Light, camera, action!  The 95th annual Oscars Ceremony will occur this Sunday, March 12th, 2023 in Los Angeles on ABC, starting at 8 P.M. Eastern Time.  The Oscars are where movie lovers worldwide watch to see which of their favorite movies of the year will win the title “Oscar Winner.”

This year, comedian Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting this year’s show.  He last hosted in 2017 then again the following year in 2018, before the Oscars went hostless for three years for various reasons.  But in 2022, the Oscars went in for a triple-whammy with Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes as the show’s comedic-trio hosts.

Let’s go back a couple of weeks to the SAG Awards on February 26th.  There were five categories for film, “Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture” won by Everything Everywhere All At Once, “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role” won by Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once), “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role” won by Brendan Fraser (The Whale), “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role” won by Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once), and finally, “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role” won by Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once).  From the SAG Awards, it seems predictable which film will be winning the most Oscars.

Now, here are five major Oscar categories and their nominees:

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

• “All Quiet on the Western Front”
• “Avatar: The Way of Water”
• “The Banshees of Inisherin”
• “Elvis”
• “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
• “The Fabelmans”
• “Tár”
• “Top Gun: Maverick”
• “Triangle of Sadness”
• “Women Talking”

Achievement in Directing:

• “The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh
• “Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
• “The Fabelmans” – Steven Spielberg
• “Tár” – Todd Field
• “Triangle of Sadness” – Ruben Östlund

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

• Austin Butler – “Elvis”
• Colin Farrell – “The Banshees of Inisherin”
• Brendan Fraser – “The Whale”
• Paul Mescal – “Aftersun”
• Bill Nighy – “Living”

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

• Cate Blanchett -“Tár”
• Ana de Armas – “Blonde”
• Andrea Riseborough – “To Leslie”
• Michelle Williams – “The Fabelmans”
• Michelle Yeoh – “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Original Screenplay:

• “The Banshees of Inisheirn” – Martin McDonagh
• “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once” – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
• “The Fablemans” – Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner
• “Tár” – Todd Field
• “Triangle of Sadness” – Ruben Östlund

This year, movie lovers are in for a treat with amazing movies up for the most prestigious awards in the film industry.

Let’s reflect on last year’s Oscars Ceremony.  Many thing’s made history that year; CODA took home three awards from their three nominations, and lead male actor, Troy Kotsur, made history by being the first-ever deaf man to earn an Oscar.  Ariana DeBose would go on to be the first openly-queer actress to ever win an acting award.  The West Side Story actress would also be the second Latina actress to ever win an Oscar in her category, Best Supporting Actress.  And, Jessica Chastain won her very first Oscar!  But before any of that, at the beginning of the show, Beyoncé made a special performance as a tribute to King Richard, followed by presenters Serena and Venus Williams.  The Best Original Song nominee would appear onstage honoring the tennis legends and their family.  And speaking of King Richard, we had the Infamous Slap, heard all around the world.  Let’s hope this year, no one will be banned from the Oscars for 10 years.

As far as predictions go, I have a few myself; for Best Motion Picture of the Year, I hope that Avatar: The Way of Water or Top Gun: Maverick takes home the prize because 1), James Cameron never fails to impress and 2), the cinematography in Maverick was out of this world.  For Achievement in Directing, Steven Spielberg because he is an absolute legend with four Oscars to his name (not including movies).  For Best Male Actor in a Leading Role, Austin Butler because he played The King of Rock and Roll perfectly.  For Best Actress in a Leading Role, Michelle Yeoh or Cate Blanchett because they both are amazing actresses.  And finally, for Best Original Screenplay, Everything Everywhere All At Once just based on the SAG Awards.

Who do you think is going to win?  Write a comment about your predictions and enjoy the Oscars!