LOS ANGELES (AP) — After a season of the Topsitter Bee Oscars, when frontrunners were constantly shuffled, old tweets hugged top contenders, and the 97th Academy Awards begin Sunday.
Sunday’s Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles will close one of the most unpredictable Oscar races in recent memory.
The ceremony will begin at 7pm, aired by ABC and streamed on Hulu. Conan O’Brien is the first time he’s hosted. ABC and Hulu’s official red carpet press show will be unofficial e-starting at 6:30pm! Red carpet coverage begins at 4pm ET, with Associated Press making live stream arrivals arriving at 3pm
Although some rain was predicted, clear skies permeated Los Angeles, which is still recovering from wildfires that devastated the Pacific Ocean’s Pallisad and Altadena neighborhoods earlier this year.
The fire affected much of the arts and sciences of the film industry as a whole and the Academy of Motion Pictures. Some people asked for the cancellation of Hollywood’s awards season. O’Brien has lived from the hotel for the past two months, sparing his Pacific Palisade home. The Oscar producer says the show celebrates the city’s resilience.
Do you have any favorites for Oscar’s best photos?
The lead candidate is Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez,” with 13 nominations, but the film has seen the crater of its potential following years of offensive tweets by Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly trans actor to be nominated for Best Actress.
My favourite is Sean Baker’s “Anora,” about a sex worker who married the son of a Russian oligarch. The winner of the neon release Cannes Palme d’Or won with the producer, director and writers guild. The only movie with the same resume that doesn’t earn the best picture is “Brokeback Mountain.”
The closest competition is “Conclave,” a pontifical thriller starring Ralph Fiennes. Winners at BAFTAS and SAG Awards, and the same victory as Pope Francis was hospitalized for double pneumonia. The Oscar vote ended before the Pope got sick.
The mix also received 10 nominations for 10 awards, “The Brutalist,” and the musical hit “Wicked.” Some of the early Craft Oscars can be shared between “Evil” and “Dune: Part 2.”
Does politics play the lead role?
For the first time, the actor is nominated for playing the US president sitting in. Sebastian Stan, like his co-star Jeremy Strong, who played Roy Corn, has been nominated for Best Actor for his performance as a young Donald Trump in “Apprentice.” Trump calls people involved in the film “human scum.”
The political tenors of this year’s ceremony could become unstable, with Oscar coming to the Trump administration for a second time for weeks, falling two days after the dramatic rupture of Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky and President at the White House.
Earlier this week, O’Brien said he would try to achieve a delicate balance.
“We can’t ignore the moment we are,” he said. “But I need to remember that it’s screwing the needle in. I also need to remember that I’m here to actively celebrate and inject the show.”
Will Timothée Chalamet win his first Oscar?
The supporting acting categories feature overwhelming favourites, Zoe Saldana (“Emilia Perez”) and Kieran Calkin (“Real Payne”), but both the best actors and the best actresses are in close contests.
Among the best actresses, Demi Moore (“Material”) is most likely to win, but Mikey Madison (“Anola”) or Fernanda Torres (“I’m still here”) was able to pull the upset away.
Adrian Brody is preferred by Best Actor for his performance in “The Brutalist.” However, Timote Chalamett could beat him for his performance as Bob Dylan in “The Complete Unknown.” Chalamet, 29, who won the Screen Actors Guild, edging Brody’s record set in 2003 with a “pianist” victory, becoming the youngest winner of the best actor in history.
Can the show lift a battered Hollywood?
This year’s Oscars are spooling after a turbulent year for the film industry. Ticket sales fell 3% from the previous year, significantly lowering from pre-pandemic times. The 2023 strike wreaked havoc in its release schedule in 2024. Many studios have returned to production and have given them a lot of work. The January fire added to the pain.
Last year’s television broadcast was driven by the blockbuster Oppenheimer and Barbie twins, leading the Oscar to a four-year audience with 19.5 million viewers. With smaller, independent films in favour of the most prominent awards this year, the Academy will be tested to bring out a large portion of its audience.
The Academy has now removed performances of original songs this year, especially as it is a candidate for the best songs in the Starry Sky. But there are music, including performances by “Wicked” stars Cynthia Eribo and Ariana Grande, as well as homage to the late Quincy Jones with Queen Latifah.
Last year’s acting winners – Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Chilean Murphy and Davin Joy Randolph will also be taking part in the ceremony. The acting award has not won a “Fab Five” treatment and has five previous winners per category, but the producers say it will be used in other categories “usually not in the spotlight on Oscar Stage.”
The ceremony will take place for several days after Gene Hackman’s death. The 95-year-old two-time Oscar winner and his wife, Betsie Arakawa, were found dead at his New Mexico home on Wednesday. Morgan Freeman is to honor him during the ceremony.
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