The 87th Academy Awards (Oscars) ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will honor the best films of 2014 and will take place, Sunday night, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles .
ABC, which has aired Hollywood’s biggest awards night every year since 1976, will again kick off its Oscars coverage Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. with the popular Neil Patrick Harris serving as the host of the program.
This year’s Best Picture really is a two film race between Birdman and Boyhood. Indeed Birdman could either soar into the Oscar night, or be just miss on several nominations, including Best Actor where Michael Keaton is in a fight with Englishman Eddie Redmayne. Birdman will get the Best Picture win and so will Keaton take home the Best Actor statue.
While, Birdman and Boyhood battle things out there are some Oscar races that are more like locks. You can bet the farm on, JK Simmons as Best Supporting Actor for Whiplash, Julianne Moore as Best Actress for Still Alice, and Patricia Arquette for Boyhood in the Best Supporting Actress role.
For Best Director it yet another Birdman against Boyhood battle and this one is even harder to call than the Best Picture race.
The Director’s Guild of America went to Birdman director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, but in 2012 they gave the prize to Ben Affleck, who was not even nominated for an Oscar. So I’m going to go for Richard Linklater, Boyhood’s director getting the nod, as consolation for missing out on best picture.
Best Original screenplay will go to The Grand Budapest Hotel, a great little movie that is worthy of the prize. Meanwhile, Best Adapted Screenplay will go to the other great little movie out there this year Whiplash. Here is a complete list of all of the nominations so you can make your own choices.
Opening the show with his “Moving Pictures,” Harris will host the annual event for the first time. Funny man Jack Black will have a special sequence, and newly engaged singer Lady Gaga will have a special tribute performance. Special performances from “American Idol” alum Jennifer Hudson and “Pitch Perfect 2” star Anna Kendrick are also in store.
Other singers who are set to perform this Sunday include John Legend and Common (“Glory” from “Selma”), Maroon 5 (“Lost Stars” from Begin Again), Tim McGraw (“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me) and Tegan and Sara and The Lonely Island (“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”).
Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this year’s Academy Awards is packed with outstanding movies of the year vying for a spot in the Best Picture category. The nominees were announced on Jan. 15 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills, California, with “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” scoring nine nods each.
This year’s presenters include Oscar 2014’s Best Actress winner Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”), who will be presenting the Best Actor award, and Best Actor winner Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club”), who will be presenting the Best Actress award. Last year’s Best Supporting Actor winner Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) is set to present the Best Supporting Actress award and 2014 Best Supporting Actress winner Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”) will present the Best Supporting Actor award.
Margot Robbie and Miles Teller are presenters for Academy Awards for Teachnical Achievement and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award. Meanwhile, “Magic Mike: XXL” star Channing Tatum is set to introduce the six winners of the Team Oscar contest. Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Jason Bateman, Idris Alba, Ansel Elgort, Kevin Hart, Terrence Howard, Josh Hutchherson, Scarlet Johansson, Viola Davies and Dakota Johnson are all presenters for Oscars 2014.