The red carpet has been rolled out for the 96th Academy Awards, one of the film industry's oldest and most acclaimed ceremonies.
It's a night of glitz, artistry, and controversy as major films from the United States and around the world compete for the golden statuette known as the Oscar.
Box office rivals Barbie and Oppenheimer will compete in a fierce battle for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California.
Oppenheimer is the early favorite to win, but other categories are difficult to predict, with close battles expected in the two main categories, for example. And with Israel's war in Gaza raging for six months, protests and politics are also expected to feature at the annual awards ceremony.
Here's what you need to know about this year's Oscars.
How did the Academy Awards begin?
Although the Oscar has become synonymous with glitz and glamor, its origins were relatively humble.
It was May 1929, and a throng of black-tie celebrities packed into Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel for the first Academy Awards ceremony. Tickets were only $5. Hollywood aficionado Douglas Fairbanks hosted the event, which lasted a total of 15 minutes, a far cry from today's three-plus hour run times.
Of course, it helped that the winners were announced three months in advance in a bulletin.
Oscar was born on the cusp of a seismic shift in Hollywood: the advent of sound films. One of his films nominated at that first awards ceremony was his 1927 The Jazz Singer, which is considered cinema's first “talkie.”
What is the organization behind the award?
The “Academy” in the award name refers to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an organization for filmmaking professionals that honors achievement in the industry.
Founded in 1927, the Academy consisted of 36 original members, including writers, directors, producers, and other industry personnel. Adventurer actor Douglas Fairbanks was among them. So was Mary Pickford, a darling of the silent film world. However, she is definitely one of only three women out of her 36.
Issues regarding the representation rights of Academy members continue to provoke criticism to this day.
One of the central figures in the early academy was a powerful man named Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios. The Russian-born film producer was concerned that unions would interfere with his work, and envisioned the academy in part to address labor issues without joining a union.
Why is the trophy called an “Oscar”?
The nickname “Oscar” for the iconic golden statuette became widely used in 1934.
The origin of the name remains unclear, but one popular story suggests that the name came from Margaret Herrick, who later became the Academy's secretary general. She reportedly noticed the statuette's resemblance to her uncle Oscar, and the nickname quickly spread.
How many Oscar categories are there?
The first Oscar ceremony in 1929 awarded 12 categories and only two special awards. However, the number he reduced to seven the following year.
These original categories included mention of Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Art Direction, and Best Picture. The directing category was split into two, one for comedy and one for drama.
There are now 24 regular categories in addition to several special categories that are not awarded each year. However, unlike in 1929, he only has one Best Director category.
How are candidates selected?
To be eligible for nomination, a film must be shown in a commercial theater in Los Angeles County during the calendar year. That means a whopping 321 feature films across 20 categories in 2023.
Academy members participate in initial voting to determine nominees based on specific industry areas. For example, actors select acting candidates.
So what will happen to the winner? Who chooses them?
Once a candidate has been chosen, all voting Academy members will choose the winner. Total membership is estimated at 10,500, with nearly 9,500 eligible to vote.
However, it is common for major studios, especially large studios, to run marketing campaigns in advance of awards shows to drum up support for a particular film or artist.
Critics therefore decry the role money plays in the selection process. They also point out that the academy's membership presents a larger diversity problem. The majority of members are white men, raising questions about the recipients they choose.
What are the biggest movies at this year's Oscars?
Nothing bigger happened in the entertainment world last year than the odd-couple double feature known as “Babenheimer.” That was the nickname fans gave to Oppenheimer and Barbie, two blockbusters that were released on the same day in July.
With Oppenheimer receiving 13 nominations and Barbie receiving eight nominations, both men maintain strong momentum heading into Oscar season.
But Oppenheimer, the sweeping biopic of nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, is expected to dominate categories such as Best Picture and Best Director, potentially giving director Christopher Nolan a long-awaited victory. .
Meanwhile, Barbie earned more than $1.4 billion worldwide, making it the year's highest-grossing film. However, although it was nominated in categories such as Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, it was widely seen as being snubbed in Best Actress and Best Director.
Legendary director Martin Scorsese is also a frontrunner in this year's competition with Killers of the Flower Moon, a film based on the true story of a series of murders targeting the Osage Nation in the 1920s. There is.
