A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
The Academy Awards are Sunday night. That means that we are in the thick of Oscar prediction season. Will the 3 1/2-hour architectural epic, "The Brutalist," take home best picture? What are "Wicked's" chances? And what about "Anora," last year's Palme d'Or-winning film at the Cannes Film Festival. This sounds like a job for NPR's Glen Weldon, who hosts our Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. Glen, so the telecast itself, I think viewership is probably inching back up since the pandemic really tanked its numbers a few years back.
GLEN WELDON, BYLINE: Yeah, that 2021 broadcast was the least watched in many, many years. Only about 10 million people tuned in, but that makes sense, right? I mean, theaters were closed. If you can't see the movies, you don't care who wins. But the ratings have increased year by year since then, and they're doing what they can to attract more. They're starting the ceremony early at 7 p.m. Eastern time, like they did last year. They've hired Conan O'Brien to host, and instead of trotting out live performances of the five nominated songs - which, let's face it, no one really knows - they've lined up a different series of performers for the night that includes Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. And the Oscars are being weirdly cagey about what they're going to sing, but it's probably stuff from "Wicked," right? I mean, it's not going to be out there doing "Smoke On The Water." Doja Cat, Raye and Queen Latifa will also perform. And it'll all be streaming on Hulu in addition to being broadcast on ABC. So they are chasing that 18- to 45 demo. We'll see if it works.
MART脥NEZ: It's fine. I mean, they've needed to shake up the format for a while now. And I know recently they've been introducing the acting categories by having five past Oscar winners stand on stage and then gush over the current nominees.
WELDON: Yeah, it's so cheesy. They call that the fab five approach. This year, they're going to try that same approach with non acting categories - the folks behind the camera. It's a little unclear how it's going to play out, but it seems like you're going to have big stars on stage, praising people like the writers and the editors and the costume designers. And it might work. Might be fun. Might come off a bit, I'd like to thank the little people. You know, a bit condescending. We'll see.
Also, look for some acknowledgment of the LA fires, which struck...
MART脥NEZ: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
WELDON: ...Such a serious blow to an industry that was only beginning to crawl out from under the pandemic and a series of labor strikes. So maybe a bit less glam this year and a bit more focus on the folks behind the scenes.
MART脥NEZ: All right, let's talk about the big prize - best picture. Who do you think is going to take home the big prize?
WELDON: A month ago, I would have said "The Brutalist." It's a solid bet. It's a sweeping, serious epic about a great man with flaws. That is classic Oscars fodder.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE BRUTALIST")
GUY PEARCE: (As Harrison Lee Van Buren) Tell me, why is an accomplished foreign architect shoveling coal here in Philadelphia?
ADRIEN BRODY: (As Laszlo Toth) I'm afraid it is not so simple.
WELDON: But "Anora" really has the wind at its back going into the ceremony. That's a scrappy little film about a Brooklyn sex worker who elopes with the son of a Russian oligarch.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ANORA")
MIKEY MADISON: (As Ani) I love my husband.
KARREN KARAGULIAN: (As Toros) You do not know this guy.
MADISON: (As Ani) We are consenting adults.
KARAGULIAN: (As Toros) If you think this is going to be allowed, you're dead wrong.
MADISON: (As Ani) Do not...
WELDON: And where "The Brutalist" is a bit polarizing, people come out of "Anora" really digging it, and that matters because that means it's going to benefit from ranked-choice voting. So if it's not folks' No. 1 film, it'll score a lot of No. 2 and three slots, and I think that's going to put it over the top.
MART脥NEZ: OK, so "Anora" is what you put your money on. But if you had a vote, and could go with your heart, Glen, what would you choose?
WELDON: Oh, that's easy. That's "Nickel Boys." That's RaMell Ross's film based on a book about systemic abuse in a school in the Jim Crow south.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "NICKEL BOYS")
ETHAN HERISSE: (As Elwood) Nana, what is it?
AUNJANUE ELLIS-TAYLOR: (As Hattie) I let you down.
HERISSE: (As Elwood) I'm OK, Nana.
ELLIS-TAYLOR: (As Hattie) El, I let you down.
HERISSE: (As Elwood) No.
WELDON: It uses a first-person perspective. We see the world through the character's eyes, and that could have come off as a really distracting gimmick, but it's used to serve a very moving story. It is such a big, formal swing and it pays off. And for me, that's the year's outstanding achievement in film, which is ostensibly what the Oscars are about, right?
MART脥NEZ: Yep, that is what the Oscars are all about. We'll see if Sunday night gives us that big surprise. Glen Weldon from NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. Glen, thanks.
WELDON: It's an honor just to be nominated today.
(SOUNDBITE OF DEEP PURPLE SONG, "SMOKE ON THE WATER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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