Los Angeles – The Oscars will take the stage Sunday for an awards ceremony whose outcome feels like a foregone conclusion – a win, or 10, for “La La Land.”
The old-school movie musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone has already taken virtually every top award in Hollywood, and is going into the Academy Awards celebration with a record-tying 14 nominations including for best picture.
But despite its dominance of the awards season thus far, it faces its toughest competition at the Oscars, particularly from “Moonlight,” the critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama that swept the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday.
The Oscars will take the stage Sunday for an awards ceremony whose outcome feels like a foregone conclusion – a win, or 10, for “La La Land.” Photo: Lionsgate/dpa
Also nominated for best picture are family drama “Manchester by the Sea” and wartime biopic “Hacksaw Ridge” as well as “Arrival,” “Fences,” “Lion,” “Hell or High Water,” and “Hidden Figures.”
Whoever wins the top prizes, it is expected that the winners will share the Oscar stage with Hollywood’s new favourite villain: US President Donald Trump.
Hollywood’s awards season has taken on an unusually political tone this year as filmmakers and actors have used the spotlight to speak out against Trump’s policies, and Oscar night is likely to be no exception.
The televised ceremony is to be hosted by late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel, who has already said he will make jokes about Trump. The roster of celebrity presenters includes Meryl Streep, who famously bashed Trump in an acceptance speech at the Golden Globes in January.
Even the directors vying for best foreign-language film spoke out ahead of the awards in a statement against “fanaticism” signed by Martin Zandvliet (“Land of Mine,” Denmark); Hannes Holm (“A Man Called Ove,” Sweden); Asghar Farhadi (“The Salesman,” Iran); Maren Ade (“Toni Erdmann,” Germany); and Martin Butler and Bentley Dean (“Tanna,” Australia).
Farhadi, the Iranian director who won the best foreign film prize in 2012, will not attend the Oscar ceremony in protest of Trump’s now-suspended travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries including Iran.
The 89th Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose approximately 13,000 voting members choose Oscar winners in 24 categories.
-dpa
