The wait is growing the Oscar evening which will be held in the Italian night between Sunday and Monday. There are many questions to which the experts are seeking an answer in drawing up the main themes of an edition, number 96, which is balanced and very uncertain. Will Oppenheimer make Oscar history? Who will win the race for best actress? And could Martin Scorsese go home empty-handed? Will everything be pink in honor of Barbie? These are the questions that spark the debate while waiting for the various envelopes to be opened. But let's go in order.
Record for Oppenheimer?
With 13 nominations, the portrait of the father of the atomic bomb is destined to go home with many statuettes. It's hard to imagine a number lower than 8, a 'very conservative' prediction according to Davis, which would make Christopher Nolan's film the most awarded since Slumdog Millionaire (2009). If it were to win the Oscar for best film, as many expected, it would become the third most profitable film – with a billion in takings worldwide – to win the Academy's highest award, behind “The Lord of the Rings”. : The Return of the King” and “Titanic”.
Barbie's tidal wave
Even though she might only win two minor Oscars, Barbie is expected to be present everywhere, on stage and behind the scenes, during the ceremony. Singer Billie Eilish and actor Ryan Gosling will also offer the public a moment of pure entertainment, performing some songs from the film 'live'. There is also a bet on the number of “pink-tinged” jokes that could be uttered by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, the evening's designated host. There is also a discordant note: the film hit the box office but the director Greta Gerwig and the protagonist Margot Robbie were not nominated for an Oscar, decisions that caused a certain stir.
Suspense for the nomination of best actress
It is probably the least predictable prize of the evening: Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Creatures”) seem to be playing the final head-to-head but everything is open. Gladstone could become the first 'Amerindian' actress to win the statuette, thanks to Martin Scorsese's historical thriller about the silent massacre of the Osage tribe in the 1920s, stolen by Americans who coveted their oil-rich land. Stone gave a delicate and liberating performance in Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos' cinematic tale, and she is aiming for her second Oscar, after «La La Land». But both could be overtaken by Sandra Huller who won over fans and insiders for her interpretation in “Anatomy of a Fall”.
Martin Scorsese's problems
At 81 years old, after winning the Oscar for best director, Martin Scorsese has nothing left to prove. But if Gladstone fails to win among actresses, «Killers of the Flower Moon» could become the third film of the great master to go home empty-handed despite 10 nominations. Scorsese has already experimented with this scenario with «The Irishman» and «Gangs of New York». Many nominations but none really convincing and the risk of another flop is high.
Italy cheers for I captain
Finally, with the right amount of superstition, all of Italy will cheer for 'Io Capitano' by Matteo Garrone, an outsider in five international films that includes directors of the caliber of Wim Wenders and Jonathan Glazer. Dreaming, after all, costs nothing and in less than 48 hours all these questions will finally have an answer.