Camille Naredo

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Oscars

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17409318503491740815434263030125_Conclave SAG.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The cast of &#x27;Conclave&#x27; actors Ralph Fiennes (R), Isabella Rossellini, Sergio Castellitto (L) and John Lithgow (2L) pose in the press room with the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture during the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Valerie Macon, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The cast of &#x27;Conclave&#x27; actors Ralph Fiennes (R), Isabella Rossellini, Sergio Castellitto (L) and John Lithgow (2L) pose in the press room with the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture during the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. <em>Valerie Macon, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>HOLLYWOOD -- The red carpet has been rolled out, the champagne is on ice, and Hollywood is ready to crown the year&#x27;s best movie, with joint favorites &quot;Anora&quot; and &quot;Conclave&quot; seemingly poised for a tense showdown at Sunday&#x27;s Oscars.</p><p>A twisty awards season rocked by Los Angeles wildfires and a racist tweet scandal reaches its climax with the 97th Academy Awards gala, hosted by Conan O&#x27;Brien, kicking off at 4:00 pm (0000 GMT Monday).</p><p>As stars make the final adjustments to their gowns and tuxedos, the race for Hollywood&#x27;s grandest prize is too close to call, with two wildly different films seen as frontrunners for best picture.</p><p>&quot;There will be real tension,&quot; said Rotten Tomatoes awards editor Jacqueline Coley. &quot;I would say if &#x27;Conclave&#x27; doesn&#x27;t win, it&#x27;s definitely going to be &#x27;Anora.&#x27;&quot;</p><p>&quot;Both sides are feeling more nervous than confident... that should be an indicator that this is really a nail-biter,&quot; The Hollywood Reporter&#x27;s awards expert Scott Feinberg told AFP.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/3/1/who-will-win-the-oscar-the-10-best-picture-nominees-1602">READ: Who will win the Oscar? The 10 best picture nominees</a></div><p>Sean Baker&#x27;s &quot;Anora&quot; -- about a New York stripper and escort who weds a wealthy Russian playboy, only to learn that her dream marriage is a nightmare illusion -- won the Cannes festival&#x27;s Palme d&#x27;Or last May.</p><p>The low-budget indie has accrued top prizes from Hollywood directors, producers, writers and critics.</p><p>But, Coley says, &quot;it is a little bit polarizing because of the sex worker aspect.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Conclave&quot; -- a film about the secretive and cutthroat election of a new Catholic leader, lent an uncanny timeliness by the real-life Pope Francis&#x27;s health woes -- appears to have won over many late voters.</p><p>The film starring Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini earned top honors from Britain&#x27;s BAFTAs, and the Hollywood actors&#x27; SAG Award for best cast.</p><p>&quot;It is an old-school thriller with an all-star cast,&quot; said Coley.</p><p>One Oscars voter told AFP they had voted for &quot;Conclave&quot; because &quot;it&#x27;s just more of a traditional, classic &#x27;best picture&#x27; film.&quot;</p><div><strong>- Oscar records -</strong></div><div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAEyze-tm4MR6kEa&amp;cid=ABU7a0CpJW9ndgvd"></script></div><p>The voter, anonymous because Academy members cannot reveal their picks, also expressed admiration for &quot;The Brutalist,&quot; a potential dark horse about a Hungarian Jewish architect making a new life in the United States after World War II.</p><p>Adrien Brody, who plays the titular gifted architect and Holocaust survivor, has been the presumed favorite to win the best actor Oscar for months.</p><p>Brody has won the prize previously, for 2002&#x27;s &quot;The Pianist.&quot; If he prevails again, he&#x27;d join an elite club of double winners including Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson.</p><p>But Timothee Chalamet -- who earned wide admiration for his pitch-perfect performance as a sardonic young Bob Dylan in &quot;A Complete Unknown&quot; -- won the Screen Actors Guild Award over Brody, and could prove a spoiler.</p><p>At just 29, he arguably has the most star power of any of this year&#x27;s nominees, and would beat Brody&#x27;s record as the category&#x27;s youngest-ever winner.</p><p>Brody is &quot;still the safer pick,&quot; said Feinberg -- assuming enough Academy voters made it through his film&#x27;s three-and-a-half-hour runtime.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/2/24/vatican-thriller-conclave-wins-top-prize-in-sag-awards-upset-1335">READ: Vatican thriller &#x27;Conclave&#x27; wins top prize in SAG Awards upset</a></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Comeback story&#x27; -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1740931932687AFP__20250207__36XE99L__v1__Preview__30thAnnualCriticsChoiceAwards.