6 major moments to watch for at the Oscars
Get the bubbly on ice: The Academy Awards is heading to a television near you (ABC, Sunday, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. ET). Whether or not you're caught up on watching all the Oscar-nominated films, we've got six reasons you should tune in anyway.
1. Amazing new style stars
For many of us, the Oscars can be reduced to three words: Who wore what? We have high hopes for fashion-forward fare from Ruth Negga, Taraji P. Henson, Naomie Harris and Janelle Monáe. We've also got our eyes peeled for Emma Stone, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams, Michelle Williams and Scarlett Johansson.
Get to know Ruth Negga, the Oscar-nominated breakout star of 'Loving'
2. Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue
Last year, Chris Rock was tasked with navigating a second consecutive year of #OscarsSoWhite. This year, Kimmel arrives on the job in the midst of major political turmoil. All eyes will be on the comedian, who told USA TODAY, "I’m just there to be funny." Meanwhile, we're hoping he'll waltz, snub his frenemy Matt Damon and mix in a sketch with presenter Kate McKinnon.
3. It’s a mini-Grammys
With all five best original song nominees confirmed to perform, the Oscars will offer a stellar concert. Not only is Lin-Manuel Miranda hitting the stage with Auli'i Cravalho (voice of Moana) to belt out ballad How Far I’ll Go, but we're also being treated to Justin Timberlake singing his Trolls hit Can’t Stop the Feeling! John Legend will take on La La Land's City of Stars and Audition (The Fools Who Dream) and Sting will perform The Empty Chair, his song from the documentary Jim: The James Foley Story.
4. Possible Pitt
Brad Pitt produced Moonlight, and should it win best picture, Pitt wouldn't want to miss making the closing night's speech.
Read Meryl Streep's full Golden Globes speech and rejoice
5. Will Trump tweet?
Politics will likely factor into winners' speeches, with Hollywood speaking out against President Trump's rollback on transgender protections and several nominees discouraged from attending because of uncertainty surrounding Trump's travel ban.
At the recent Academy nominees' luncheon, empty chairs marked the absence of Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian filmmaker behind foreign film nominee The Salesman, and the Syrian rescue workers featured in The White Helmets, an Oscar-nominated documentary short. (The first responders will be represented at the ceremony, but Farhadi has said he won't attend.)
Given the president's love for social media and the high odds his name will be invoked throughout the night, we wouldn't be surprised if he weighed in.
6. Tight races
Though Hidden Figures has gained steam in recent weeks, most pundits believe the best picture race has narrowed to indie wonder Moonlight, which focuses its gaze on a young black boy growing up in the projects of Miami and grappling with his sexuality, and La La Land, the modern musical which took critics' breath away with its visual mastery and songbook.
You can stream these Oscar-nominated films right now
Then there's best actor: Will it be Manchester by the Sea's increasingly media-shy Casey Affleck, who was seen as a lock in the fall — or will Denzel Washington, on a charm offensive as of late, swoop in with a third Oscar win for Fences? "If (Washington) prevails on Sunday, he’ll tie five stars for the second-most Oscars ever: Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Walter Brennan, Ingrid Bergman and Meryl Streep," says Tom O'Neil, founder of awards site GoldDerby.com.
Oscars 2017: Predictions on who will win, who should win
In best actress, Emma Stone is the favorite, but Jackie's Natalie Portman and French actress Isabelle Huppert (Elle) are nipping at her heels.
Could a Mark Rylance-like shock happen in best supporting actor? Moonlight's Mahershala Ali has swept a host of awards shows, but recently lost the BAFTA to Lion's Dev Patel. "Now Patel threatens," says O'Neil.
Contributing: Bryan Alexander
