1940, there were 10 Best Picture nominees, and they briefly wonder when the switch to 5 nominees first occurred.
In the Mood for Love Eligibility
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(00:50:27)
  • Key Takeaway: The group confirms In the Mood for Love can be counted as a 2000 film for the draft.
  • Summary: A qualifying question arises about whether In the Mood for Love is a 2000 or 2001 film due to its Cannes premiere versus US release date. They agree to count it as 2000.
Goodfellas Snub and Scorsese
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(00:52:50)
  • Key Takeaway: The speaker selects Goodfellas as a Best Picture Winner snub, noting Scorsese didn’t win Best Director for it.
  • Summary: The conversation touches on Scorsese’s directing win for The Departed and whether taking away the Goodfellas win (which lost to Dances with Wolves) is appealing in the historical rewrite.
Wes Anderson Director Snub
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(00:53:41)
  • Key Takeaway: Wes Anderson is selected for a Best Director snub for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).
  • Summary: The speaker chooses to give Wes Anderson a directing Oscar for The Grand Budapest Hotel, taking it from Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman), noting Anderson is a signature filmmaker of their generation.
Bette Davis Best Actress Snub
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(00:56:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Bette Davis is selected for a Best Actress win for All About Eve (1950).
  • Summary: The first female acting pick is made, selecting Bette Davis over Judy Holliday (Born Yesterday). The speaker notes this would be Davis’s third win.
2011 Best Picture Nominee Snub
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(00:57:52)
  • Key Takeaway: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is selected as a snub from the weak 2011 Best Picture lineup.
  • Summary: The speaker criticizes the 2011 Best Picture nominees (including The Artist, War Horse, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close) and inserts The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Citizen Kane Winner Snub
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(01:00:47)
  • Key Takeaway: Citizen Kane (1941) is selected as a Best Picture Winner snub.
  • Summary: The speaker picks Citizen Kane over the actual winner, How Green Was My Valley, noting the importance of Orson Welles and Greg Toland.
Kate Winslet Best Actress Snub
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(01:01:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Kate Winslet is given the 2004 Best Actress Oscar for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
  • Summary: The speaker takes the win from Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) to create a positive chain reaction for other actresses like Anne Hathaway and Amy Adams.
Jeff Bridges Best Actor Snub
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(01:09:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Jeff Bridges is selected for the 1998 Best Actor win for The Big Lebowski.
  • Summary: The speaker laments the Coen Brothers being overlooked and selects Bridges over Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful).
The Dark Knight Best Picture Snub
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(01:11:48)
  • Key Takeaway: The Dark Knight (2008) is added as a Best Picture nominee to prevent future comic book movie hysteria.
  • Summary: The speaker chooses to fix the infamous snub, believing it would have changed how comic book films were treated by the Academy earlier.
Harrison Ford Best Actor Win
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(01:16:15)
  • Key Takeaway: Harrison Ford is given the 1985 Best Actor Oscar for Witness, taking it from William Hurt.
  • Summary: The speaker sacrifices William Hurt’s win to give Harrison Ford an Oscar, noting 1985 was a competitive year.
Amy Adams Best Actress Snub
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(01:17:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Amy Adams is selected for a 2016 Best Actress win for Arrival.
  • Summary: The speaker takes the win from Emma Stone (La La Land), justifying it by noting Adams deserved an Oscar and Stone won again later.
1938 Best Picture Nominee Snub
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(01:18:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Bringing Up Baby (1938) is selected as a snub from the 10-nominee field.
  • Summary: The speaker praises the screwball comedy as a perfect film that was surprisingly left out of the 1938 Best Picture nominations.
Spielberg Director Snub (E.T.)
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(01:31:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Steven Spielberg is given the 1982 Best Director Oscar for E.T. over Richard Attenborough (Gandhi).
  • Summary: The speaker argues Spielberg was criminally overlooked during his peak creative period before his 1993 win for Schindler’s List.
