Your 2019 Oscars Crash Course
The Oscars are usually rather predictable. The red carpet is replete with glamorous stars and cringeworthy sound bites; the ceremony starts off with a speech that’s either inspiring or dull, and it may or may not include an ill-advised musical number. Favorites get snubbed or rewarded for their cinematic accomplishments, and teary speeches drag on too long or get cut off too soon.
This year, however, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has paved its path to the big night with so much controversy that the ceremony will, at the very least, offer the unexpected. Before you tune in on Sunday, catch up on the highs and lows of the past year in film with this roundup of The Atlantic’s best Oscars-related coverage.
A Controversial Start
the Oscars will go hostless. The Academy’s original pick, the comedian Kevin Hart, stepped down amid heavy criticism for a slew of homophobic tweets he had written in the past. (In he claimed to have already apologized for the tweets, though reporters have been unable to track down those apologies.) In lieu of a host, the show will be guided by a group of presenters that includes Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Laura Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy, Allison Janney, Awkwafina, and Tessa Thompson.
