Oscars 2022 – live: Academy Award winners as Amy Schumer shocks with Leonardo DiCaprio joke

Yes, it’s that time of year again – the 2022 Oscars are finally upon us!

The Academy Awards are taking place at this very moment, with films including The Power of the Dog, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza and Coda battling it out in the big categories.

So far, West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose has won Best Supporting Actress, giving an impassioned speech about sexuality, race and identity.

Dune is also hoovering up wins, taking home awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Editing so far.

This year’s show is being presented by not one, not two, but three presenters in the forms of Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.

Controversially, eight awards categories were announced in the hour before the ceremony actually began, and so far are being choppily edited into the televised show. In a ceremony already beset by strange choices, this is so far the most uneasy.

We’ll be keeping you up to date with all the latest awards, jokes and developments from the night in our live blog below...

Key Points

• Full list of the 2022 Oscar nominees as this year’s ceremony gets closer

• Sean Penn calls for boycott and promises to ‘smelt’ his awards if Zelensky not allowed to speak

• Who will win and who should win at Sunday’s Oscars?

02:07 , Adam White

Oh god. Here’s the “Top 5 Most Cheer-Worthy Moment” rundown, based on... Twitter? This was one of the Academy’s weird innovations this year, where “Film Twitter” determined particularly memorable/meaningful moments in film history.

They are: “bullet-time” from The Matrix, Jennifer Hudson wailing in Dreamgirls, the Avengers assembling in Avengers: Endgame, various Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home and, for some reason, The Flash doing something uninteresting in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Love this for the Oscars. Great job, everyone.

02:04 , Adam White

“I’m so proud to be a part of a film that puts beautiful, diverse characters front and centre,” says producer Yvett Merino.

02:03 , Adam White

And the Best Animated Feature Oscar goes to... ENCANTO!

02:02 , Adam White

Lily James, Halle Bailey and Naomi Scott – linked by playing live-action versions of Disney princesses (was Emma Watson not available?) – are here for a bit of Oscar/ABC/Disney synergy and announcing the Best Animated Feature category...

02:00 , Adam White

If anyone missed Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes referencing Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill earlier...

01:55 , Adam White

In other news, hacking down awards speeches in favour of Tony Hawk, Shaun White and Kelly Slater presenting a montage of James Bond clips was certainly a choice.

01:53 , Adam White

Hans Zimmer took home the Oscar for Best Score for Dune earlier tonight, but wasn’t in LA to collect it himself.

Instead he’s tucked up in bed in Amsterdam. Good for him!

01:50 , Adam White

Ooh, some booing as one of the Dune special effects team gets cut off by music. He then returns to say thanks, to cheers from the crowd. Good for him!

01:47 , Adam White

And it’s another Dune victory, with the film winning Best Visual Effects.

01:47 , Adam White

“Growing up in Australia, I never thought I’d be here,” says Best Visual Effects presenter Jacob Elordi.

“And I never thought I’d be here six days ago,” replies West Side Story star and famously invitation-snubbed Rachel Zegler. “Dreams really do come true!”

That was cute.

01:45 , Adam White

And we’re back, and they’re now editing the pre-recorded Best Documentary Short category into the live show, cutting director Ben Proudfoot’s speech to about 25 seconds.

01:37 , Adam White

And the Oscar for Best Cinematography goes to... Dune!

01:36 , Adam White

And we’ve already launched into a White Men Can’t Jump reunion between Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez and Woody Harrelson. Nostalgia!

01:35 , Adam White

Okay, so there’s a bit of strange editing going on here. While it looks as if Hall just introduced Brolin and Momoa, who then launched into the Best Sound category, that actually happened earlier. Which explains why the winners were rapidly on the stage before Momoa had even announced that Dune had won. Hmm.

01:33 , Adam White

“You’re gonna take your mask off, and your clothes, and I’ll need to give you a swab with my tongue,” Regina Hall says, of a handful of emergency PCR tests she needs to administer to Bradley Cooper, Timothee Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Jacob Elordi and Simu Liu.

She then proceeds to frisk Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa.

Give Regina Hall the world, to be honest.

