SANTA BARBARA, CA – FEBRUARY 03: (L-R) Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Damien Chazelle attend SBIFF Outstanding Performers of the Year Award, Presented by Belvedere Vodka, honoring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone on February 3, 2017 in Santa Barbara, California. AFP
LOS ANGELES—The question in this Sunday’s Oscar Awards show is not whether “La La Land” will dominate the night. That’s a certainty. The debate is on how many awards Damien Chazelle’s musical ode to Los Angeles will win.
Damien, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and their “La La Land” collaborators will step onto the Oscars red carpet and enter the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard with 11 nominations.
In Academy’s history, it’s the most nods ever for a film in a single year, a distinction which the movie about a jazz pianist (Ryan) and an aspiring actress (Emma) shares with “Titanic” (1997) and “All About Eve” (1959).
Will “La La Land” win eight, nine or more of those gleaming trophies? It is expected to bag the best picture and director (Damien) prizes. Emma is also predicted to go up the stage and deliver an acceptance speech, unless Isabelle Huppert scores a best actress upset win for “Elle.”
According to Oscar prognosticators, Ryan will be edged out by either Denzel Washington (“Fences”) or Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”) in the best actor category.
Just like “La La Land” is considered a shoo-in for best picture, Viola Davis’ best supporting actress win for “Fences” is one of the sure things in the Sunday night (Monday morning, Manila time) show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Even before her triumph, Viola already made Oscar history by becoming the first black actress to earn three nominations.
“Manchester by the Sea” nominees led by Casey Affleck (left, front row), Michelle Williams (second from left, front row), producer Matt Damon (left, back row) and director Kenneth Lonergan (second from right, back row)
“Moonlight’s” Mahershala Ali is favored to triumph in the best supporting actor field although some insist that Jeff Bridges (“Hell or High Water”) or Dev Patel (“Lion”) should not be counted out.
In the best foreign film derby, Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” (Iran) pulled away from a race that was tight originally.
Since it was announced that Asghar would not be able to attend the ceremony because of President Trump’s ban on visitors from seven Muslim nations, Oscar forecasters have been guessing that many Academy voters would go for “The Salesman” in solidarity with the Iranian filmmaker and immigrants in general.
“The Help” costars are nominated for different films this time: Octavia Spencer (“Hidden Figures”), Emma Stone (“La La Land”) and Viola Davis (“Fences”).
Damien’s follow-up to “Whiplash” is also anticipated to run away with the best original score (Justin Hurwitz) and original song honors. In the latter race, where “La La Land” has two nominations, “City of Stars”—that hummable ditty—will prevail over “Audition,” both by Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
Too bad Ryan and Emma have opted not to perform “City of Stars” in the show. Instead, John Legend, who costars in “La La Land,” will step in to perform both “City of Stars” and “Audition.”
Justin Timberlake, Sting and Lin-Manuel Miranda will croon their nominated songs before the star-studded audience.
We’ll see if the celebrated musical will also prevail in the other categories where it’s in the running: original screenplay, cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing, production design, costume design and film editing.
In the best animated feature competition, “Zootopia” is forecast to triumph over “Moana,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “My Life as a Zucchini” and “The Red Turtle.”
Among the star presenters are Leonardo DiCaprio, Halle Berry, Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Hailee Steinfeld, Amy Adams, Javier Bardem, Charlize Theron, John Cho, Dwayne Johnson, Felicity Jones, Janelle Monae, Chris Evans, Gael Garcia Bernal and Scarlett Johansson.
Pharrell Williams (front, left), best picture nominee (as producer of “Hidden Figures”), and Justin Paul (second row, left), best song nominee for two “La La Land” compositions
Oscar trivia
Have you ever wondered how heavy the Oscar statuette is? It weighs 8.5 pounds, is 13.5 inches tall with a base diameter of 5.25 inches.
A total number of 85 countries, including the Philippines (Brillante Ma Mendoza’s “Ma’ Rosa”), submitted entries in the foreign language film contest.
There are about 6,687 voting members.
It takes about 270 crew members to stage the much-anticipated show seen in more than 225 countries.
The Oscars red carpet, where stars, nominees and other film talents strut in their designer formal wear, turning it into one of the world’s most photographed “runways,” is approximately 900 feet long and 33 feet wide.
By the evening’s end, we predict that you will be humming “City of Stars” regardless of how many of those golden statuettes will be won by “La La Land.”
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Best supporting actor contenders: Dev Patel of “Lion” (left) and Mahershala Ali of “Moonlight”—PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMPAS