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Wednesday 22nd of March 2023

Nairobi, Kenya

Tag: Oscar Awards

The Oscars Awards Are Set To Return To Normalcy, With The Exception Of All The Changes.

Posted on by Oscar Alochi

The Academy Awards are rolling out the red carpet at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre for the first time in two years in what the film academy hopes will be a return to normalcy at the Oscars. Except for everything that has changed.

The 94th Academy Awards will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. EDT, as is customary. However, little else about how this year’s Oscars will begin is traditional. Attendees will gather in the Dolby an hour before the broadcast begins for the presentation of eight awards and acceptance speeches, which will be edited into a broadcast that producer Will Packer has promised will be a tight three hours.

It’s just one of many changes, both minor and seismic, taking place in the run-up to this year’s ceremony. Following two years of pandemic and a socially distant 2021 edition with record-low ratings, the Academy Awards will attempt to reclaim their exalted place in pop culture with a revamped telecast that is expected to see a streaming service win the best picture for the first time.

It will be difficult. The film industry recovered significantly from the pandemic by 2021, but despite one of the year’s biggest hits, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the recovery has been patchy.

According to the Motion Picture Association, the global movie industry sold roughly half as many tickets last year as it did two years ago, $21.3 billion in 2021 compared to $42.3 billion in 2019. Hollywood pushed more of its best films into people’s homes than ever before; half of this year’s best-picture nominees were streamed at or very close to release. Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has shifted entirely to a streaming platform for voters, rather than DVD screeners.
Then there’s the difficulty of commanding global attention for a night of Hollywood self-congratulation after two years of pandemic and while Russia’s war ravages Ukraine. Packer has stated that the war in Ukraine will be acknowledged respectfully during the broadcast.

Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion’s gothic western, leads the pack with 12 nominations and a strong chance of winning the top prize. But all of the attention is on Sian Heder’s deaf family drama “CODA,” which, despite only three nominations, is considered the favorite. A win would be a big win for Apple TV+, which bought the film out of the Sundance Film Festival last year and has spent a lot of money promoting it to academy members.

But “Dune,” Denis Villeneuve’s sweeping science-fiction epic, is expected to win the most awards on the night. It’s the odds-on favorite to sweep the technical categories.

After several years without a host, the Oscars will be emceed by the trio of Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall, which will also be streamed on platforms such as Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, and ABC.com with provider authentication.

A star-studded lineup of performers, including Billie Eilish and Beyoncé, will perform nominated songs, while the “Encanto” cast will perform Lin-Manuel Miranda’s breakout hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

It will be a staggered start, with different stars entering the Dolby at different times. The red carpet preshow will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with the first hour of awards taking place inside the theater from 7-8 p.m.

The winners’ names will be announced first on social media and then woven into the telecast. The red carpet will also open an hour earlier than usual, at 4 p.m. Eastern, to accommodate the shift.

The new approach, which has been widely panned by some academy members, is likely to complicate red-carpet logistics.

The academy is urging attendees to arrive at their seats by 7 p.m. in order to give each winner an uncompromised moment. Some celebrities, such as “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” nominee Jessica Chastain, have stated that they will not participate in red carpet interviews if it means missing the presentation of awards such as best hair and makeup, which the artists of “Tammy Faye” are nominated for.

This is one of eight pre-show categories that will be awarded during the “golden hour,” as the producers refer to it. Film editing, sound, original score, production design, live-action short, animated short, and documentary short are the others.

More than 70 Oscar winners, including James Cameron, Kathleen Kennedy, and Guillermo del Toro, warned earlier this month that the change would make some nominees “second-class citizens.”

The reason for the shift is concern about the Oscars’ rapidly declining ratings. While drops have been common for all major network award shows, last year’s show drew only about 10 million viewers, less than half of the 23.6 million who watched the previous year. It was closer to 40 million a decade ago.

Some argued in the run-up to this year’s Oscars that a blockbuster like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” should have been nominated for best picture. It is only for visual effects.

Instead, a diverse range of films are in the running, including the popular Netflix apocalyptic comedy “Don’t Look Up” and the critically acclaimed three-hour Japanese drama “Drive My Car.”