01:25 , Adam White

Wonderful speech from DeBose, who calls herself an “openly queer Afro-Latina who found her strength in art”.

“For anybody who has ever questioned your identity, or found yourself in the grey spaces, I promise you this: there is indeed a place for us.”

01:24 , Adam White

“I’m so grateful that your Anita paved the way for tons of Anitas like me,” she says, of actor Rita Moreno, who originated her character of Anita in the original West Side Story. Moreno, too, won Best Supporting Actress in 1962 for the same role.

01:23 , Adam White

“Even in this weary world that we live in, dreams do come true,” DeBose says in her acceptance speech.

“Thank you Steven Spielberg, you’re stuck with me now!”

01:22 , Adam White

And the Oscar goes to... Ariana DeBose!

01:19 , Adam White

It’s Best Supporting Actress time!

01:17 , Adam White

In her solo monologue, Schumer jokes: “We’re celebrating many couples tonight: Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Penelope [Cruz] and Javier Bardem, Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal.”

“So many great movies this year... Don’t Look Up. Otherwise known as, Academy members: Don’t look up reviews!”

“Leonardo DiCaprio has done so much for climate change, and wanting to leave a cleaner, greener planet for his girlfriends.”

01:14 , Adam White

“I’m Amy Schumer, or as they know me in Hollywood: ‘Melissa McCarthy said no’”

01:14 , Adam White

A brief, safe opening monologue by our three hosts, which built on the niceties teased by Hall on the red carpet earlier. We had references to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and the excising of those eight categories, but it otherwise lacked a bit of bite, didn’t it?

01:11 , Adam White

Wanda Sykes on The Power of the Dog: “I watched that movie three times, and I’m half way through it”

01:10 , Adam White

This year’s snubs? “Lady Gaga and Jared Leto for ‘House of Random Accents’”

“What’s in the ‘In Memoriam’ category this year? The Golden Globes”

01:08 , Adam White

“This year, the Academy got three women to host, because it’s cheaper than hiring one man,” Schumer jokes. “I am representing unbearable white women who call the cops when you’re getting too loud.”

01:07 , Adam White

And now we have DJ Khaled introducing hosts Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes. Sure!

01:06 , Adam White

As openings go, this is very impressive. A tennis court in shocking yellow-green, Beyoncé being Beyoncé.

01:02 , Adam White

With a Beyonce performance!

01:01 , Adam White

And we’re off!

Monday 28 March 2022 00:57 , Adam White

So we’re a few minutes away from Oscar kick-off, and already the mood is a bit uncomfortable. Eight apparently lesser categories have been announced off-camera, and four of them won by one of the few big Oscar movies this year that tons of people have seen.

Fingers crossed this is an early hiccup for an otherwise seamless night.

Monday 28 March 2022 00:47 , Adam White

So here’s where we stand ahead of the actual ceremony beginning, with the eight categories announced off-camera...

Best Makeup and Hairstyling The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best Production Design Dune

Best Film Editing Dune

Best Music (Original Score) Dune

Best Short Film (Live Action) The Long Goodbye

Best Short Film (Animated) The Windshield Wiper

Best Documentary (Short Subject) The Queen of Basketball

Best Sound Dune

Monday 28 March 2022 00:38 , Adam White

Best Hair and Makeup, by the way, has just gone to The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Expected! But questionable!

Monday 28 March 2022 00:36 , Adam White

A lot of understandable confusion on Twitter about these non-televised awards. Dune is sweeping, Riz Ahmed just won his first Oscar for the Best Live Action Short winner The Long Goodbye, and we saw absolutely none of it.

This is going well!

Monday 28 March 2022 00:31 , Adam White

Another Oscar for Dune, this time for Best Production Design.

That’s four in total for Dune at this stage, following on from Best Sound, Best Editing and Best Score.

Monday 28 March 2022 00:30 , Adam White

Earlier tonight, Rita Moreno sparked hilarity on the red carpet by going gaga over her own appearance. Check that out here...

Monday 28 March 2022 00:27 , Adam White

Some more awards that have been handed out behind-the-scenes:

Best Live Action Short goes to The Long Goodbye, Best Score goes to Dune, and Best Editing for Dune.

