Ahead of the star-studded gala, experts say the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring political thriller “One Battle” is tied with Michael B. Jordan’s bluesy vampire horror “Sinners,” while several acting awards are equally impossible to claim.
Either film could “break several Oscar records,” Variety awards editor Clayton Davis told AFP.
But until “the final envelope for best picture is opened, we won’t know who’s going to win.”
The ceremony, live on ABC and Hulu from 4:00 pm in Los Angeles (2300 GMT), will be hosted for the second year in a row by comedian Conan O’Brien and will feature live musical performances of “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Sinners.”
With political tensions rising and war in the Middle East, the Los Angeles police have beefed up security on the streets of Hollywood.
Within the cinema, both favorite films have the possibility of breaking the all-time Oscar record, shared with 11 between “Ben-Hur”, “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”
“Sinners,” the story of gangster twins who return home to a supernatural, segregated Deep South in the 1930s, has already made Academy Awards history with a whopping 16 nominations.
Ryan Coogler, previously known for “Black Panther,” could become the first black person to win best director in the 98-year history of the Oscars.
But “Sinners” will have to surpass “One Battle,” this season’s favorite, about a failed, off-grid revolutionary whose teenage daughter is being pursued by a white supremacist soldier in a time of immigration raids and political extremism.
Its director Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest auteurs of contemporary American cinema, but he has never won any of his 11 previous nominations for films such as “There Will Be Blood” and “Boogie Nights.”
One Oscar voter, who asked to remain anonymous because Academy members cannot reveal their votes, told AFP they voted for Anderson “because of her job,” but admitted the choice was “very difficult.”
“It’s about time. I think the Academy will honor” Anderson, they said.
“But that doesn’t mean Ryan Coogler isn’t equally deserving.”
Close races
While the best picture cliffhanger doesn’t happen every year, what’s really unusual this time around is the amount of uncertainty surrounding the acting awards.
Timothee Chalamet had long appeared as a lock to his aggressive ’50s ping-pong player in “Marty Supreme.”
But a series of ill-advised comments, most recently dismissing ballet and opera as art forms that “nobody cares about”, have sent the 30-year-old golden boy’s chances into a tailspin.
The anonymous voter said they try to ignore the controversy because “we honor work and not personality,” but predicted that Michael B. Jordan would win the “close race.”
The “Sinners” star plays twin roles as twin brothers and won the top Screen Actors Guild Actor Award this month, just before Oscar voting closed.
“This is a movie star performance that we don’t see very often,” said Davis, who also doesn’t rule out DiCaprio or Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”).
Awards for best actors are also up for grabs.
Sean Penn could win a third Oscar for his comedic but terrifying soldier in “One Battle.”
But he’s up against international arthouse favorite Stellan Skarsgard (“Sentimental Value”) and veteran Delroy Lindo, who earned his first Oscar nomination at age 73 for “Sinners.”
The supporting actress could see a rare horror villain role rewarded for Amy Madigan in “Weapons,” or go to “One Battle” revolutionary Teyana Taylor or “Sinners” healer Hoodoo Wunmi Mosaku.
The only sure thing seems to be best actress nominee Jessie Buckley, who plays William Shakespeare’s wife in “Hamnet.”
“He’s been a steamroller all season long. That’s the only thing he can take to the bank,” Davis said.
KPop, tributes to Redford
In the best international film award, the Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value” will compete with the surreal Brazilian political thriller “The Secret Agent.”
The annual in memoriam segment for recently deceased icons will honor Robert Redford, who died in September, and Rob Reiner, who was murdered in December.
Oscars producers declined to comment on reports that Barbra Streisand will sing a tribute to her “The Way We Were” co-star.
Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the singing voices behind the fictional “KPop Demon Hunters” girl group HUNTR/X, will perform the song “Golden” from the hit, Oscar-nominated Netflix film.
