What time are the Oscars? And other important questions answered
The 2017 Academy Awards will air Feb. 26 at 8:30 p.m. EST with pre-show festivities beginning at 7 p.m. EST. (Feb. 24, 2017)
Pop the Champagne, shimmy into that gown and call the limo — it’s time for the Oscars, darling.
While the majority of us are more likely to call an Uber and cozy up on a friend’s couch in sweats to watch the ultra-glam event, that doesn’t change the fact that the 89th Academy Awards are Sunday.
What time does the show start? And on what channel?
The film industry’s marquee event, which will be hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, will air live on ABC starting at 5:30 p.m. Pacific.
Pre-show festivities, including “The Oscars: All Access,” will kick off on the network and online via live stream at 4 p.m. Pacific.
Who is hosting?
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” star Jimmy Kimmel will host, and will face the requisite adulation and scrutiny that accompany the high-profile gig. He also hosted last year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, making him the first person to have anchored the Emmys and the Oscars in the same cycle. (That’s partly because ABC has hosted both events.)
Although Kimmel’s average Joe shtick may seem contradictory to the tony affair, his work at the Emmys garnered quite a bit of praise. The comedian will likely incorporate political humor into his routine, but he doesn’t think it will dominate this year’s show.
The winners, on the other hand, might have a thing or two to say about the state of affairs. (We’re looking at you, Meryl Streep. The actress drew the ire of Donald Trump when she called him out at the Golden Globes a few weeks before he was sworn in as president last month.)
“You hear people say, ‘I’m sick and tired of people talking politics at awards shows,’ ” Kimmel told The Times earlier this week. “Well, I’m sick and tired of people talking about how sick and tired they are of people talking about politics at awards shows.”
The White House has already said that the president will likely be too busy to watch the show, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have some sort of reaction to it.
At the helm behind the scenes are Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd, who will produce the telecast for the first time. De Luca is a three-time Oscar nominee who produced “Captain Phillips,” “Moneyball” and “The Social Network,” and Todd is the Emmy-nominated producer who worked on such films as “Live by Night,” “Memento” and “Jason Bourne.” Glenn Weiss will direct the show for the second consecutive year.
Who are the nominees?
See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour »
Awards will be handed out in 24 categories during the telecast, and diversity is far more prevalent in this year’s class, with nonwhite actors nominated in every acting category. Meanwhile, Damien Chazelle’s musical, “La La Land,” dominated the nominations tally, pulling down 14, including for lead actor, lead actress, director and best picture.
In addition to “La La Land,” the best-picture nominees are: “Arrival,” “Fences, “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Hidden Figures,” “Lion,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight.”
The lead actor nominees are: Casey Affleck for “Manchester by the Sea,” Andrew Garfield for “Hacksaw Ridge,” Ryan Gosling for “La La Land,” Viggo Mortensen for “Captain Fantastic” and Denzel Washington for “Fences.”
The lead actress nominees are: Emma Stone for “La La Land,” Natalie Portman for “Jackie,” Ruth Negga for “Loving,” Meryl Streep for “Florence Foster Jenkins” and Isabelle Huppert for “Elle.”
On the directing front, the nominees are: Denis Villeneuve for “Arrival,” Mel Gibson for “Hacksaw Ridge,” Chazelle for “La La Land,” Barry Jenkins for “Moonlight” and Kenneth Lonergan for “Manchester by the Sea.”
OSCARS 2017: The complete list of nominees
Who’s going to win?
You want predictions? We’ve got ’em! Our resident awards expert, Glenn Whipp, breaks it down for you here:
“ ‘La La Land!’ Repeat it nine times. Add the dynamic duo from ‘Fences’ and sprinkle in a little ‘Moonlight.’ And then cut to Meryl, clapping and crying,” he writes.
Meanwhile, you can cast your vote in our play-at-home ballot, peruse past Oscar winners on our Academy Awards timeline and figure out how one actually goes about winning an Oscar with this nifty infographic.
Who’s presenting?
Past winners and actors from blockbusters and art-house films will walk the Dolby stage to pass out this year’s gilded statuettes.
Expected presenters include last year’s acting category winners: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Mark Rylance and Alicia Vikander. Joining them will be Amy Adams, Riz Ahmed, Javier Bardem, Halle Berry, John Cho, Jamie Dornan, Chris Evans, Gael García Bernal, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Dakota Johnson, Dwayne Johnson, Felicity Jones, Shirley MacLaine, Leslie Mann, Kate McKinnon, Janelle Monáe, David Oyelowo, Hailee Steinfeld, Emma Stone and Charlize Theron.
Will there be singing and dancing?
Why, yes, actually. With the academy giving out Oscars for original song and original score, you can expect to see those nominees perform too.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sting, Justin Timberlake and 2014 Oscar winner John Legend are set to perform. “Moana” voice actress Auli’i Cravalho will join Miranda to perform “How Far I’ll Go,” 17-time Grammy winner Sting will perform “The Empty Chair” from “Jim: The James Foley Story,” Timberlake will sing “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from “Trolls” and Legend, who won the original song Oscar for “Glory” from 2014’s “Selma,” will perform both “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “City of Stars” from “La La Land.”
Who are they wearing?
We’re not sure yet, but until we find out, test your sartorial knowledge by taking our Oscars fashion quiz here.
Fun facts for your viewing party
Because what would it be without a few truth bombs? Here are some tidbits to share with your fellow cinephiles:
- Kimmel is getting paid $15,000 to host the high-profile event.
- The show will be televised in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
- Sound mixer Kevin O’Connell, who worked on Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge,” is marking his 21st nomination. He holds the record for the most Oscar nods without a single win.
- The cost of a 30-second commercial during the Oscars telecast is $2.1 million. (That’s 58% less than the Super Bowl, according to WalletHub, which has compiled a whole list of fun facts.)
- The current value of the 24-karat gold-plated Oscar statuette is $696.
- The Oscars red carpet is 16,500 square feet and costs $30,000. (Makes Kimmel’s paycheck seem like a steal.)
- The Wolfgang Puck-catered Governors Ball will serve 7,500 shrimp,150 pounds of arugula and 2,550 macarons.
Looking for more to read? Click here for our complete coverage of the 2017 Oscars.
Follow me: @NardineSaad
ALSO
How to win an Oscar — Do you have what it takes?
Are the Oscars still #SoWhite? A look at the diversity among this year’s nominees
What this year’s Oscar-nominated producers say they’re doing to close Hollywood’s gender gap
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
