Glitz and glamour. Speeches with stamors. The 83rd Academy Awards celebrates the best in film and always attracts huge audiences. The best films compete for the Oscar statue this Sunday, February 27, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center® televised live on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m., PT / 8:30 p.m., ET. Anne Hathaway and James Franco will share the hosting duties as the stars squirm in their seats as Hollywood displays a solid year in film…without extended movie montages and, sadly, the honorable actor/actress nomination read by close friends/colleagues. Producers will add an elementary school choir, Twittering moms of nominated stars, a more technologically driven set, and, best of all, bring back the Best Song performances – a total of four this year including Randy Newman, Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi, Gwyneth Paltrow with Florence + the Machine subbing for Dido’s “If I Rise” from 127 Hours.
Need that extra office experience. For 99 cents you can check out all the Oscar coverage with the Oscar® Backstage Pass on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch which features video streaming, special event access, and live footage beginning at 2 p.m. PT. Available from the App Store. Check out the demo here.
Need help in your Oscar pool? Check out my picks below.
Best Picture
The King’s Speech
Best Director
David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Actress
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Animated Film
Toy Story 3
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Best Music (Original Score)
Inception (Hans Zimmer)
Best Music (Original Song)
“I See the Light” from Tangled
Art Direction
The King’s Speech
Cinematography
True Grit, Roger Deakins
Costume Design
Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood
Documentary (Feature)
Restrepo, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
Documentary (Short Subject)
Strangers No More
Film Editing
The Social Network
Foreign Language Film
Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi), Algeria
Makeup
The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
Short Film (Animated)
The Gruffalo, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
Short Film (Live Action)
God of Love, Luke Matheny
Sound Editing
Inception, Richard King
Sound Mixing
The King’s Speech, Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
Visual Effects
Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb