On Sunday, the 2021 awards season will reach its climactic finale as celebrities from around the world will unite for the 93rd annual Academy Awards ceremony.
When the awards show airs
The 93rd annual Academy Awards ceremony will air live on ABC at 6 p.m. MDT on Sunday, April 25, ET Online reports.
ABC News adds that a 90-minute pre-show called “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” will air on the same channel starting at 4:30 p.m. MDT. The pre-show will feature live performances of the songs nominated for the Best Original Song.
How to watch the 2021 Academy Awards
The ceremony will air nationally on ABC through satellite and cable television providers. Cord cutters can tune in to the show through television streaming services like Hulu with Live TV, Sling, Fubo TV, YouTube TV and AT&T TV, ET Online reports.
Who’s hosting the Academy Awards?
As has been the case with the past two Academy Award ceremonies, this year’s event will not feature a single host, but instead a team of celebrity presenters.
Among the presenters are Joaquin Phoenix, Halle Berry, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon and director Bong Joon Ho, as well as Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett, Laura Dern, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Renee Zellweger, Rita Moreno, Zendaya and others, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Will the Oscars be awarded virtually like the Golden Globes?
Unlike other awards ceremonies held earlier this year, the Academy Awards show will not be virtual, USMagazine.com reports. According to the site, this year’s Oscars will take place at two locations in southern California. Guests and nominees will attend the event at Union Station in L.A. while other parts of the ceremony will air from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood (where the event is usually held).
In March, Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins, this year’s Oscars producers, published a letter stating:
“We are going to great lengths to provide a safe and ENJOYABLE evening for all of you in person, as well as for all the millions of film fans around the world, and we feel the virtual thing will diminish those efforts” (via USMagazine.com).
Major storylines
“Mank,” a Netflix movie about Herman J. Mankiewicz, the screenwriter behind “Citizen Kane,” is the most nominated film this year with 10 total nominations, ET Online reports.
Though “Mank” has the most nominations, The New York Times predicts that “Nomadland,” a smaller film starring Frances McDormand, will win Best Picture this year as it has already raked in major awards from the Producers Guild, the Directors Guild and the Golden Globes.
If Anthony Hopkins takes home the Oscar for his leading performance in “The Father,” he will be the oldest man to ever win the award, Entertainment Weekly reports. The site adds that if Riz Ahmed wins the award instead, he’ll became the first Muslim man to ever do so.
Two women received nominations in the Best Director category this year: Chloé Zhao for her work on “Nomadland” and Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman.” Entertainment Weekly reports that a win for either Zhao or Fennell would mark only the second time in Oscar history that a woman has won the award.
See the full list of nominations for the 93rd annual Academy Awards.