Protests over Israel-Gaza war snarl traffic outside Oscars theatre

Stars are arriving at the 96th Academy Awards, where protests over Israel’s war in Gaza are taking place near the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Scattered demonstrations were held in the vicinity around the Oscars on Sunday. Los Angeles police, which had expected protests, strengthened their already extensive presence. The Dolby Theatre and the red carpet leading into it are cordoned off for several blocks in every direction, though protesters disrupted traffic for some making their way to the awards.

Among the early arrivals on Sunday were Jamie Lee Curtis, last year’s best supporting actress winner, Barbie actor Simu Liu, Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin and members of the Osage Nation, who will join Scott George to perform Wahzhazhe from Killers of the Flower Moon.

The Oscars, kicking off at 7pm local time on Sunday, are springing forward an hour earlier than usual because of daylight saving time. But aside from the time shift, this year’s show is going for many tried-and-true Academy Awards traditions. Jimmy Kimmel is back as host. Past winners are flocking back as presenters. And a big studio epic is poised for a major awards haul.

Oppenheimer, the blockbuster biopic, is widely expected to overpower all competition – including its release-date companion, Barbie – at an election-year Oscars that could turn into a coronation for Christopher Nolan.

Still, much is circling around this year’s show. Aside from the Israel-Gaza war, the war in Ukraine will be on some attendees’ minds, particularly those of the journalist filmmakers behind the documentary favourite, 20 Days in Mariupol. And with the US presidential election in full swing, politics could be an unavoidable topic despite an awards season that has played out largely in a vacuum.

Hollywood also has plenty of its own storm clouds to concern itself with.

The 2023 film year was defined by a prolonged strike over the future of an industry that is reckoning with the onset of streaming, artificial intelligence and shifting audience tastes that have tested even the most bankable brands.

The academy, while also widely nominating films such as Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things, embraced both Oppenheimer, the lead nominee with 13 nods, and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, the year’s biggest hit with more than US$1.4 billion in ticket sales and eight nominations.

Report and letter signed by Oppenheimer up for auction ahead of Oscars

Five past winners in each acting category will together announce winners for the first time since 2009. Among the many announced presenters are: Michelle Yeoh, Zendaya, Al Pacino, Jennifer Lawrence, Steven Spielberg, Dwayne Johnson, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage and Bad Bunny.

All of the best original song nominees will be performed, including the most likely winner, What Was I Made For from Barbie, to be performed by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell.

The others are: I’m Just Ken, with Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson; The Fire Inside, from Flamin’ Hot, to be performed by Becky G; Jon Batiste’s It Never Went Away from American Symphony; and Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People), from Killers of the Flower Moon, to be performed by Scott George and the Osage Singers.

Oppenheimer, having won at the producers, directors and actors guilds, is the clear front-runner for best picture. The film is widely expected to win in a number of other categories, too.

Nolan is tipped to win his first best director Oscar, while Robert Downey Jnr (best supporting actor) and Cillian Murphy (best actor) are also predicted to win their first Academy Award. Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) could challenge Murphy.

Oscars 2024: predictions for Oppenheimer, best actor and screenplay and more

With the predicted Oppenheimer romp, the night’s biggest drama is in the best actress category. Emma Stone (Poor Things) and Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) are nearly even-odds to win. While an Oscar for Stone, who won for her performance La La Land, would be her second statuette, a win for Gladstone would make Academy Awards history. No Native American has ever won a competitive Oscar.

While Barbie bested (and helped lift) Oppenheimer at the box office, it appears likely it will take a back seat to Nolan’s film at the Oscars. Gerwig was notably overlooked for best director, sparking an outcry that some, even Hillary Clinton, said mimicked the patriarchy parodied in the film.

In the supporting actress category, Da’Vine Joy Randolph has been a lock all season for her performance in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers.

Composer John Williams, 92, is expected to attend the ceremony where he is nominated for the 49th time for best score, for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Meanwhile, Godzilla is going to the Oscars for the first time, with Godzilla Minus One notching a nomination for best visual effects.

Also for the first time, two non-English language films are up for best picture: the German-language Auschwitz drama The Zone of Interest and the French courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall. The Zone of Interest is the heavy favourite to win best international film.

Historically, having big films in the mix for the Oscars’ top awards has been good for broadcast ratings. The Academy Awards’ largest audience ever came when James Cameron’s Titanic swept the 1998 Oscars.

Last year’s ceremony, where a very different best-picture contender in Everything Everywhere All at Once triumphed, was watched by 18.7 million people, up 12 per cent from the year before. ABC and the academy are hoping to continue the upwards trend after all-time low in 2021, when 9.85 million watched a pandemic-diminished telecast relocated to Los Angeles’ Union Station.