One thing the producers have promised us is that the night’s final award will be for best picture. Last year’s show ended awkwardly with the unexpected awarding of the best actor to a non-present Anthony Hopkins.

Content courtesy fo Association Press & NFH 

Oscars Awards 2022 Red Carpet Fashion: Live Updates Outfits and Looks

Posted on by Oscar Alochi

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony has begun! Today, Hollywood’s top talent will walk the red carpet before heading inside L.A.’s Dolby Theatre for the grand ceremony, where 2021’s best films and actors will wait to see who took home this year’s awards.
Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes will be the hosts of the event.

The Power of the Dog, West Side Story, Belfast, and Licorice Pizza are among the top films nominated for Oscars in 2022.

The evening will undoubtedly produce numerous memorable and viral moments. After all, it’s not every day that some of the world’s most famous people congregate in one room (perhaps we’ll even see a remake of that infamous, star-studded selfie in 2014?).

Better yet, all of the glitzy fashion that will take over the step and repeat beforehand will be even better. After all, the Academy Awards have a long history of producing iconic fashion moments that continue to live on.

For example, two decades later, we’re still talking about Halle Berry’s embroidered, mesh Elie Saab gown from the 2002 Oscars. Who could forget Billy Porter’s Christian Siriano gown in 2019 or Amanda Seyfried’s red-hot Armani gown just a year ago?

These outfits are fantastic.

Whoever wins big this evening, what the stars wear will be just as much of a talking point as who may or may not take home a trophy. So, keep checking back here throughout the night for all of the red carpet’s most stunning fashion moments, which will be updated in real-time so you don’t miss a thing.

The biggest stars in Hollywood arrived at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, March 27 for the 2022 Oscars.

The live telecast, hosted by Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer, will honor the best in film from the previous year. While many actors and actresses are expected to attend, viewers can also expect a few surprises.
Beyoncé, Sebastián Yatra, Billie Eilish, and Reba McEntire will perform Oscar-nominated songs. Athletes such as Shaun White, Venus, and Serena Williams will also serve as presenters.
Each celebrity must do one thing before the awards are presented: walk the red carpet. From custom jewelry and eye-catching shoes to designer gowns and tuxedos, these celebrities thought of everything before stepping out in style.

Content courtesy of Vogue Magazine, E News & NFH 

Oscars 2021: Viola Davis most nominated Black actress with ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ nod

Posted on by Fashion Police

Viola Davis says Black stories ‘deserve to be told’

LOS ANGELES – This year, Viola Davis became the Oscars’ most nominated Black female actor ever when she landed her fourth nomination, this one for her lead role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

Who is Viola Davis?

Davis won an Academy Award for her appearance in the 2016 film “Fences,” a role she originated in a 2001 Broadway revival that landed her a Tony Award. The Oscar win made her the first Black woman to win an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony for acting.

She won her Emmy in 2015 for her role in “How To Get Away With Murder,” and she has another Tony win for her role in “King Hedley II.”

Along the way, her impassioned acceptance speeches have been some of the most potent thunderbolts of inspiration in the wider fight for diversity, beamed out to the unrepresented and the overlooked everywhere.

The 55-year-old actress has been a mainstay on screens big and small and is more often getting cast front and center, with her roles in “How to Get Away With Murder” and the 2018 film “Widows.”

Davis also has a production company, JuVee Productions, with her husband, the actor Julius Tennon. She told the Associated Press in 2019 her goal is to normalize people of color on the screen.

“We’re not social statements. We’re not mythical creatures all the time … you can literally put pen to paper and write a great story that includes people of color, and it could actually sell,” she said.

Davis the most nominated Black woman in Oscars history along with her “Fences” nod, she was also nominated for best actress for 2011’s “The Help” and best-supporting actress for 2008’s “Doubt.”

If she won Sunday, she would have been the second Black woman crowned the best actress in Oscars history. Just once before has a Black woman (Halle Berry in 2002 for “Monster’s Ball”) won the best actress?

What is “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” about?
The film, based on an August Wilson play, is set around a recording session in 1920’s Chicago as a blues band awaits the arrival of Ma Rainey. The movie also includes the final performance from actor Chadwick Boseman, who died last year of cancer.