Oscar Travesties and Blade Runner
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(01:33:11)
  • Key Takeaway: The discussion begins by referencing past Oscar ’travesties,’ including a mention of Blade Runner visual effects.
  • Summary: Speakers discuss past Oscar snubs, including Paul Newman in The Verdict and the visual effects for Tron.
2006 Best Picture Snub: Children of Men
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(01:34:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris selects Children of Men (2006) as a major Best Picture nominee snub, praising its quality.
  • Summary: Chris presents his 21st-century Best Picture nominee snub: Children of Men. The panel briefly discusses the actual 2006 nominees, including The Departed (winner) and Babel.
2006 Best Actress Snub: Meryl Streep
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(01:35:43)
  • Key Takeaway: Amanda argues Meryl Streep should have won Best Actress for The Devil Wears Prada over Helen Mirren for The Queen.
  • Summary: Amanda discusses her Best Actress snub pick, Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. The group debates whether Helen Mirren’s win for The Queen was a makeup award.
Diane Keaton and Something’s Gotta Give
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(01:36:43)
  • Key Takeaway: Amanda pivots to Diane Keaton’s performance in Something’s Gotta Give (2003) as another deserving win.
  • Summary: Amanda offers a backup Best Actress snub pick, Diane Keaton for Something’s Gotta Give, leading to a brief tangent about the Book Club sequels.
1956 Best Picture Snub: Seven Samurai
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(01:39:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Joanna selects Seven Samurai (1956) as a Best Picture snub, noting the weak lineup that year.
  • Summary: Joanna picks Seven Samurai as a 20th-century Best Picture snub. The group briefly lists the 1956 nominees, which included Around the World in 80 Days (winner).
1988 Best Actress Snub: Glenn Close
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(01:42:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Joanna selects Glenn Close for Dangerous Liaisons (1988), suggesting Jodie Foster’s win for The Accused was undeserved.
  • Summary: Joanna finalizes her picks by giving Glenn Close the Oscar over Jodie Foster, calling Dangerous Liaisons a ‘perfect film.’
1976 Best Picture Snub: Network
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(01:44:39)
  • Key Takeaway: A participant selects Network (1976) over All the President’s Men as the snubbed film that beat Rocky.
  • Summary: The speaker chooses Network for its trenchant social commentary, despite admiring All the President’s Men.
1977 Best Picture Snub: Close Encounters
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(01:48:40)
  • Key Takeaway: A speaker expresses shock that Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) was not nominated for Best Picture.
  • Summary: The group discusses the 1977 Best Picture lineup, which included Star Wars and Annie Hall, but excluded Spielberg’s Close Encounters.
1994 Documentary Snub: Hoop Dreams
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(01:50:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Katie selects Hoop Dreams (1994) as an iconic documentary snub that highlights the Academy’s blind spots.
  • Summary: Katie discusses Hoop Dreams, noting its critical acclaim versus its Oscar exclusion, and reflects on how the Academy’s alignment with critics has changed.
Recap of Final Draft Picks
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(02:04:00)
  • Key Takeaway: All four participants summarize their seven selections from the Oscars Snubs Draft.
  • Summary: Joanna, Amanda, CR, and Katie list their final picks across all categories, concluding the draft portion of the show.
Transition to Sirāt Discussion
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(02:07:42)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts transition from the draft to discussing the film Sirāt and their anticipation for the interview.
  • Summary: The hosts dismiss the draft participants and prepare to discuss Sirāt, noting the director Oliver Lashé was an incredible guest.
Sirāt Premise and Initial Reactions
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(02:08:28)
  • Key Takeaway: The film Sirāt involves a father searching for his missing daughter during a road trip through Moroccan rave festivals.
  • Summary: The premise of Sirāt is laid out, focusing on Sergei Lopez’s character and the descent into madness. Hosts note the film’s divisive nature but growing award momentum.
The Shocking Death Scene in Sirāt
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(02:12:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts agree the scene where the son, Esteban, dies is a masterfully constructed, yet emotionally punishing, piece of filmmaking.
