Oscars 2018 will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel
Photo Credit: A.M.P.A.S.
It's almost time for Oscars 2018. A year and a few days since the infamous envelope fiasco that led to La La Land being temporarily crowned Best Picture instead of actual winner Moonlight, Hollywood's biggest self-congratulatory event – formally known as the 90th Academy Awards – will return to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. We're pretty sure that whoever presents the Best Picture award at Oscars 2018 will get in a jab about last year's embarrassing and hilarious moment.
While everyone from Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot to first-time nominee Lady Bird director Greta Gerwig will be at the Oscars, most of us will have to be content with our positions in front of the television. To help you prepare for the big night, we answer all the questions you (probably) have.
The 2018 Oscars are taking place this Sunday, March 4. Things will kick off with the red carpet arrivals starting 3:30pm PT/ 6:30pm ET in the US, with the actual awards ceremony beginning at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET.
In India, the live telecast of the 90th Academy Awards will begin on Monday, March 5 at 5:30am IST for an hour of the red carpet, followed by the awards ceremony starting at 6:30am IST.
For everyone else around the world, here's a handy link for the start of the Oscars 2018 awards ceremony. Subtract an hour or more if you like watching the red carpet arrivals.
The Oscars 2017 stage during Best Picture, before it all went wrong
Photo Credit: Image Group LA/A.M.P.A.S.
In the US, the 2018 Oscars will be broadcast on ABC. Of course, you can also stream the 90th Academy Awards on the ABC website or the ABC app, if your TV provider is supported.
In India, the 2018 Oscars will be simulcast on Star Movies, Star Movies HD, and Star Movies Select HD, just as they were last year. You can also choose to stream the 2018 Oscars in India on Hotstar. If you don't wish to get up early on Monday, you can catch a repeat telecast at 8:30pm IST.
Viewers in the UK will need Sky Cinema to watch the 2018 Oscars on TV. Coverage starts at Monday midnight local time, followed by the ceremony at 1am. To stream the event, you'll need Now TV and the Sky Cinema Pass.
Oscars 2018 Nominations List for the Best Picture - and Where to Watch Them Online
Over in Canada, CTV will air the 2018 Oscars starting 5pm PT/8pm ET. You can also stream the ceremony on CTV.ca and the CTV Go app. Down in Australia, Channel Nine will start the broadcast at 12pm local time, while Sky Network has the rights in New Zealand.
For the other 200 countries, refer to the official Academy guide on how to watch the 2018 Oscars around the world.
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is back as host, becoming the first person to host back-to-back ceremonies since Billy Crystal in 1997-98. Though there's no blame on his end for Envelopegate, he didn't hold back from being cheeky about it: "If you think we screwed up the ending this year, wait until you see what we have planned for the 90th anniversary show."
Expect him to insert some jabs about last year's blunder into his monologue, while also commenting on the #MeToo-related Time's Up social movement that has swept the 2018 awards season since the Golden Globes.
Oscars 2018 nominee Kumail Nanjiani (L) sporting a Time's Up pin at the 24th Annual SAG Awards, seen next to his wife Emily V. Gordon (R), and producer Judd Apatow (middle)
Photo Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris
Like last year, there are a total of nine films in the running for the biggest award of the night. The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro's fantasy drama about a mute janitor and a fish-man, leads the pack with 13 nominations. Christopher Nolan's WWII film Dunkirk is second with eight.
We felt this question was really important, so we went ahead and dedicated an entire piece to this year's Best Picture nominees. It even includes ways on how you watch all nine movies – go check it out.
Are there any other Oscars 2018 nominations I should know about?
Yes, in fact. The nominees for the 90th Academy Awards have broken several records, including many firsts and some for longevity. Logan, the final film for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, became the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Rachel Morrison is now the first woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography, for her work on Netflix's Mudbound.
Both Meryl Streep and composer John Williams broke their own records, garnering the 21st and 51st Oscar nomination for The Post and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, respectively. Christopher Plummer is the oldest actor (aged 88) to be nominated for his role in All the Money in the World, while Agnès Varda (aged 89) is now the oldest person nominated for a competitive Oscar, for her documentary Faces Places.
Kobe Bryant became the first NBA player to get an Oscar nomination, for his animated short film Dear Basketball. Dee Rees, director of Mudbound, is the first queer black woman nominated for writing, while Yance Ford – director on Netflix doc Strong Island – is the first openly transgender director nominee.
Saoirse Ronan and fellow nominees during the Oscars 2018 Nominee Luncheon
Photo Credit: Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S.
If you feel that way, you'll be glad to know that all five nominees for Best Original Song will perform live during the 90th Academy Awards. That includes Sufjan Stevens with Mystery of Love from Call Me by Your Name; Gael García Bernal, Miguel, and Natalia Lafourcade for Coco's Remember Me; Andra Day and Common with Stand Up for Something from Marshall; Mary J. Blige with Mighty River from Mudbound; and Keala Settle with This is Me from The Greatest Showman.
I want to live-tweet the Oscars. Is there an official hashtag?
Yes, indeed. If you type #Oscars on Twitter, an Oscars statuette will appear next to the hashtag. And this being the 90th anniversary of the Oscars, the statuette will also appear with #Oscars90.
I haven't seen a single nominee. What can I tweet to sound knowledgeable?
Four big categories have clear front-runners: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) for Best Actor, Frances McDormand (Three Billboards) for Best Actress, Allison Janney (I, Tonya) for Best Supporting Actress, and Coco for Best Animated Feature. If they win, make a 'knew-it' comment, and use adjectives like powerful (Oldman), raw and fierce (McDormand), ferocious and unflinching (Janney), and sweet, heartfelt and warm (Coco).
The winners of three other categories aren't so obvious. Sam Rockwell has won more Best Supporting Actor awards in last two months, but the backlash against Three Billboards for trying to redeem a racist cop means the Oscar could go to Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project). In the Best Director race, Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) has the upper hand, with Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) the weaker candidate.
That leaves Best Picture, the most important award of all. All signs point towards a close two-horse race between The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. We'll have to wait till Sunday (or Monday, depending on where you live) to find out who takes home the last Oscar of the night.
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