The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.
So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre.
The telecast on ABC has begun. Keep it here for live updates.
Winners list | Red carpet photos | Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood
The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box
4:36 p.m. Now I know right before the commercial break ends you get a mysterious voice warning you, “Back in 30 seconds, check what’s in your teeth!” — T.B.
4:34 p.m. Boy, after that beautiful speech, I truly hope that Randolph gets to do this more than once too. (Love the reaction shot of Paul Giamatti in tears.) — G.W.
4:33 p.m. “I have to do a special shoutout to my publicist, and I know you all say don’t talk about publicists but you don’t have a publicist like I do.” Randolph stands up for another group that suffered during the strikes. — M.M.
4:31 p.m. Oh no, I’m already crying! — T.B.
4:29 p.m. This is, I think, the 58th award Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers.” Her performance as the grieving mother in the movie was that good. — G.W.
4:28 p.m. Am totally loving the personal relationships being honored in each of these detailed introductions, starting with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Jodie Foster her “bestie,” but I am already very, very worried about how long this show is going to be. So far it is worth it.
And the winner is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. More proof that “predictable” can be glorious. — M.M.
4:25 p.m. They did this 15 years ago, having a past winner introduce each acting nominee. It’s kinda awesome and, I think, meaningful for the nominees. Having Rita Moreno introduce America Ferrera … that’s a golden moment. — G.W.
4:23 p.m. “Union strong!” — G.W.
4:23 p.m. Oh, I don’t know. I am a fan of the standard jokey intro that mentions a ton of the nominees and isn’t afraid to be a bit cheesy, even as throwing a few zingers — a reference to the strikes included, “No, not the directors, you guys caved immediately.” Also appreciated the standing-ovation shoutout to all the below-the-line folks who suffered during the strikes. “I’m going to make sure this show goes really long tonight so you get a ton of overtime.” — M.M.
4:21 p.m. Between that Yorgos Lanthimos pun and the line directed to the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog — “I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu” — this Kimmel monologue is a little rough. — G.W.
Messi the Dog inside the Dolby Theatre.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:19 p.m. Messi the Dog is in the building! “Anatomy of a Fall” better win something — no one can bear his sad-dog face. “When I watched ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ I had my mail forwarded to the theater” — best joke on the length of the nominated movies, which averaged 138 minutes. — M.M.
4:14 p.m. Kimmel shouts out the absence of Greta Gerwig from the director category — “You’re all clapping and you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her.” Bold. —M.M.
4:13 p.m. “We are already five minutes over … and I’m not joking.” Kimmel acknowledging the late start. — G.W.
Jimmy Kimmel during his opening monologue.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:12 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel just proves my point by admitting he hasn’t eaten in three weeks during a very clever bit in which he shows up in the famous “you’re beautiful” “Barbie” bus stop scene. I feel vindicated. — M.M.
4:11 p.m. Well, one surprise is that it’s just now starting — a few minutes late, as protesters delayed people getting to the Dolby. Outside of that … hmmm … Emma Stone maybe winning lead actress over Lily Gladstone? — G.W.
3:59 p.m. Hello from inside the Dolby Theatre! The mysterious voice from above is telling everyone to get to their seat ASAP. This is my first time at any awards show, and as expected, I got lost on the way here, drove by two groups of protesters demanding a cease-fire at Gaza, and was mistaken for staff and as an uninvited guest. I spotted a number of famous faces along the way including “Past Lives” director Celine Song, “Barbie’s” Simu Liu and past winner Brendan Fraser. — Tracy Brown
3:59 p.m. Trivia fact-check! Thank you Glenn. As you can imagine, that is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. I kinda hoped there would be a Christmas scene in “Barbie” because Holiday Barbie is always glorious. As we move closer to the actual show, do you think there will be any actual surprises, aside from me not knowing my Oscar trivia? — M.M.
3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.
3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.
3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.
Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.
3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.
3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.
And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara
3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp
3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.
Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.
Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.
If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.
For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.
“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman
The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.
So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre.
The telecast on ABC has begun. Keep it here for live updates.
Winners list | Red carpet photos | Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood
The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box
4:36 p.m. Now I know right before the commercial break ends you get a mysterious voice warning you, “Back in 30 seconds, check what’s in your teeth!” — T.B.
4:34 p.m. Boy, after that beautiful speech, I truly hope that Randolph gets to do this more than once too. (Love the reaction shot of Paul Giamatti in tears.) — G.W.
4:33 p.m. “I have to do a special shoutout to my publicist, and I know you all say don’t talk about publicists but you don’t have a publicist like I do.” Randolph stands up for another group that suffered during the strikes. — M.M.
4:31 p.m. Oh no, I’m already crying! — T.B.
4:29 p.m. This is, I think, the 58th award Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers.” Her performance as the grieving mother in the movie was that good. — G.W.
4:28 p.m. Am totally loving the personal relationships being honored in each of these detailed introductions, starting with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Jodie Foster her “bestie,” but I am already very, very worried about how long this show is going to be. So far it is worth it.
And the winner is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. More proof that “predictable” can be glorious. — M.M.
4:25 p.m. They did this 15 years ago, having a past winner introduce each acting nominee. It’s kinda awesome and, I think, meaningful for the nominees. Having Rita Moreno introduce America Ferrera … that’s a golden moment. — G.W.
4:23 p.m. “Union strong!” — G.W.
4:23 p.m. Oh, I don’t know. I am a fan of the standard jokey intro that mentions a ton of the nominees and isn’t afraid to be a bit cheesy, even as throwing a few zingers — a reference to the strikes included, “No, not the directors, you guys caved immediately.” Also appreciated the standing-ovation shoutout to all the below-the-line folks who suffered during the strikes. “I’m going to make sure this show goes really long tonight so you get a ton of overtime.” — M.M.
4:21 p.m. Between that Yorgos Lanthimos pun and the line directed to the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog — “I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu” — this Kimmel monologue is a little rough. — G.W.
Messi the Dog inside the Dolby Theatre.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:19 p.m. Messi the Dog is in the building! “Anatomy of a Fall” better win something — no one can bear his sad-dog face. “When I watched ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ I had my mail forwarded to the theater” — best joke on the length of the nominated movies, which averaged 138 minutes. — M.M.
4:14 p.m. Kimmel shouts out the absence of Greta Gerwig from the director category — “You’re all clapping and you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her.” Bold. —M.M.
4:13 p.m. “We are already five minutes over … and I’m not joking.” Kimmel acknowledging the late start. — G.W.
Jimmy Kimmel during his opening monologue.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:12 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel just proves my point by admitting he hasn’t eaten in three weeks during a very clever bit in which he shows up in the famous “you’re beautiful” “Barbie” bus stop scene. I feel vindicated. — M.M.
4:11 p.m. Well, one surprise is that it’s just now starting — a few minutes late, as protesters delayed people getting to the Dolby. Outside of that … hmmm … Emma Stone maybe winning lead actress over Lily Gladstone? — G.W.
3:59 p.m. Hello from inside the Dolby Theatre! The mysterious voice from above is telling everyone to get to their seat ASAP. This is my first time at any awards show, and as expected, I got lost on the way here, drove by two groups of protesters demanding a cease-fire at Gaza, and was mistaken for staff and as an uninvited guest. I spotted a number of famous faces along the way including “Past Lives” director Celine Song, “Barbie’s” Simu Liu and past winner Brendan Fraser. — Tracy Brown
3:59 p.m. Trivia fact-check! Thank you Glenn. As you can imagine, that is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. I kinda hoped there would be a Christmas scene in “Barbie” because Holiday Barbie is always glorious. As we move closer to the actual show, do you think there will be any actual surprises, aside from me not knowing my Oscar trivia? — M.M.
3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.
3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.
3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.
Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.
3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.
3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.
And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara
3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp
3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.
Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.
Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.
If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.
For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.
“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman
The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.
So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre.
