Oscars 2019: everything we know so far

The awards ceremony will reward films that most voters and viewers will have seen in the 2018 calendar year – although some titles premiered earlier at international festivals (such as The Wife from Toronto in 2017), and others are still waiting for a public release in the UK (including Green Book, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and more).

A number of awards have been given out across various Critics Circles in the US, but the big event that kicked off proceedings was the 91st Golden Globes – with a surprising bunch of nominees, and winners. On 9 January, the nominees for this year's BAFTAs were announced, yet again adding a new range of parameters to consider. And finally, on 22 January, this year's Oscar nominees were revealed. Here's everything we know about what to expect next.

BAFTA awards 2019 winners

Roma wins big at the BAFTA awards, showing promise ahead of the Oscars

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has voted once more – the BAFTA awards have been decided. The organisation is an independent charity which operates all year round via an international programme of events and activities, as well as the awards ceremony everyone expects.

The results are hardly surprising, and the omission of any female directors as well as a significant disregard for Widows is disappointing – but it's encouraging to see The Favourite and Roma come out on top, ahead of the Oscars at the end of the month.

Here's are the main winners for this year's BAFTA awards:

BEST FILM
Roma - Alfonso Cuarón, Gabriela Rodríguez

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
The Favourite - Yorgos Lanthimos, Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Deborah Davis, Tony Mcnamar

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Roma - Alfonso Cuarón, Gabriela Rodríguez

DIRECTOR
Roma - Alfonso Cuarón

LEADING ACTRESS
Olivia Colman - The Favourite

LEADING ACTOR
Rami Malek - Bohemian Rhapsody

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rachel Weisz - The Favourite

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali - Green Book

EE RISING STAR
Letitia Wright

And the Oscar nominees are...

The frontrunner for this awards season could now be in jeopardy: A Star Is Born isn't so safe anymore

The nominees have finally been announced, with a few frustrating snubs as usual and staggering oversights for a forward-looking industry. Controversial fan favourites Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody are taking up room across several categories, while Beautiful Boy has gone completely ignored.

Disappointingly, yet again, the Best Director category only includes men – in the year of brilliant films directed by women including Can You Ever Forgive Me?, You Were Never Really Here, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and more. Roma and The Favourite lead the race with 10 nominations each, while Black Panther is the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture. Here are the main categories for this year's Oscar nominees:

BEST PICTURE

BlacKkKlansman
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star Is Born
Vice

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale - Vice
Bradley Cooper - A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe - At Eternity's Gate
Rami Malek - Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen - Green Book

BEST ACTRESS

Yalitza Aparicio - Roma
Glenn Close - The Wife
Olivia Colman - The Favourite
Lady Gaga - A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy - Can You Ever Forgive Me?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali - Green Book
Adam Driver - BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott - A Star Is Born
Richard E Grant - Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell - Vice

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams - Vice
Marina de Tavira - Roma
Regina King - If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone - The Favourite
Rachel Weisz - The Favourite

BEST DIRECTOR

Alfonso Cuaron - Roma
Yorgos Lanthimos - The Favourite
Spike Lee - BlacKkKlansman
Adam McKay - Vice
Pawel Pawlikowski - Cold War

The race is on: Academy Awards key dates

Trust no monarch: Margot Robbie's kingdom in Mary Queen of Scots could soon be overturned

The members of the Academy have chosen their nominees. Ahead of the ceremony to end all ceremonies on 24 February, a one-week window opens up from 12 February to 19 February.

For viewers and curious fans around the world, the date that matters the most is the 24th – and then the 25th, to process whatever mess has been made...

Hollywood controversy: Who is hosting the Oscars?

There's no disputing the host and official frontman of Queen: Freddie Mercury gets a flashy but flawed biopic in Bohemian Rhapsody

At the time of writing, the Oscars will proceed without a host. Following the likes of Jimmy Kimmel, Neil Patrick Harris, Billy Crystal and Ellen DeGeneres, the position is still up in the air due to controversy surrounding comedian Kevin Hart. The actor was originally offered the job in December 2018, but the day after he accepted, homophobic tweets from 2008 – 2012 resurfaced, after which the Academy gave Hart an ultimatum: apologise or step down.

