by Hollywood heavyweights have started to settle down ahead of the 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
Irish talent is well represented this year at the biggest event on the showbiz calendar but faces stiff competition.
Nominees Brendan Fraser and Jamie Lee Curtis were among those who arrived early to be greeted on the carpet, which unlike previous years is champagne colored.
The cast of last year’s Coda winner for Best Picture – Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur – were reunited on the carpet and joined by veteran actor James Hong.
Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was also seen in a shimmering silver dress.
The Banshees Of Inisherin is the most Oscar-nominated Irish film of all time, having been nominated nine times ahead of Sunday’s show.
The film’s four main stars – Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan – all received acting awards.
But he faces stiff challenges in all the major categories – including the coveted best picture – from the Everything Everywhere All At Once awards season’s juggernaut, who leads the field with 11 nominations.
The sci-fi epic, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, recently won top honors at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, making it the clear winner of the Oscars.
Its stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan are both hot picks for their respective Best Actress and Supporting Actor categories.
Yeoh competes against Cate Blanchett for Best Actress, as well as Michelle Williams, Ana de Armas and Andrea Riseborough.
Quan, who has won Best Supporting Actor at most other major awards shows this year, is up against Gleeson and Keoghan.
Farrell is joined in the Best Actor category by Elvis’ Austin Butler and The Whale star Brendan Fraser for Best Actor, as well as veteran British actor Bill Nighy for Living and Irish actor Paul Mescal for coming-of-age drama Aftersun .
In the Best Picture category, All Quiet On The Western Front sits alongside The Fabelmans, Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Banshees Of Inisherin.
Other contenders include the blockbuster sequels Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way Of Water, as well as Tar, Elvis, Women Talking, and Triangle Of Sadness.
US comedian Jimmy Kimmel will host the 95th annual ceremony, which is set to begin at midnight UK time on Sunday.
Lady Gaga is reportedly set to collaborate with her pop titan Rihanna in the cast, after organizers previously said she would be unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts.
Presenters include British stars Hugh Grant and Florence Pugh, although Hollywood veteran Glenn Close will reportedly not be attending after testing positive for Covid 19.
