Oscars 2019 Special

Netflix had an outsized presence at the 2019 Oscars despite their unconventional way of distributing films.(image Courtesy of Vulture.com) 

The 2019 Oscars or Academy Awards were like no other. There was a Superhero film up for best picture and a Superhero film actually won for Best Animated Feature. Among top films to come away a winner this year was an Alfonso Curaón film named Roma. It scored an industry first in that despite the fact that it was available for viewers to stream on Netflix even as it was still playing in theatres, Roma was not only a serious contender for competitive awards like best director and best picture, it actually won three of the four awards it was nominated for.

(Netflix developed Roma image Courtesy of Deadline.com)

For this segment we’ve turned things on their heads a bit– Andy Sorciniis a film editor by trade, as well as the Creator and Executive Producer of The Drill Down. Tosin Onafowokan, longtime Drill Down co-panelist, is a product manager at Vudu, where he spends his days working on the tech behind the streaming media that audiences can’t get enough of, and, here tonight as a special guest, we have Engadget Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar, who, in addition to writing about and being an expert in all things entertainment technology, is also the long-time co-host of the Slashfilmcast, which reviews and provides insights about the latest in film and television every week. Devindra has also launched his own technology show recently– the Know More Tech podcast, in which he answers every day users questions about technology. Examples include how to pick the best tech gifts, what you should be looking for in major technology purchases like televisions, and help whittling down the best products in a sea of options– like recommendations on fitness trackers.

I thought we’d take advantage of this vast array of tech and movie experience to see if there’s anything to be learned about where the industry is going in light Netflix’s incursion into what had been a space dominated by the studios.