The telecast on ABC has begun. Keep it here for live updates.
Winners list | Red carpet photos | Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood
The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box
4:36 p.m. Now I know right before the commercial break ends you get a mysterious voice warning you, “Back in 30 seconds, check what’s in your teeth!” — T.B.
4:34 p.m. Boy, after that beautiful speech, I truly hope that Randolph gets to do this more than once too. (Love the reaction shot of Paul Giamatti in tears.) — G.W.
4:33 p.m. “I have to do a special shoutout to my publicist, and I know you all say don’t talk about publicists but you don’t have a publicist like I do.” Randolph stands up for another group that suffered during the strikes. — M.M.
4:31 p.m. Oh no, I’m already crying! — T.B.
4:29 p.m. This is, I think, the 58th award Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers.” Her performance as the grieving mother in the movie was that good. — G.W.
4:28 p.m. Am totally loving the personal relationships being honored in each of these detailed introductions, starting with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Jodie Foster her “bestie,” but I am already very, very worried about how long this show is going to be. So far it is worth it.
And the winner is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. More proof that “predictable” can be glorious. — M.M.
4:25 p.m. They did this 15 years ago, having a past winner introduce each acting nominee. It’s kinda awesome and, I think, meaningful for the nominees. Having Rita Moreno introduce America Ferrera … that’s a golden moment. — G.W.
4:23 p.m. “Union strong!” — G.W.
4:23 p.m. Oh, I don’t know. I am a fan of the standard jokey intro that mentions a ton of the nominees and isn’t afraid to be a bit cheesy, even as throwing a few zingers — a reference to the strikes included, “No, not the directors, you guys caved immediately.” Also appreciated the standing-ovation shoutout to all the below-the-line folks who suffered during the strikes. “I’m going to make sure this show goes really long tonight so you get a ton of overtime.” — M.M.
4:21 p.m. Between that Yorgos Lanthimos pun and the line directed to the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog — “I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu” — this Kimmel monologue is a little rough. — G.W.
Messi the Dog inside the Dolby Theatre.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:19 p.m. Messi the Dog is in the building! “Anatomy of a Fall” better win something — no one can bear his sad-dog face. “When I watched ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ I had my mail forwarded to the theater” — best joke on the length of the nominated movies, which averaged 138 minutes. — M.M.
4:14 p.m. Kimmel shouts out the absence of Greta Gerwig from the director category — “You’re all clapping and you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her.” Bold. —M.M.
4:13 p.m. “We are already five minutes over … and I’m not joking.” Kimmel acknowledging the late start. — G.W.
Jimmy Kimmel during his opening monologue.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:12 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel just proves my point by admitting he hasn’t eaten in three weeks during a very clever bit in which he shows up in the famous “you’re beautiful” “Barbie” bus stop scene. I feel vindicated. — M.M.
4:11 p.m. Well, one surprise is that it’s just now starting — a few minutes late, as protesters delayed people getting to the Dolby. Outside of that … hmmm … Emma Stone maybe winning lead actress over Lily Gladstone? — G.W.
3:59 p.m. Hello from inside the Dolby Theatre! The mysterious voice from above is telling everyone to get to their seat ASAP. This is my first time at any awards show, and as expected, I got lost on the way here, drove by two groups of protesters demanding a cease-fire at Gaza, and was mistaken for staff and as an uninvited guest. I spotted a number of famous faces along the way including “Past Lives” director Celine Song, “Barbie’s” Simu Liu and past winner Brendan Fraser. — Tracy Brown
3:59 p.m. Trivia fact-check! Thank you Glenn. As you can imagine, that is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. I kinda hoped there would be a Christmas scene in “Barbie” because Holiday Barbie is always glorious. As we move closer to the actual show, do you think there will be any actual surprises, aside from me not knowing my Oscar trivia? — M.M.
3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.
3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.
3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.
Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.
3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.
3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.
And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara
3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp
3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.
Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.
Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.
If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.
For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.
“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman
The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.
So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre.