For those counting, that leaves Dune top of the pile at this very early stage of the night, with three Oscars in total.

Monday 28 March 2022 00:25 , Adam White

Wacky bit of trivia courtesy of the characteristically dry Sky coverage of the red carpet in the UK: The Power of the Dog marks actor Jesse Plemons’ sixth appearance in a Best Picture nominee in seven years! For those keeping track, that’s Judas and the Black Messiah, The Irishman, Vice, The Post and Bridge of Spies. Shamefully, not Game Night, but that’s the Oscars for you.

Monday 28 March 2022 00:19 , Adam White

A quick Jada Pinkett Smith interlude before we return to regular service...

Monday 28 March 2022 00:14 , Adam White

The Oscar for Best Animated Short goes to... The Windshield Wiper.

Monday 28 March 2022 00:12 , Adam White

Next up: the award for Best Documentary Short goes to The Queen of Basketball.

Again, these awards aren’t being televised.

Monday 28 March 2022 00:10 , Adam White

For a further bit of background, the Academy are being very cagey with these off-camera awards. Even journalists in the official Oscar press room aren’t able to watch them get announced, meaning only those gathered in the Dolby Theatre itself will watch them in their entirety. Weird, right?

Monday 28 March 2022 00:07 , Adam White

Off-camera, the first Oscar of the night has been announced!

Winning Best Sound is Dune. We’ll presumably see a snippet of the acceptance speech in the show itself. Then again, maybe we won’t?

Monday 28 March 2022 00:05 , Adam White

True to form, nominee Bradley Cooper has brought his mother along as his date.

Fun fact! Tonight marks Cooper’s ninth ever Oscar nomination – for producing Best Picture nominee Nightmare Alley – and his fourth for producing. He was previously nominated in 2020 for producing Joker, in 2019 for producing A Star Is Born, and in 2015 for producing American Sniper.

Monday 28 March 2022 00:01 , Adam White

So while we’re all stuck watching the red carpet, the show is actually starting inside LA’s Dolby Theatre – only we won’t see the next hour of awards in their entirety. Amid massive controversy, eight categories are being announced privately, with the acceptance speeches of their respective winners due to be cut together for a quick montage during the televised ceremony.

The eight categories are: documentary short subject, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short film, live-action short film, and sound.

It’s led to fierce backlash within Hollywood, so expect it not to go unmentioned later on tonight...

Sunday 27 March 2022 23:52 , Adam White

Last year’s Best Actor winner Anthony Hopkins hasn’t hit the red carpet yet, potentially because he’s still busy vamping at home...

Sunday 27 March 2022 23:49 , Adam White

Ariana DeBose’s trousers and Timothee Chalamet’s Strictly Come Dancing-esque toplessness are among tonight’s red carpet highlights so far, check out the best dressed here...

Sunday 27 March 2022 23:44 , Adam White

Need to know when tonight’s Oscars begin, depending on where you are in the world? Find out everything you need to know here...

Sunday 27 March 2022 23:40 , Adam White

A couple of different category running orders are floating around Twitter, each claiming to be verified, but officially tonight’s running order of awards is still under embargo. What we do know, though, is that Best Picture will be the very last award announced tonight, which fixes a strange misfire last year which saw the Best Actor prize close the night. Or, because winner Anthony Hopkins was overseas and very much asleep, an absent climactic speech before the show ended.

Sunday 27 March 2022 23:22 , Adam White

We’ve had our first fart anecdote of the night! And it involved Dame Judi Dench, so it’s truly the best kind of fart anecdote. According to her Belfast co-star Jude Hill, she was a dab hand at whoopee cushion pranks on the set of the film, which is up for a total of six awards tonight.

Read all about Dame Judi’s prank efforts here.

Sunday 27 March 2022 23:09 , Adam White

Earlier on the red carpet, Jamie Lee Curtis made what will likely be the first of many political statements tonight, holding aloft a blue ribbon decorated with the words “#WithRefugees”

She also paid tribute to the late Betty White during a red carpet interview, which you can read all about here.

