That's all for tonight, folks ...
And that’s that for another year. What a strange one, eh? On the bad side, some less than wonderful films snuck through under the wire. On the plus side, at least it was quite short. The Guardian didn’t win, but Olivia Colman did, so at least one beloved institution made it.
Don’t expect much from the ratings tomorrow; there was no host or clear frontrunner for an audience to coalesce around. But right now that doesn’t matter. The important thing is that we were here. We did it! Now, for God’s sake, let’s all go to sleep.
Updated
Here’s more about Green Book’s unexpected win.
This is a strange choice for a best picture win. But it ends with the mic getting cut off in the middle of the speech, so at least we still got some of that characteristic Oscar cack-handedness.
Updated
GREEN BOOK WINS BEST PICTURE.
Also a shock, although a slightly less delightful one than best actress.
Updated
One more award left tonight. Anyone could win it. This is tense.
ALFONSO CUARÓN WINS BEST DIRECTOR FOR ROMA.
His third speech of the night, and surely he’s got nobody else to thank. Surely.
And yet, no. Cast, crew, producers, studio, Netflix and literally just people he happens to be looking at all get thanked. He then reads a speech in defence of domestic workers. He finishes the speech in Spanish. Maybe it’s a Colman hangover, or maybe I’m tired, but I found it quite moving.
Updated
Guillermo del Toro is here to present best director, despite having a tremendous fever. Hero after hero tonight.
Updated
And here, in a tweet, is a nice summary of the British reaction:
I honestly feel like a friend of mine has won
— Pols. (@ITYLTSmusic) February 25, 2019
Updated
Here, in a tweet, is America discovering Olivia Colman:
great Scott what a charming human being!
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) February 25, 2019
Updated
Here’s more on Olivia Colman’s win. I’d only just got used to her being a national treasure. She’s an international treasure now.
Colman looks like she wasn’t expecting this either. She’s flabbergasted. “This is not going to happen again,” she says. She blows a raspberry at the “Wrap up” sign. She points at Lady Gaga and says: “Lady Gaga.” How fantastic. What a brilliant moment.
Updated
Everyone thought that Glenn Close was a lock for this, but here she is. Brilliant Olivia Colman. “It’s genuinely quite stressful. This is hilarious. I’ve got an Oscar,” she sobs.
Updated
OLIVIA COLMAN WINS BEST ACTRESS.
What a brilliant shock!
Updated
Congressman John Lewis is here to discuss Green Book. He speaks with gravitas and emotion, and it’s one of the most powerful moments of the night.
Updated
More on Rami Malek’s win here.
RAMI MALEK WINS BEST ACTOR.
He gets on stage and calls his mother a “lovely lady”, does a bit of humblebragging, thanks Queen, stammers charmingly about what he was like as a child and generally pretends that Bryan Singer was just a figment of everyone’s imagination.
Updated
Alison Janney and Gary Oldman are on stage, telling the worst joke in all of history. But anyway, best actor time!
Updated
Barbra Streisand is here to discuss BlacKkKlansman now. She’s discussing its artistry, and the importance of emotional truth in film-making. But forget that, because Richard E Grant is going ABSOLUTELY BONKERS. His eyes have gone googly. He’s clutching his heart. His jaw is slack. Actually, can someone just check that he isn’t having a coronary?
Updated
This might be the image that everyone remembers from tonight. Find yourself a person who looks at you like Lady Gaga realising that Bradley Cooper’s face is a bit too close for her liking.
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper give an emotional performance of "Shallow," from their film "A Star Is Born." #Oscars https://t.co/FDRI1Luojq pic.twitter.com/kTbnsSP3rz
— The View (@TheView) February 25, 2019
Smart of the presenter to mention that they weren’t going to name all the dead people in this package. This way, if they forget someone, it isn’t an accidental snub. It’s fully deliberate. So that’s something.
Now for the In Memoriam segment. If you’ll allow me to reuse a joke from the Bafta liveblog, here’s where we will all pay our respects to Liam Neeson’s career.
