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Morwenna Ferrier
And the ‘backlace’ – an homage to the back-opening scene from The Substance? Why not.
Stuart Heritage
And now Ariana Grande is singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. There is a LOT of smoke around her, which might be a little tone deaf given the focus on the wildfires, but let’s give it the benefit of the doubt.
Morwenna Ferrier
Just having a brief pause to appreciate some of the accessories. First up, the little lace glove. Miley Cyrus, Zoe Saldaña and Arianne Phillips are all wearing a specifically sheer type of glove (very Valentino and very Givenchy SS25).
The 2025 Oscars are underway
Stuart Heritage
The climax to awards season is finally here. We begin with a shot of the Hollywood sign and Judy Garland sighing, “There’s no place like home.” This seems like the tone of the night being laid out in front of us. This will be an evening about Los Angeles more than anything.
Chloe Mac Donnell
Just as I was thinking, when can I make another coffee? (hey, we have a long night ahead of us live-blogging), here comes Andrew Garfield in a head-to-toe espresso-coloured look by Gucci. Even the sunglasses that he is whipping on and off for the cameras are amber-tinted. And yes, that silky shirt is smoother than any coffee a barista could attempt to master.
Stuart Heritage
This is your five-minute warning. Settle in, get caffeinated, don your deep vein thrombosis stockings. The Oscars are about to begin.
Morwenna Ferrier
And Adrien Brody has arrived with … Georgina Chapman. Nothing to see here! Just the most-likely-to-win actor wearing an Armani tuxedo and yet another colossal brooch – and Chapman wearing a diaphanous broom-shaped gown by Marchesa, the label she started. Just smile and wave, smile and wave.
Stuart Heritage
A polite request: my favourite part of being at the Oscars last year was the moment when I realised the guy sitting in front of me was reading Gwilym’s liveblog on his phone along with the ceremony. If you are at the Oscars and you are reading this liveblog, I’d appreciate it if you could make yourself known, ideally by shouting “WOO GUARDIAN!” at the top of your voice during a lull in the proceedings. Thank you.
Chloe Mac Donnell
After a wave of boring tuxes, here comes Timothée Chalamet brightening up the carpet in a buttery yellow three-piece look. Zooming in, it looks as if the blazer and trousers are leather. Smooth! Please note the baggy shape of the trousers – everyone breathe a sigh of relief they are not skinny. In place of a tie or bow tie he has gone for a jazzy neck brooch. His look is by Givenchy. Elle Fanning is also wearing the brand, and her dress marks the first custom look by Givenchy’s new creative director, Sarah Burton. This has left us wondering if maybe Chalamet’s look is also by the British designer?
Morwenna Ferrier
Emma Stone is back in custom Louis Vuitton, a year after zip-gate, and with that a theme is emerging – silver chainmail, but make it lite! Along with gloves, this silhouette is becoming a firm favourite: form-fitting, floor-length gowns with absolutely no give are coursing through tonight’s red carpet.
Gwilym Mumford
Timothée Chalamet, who has just arrived on the red carpet in a suit that could be best described as mango lassi yellow, can break a longstanding Oscars record if he takes home the best actor award tonight for his performance in A Complete Unknown. He will become the youngest best actor winner ever at 29 years and two and a bit months old, overtaking … his main rival for tonight’s award, Adrien Brody, who was 29 years and 10 months old when he won in 2003 for The Pianist.
Should he be victorious, Brody would also claim a record, for the longest screen time of any best actor winner, beating Charlton Heston for Ben Hur (props to Screen Rant for their excellent research on this). And Emilia Pérez could claim the night’s most unwanted possible record: should it win nothing, it would be the most nominated film ever to go home empty-handed. Unlikely, I think, as Zoe Saldaña at least should win supporting actress.
Stuart Heritage
If you’re wondering why The Brutalist – once the clear frontrunner for best picture – has now fallen behind a little, just look at how Felicity Jones reacts when this Deadline reporter asks her about the film’s use of AI. First there’s a visible gulp, and then a look of sheer dread. If nothing else, she must be relieved that tonight is the last time she’ll be asked this question.
Morwenna Ferrier
Continuing her campaign to cosplay actors of yore with spectacular aplomb is Elle Fanning, doing her best Audrey Hepburn impression in an off-white, full-skirted Givenchy dress with a black velvet bow and, like a lot of the stars tonight, a nostalgic updo. Apparently it’s Sarah Burton’s first collection for the brand. The heavy jewellery looks like Cartier.
Chloe Mac Donnell
Selena Gomez is leaning into old-school glamour with a custom gown from Ralph Lauren. The off-the-shoulder shape and sweetheart neckline gives a nod to 50s Hollywood stars. The webbed overlay is shimmering as she moves along the carpet, as is her mega diamond necklace. Gomez has stuck to the retro brief with some gentle pin curls and winged eyeliner.
Gwilym Mumford
In the office we’re trying to figure out whether The Substance, Coralie Fargeant’s squelchy, entraily body horror, would be the goriest ever Oscar winner, should its star Demi Moore take home best actress, as she’s expected to do. Usually the Academy runs a mile from blood and guts, but occasionally something nasty sneaks in: David Cronenberg’s The Fly won best makeup in 1986, and of course The Silence of the Lambs, the last film to win the “big five” Oscars in 1991, didn’t exactly skimp on the grisly bits. Any more that we’re missing?
Morwenna Ferrier
Here she is – Demi Moore in Giorgio Armani Privé (you can tell by the little fans). A lot of actors are playing it safe wearing gowns shaped à la statuette, but in … silver rather than gold. Don’t want to tempt fate! The Substance star looks fabulous, though, a modern Venus de Milo, and a silhouette that evokes old Hollywood.
Chloe Mac Donnell
The Brutalist star Guy Pearce, who is up for best supporting actor, has added a Free Palestine dove-shaped pin to his lapel. This is the first protest pin we have seen so far on tonight’s red carpet. Last year stars including Billie Eilish and Ramy Youssef wore red Artists4Ceasefire pins. Pearce previously wore tonight’s protest pin at a special screening of The Brutalist in London in January. At the time he told reporters that he thought it was “important to recognise everybody in the world, particularly when things are imbalanced”.
Morwenna Ferrier
The hot favourite for best supporting actress, Zoe Saldaña is wearing a triple-layered claret “bubble” dress with a beaded bodice and long sheer gloves (more gloves!). It’s probably custom-made by Saint Laurent, given the film was made by Saint Laurent Productions (and their last show had an awful lot of sheer bodices). Retro classicism meets bed skirt. What a colour, though.
Gwilym Mumford
Favourite for best picture this year is Anora, which took the top prizes at the Producers’, Directors’ and Writers’ Guild awards, usually key determiners when it comes to the Oscars. Its main rival for best picture at this stage is probably Conclave, which won at the Screen Actors Guild, but The Brutalist (a big winner at the Golden Globes) and even A Complete Unknown (thought to be well-liked by Academy members) might be in with a shot too.
Should Anora win it is likely to become the lowest grossing best picture winner of all time (excluding the pandemic years when cinemas were shut), having earned $15.6m at the US box office. It would overtake, or undertake perhaps, the current lowest grosser, which is the Hurt Locker ($17m).
An Anora victory would likely prompt plenty of anguished conversations about the Oscars’ place in popular culture, and its failure to recognise films that lots of people have actually watched. At the same time though, the award is called best picture, not ‘best picture to have grossed a squillion dollars’, and Anora would be one of the better best pictures in some time, the finest perhaps since Parasite.
English (US)