  • Summary: The group details the scene where Esteban dies, acknowledging its effectiveness in establishing the film’s tone of inevitable peril and trauma.
Director Oliver Lashé on Catharsis
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(02:18:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Director Oliver Lashé states his intention was to provide catharsis by forcing the audience to confront death and limits, leading to feeling ‘more alive’ afterward.
  • Summary: In the interview, Lashé explains his visceral process and his belief that Western audiences escape death, which Sirāt aims to correct through painful experience.
Lashé on Rave Culture and Casting
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(02:24:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Lashé confirms the desert raves are based on real Moroccan traveler communities, and he cast non-professional actors by seeking ‘fragility.’
  • Summary: The director discusses the authenticity of the rave scenes and the time spent building trust with the non-professional cast, who watched films like Apocalypse Now during rehearsals.
Casting non-professional actors
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(02:26:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The director sought actors based on perceived human fragility, trusting the camera to capture genuine emotion.
  • Summary: The interviewer asks how the director found actors. The director explains they looked for fragility in people, believing spectators appreciate seeing fragility on screen, and that a camera can capture the beauty of a touched human being.
Rehearsals and building trust
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(02:27:13)
  • Key Takeaway: Filming required extensive time spent building trust with actors who were initially afraid to be shot.
  • Summary: The director details spending significant time with the cast, including watching films, rehearsing, and spending time in nature, because the non-professional actors were afraid of being filmed.
Influences: 70s American Road Films
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(02:27:35)
  • Key Takeaway: The film dialogues heavily with 1970s American road cinema, reflecting the societal energy of that decade.
  • Summary: The director lists films watched during rehearsals, including Two-Lane Blacktop, Apocalypse Now, Vanishing Point, and Easy Rider. He notes these films capture the energy of 70s society, including the Vietnam War and countercultural movements.
Script length and cinematic tools
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(02:30:11)
  • Key Takeaway: The director prefers short scripts, relying on the inherent expressive power of cinematic images over dialogue.
  • Summary: The director confirms the script was short (50 pages) despite 10 years of work. He believes less is more, trusting cinema’s ability to evoke things visually, and takes comments about lacking a traditional script as a compliment.
Film as bodily experience
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(02:33:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Sirāt is intended to be felt physically, suspending the rational brain to allow deeper perception.
  • Summary: The director states Sirāt is a film watched with the body, not the brain, comparing its effect to therapy by suspending the rational side of the brain. He emphasizes that the essence of cinema is provoking images that stay with the viewer.
Confronting pain and death
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(02:35:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Confronting difficult realities like death is necessary medicine for freedom and growth.
  • Summary: Responding to criticism about shocking moments, the director argues that society must confront innocent death and learn to die with dignity. Watching films like Sirāt reduces fear.
Music built organically with visuals
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(02:38:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Music was integral from the start, written to build an organic, atmospheric connection with the images.
  • Summary: The director explains that music was related to the images from the beginning, as his scripts are written atmospherically. He worked with the musician for a year before shooting to build the film’s mood.
Spiritual journey through sound
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(02:39:40)
  • Key Takeaway: The film’s sound design moves from physical techno beats to ethereal, sacred music, mirroring a metaphysical adventure.
  • Summary: The music shifts from cathartic techno (physical) to ethereal and transcendental sounds approaching sacred music by the end, reflecting the film’s journey becoming more metaphysical.
Healing the collective imaginary
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(02:46:15)
  • Key Takeaway: The director believes cinema has the power to heal the collective wounds and fears prevalent in modern society.
  • Summary: The director states his goal is to elevate the level of conscience and heal the collective imaginary, which is currently marked by fear and suffering.
Connecting with young audiences
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(02:47:36)
  • Key Takeaway: The director aims to connect with young, lost audiences through art cinema, just as it connected with him.
  • Summary: He emphasizes the importance of audiences and his desire to dialogue with young people who feel lost, hoping cinema can warm and connect them as it did for him at age 20.