The 95th Academy Awards are currently taking place in Los Angeles, with American comedian Jimmy Kimmel serving as this year’s host.
A number of Hollywood A-listers have walked the champagne-colored carpet outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The first two awards will be for best animated film and best supporting actor, with Pinocchio and Ke Huy Quan as the respective frontrunners.
The best supporting actress category is one of the most difficult to predict.
This year, Kerry Condon, Angela Bassett, and Jamie Lee Curtis all have a strong chance of winning the statuette.
Live coverage from the “champagne” carpet.
The best fashion at the Oscars thus far.
Oscars 2023: The complete nominations
After its success on this year’s awards circuit, Everywhere All At Once is the favorite to win best picture later in the evening.
However, it faces competition from, among others, All Quiet on the Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin.
In the acting categories, Austin Butler, Brendan Fraser, Cate Blanchett, and Michelle Yeoh are the frontrunners.
Jimmy Kimmel returns
Jimmy Kimmel and Guillermo del Toro attend the 90th Annual Academy Awards on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California at the Dolby Theatre.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Jimmy Kimmel (left) hosted the Oscars for the last time in 2018, when Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water won the award for best picture.
Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the 95th Academy Awards ceremony from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
This will be the third time the talk show host has hosted the Academy Awards. He presided over the 2018 event most recently.
The comedian is likely attempting to forget the other time, in 2017, when the ceremony descended into chaos after the incorrect best picture winner was announced.
Wednesday, during a media call at the Dolby Theatre, Kimmel joked about the venue’s red carpet changing color for the first time since 1961.
US television host Jimmy Kimmel (R) speaks before workers roll out the red carpet as preparations for the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony begin on March 8, 2023, in Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
IMAGE ORIGIN, EPA
Wednesday during a media call, Kimmel (far right) made light of the new carpet’s color.
Kimmel joked in reference to Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at last year’s Oscars: “People have been asking if there will be any trouble this year and if there will be any violence.
“I sincerely hope not. However, the decision to use a champagne carpet rather than a red carpet demonstrates our confidence that no blood will be shed.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decision to change the color of the carpet was made for practical reasons. The new one allows for a more seamless transition from daytime arrivals to an elegant evening setting.
The way to view the Oscars
Michelle Yeoh receives the award for Best Lead Performance for “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” at the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards on March 4, 2023, in Santa Monica, California, United States.
PHOTO SOURCE: REUTERS
The Oscars can be viewed live in the United States on ABC. The ceremony will also be streamed on the network’s website and mobile app.
Sky will simultaneously broadcast the ceremony on four of its channels in the United Kingdom: Sky Arts, Sky News, Sky Showcase, and Sky Cinema Oscars.
This means that for the first time ever, British viewers can watch the Oscars on Freeview and Freesat. Additionally, it will be accessible via streaming service Now (formerly Now TV).
Who will present at the Academy Awards?
Ariana DeBose, Troy Kotsur, and Jessica Chastain will attend the 2022 Academy Awards.
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Image caption,
Ariana DeBose, Troy Kotsur, and Jessica Chastain will present, but Will Smith will not be in attendance.
By custom, the four acting Oscar winners from the previous year return to present the awards to their successors.
This year, three of 2022’s Oscar winners are back: Jessica Chastain, Ariana DeBose, and Troy Kotsur. However, the fourth, Will Smith, is absent due to a 10-year ban on attending the ceremony.
Harrison Ford, Nicole Kidman, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Zoe Saldaa, Sigourney Weaver, John Travolta, Emily Blunt, Jennifer Connelly, and Florence Pugh are among the other celebrities presenting categories this year.
Halle Berry has also been invited to present, which is quite interesting. This year, Yeoh could become the second woman of color to win the Oscar for best actress in a leading role, joining Michelle Yeoh as the only woman of color to win the award.
Paul Dano, Andrew Garfield, Cara Delevingne, Kate Hudson, Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Mindy Kaling, Eva Longoria, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andie MacDowell, and Riz Ahmed are also category presenters.
Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Banks, Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek Pinault, Melissa McCarthy, Halle Bailey, Janelle Monáe, Questlove, Elizabeth Olsen, and Pedro Pascal will also participate.
Who are the odds-on favorites?
On January 5, 2023 in Palm Springs, California, Brendan Fraser and Austin Butler attend the 34th Annual Palm Springs International Film Awards After Party at Palm Springs Convention Center.
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Brendan Fraser (left) and Austin Butler are pitted against one another in the category for best actor.
Due to the variance at the numerous precursor ceremonies, this year’s winners are the most difficult to predict in recent memory.
Experts are confident that Ke Huy Quan will win the award for best supporting actor for his performance in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.
Otherwise, everything is up for grabs. Both Brendan Fraser (The Whale) and Austin Butler (Elvis) have won a number of best actor awards at other prestigious events, and either could win the Oscar.
In the category for best actress, Michelle Yeoh (Everything, Everywhere, Always) is challenging the early frontrunner Cate Blanchett (Tár) with a late surge of momentum.
Best supporting actress is arguably the most competitive acting category, with Angela Bassett (Wakanda Forever), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), and Jamie Lee Curtis in a three-way race (Everything Everywhere All At Once).
What will win the award for best picture?
(L-R) Winners of the Best Feature award are Stephanie Hsu, Daniel Kwan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Daniel Scheinert, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Wang, and Ke Huy Quan “Everything Everywhere All at Once, pose in the IMDb Portrait Studio at the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California on March 4, 2023.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Everything Everywhere All at Once was named best feature at the Independent Spirit Awards last week.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is the clear frontrunner at this point, having won nearly all of the major precursor awards it required, with the notable exception of the Bafta.
The British Academy was much less enthusiastic about the film than American voters, and All Quiet on the Western Front won far more Baftas.
The First World War epic is the second favorite to win the Oscar for Best Picture, behind The Banshees of Inisherin.
Best picture nominees for the Oscars 2023 are listed in 40 seconds
Academy members are asked to rank the 10 nominated films from favorite to least favorite in a preferential ballot to determine the winner of the best picture award.
Thus, a film with passionate support from a vocal but relatively small portion of Academy voters may lose to a film that appealed to a greater number of voters overall.
A crowd-pleaser like Top Gun: Maverick, which is likely to have received a large number of second- and third-place votes, could be a dark horse in the best picture race.
Who is the performer?
Rihanna performs at the State Farm Stadium halftime show during Super Bowl LVII.
PHOTO SOURCE: REUTERS
Rihanna will perform at the Academy Awards precisely one month after headlining the Super Bowl halftime show.
Rihanna will perform on the Academy Awards stage exactly one month after her electrifying Super Bowl performance. Lift Me Up (from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), which is nominated for best original song, will be performed by her.
However, the most likely winner in this category is Naatu Naatu (from RRR), which will be performed by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava at the ceremony.
This Is A Life (from Everything, All at Once) will be performed by David Byrne, Son Lux, and Stephanie Hsu, and Applause will be performed by Diane Warren and Sofia Carson (from Tell It Like a Woman).
Contrary to earlier reports, Lady Gaga will perform Hold My Hand (from Top Gun: Maverick) on Sunday. The song is the fifth nominee in the category.
Lenny Kravitz will also perform during the In Memoriam segment, which pays tribute to deceased film figures from the past year.
