The Oscars will be back Sunday, February 26th on ABC with plenty of political heat, La La Land nominations, and more diverse nominees.
Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting the Oscars at 8:30 PM. The red carpet will begin at 7:00 PM with celebrities—Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, “Moonlight” star Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis, and Denzel Washington—walking the red carpet.
The Oscars are expected to get political due to the recent speeches during the award season. The award season began with Meryl Streep making a politically charged speech about the press and privilege at the Golden Globes. This was followed with many speeches about President Trump’s travel ban at the SAGs.
At least one foreign director is boycotting the ceremony because of the recent travel ban. A group of Syrian subjects of a nominated documentary have been issued visas to attend. However, this could change if Trump issues another travel ban.
In recent years, the Academy has been judged for producing nominees with zero diversity. The Academy promised to change and has done so by inviting more women and people of color to become members. This year is also a record-breaking year due to the amount of non-white nominees for awards.
The movie that may walk away with the majority of the awards is La La Land. The movie stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as they dance and sing their way through Hollywood. La Land Land has received 14 nominations, tying it with All About Eve and Titanic. La La Land’s director Damien Chazelle could become the youngest director, at 32, to win the best director Oscar.
The Oscars has seen many changes since last year. Instead of the #OscarsSoWhite debate, it seems that it will be the Oscars versus The White House, while La La Land comes away with most of the awards.