Sunday 27 March 2022 23:04 , Adam White

And Laverne Cox is now chatting to another of tonight’s three hosts: Scary Movie legend Regina Hall!

Asked by Cox if she is planning on roasting anyone, Hall says: “Tonight is about fun! Anything we say, it won’t be anything that people won’t be able to laugh with.”

Sunday 27 March 2022 23:01 , Adam White

E! presenter Laverne Cox has been joined on the red carpet by one of tonight’s three hosts: comedian Wanda Sykes. Her response to being asked to host? “All right, yeah, sure – I’ll do it!”

As for what to expect from tonight, Sykes is keeping her cards close to her chest. “It’s been a great process, we’ve had a great time during rehearsals,” she told Cox.

Sunday 27 March 2022 22:57 , Adam White

So what can we expect from tonight’s show? As mentioned by Rosie Perez on the red carpet just now – if you’re watching E!, at least – we’re due a White Men Can’t Jump reunion between her and her co-stars Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. A Pulp Fiction reunion featuring John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson and Uma Thurman is also taking place.

Not happening? A Twilight reunion featuring Best Actress nominee Kristen Stewart, current Batman Robert Pattinson and perpetually MIA Taylor Lautner – that was merely a bit of fake news that went viral on Twitter last week.

Sunday 27 March 2022 22:50 , Adam White

So for anyone watching E! right now, Laverne Cox is speaking to one of the night’s more unusual presenters: the decidedly non-cinematic snowboarder Shaun White. The explanation? Apparently he’s here to introduce a tribute to James Bond stunts, which makes a bit of sense.

He’s also excited to see Jessica Chastain and That ‘70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama. Sure!

Sunday 27 March 2022 22:39 , Adam White

So, some quick essentials: for everyone in the UK, the Oscars kick off at 1am – that’s 8pm ET in the US. Which means we have quite a while before we actually get to the ceremony. In the meantime, I’ll be glued to the E! network’s red carpet coverage, because I am a masochist. Enjoy!

Sunday 27 March 2022 22:29 , Adam White

Hey Oscar watchers! This is Adam and I’ll be keeping you company through the long night ahead. I’ll be on hand to report back each and every award, memorable gag or palpable bit of cringe from tonight’s ceremony, which will serve as a final resting place for the longest awards season in awards season history. Or at least what feels like it.

Sunday 27 March 2022 21:45 , Isobel Lewis

If you’re staying up to watch tonight’s Oscars from the UK, then good on you!

We understand timezones can be a bit tricky to wrap your head around (especially with the clocks going forward last night), so have put together a handy guide below with everything you need to know to tune in!

The Oscars’ three-headed host idea puts its presenters in an impossible position

Sunday 27 March 2022 21:15 , Isobel Lewis

With Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes all hosting tonight’s show together, this will be the first Oscars to have three permanent hosts in years.

However, Louis Chilton argues, putting three Academy Award first-timers all on tomorrow might be a recipe for disaster.

The Oscars’ three-headed host idea puts its presenters in an impossible position

What do you think? Let us know in the comments

Sunday 27 March 2022 20:45 , Isobel Lewis

Throwing your own Oscars party? The Academy has the perfect bingo card to get you sorted.

The words “impromptu dance moments” are setting me out in a cold sweat, so lets hope for as few of those as possible...

Sunday 27 March 2022 20:15 , Isobel Lewis

Paul Thomas Anderson’s coming-of-age adventure Licorice Pizza is another contender for Best Picture.

She may have been snubbed from the Best Actress category (#JusticeForAlana), but Alana Haim successfully used the film to make her move from musician to movie star.

You can read our interview with her below...

Alana Haim: ‘All the big loves of my life have been a f***ing rollercoaster’

Sunday 27 March 2022 19:45 , Isobel Lewis

If there’s one group who are excited for the awards show, it’s Beyoncé fans.

The singer will be performing her track “Be Alive” from the King Richard soundtrack, which is nominated for Best Original Song.

Sunday 27 March 2022 19:15 , Isobel Lewis

Tonight’s show could also see a number of couples potentially take home individual awards.