Updated
Gaga’s up first, already in floods of tears. She’s explaining how hard it is to be successful. It’s deeply, deeply emotional. And then Mark Ronson thanks Lady Gaga, and then everyone has to help her off the stage like she’s their drunk best friend. Wonderful.
Updated
SHALLOW WINS BEST ORIGINAL SONG.
Boy oh boy, this is going to be a speech.
Updated
BLACK PANTHER WINS BEST ORIGINAL SCORE.
Ludwig Goransson accepts the award, and that’s about it. But still, Black Panther is stealthily doing very well this year.
Updated
They won’t play him off. Spike Lee is speaking from the heart, and the audience is lapping it up. The speech ends, but I get the feeling that the Oscars jumped in and cut him off at a natural applause break. He doesn’t seem to mind either way.
Updated
BLACKkKLANSMAN WINS BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY.
Samuel L Jackson is elated. Spike Lee is elated. This might just be the most effusive reaction to a win all night.
“DO NOT TURN THE MOTHERFUCKING CLOCK ON,” screams Lee, before pulling two folded sheets of A4 out of his pocket. Now it’s a game of chicken between Lee and the Oscars.
Updated
There are three writers on stage. One of them is a blabbermouth. The other two can stay.
Updated
GREEN BOOK WINS BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY.
And if there’s ever a speech doomed to be played off, this is it.
Updated
Samuel L Jackson and Brie Larson are here to present best original screenplay. And they’re giggling a lot. It’s almost like they’re desperate to prove their chemistry for an upcoming blockbuster or something.
Updated
SKIN WINS BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT.
The stage has gone bananas! People are screaming! People are taking selfies! People are, um, earnestly discussing the Holocaust. And now they’re screaming again. This is the most tonally diverse speech of the night, if nothing else.
Updated
Please someone give Bradley Cooper an Oscar for Most Difficulty Suppressing An Air Guitar Workout.
It’s just the pair of them singing at each other. Lots of pauses. Nice and intimate. And it’s got that bit where Lady Gaga makes the same noise that I do when I walk over my kid’s Lego without any shoes on. Everyone’s a winner, basically.
Updated
And now Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga lead each other up to the stage to sing Shallow together. This is likely to be A Moment, so look out.
FIRST MAN WINS BEST VISUAL EFFECTS.
Remember when everyone thought that First Man would win all the Oscars? Joke’s on you, First Man. Should have had more funny granny teeth in it. That seems to be the thing that gets you Oscars this year.
Updated
In terms of categories, we’re just about halfway through the ceremony. It’s supposed to be finished in an hour. This show is going to WILDLY OVERRUN.
Period. End of Sentence is available for you to watch on Netflix now, by the way. And here’s Black Sheep, which didn’t win but is still very good.
We’re now in the Oscars green room, which appears to be made from an escape pod from a middle-era Star Trek film. Futuristic!
Updated
And all for nothing, because PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE WINS BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT. It’s a very good short, about a very important subject. Ah well, maybe next year.
Updated
Documentary short now. Very weird tension in the office now.
Updated
BAO WINS BEST ANIMATED SHORT.
Instead of saying something pithy here, I’ll just show you the film. It’s really wonderful.
Updated
Here’s Awkwafina and John Mulaney to present something. Doesn’t matter what, because this is the best moment of the night so far. Let them present the whole thing next year.
Remember that Bohemian Rhapsody bit from Wayne’s World? The Oscars does, because Dana Carvey and Mike Myers are here to discuss Bohemian Rhapsody. Fun fact: Wayne’s World was actually a good film.
Updated
I’ve just had a look on Twitter to see how I’m doing.
You cannot enjoy the #oscars without reading the hilarious commentary of @stuheritage on @guardian live blog!
— Louis Oelofse (@Loelof) February 25, 2019
although on the other hand
Seems like this is one of the worst live blogs of the Oscars I've followed. Weird pokes of humour and a kind tainted jibe at anything worthy of winning.
