George MacKay in “1917”
HOLLYWOOD — Tinseltown’s awards season comes to a close on Sunday at the Oscars, with war epic “1917” battling a South Korean thriller for glory as a row swirls over the lack of minorities on the night’s star-studded nominee list.
A lavish, spiral stage featuring 40,000 crystals at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre will be the glittering setting as the 24 golden statuettes are handed out on Hollywood’s biggest night.
The front-runner for multiple prizes, including best picture, is Sam Mendes’ “1917,” an innovative and personal World War I film that swept up trophies in the buildup to Sunday.
But the movie about two soldiers crossing no-man’s-land — filmed to appear like one continuous shot — could find itself in a pitched battle with a movie determined to make history of its own.
“Parasite,”about a poor South Korean family infiltrating a wealthy household, looks to be a shoo-in for best international feature — but could win much more.
“The big top prizes are coming down between ‘Parasite’ and ‘1917,’” Variety senior film editor Marc Malkin told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “Either one winning would be pretty great.”
Unique ballot system
The unique ballot system for best picture — which involves voters ranking films — makes the race somewhat tough to predict.
But it could benefit “Parasite,” a film that appears impossible to dislike, and whose charismatic director Bong Joon-ho, 50, has gained cult status at Hollywood’s many awards season galas and soirees.
“Every other movie, people say ‘I liked it, but…’” said Malkin. “With ‘Parasite,’ it’s ‘I love Parasite.’ Period. The end.”
He added: “Bong’s enthu¬siasm and his joy are completely infectious.“
Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood“ remains an outside shot, while Martin Scorsese’s lavish crime epic “The Irishman” appears to have slipped out of contention.
Kirk and Kobe
The event’s luxury and glamour will contrast with the grief enveloping Los Angeles over the recent deaths of Golden Age film legend Kirk Douglas and Oscar-winning basketball star Kobe Bryant.
Both titans have been added to a hastily re-edited “in memoriam” montage honoring those Hollywood lost this year, with Billie Eilish expected to provide a moving musical accompaniment.
Park So-dam (left) and Choi Woo-shik in “Parasite”
The record Grammy-winning singer, who will soon voice the new James Bond theme, is one of several high-profile musical guests on a night when all five nominated songs will be performed.
Elton John, tipped to win for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman,” will feature, as will Cynthia Erivo — the only non-white acting nominee, who also sang and wrote the theme to antislavery biopic “Harriet.”
No female directors were nominated this year.
Irish maestro Eimear Noone will become the first woman to conduct the Oscars orchestra, but diversity among guest hosts and performers is unlikely to assuage anger over this year’s nominations.
“I wouldn’t call it #OscarsSoWhite but I’d say it’s #Oscars¬AsUsual,” Deadline awards columnist Pete Hammond told AFP.
“It looks like the Oscars could have been 30 years ago.”
The same four stars
The Oscars in the acting categories — usually a subject of agonizing deliberation for industry pundits — appear settled, with the same four stars sweeping up rave reviews and prizes all season.
Joaquin Phoenix and Renée Zellweger are believed to be far ahead of the competition for best actor and best actress.
Phoenix underwent a striking transformation to portray the title comic book supervillain in “Joker” — as did Zellweger to play legendary Hollywood diva Judy Garland in “Judy.”
Tinseltown favorites Brad Pitt and Laura Dern have their fingertips on the supporting acting prizes, for their work as a laid-back stuntman (“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”) and a cutthroat divorce lawyer (“Marriage Story”).
“I just don’t see where there’s wiggle room when it comes to the acting categories,” said Malkin.
More fiercely contested will be the awards for best screenplay, editing and visual effects, with movies from Nazi satire “Jojo Rabbit”to period drama “Little Women” and even superhero epic “Avengers: Endgame”all in the mix.
The ceremony will go on without a host for a second consecutive time, after last year’s batch of bright guest presenters caused a trend-bucking uplift in TV ratings.
The gala begins at 5 p.m. in Los Angeles (0100 GMT, 0900 PHT Monday).