Stars line up as Hollywood goes gaga for its big night out
AS THE film world gathered for its biggest night of the year, its generation gap was showing.
The curtain will go up on the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles tomorrow night with no host but a starry array even by Hollywood standards.
Chief among the latest red carpet regulars to have joined the ranks of those handing over the statuettes were Barbra Streisand and Lady Gaga, the leading ladies in two versions of A Star Is Born.
Miss Streisand appeared with Kris Kristofferson in the 1976 film and Lady Gaga is nominated as best actress for her performance in the latest version. Janet Gaynor and Judy Garland starred in earlier adaptations in 1937 and 1954.
With no replacement for the comedian Kevin Hart, who pulled out of hosting duties following a controversy surrounding tweets from several years ago, the organisers have been at pains to corral as many celebrities as possible to present individual awards.
Others to have been announced at the last minute include the tennis player Serena Williams, actors Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and Diego Luna, actress Amandla Stenberg, singer and actress Queen Latifah, and Congressman John Lewis.
Eight films, including A Star is Born, are in the running to be named best picture, the biggest award of the night.
Among the others in contention is the British period comedy, The Favourite, which has a total of 10 nominations
– a number matched only by Alfonso Cuaron’s black and white romantic drama, Roma.
Olivia Colman, the British leading lady in The Favourite ,is hotly tipped to be named best actress, despite being relatively unknown in the US – a profile that saw her caricatured last weekend on the satirical New York TV show Saturday Night Live as a tipsy tea obsessive.
Another British star in the running is Christian Bale, nominated as best actor for his role as Dick Cheney in Vice.