The city of Los Angeles, California, warms up engines to celebrate the 95th edition of the Oscars ceremony. It is expected that this Sunday the most famous stars in Hollywood will shine again as before and without any type of restriction due to the coronavirus.
However, the United States Academy of Cinema and Motion Picture Arts has been very strict with its policies to control possible coronavirus infections at the gala.
When collecting their credentials, journalists, operators and other attendees not only have to validate their identity, but also present a negative SARS-CoV2 test result within the last 48 hours. The indications of the organization were clear: diagnostic tests carried out at home are useless since they must be official PCR tests from laboratories recognized by the organization.
star walk
This year, renowned film actors are expected to walk the red carpet exuding all the glamor and sophistication that the public is already accustomed to.
The actor Austin Butler, who has been a revelation this year when he starred in “Elvis”, Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”), Cate Blanchet (“Tár”) or Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) are some of the actors and directors who have been nominated and who this Sunday will be at the main event of the film industry.
All of them hoping to win the famous Oscar, a statuette that was baptized in 1939 with that name after an Academy worker, Margaret Herrick, told the organizers that this trophy looked like her uncle Oscar.
armored hollywood
Everything must be ready for Sunday, the day of the Oscars. For this reason, the operators continue to work day and night without a break, leaving everything ready so as not to leave anything to chance and for the gala to be a success. More than 300 people are in charge of preparing the red carpet, placing the lights and polishing the statuettes that are placed throughout the walk until they reach the entrance of the emblematic theater.
Security is one of the aspects that the organization cares the most about. The surroundings of the Dolby theater are completely armored by personnel who monitor the entire perimeter of the place.
One of them is Ronald, of Mexican parents, who explained to the voice of america who, from Friday, are working shifts of more than 12 hours until Monday. “It will be exhausting, but luckily it only happens once a year,” jokes the man while he drinks a coffee in his break time.
Onlookers and tourists are also part of the film festival
Dozens of onlookers, tourists and movie lovers also do not want to miss the opportunity to walk around here while the operators finish laying the red carpet where the movie stars will pass.
Josué Rodríguez is a Mexican who has taken advantage of the fact that he is on vacation in southern California to go to the surroundings of the Dolby Theater and see first-hand how the preparations are being carried out.
“It is very exciting because it is an iconic place in Los Angeles and it is something that you have to visit. Now we were fortunate to be a few days from the red carpet and what better opportunity than to be here, where all the artists are going to go, ”he recounts in statements to the voice of america.
A gala without incidents
All those preparations for a gala that, according to the organizers, will have many surprises. But all of them, foreseen in the script.
And it is that those responsible for the Oscars have been working in recent months to offer an entertaining ceremony without any kind of unforeseen event. Above all, after the incident carried out by the actor Will Smith when he hit Chris Rock during the ceremony last year. This situation meant that the protagonist of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, although he apologized days later, was banned from the ceremony for ten years, so he will not be present in this edition.
For this, the Academy has created a crisis team to respond to any type of mishap. “We are prepared for anything,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer told the magazine. Timeadmitting that because of what happened last year “we open our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars.”
The Film Academy came under fire for allowing Smith to remain in the audience and accept the best actor trophy, after attacking Rock onstage over a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
The organization has not revealed details about the members of the crisis team or how it can react to something out of the ordinary, although they insist that staff are now prepared for any unforeseen situation.
Great Latino presence
This year, the list of nominations includes some Latino names, an effort that the Academy itself has been promoting in recent years to make the film industry much more inclusive, diverse, and to show the reality of society.
The Mexican Alfonso Cuarón is nominated in the category of best short film for his work “Le Pupille”, a 37-minute drama that recounts the situation of several rebellious girls in a Catholic boarding school.
Cuban Ana de Armas has been nominated for best actress thanks to her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in “Blonde.” The Netflix tape addresses the story from the personal, romantic and professional point of view of the icon of American culture.
The film “Argentina 1985” is nominated for best international feature film, becoming the eighth Argentine film to compete for the award in that category. The feature film is directed by Santiago Miter and features the performance of Ricardo Darín and Peter Lanzani.
The Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu has obtained a single nomination for best cinematography for “Bardo, false chronicle of a few truths.” The story talks about the life of a Mexican journalist and documentarian who returns to his country after succeeding abroad and hopes to rediscover his identity, although it will not be easy.
Guillermo del Toro is once again on the list of nominees for these Oscars for the movie “Pinocchio” by placing on the list of best animated feature film. The Mexican, who directed the film, has adapted the Disney children’s classic in a much darker way and has ended up receiving critical acclaim. For this reason, it is one of the names that sounds most strongly as favorites.
“I think the one with the best chance of winning the award is Pinocchio and it would be a great honor for all of us who work in animation,” says film producer Mireia Vilanova, who has lived in Hollywood for several years.
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