We must declare some Oscar winning locks before discussing all of the closer races. So what does Vegas have to say? Can we weaponize their gamlbing odds in our arguments? Who is on the sweep? And do you even agree with us? It’s an Oscar Locks special for 2021. What is This Episode? - Top of Show . BEST DIRECTOR: Zhao Is Running Away - 2:40 The Odds + The Resume - 4:16 Strength in Other Categories - 8:14 Nitpicks - 13:56 Who Could Possibly? - 17:16 . LEAD ACTOR: Boseman’s Odds - 20:24 And He’s Streaking - 21:04 History Backs Him - 22:48 Moment Meets Narrative - 25:14 Who Could Possibly? - 29:19 . LOCKS, NOTS, AND UPDATES: Animated Feature - 33:20 Original Score - 34:54 BP, Acting Cats, + Something About Sacha - 38:02 Screenplay, Sound Categories - 43:29 International Feature - 46:08 The Rest - 47:30 . Where To Find Us/LEAVE US A 5* REVIEW! - 49:18 Words of Wisdom/What’s Coming Next - 50:04 Our annual Oscar Category series is about to begin. But before we bring in all our guests, we must analyze which winners may already be locked into being “sure things.” So we use the updated gambling odds, we recap how awards season has built consensus, and unlike the past, we have declared some early Oscar winning locks. Best Director has been dominated all season by Chloe Zhao. We discuss her resume, analyze the betting, poll the punditry, quote some stats, and we dive into another big discussion on why Nomadland seems to be an awards juggernaut this season, much of it coming from the fact that Chloe Zhao has a lock on Best Director. Then we must pivot to Lead Actor. It’s certainly one of the better 5’s in a while. But atop the field, there’s been one undeniable performance. So again, we analyze the numbers coming from Vegas, we discuss how the season has deservedly paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman. Finally, we cannot finish this episode without looking at the rest of the card. So from Best Picture through to Best Sound, we discuss all of the betting favorites and whether or not we’re comfortable declaring them as locks or not. The Mikes will disagree a bit in this segment. But yes, there are a few spots where we pull out our keys. As always, we wanna know what you think. Do you agree with the categories we’ve locked? Would you lock others? Let us know. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are at Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & hear us on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you might listen. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar, and we’re making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. Thank you! And do stay safe, everybody.