A Night Before the Oscars…
Every January, the entertainment community and film fans around the world turn their attention to the Academy Awards. Interest and anticipation builds to a feverish pitch, leading up to the Oscar telecast in February, when hundreds of millions of movie lo
AWESOME Adele sealed a sensational night at the Grammys, by letting slip she is married. The Brit singer, 28, is thought to have secretly got hitched to her partner Simon Konecki, 42, over the Christmas period. She referred to the charity boss — father of their four-year-old son Angelo — as her husband for the first time as she won all five gongs she was nominated for in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
And the Nominees are…
BEST ACTOR Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences Will win/should win: Washington
Affleck was the early favourite for his portrayal of a tragic handyman, but Washington has steadily gained momentum, enough to overtake him. Washington’s role is one of the most iconic in a legendary career, the study of a 1950s garbage man whose boisterous and self-centered personality upends the relationship with his family.
ACTRESS
Isabelle Huppert, Elle Ruth Negga, Loving Natalie Portman, Jackie Emma Stone, La La Land Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins Will win/should win: Stone
Had Portman not won her Oscar six years ago for Black Swan, there might be a better argument for her knockout performance as grieving first lady Jackie Kennedy. More deserving of adulation this time is Stone, who similarly fuels La La Land’s narrative as its struggling thespian and is the primary reason the musical is such a joy to watch. Her character’s Audition (The Fools Who Dream) song — an ode to the dreamer in us all — might as well have been a call to the Oscar engraver to start practicing her name. SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea Dev Patel, Lion Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals Will win: Ali
Should win: Hedges This is the awards season where everybody figured out how talented Ali is, and he’s certainly worthy of his frontrunner status as a drug dealer with a big heart. That said, it’s hard to overlook the contribution of Hedges: He plays a consistently strong role throughout his movie — whereas Ali and Patel only factor into a fraction of theirs — and his complicated teenager balances out Manchester’s relentless grief with needed humour and youthful energy. SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis, Fences Naomie Harris, Moonlight Nicole Kidman, Lion Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea Will win/should win: Davis The Oscar gods bestowed Leonardo DiCaprio with his first Oscar last year, and that time is now for Davis as Fences’ put- upon housewife who’s had it with playing second fiddle to her husband. She could have won for Doubt, she should have won for The Help, but — barring the biggest upset in years — she’ll win for Fences.
DIRECTOR Damien Chazelle, La La Land Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge Barry Jenkins, Moonlight Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Will win: Chazelle
Should win: Jenkins Chazelle deserves much of the credit for why La La Land has become the cat’s meow with its relatable love story and showstopping numbers. Yet Jenkins pulls off an even greater feat by creating a timely, unconventional and extraordinary character piece that follows an African-American man from bullied kid to distressed teen to tough drug dealer. PICTURE
Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight
Will win: La La Land
Should win: Hidden Figures With 14 nominations, La La Land looks to have a recordsetting night and has been the front-runner since festival season. La La’s effervescent story and love letter to oldschool Hollywood will appeal to Oscar voters, but Hidden Figures has more going for it: It’s about unsung heroines in a period drama, it’s just as crowd-pleasing as its song-anddance foe, and the history lesson feels more relevant in a divided political climate than a breezy musical. And who knows if we’ll ever get another movie about math that’s this entertaining? Oscars 2017: 3 trivia about each of the 9 best picture nominees
If the 2017 Golden Globes Award ceremony was any indication, the 89th Academy Awards tomorrow is going to have its fair share of impassioned speeches, misspoken names, and an extensively long In Memoriam video.
In recent years, the Oscars have become highly politi-