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="US actress Demi Moore attends the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on February 7, 2025. Michael Tran, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">US actress Demi Moore attends the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on February 7, 2025. <em>Michael Tran, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>There could be an even younger winner on the actress side, if a groundswell of support for &quot;Anora&quot; carries its star Mikey Madison, 25, to the Oscars stage.</p><p>But she will have to get past Demi Moore, the 1990s megastar who had enjoyed a sparkling career renaissance thanks to gory body horror flick &quot;The Substance.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Hollywood loves a comeback story,&quot; said the Oscars voter.</p><p>If the vote is split, Brazil&#x27;s Fernanda Torres could spring a surprise with &quot;I&#x27;m Still Here,&quot; about a family ripped apart by her country&#x27;s military dictatorship.</p><p>But the Academy Award hopes of fellow nominee Karla Sofia Gascon, of musical narco-thriller &quot;Emilia Perez,&quot; appear to have collapsed.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/2/26/-emilia-perez-trans-star-to-attend-oscars-despite-tweet-row-reports-0856">READ: &#x27;Emilia Perez&#x27; trans star to attend Oscars despite tweet row -- reports</a></div><p>Gascon, the first openly trans acting nominee, saw her campaign implode after years-old racist tweets about Islam, China and American George Floyd, a Black man who died at the hands of US police in 2020, went viral.</p><p>The controversy also sank Netflix&#x27;s chance of its first best picture win, though co-star Zoe Saldana remains the favorite to win for best supporting actress.</p><p>Best supporting actor appears to be similarly locked. Kieran Culkin has won almost everything going this year for his portrayal of a charismatic but troubled cousin on an ancestral road trip through Poland in &quot;A Real Pain.&quot;</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Wicked&#x27; stars -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1740931967592AFP__20250108__2192892285__v2__HighRes__TheNationalBoardOfReviewAnnualAwardsGalaInsi.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande pose with the NBR Spotlight Award: Creative Collaboration for &quot;Wicked&quot; during The National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on January 07, 2025 in New York City. Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images for National Board of Review/AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande pose with the NBR Spotlight Award: Creative Collaboration for &quot;Wicked&quot; during The National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on January 07, 2025 in New York City. <em>Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images for National Board of Review/AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>The ceremony itself is expected to be an emotional affair.</p><p>It will honor firefighters who battled blazes that killed at least 29 people and devastated Los Angeles in January.</p><p>Hoping to capitalize on a recent ratings uptick -- last year&#x27;s gala featured a memorable &quot;Barbie&quot;-themed musical showstopper -- producers have enlisted &quot;Wicked&quot; stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo to perform.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/2/26/oscars-producers-unveil-a-wicked-gala-showstopper-0048">READ: Oscars producers unveil a &#x27;Wicked&#x27; gala showstopper</a></div><p>Doja Cat and Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink will also take the stage.</p><p>For the first time, the gala will stream live on Hulu, as well as on US network ABC, and in more than 200 territories worldwide.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>A twisty awards season rocked by Los Angeles wildfires and a racist tweet scandal reaches its climax with the 97th Academy Awards gala, hosted by Conan O'Brien.</p>

A twisty awards season rocked by Los Angeles wildfires and a racist tweet scandal reaches its climax with the 97th Academy Awards gala, hosted by Conan O'Brien.

Stars assemble for Oscars as 'Anora,' 'Conclave' vie for top prize

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Stars assemble for Oscars as 'Anora,' 'Conclave' vie for top prize

Agence France-Presse,

Andrew Marszal

Published Mar 03, 2025 12:54 AM PHT

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Timothee Chalamet

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Karla Sofia Gascon

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