From Queen's Opening Performance to 'Period. End of Sentence', Here is All You Need to Know About the 91st Oscars

If there’s something that an entertainment aficionado knows, or wants to know, it’s their Oscars list. Each year, the Academy Awards nominations elicit an overwhelming response from the viewers, and this year is no different. Honestly, all the chatter buzz is not for nothing. It’s the biggest event in showbiz, where only a handful of films and the men and women behind them, amongst the million others, get globally recognized and rewarded.

The Academy carpet has been rolled out, yet again, to embrace the creative, artistic and technical genius that international cinema has to offer. Rest assured knowing that the impressions on the humble red cloth will be ephemeral, the glamour too, but films, like always, will live on. Too corny? Let’s take a look at The Oscars awards ceremony this year, all the hits and misses.

The Oscars Performances

Rock band Queen will open the night with a musical concert. It fares well, considering the fact that Rami Malek’s Bohemian Rhapsody, chronicling the life and times of Freddy Mercury, Queen’s now deceased iconic vocalist, is in the running for the Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Film Editing award, among others. A fitting tribute to the rock legend indeed.

The traditional five musical performances from the best original song nominees are also part of the Oscars night. Bette Milder’s rendition of The Place Where Lost Things Go from Mary Poppins Returns, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Shallow from A Star Is Born, When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and Jennifer Hudson’s I'll Fight from documentary RBG will make the ceremony more melodic. Sadly, Kendrick Lamar will not be performing All the Stars from Best Film nominee Black Panther after having voluntarily opted out.

The Oscars Trivia

Glenn Close currently holds the dubious title of actress with the most Oscar nominations to her name without a win (6). While Alfonso Cuaron orders a new trophy cabinet, Close might want to close it this time with a trophy to her name for The Wife. Yalitza Aparicio had never acted before she was cast for Roma. Now she stands a chance at winning the Best Actress trophy. Surreal is an understatement in her case. The most humbling one is the maiden Best film nomination for the America-based production and streaming service Netflix that comes in the form of Roma. Cuaron is not the lone dreamer here.

The ‘no-host’ Oscars

This is not the first time that The Oscars will not have a traditional host leading the attendees and viewers through the comedic moments. Earlier, comedian Kevin Hart pulled out of hosting the ceremony following a controversy over resurfacing of old homophobic tweets from 2009-1010. The last time that the Oscars went ahead without a host was back in 1989. Now, the Oscars will be presented by a list of presenters that include the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Tina Fey, Brie Larson, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amandla Stenberg, Charlize Theron, among various others.

The Oscars Telecast Tragedy

The Academy had, weeks before its broadcast, decided to snub four categories from live telecast citing long duration as an issue. It included the Cinematography, Film Editing, Live Action Short and Make-up and Hairstyling awards. Backlash followed and an open letter was written to Academy bosses to backtrack on the decision. Thankfully, sense prevailed and the categories were restored as part of the live programming. As it stands now, the Oscars, for all 24 categories, will be televised simultaneously as the awards are handed out. A debacle averted, to say the least.

The Oscars will Air At...

The Oscars will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 24, Monday in India. The avid viewers in India should grab their morning cup of jolt cola and settle on the couch by 06:30 IST or 05:30 IST for the red carpet. Tune into Star World, Star Movies, Star Movies HD, and Star Movies Select HD for live telecast or Hotstar for live streaming.

The hype is palpable. The contest is tough. The love, however, is real. The love for cinema, the love for The Oscars. India based documentary Period. End of Sentence is in the running for the short documentary feature trophy. Producer Guneet Monga is headed for the Oscars with a group of women who were cast for the documentary film. Watch the early red carpet for a rare Indian sighting.

Read the complete list of nominations.

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