Both Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons (who are engaged) are nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively for The Power of the Dog.

Up for the Best Actress category is Penélope Cruz for Parallel Mothers, while her husband of 12 years Javier Bardem is also nominated for Best Actor for Being the Ricardos.

Talk about power couples...

Sunday 27 March 2022 18:45 , Isobel Lewis

We’re all now used to that trademark “hurry up” music when an actor’s speech goes on too long, but did you know that the longest Oscars speech of all time was a whopping four minutes long?

Greer Garson, who was named Best Actress for her role in Mrs Miniver, was responsible for the address, which you can find out more about at the link below.

The story behind the longest Oscars acceptance speech of all time

Sunday 27 March 2022 18:15 , Isobel Lewis

Tonight could also be the night that Kirsten Dunst wins her first Oscar.

Shockingly, theVirgin Suicides star has never even been nominated before, but stands in good stead after getting a nod for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Power of the Dog.

Check out our interview with her below...

Kirsten Dunst: ‘The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme’

Sunday 27 March 2022 17:45 , Isobel Lewis

This year’s Best Picture nominees are: CODA, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog andWest Side Story.

Which one of them will be joining this illustrious groups of former winners? You’ll have to wait and see...

Every single Best Picture winner in the history of the Oscars

Sunday 27 March 2022 17:15 , Isobel Lewis

The troublesome trio of Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes will be presenting tonight’s Academy Awards, joining a long line of hosts.

It’s been three years since the Oscars had a proper host, after Kevin Hart stepped down in 2019 following backlash to a series of homophobic tweets.

However, not all Oscar hosts are created equal – for every Billy Crystal, you have the car crash that was Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

Read below to see the very best and worst Oscars hosts of all time.

The 5 best and 5 worst Oscars hosts of all-time

Sunday 27 March 2022 16:45 , Isobel Lewis

Tonight’s ceremony will be taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The ceremony has been held there since 2002, when the Hollywood location was known as the Kodak Theatre.

However, last year’s Academy Awards were presented for the first time at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles, utilising a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces due to the pandemic.

Sunday 27 March 2022 16:15 , Isobel Lewis

If The Power of the Dog wins for Best Director (as the bookies think it will), it’ll make Jane Campion only the third woman to win the prize.

She will follow Chloe Zhao, who last year took home the statue for her film Nomadland. Zhao was also the first non-white woman to be named Best Director.

Nomadland won for Best Picture as well, while its star Frances McDormand was given the prize for Best Actress.

Want a recap on last year’s winners? Check out the link below.

Oscars 2021 winners: The full list

Sunday 27 March 2022 15:45 , Isobel Lewis

It’s been five years since the infamous mix-up that saw La La Land incorrectly announced as the winner of Best Picture rather than the real winner Moonlight.

Anyone else starting to feel really, really old?

Jessica Chastain shares post of appreciation for her fellow Best Actress nominees

Sunday 27 March 2022 15:20 , Isobel Lewis

This year’s Best Actress category is looking to be one of the tightest competitions of the night, with no clear frontrunner.

Nobody knows this more than Jessica Chastain, who has shared a series of Instagram Stories heaping praise on her fellow nominees.

“Can we take a moment to appreciate these women I have the honour of being included with,” she wrote.

“@NicoleKidman lovingly introduced by to a side of Lucy [Ball] I wasn’t aware existed,” she wrote of Kidman’s performance in Being the Ricardos.

She then described Parallel Mothers’ Penelope Cruz’s performance as “unPARALLELED”.

To The Lost Daughters’ Olivia Colman, she wrote: “Hi, I’m obsessed with you and your ginormous talent. This performance is everything.”

“Kristen Stewart shocked me with her nuanced and heartfelt performance,” she said of the actor’s turn as Princess Diana in Spencer.

Chastain is nominated for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Sunday 27 March 2022 14:45 , Isobel Lewis

A new category will be making an appearance at this year’s Oscars, in the form of the #FanFavourite online pole.

Every film released from 1 March to 31 December 2021 is eligible for votes, with fans able to vote up to 10 times a day for their favourite films.

