Is this the most open Oscars race in recent memory?

While last year’s Academy Awards progressed with relative predictability, this year pundits are split and the four big categories are too close to call

The red carpet is being vacuumed, the manicurists are working overtime and, across Hollywood, an unprecedented number of acceptance speeches are getting a polish.

The four big categories at this year’s Oscars – best picture, director, actor and actress – are being deemed too close to call as the remarkable drama of this year’s award season reaches a peak.

Topics

Mikaela Shiffrin gets historic 100th World Cup race win and ties record for most podiums

SESTRIERE, Italy — Mikaela Shiffrin is 100% the best in skiing’s World Cup history book.
NBC News - 4d
Timothée Chalamet wins best actor SAG Award, shaking up Oscar race

Timothée Chalamet won the SAG Award for best actor, his first major acting award, for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown."
Los Angeles Times - 4d
Oscars flashback: An Oscar for playing an Oscar winner

Cate Blanchett wins for 'The Aviator' — the first time a performer had won an Oscar for a portrayal of a previous Oscar winner.
Los Angeles Times - 4d
Family reunited with beloved dad's memorial bench

The family of man whose tribute bench was swept out to sea have had it returned to them.
BBC News - 6d
Man seriously injured in stabbing at Berlin Holocaust Memorial

Yahoo News - 6d
Suspect arrested for stabbing at Holocaust memorial in Berlin

BERLIN — Police have arrested a 19-year-old Syrian man suspected of attacking a 30-year-old Spanish national at Berlin's Holocaust memorial on Friday, just two days before the country’s national ...
NBC News - 6d
Berlin Stabbing Attack at Holocaust Memorial Injures One

The police said they had detained a suspect in the assault, which occurred among the labyrinth of concrete slabs at one of the German capital’s most sacrosanct sites.
The New York Times - 6d
Timothée Chalamet deserves an Oscar – for his Oscar campaign

A Complete Unknown’s best actor nominee might lose out on the prize to The Brutalist favorite Adrien Brody but his journey to the stage has been award-worthy. On Sunday, Timothée Chalamet could ...
The Guardian - 1h
California faces worsening drought despite recent heavy rainstorms

Dry pattern seen among entire ‘lower basin’ of the Colorado River, including Arizona and desert cities such as Las Vegas. Dramatic rainstorms earlier this month brought more than 6in of rain to ...
The Guardian - 3d

More from The Guardian

Zelenskyy heads for Trump White House meeting as Russia names new US ambassador – Europe live

Appointment of Alexander Darchiev is latest sign of thaw in US-Russian relations. in Athens . The peaceful scenes in central Athens have now been eclipsed by the eruption of full scale clashes ...
The Guardian - 33m
Gene Hackman and wife suffered no external trauma, first autopsy results show

Actor and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at Santa Fe home under suspicious circumstances. ‘The greatest’: Hollywood pays tribute to Gene Hackman . Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy ...
The Guardian - 2h
Anneliese Dodds resigns over Keir Starmer’s decision to cut aid budget

Exclusive: International development minister warns it will be ‘impossible’ to retain funding in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine. Anneliese Dodds: soft left intellectual pushed to resign How much does ...
The Guardian - 52m
Youths throw rocks at police in Athens as violence erupts amid train crash rally

Riot officers fire teargas at hundreds of hooded youths as protests across Greece mark anniversary of Tempe disaster. Peaceful protests in central Athens have been eclipsed by the eruption of ...
The Guardian - 3h
China’s defence ministry warns Taiwan ‘we will get you, sooner or later’

Threat after Taipei announces bigger military drills appears to mirror a line from children’s film Ne Zha 2. China’s defence ministry spokesperson has warned Taiwan “we will come and get you, ...
The Guardian - 5h

More in World

Human rights expert accuses UN peacekeepers of violations in Central Africa Republic

Yahoo News - 14m
Strike Brings Greece to a Halt: No Trains, No Planes and Huge Protests

Two years after the country’s deadliest rail disaster, many are still demanding greater safety and accountability.
The New York Times - 14m
‘I spent 12 hours a day for 16 months with Gene Hackman – but never met him’: The Conversation’s Walter Murch pays tribute

Murch was just a rookie when he was hired to edit Francis Ford Coppola’s follow-up to The Godfather, but studying Hackman taught him all he needed to know. I never formally met Gene Hackman. I ...
The Guardian - 21m
Hedge funds hit back against new leverage limits

Bodies representing big funds unleash lobbying offensive against global regulators’ plans
Financial Times - 23m
Trump reportedly wants to shrink size and focus of state department; climate agency braces for more cuts – live

President wants radical overhaul of state department, including fewer diplomats and embassies, Politico reports; Noaa expects more cuts after hundreds fired. US aid cuts have forced the UN ...
The Guardian - 27m