The 94th Academy Awards will take place on March 27, marking a triumphant return to Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre after 2021’s pared-back ceremony at Union Station, due to the pandemic.
As previously announced, comedians Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes will host the ceremony — making it the first time the annual awards show has had a host since 2018.
Also set to take the stage at the Dolby Theatre are Lady Gaga, Chris Rock, Kevin Costner, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Perez and last year’s best-supporting actress winner Yuh-Jung Youn of Minari, who have been confirmed at presenters for the 2022 iteration.
Additional presenters so far include Simu Liu, Uma Thurman, Lily James, Rami Malek, Ruth E. Carter, Uma Thurman, Lily James, Wesley Snipes, John Travolta, Mila Kunis, Lupita Nyong’o, Naomi Scott, Daniel Kaluuya, and John Leguizamo.
Anthony Hopkins, who took home the award for Best Actor in 2021, will also be a part of the telecast, after being absent from last year’s ceremony.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Lee Curtis will also take on presenting duties, alongside Woody Harrelson, Tyler Perry, Tracee Ellis Ross, Shawn Mendes and Halle Bailey.
Further additions to the presenting lineup are H.E.R., Bill Murray, Elliot Page, Stephanie Beatriz, Jennifer Garner, DJ Khaled, Tiffany Haddish, Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater and Shaun White.
The final round of presenters has been revealed to be Rachel Zegler, Jacob Elordi, Serena and Venus Williams, Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Momoa, Jill Scott and J.K. Simmons.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has come under fire of late for making the decision to present a slew of creative awards excluded from the live telecast of the show. Those categories include documentary short, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short and sound, with all eight nods being awarded in a pre-taped segment.
In a letter written to the Academy by the Set Decorators Society of America, the organisation said, “The diminution of these specific awards, which you declare to be ‘the fat in need of trimming’ from the broadcast in order to make it more entertaining, is punitive not only to the individual artists singled out for this treatment, but to entire industries represented by each one, who take enormous pride in their part in the creation of each nominated and winning film in the Academy competition.
“We are all diminished by this action, and infuriated by it.”
When it comes to the awards show’s biggest nod, arguably the Best Picture prize, Aussie director Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog is leading the nominations with an impressive 12 nods. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune comes in a close second with a total of 10.
Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci was a notable snub from the Best Picture category, while the star-studded Netflix satire Don’t Look Up managed to snag a spot on the list.
In the acting categories, Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter), Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) and
Kristen Stewart (Spencer) will all be vying for the Best Actress gong.
Competing for Best Actor will be Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog), Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick … Boom!)
Will Smith (King Richard) and Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth).
If you are keen to catch all of the action of entertainment’s most anticipated night the 94th Academy Awards will air exclusively on Channel 7 and 7plus, LIVE AEDT on Monday, March 28 which works out to be around noon. This means you can see all of the glitz and glamour at exactly the same time as the US.
And, while you wait for the actual ceremony, why not brush up on all of your Oscars trivia by reading up on the greatest (and occasionally awkward) moments in the history of the Academy Awards?
You can also check out all our Oscars coverage here.
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