

Does an Oscar Matter More or Less Than Ever?
Del Toro's Pinocchio
- Guillermo del Toro's Oscar win for "Shape of Water" helped him secure funding for "Pinocchio".
- This demonstrates how awards can validate a filmmaker's vision and open doors to passion projects.
Cuarón's Roma
- Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity" Oscar win helped finance his subsequent film, "Roma," which also earned him an Oscar.
- This showcases how awards recognition can build momentum and enable directors to pursue personal projects.
Boyle's 127 Hours
- Danny Boyle leveraged his "Slumdog Millionaire" Oscar win to secure funding for "127 Hours."
- This illustrates how an Oscar can be used as leverage to pursue less commercial, passion-driven projects.























































Matt is joined by WME senior partner Robert Newman to talk about how much an Academy Award win still matters. Robert represents several accomplished auteur filmmakers and can speak to the impact an Oscar win could have on an up-and-coming director, how it influences their next project, and whether that cache has dwindled. Later he shares a few opinions on how to improve the Academy Awards (02:31). Matt finishes the show with a ratings prediction for the 97th Academy Awards (30:09).
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Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com
Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Robert Newman
Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
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