The telecast on ABC has begun. Keep it here for live updates.
Winners list | Red carpet photos | Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood
The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box
4:36 p.m. Now I know right before the commercial break ends you get a mysterious voice warning you, “Back in 30 seconds, check what’s in your teeth!” — T.B.
4:34 p.m. Boy, after that beautiful speech, I truly hope that Randolph gets to do this more than once too. (Love the reaction shot of Paul Giamatti in tears.) — G.W.
4:33 p.m. “I have to do a special shoutout to my publicist, and I know you all say don’t talk about publicists but you don’t have a publicist like I do.” Randolph stands up for another group that suffered during the strikes. — M.M.
4:31 p.m. Oh no, I’m already crying! — T.B.
4:29 p.m. This is, I think, the 58th award Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers.” Her performance as the grieving mother in the movie was that good. — G.W.
4:28 p.m. Am totally loving the personal relationships being honored in each of these detailed introductions, starting with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Jodie Foster her “bestie,” but I am already very, very worried about how long this show is going to be. So far it is worth it.
And the winner is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. More proof that “predictable” can be glorious. — M.M.
4:25 p.m. They did this 15 years ago, having a past winner introduce each acting nominee. It’s kinda awesome and, I think, meaningful for the nominees. Having Rita Moreno introduce America Ferrera … that’s a golden moment. — G.W.
4:23 p.m. “Union strong!” — G.W.
4:23 p.m. Oh, I don’t know. I am a fan of the standard jokey intro that mentions a ton of the nominees and isn’t afraid to be a bit cheesy, even as throwing a few zingers — a reference to the strikes included, “No, not the directors, you guys caved immediately.” Also appreciated the standing-ovation shoutout to all the below-the-line folks who suffered during the strikes. “I’m going to make sure this show goes really long tonight so you get a ton of overtime.” — M.M.
4:21 p.m. Between that Yorgos Lanthimos pun and the line directed to the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog — “I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu” — this Kimmel monologue is a little rough. — G.W.
Messi the Dog inside the Dolby Theatre.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:19 p.m. Messi the Dog is in the building! “Anatomy of a Fall” better win something — no one can bear his sad-dog face. “When I watched ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ I had my mail forwarded to the theater” — best joke on the length of the nominated movies, which averaged 138 minutes. — M.M.
4:14 p.m. Kimmel shouts out the absence of Greta Gerwig from the director category — “You’re all clapping and you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her.” Bold. —M.M.
4:13 p.m. “We are already five minutes over … and I’m not joking.” Kimmel acknowledging the late start. — G.W.
Jimmy Kimmel during his opening monologue.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:12 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel just proves my point by admitting he hasn’t eaten in three weeks during a very clever bit in which he shows up in the famous “you’re beautiful” “Barbie” bus stop scene. I feel vindicated. — M.M.
4:11 p.m. Well, one surprise is that it’s just now starting — a few minutes late, as protesters delayed people getting to the Dolby. Outside of that … hmmm … Emma Stone maybe winning lead actress over Lily Gladstone? — G.W.
3:59 p.m. Hello from inside the Dolby Theatre! The mysterious voice from above is telling everyone to get to their seat ASAP. This is my first time at any awards show, and as expected, I got lost on the way here, drove by two groups of protesters demanding a cease-fire at Gaza, and was mistaken for staff and as an uninvited guest. I spotted a number of famous faces along the way including “Past Lives” director Celine Song, “Barbie’s” Simu Liu and past winner Brendan Fraser. — Tracy Brown
3:59 p.m. Trivia fact-check! Thank you Glenn. As you can imagine, that is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. I kinda hoped there would be a Christmas scene in “Barbie” because Holiday Barbie is always glorious. As we move closer to the actual show, do you think there will be any actual surprises, aside from me not knowing my Oscar trivia? — M.M.
3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.
3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.
3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.
Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.
3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.
3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.
And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara
3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp
3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.
Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.
Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.
If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.
For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.
“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman
The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.
So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre.