— Robert G Davies (@Robbie323i) February 25, 2019
I’m really walking a tightrope here, guys.
Updated
More about the Spider-Man win here.
And now a performance of When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a song with such a long name from a film with such a long name that it’s pretty much over by the time I’ve finished typing it out.
Updated
More on Mahershala Ali’s win here.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE WINS BEST ANIMATED FEATURE.
And rightly so. It might actually be the best film nominated tonight. How fantastic. And how fantastic that Lord and Miller won an Oscar and Solo didn’t.
Updated
Pharrell is here to quote from the Bible. Must be time for best animated feature film!
Updated
Back to Bohemian Rhapsody, which contained this scene and still won best editing. Look at this scene. It’s the best editing Oscar, guys, not the most editing Oscar.
Did this scene clinch BEST FILM EDITING for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' at the #Oscars tonight? It's hard to say. pic.twitter.com/pjXgbpvXsQ
— Lights, Camera, Pod (@LightsCameraPod) February 25, 2019
Updated
MAHERSHALA ALI WINS BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR.
And, with that, Richard E Grant can finally relax and stop enjoying every single thing he ever encounters. Go ahead, Richard. Go and shout at a printer or something. It’s cathartic.
Updated
Daniel Craig and Charlize Theron present best supporting actor now. Nobody from Bohemian Rhapsody is nominated, but I’m honestly quite worried that someone from Bohemian Rhapsody will win.
Updated
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY WINS BEST EDITING.
What the hell is going on?
Updated
Michael Keaton is presenting best editing. Michael Keaton, who w an Oscar for a film with no visible edits. Up is down and down is up.
Updated
Trevor Noah is here, to discuss Black Panther. Or, more specifically, he’s discussing how he personally relates to Black Panther. At this rate, I’m worried that they’re going to get Liam Neeson on to discuss BlacKkKlansman.
Updated
The Place Where Lost Things Go? Hey, maybe there’s a verse about my will to live, am I right?
Midler is singing The Place Where Lost Things Go from Mary Poppins Returns. It is adequate.
Updated
Keegan Michael Key drops out of the sky holding an umbrella, to introduce Bette Midler singing a Mary Poppins song. He can’t collapse the umbrella either, which I’m also taking as a Trump reference.
Updated
ROMA WINS BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM.
Cuarón takes the stage again, and finds some more people to thank. There’s another veiled Trump reference, and he’s off before the music starts. What a pro.
Updated
Angela Bassett and Javier Bardem are presenting. Bardem is presenting in Spanish, with subtitles. If you’re taking this as a subtle Trump dig, go ahead and cross it off your bingo card.
Queen Latifah is now discussing The Favourite. “It’s not easy being a queen,” she says. THE PATTERN HOLDS.
Updated
I’ve been specifically asked not to liveblog anything too British tonight, to pay respect for our large international readership.
HOWEVER, it is incredibly weird and gratifying to see Anita Dobson off EastEnders in the Oscars audience. Please, please, let’s get Ian Beale on the red carpet next year.
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY WINS BEST SOUND MIXING
So, if anyone’s playing along with the bingo game, feel free to cross off ‘Bohemian Rhapsody wins more than it deserves.’
Updated
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY WINS BEST SOUND EDITING. Let the big theme of the night – willing Bryan Singer out of existence – begin! The speech is a success: it’s like he was never a part of the film at all.
Updated
James McAvoy is presenting the best sound editing award in the manner of an ASMR YouTuber being driven mad by a ton of bees.
Updated
Now here’s Serena Williams to discuss A Star Is Born. Like the Rage Against the Machine guy, she’s discussing it through the prism of her own job. I hope this pattern holds throughout the night, with every bone in my body.
Updated
The song is over already. I’ll give a pound* to anyone who can remember how that song went.
*No pounds.
Jennifer Hudson is singing now, against a backdrop of words overlaid against the supreme court. It looks, uncannily, like Saul Goodman’s office from Breaking Bad.
