The much-anticipated 96th Academy Awards is finally here, as the world turns its gaze towards Hollywood tonight. We’re eagerly watching to see if Cillian Murphy will clinch the best actor’s Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer.
We’re also cheering on Poor Things, a film produced by Ireland’s Element Pictures, which is contending in 11 categories, including best picture. Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan, who lensed Poor Things, is on the list for best cinematography.
The grand event is set to start around 11pm Irish time at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and is predicted to have a duration of about three hours.
Broadcasting live from 10.15pm on ITV1—accessible via Saorview and Sky—is the awards show. Host Jonathan Ross will be guiding us through the event, accompanied by a glittering roster of guests.
Red carpet coverage isn’t available in Ireland, however, fashion enthusiasts can get their fix from posts on social media platforms.
This year’s Oscars anticipation has been pleasantly serene. Past ceremonies have seen their share of major controversies, but this year has been notably controversy-free. The only unexpected outcome was the “shutout” for Barbie, 2023’s blockbuster film that earned eight nominations but omitted director Greta Gerwig completely. However, the possibility of a controversy cannot be discounted—let’s not forget The Slap scenario.
During the downtime, we may reflect on some of the Oscars’ more unforgettable moments, of course, beginning with the globally infamous ‘Slap’.
In the whirl of Oscar-frenzy, the swag bag stands out as the craziest. This year it’s reported that the goodies for the top-tier celebs attending are worth an exorbitant $150,000. What’s included? Three holidays – one in a Swiss chalet, another in a wellness retreat near Hollywood, and a three-night stay in Saint Barts.
An array of skincare items, digestive aids, local applications for skin lightening, and microneedling components are available. We also provide nibble-sized gluten-free biscuits made from cashews, no-sugar-added cherry jellies, an experience of coconut sugar, along with spirits like tequila and gin, and also a protein-rich collagen-based beverage.
Customers can also find mobile seating solutions for handbags, mixing appliances, specialist grilling equipment and tailor-made sleep consultations. The budget-friendly range includes a tuning fork, 50th Anniversary Special Edition of the Rubik’s Cube, a book filled with popular cinema dialogues, a book inculcating empathy and goodwill for kids, themed postcards promoting intergenerational bonding, a heartrending memoir by Mark Daley about his difficult fostering period and Dr Stacie Stephenson’s self-care manual, Glow. The bag is up for grabs by the event’s presenter, the 20 nominees in acting categories, and the five best director aspirants.
We bring to you a major update. The grand red carpet has made a comeback, succeeding the short-lived champagne carpet that now finds its place in the Hollywood Boulevard dump. It was formally announced by the event organisers that the champagne carpet was a singular happening, specially introduced to avoid a colour clash with the tarpaulin shielding the celebrities from unanticipated bad weather.
Hello there! This is Conor Pope bringing to you live updates on the Oscars from The Irish Times. I will be at your service for the coming five to six hours, and by the end, we might be revelling wildly – or at least mildly – or possibly drowning our sorrows in gin.
No, there will not be any gin.
And hopefully no tears.
There are many mysteries to be unveiled, with the principal one being whether Cillian Murphy, the fourth Irishman ever to be nominated, will win an Oscar following the predictions of global bookmakers? We’ll also be keenly monitoring if Element Pictures, the creators of the film Poor Things, will be triumphant by the time the ceremony ends.
Besides that, the other significant recognitions including the best film, best director, best actress, best song, and numerous other awards will be distributed over the next five or so hours.
Before we delve into the score of the awards, there are some key issues to explore, such as outfits choices and the reasons behind them – and of course, the burning question, the colour of the red carpet is also in the mix.
You might dismiss this live news piece for having indulged in an early gin (trust me, no gin has been consumed), if you simply take it for granted that the red carpet must be red. But you’d be mistaken.
In an unexpected deviation from age old tradition last year, the orchestrators decided to roll out a champagne tinted red carpet. This generated mass confusion, and we are moments away from discovering if the red carpet reverts to its usual hue this year, or if the stars will once again walk the washed out beige shade.
Kindly hold tight. Please keep the noise down on set.