The winning film will be announced on the night and with fans voting, it’s likely to be something a little different to the rest of the nominees.

Early reports suggested that Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead and Amazon’s Cinderella starring Camila Cabello were in the lead, but we’ll have to wait and see!

Sunday 27 March 2022 14:13 , Isobel Lewis

Now we all love a bit of Oscar trivia, but did you know that a Dundee United football player was also an Academy Award winner?

Sunday 27 March 2022 13:15 , Isobel Lewis

For all the times the Oscars got it right when it came to choosing their winners, there have definitely been a few duds over the years...

Despite the recent victories of Parasite and Nomadland, the Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be – a celebration of the previous year’s cinematic offerings. But his does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints.

Click below to see 17 films that didn’t deserve their Academy Awards and what should have won instead...

17 films that should never have won Oscars, from Chariots of Fire to Crash

Sunday 27 March 2022 12:45 , Isobel Lewis

Nice to know the Academy is as excited as we are...

Sunday 27 March 2022 12:15 , Isobel Lewis

Want to see all the films, performers and creatives nominated at this year’s Oscars? Well, do we have a comprehensive list for you!

The Power of the Dog is leading the pack with 12 nominations, with Dune following close behind with 10.

See all the nominees below!

Full list of the 2022 Oscar nominees as this year’s ceremony gets closer

Sunday 27 March 2022 11:45 , Isobel Lewis

Despite starring in Don’t Look Up as an Musk/Bezos hybrid figure, Mark Rylance will not be attending tonight’s Oscars.

According to him, the event is “actually really boring”, saying: “I don’t think awards are a serious marker of what the greatest or most inspiring things are, but it’s nice to be celebrated.”

Sunday 27 March 2022 11:16 , Isobel Lewis

One of the most controversial films among the Best Picture nominees is Adam McKay’s love-it-or-loathe-it comedy Don’t Look Up.

The film, which divided critics and viewers alike, takes place at a time when a comet is crashing to Earth.

In her four-star review, Clarisse Loughrey praised the film, adding: “There’s nothing subtle about Don’t Look Up.”

Read the full review below...

Jennifer Lawrence is back to business in punchy, funny satire Don’t Look Up – review

Sunday 27 March 2022 10:47 , Isobel Lewis

It’s T-minus 15 hours until the Academy Awards finally air!

If you’re wondering how to tune in in the UK, check out our handy guide below!

When is this year’s Oscar ceremony and how can you watch it?

Sunday 27 March 2022 10:01 , Isobel Lewis

Up for Best Picture tonight is Belfast, Kenneth Branagh’s black-and-white epic about growing up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

In her three-star review, Clarisse Loughrey said that Belfast was “a twinkly-eyed childhood memoir... rigorously fashioned to be an Oscar frontrunner”.

Read the full review below.

Sunday 27 March 2022 09:44 , Isobel Lewis

One figure who appears not to be making an appearance at this year’s ceremony is Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Last week, Oscars host Amy Schumer claimed that her request to have the politician address the star-studded gathering was rejected.

Now, Sean Penn has called for his inclusion in the ceremony, saying that all attendees should walk out if it turns out he wasn’t asked.

Read more below...

Sean Penn calls for Oscars boycott if Zelensky not allowed to speak in ceremony

Sunday 27 March 2022 09:01 , Isobel Lewis

As we get closer to the ceremony, it remains to be seen who will make it to the show and who will stumble at the final, Covid-y hurdle.

Last night, Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted that he wouldn’t be there to cheer on Encanto and tick, tick... boom! after his wife tested positive for Covid.

We’re sure he will be majorly missed!

Sunday 27 March 2022 08:42 , Isobel Lewis

This year’s Oscars ceremony features a number of firsts, including a first ever nomination for Bhutan for Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.

Find out more about Pawo Choyning Dorji’s film below...

How Bhutan’s Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom made Oscar history

Sunday 27 March 2022 08:01 , Isobel Lewis

Clarisse Loughrey thinks that CODA should be named Best Picture, writing: “Those who dismiss it do so largely because they see it as a shallow crowd-pleaser.

