AND THE WINNER IS...

Who will be taking an Oscar home this year? As the stars prepare for Tinseltown’s biggest night of the year Marion McMullen takes a closer look at the ceremony

1 AMERICAN chat show host Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting the 90th Academy Awards for a second time from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Sunday. Last year’s awards became infamous for the envelope mix-up which saw La La Land wrongly announced as Best Film instead of Moonlight.

2 STAR WARS actor Mark Hamill and Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, pictured, are among the presenters who will be handing out the Oscars at the ceremony. Other presenters include Dame Helen Mirren, Tom Holland, Emma Stone, and Sandra Bullock.

3 LAST year’s Best Actor Oscar winner Casey Affleck, above, would traditionally present the Best Actress gong, but in January he withdrew. He was sued by two women in 2010 for alleged sexual harassment and settled out of court. He’s denied the claims, alleged to have happened during the making of the film I’m Still Here.

4 THE Time’s Up and #MeToo movements against sexual harassment and assault are sure to make their presence felt at the Oscars. Stars wore black at the Golden Globes and Baftas and sported white roses at this year’s Grammy awards. Oscar bosses say they want to focus on the movies, but the topic is sure to be addressed in many of the acceptance speeches.

5 THE nominations for this year’s Oscars are led by Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape Of Water, which has 13 nods, while Dunkirk, directed by Christopher Nolan, has eight. Margot Robbie, pictured, is up for Best Actress for her portrayal of disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya.

6 LADY Bird director Greta Gerwig is the only the fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director and the only woman in the category this year. Kathryn Bigelow, pictured in 2008 receiving her Oscar for The Hurt Locker from Barbra Streisand, is the only woman to win this award.

7 A COASTAL community in the west of Ireland is hoping London-Irish director and playwright Martin McDonagh wins for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. His father was born and raised in Connemara and locals have put up three billboards on the approach to the village of Leitir Meallain celebrating his success.

8 MARY J Blige, pictured, Sufjan Stevens and Common will perform the tracks nominated in the Best Original Song category. Mary will sing Mighty River from Mudbound, which she co-wrote. She’s also nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in the film – the first person to be nominated for both awards in the same year.

9 BRITISH star Imelda Staunton recently revealed on the Graham Norton Show that she took her own sandwiches to the Oscars when she was nominated for Vera Drake in 2004. American chef Wolfgang Puck will be serving up everything from Miyazaki Wagyu beef tartare to black bass with salsa verde at the Governors Ball that follows the ceremony.

10 IF you can’t wait to find out whether bookies’ favourite Gary Oldman, above, scoops the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Churchill in Darkest Hour, the awards will air live from midnight on Sunday on Sky Cinema Oscars and highlights can be seen on Sky 1 on Monday at 9pm.