Content courtesy of ABC 7Chicago & Nairobi fashion hub 

How Viola Davis Won Awards Season with her Colorful Red Carpet Style

Posted on by Fashion Police

In this strangest of awards seasons, Viola Davis was a rare bright spot.

The 55-year-old star, who’s nominated for Best Actress at the 2021 Oscars for her performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” has captivated fashion lovers with her parade of colorful red-carpet looks over the past few months, injecting some much-needed joy into a year defined by a global pandemic and a long-overdue reckoning with systemic racism.

To be sure, Davis has long gravitated toward bold, bright hues on the red carpet. Who could forget the red-hot Armani she wore while accepting her Best Supporting Actress statuette for “Fences” at the 2017 Academy Awards, or the bubblegum pink Michael Kors column she chose for the same show the following year?

But, in 2021, the majority of the Juilliard grad’s vibrant-as-ever red-carpet looks were designed not by the usual red-carpet heavy hitters, but lesser-known labels led by creatives of color.

As a result, her outfits from monochromatic marvels by Greta Constantine to a custom peplum confection courtesy of Duro Olowu have made major statements in more ways than one.

“Pretty dresses are, well, everywhere,” Greta Constantine designer Kirk Pickersgill, who created two bold gowns that Davis wore this season, told Page Six Style. “By contrast, dresses that celebrate your strength and empower both you and your tomorrow are far more difficult to come across.”

The designer added that by championing black-owned brands, Davis “has opened the doors for so many of us that have been locked out.”

“There is nothing more beautiful than an individual using their platform to not only look good but also do good,” Pickersgill told us.

Ahead of Sunday’s Oscars, let’s take a look back at Davis’ winning style throughout the season.

Lavie by CK for the Golden Globes

“It’s about feeling good and looking good in your queendom,” Cameroon-born designer Claude Kameni told Page Six Style of the inspiration behind the show-stopping mermaid gown Davis chose for the Golden Globes in February.

Kameni had just one week to complete the puff-sleeved dress from printed African fabric, but the end result, which had her at “a loss for words,” was “definitely worth the all-nighters.”

“We started saying, ‘Viola’s gonna violate this dress,’” the self-taught designer quipped, with a laugh, adding that she hopes to see more A-listers following Davis’ lead when it comes to supporting black fashion talent.

“There’s a whole bunch of talented designers that need their names out there; it shouldn’t just be the same designers all the time,” Kameni said. “Give someone else a spotlight!”

Greta Constantine for the Critics Choice Awards

“After months of panic and fear, we wanted garments that excited us, styles that evoked a sense of hope,” Pickersgill told us of Davis’ ruffle-trimmed cerulean frock. “By producing bright, structural garments, we were looking to bring a smile to the face of both the wearer and the beholder.”

Pickersgill added that seeing the star in her bright blue gown was about “so much more than the fashion. It was about capturing a moment in history that celebrates black creativity in all of its beautiful, challenging, inspiring forms.”

Duro Olowu for the NAACP Image Awards

Appropriately dubbed the “happy dress” by stylist Elizabeth Stewart, this cheery printed peplum frock was a perfect pick for Davis to wear during her double win for “Ma Rainey” and “How To Get Away With Murder” at the NAACP Image Awards in March.

Nigerian-born British designer Olowu has also dressed Michelle Obama, Lupita Nyong’o, and Thandiwe Newton, to name but a few.

Louis Vuitton for the SAG Awards

According to the French fashion house, Davis’ lime green gown took 140 hours of work and 10,000 sequins to complete. The gold and silver embellishments formed a geometric pattern that ran parallel to a pair of zippers down both sides of the strong-shouldered dress, perfectly framing the star’s silhouette at the SAG Awards in early April.

Greta Constantine for the African American Film Critics Association Awards

Davis picked another look from Greta Constantine’s spring 2021 collection this one in ruffled sunny yellow for her last pre-Oscars appearance on the awards circuit when she netted the icon award at the African American Film Critics Association Awards.

“After months in which we had no choice but to take everything seriously, this was one of those garments that would invite you to let your guard down and simply be,” Pickersgill said.

Content courtesy of Page Six & Nairobi fashion hub

 

 

 

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