Roll out the red carpet, get that lipstick out and put on your Sunday best … the 94^th Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) are in town and, well, let’s hope this year’s event is a little more glam and a lot less glum.

*cough* looking at you, 2021 Oscars *cough*

In what will be a first-time hosting for each of them, this year Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes will take to the stage as Oscars hosts, leading a cast of new talent and Hollywood veterans who will be presenting on the night.

Love all these women! Big fan. Expect loads of laughs *fingers crossed*

With the theme of this year’s Oscars being “all about uniting movie lovers”, the reason behind the choice of hosts according to show producer, Will Packer is about “fun” and translating that fun to “our audience”.

Please, PLEASE let that fun be translated to home audiences, too. Last year, it was not. #disappointed

“I know the fun Regina, Amy and Wanda will be having will translate to our audiences as well,” said Packer in a statement released earlier this month.

“Many surprises [are] in-store! Expect the unexpected!”

The comedy powerhouses are expected to have us all belly-laughing as we celebrate the year’s “best and brightest films”, and according to Craig Erwich, president, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment: “We’re thrilled to have them at the helm to deliver an incredible show full of unforgettable moments and laughter.”

Talk about pressure. Let’s hope they deliver. But the ladies seem confident …

“We want people to get ready to have a good time. It’s been a while,” said Hall, Schumer, and Sykes.

And the nominees are …

I’m not going to include all the nominees here – click here if you want the full list.

But the main categories are:

Actor in a leading role

• Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos)
• Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)
• Andrew Garfield (tick, tick … BOOM!)
• Will Smith (King Richard)
• Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Actor in a supporting role

• Ciaran Hinds (Belfast)
• Troy Kotsur (CODA)
• Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog)
• J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos)
• Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)

Actress in a leading role

• Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
• Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)
• Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers)
• Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)
• Kirsten Stewart (Spencer)

Actress in a supporting role

• Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)
• Ariana Debose (West Side Story)
• Judi Dench (Belfast)
• Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)
• Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Directing

• Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car)
• Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)
• Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)
• Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)

Best Picture

• Belfast ­(I’ve heard great things about this one, yet to watch it)
• CODA
• Don’t Look Up (Watched … got through it … not a huge fan … it was a bit “meh” IMO)
• Drive My Car
• Dune
• King Richard
• Licorice Pizza
• Nightmare Alley
• The Power of the Dog (Tried watching this one … it was a little slow-moving for me … must give it another try, I think. I’m a big KD fan from way back!) **see below for my update on this**
• West Side Story

So, there it is.

It’s that time of year, again.

The 94^th Academy Awards are in town.

I’m planning on getting up at 3 AM to watch them (that’s when they’ll be televising them here) … so, please, God, let them be good this year!

Stay tuned for my Oscars wrap up. For a little look back, here’s what I thought of last year’s event – click here.

x G.

Edited 27.3.22 1:05 PM

Small update since watching The Power of the Dog today.

I will be very surprised if Best Actor doesn’t go to Benedict Cumberbatch – what a performance.

Also, I think the Best Supporting Actor will go to Kodi Smit-McPhee (also The Power of the Dog) – brilliant! – but Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog) was great as well.

And did you know that Jesse and Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog) are married IRL (and, small spoiler alert, also in the movie)! I love that.

With that, I’m putting my money on the Best Supporting Actress award going to Dunst. Her portrayal of this character was fantastic!

To round out the main awards – and this one is simply due to the media hype surrounding this – I won’t be surprised if Kirsten Stewart for her portrayal of the late Princess Diana in Spencer gets Best Actress.

Although, side note: I tried watching Spencer on the flight over to Qatar and maybe it was because I was super exhausted by the time I got on the plane but I just couldn’t get into it. Perhaps another one of the movies I need to give another try?

As for the overall winner – the Best Picture?

I think it’ll be between Belfast and The Power of the Dog. But I want the latter to win. Mainly because I haven’t seen Belfast yet and The Power of the Dog is brilliant.

Lastly, I really hope that Don’t Look Up doesn’t win. I mean: COME ON. Really? Or is it just me? I really didn’t rate that one … yet had such high hopes for it due to the stellar cast.