The telecast on ABC has begun. Keep it here for live updates.
Winners list | Red carpet photos | Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood
The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box
4:36 p.m. Now I know right before the commercial break ends you get a mysterious voice warning you, “Back in 30 seconds, check what’s in your teeth!” — T.B.
4:34 p.m. Boy, after that beautiful speech, I truly hope that Randolph gets to do this more than once too. (Love the reaction shot of Paul Giamatti in tears.) — G.W.
4:33 p.m. “I have to do a special shoutout to my publicist, and I know you all say don’t talk about publicists but you don’t have a publicist like I do.” Randolph stands up for another group that suffered during the strikes. — M.M.
4:31 p.m. Oh no, I’m already crying! — T.B.
4:29 p.m. This is, I think, the 58th award Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers.” Her performance as the grieving mother in the movie was that good. — G.W.
4:28 p.m. Am totally loving the personal relationships being honored in each of these detailed introductions, starting with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Jodie Foster her “bestie,” but I am already very, very worried about how long this show is going to be. So far it is worth it.
And the winner is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. More proof that “predictable” can be glorious. — M.M.
4:25 p.m. They did this 15 years ago, having a past winner introduce each acting nominee. It’s kinda awesome and, I think, meaningful for the nominees. Having Rita Moreno introduce America Ferrera … that’s a golden moment. — G.W.
4:23 p.m. “Union strong!” — G.W.
4:23 p.m. Oh, I don’t know. I am a fan of the standard jokey intro that mentions a ton of the nominees and isn’t afraid to be a bit cheesy, even as throwing a few zingers — a reference to the strikes included, “No, not the directors, you guys caved immediately.” Also appreciated the standing-ovation shoutout to all the below-the-line folks who suffered during the strikes. “I’m going to make sure this show goes really long tonight so you get a ton of overtime.” — M.M.
4:21 p.m. Between that Yorgos Lanthimos pun and the line directed to the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog — “I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu” — this Kimmel monologue is a little rough. — G.W.
Messi the Dog inside the Dolby Theatre.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:19 p.m. Messi the Dog is in the building! “Anatomy of a Fall” better win something — no one can bear his sad-dog face. “When I watched ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ I had my mail forwarded to the theater” — best joke on the length of the nominated movies, which averaged 138 minutes. — M.M.
4:14 p.m. Kimmel shouts out the absence of Greta Gerwig from the director category — “You’re all clapping and you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her.” Bold. —M.M.
4:13 p.m. “We are already five minutes over … and I’m not joking.” Kimmel acknowledging the late start. — G.W.
Jimmy Kimmel during his opening monologue.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:12 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel just proves my point by admitting he hasn’t eaten in three weeks during a very clever bit in which he shows up in the famous “you’re beautiful” “Barbie” bus stop scene. I feel vindicated. — M.M.
4:11 p.m. Well, one surprise is that it’s just now starting — a few minutes late, as protesters delayed people getting to the Dolby. Outside of that … hmmm … Emma Stone maybe winning lead actress over Lily Gladstone? — G.W.
3:59 p.m. Hello from inside the Dolby Theatre! The mysterious voice from above is telling everyone to get to their seat ASAP. This is my first time at any awards show, and as expected, I got lost on the way here, drove by two groups of protesters demanding a cease-fire at Gaza, and was mistaken for staff and as an uninvited guest. I spotted a number of famous faces along the way including “Past Lives” director Celine Song, “Barbie’s” Simu Liu and past winner Brendan Fraser. — Tracy Brown
3:59 p.m. Trivia fact-check! Thank you Glenn. As you can imagine, that is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. I kinda hoped there would be a Christmas scene in “Barbie” because Holiday Barbie is always glorious. As we move closer to the actual show, do you think there will be any actual surprises, aside from me not knowing my Oscar trivia? — M.M.
3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.
3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.
3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.
Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.
3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.
3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.
And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara
3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp
3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.
Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.
Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.
If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.
For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.
“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman
The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.
So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre.
