Oscars 2024: From protests to record breakers – Here’s what you need to know

Key Takeaways

• Lily Gladstone’s work in “Killers of the Flower Moon” could make her the first Native American or Indigenous actor to win an Academy Award for acting.
  
• But the category of Best Actress remains the greatest toss-up among Oscar bet-makers, where Gladstone faces close competition with “Poor Things” actress Emma Stone, who has also won awards for her performance this award season.
  
• The other three major acting categories have had the same winners at most of this season’s award shows: Best Supporting Actress has gone to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for “The Holdovers,” Best Supporting Actor has gone to Robert Downey Jr. for “Oppenheimer” and Best Actor to Cillian Murphy for “Oppenheimer.”
  
• Los Angeles authorities are increasing their presence at the Dolby Theater, where the Oscars take place, Sunday in preparation for protestors, some of whom “would like to stop the Academy Awards,” an LAPD official told The New York Times.
  
• Some actors are expected to don red lapel pins that symbolize a call for a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of “all hostages,” The Times reported.
  
• “Oppenheimer,” nominated for 13 Academy Awards, could break the record for the most Oscar won by a single film if it wins more than 11 awards (pundits have speculated the Christopher Nolan-directed film will take home eight wins).
  
• International films could also have a big night Sunday as they’ve raked in a number of nominations, including three of the 10 in the Best Picture category —”Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Zone of Interest” and “Past Lives.”
  
• “The Holdovers,” could face greater scandal should it win for best original screenplay, after Variety reported allegations the credited screenwriter, David Hemingson, plagiarized the story.
  
• If singer Billie Eilish, 22, and her brother Finneas O’Connell, 26, win an Oscar for Best Original Song for “What Was I Made For?” from the film “Barbie” they will be the two youngest people to win two Academy Awards, both in the Original Song category.
  
• The five previous winners of each of the acting awards will present this year’s acting awards bringing Oscar-winning actors Michelle Yeoh, Mahershala Ali, Lupita Nyong’o, Matthew McConaughey and others back to the Oscars stage.
  
• Sunday’s show will feature performances of all five songs that were nominated for Best Original Song: Ryan Gosling will perform “I’m Just Ken,” (“Barbie”) Eilish will perform “What Was I Made For?” (“Barbie”), Jon Batiste will perform “It Never Went Away” (“American Symphony”), Becky G will perform “The Fire Inside” from (“Flamin’ Hot”), and Scott George and the Osage Singers will perform “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” (“Killers of the Flower Moon”).