Oscars' best-picture contest is a battle for streaming glory

[LOS ANGELES] The race for this year's best-picture Oscar is shaping up to be a battle between Netflix and Apple. Either way, it's likely to mark the first time the industry's top honour has gone to a film distributed primarily online and not in theatres.

The contest between Netflix's The Power of the Dog and Apple TV+'s CODA says much about the film business in 2022. Theatres are still recovering from the pandemic, which has kept families and older filmgoers in particular away from cinemas. Meanwhile, Hollywood studios are making their movies available for home viewing exclusively or much sooner than they did in the past to compete with tech companies offering video streaming services and financing their own film and TV slates.

Viewership for the ceremony has plunged in recent years, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which hands out the awards, is trying to reduce the historically long run time by handing out 8 prizes before the broadcast. That's sparked an uproar, particularly for contenders in categories that didn't make the cut, like film editing and production design.

The ceremony returns this year to its regular home at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with seating for 3,300, after being held last year before a much smaller audience at downtown's Union Station due to pandemic precautions.

Three female comedians - Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes - will preside over the ceremony, after the academy previously experimented with no hosts. The producer, Will Packer, is trying to reach a broader audience by adding more music and sports stars as presenters, including skateboarder Tony Hawk and snowboarder Shaun White.

The Academy Awards will be broadcast on Walt Disney's ABC starting at 8.00 pm New York time Sunday (Mar 27). We'll update this story regularly with winners and other goings on from Hollywood's biggest night.

The official temperature is 69 degrees in Los Angeles, but it seems a lot warmer on this bright sunny day. Traffic is noticeably worse for a Sunday afternoon, as folks make their way to Oscar parties or the big event itself.

It takes more than 5,000 people to produce the Academy Awards, including broadcast technicians, hair and makeup staff, performers and their stand-ins. It requires nearly a month to load in and strike the show, including 55 cameras and 12 mobile broadcast units. There were 45 presenters participating in Saturday's rehearsals. The orchestra practised at the famous Capitol Records building, just down the street in Hollywood.

Question on everyone's mind: Will Zelensky show?

As the hours ticked down to the Oscars, realities of the world outside Hollywood's bubble crept in. In recent days, as Kyiv was bombarded by invading Russian forces, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and aides reportedly pleaded with members of the Academy for a chance to speak during the ceremony.

It's not clear whether his request will be honoured. Some stars have already made their opinions clear on the matter. Co-host Schumer brought it up. Sean Penn said he'd smelt his Oscars in public if Zelensky isn't given airtime. Other stars took to the red carpet to show support for Ukraine. Jamie Lee Curtis and songwriter Diane Warren both wore ribbons in support of Ukrainian refugees.

The coronavirus is continuing to be an Oscar spoiler

Covid-19 continued to make an unwelcome appearance. The ceremony included rigorous testing and vaccination protocols, which made it difficult for some invitees to attend. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is nominated for best song for Dos Oruguitas from Disney's Encanto, said he wouldn't attend after his wife tested positive for the virus. He said he tested negative. Kenneth Branagh, whose film Belfast is up for 7 awards, will attend after testing positive earlier this month, as will Ciaran Hinds, nominated for best supporting actor in the film, who was in the same predicament, according to the BBC.

There is a 70-person team administering over 14,000 tests at the event. BLOOMBERG