The telecast on ABC has begun. Keep it here for live updates.
Winners list | Red carpet photos | Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood
The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box
4:36 p.m. Now I know right before the commercial break ends you get a mysterious voice warning you, “Back in 30 seconds, check what’s in your teeth!” — T.B.
4:34 p.m. Boy, after that beautiful speech, I truly hope that Randolph gets to do this more than once too. (Love the reaction shot of Paul Giamatti in tears.) — G.W.
4:33 p.m. “I have to do a special shoutout to my publicist, and I know you all say don’t talk about publicists but you don’t have a publicist like I do.” Randolph stands up for another group that suffered during the strikes. — M.M.
4:31 p.m. Oh no, I’m already crying! — T.B.
4:29 p.m. This is, I think, the 58th award Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers.” Her performance as the grieving mother in the movie was that good. — G.W.
4:28 p.m. Am totally loving the personal relationships being honored in each of these detailed introductions, starting with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Jodie Foster her “bestie,” but I am already very, very worried about how long this show is going to be. So far it is worth it.
And the winner is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. More proof that “predictable” can be glorious. — M.M.
4:25 p.m. They did this 15 years ago, having a past winner introduce each acting nominee. It’s kinda awesome and, I think, meaningful for the nominees. Having Rita Moreno introduce America Ferrera … that’s a golden moment. — G.W.
4:23 p.m. “Union strong!” — G.W.
4:23 p.m. Oh, I don’t know. I am a fan of the standard jokey intro that mentions a ton of the nominees and isn’t afraid to be a bit cheesy, even as throwing a few zingers — a reference to the strikes included, “No, not the directors, you guys caved immediately.” Also appreciated the standing-ovation shoutout to all the below-the-line folks who suffered during the strikes. “I’m going to make sure this show goes really long tonight so you get a ton of overtime.” — M.M.
4:21 p.m. Between that Yorgos Lanthimos pun and the line directed to the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog — “I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu” — this Kimmel monologue is a little rough. — G.W.
Messi the Dog inside the Dolby Theatre.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:19 p.m. Messi the Dog is in the building! “Anatomy of a Fall” better win something — no one can bear his sad-dog face. “When I watched ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ I had my mail forwarded to the theater” — best joke on the length of the nominated movies, which averaged 138 minutes. — M.M.
4:14 p.m. Kimmel shouts out the absence of Greta Gerwig from the director category — “You’re all clapping and you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her.” Bold. —M.M.
4:13 p.m. “We are already five minutes over … and I’m not joking.” Kimmel acknowledging the late start. — G.W.
Jimmy Kimmel during his opening monologue.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:12 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel just proves my point by admitting he hasn’t eaten in three weeks during a very clever bit in which he shows up in the famous “you’re beautiful” “Barbie” bus stop scene. I feel vindicated. — M.M.
4:11 p.m. Well, one surprise is that it’s just now starting — a few minutes late, as protesters delayed people getting to the Dolby. Outside of that … hmmm … Emma Stone maybe winning lead actress over Lily Gladstone? — G.W.
3:59 p.m. Hello from inside the Dolby Theatre! The mysterious voice from above is telling everyone to get to their seat ASAP. This is my first time at any awards show, and as expected, I got lost on the way here, drove by two groups of protesters demanding a cease-fire at Gaza, and was mistaken for staff and as an uninvited guest. I spotted a number of famous faces along the way including “Past Lives” director Celine Song, “Barbie’s” Simu Liu and past winner Brendan Fraser. — Tracy Brown
3:59 p.m. Trivia fact-check! Thank you Glenn. As you can imagine, that is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. I kinda hoped there would be a Christmas scene in “Barbie” because Holiday Barbie is always glorious. As we move closer to the actual show, do you think there will be any actual surprises, aside from me not knowing my Oscar trivia? — M.M.
3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.
3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.
3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.
Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.
3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.
3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.
And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara
3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp
3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.
Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.
Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.
If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.
For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.
“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman
The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.
So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre.
