The 2019 Oscars (the Academy Award) will commemorate the 91st edition of Hollywood’s most prestigious honor when it comes to industry awards. As usual, this year’s ceremony will see film industry legends and rising stars compete for the famous golden statuette – the film industry’s most coveted award – on the most glamorous night on the Hollywood calendar.
The ceremony organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) will celebrate the best films made in 2018. The 2019 Oscars prize will be awarded in 24 different categories and the entire event will be broadcast in the United States by American Broadcasting Company, edited by Glenn Weiss. produce the program alongside Donna Gigliotti.
This year’s Oscar nominees were announced by beloved Blackish Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani, comedian and star of the HBO series, Silicon Valley, on January 22, 2019.
Lots of action is expected from the glamorous event, especially with the wave of change and activism that has swept through the film industry over the past year. Speculation and excitement are at an all-time high and the questions are starting to swell with anticipation. Who will claim a controversial victory? Which of the painfully blunt speeches will rock the room and shake the audience in the room and beyond? The answers will appear in a few weeks. In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about the 2019 Oscars.
When are the 2019 Oscars?
The 91st Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 24, 2019. In keeping with century-old tradition, the 2019 Oscars will take place at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The event will be broadcast live in the United States on the ABC television network.
How can you watch online for free?
The 2019 Oscars are one of those must-see events that you absolutely cannot afford to miss. Millions of viewers around the world will eagerly await the broadcast of the ceremony via cable networks and online channels. There are various options available to you to stream and watch the awards live without much stress. The event is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m., but live coverage will start at 6:30 p.m. or thereabouts.
ABC Network is the official broadcast network for the event. You can watch the 2019 Oscars by visiting abc.com or logging into any of the ABC apps. If you are unable to access ABC, you can turn to other providers such as Sling Television, YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue, Hulu, DirectTV, Fubo TV, M Net on DSTV and Now TV.
Controversies and what to expect
The Oscars event is never without drama, and the 2019 edition is no exception. In August 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the creation of a new category, intended to honor the best popular films released in the previous year, which did not receive critical acclaim, but which nonetheless found favor with the masses. However, this decision drew a lot of backlash and criticism, as most people deemed it frivolous and unnecessary.
As a result, the academy made another announcement a month later stating that the category will not be added, but that the idea will be put on the back burner and may be returned in the future once additional information becomes available. been requested and that a more in-depth review of the merit of the new category will have been carried out.
Meanwhile, just three days after the death of Kevin Hart, announced as the host of the 2019 Oscars, the event was the subject of further controversy and ended when the comedian declined the opportunity to a defining moment in his life and career, choosing instead to step down as this year’s host. A number of homophobic tweets and comments by Kevin have resurfaced, causing many people to become outraged. The controversy escalated after a video of Kevin said he would not apologize for statements he made even if the Academy asked him to, as he started doing the rounds on social media platforms.
Kevin tweeted that he would not be hosting the reward as planned and formally apologized for the comments he made and for being offensive and insensitive to the LGBTQ community. Regardless, Seth MacFarlane, Jimmy Kimmel, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Chris Rock and other former ceremony hosts have shown no interest in returning to the stage this year. Consequently, the Oscars will go ahead without a host for the first time in 30 years. Many still do not know what to do about it, if it is cool or not, we will all know after February 24th.
While it’s still unclear how much of the Oscars 2019 will be without a host, it’s been reported that a slew of presenters will be doing the honors this year. Celebrities in attendance include Chris Evans, former Best Actress winners Charlize Theron and Brie Larson, Whoopi Goldberg, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Lopez and Daniel Craig, former Golden Globes hosts and comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, Amanda Sternberg, Maya Rudolph and Maya Rudolph, and Crazy Rich Asians stars – Constance Wu and Awkwafina. As usual, the previous year’s winners will return to present opposing awards, meaning last year’s Best Actress will present their Best Actor award this year and vice versa.
One of the most memorable parts of the Academy Awards is the musical performances. Following tradition, the nominees for Best Original Song will host the evening. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga will be the favorite stars of the group, once again putting on a jaw-dropping performance to their song, Shallow, from the movie A Star Is Born.
Jennifer Hudson will also perform I Will Fight from the RBG documentary. Additionally, Gilliam Welch and David Rawlings are set to speak for a rendition of When a Cowboy Swaps Spurs for Wings from the adapted screenplay The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, as special guest performs The Place Where the Girls Go . Mary Poppins Lost Objects Returns .
Who are the 2019 Oscar nominees?
This year’s Oscar nominations mostly reflect the season’s trends. Roma, Alfonso Cuaron’s semi-autobiographical drama about a domestic worker and The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos’ fictionalized drama about the relationship between Queen Anne and her attendants lead the pack with 10 nominations in categories including Best actress, best supporting actress, best film and best director. A Star Is Born and Vice are next to 8 nominations, including Best Picture.
Behind them is Black Panther with 7 nominations including Best Picture, making history the first superhero film to be included in this regard. Other contenders for Best Picture are Blackkklansman, Green Book, and Bohemian Rhapsody. The grand prize sees Olivia Colman (TheFavorite), Glenn Close (The Wife), Melissa McCarthy (Can You Still Forgive Me?), Film Newbies Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) and Yalitza Aparicio (Rome) vying for the best actress. This year’s Best Actor award winners are Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate), Christian Bale (Vice President), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) and Bradley Cooper (One Star was born).
Amy Adams (Vice), Rachel Weisz (The Favourite), Emma Stone (The Favourite), Regina King (If Beale Street Can Talk) and Marina De Tavira (Rome) are the finalists for Best Supporting Actress. Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Richard E Grant (Can You Still Forgive Me?) and Sam Rockwell (Vice) are hotly vying for Best Supporting Actor. Adam Driver (Blackkklansman) and Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born),
Female directors are completely absent from the 2019 Oscars, Best Director category, with Spike Lee (Blackkklansman), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Adam McKay (Vice), Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War) and Alfonso Cuaron (Rome).
Are the Oscars different from the Golden Globes and Emmys?
Even though the Golden Globes and the Emmys are very very similar, they differ in various aspects ranging from their origins to their essence. While the Oscars are awarded annually by AMPAS to recognize outstanding performance in the various facets of the motion picture industry, the Emmys were awarded by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) to celebrate excellence in the many aspects of television and broadband programming..
Unlike the others, the Golden Globes are meant to recognize outstanding achievement around the world in both television and motion pictures. The prize is awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). For more details, check out this piece – Oscars vs. Golden Globes vs. Emmy Awards: Differences and Similarities.
Fun facts to know about the Oscars
1. Tatum O’Neal is the youngest winner of the award. She was nominated Best Supporting Actress for her role in Paper Moon in 1973, when she was just 10 years old.
2. Christopher Plummer is the past winner of the accolade; when he was 82, he won the honor as Best Supporting Actor. It was for her role in 2010 Beginners.
3. Did you know that Adrien Brody is the youngest recipient of the Best Actor award? He achieved this feat at age 29, thanks to his role in The Pianist in 2002.
4. Jackie Cooper was the first actress to earn an Oscar nomination. He was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role when he was just 9 years old. It was for her role in a comedy film, Skippy (1931).
5. The only Deaf artist to win this award is Marlee Matlin. She won the award in 1987 for her role in 1986’s Children of a Little God.