Canadians competing in top categories at tonight’s Oscars

By The Canadian Press

Canadians are well-positioned ahead of Hollywood’s biggest night, competing in some of the top categories at tonight’s Academy Awards.

Ontario-born filmmakers Sarah Polley and James Cameron are both vying for best picture for their movies “Women Talking” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

Polley is also in the running for best adapted screenplay for her take on Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel of the same name.

In the performance categories, Canadian-American actor Brendan Fraser is up for best leading actor for his role in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.”

Meanwhile, Toronto filmmaker Domee Shi’s “Turning Red” is competing for best animated feature, and Calgary-based Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis are nominated in the best animated short category with “The Flying Sailor.”

Two Canadians are in the running for best documentary feature: Montreal’s Ina Fichman is on the team nominated for the Canadian-U.S. film “Fire of Love,” and Toronto director Daniel Roher is nominated for “Navalny.”

In the technical categories, Montreal makeup artist Adrien Morot scored a nomination for best makeup and hairstyling for his work on “The Whale,” along with Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley.

Bryan Litson, who works out of the Vancouver office of the creative studio Framestore, is up for achievement in visual effects for his work on “Top Gun: Maverick” along with Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill and Scott R. Fisher.

The Oscars get underway at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Here’s everything else you need to know about tonight’s ceremony:

WHO’S HOSTING?

Jimmy Kimmel will host for the third time and his first time since 2018. That was also the last Oscars to feature a solo host. The show went hostless for several years after Kimmel’s last outing. Last year, Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes hosted as a trio. In an ad for this year’s show styled after “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kimmel made his humble case for being the right person for the job while noting that he can’t get slapped because “I cry a lot.”

WHAT’S NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE?

The 10 movies competing for best picture are: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Elvis,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Fabelmans,” “Tar,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Women Talking.” Here’s a guide to how you can watch them.

WHO’S PRESENTING?

Presenters include: Halle Bailey, Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek Pinault, Nicole Kidman, Florence Pugh and Sigourney Weaver. They join a previously announced group including: Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, Jennifer Connelly, Ariana DeBose, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Troy Kotsur, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monae, Deepika Padukone, Questlove, Zoe Saldana and Donnie Yen. A third wave was announced Thursday: Halle Berry, Paul Dano, Cara Delevingne, Harrison Ford, Kate Hudson, Mindy Kaling, Eva Longoria, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andie MacDowell, Elizabeth Olsen, Pedro Pascal and John Travolta.

WHAT ELSE IS IN STORE FOR THE SHOW?

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has said that winners to all categories will be announced live on the show. (Last year, some categories were taped in a pre-show, something that caused an uproar among academy members.) All signs point to a full slate of musical performances, with Rihanna performing “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava singing Chandrabose and M.M. Keeravaani’s “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR.” Nominee Lady Gaga, on the other hand, will not sing “Hold My Hand,” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” during the show. On Monday, show producers announced that Lenny Kravitz will deliver the “In Memoriam” performance.

WHO ARE THE FAVORITES?

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s indie sci-fi hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once” comes in with a leading 11 nominations. Close on its heels, though, is the Irish friends-falling-out dark comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin,” with nine nods, a total matched by Netflix’s WWI film “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) may have a slight edge on Cate Blanchett (“Tar”) for best actress. Best actor is harder to call, with Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) and Austin Butler (“Elvis”) in the mix. In the supporting categories, Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) and Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) are the frontrunners, though Jamie Lee Curtis’ Screen Actors Guild Awards win may have thrown a wrench into the supporting actress category. Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) may win his third best director Oscar, though the Daniels may have emerged as the frontrunners. AP Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle are predicting a big haul for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

WHAT’S BEEN CONTROVERSIAL THIS YEAR?

Aside from the usual snubs and surprises, this year’s biggest to-do has been the debate surrounding Andrea Riseborough’s unexpected nomination for best actress. Riseborough was nominated for the little-seen, Texas-set drama “To Leslie” after many A-list stars rallied around her performance. When two other best-actress contenders – Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) and Viola Davis (“Woman King”) – were snubbed, some saw that as a reflection of racial bias in the film industry. The academy launched an inquiry into the star-studded, grassroots campaign for Riseborough but found no reason to rescind her nomination.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR?

Just the reading of the title to one of this year’s short film nominees should prompt a wave of giggles. John Williams (“The Fabelmans”), up for best score, is the oldest nominee ever, at 90 years old. After historic back-to-back best-director wins by Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”) and Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”), no women were nominated this year for best director. Also don’t expect to see Will Smith at the Oscars anytime soon. After striking Chris Rock at last year’s ceremony, Smith was banned by the film academy from attending for 10 years. In a live Netflix special on Saturday, Rock finally punched back at Smith with a blistering stand-up set about the incident.

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