The telecast on ABC has begun. Keep it here for live updates.
Winners list | Red carpet photos | Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood
The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box
4:36 p.m. Now I know right before the commercial break ends you get a mysterious voice warning you, “Back in 30 seconds, check what’s in your teeth!” — T.B.
4:34 p.m. Boy, after that beautiful speech, I truly hope that Randolph gets to do this more than once too. (Love the reaction shot of Paul Giamatti in tears.) — G.W.
4:33 p.m. “I have to do a special shoutout to my publicist, and I know you all say don’t talk about publicists but you don’t have a publicist like I do.” Randolph stands up for another group that suffered during the strikes. — M.M.
4:31 p.m. Oh no, I’m already crying! — T.B.
4:29 p.m. This is, I think, the 58th award Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers.” Her performance as the grieving mother in the movie was that good. — G.W.
4:28 p.m. Am totally loving the personal relationships being honored in each of these detailed introductions, starting with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Jodie Foster her “bestie,” but I am already very, very worried about how long this show is going to be. So far it is worth it.
And the winner is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. More proof that “predictable” can be glorious. — M.M.
4:25 p.m. They did this 15 years ago, having a past winner introduce each acting nominee. It’s kinda awesome and, I think, meaningful for the nominees. Having Rita Moreno introduce America Ferrera … that’s a golden moment. — G.W.
4:23 p.m. “Union strong!” — G.W.
4:23 p.m. Oh, I don’t know. I am a fan of the standard jokey intro that mentions a ton of the nominees and isn’t afraid to be a bit cheesy, even as throwing a few zingers — a reference to the strikes included, “No, not the directors, you guys caved immediately.” Also appreciated the standing-ovation shoutout to all the below-the-line folks who suffered during the strikes. “I’m going to make sure this show goes really long tonight so you get a ton of overtime.” — M.M.
4:21 p.m. Between that Yorgos Lanthimos pun and the line directed to the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog — “I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu” — this Kimmel monologue is a little rough. — G.W.
Messi the Dog inside the Dolby Theatre.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:19 p.m. Messi the Dog is in the building! “Anatomy of a Fall” better win something — no one can bear his sad-dog face. “When I watched ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ I had my mail forwarded to the theater” — best joke on the length of the nominated movies, which averaged 138 minutes. — M.M.
4:14 p.m. Kimmel shouts out the absence of Greta Gerwig from the director category — “You’re all clapping and you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her.” Bold. —M.M.
4:13 p.m. “We are already five minutes over … and I’m not joking.” Kimmel acknowledging the late start. — G.W.
Jimmy Kimmel during his opening monologue.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:12 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel just proves my point by admitting he hasn’t eaten in three weeks during a very clever bit in which he shows up in the famous “you’re beautiful” “Barbie” bus stop scene. I feel vindicated. — M.M.
4:11 p.m. Well, one surprise is that it’s just now starting — a few minutes late, as protesters delayed people getting to the Dolby. Outside of that … hmmm … Emma Stone maybe winning lead actress over Lily Gladstone? — G.W.
3:59 p.m. Hello from inside the Dolby Theatre! The mysterious voice from above is telling everyone to get to their seat ASAP. This is my first time at any awards show, and as expected, I got lost on the way here, drove by two groups of protesters demanding a cease-fire at Gaza, and was mistaken for staff and as an uninvited guest. I spotted a number of famous faces along the way including “Past Lives” director Celine Song, “Barbie’s” Simu Liu and past winner Brendan Fraser. — Tracy Brown
3:59 p.m. Trivia fact-check! Thank you Glenn. As you can imagine, that is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. I kinda hoped there would be a Christmas scene in “Barbie” because Holiday Barbie is always glorious. As we move closer to the actual show, do you think there will be any actual surprises, aside from me not knowing my Oscar trivia? — M.M.
3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.
3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.
3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.
Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.
3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.
3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.
And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara
3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp
3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.
Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.
Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.
If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.
For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.
“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman
The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.
So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre.
The telecast on ABC has begun. Keep it here for live updates.
