The most exciting film event of the year is fast approaching, with pundits and fans across the world making their predictions and calculating the odds for who will win. The 91st Academy Awards is set to take place on Feb. 24 in the historic home of the Oscars, the Dolby Theatre.
With 2018 having been one of the most exciting years in film for a very long time, the potential list of winners is one of the strongest we’ve seen. Official nominations are yet to be released, but keen observers of the film industry are already feeling pretty confident about how the next Oscars are going to go.
Read on to find out what to expect from the 2019 Academy Awards.
Who Will Win?
There are already some pretty clear front-runners for Best Picture and Best Actor. According to the latest Oscar odds, the strongest contender by a country mile is Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s hit musical “A Star is Born,” which produced one of the most listened-to soundtracks of the century and has completely reinvented Gaga’s image as a serious actress.
Odds are strong for this picture to take home Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and, of course, Best Original Song. Other strong contenders are veteran nominee Glenn Close for her spellbinding role in “The Wife,” while the recently released epic film “Roma” might just make history as the first Netflix original film to take home the top prize.
A Strong Year for Period Film
Aside from the blockbuster hits, this year’s Academy Awards stands out for the sheer number of period films that look likely to win big. Barry Jenkins’ reproduction of James Baldwin’s classic novel “If Beale Street Could Talk” – set in 1970s Harlem – barely broke even at the box office but has been a clear favorite among critics.
Meanwhile, Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book,” set in the 1960s Deep South, is another acclaimed period film exploring African American history which has a good chance of scooping up some gongs. Another hot ticket is “The Favourite,” starring Olivia Colman as Queen Anne during the turbulent final years of her reign.
Barely any of the non-documentary films to be shortlisted are actually set in the present day, making this the most period-heavy Oscars year in recent memory
What to Expect from the Ceremony
One of the biggest questions in Hollywood right now is who will host the ceremony. Comedian Kevin Hart was originally chosen for the job, but quickly pulled out of the gig following a backlash over a series of homophobic tweets he’d previously posted. A replacement host is unlikely to be announced until closer to the time, but it’s likely that Chris Rock, who had competed against Hart for the job, will be offered the gig.
The announcement of a new award category for Best Popular Film has also been pulled, with the expectation that the 2020 Oscars will instead be the debut. What we can expect is one of the most diverse academies ever, with 928 new members invited to join this year in an effort to change the historically old, white, and male composition.
This will be an exciting, fresh, and original Academy Awards season, one that is most definitely worth tuning into.
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