Awards Chatter

No person in Oscar history has received more nominations without a win than this sound mixer, whose 21 noms span 33 years, and who explains how he does what he does and why the Academy's voting process has room for improvement.

The 32-year-old, who already has directed two best picture Oscar nominees and is poised to become the youngest best director Oscar winner ever, reflects on the roots of his passion for music and movies, the Harvard pal who became his closest collaborator and the rollercoaster of a journey to realizing his dream of making an original movie musical.

The 37-year-old who could become the first black person ever to win the best director Oscar reflects on how his tumultuous childhood has informed his work, the film school pals who have been by his side ever since and the causes and effects of the eight-year gap between his debut feature and his taboo-busting masterpiece.

The 'Meryl Streep of France,' finally an Oscar nominee at the age of 63, discusses her close collaborations with Claude Chabrol and Michael Haneke, her attraction to "perverse, manipulative, icy" characters and the controversial new film for which she's received the best notices of her career.

Poised to become, at 36, the youngest EGOT in history, the creator of 'Hamilton' reflects on that groundbreaking musical's origins and success, realizing his lifelong dream of writing music for a Disney movie while at the center of his show's "wonderful tsunami," the roots of his love of music and theater and the ambitions he has not yet fulfilled. (And yes, there will be a 'Hamilton' movie.)

The 28-year-old critics' darling and fan favorite opens up about overcoming "debilitating" childhood anxiety through acting, moving to Hollywood at 15 (and changing her name and dyeing her hair), finding magical chemistry with Ryan Gosling in three films and, under the oversight of Damien Chazelle, breathing new life into the American movie musical.

The 26-year-old Brit reflects on the life-changing impact of 'Slumdog Millionaire' — good and bad ("It was like being in a gold-plated cage") — and why he so aggressively pursued and transformed himself for the film for which he just became only the third person of Indian descent ever to receive an acting Oscar nom: "A script like this — a journey like this — is never gonna come around again."

The dashing star reflects on the ups and downs of 25-plus years in the biz, from the indie he calls "one of my favorite movies" to the studio bomb that "just never really understood what it was" to one of 2016's biggest blockbusters ("I was born to play this guy"), which could even land Oscar love ("I can certainly promise one fucking crazy reaction video").

The fan favorite on breaking through in 'Swingers,' not being seen as funny until after 'Old School' and 'Dodgeball,' the intention of 'The Break-Up' ("I really designed it to go from comedy to drama"), his decade in the cold ("I didn't follow through") and his career-reboot in Mel Gibson's acclaimed war film.

The Oscar-nominated veteran reflects on his early years of struggle as an actor, the tumultuous 'Lord of the Rings' production ("I don't think anybody knew it was gonna be the huge success it became"), turning down an invitation to join the Academy ("I've changed my mind since then") and the odds-defying success of the film for which he's received best actor Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA and Spirit noms.

The legendary songwriter/composer behind 48 top 10 hits, including nine that topped the charts, opens up about the inspirations for his most beloved music, what caused his breakup with longtime collaborator Hal David and how his late daughter, who was afflicted with Asperger Syndrome, inspired him to write his first film score and song in years.

The trailblazing two-time Oscar winner dishes on the advice Sidney Poitier gave him early in his career, his "formula" for whether or not to make a movie, the #OscarsSoWhite controversy ("You don't want to be nominated just because you're black") and why he agreed to direct and star in a big screen adaptation of the play for which he won a 2010 Tony.

The star of the last two best picture Oscar winners reflects on his groundbreaking pair of 'Batman' films ("If it went down, we were going down in a big way"), walking away from a third ("It sucked"), his years in the cold ("Not a whole lot of folks were knocking on my door"), almost starring in 'Lost' and his great run over the last three years ('Birdman,' 'Spotlight' and now a Ray Kroc biopic).

Only one person ever has been Oscar-nominated for multiple songs featured in documentaries: this 41-year-old former prodigy with a social conscience second-to-none.

The 33-year-old discusses life pre-stardom ('I worked as a barista at Starbucks... and then I was fired'), 'The Social Network' (he originally was to play Mark Zuckerberg), his 'Spider-Man' films ("I didn't feel like that was my work up there") and his experiences with Mel Gibson and Martin Scorsese.