Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo kick off 97th Academy Awards on a high note

By Canadian Press on March 2, 2025.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ariana Grande sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and Cynthia Erivo sang Diana Ross’ “Home” to kick off the 97th Academy Awards in a tribute to Los Angeles following wildfires that devastated the Southern California metropolis.

After opening the show, the “Wicked” stars then joined together to perform “Defying Gravity” from their blockbuster big-screen musical. The soaring crescendo, by Erivo, brought the Dolby Theatre crowd to their feet.

After a topsy-turvy Oscar season in which frontrunners were constantly shuffled, old tweets hobbled a top contender and space was held for “Wicked,” Sunday’s Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles brought to a close one of the most unpredictable Oscar races in recent memory.

Splashes of color decorated the red carpet — Timothée Chalamet in yellow, Ariana Grande in pink, Colman Domingo in red — as stars streamed into the Dolby Theatre. Some attendees sported pins for Ukraine. Guy Pearce, nominated for his performance in “The Brutalist,” wore a “Free Palestine” pin on his lapel.

Though some rain had been in the forecast, sunny skies pervaded across a Los Angeles still recovering from wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods earlier this year.

The fires affected many throughout the film industry and within the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Some even called for the cancellation of Hollywood’s awards season. While his Pacific Palisades house was spared, O’Brien has been living out of a hotel the last two months.

The lead nominee is Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez,” with 13 nominations, but that film has seen its chances crater following uproar over years-old offensive tweets by its star, Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly trans actor nominated for best actress.

The favorite is Sean Baker’s “Anora,” about a sex worker who weds the son of a Russian oligarch. The Neon release, the Cannes Palme d’Or winner, won with the producers, directors and writers guild. The only movie with the same resume to not win best picture is “Brokeback Mountain.”

Its closest competition is “Conclave,” the papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes. It won at the BAFTAs and the SAG Awards, wins that came just as Pope Francis was hospitalized for double pneumonia. Oscar voting concluded before the pope fell ill.

Also in the mix are “The Brutalist,” nominated for 10 awards, and the musical hit “Wicked,” also with 10 nominations. Several of the early craft Oscars could be shared between “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two.”

For the first time, an actor is nominated for playing the sitting U.S. president. Sebastian Stan is nominated for best actor for his performance as a young Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” as is his co-star, Jeremy Strong, for playing Roy Cohn. Trump has called those involved with the film “human scum.”

The political tenor of this year’s ceremony could be volatile, with the Oscars coming weeks into the second Trump administration and falling two days after the president’s dramatic rupture with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.

Speaking earlier this week, O’Brien said he’ll strive to strike a delicate balance.

“I cannot ignore the moment we’re in,” he said. “But I also have to remember it’s threading a needle. I also have to remember what we’re here to celebrate and infuse the show with positivity.”

This year’s Oscars are unspooling after a turbulent year for the film industry. Ticket sales were down 3% from the previous year and more significantly from pre-pandemic times. The strikes of 2023 played havoc with release schedules in 2024. Many studios pulled back on production, leaving many out of work. The fires, in January, only added to the pain.

Last year’s telecast, propelled by the twin blockbusters of “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” led the Oscars to a four-year viewership high, with 19.5 million viewers. This year, with smaller independent films favored in the most prominent awards, the academy will be tested to draw as large of an audience.

The ceremony will be taking place days following the death of Gene Hackman. The 95-year-old two-time Oscar winner and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday at their New Mexico home. Morgan Freeman is to honor him during the ceremony.

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For full coverage of this year’s Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press