Only one time in the academy’s 90 year history has a horror movie won Best Picture, and that was “Silence of The Lambs” in 1992.
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“Shape of Water” appears to have the upper hand, having already collected the usually prophetic Producers Guild of America Award, although the victor of that honor the past two years has failed to win the top Oscar.
The Academy Awards are a chance to break out ballots, champagne and canapes, to place bets on the outcomes and sigh over the red-carpet dresses. Actor Casey Affleck, as everyone that Oscar night knew, had been named in two sexual harassment lawsuits.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, who has an enviable track record of calling winners, also picked Guillermo del Toro to win for his superb vision on his retro fantasy thriller, “The Shape of Water”.
Four years later, Berry became the first black woman to pick up the best actress award for her performance in Monster’s Ball.
The Oscars are no exception, though the award show’s producers seem to want a show that’s more about celebrating movies and entertaining people than about making a statement on #MeToo.
Although it doesn’t always go to plan. Actors Faye Dunaway and Warren Beaty received the wrong envelope, and they announced La La Land as the victor, instead of Moonlight.
This year, though, the winning films may take a backseat to Hollywood politics.
How can I watch it?
Who is hosting the event?
With all that has happened since the last Oscars, comedian Jimmy Kimmel has a major task at hand.
“The Shape of Water”, “Dunkirk”, and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” are among the nominees for the 90th Academy Awards Sunday.
Luca Guadagnino’s paean to the universal heartbreak of first love, set in northern Italy in the 1980s, has three nominations other than best picture – for Ivory’s screenplay, a best actor nod for Chalamet’s performance and best original song. So I think my pick for this is “Get Out”.
We’ll never be truly over Casey Affleck winning Best Actor over Denzel Washington a year ago.
This year’s Oscar predictions have been a wild ride, since the Academy opened its forbidding doors to a greater diversity of directors than ever before.
Angelina Jolie won the Best supporting actress award for “Girl” in 2000.
So what have been the big talking points?
Also in 2003, Roman Polanski wins the best director Oscar for his Holocaust film “The Pianist” but can not travel to Los Angeles for the ceremony because he is wanted in the United States to serve time for the rape of a minor in 1977. The most memorable moment was during the announcement of nominees in 2016 where there was a staggering lack of ethnicity.
He is also only the fifth black person ever nominated for best director – after John Singleton, Lee Daniels, Steve McQueen and Barry Jenkins – and could be the first to win. Also vying for the prize are Christopher Nolan for “Dunkirk”, Jordan Peele for “Get Out”, Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird” and Paul Thomas Anderson for “Phantom Thread”. But if he were to win for this role, it’s likely that it would be perceived by many as a make-up call for last year’s snub. Citing the most recent Study of Women in Television & Film produced annually out of San Diego State University, she said women were only 3 percent of composers and 8 percent of supervising sound editors.
Has there been any controversy in this year’s lead up?
But if there’s one thing previous ceremonies have demonstrated, it’s that it’s a good idea never to expect the expected on Hollywood’s biggest night.
You can be sure that many eyes will be centered on the Time’s Up movement, which garnered significant attention at the Golden Globes.
It’ll be fascinating to see which actors and actresses do or don’t decide to weigh in.
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Actor James Franco, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct, was tipped to be nominated for The Disaster Artist, but is missing from the list.