Updated
Emilia Clarke introduced the first nominated song of the night, I’ll Fight from RGB. But not before she makes a Game of Thrones joke.
ROMA WINS BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY. This was always going to happen. Whatever queasiness Hollywood might have about giving an award to a Netflix film, there’s no denying that Roma is a beautiful film to look at. If Alfonso Cuarón wins anything else tonight he won’t have anyone to thank, because he literally thanked every single person and thing on the face of the planet. No tears, though.
Updated
They weren’t played off, but boy that speech went on. Don’t expect to get out of here any time soon, folks.
Best Production Design goes to #BlackPanther https://t.co/EkgBBmxo63 #oscars pic.twitter.com/w3ZI0BIkDR
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 25, 2019
Oh, no, I was wrong. BLACK PANTHER WINS BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN. Hannah Beachler reads her speech from her phone, and makes such a faff about it that poor Jay Hart isn’t going to get a word in. Especially since Beachler is sobbing so hard and determined to anchor her speech around an ‘I’m stronger’ motif that refuses to die.
Updated
Jennifer Lopez and Chris Evans are here to present production design. My gut feeling is that Jennifer Lopez will win this, because she’s production-designed herself as a sort of crazy-paved mirrorball.
Updated
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m quite enjoying how businesslike these awards are. No jokes, short presentations, almost no space for speeches. It’s brisk, and the Oscars have never been brisk. Maybe next year they’ll just fire all the trophies at the winners with a cannon. It’d be over in about 45 seconds. Imagine.
It’s too early to say for sure, but it feels as if the band strikes up as soon as the winners start to tell us things about their lives. I shall be keeping an eye on this.
BLACK PANTHER WINS BEST COSTUME DESIGN. Ruth Carter very cleverly reads her speech from a card that’s the exact same colour as her dress. This is genius sleight of hand. She deserves everything she can get.
Played off, too. That’s three in a row.
Updated
Brian Tyree Henry and @melissamccarthy hilariously parody #TheFavourite at the #oscars https://t.co/TOExH6BlES pic.twitter.com/8xhfi8ziv8
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 25, 2019
Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry are presenting best costume design. McCarthy is wearing a gigantic train covered in toy rabbit and holding a toy rabbit. If nothing else, this ceremony is starting to turn into an audition run for the role of 2020 host.
Updated
VICE WINS. And this is spectacularly bizarre. The winners are reading from a landscape piece of A4 paper that I don’t think they’ve ever seen before. It’s so bizarre. Nobody knew what they were doing. They’re played off and the speech just sort of crumbles away to nothing. It is AMAZING.
Updated
Elsie Fisher and Stephan James are presenting BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR. They’re presenting it very briskly indeed. Was this one of the awards they wanted to give out during a commercial? It certainly feels this way. Vice wins
And now, coming on to an old Bond theme, is someone from Rage Against the Machine to discuss the film Vice as if it was a piece of guitar feedback. Don’t worry, I don’t know what’s happening either.
Updated
More on Regina King’s win here.
There’s an ad break now, so let’s take a moment to reflect on the Oscars set this year. If you haven’t been watching it, it looks like a sort of decoratively ornate jelly mould of a vagina. I hope that helps.
Updated
FREE SOLO WINS BEST DOCUMENTARY. The creative team cry as well. Quick prediction: this might be the soggiest Oscars ever.
You can read the ever-classy Geoff Dyer on Free Solo – the story of Alex Honnold’s solo and ropeless climb of the 3,000ft vertical wall of El Capitan in Yosemite – here.
BINGO: They’re being played off, and they don’t care. I think I detected a slight note of aggression in the play-off music.
Updated
Best Documentary now. Helen Mirren and Jason Momoa both turn up in pink, which only makes me wish that Helen Mirren had played Aquaman.
Two things of note to mention here. First, King made her speech within the allotted time. Second, BINGO for a dejected Amy Adams cutaway.
