The 90th Academy Awards kick off Sunday night at 8 p.m. Eastern live from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California.
Jimmy Kimmel returns for the second straight year to host, and all eyes will be on him and the Oscars producers to see how the broadcast tackles perhaps the biggest scandal in Hollywood history, the continuing slew of allegations of sexual misconduct against dozens of the industry’s most prominent men, and the subsequent #MeToo movement.
This year’s Best Picture race is the most wide-open it’s been in years, with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri a nominal favorite to win along with strong contenders The Shape of Water, Get Out, and Dunkirk. The acting races are less close, with Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Allison Janney, and Sam Rockwell expected to win in their respective categories. Greta Gerwig will attempt to become the second woman to win the Best Director prize for her critically-adored hit Lady Bird, but Shape of Water helmer Guillermo del Toro is the favorite in the category.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the Oscars without blatant, over-the-top political statements, and this year will be no exception as stars are expected to take to the red carpet wearing orange lapel pins to advocate for gun control measures following last month’s deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Celebrities will also likely reach again for their Time’s Up pins, which made their debut at the Golden Globes in January, to stand with victims of sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty will return to present Best Picture again this year, following last year’s epic mix-up which saw the pair announce La La Land as the winner over the real winner, Moonlight. Oscars producers are apparently hoping enough people stick around until the end to see if they can redeem themselves.
Follow along with Breitbart News’s Big Hollywood team right here for all the winners, live updates, commentary, and analysis from the show, and of course, all the latest in red-carpet fashion from Breitbart’s own John Binder.
All times Eastern. Latest updates at the top.
7:35 p.m. – Binder Fashion Update – Jennifer Lawrence does her best Jennifer Aniston impersonation in this basic Christian Dior A-line dress with spaghetti straps. Her makeup looks way too heavy. Can barely see her eyes.
Jennifer Lawrence attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
7:33 p.m. – Timothee Chalamet is on the red carpet. At 22, he’d be the youngest ever Best Actor winner if he could pull it off tonight for his role in Call Me By Your Name.
But he won’t win. Gary Oldman’s got it locked up.
7:25 p.m. – Guillermo del Toro talks about lessons he hopes audiences get from The Shape of Water: “Empathy for the other.”
7:22 p.m. – Binder Fashion Update – I, Tonya actress Margot Robbie channels her inner ice queen wearing a custom-made Chanel dress by Karl Lagerfeld. Perfection!
Margot Robbie attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
7:16 p.m. – Binder Fashion Update: Actress Viola Davis brings a pop of color to the Oscars red carpet in a simple hot pink gown with a matching pink clutch.
Viola Davis attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
7:14 p.m. – Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino, two of the women central to Hollywood’s #MeToo movement, speak about the Time’s Up initiative on the red carpet.
“I want people to know this movement isn’t stopping,” Sorvino said. “We want to take our activism and our power into action and change things for every woman everywhere working in any workplace.
7:12 p.m. – Taraji P. Henson on the challenge of working on the action film Proud Mary: “Fear doesn’t exist in my universe. I wouldn’t get anything done if I was afraid.”
7:05 p.m. – Binder Fashion Update – Actress Laura Dern glows in white at the Oscars red carpet in this Calvin Klein asymmetrical gown.
Actress Laura Dern arrives for the 90th Annual Academy Awards on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, California. (VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)
6:53 p.m. – Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman hits the red carpet, and talks about a conversation he had with Denzel Washington after the success of his film.
“It was a fun conversation, the first thing he said was, ‘You owe me money. I came to collect.’”
Chadwick Boseman attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
6: 51 p.m. – Binder Fashion Update – Baby Driver actress Eiza Gonzalez rocks a sporty yellow halter-dress at the Oscars, a much needed break from the overly-elegant gowns of fellow actresses.
Actress and singer Eiza González arrives for the 90th Annual Academy Awards on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, California. (VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)
6:48 p.m. – Richard Jenkins on his advice to aspiring actors: “If you’re meant to do this, you will find a way. and I know it seems like everybody’s an actor, but there’s room for everybody.”
6:45 p.m. – Salma Hayek interviewed on the red carpet about whether she speaks with her young daughter about women’s issues in Hollywood: “She calls herself a feminist already, even before all this. She identifies with it, she’s very proud of it. I feel relived that I know the new generations will have it easier.”
Salma Hayek attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
6:43 p.m. – Binder Fashion Update – Best Supporting Actress nominee Allison Janney (I, Tonya) arrives on the Oscars red carpet in a beautiful, sleek red gown by Reem Acra, the best she’s looked all awards season.
Allison Janney attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
6:35 p.m. – Early arrivals on the Oscars red carpet include Get Out director Jordan Peele and actress Allison Williams, Three Billboards star Sam Rockwell, and The Shape of Water‘s Richard Jenkins, who’s among many wearing the Time’s Up lapel pin tonight.
Allison Williams attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Actor Richard Jenkins arrives for the 90th Annual Academy Awards on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, California. (VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)
Jordan Peele arrives for the 90th Annual Academy Awards on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, California. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)
Sam Rockwell (L) and Leslie Bibb attend the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Red Carpet – 6:30 p.m. – E! is trying to avoid any potential embarrassment with its Ryan Seacrest situation by setting up a 30-second time delay on its red carpet coverage. Seacrest is hosting the pre-show festivities just one week after he was accused of repeated sexual misconduct by one of his former stylists, and publicists have reportedly been instructing their clients to avoid him on the red carpet, if at all possible.
E! suffered a black eye at the Grammys when Debra Messing asked one of their correspondents on-air during the pre-show why the network doesn’t believe in equal pay, referring to the well-publicized departure of longtime E! personality Catt Sadler over the pay disparity between her and a male colleague.
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