Images
Kumail Nanjiani and Priyanka Chopra among Presenters for This Year’s Oscars Ceremony
As we approach Hollywood’s biggest night, organisers are slowly releasing the names of the accomplished entertainers tasked with handing out the prestigious awards.
Showrunner Raj Kapoor announced the third batch of presenters for the Oscars on Thursday, which included Indian actor Priyanka Chopra. She was joined on the list by past winners Robert Downey Jr, Anne Hathaway and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Earlier, a February 26 release included US-Pakistani comedian Kumail Nanjiani alongside Chris Evans, Maya Rudolph and Chase Infiniti — whose film One Battle After Another is in the running for the night’s top honor.
Also among the second cohort was Javier Bardem, who won an Academy Award in 2008 for his role in No Country for Old Men. He is notable for his overtures of support for Palestine, including his appearance at last year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, where he walked the red carpet wrapped in a keffiyeh and called for a boycott of Israeli film institutions.
It can be expected that attendees will make similar political statements, both verbally and with their fashion choices. Pins expressing disdain for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement — better known as ICE — have been seen on stars in recent red carpet appearances.
The first release of names from Kapoor had the winners of last year’s acting awards, including Mikey Madison, Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña. It is customary for winning actors to present the next year’s awards for their category to the opposite gender.
Nominations this year are led by the vampire period-piece Sinners, with 16 nominations. Following behind is One Battle After Another with 13 nods. Both films are in contention for Best Picture alongside Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.
The ceremony will take place on March 15 — 4am on March 16 in Pakistan — at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. Veteran comedian Conan O’Brien will be taking the stage for the second time as the night’s host. - Images
