Zoe Saldaña says the Oscars still feel like 'a dream come true'
Saldaña is no stranger to the Oscars red carpet, previously attending as a presenter or as part of films like “Avatar” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
But this year she is attending as a first-time Oscar nominee for her role as Rita Mora Castro in “Emilia Pérez.” For the occasion, she opted for a sculpted Saint Laurent dress.
“When I was part of films like 'Avatar,' 'Guardians of the Galaxy,'” Saldaña said, “I always felt fortunate to be here. That, as an artist, I get to make a living doing what I love.
"Today’s no different,” she added. “It is a dream come true. My inner child is really happy. It reignites this fire in me to continue telling stories.”
This could be Cynthia Erivo’s EGOT year
Cynthia Erivo is just an Oscar away from an EGOT, the coveted status granted to an exclusive group of artists who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.
Erivo has won a Tony and a Grammy for the Broadway show “The Color Purple,” in which she played Celie Harris. She also won a Daytime Emmy Award for a performance on "TODAY" with the show's cast.
Tonight, the Broadway star is nominated for best lead actress for the record-breaking film adaptation of “Wicked."
Erivo graced the Oscars red carpet wearing a show-stopping dress serving as a "nod to Oz, a nod to the green and a nod to old Hollywood."
She also said her hand-sculpted nails, which sometimes take up to five hours to do, are a "proper ode to Oz and the Emerald City."
Elle Fanning attends the Oscars for the first time
Fanning, 26, told E! Red Carpet host Zuri Hall this is her first time attending the Oscars even though fans have been seeing her on screen since she was a toddler.
The “A Complete Unknown” star opted for a classic look to walk her first Oscars red carpet, wearing a white Givenchy dress.
Asked about her upcoming project adapting Paris Hilton's memoir into a TV series with her sister, fellow actor Dakota Fanning, Elle said, "Working with my sister is on the bucket list."
Will Cynthia Erivo fly over the Dolby Theatre?
In a red carpet interview, Bowen Yang teased the highly anticipated "Wicked" performance could defy gravity — literally.
Variety's Marc Malkin shared his hope that star Cynthia Erivo would fly over the Dolby Theatre, to which Yang responded he'll "get something close."
"She's not going to be on a broom; she's not going to be above," he said. "She's going to be ... elevated."
'The Brutalist' director said he wanted to give audience 'a break' during film's intermission
In an interview with academy red carpet host Amelia Dimoldenberg, "The Brutalist" director Brady Corbet shared the reason behind the lengthy film's intermission.
"I mean, the film was just very long, so I wanted to give everyone a break," he said. "Also, you know, the film is set in the 1950s, and intermissions were much more common in the midcentury."
Dimoldenberg said she used the intermission as a bathroom and snack break.
"Hell yeah," Corbet responded.
'Wicked' actors Ethan Slater and Bowen Yang arrive
Slater and Yang were giving Boq and Pfannee vibes, respectively, on the Oscars red carpet.
E! Red Carpet host Zuri Hall asked Slater why Yang describes him as "adhesive," or a person who brings people together.
"I don’t think I've ever been described as 'adhesive,'" Slater said. "I think that Bowen is the person who brings people together."
Slater said one of his best on-set memories from filming "Wicked" were the group hugs the cast would give one another after they nailed the takes of "Dancing Through Life," he said.
Slater, who starred in "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical" in 2016, added that he is in his "Spongeboq" era.
Academy president confirms James Bond music tribute tonight
A special tribute to the iconic music of the long-running James Bond spy franchise will come to the Oscars stage tonight, academy President Janet Yang.
“The Bond tribute is going to be amazing,” she told Variety on the red carpet. “It’s going to be one of the highlights of the show.”
Yang did not provide many details. Variety first reported that the performance is meant to honor producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who received honorary Oscars Governors Awards in November for their work on the James Bond films.
Amazon MGM Studios, the tech giant’s film unit, announced last month that it plans to take “creative control” of the James Bond series under a new deal with Wilson and Broccoli.
Wilson said he was “stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects.” Broccoli said she felt like “it is time to focus on my other projects."
What it's like inside the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party
More than 100 celebrities are expected to attend this year’s Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party at West Hollywood Park.
On the menu? A burrata, garden tomato and arugula salad; a carrot lemongrass coconut soup; braised Korean short ribs or Pacific Mexican Sea bass; and two mousse offerings (chocolate and spring berry).
More celebrities are expected to pour in after the ceremony itself for an after-party that Chappell Roan will headline, according to a news release for the event.
According to Variety, John himself is expected to "spend the first part of the evening at the Oscar ceremony, because he is nominated for best original song ‘Never Too Late’ from his Disney+ documentary of the same name."
The viewing party, which is in its 33rd year, raises money to support EJAF’s mission to end AIDS.
Many of this year’s films have political messages. Will the awards get political, too?
It's no surprise that awards shows can get political, especially when a handful of the nominated films have themes that resonate in the current climate.
“The Apprentice,” which charts President Donald Trump’s rise to the top of Manhattan real estate under the tutelage of notorious fixer Roy Cohn, got two nominations in the acting categories for Sebastian Stan (who plays Trump) and Jeremy Strong (who plays Cohn). Last year, ahead of its release, Trump’s campaign said the film was “garbage.”
Speaking of Trump, it's unclear whether host Conan O'Brien will touch on the past six weeks since he started his second term. But nominees could veer into political discourse without mentioning Trump by name.
In the documentary category, two war-related films take center stage. “No Other Land,” which is about the Israeli government’s displacement of Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, is considered a lead contender.
“Porcelain War,” a documentary that follows Ukrainian artists in Kharkiv, near the Russian-Ukrainian border, amid the war, is also a buzzy nominee. During the 2024 Oscars, Mstyslav Chernov, the director of “20 Days in Mariupol,” gave a powerful acceptance speech saying he wished there had never been a reason to make the documentary in the first place.
In the best international picture race, Germany’s submission, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” was shot by Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof in secret before he had to flee Iran to avoid imprisonment. “I’m Still Here,” nominated in three categories, takes place during Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s.
Still, academy CEO Bill Kramer told CNN that he “absolutely” hopes the show steers clear of politics.
"We do talk to them [nominees] about keeping things focusing on the work, but this is really a moment for the artist to have for themselves," he said.
'Flow' writers sport custom suits with animated cat
Gints Zilbalodis, director and writer of the Oscar-nominated animated feature "Flow," is paying homage to the film's star on his suit.
In a post on X, Zilbalodis posed alongside co-writer and producer Matīss Kaža in custom jackets showcasing the cat featured in "Flow." The cat is shown both on his sleeves and inside the jacket.
"Flow," which follows the cat's journey through isolation to community after a flood, is nominated for best international film and best animated film. It took home the Golden Globe earlier this year.