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Critical Darlings

"Sinners" And The Academy’s Growing Genre Acceptance with Sam Sanders

3/5/20261 hr 28 min

This week we’re joined by Sam Sanders of The Sam Sanders Show to discuss Sinners, the most nominated film in Academy Awards history. With sixteen nominations across directing, writing, music, and acting categories, Sinners is a somewhat surprising record breaker, as genre films, especially films with horror elements, are rarely awarded by The Academy. 

On this episode we discuss the film, why it was able to break through, if Sinners counts as a genre film; and if so, what genre it represents. We also get into what effect the Warner Bros. Paramount merger might have...

Clips

Showing 10 of 12
What Should Oscars Reward?
Are We The Vampires?
‘He Loves Black People’
Calling Out The Trades
Coogler’s Rare Rights Deal
Coogler’s True North
Sex, Agency, And Screen Time
Mergers And Oscar Momentum
The Sacred And The Secular
Is Sinners Horror?

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Alison Willmore· Host0:00

    [trumpets playing] Welcome to Critical Darlings, a conversation about the award season conversation, one contender at a time. [cymbals crashing] Please welcome to the stage your hosts, Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore.

  2. Richard Lawson· Host0:22

    [clapping] Well, thank you, Marie, as ever, for that spirited introduction. We are joined, uh, as ever by producer Ben. Hello, Ben.

  3. Ben0:33

    Hello.

  4. Richard Lawson· Host0:34

    And we have a very special guest today from the Sam Sanders show on K- uh, by KCRW with- With, for- Sure ...

  5. Sam Sanders· Guest0:40

    I don't know.

  6. Richard Lawson· Host0:41

    [laughs] We have the eponymous Sam Sanders. Hello.

  7. Sam Sanders· Guest0:43

    It's so good to be here.

  8. Richard Lawson· Host0:44

    We're thrilled to have you.

  9. Sam Sanders· Guest0:45

    I'm a fan.

  10. Alison Willmore· Host0:46

    Yeah.

  11. Sam Sanders· Guest0:46

    Honored to be in the number.

  12. Alison Willmore· Host0:47

    I... catching you coming through town was- Yes ... so serendipitous.

  13. Richard Lawson· Host0:50

    It all just happened to work out.

  14. Alison Willmore· Host0:51

    Yeah.

  15. Sam Sanders· Guest0:51

    Yeah.

  16. Richard Lawson· Host0:52

    And, and putting b- well, at least me to shame wardrobe-wise.

  17. Alison Willmore· Host0:54

    [laughs] No, definitely. I'm like- I should have stepped it up today ... you stepped in and I was like, "Oh."

  18. Sam Sanders· Guest0:57

    No, this was the suit that I wore yesterday at the conference, and the one that I wore earlier today for another interview.

  19. Alison Willmore· Host1:02

    You know how like, you know how like, um, French people, they're like, "You only need, like, three, three outfits in your wardrobe- Oh, yeah ... and just..." I'm like- Oh, yeah ... I believe that.

  20. Sam Sanders· Guest1:08

    Like, I'll wear this for everything professional for the next- Yeah ... three years.

  21. Alison Willmore· Host1:11

    Exactly.

  22. Sam Sanders· Guest1:12

    Then there'll be holes in it, and I'll start over again.

  23. Alison Willmore· Host1:13

    That sounds like a great plan.

  24. Ben1:14

    For listeners, Sam is wearing a beautiful, uh, brown blazer and a black turtleneck.

  25. Alison Willmore· Host1:19

    Yeah.

  26. Sam Sanders· Guest1:20

    Very classy.

  27. Richard Lawson· Host1:20

    Yeah. I forget we're not just solely video. [laughs] [laughs] Um, so we are gathered here today to talk about Sinners, but before we do that, um, I thought we would catch up with you, Sam, in terms of, like,

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