Hart chose the latter, explaining how he had previously apologised and did not want to distract from the evening's winners, and at this stage, wouldn't have enough time to prepare. But the position still hasn't been filled – the Academy have since admitted they would take Hart back, and no other stars have been announced to replace him.

In an emotional interview with Hart, Ellen DeGeneres revealed on her talk show that she reached out to the Academy in defence of Hart, who, in turn, admitted they still would like him to host the ceremony. 'Whatever is going on on the internet, don't pay attention to them', DeGeneres told Hart on air. 'We are a huge group of people who love you and want to see you host the Oscars'.

The Oscars haven't been without a host since 1988, but other awards ceremonies have survived without one (instead focusing on the enticing presenters) for years. While the controversy was still fresh, it at least offered a spark of humour in the opening monologue at the Golden Globes. Comedian Andy Samberg, who co-hosted the show with Killing Eve star Sandra Oh, started his introduction by reassuring everyone: 'We are going to have some fun, give out some awards, and one lucky audience member will host the Oscars!'

Oscars vs Golden Globes: what's the difference?


Can, or should, anyone stop Olivia Colman? The Favourite could be her first Oscar win

The Golden Globes tend to set the tone for things to come at the Oscars, but the two ceremonies are fundamentally antithetic. The former starts the season, the latter ends it, and the voting body shakes things up from the inside out.

The Golden Globes are voted for by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a non-profit organisation of approximately 90 journalists and photographers across 55 countries. Every member votes in every category, in a 'majority rules' system.

The Oscars are voted for by roughly 8200 members who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – actors, filmmakers, creatives who have been nominated for an Oscar or who have been sponsored by two current Academy members. 928 artists were invited to join the Academy in 2018, including Christine Baranski, Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman and Mindy Kaling.

The core difference in voting structures means that what won at the Globes isn't necessarily safe at the Oscars. In a surprising turn of events, Bohemian Rhapsody won the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Drama) and Best Actor (Drama) despite receiving a poor critical reception. Green Book won Best Picture (Comedy), Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay – which also came as a surprise when nominees in other categories including Mary Poppins Returns, Beautiful Boy and If Beale Street Could Talk were mostly ignored. And the festival favourite, critical darling and box office hit A Star Is Born only won Best Original Song (will anything else ever compete with 'Shallow'?) despite being up for five awards.

Some homework: what to watch before the ceremony

Can the Academy trust love all the way? If Beale Street Could Talk might still hopefully take home a few wins

Ahead of the big hitters and the night that will finally put all the glitz and glam to bed, if only for a few months, there's still time to catch up on some of the best films of the season – irrespective of their wins. First Man, which won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score despite then being snubbed by the Academy, stands out as an epic, groundbreaking biopic from the mind behind La La Land and Whiplash.

Beautiful Boy isn't making waves as intense as Call Me By Your Name once did, but Timothée Chalamet's performance as teenager Nic Sheff, who struggles with meth addiction, proves the actor's exciting versatility and strength at such an early stage in his career, even though the Academy failed to acknowledge it.

If Beale Street Could Talk is released in UK cinemas just in time for Valentine's Day – Moonlight director Barry Jenkins' new film (based on James Baldwin's novel of the same name) is at once tender and urgent, a story of transcendental love against a backdrop of perpetual injustice. There's no Best Picture nomination unfortunately, but that doesn't take anything away from its majesty.

And then there's Widows. It felt like an obvious but still invigorating choice to dominate the season, a subversive heist thriller from 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen, led by powerhouse Viola Davis alongside the mesmeric Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Erivo. And yet, somehow, the film with every ingredient to excel has completely been left to one side.

There's no diminishing the film's merit and vital power as a vehicle for change. Watch in preparation, or just in admiration of the talent we're lucky to have in our midst. That's what the movies are all about, right?