Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

All of the nominees for best director are likely to be male this year. They could include Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans), Todd Field (Tár), Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin), Baz Luhrmann (Elvis), and Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick).

There may also be a nomination for male duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert - known jointly as Daniels - for Everything Everywhere All At Once.

That could mean female directors such as Charlotte Wells (Aftersun), Sarah Polley (Women Talking) and Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King) are shut out.

However, the Oscars have been doing much better on this front recently. The two most recent winners of the category were women - Chloé Zhao who won for Nomadland in 2021, and Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog in 2022.

Image source, Warner Bros

Elvis

Austin Butler's intense portrayal of the singer earned him a best film drama actor award at the Golden Globes.

Directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann, the man behind Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge!, it depicts the life of Elvis in both its showbiz glory and darker, sadder moments.

Butler paid tribute to Elvis when collecting his Golden Globe saying: ”You were an icon and a rebel.”

Image source, SCOTT GARFIELD/PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Top Gun: Maverick

One of the most highly anticipated sequels in the film world, Top Gun: Maverick sees Tom Cruise back in his hotshot fighter pilot role from 1986.

This time around Maverick is an instructor in charge of training a new generation of recruits.

The star-studded cast includes Jennifer Connolly as his love interest, and the return of Iceman Val Kilmer.

Critics heaped praise on the film with The Independent saying it’s "as thrilling as blockbusters get".

Image source, John Lamparski/Stringer/Getty

Aftersun

The emotional family drama, which stars Irish actor Paul Mescal, explores the complex dynamics between a single father and his daughter as they holiday in Turkey.

Calum loves Sophie, 11, but he’s dealing with his own depression and shows signs of detachment from his daughter.

Twenty years on, adult Sophie is not in contact with her father and she reflects on her memories in Turkey using recorded footage from the holiday.

The film picked up seven prizes, including best film, at the British Independent Film Awards last month, and has been nominated for four awards at next month's Baftas.

Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

As well as Ireland’s strong showing, there could be a few Brits in contention for the acting prizes too.

Bill Nighy is expected to be nominated for his widely-praised performance in Living, which sees him play an ageing civil servant who decides to change his lifestyle after receiving a terminal diagnosis.

Other British actors thought to be in the running include Eddie Redmayne, for his portrayal of serial killer Charles Cullen in The Good Nurse.

Olivia Colman's performance in Empire of Light as a cinema worker who suffers from mental health issues could also be recognised, but her nomination is not a dead-cert.

Other possible but less likely British nominations include Ben Whishaw for Women Talking and Emma Thompson for Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.The latter would be a real surprise - but Thompson did score a Bafta nomination last week.

Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter

Image source, Reuters

There could be a particularly strong showing for Irish actors this year.

The Banshees of Inisherin alone could produce four acting nominees: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon.

The film follows two friends on an island off the west coast of Ireland who fall out, and has performed well at precursor ceremonies. Other Irish actors who could be nominated include Paul Mescal for Aftersun and Jessie Buckley for Women Talking.

And there could be a nomination in the best international film category for An Cailín Ciúin/The Quiet Girl - an excellent film about a shy young girl who goes to stay with her distant relatives for the summer.

Ireland has only been nominated in the category once before, for 2015’s Viva. An Cailín Ciúin/The Quiet Girl would make history as the first Irish-language film to be shortlisted.

Image source, Reuters

A couple of weeks ago, the winners of the Golden Globe Awards were announced in Los Angeles and that may give us a steer as to who will do well at this year’s Oscars.

The Banshees of Inisherin took three major prizes for best comedy or musical film, best screenplay, as well as best comedy actor for its star, Irish actor Colin Farrell.

Steven Spielberg's autobiographical The Fabelmans was also one of the big winners, scooping best drama film.

Austin Butler held off stiff competition to be named best film drama actor, for his portrayal of singer Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's biopic.

Cate Blanchett was named best drama actress for her performance in Tár. Other big film triumphs included Everything Everywhere All at Once, which saw acting prizes for two of its stars, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan.

You can see the full list of Golden Globe winners here.

Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Zoe Saldana made box office history last weekend as she became the first actor to star in four movies that have grossed more than $2bn (£1.62bn) worldwide.

The actress stars in Avatar: The Way of Water, which is likely to show up in multiple technical categories as well as a couple of the big ones, including best picture.

James Cameron’s Avatar sequel becomes the fourth Saldana-starring film to cross the $2bn milestone, following the first Avatar, film Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Saldana is unlikely to be a contender for best actress, but the box office success is a good omen for Avatar: The Way of Water, as the Academy increasingly looks to nominate blockbusters which appeal to the masses.

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Last year’s Oscars were handed out in Los Angeles honouring the film industry’s finest stars. Here’s a reminder of what happened.

Apple TV's Coda, about a teenager who is the only hearing member of a deaf family, had just three nominations but bagged trophies for each of them - including the top prize of best picture.

Jessica Chastain took home her first Oscar for playing televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye while Will Smith won best actor for starring in King Richard.

Sir Kenneth Branagh won his first ever Oscar, earning best original screenplay for writing the story of his own childhood at the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s in his black-and-white film Belfast.

Sci-fi epic Dune won the most awards overall with six, including most of the technical categories.

However, the ceremony was overshadowed when Will Smith hit Chris Rock over a joke about his wife, Jada. He later used his emotional acceptance speech to apologise to the Academy and his fellow nominees.

Image source, Avatar 20th Century Studios

Some top predictions for best picture this year are Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans and The Banshees of Inisherin.

Best actor predictions include Austin Butler for starring in Elvis, Tom Cruise rebooting Top Gun and Brendan Fraser for his lead in The Whale.

Some are also predicting that performances by actresses like Cate Blanchett in Tar, Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once and Viola Davis in The Woman King may clinch the spot for best actress.

Nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be broadcast live from the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater at 13:30 GMT (05:30 am PST).

Nominees in all 23 categories will be announced - the first round will name those up for things like best supporting actor and actress as well as the screenplay categories.

Following a 10 minute break and the second round will include top categories including best actor, actress, director and best picture.

The BBC’s Jane Hill will present live coverage of the 2023 Oscar nominations which you can watch from 13:15 GMT on BBC iPlayer or by clicking the play button at the top of this page.

Image source, EPA

As we’ve said Academy Award winner Riz Ahmed, and star of hit film "M3gan" Allison Williams will announce the Oscar nominees later (13:30 GMT/05:30 PST).

Ahmed won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film as the co-writer, producer, and star of The Long Goodbye last year. He also received an Oscar nomination in 2021 for Best Actor for his performance in Sound of Metal.

He’s set to star opposite Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley in the sci-fi drama Fingernails and will take to the screen for a modern feature adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Williams starred in six seasons of the Emmy-winning series Girls as well as the Oscar-winning horror film Get Out.

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to our live coverage of the nominations for this year’s Oscars.

Actors Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams are due to make the all important announcements from 13.30 GMT (05:30 PST).

The Oscars are of course regarded by many people as the most prestigious awards in the US entertainment industry.

So who’s in with a chance of picking up one of those coveted golden statues when the awards are handed out on 12 March?

Stick with us as we bring you full coverage of this year’s proceedings.