Hold on to your butts, Hollywood: "Oppenheimer" rolls into the Oscars as an awards-season behemoth that, when the night is over, might even make some history.
Christopher Nolan's acclaimed atomic-bomb thriller is not only a clear front-runner for best picture at tonight's 96th Academy Awards but also best actor (Cillian Murphy), supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.) and director. All told, "Oppenheimer" comes in with a leading 13 nominations and could break the Oscar-night record of 11, currently held by "Ben-Hur," "Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." Da'Vine Joy Randolph ("The Holdovers") is favored in the supporting actress race, while the most intriguing category is best actress, which features Lily Gladstone ("Killers of the Flower Moon") vs. Emma Stone ("Poor Things"). A Gladstone win would be the first competitive Oscar for an Indigenous actor in long history of the Academy Awards.
But maybe there are some surprises in store? Stay tuned for all the highlights and big winners from the red carpet and main show (ABC, 7 p.m. ET/4 PT).
Jimmy Kimmel kicks off the show with a riff on "Barbie," putting himself into the scene where Margot Robbie's plastic doll tells the elderly women she's "so beautiful." Kimmel's in-scene response: "I know. I was just thinking that. I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten in three weeks." The host then hits the stage, opening with a shot at superhero bomb "Madame Web" and a shoutout to "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig. "You're clapping but you're the ones who didn't vote for her," Kimmel says, a reference to her missing out on a best directing nomination. Then Kimmel takes on the Oppenhomies, calling out "Oppenheimer" director Christopher Nolan's lack of a smartphone, Cillian Murphy's name pronunciation and Robert Downey Jr. on "one of the highest moments of his career" – a riff on Downey's well-publicized past drug issues. (Oooof.) But Downey takes it in stride, motioning to his nose in knowing fashion from the crowd. Kimmel replies, "Was that too on the nose or a drug motion you're making?"
Other topics of jest: The lengthy runtime of "Killers of the Flower Moon," "Taxi Driver" co-stars Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro (specifically his tendency to date younger women), Sandra Hüller's nominated foreign films, and whether Steven Spielberg is nominated or if he has Oscar "season tickets."
There's no sign yet of Oscar dog ju jour Messi, but the rest of Team “Anatomy of a Fall” is posted up by the food table, where guests can snag cups of charcuterie and snack mix bags to bring inside the theater. Mid-conversation with Swann Arlaud (aka “Hot Lawyer”), Milo Machado-Graner asks a server for a mini burger.
But it does get confusing a little as folks go from recharging on a couch with chips to the nerves of showtime. Following her red carpet walk, Tamsin Egerton joined her husband, "Oppenheimer" star Josh Hartnett, as they got ready to leave the bar area and get their seats. However, they slowly starting walking out of the Dolby before they were stopped by an usher. A smiling Hartnett turned around and led his wife to the correct exit.
About a half hour before the show starts, the bar scene is still happening. Kirsten Dunst and her husband, “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Jesse Plemons, are sipping cocktails and smiling as they chat with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the filmmaking duo behind last year’s best picture winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Folks are beginning to file in to the theater. “The Good Place” star Ted Danson guided his wife Mary Steenburgen to their seats in the orchestra, followed a few minutes later by “Barbie” actor Simu Liu and his date, girlfriend Allison Hsu.
Things are starting to get busy inside the Dolby Theatre. "American Fiction" actress Erika Alexander and "Killers of the Flower Moon" star Brandon Fraser were among the first to arrive in the fancy (and very exclusive) downstairs bar, which is serving cocktails, salmon pizza, Kobe beef sliders and – mmm, mmm, MMMM – mini tacos. (Chef Wolfgang Puck was spotted wandering out from the kitchen in white Nike slippers and a big grin to hobnob as trays of his hors d'oeuvres passed around.) Arriving with his longtime partner Jeanne Moore, Fraser met Marlee Matlin and they had an animated discussion through a sign-language translator and took a selfie together. Then Fraser sauntered through a exit to the backstage area: Last year's Oscar best actor winner is a presenter tonight.
Dominic Sessa was also seen enjoying a glass of white wine but it's totally cool, though: Although he plays a teenager in "The Holdovers," he's of drinking age at 21.
Do you smell what The Rock is cooking? Unfortunately, Dwayne Johnson won't be flipping burgers for attendees – they're probably pretty hungry, even now – but he will be among the starry contingent handing out trophies at the Academy Awards ceremony. That crew also includes last year's Oscar winners Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis, plus Zendaya, Matthew McConaughey, Nicolas Cage, Mahershala Ali, Sam Rockwell, Lupita Nyong’o, Bad Bunny, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence and more.
Just as the Oscars red carpet was opening, protesters rallied for a Gaza cease-fire and snarled traffic near the Dolby Theatre, site of the Academy Awards. “No red carpet during genocide,” read one sign among dozens speaking out about the Israel-Hamas war. They waved Palestinian flags, set off red smoke bombs and chanted as a smaller group of demonstrators waved signs that read “Fear God.” They were demonstrating at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue, just about a block from the red carpet in Hollywood.
Political statements also are making their way into the Oscars themselves: Some attendees are wearing red lapel pins to represent a call for increased humanitarian aid and the release of hostages.
It's still early but there's already some news coming from the carpet: Vanessa Hudgens, 35, revealed her apparent pregnancy ahead of Sunday's telecast. The co-host of ABC's red-carpet special, who's expecting her first child with Seattle Mariners shortstop Cole Tucker, arrived and turned heads in a black gown as she held her belly. USA TODAY has reached out to Hudgens' and Tucker's representatives for comment, but in the meantime ... congrats, yall!
Jimmy Kimmel is back for a fourth tour of Oscar duty – last year, he returned to send up the Chris Rock/Will Smith slap and also maintain civility, and this time the late-night host says he's not going to the well of Taylor Swift/Aaron Rodgers jokes but we'll see how long that lasts.
Although he's got a ways to go before catching the Oscar-hosting legacies of Billy Crystal (nine times) or Bob Hope (19!), Kimmel is now tied with Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Lemmon with No. 4.
After trying to make the "champagne carpet" happen last year – like "fetch," it didn't – we're back to red for the latest parade of A-listers in their Sunday best. (Keep an eye out for fashion maven/best actor nominee Colman Domingo: He tells a different story every carpet.) E!'s "Live From the Red Carpet" kicks off at 4 p.m. ET/1 PT while ABC starts its pre-show coverage at 6:30 ET/3:30 PT hosted by Disney favorites Vanessa Hudgens ("High School Musical" represent!) and Julianne Hough. And check out entertainment.usatoday.com for our own fashion galleries and expert analysis.
We got you, fam. The 2024 Oscars will air live on ABC and stream live at abc.com and the ABC app (if you're a cable subscriber) via Roku, AppleTV and Amazon Fire TV.
The Academy Awards can also be watched on certain streaming services that carry ABC, such as Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.
Contributing: Bryan Alexander, Marco della Cava, Amanda Lee Myers, Patrick Ryan and Jay Stahl
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