Oscar is ready for its close-up tonight on ABC

I t’s time once again for that annual Hollywood back-patting self-indulgence known as Oscar night — the handing out of statuettes by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Who are you wearing? Or are you boycotting this year’s telecast to protest the lack of racial diversity in the academy’s major nominations? A few A-listers are, including actors Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and director Spike Lee, despite the fact that Chris Rock (a black comedian) is host for the second time.

I imagine Rock will include some zingers about the situation in his monologue. In a recent Tweet, Rock labeled the Oscars “the white BET Awards.”

About Rock, actor Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, House of Lies), who is black, told People magazine, “There is no one better poised [to comment]. I hope when he does, he skewers everybody — the people who are complaining, the people who were passed up, the people who weren’t [and] the whole idea of … what it means — racism, the lack of diversity, all of it?”

Oscar winner Michael Caine, an 82-year-old white man, told BBC Radio that he’ll not attend, but not because of a protest.

“I’m too old to travel that far to sit in an audience and clap for someone else,” he said.

Caine also said that black ac- tors shouldn’t be nominated simply because of their color.

“You can’t just say, ‘He’s not very good, but he’s black. I’ll vote for him.’ You have to give a good performance.”

Find out how Rock handles the situation when ABC presents the 88th Academy Awards at 6 p.m. today from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.

The early start is for the cloying and sycophantic red-carpet arrivals (“You look stunning!”). The actual awards ceremony doesn’t kick off until 7:30 and will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories around the world.

Do you watch just for the celebrity sightings? Among those set to present are Steve Carell, Priyanka Chopra, Benicio del Toro, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Ryan Gosling, Kevin Hart and Lady Gaga.

Others on the schedule are Quincy Jones, Byung-hun Lee, Jared Leto, Julianne Moore, Olivia Munn, Margot Robbie, Jason Segel, Andy Serkis, J.K. Simmons, Sam Smith, Charlize Theron, Jacob Tremblay, Kerry Washington, The Weeknd, Pharrell Williams and Reese Witherspoon.

In case you’re out of the loop, The Weeknd is not a typo. That’s the stage name of Canadian singer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye.

So, what’s all this racial diversity fuss about? For the second year in a row, there are no black people in the 20 top award nominations. On Good Morning

America, Spike Lee summed up what many see to be the root of the problem.

“At this point, the academy is 94 percent Caucasian and 77 percent male,” he said. “It’s difficult to get a diverse cultural sampling from that group.”

Interestingly, the current academy president is a black woman. Commenting on the dearth of black nominees, Cheryl Boone Isaacs said, “I am both heartbroken and frustrated by the lack of inclusion. It’s time for big changes.”

All that said, the Oscar folks have taken one big step to improve the telecast. They’ve asked nominees to provide a thank-you list that will scroll across the screen during the winner’s allotted 45 seconds. That will save viewers from sitting through a boring recitation while the winner thanks God, the academy, his director, co-stars, his spouse, children, parents, dog walker, high school drama teacher, hairdresser, publicist and agent.

Nobody wants to witness the ignominy of someone played off the stage with exit music just as he gets around to saying something worth listening to.

I’d much rather hear someone like winner Halle Berry have the time to say, “This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door has opened.”

Or Matthew McConaughey say, “Alright, alright, alright.”

Or Meryl Steep joke, “When they called my name, I could hear half of America say, ‘Ohhh, no. C’mon! Why her again?’ But … whatever.”

Who will win tonight? Here are the four major nominations so you can keep track.

Best picture: The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Bridge of Spies, Spotlight, The Big Short, Brooklyn and Mad Max: Fury Road.

Best actress: Cate Blanchett, Carol; Brie Larson, Room; Jennifer Lawrence, Joy; Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years; Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn.

Best actor: Matt Damon, The Martian; Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant; Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs; Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl; Bryan

Cranston, Trumbo.

Best director: Adam McKay, The Big Short; George Miller,

Mad Max: Fury Road; Alejandro

Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant; Tom McCarthy, Spotlight; Lenny Abrahamson, Room.