TV CLOSE-UP
HOLLYWOOD'S BIGGEST NIGHT: THE 94TH ACADEMY AWARDS AIRS MARCH 27 ON ABC
<b> HOLLYWOOD'S BIGGEST NIGHT: THE 94TH ACADEMY AWARDS AIRS MARCH 27 ON ABC</b>
REGINA HALL, WANDA SYKES AND AMY SCHUMER WILL HOST THE 94TH ACADEMY AWARDS ON MARCH 27 AT 8 P.M. (ET/PT) ON ABC.
By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
N2Entertainment.net

Movie lovers unite. It's time for Hollywood's biggest night. The 94th Academy Awards will air March 27 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on ABC.

The star-studded celebration, hosted by Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer, takes place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles and will honor the best in film. The last time the Oscars had three separate hosts was at the 59th Academy Awards in 1987 with Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, and Paul Hogan.

Show producers Will Packer and Shayla Cowanrecently announced the presenters to take the stage at the 94th Oscars. The star lineup includes: Stephanie Beatriz, DJ Khaled, Jennifer Garner, H.E.R., Tiffany Haddish, Tony Hawk, Bill Murray, Elliot Page, Kelly Slater and Shaun White. Previously announced Oscars presenters include: Halle Bailey, Ruth E. Carter, Sean "Diddy"Combs, Kevin Costner, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Lily James, Daniel Kaluuya, Zoe Kravitz, Mila Kunis, Lady Gaga, John Leguizamo, Simu Liu, Rami Malek, Shawn Mendes, Lupita Nyong'o, Rosie Perez, Tyler Perry, Chris Rock, Tracee Ellis Ross, Naomi Scott, Wesley Snipes, Uma Thurman, John Travolta and Yuh-Jung Youn.

The Oscars will feature an in-house band consisting of Blackstone, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, singer and percussionist Sheila E. and pianist Robert Glasper, all of whom will be joined by a full symphonic orchestra. DJ D-Nice and The Samples will also perform at the ceremony, with the former also confirmed to perform at the Governors

Audiences will also be treated to tributes for the 60th anniversary of the James Bond franchise and the 50th anniversary of 1972 "Best Picture" winner "The Godfather."

The cast of "Encanto" will also appear for the first live performance of "We Don't Talk About Bruno" which has become a viral sensation.

The Oscars hope to deliver a leaner and more free flowing show this year, by presenting eight of the less prominent featured awards in the hour before the live telecast begins. The presentation of film editing, makeup, production design, sound, documentary sound, documentary short subject, animated short and live-action short would be packaged as clips and incorporated in the show. Not everyone is happy with this decision. Several actors, directors, screenwriters and producers believe, the new format gives short shrift to those talents which are integral to the movies.

It will be interesting to see if the new process works or not. Nevertheless, the show must go on. As of this writing, Beyonce has been tapped to perform at the Oscars as well. Beyonce's "Be Alive," from "King Richard," is nominated for "Best Original Song."

The Netflix revisionist western drama, "The Power of The Dog" leads the Oscar pack with 12 nominations, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Jane Campion). However, the coming-of-age drama "CODA," from director Sian Heder, has become a critical darling. Emilia Jones stars in the film as a child of deaf adults and she's trying to follow her musical dreams without abandoning her family. Troy Kotsur, plays her father and he won "Best Supporting Actor" at the Critics Choice Awards on March 13.

We can't rule out the excellent drama "King Richard" either, which stars Critics Choice Awards "Best Actor" winner Will Smith as Richard Williams, the inspiring and determined father of tennis legends Venus and Serena.

There are so many exciting and outstanding movies to root for and you just never know with the Oscars who will pull off that shocking upset. N2Entertainment.net will be attending the ceremony--albeit "virutally"--along with other press again this year. We will have an opportunity to talk with some of the night's big winners backstage. Tune in to N2Entertainment.net for our "Scene and "Heard" Oscar wrap up on the "Reel Movie" News section after the show.

In the meantime, here is a look at who we would like to see go home with the prized golden Oscar.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Javier Bardem in Being the Ricardos"
Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Power of the Dog"
Andrew Garfield in "tick, tick...BOOM!"
Will Smith in "King Richard"
Denzel Washington in "The Tragedy of Macbeth"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE;
Ciaran Hinds in "Belfast"
Troy Kotsur in "CODA"
Jesse Plemons in "The Power of the Dog"
J.K. Simmons in "Being the Ricardos"
Kodi Smit-McPhee in "The Power of the Dog"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Jessica Chastain in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
Olivia Colman in "The Lost Daughter"
Penelope Cruz in "Parallel Mothers"
Nicole Kidman in "Being the Ricardos"
Kristen Stewart in "Spencer"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Jessie Buckley in "The Lost Daughter"
Ariana DeBose in "West Side Story"
Judi Dench in "Belfast"
Kirsten Dunst in "The Power of the Dog"
Aunjanue Ellis in "King Richard"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR:
"Encanto" Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer
"Flee" Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellstrom, Signe Byrge Sorensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
"Luca" Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
"The Mitchells vs. the Machines" Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht
"Raya and the Last Dragon" Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY:
"Dune" Greig Fraser
"Nightmare Alley" Dan Laustsen
"The Power of the Dog" Ari Wegner
"The Tragedy of Macbeth" Bruno Delbonnel
"West Side Story" Janusz Kaminski