“But the label only fits if you’re faithfully tied to the assumption that any expression of sentimentality should be equated automatically with naivete. There’s nothing slight or simplistic about CODA.”

Read more below...

Why feel-good favourite CODA should win the Oscar for Best Picture

Sunday 27 March 2022 07:01 , Isobel Lewis

If you’re interested in what the bookies (and our very own Adam White) are thinking will win, should win, and should have got a look in at this Sunday’s awards, check out our comprehensive guide below.

Who will win and who should win at Sunday’s Oscars?

Sunday 27 March 2022 06:01 , Isobel Lewis

So The Power of the Dog has long been the frontrunner for this year’s Best Picture prize – but some surprising headlines have suggested that things could change at the last minute.

Bookies’ have slashed the odds for CODA, a film starring Emilia Jones as the child of two deaf parents, to take home the big prize on the night.

The film won big at the Screen Actors Guild awards, Hollywood Critics Association film awards, and the Writers Guild Awards.

However, pundits are looking to its win at the Producers Guild of America awards – which is significant because the PGAs utilise the same “preferential ballot” voting structure as the Oscars.

The Power of the Dog remains the favourite to win Best Picture, but with Coda’s odds now cut, in some places to as low as 11/10, it’s all very much up in the air.

Sunday 27 March 2022 05:01 , Isobel Lewis

As well as all the prizes, Sunday’s televised ceremony will feature performances from the artists nominated for Best Original Song.

In 2022, that’s a pretty starry line-up, with performances from Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Sebastián Yatra and Reba McEntire.

Oscars producer Will Packer has been teasing Beyoncé’s performance, saying that her rendition of “Be Alive” from King Richard will be “a performance that we will talk about for years to come”.

Sunday 27 March 2022 04:01 , Isobel Lewis

Somewhat surprisingly, Cumberbatch has never actually won an Oscar before.

The British actor was nominated for the 2014 film The Imitation Game, but lost out to Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything.

He’s not the only, or by any means most surprising actor not to have been given an Academy Award. Did you know that Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close and Saoirse Ronan are yet to take home that gold statue?

For more stars who’ve always missed out on Oscars, read below...

The 26 actors you’d assume have won Oscars – but haven’t

Sunday 27 March 2022 03:01 , Isobel Lewis

The cast of The Power of the Dog responded to Elliot’s comments, with Cumberbatch saying that they were “very odd”.

Director Campion went further, calling the actor “a bit of a b****” and adding: “He’s not a cowboy; he’s an actor.”

“The west is a mythic space and there’s a lot of room on the range,” she said. “I think it’s a little bit sexist… I consider myself a creator and I think he sees me as a woman or something lesser first. And I don’t appreciate that.”

If Campion wins for Best Director, she will be only the third woman to do so.

Sunday 27 March 2022 02:01 , Isobel Lewis

However, one person who might not be so happy to see The Power of the Dog win is Sam Elliott, who made headlines earlier this month for comments made about the film.

The veteran actor called Campion’s movie a “piece of s***”, taking issue with the film’s “allusions to homosexuality”.

“What the f*** does this woman from down there [New Zealand] know about the American west?” he said. “Why the f*** did she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana? And say this is the way it was?”

Sunday 27 March 2022 00:01 , Isobel Lewis

The Independent’s Geoffrey Macnab gave The Power of the Dog a four-star review in November, calling it one of Benedict Cumberbatch’s best performances.

“Benedict Cumberbatch re-confirms his chameleon-like qualities, giving one of his finest screen performances yet in a very unlikely role in Jane Campion’s new Netflix-backed film, The Power of the Dog,” he wrote.

“The ever-versatile British actor here plays Phil, a rugged, brutal, dirt-encrusted American cowboy who wears boots with big stirrups and never washes. ‘I stink and I like it,’ he declares at one stage.”

Saturday 26 March 2022 23:31 , Isobel Lewis

The long-time frontrunner at this year’s ceremony, Jane Campion’s Western The Power of the Dog is also up for Best Picture.

Jane Campion’s western has earned 12 nominations and, according to Leonie Cooper, should take home the big award on the night.

“The Power of the Dog is a film that takes its time,” she wrote. “What at first might be mistaken for a rather plodding pace is in fact Campion flexing her Frank Lloyd Wright muscles, using compression and release in the same way as the acclaimed architect did with his grand 1920s homes.”

Read more below...

Why Jane Campion’s startling, simmering The Power of the Dog should win Best Picture

Saturday 26 March 2022 23:01 , Isobel Lewis

The main ceremony may not be taking place until Sunday, but Academy Awards weekend kicked off on Friday with the honorary Oscars taking place.

Samuel L Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann receive honorary awards, while Danny Glover took home the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Saturday 26 March 2022 22:31 , Isobel Lewis

In her four-star review of King Richard, Clarisse Loughrey said that the film had cemented Will Smith as “a true movie star”.

For all that transformation (there’s even a Louisiana accent in play), what actually makes Smith such a ferocious asset to King Richard is the one thing that couldn’t be scrubbed out,” she wrote.

“He is a true movie star in an age where there are diminishingly few – and with that comes a certain sense of command, a largeness to his presence that reaches beyond the confines of the film itself.”

Will Smith is a true movie star in King Richard – review

Saturday 26 March 2022 22:01 , Isobel Lewis

Will Smith is nominated at this year’s Oscars for King Richard and plenty of people are rooting for him to win the accolade of Best Actor.

The biopic about Serena and Venus Williams’ father is also up for Best Picture, which Adam White writes should win.

“Richard serves as a proper actor’s showcase, Smith sourcing the character’s inner turmoil and outward bombast,” he writes.

“It’s his best performance in years, and a rare bit of actor/character alchemy for an A-lister who often finds it hard to disappear into his roles.”

Read more below...

Why King Richard and Will Smith deserve to win the Best Picture and Best Actor Oscars

Saturday 26 March 2022 21:31 , Isobel Lewis

While we’ll be watching the Academy Awards from the comfort of our sofas, this year’s nominees are going to be picking up some serious swag.

All nominees will receive a goodie bag containing a plot of land in the Scottish Highlands and its accompanying title.

That means that Will Smith, Kristen Stewart and co can soon be known as Lord and Lady of Glencoe – yes, really!

The plots are supplied by Highland Titles, which offers buyers anything from one to 100 square feet of land, and promises to support nature reserves in the region with the funds raised.

Saturday 26 March 2022 21:01 , Isobel Lewis

For what it’s worth, when it comes to the origins of the Oscars name, I’m in agreement with this tweet...

What’s in a name?

Saturday 26 March 2022 20:31 , Isobel Lewis

One question that comes up every Academy Awards regards the nickname – the “Oscars” – and where it came from.

A few theories circulate, respectively involving Bette Davis, a Hollywood columnist and the Academy librarian’s uncle.

Read below to find out the rumoured origins of that gold statues nicknames.

Where the Oscars gets its beloved nickname from

Saturday 26 March 2022 20:01 , Isobel Lewis

Whichever film takes home Best Picture will be joining a long list of timeless and, erm, not so timeless films.

In fact, there are a fair few Academy Award winners that haven’t aged that well, ranging back from Gone with the Wind in 1939 to the uber-recent Green Book in 2018.

Read below to see 10 Oscar-winning films that were too problematic for their own good...

10 Oscar-winning films that are problematic in 2022

Saturday 26 March 2022 19:31 , Isobel Lewis

So who else is up for the Best Picture award? We also have Denis Villeneuve’s Dune which, if named, would be the first sci-fi film to win the top prize.

The Independent’s Tom Murray has argued Dune’s case, writing: “A sci-fi movie has never won the top prize at the Oscars. The original Star Wars in 1977 came closest over four decades ago, but was beaten by Woody Allen’s Annie Hall.

“History is due to be repeated on Sunday, when the Best Picture gong will likely go elsewhere, and not to one of the most popular films of the year. Whatever happens on the night, though, at least everyone involved in Dune will be able to say: ‘People actually went to see it.’”

Dune deserves to be the first sci-fi film to win Best Picture at the Oscars

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website