The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, recognizes the best in film from this past year and will take place on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
With so much controversy surrounding the Oscars again this year, the televised show is sure to be exciting. Famous African American comedian Chris Rock is hosting the show and is well aware of the controversy about the lack of diversity in these year’s nominees. I am excited to see how he will address this topic and how the crowd and current nominees will react to the jokes about the #OscarsSoWhite Twitter hashtag and conversation that has overshadowed the actual show and nominees’ fame.
Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said, “I’d like to acknowledge the wonderful work of this year’s nominees,” she said. “While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes.”
Top nominees include Leonardo Dicarpio, who is famously always the bridesmaid and never the bride at the Oscars after being nominated for an Oscar five times and never winning, is expected to take home his first gold statue Sunday night for Best Actor in The Revenant.
My predictions for all the top categories include “Spotlight” a movie about --- taking home Best Picture, beating out other box office blockbuster’s such as “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Martian” and “The Revenant.”
Brie Larson will most likely take home the trophy for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in “Room” beating out the likes of Cate Blanchett (Carol) and Oscar darling Jennifer Lawrence (Joy). Larson has been top award season winner taking home both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG) for her performance.
Alicia Vikander, who rose to fame for her performance in “The Danish Girl” is my prediction to win Best Actress in a Supporting role.
As for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, to whom Sylvester Stallone is nominated for “Creed” who won the Golden Globe for the same category may win against Mark Ruffalo, (Spotlight), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Christian Bale (The Big Short) and Tom Hardy (The Revenant).
Two standout nominations who defy the #OscarsSoWhite are Mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu’s nod for Best Director for “The Revenant” and R&B singer The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) who was nominated for best original song for ‘Earned It’ off the “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack.
The Oscars will air at 8:30pm Eastern Time on ABC.
