Robert Licuria
robertlicuria.bsky.social
Robert Licuria
@robertlicuria.bsky.social
freelance editor at Gold Derby | substack: awards heaven | TV & film nerd | ICS, HCA, AACTA | IG, Threads & X: robertlicuria
Awards Heaven Podcast episode 9 is live!
LAFCA, Globes, awards season up for grabs. Charlie, Tony & I tackle new frontrunners, a Sentimental Value lovefest, Jay Kelly review, a Sirat showdown + our Top 5 Oscar snubs that still haunt us.
tinyurl.com/2rc6krkw
Awards season momentum swings as critics picks, Globes nominations and new releases redefine the race
Episode 9: LAFCA fallout, Golden Globes surprises, divisive films, must-see performances and our Top 5 Oscar snubs.
tinyurl.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:29 AM
I sat down with author Nick Spake to chat animation awards history from 200 industry figures to a joint chat with Menken & Schwartz, his work reframes animation's value.

➤Check out cartooncontender.com and our interview here: tinyurl.com/5n8hmbw4
December 11, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Johnnie Burn’s Oscar win for 'The Zone of Interest' marked a rare shift in how film sound is understood. We talked about its impact and how his work evolves in 'Hamnet' and 'Bugonia.' This is the interview I've wanted to do for years. @johnnieburn
tinyurl.com/ycxcwet5
The evolution of Johnnie Burn: From Oscar-winning sound design to the psychology of sound in 'Hamnet' and 'Bugonia'
How a breakthrough Oscar win pushed Burn’s sound design into new territory and set the stage for his continued pursuit of sound as emotional experience.
tinyurl.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Just published my conversation with Peabody Award winner Hilla Medalia about 'Children No More' - her powerful documentary short film observing a silent vigil for Gaza’s children. A quiet film with real force. A must see.
tinyurl.com/ycy477yz
@hillamedalia #childrennomore
'Children No More' and the power of a silent vigil
Documentary filmmaker Hilla Medalia on witnessing grief, breaking silence and filming a vigil that refuses to look away.
tinyurl.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:51 PM
‘Landman’ artisans break down Season 2’s bold creative risks and Taylor Sheridan’s world-building.

Director Stephen Kay, set designer Dawn Brown, assistant costume designer Samantha Pavlat, and composer Andrew Lockington reveal their secrets.

▶️https://tinyurl.com/yc7bwud9
December 8, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Twin timing, live blues on a gravel road, live musical performance, vintage instruments, a noisy IMAX camera inches from the cast. Sound genius Chris Welcker explains how he recorded the unrecordable on Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS.

tinyurl.com/wrj6f287
The sound of 'Sinners': How Chris Welcker pulled off the impossible
The production sound mixer breaks down how he kept the film alive in real time, from twin performances to live blues to dialogue salvaged from a roaring IMAX camera.
tinyurl.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Awards Heaven Podcast episode 8 is live!
Tony takes the mic, Daniel Montgomery joins us, we get into Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, Marty Supreme, acting races, what we’re watching, Radiohead deep dive, Top 5 Grammy Album of the Year wins.
tinyurl.com/4dxmmds5
Awards season chaos arrives: Tony hosts, Daniel joins, and the first big contenders take shape
Episode 8: Early precursors, frontrunners, surprise surges, Radiohead talk, and our Top 5 Grammy Album of the Year wins.
tinyurl.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Two of the best film scores of 2025 just got the deep-dive treatment: Daniel Blumberg - The Testament of Ann Lee + Alex Somers - Rental Family. If you care about how music shapes storytelling, these are worth your time. Read both at Gold Derby: tinyurl.com/y22r9zk6
Gold Derby Deep Dive: 'Rental Family' and 'The Testament of Ann Lee'
Two of the most striking film scores of 2025 just got the deep-dive treatment: Daniel Blumberg's 'The Testament of Ann Lee' and Alex Somers' 'Rental Family.'
tinyurl.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:12 AM
I interviewed Greg Whiteley re AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: a conversation about truth, myth, perfection & courage.

If u wanna know why the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders fascinate millions & why Greg is one of the best doc storytellers around, this is for you: tinyurl.com/4brkfnk3
Greg Whiteley on courage, vulnerability and the untold truth behind 'America’s Sweethearts'
The Emmy-winning filmmaker opens up about obsession, perfection, power, and why the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are one of the most fascinating subjects of his career.
tinyurl.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Just dropped: my conversation with doc filmmaker/activist Catherine Gund about Meanwhile: her new film that treats breath, memory and identity as its own language. If you want a documentary that lingers, read/watch/listen to this: tinyurl.com/mr7hhsb2
Breathing in the 'Meanwhile': Catherine Gund on identity, memory, and what lives between us
A conversation with the filmmaker behind a docu-poem born from chaos, shaped by artists, and carried on the shared breath that binds us all.
tinyurl.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:06 AM
A Predator with heart.
A planet built to kill.
A creature team firing on all cylinders.
I spoke with the artists behind Badlands to learn how they pulled off the franchise’s boldest swing yet.
The Gold Derby Deep Dive:
🔗 tinyurl.com/dp48h4uf
@predator @disney @20thcentury
Gold Derby Deep Dive: The 'Predator' movie that broke me (in a good way)
And why the VFX team behind it delivered one of the coolest interviews I’ve done.
tinyurl.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:46 AM
I talked to Chapman and Maclain Way about 'America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys' - a doc series about mythmaking, ambition, risk, legacy.
One of the most compelling interviews I’ve done.
Watch/listen/read: tinyurl.com/mp3cemsw
Inside 'America’s Team': Chapman and Maclain Way on myth, power and the making of a Cowboys dynasty
The Emmy-winning directors behind 'Wild Wild Country' and 'Untold' break down their new Netflix epic, and why Jerry Jones, risk and American mythology made this the biggest story of their career.
tinyurl.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Two sound artists. One storm. No ADR from Daniel Day-Lewis.

