By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) – Top names in Hollywood will gather on Sunday to hand out the annual Academy Awards at a red-carpet ceremony brimming with an unusual amount of drama in the major races.
“One Battle After Another,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a one-time political radical now parenting a teenager, was seen as the frontrunner for the coveted best picture prize after stacking up trophy after trophy at recent ceremonies.
The vampire story “Sinners,” a celebration of blues music and Black culture in the Segregation-era U.S. South, made a late surge with a win this month at the Actor Awards. The movie leads all films with 16 nominations, a record number in the nearly 100-year history of the Oscars.
Jessie Buckley is seen as a sure thing for best actress. She is nominated for playing Agnes Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, as the couple navigate the death of their 11-year-old son in “Hamnet.” The remainder of the top categories have no clear frontrunner, according to Hollywood awards watchers.
Among the top awards, “five of the six seem to be up in the air which is extremely rare,” said Scott Feinberg, executive editor of awards at The Hollywood Reporter.
Michael B. Jordan could take home best actor for his dual role as twin brothers in “Sinners,” Feinberg said. His competition, however, includes previous winner DiCaprio, “Marty Supreme” star Timothee Chalamet and Brazilian actor Wagner Moura of “The Secret Agent.”
Supporting actor is also a toss-up. Contenders include two of DiCaprio’s “One Battle” costars — Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro — and Stellan Skarsgard for “Sentimental Value.”
Teyana Taylor, also from “One Battle After Another,” is competing with Amy Madigan of “Weapons” for supporting actress, among others.
Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 10,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The ceremony gives Hollywood a night to celebrate at a time of unease throughout the film business. Warner Bros., the studio behind “One Battle” and “Sinners,” is in the process of being sold to Paramount Skydance in a deal that will narrow the ranks of major film distributors. Workers in front of and behind the camera also are worried that artificial intelligence will limit job opportunities and stifle creativity and risk-taking.
Comedian Conan O’Brien will host the Oscars for a second time after his well-received performance a year ago. The show will be broadcast live on Walt Disney’s ABC and streamed on Hulu.
“We have a lot of fun things planned, and we’re getting them up on their feet and seeing how they play at rehearsal. And then I’m hoping that we have some great choices for Sunday night,” O’Brien said as he helped roll out the Oscars red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday.
Performers during the telecast will include the voices of HUNTR/X, the fictional band in animated film nominee “K-Pop Demon Hunters.”
Producers said the show would reflect the growing presence of international films at the Oscars. This year, each category has at least one non-English-language film among the nominees. Norwegian drama “Sentimental Value” and Brazil’s “The Secret Agent” are in the running for best picture.
“We are celebrating global cinema,” executive producer Raj Kapoor said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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