Fellow writer Yorgos Lanthimos also returned to write Poor Things, a feminist-inspired Frankenstein story with a steampunk aesthetic. “Poor Things'' received 11 nominations and “Killers of the Flower Moon'' received 10 nominations.
Which 10 films will be selected for Best Picture?
- holdovers
- american fiction
- zone of interest
- barbie
- oppenheimer
- poor thing
- past life
- structure of overturning
- maestro
- Murderers of the Flower Moon
Has anyone made history this year?
Lily Gladstone, one of the stars of Killers of the Flower Moon, is leading the leading actress race, winning trophies at the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Gladstone, a member of the Nez Perce and Blackfeet tribes, is the first Native American to be nominated for Best Actress. The victory would be historic as well.
The film also received historic recognition for its music, which featured Indigenous artists. Osage Nation member Scott George is the first Native American to be nominated for Best Original Score, and the late composer Robbie Robertson, who is of Cayuga and Mohawk descent, is the first Native American to be nominated for Best Original Score. It is believed that he was nominated for. Mr. Robertson passed away in August 2023.
The social satire American Fiction also earned its first nomination, making it the first time ever that two black men in the same film received acting recognition. Stars Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.
Colman Domingo, star of the civil rights biopic “Rustin,” also made history, becoming the first Afro-Latinx man to win Best Actor.
This year also marks the first time that three women-directed films won Best Picture. They include Justin Trier's “Anatomy of Autumn,” Celine Song's “Past Lives,” Greta Gerwig's Barbie Doll, and more.
What was the biggest disrespect?
Barbie may have been the story of the feminist awakening that the doll's name suggests, but fans of the film have criticized Academy voters for failing to recognize it.
Barbie, this year's biggest box office hit, was not selected for Best Director and Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards, despite having won these awards.
Director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie also made headlines for their roles in the film, making Gerwig the first woman to direct a billion-dollar film.
But if Barbie wins Best Picture, Robbie could win Oscar gold as a producer, which is likely but not impossible.
But the women leading the film didn't get much Oscar love, though Barbie's male lead, Ryan Gosling, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He issued a statement supporting Robbie and Gerwig in February, addressing the apparent disrespect.
“There is no Ken without Barbie,” he wrote. “And there would be no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making and globally acclaimed film.”
What kind of protests can we expect this year?
As stars parade on the red carpet at this year's Oscars, protesters are expected to gather on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles to demonstrate against Israel's war in Gaza and in cities like Rafah. This will remind viewers of the tragedy that is occurring at the same time.
The film Oppenheimer similarly generated some backlash, particularly for its depiction of the first successful atomic bomb test at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Some viewers criticized the film for failing to depict the long-term devastation Japan experienced as a result of the atomic bombing. Some hope the film's prominence at the Oscars will help shine a light on New Mexico residents, many of whom are Hispanic and indigenous, who suffered radiation exposure as a result of testing.
Tina Cordova, a cancer survivor who grew up near the testing site, told AFP she felt stories like hers were largely ignored.
“They knew about us when we made the film,” she told the news agency. “They just chose to ignore us again.”
The Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) also took advantage of the attention Mr. Oppenheimer received, running a campaign in the days leading up to the Oscars called “Please Consider: Making Nuclear History.” It started. He published a letter in the Los Angeles Times calling for nuclear disarmament, signed by actors including Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Emma Thompson and Lily Tomlin.
Who is hosting it?
The notoriously thankless job has once again been given to comedian Jimmy Kimmel. This will be my 4th time hosting the event.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Kimmel said he did not intend to use overtly political content, even though the United States faces a competitive election year.
“That's not the real focus of the Oscars. That doesn't mean I don't make a joke or two about it. But it's my truth that calling out the name of someone who shouldn't be named at an Oscar ceremony That's not the goal,'' Kimmel said, apparently referring to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
When is the Oscars this year?
The Oscar ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 10th at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7pm ET (10pm Japan time), an hour earlier than usual.
How can I watch it?
The ceremony will be broadcast live on the ABC network and live TV streaming platforms in the United States.
The academy also has an international listing.