Find out how Steve Fanagan and Stevie Haywood used weather, silence, and breath to tell the whole story in ANEMONE.

➤ New episode up now: tinyurl.com/yps87xkf
November 28, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Baby monitors. Hospital dread. A soundscape built on anxiety.
Three sound artists break down how 'If I Had Legs I’d Kick You' (starring Rose Byrne) traps us inside Linda’s head.

If you're into super-innovative film sound design, this is worth a watch.

New interview up now: tinyurl.com/j53rv5ck
Sound as psychology in 'If I Had Legs I’d Kick You'
Sound geniuses Ruy Garcia, Filipe Messeder and Patrick Southern on building a world that rarely lets the audience breathe
tinyurl.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Awards Heaven Podcast episode 7 is live!

We wrestle with Hamnet, why Train Dreams is Joel Edgerton’s best work ever & Amanda Seyfried is A+ in Testament of Ann Lee + hat-tip to Anne Thompson & top 5 Oscar wins that make no sense.

➤ Listen & watch here: awardsheaven.substack.com/p/hamnet-or-...
November 26, 2025 at 8:06 AM
What happens when music stops backing a scene and starts shaping a character?
I spoke with composer Dave Porter about scoring PLURIBUS Episode 4: mood, identity and risk.
Read it at Gold Derby: tinyurl.com/pjwnr4d3
‘Pluribus’ composer on utilizing an ‘actual choir’ for the haunting ‘please, Carol, please’ crescendo in Episode 4
Dave Porter reveals why the new Apple TV series demands a different musical language from his previous collaborations with Vince Gilligan.
tinyurl.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Australians have never landed Oscar nominations in all four Oscar acting categories in a single year.

2026 won’t change that… but 3 is possible: Edgerton, Byrne, Elordi. It’s only happened 3 times before. This year might be the fourth time.

Read here: awardsheaven.substack.com/p/a-good-yea...
A good year for Aussie actors at the Oscars
Three acting categories might have Australians nominated this year. That’s happened only three times before.
awardsheaven.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Awards Heaven Podcast episode 6 is live!

Wicked: For Good, Rental Family, chaotic Best Actress, TV's greatest achievement: The Clean Sweep, Amanda Spears joins us as special guest, & Top 5 movies we can’t stand that everyone else loves.

awardsheaven.substack.com/p/wicked-rea...
November 21, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Awards Heaven - In Conversation... with two fierce voices in awards season punditry: Jack Mahanes and David LaMan.

#oscars2026

➤ Listen and watch here: awardsheaven.substack.com/p/jack-mahan...
November 21, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Want to know what happens when a major star takes a risk and disappears into a role? I spoke with Tessa Thompson about Hedda, from the invitation-only press call to her career-best performance to date. The honest, unfiltered chat is up.

awardsheaven.substack.com/p/tessa-thom... #tessathompson
Tessa Thompson on starring in 'Hedda' and how the film 'breaks you open'
From virtual press conference to a one-on-one conversation, Tessa Thompson opens up about legacy, risk and playing a new version of Hedda Gabler.
awardsheaven.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Just published: “The moral architecture of ‘Nuremberg’: A conversation with film editor Tom Eagles”

Dive into the edit-room craft behind Russell Crowe’s performance & the weight of real trial footage.

Read, watch or listen to the full interview now: awardsheaven.substack.com/p/the-moral-...
The moral architecture of 'Nuremberg': A conversation with film editor Tom Eagles
How precision and performance shaped one of Tom Eagles’ most demanding edits.
awardsheaven.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:15 AM
BLACK RABBIT wrecked me & talking with the creators only made it hit harder. Jason & Jude go to places I didn’t expect & the bts stories are even wilder. If you’ve watched, you need this interview. If you haven’t, stream on Netflix now!

tinyurl.com/5fr2fs82
November 18, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Awards Heaven Podcast episode 5 is live!
We hit the Grammys, Hedda, Frankenstein, chaotic Supporting Actor race, Pluribus, The Girlfriend, Black Rabbit, 40 years of The Golden Girls, & Top 5 movies we love that are objectively bad.
Listen and watch here: tinyurl.com/5n8kp2z4
Awards Heaven Podcast: Oscar season breakdown and Grammys hot takes, what we're watching, and the best bad movies we can’t quit
Hedda hype, Frankenstein feelings, Grammys side-eye, and we gush over what we’re watching. Plus: Globes nonsense (again), Golden Girls nostalgia, and our top 5 bad movies we’ll defend with our lives.
tinyurl.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Awards Heaven Podcast - Rob, Charles & Tony dive into:
• Yorgos Lanthimos’ 'Bugonia'
• Rose Byrne’s awards-worthy turn
• The prestige 'Predator: Badlands'
• Russell Crowe’s wild Nuremberg role
• Sydney Sweeney’s 'Christy' breakout
• The Original Score race
🎧 Listen & watch now: tinyurl.com/y2xtmme6
November 7, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Just walked out of the IMAX Sydney media preview screening of PREDATOR: BADLANDS in awe. Full first-look impressions now live on Substack: 🔗 tinyurl.com/ymv47ctv
Predator: Badlands at IMAX Sydney - early impressions of Dan Trachtenberg’s boldest hunt yet
Just walked out of the IMAX Sydney media preview of #PredatorBadlands in awe. This is a lot of fun. See it on the biggest screen you can find.
tinyurl.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:59 AM