Film Expert and Oscars Guru Dave Karger on the Academy Awards Past and Present, the Relevancy of the Ceremony, and His Best Predictions for Sunday’s Big Show

I’m so pleased to share with you a special bonus episode discussing the Oscars, which are quickly approaching this Sunday, March 10. The Academy Awards are the culmination of awards season, and there’s so much to discuss when it comes to this year’s ceremony. Will Oppenheimer sweep the awards, as is predicted? Why wasn’t Barbie’s star Margot Robbie nominated for Best Actress, or its director, Greta Gerwig, nominated for Best Director? Will Lily Gladstone of Killers of the Flower Moon make history by winning Best Actress, or will the coveted prize go to Emma Stone, star of Poor Things? There’s so much to look forward to, and, in honor of Hollywood’s biggest night, I have with me a gentleman who could easily be called an Oscars guru: Dave Karger, author of the new book 50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars and Filmmakers on Their Career Defining Wins, which came out on January 23. The anecdotes in this book are absolutely second to none, and Dave talks to everyone for the book, from Meryl Streep and Steven Spielberg to Julia Roberts and Martin Scorsese to Jane Fonda and Clint Eastwood; the book features never-before-told stories of the crème de la crème of awards shows and is told through a collection of interviews with actors, filmmakers, craftspeople, and those that helped bring the film to life and then won an Oscar for it. All told the winners included in the book span 60 years of Oscar winners and include quite a few that have achieved the elusive EGOT status, signifying that they’ve won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony. Heretofore, only 19 people have done this, by the way, including Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, and John Legend, all of whom are profiled in Dave’s book. Dave is a film expert, an award-winning journalist, and a host on Turner Classic Movies. He’s been the Oscars expert on the Today Show for nearly a quarter century and has spent over 15 years writing about the Oscars for Entertainment Weekly. He has cohosted ABC’s Live from the Red Carpet pre-show and has served as the Academy’s official red carpet greeter on Oscar night. So, to put it mildly, Dave knows the Oscars! The stories he was able to get out of some of the most famous people in the world through this book are truly remarkable. In our conversation, Dave reveals if any of the celebrities he interviewed left him starstruck, where most people keep their Oscar statuette, how heavy the statuette is (I was shocked by his answer!), which Oscar moments make his so called Mount Rushmore of iconic moments from the awards show, the relevancy of winning an Oscar today, and, yes, I had to get his Oscar predictions. It’s a can’t miss conversation that I can’t wait for you to tune into.

50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars and Filmmakers on Their Career Defining Wins by Dave Karger