Winners list | Red carpet photos | Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood
The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box
4:36 p.m. Now I know right before the commercial break ends you get a mysterious voice warning you, “Back in 30 seconds, check what’s in your teeth!” — T.B.
4:34 p.m. Boy, after that beautiful speech, I truly hope that Randolph gets to do this more than once too. (Love the reaction shot of Paul Giamatti in tears.) — G.W.
4:33 p.m. “I have to do a special shoutout to my publicist, and I know you all say don’t talk about publicists but you don’t have a publicist like I do.” Randolph stands up for another group that suffered during the strikes. — M.M.
4:31 p.m. Oh no, I’m already crying! — T.B.
4:29 p.m. This is, I think, the 58th award Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers.” Her performance as the grieving mother in the movie was that good. — G.W.
4:28 p.m. Am totally loving the personal relationships being honored in each of these detailed introductions, starting with Jamie Lee Curtis calling Jodie Foster her “bestie,” but I am already very, very worried about how long this show is going to be. So far it is worth it.
And the winner is Da’Vine Joy Randolph. More proof that “predictable” can be glorious. — M.M.
4:25 p.m. They did this 15 years ago, having a past winner introduce each acting nominee. It’s kinda awesome and, I think, meaningful for the nominees. Having Rita Moreno introduce America Ferrera … that’s a golden moment. — G.W.
4:23 p.m. “Union strong!” — G.W.
4:23 p.m. Oh, I don’t know. I am a fan of the standard jokey intro that mentions a ton of the nominees and isn’t afraid to be a bit cheesy, even as throwing a few zingers — a reference to the strikes included, “No, not the directors, you guys caved immediately.” Also appreciated the standing-ovation shoutout to all the below-the-line folks who suffered during the strikes. “I’m going to make sure this show goes really long tonight so you get a ton of overtime.” — M.M.
4:21 p.m. Between that Yorgos Lanthimos pun and the line directed to the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog — “I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu” — this Kimmel monologue is a little rough. — G.W.
Messi the Dog inside the Dolby Theatre.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:19 p.m. Messi the Dog is in the building! “Anatomy of a Fall” better win something — no one can bear his sad-dog face. “When I watched ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ I had my mail forwarded to the theater” — best joke on the length of the nominated movies, which averaged 138 minutes. — M.M.
4:14 p.m. Kimmel shouts out the absence of Greta Gerwig from the director category — “You’re all clapping and you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her.” Bold. —M.M.
4:13 p.m. “We are already five minutes over … and I’m not joking.” Kimmel acknowledging the late start. — G.W.
Jimmy Kimmel during his opening monologue.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
4:12 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel just proves my point by admitting he hasn’t eaten in three weeks during a very clever bit in which he shows up in the famous “you’re beautiful” “Barbie” bus stop scene. I feel vindicated. — M.M.
4:11 p.m. Well, one surprise is that it’s just now starting — a few minutes late, as protesters delayed people getting to the Dolby. Outside of that … hmmm … Emma Stone maybe winning lead actress over Lily Gladstone? — G.W.
3:59 p.m. Hello from inside the Dolby Theatre! The mysterious voice from above is telling everyone to get to their seat ASAP. This is my first time at any awards show, and as expected, I got lost on the way here, drove by two groups of protesters demanding a cease-fire at Gaza, and was mistaken for staff and as an uninvited guest. I spotted a number of famous faces along the way including “Past Lives” director Celine Song, “Barbie’s” Simu Liu and past winner Brendan Fraser. — Tracy Brown
3:59 p.m. Trivia fact-check! Thank you Glenn. As you can imagine, that is one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. I kinda hoped there would be a Christmas scene in “Barbie” because Holiday Barbie is always glorious. As we move closer to the actual show, do you think there will be any actual surprises, aside from me not knowing my Oscar trivia? — M.M.
3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.
3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.
3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.
Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.
3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.
3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.
And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara
3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp
3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.
Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.
Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.
If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.
For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.
“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman
