The 94th Academy Awards, to be hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes in the Dolby Theater at Hollywood and Highland Center, will take place on March 27, 2022.
Films released between March 1 and December 31, 2021 will be honored in the following categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Live Action Short Film, International Feature Film, Best Original Song, Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Short Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Documentary Feature, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, Best Short Documentary, Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Cinematography.
With the Oscars just around the corner, there’s a lot to expect from this year’s Academy Awards. Will Smith’s King Richard was nominated for Best Actor and Best Picture. After winning Actor in a Leading Role in the SAG Awards, Smith is expected to win at least one, if not both Oscars. If Smith win’s at least one Oscar, it would be his first.
Smith’s not the only one to possibly win his first Oscar. Kristen Stewart, known for her role of Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga, gets her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress by playing Princess Diana in Spencer. Stewart told Entertainment Tonight that she is “speechless and humbled” over her recognition from the Academy.
Andrew Garfield, who won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, is up for Best Actor against Smith for his role in tick, tick… BOOM! as Johnathon Larson. Based on a true story, the musical follows the creation of Larson’s Rent. Garfield expresses that “every time [he gets] good news for [the] movie,” “it feels like [he’s] honoring” Larson. This is not Garfield’s first Oscar nomination, as he was nominated for Best Actor in 2017 for his role in Hacksaw Ridge, but if he wins, it will be his first Oscar ever.
Disney and Marvel have several nominations this year. Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings were both nominated for Best Visual Effects. Cruella was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Costume Design. Both Luca and Raya and the Last Dragon were nominated for Best Animated Feature. Free Guy, which was recently added to Disney Plus, was nominated for Best Visual Effects. West Side Story, which was also recently added to Disney Plus, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Production Design, and Best Sound. Encanto was nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score and Best Original Song.
Fans of Encanto would expect “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” which quickly hit the Billboard after the film’s release, to be nominated for an Oscar. However, the song “Dos Oruguitas” was nominated instead. Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer and producer for the film, expressed that he chose to submit “Dos Oruguitas” for an Oscar nomination because he needed to pick a song “that best exemplifies the spirit of the movie, and it contains all of it inside this song.”
The “mesmerizing” Dune, as noted in a Rotten Tomatoes review, hit screens in October in 2021, and since then, the film has won ten Oscar nominations for categories Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Picture, Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects and Best Adapted Screenplay.
After nominations were announced, Dune became the sixth film to be nominated for all seven technical categories, which last happened in 2015 with the films The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road. Variety, as of March 3, predicts that Dune will win Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.
As the world’s still in the midst of a global pandemic, it’s important to take note of the COVID-19 protocols that will take place during this event. Guests and nominees will be required to show proof of vaccination, but presenters and performers will not be required to. However, all attending, whether watching, accepting an award, presenting an award, or performing will be required to provide proof of two negative PCR tests. Those in the front won’t have to wear a mask as they will social distance, but those in the back who will be sat shoulder to shoulder will be required to wear one.
The 94th Academy Awards will start at 8:00pm on Sunday, March 27th. You can watch Hollywood’s biggest event on ABC.
