Mahershala Ali, Olivia Colman and Rami Malek to present Oscars 2020

Actors Olivia Colman, Rami Malek, Mahershala Ali, and Regina King, will be presenting trophies to winners at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The celebrities won the outstanding performance awards in their respective categories at the Oscars last year.

In a statement posted on the official website of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain on Tuesday (January 21) made the announcement.

“We love the tradition of having the previous years Oscar-winning actors on stage to celebrate the achievements of their peers and are thrilled to welcome back these four great talents,” Howell Taylor and Allain said.

The Oscars will air on February 9 and following the tradition without a host again.

Oscars Nominations

Joker trumped critically-acclaimed titles to emerge as the front-runner at the 92nd Academy Award nominations with the Joaquin Phoenix-starrer leading the pack with 11 nods.

Best Movie

For the second spot, there was a tie among three most talked-about movies of the year: Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and Sam Mendes’ 1917 with 10 nominations.

Bong Joon Ho-helmed Parasite, the most buzzed international movie of the year, scripted history by becoming the first South Korean film to bag the best picture nomination. The film, which earned six nods, was also recognised in the international feature film, director and original screenplay categories.

Another foreign-language title that claimed spot in the category other than international feature was Spanish film Pain and Glory. The Pedro Almodovar-directed movie earned Antonio Banderas the best actor nod.

Joker, which earned praise for Phoenix’s role as a man’s descent into madness and divided many for its portrayal of gun violence, dominated not just the main categories but also the technical nominations.

Some of the key categories where the film bagged nods are best picture, actor, director for Todd Phillips, original score and adapted screenplay.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino’s love letter to Hollywood of 1969, will give tough competition to Joker. The film bagged 10 nominations including a surprise nod for Leonardo DiCaprio in the best actor list and the predictable best-supporting actor for Brad Pitt. It is also nominated for best director and best original screenplay.

Adam Driver (Marriage Story) and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) are also vying for the best actor Oscar.

Scorsese, who had grabbed headlines for his anti-Marvel comments, has also received a lot of love from Academy voters for his reflective gangster drama The Irishman, including the best film, best director and the dual nods in the best supporting actor category for Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.

Tom Hanks’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Anthony Hopkins’s The Two Popes completes the best supporting list.

British war drama continued its lucky streak from Golden Globes and Baftas to Oscars by matching nominations of Tarantino and Scorsese’s movies. Mendes is in the race for best director.

Lack of diversity has been a thorny issue for Hollywood awards but unlike Bafta, Oscars tried to somewhat balance the scales by nominating Banderas and Cynthia Erivo in best acting categories (Harriet), and best picture nod to Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.

Gerwig, however, was snubbed in the all-male best director category but the film managed a nod in the best-adapted screenplay, best actress for Saoirse Ronan and best-supporting actress nod for Florence Pugh.

While Rene Zellweger (Judy), Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) were predictable choices, Charlize Theron (Bombshell) and Erivo were surprise nominees for best actress.

Laura Dern, who bagged Golden Globe for the best-supporting actress, is a favourite at Oscars as well. She will fight it out with her Marriage Story co-star Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Pugh, Margot Robbie (Bombshell) and Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell).

International Feature Film

Apart from Parasite and Pain and Glory, the international feature film category includes French drama Les Miserables, Polish movie Corpus Christi and North Macedonian Honeyland. Honeyland also features in best documentary list.

Original Screenplay

Original screenplay nominees are: Marriage Story, Parasite, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, 1917 and surprise entry in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out.

Adapted Screenplay

In adapted screenplay, Little Women is pitted against The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, The Two Popes and Joker.

Animated Feature

Animated feature category includes Toy Story 4, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Missing Link, I Lost My Body and Klaus.

Original Score

Original score category has biggies in Alexandre Desplat (Little Women), John Williams (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) along with Golden Globe winner Hildur Gunadttir (Joker), Randy Newman (Marriage Story) and Thomas Newman (1917).

Original Song

Original song has nominees in ‘Into the Unknown’ from Frozen 2, ‘(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again’ from Rocketman, ‘Stand Up’ from Harriet, ‘I’m Standing With You’ from Breakthrough and ‘I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away’ from Toy Story 4.

Documentary Feature

Documentary feature also includes American Factory, The Edge of Democracy, For Sama and The Cave.

Documentary short

Two Indian-Americans — Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan — have bagged nomination in the documentary short category for St Louis Superman. Their docu short will face off with In the Absence, Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (If You’re a Girl), Life Overtakes Me and Walk Run Cha-Cha.

Editing and Cinematography

The Irishman, Ford vs Ferrari, Parasite, Joker and Jojo Rabbit for editing Oscar, while best cinematography includes 1917, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, Joker and The Lighthouse.

Visual Effects

Visual Effects: Avengers Endgame, The Lion King, Star Wars, The Irishman and 1917.

Makeup and Costume Design

Bombshell, Joker, Judy, 1917 and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil while Costume Design has period pieces Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Little Women, Jojo Rabbit, The Irishman and Joker.

Sound Mixing and Editing

1917, Ford vs Ferrari, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and Joker have bagged nominations for both sound mixing and editing. Space drama “Ad Astra” features in sound mixing list, while Star Wars for sound editing.

Production Design

The Irishman, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Parasite, Jojo Rabbit and 1917 will compete in the production design category.

Short Animated

Best short (animated) has nominees in Dcera (Daughter), Hair Love, Kitbull, Memorable and Sister, whereas in the live-action segment top five are: Brotherhood, Nefta Football Clube, Neighbors’ Window, Saria and A Sister.

(With inputs from agencies)