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN:
"Cruella" Jenny Beavan
"Cyrano" Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
"Dune" Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
"Nightmare Alley" Luis Sequeira
"West Side Story" Paul Tazewell

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING:
"Belfast" Kenneth Branagh
"Drive My Car" Ryusuke Hamaguchi
"Licorice Pizza" Paul Thomas Anderson
"The Power of the Dog" Jane Campion
"West Side Story" Steven Spielberg

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
"Ascension" Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
"Attica" Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry
"Flee" Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellstrom, Signe Byrge Sorensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
"Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)" Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein
"Writing with Fire" Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh.
Editor's Note: "Attica," from Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry is excellent too.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:
"Audible" Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean
"Lead Me Home" Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk
"The Queen of Basketball" Ben Proudfoot
"Three Songs for Benazir" Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
"When We Were Bullies" Jay Rosenblatt

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING:
"Don't Look Up" Hank Corwin
"Dune" Joe Walker
"King Richard" Pamela Martin
"The Power of the Dog" Peter Sciberras
"tick, tick...BOOM!" Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR:
"Drive My Car" Japan
"Flee" Denmark
"The Hand of God" Italy
"Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom" Bhutan
"The Worst Person in the World" Norway

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:
"Coming 2 America" Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
"Cruella" Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
"Dune" Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
"The Eyes of Tammy Faye" Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh
"House of Gucci" Goran Lundstrom, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE):
"Don't Look Up" Nicholas Britell
"Dune" Hans Zimmer
"Encanto" Germaine Franco
"Parallel Mothers" Alberto Iglesias
"The Power of the Dog" Jonny Greenwood

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG):
"Be Alive" from "King Richard "Music and Lyric by DIXSON and Beyonce Knowles-Carter
"Dos Oruguitas" from "Encanto"Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
"Down To Joy" from "Belfast"Music and Lyric by Van Morrison
"No Time To Die" from "No Time to Die" Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell
"Somehow You Do" from "Four Good Days"Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
Editor's Note: There is a big part of me that also wants Diane Warren to win. She's been deserving for years now, and this song is another fine piece of work.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR:
"Belfast" Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, Producers
"CODA" Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, Producers
"Don't Look Up" Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers
"Drive My Car" Teruhisa Yamamoto, Producer
"Dune" Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, Producers
"King Richard" Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, Producers
"Licorice Pizza" Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers
"Nightmare Alley" Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, Producers
"The Power of the Dog" Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, Producers
"West Side Story" Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN:
"Dune" Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos
"Nightmare Alley" Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
"The Power of the Dog" Production Design: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Amber Richards
"The Tragedy of Macbeth" Production Design: Stefan Dechant; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
"West Side Story" Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
"Affairs of the Art" Joanna Quinn and Les Mills
"Bestia" Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Diaz
"Boxballet" Anton Dyakov
"Robin Robin" Dan Ojari and Mikey Please
"The Windshield Wiper" Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:
"Ala Kachuu - Take and Run" Maria Brendle and Nadine Luchinger
"The Dress" Tadeusz Lysiak and Maciej Slesicki
"The Long Goodbye" Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed
"On My Mind" Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson
"Please Hold" K.D. Davila and Levin Menekse

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND:
"Belfast" Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
"Dune" Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett
"No Time to Die" Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
"The Power of the Dog" Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
"West Side Story" Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS:
"Dune" Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer
"Free Guy" Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
"No Time to Die" Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver
"Spider-Man: No Way Home" Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
"CODA" Screenplay by Sian Heder
"Drive My Car" Screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
"Dune" Screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
"The Lost Daughter" Written by Maggie Gyllenhaal
"The Power of the Dog" Written by Jane Campion

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
"Belfast" Written by Kenneth Branagh
"Don't Look Up" Screenplay by Adam McKay; Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota
"King Richard" Written by Zach Baylin
"Licorice Pizza" Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
"The Worst Person in the World" Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

The 94th Oscars will be held on March 27, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles and will be televised live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Editor's Note Some information used in this article provided by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences publicity.