REGINA KING WINS BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS. She’s immediately set a very high bar for emotion. She started crying straight away, jumped up a level by mentioning her mother, continued crying while mentioning Emma Stone. We cut to Rachel Weisz AND SHE’S CRYING, TOO.
Updated
Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph are on stage now, doing a routine about how they’re not the hosts. They’re actually the best supporting actress presenters, but they manage to squeeze in a few good jokes in the interim. Does this mean they’re shipping in old Golden Globes hosts to present? Is Ricky Gervais going to do best film?
Updated
So it looks like, in lieu of a humorous monologue, we’re getting a montage about how great film is. It’s like the sort of thing they play in cinemas before the film starts, to remind you to buy popcorn and sugary drinks. But this is the Oscars, so it lasts for about 400 years. It ends on a Stan & Ollie clip, teaching us all to add a line about how great films are into our films.
Updated
Still, at least Brian May is rocking and swaggering with all the confidence of a man who hired an alleged sexual predator to make a film about how great he is. That’s quite a lot of confidence.
First it was We Will Rock You. Now they’re doing We Are the Champions, which seems a bit presumptuous given that 80% of the nominees tonight are literally destined to become losers.
Updated
As expected, the Oscars open with a performance by Queen doing their level best to inject some life into a crowd that’s spent the last fortnight hungry and exhausted. They want this to be over as much as everyone else.
Updated
THE CEREMONY BEGINS
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2019 Oscars are about to begin. Strap in, because this is going to be all sorts of stuff.
And that’s it from the Guardian fashion team on the red carpet. To surmise, no losers here – a lot of pink, a lot of capes, a touch of froufrou tulle and trousers, and one incredibly expensive diamond courtesy of Lady Gaga (who else?).
Updated
Rami Malek, nominated for his role as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, could have gone all out for his red carpet appearance. Instead, he has gone understated and classic. Skinny trousers and sharp tailoring – a look that will never get old, just like Queen’s back catalogue.
Updated
Nicholas Hoult, another Brit from The Favourite, is wearing a Dior suit from the autumn/winter 2019 collection. One of the pieces Dior designer Kim Jones made with the red carpet in mind, it comes with a detachable black sash so, you know, you can wear it again. Economical luxury, you heard it here first.
Olivia Colman arrived on the red carpet with Lady Gaga – a friendship we can get behind. Moving on from pink, Colman brings a different shade for your consideration. The forest-green, high-neck dress has none of the flimflam that Colman wears to play Queen Anne in The Favourite. It’s simple, to the point, no nonsense. The train adds a little bit of pizzazz though – a kind of front-facing cape with sleeves. Is this a red carpet first?
Updated
A highlight on this current red carpet fashion circuit – she’s worn Valentino and Celine so far this year – nominee Lady Gaga has gone for a relatively trad black gown by Alexander McQueen with a small caged crinoline, black latex gloves (another theme) and a 128.54-carats Tiffany yellow diamond, one of the largest in the world, apparently valued at $30m and last worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Well, she’s won something even if she doesn’t take home an Oscar.
Updated
Less than quarter of an hour before things start happening, so be sure to follow our constantly updated list of winners over here.
Meanwhile, Olivia Colman has arrived, and appears to have smartly bypassed the gauntlet of the press pack. May she win everything tonight.
#OliviaColman cheekily sneeks in the back... Very Queen Anne 👑 #thefavourite #oscars pic.twitter.com/LZngBCSbWP
— Bethany Minelle (@Bethanyminelle) February 25, 2019
Have I mentioned that the Guardian is up for an Oscar tonight? Because it is. Look, here’s our head of documentaries Charlie on the red carpet, with Black Sheep’s protagonist Cornelius Walker.
Updated
Take away the red carpet and Pharrell Williams and his wife Helen Lasichanh could be going out on a date. This is a pretty low-key look for Williams who, with his skater background, has a bit of a thing for shorts, while Lasichanh has tights on, something not often seen on the red carpet. The duo should be admired for their laid-back take on Oscars style – in a sea of Proper Gowns, they have a refreshing quality: nonchalance.
Updated
Bucking the trend for hot pink dress and/or a massive train is The Favourite’s Rachel Weisz, who has arrived in a superlative two-part gown – the top is a cropped red latex T-shirt and the bottom is a tulle embellished skirt with a gently cinched waist. Modern meets historical, much like the film. The Greco-silver headband is straight off the spring/summer catwalk – expect to see a few more of these ...
Updated
Seacrest awkwardness update:
SAM ELLIOTT: Pressed hard on what Bradley Cooper cooked for him. Refused point-blank to respond. Joke’s on him, because nobody cares. 3/10
Updated
Brown is not a colour we have seen much of at the Oscars 2019. It is, however, a very fashion colour currently. Emma Stone, nominated for best supporting actress for her role in The Favourite, makes a case for a kind of rust colour in her Louis Vuitton dress. If, on the catwalk, brown has had a lot of play in daywear with cord and knitwear, Stone’s sequins – not to mention the impressive matching of hair to dress – give it a dressy spin.
Updated
Chadwick Boseman of Black Panther has arrived in a black jacket-dress dipped in metallic sequins, and a thigh-length black silk scarf in lieu of a bowtie. He’s fast becoming a poster boy for Givenchy but we’ll update the designer when we know more. The look is regal, staid without being dull and presumably incredibly heavy. Also very pro anyone who doesn’t wear a harness tonight.
Updated
Malificent has had quite the impact when it comes to fashion – Charlize Theron’s Oscars look is the latest example of how the sorceress is a bit of style icon for our times. The actor’s new raven bob looks sharp against the duck-egg column of her Dior dress. The pointy jewellery, slash of red lipstick and low back add up to the kind of glamour that is not to be messed with.
Updated
Amy Poehler, who would have been a great host tonight but is likely presenting an award, is wearing a black Alberta Ferretti tuxedo, replete with tails, a sheer ruffle blouse and some sort of pin. Tuxedoes on women: the trend we all predicted on the post-MeToo red carpet but have so far seen very little of.
In Vice, Amy Adams does power dressing 80s style, complete with shoulder pads, big hair and classically expensive jewellery. For the Oscars, the nominee is far more understated – strikingly so. After so many pink frocks, capes and more, this white column dress is positively understated. Perhaps it’s a more subtle power play – when you’re this good, you don’t need to make a fuss.
Updated
Less than an hour to go until the ceremony starts. It might be time to start guessing what time Lady Gaga will arrive on the red carpet. My prediction: 20 seconds before the ceremony begins, in a gown made out of liquid mercury, carried on a plinth by a fleet of anthropomorphic badgers.
In her asymmetric gown by Lebanese designer, Reem Acra, Black Panther star Angela Bassett incorporates three of this season’s trends in one fell swoop: hot pink, a train and a giant rococo bow. Large bows have become something of a macro trend – see the Miu Miu, Rodarte, Marc Jacobs and Moschino spring/summer catwalks – but it’s always pleasing to see one worn in the wild. Surprisingly, her stylist described her as a fan of “effortless fashion” because of the length of the train.
Updated
Because there isn’t a lot to actually liveblog yet, I’ve chosen to rate the awkwardness of Ryan Seacrest’s red carpet interviews as they happen. Some highlights so far:
RICHARD E GRANT: Told Seacrest that he had impregnated Melissa McCarthy, to Seacrest’s palpable confusion. 6/10
JOE ALWYN: Seacrest asked if it was his birthday today. It was not his birthday today. So Seacrest asked what he did for his most recent birthday anyway. 8/10
The sofa print has already had a lot of love on the red carpet – Harry Styles and Kim Kardashian are fans. Maya Rudolph, best known for her role in the comedy Bridesmaids, joins their ranks with this impressively floral number, which looks like it could be Gucci, and comes with the Oscars 2019 accessory, a cape. People on Twitter are already inevitably comparing it to sofas, but Rudolph should remember, in fashion world, this is not an insult, it’s a compliment.
Updated
Gemma Chan’s fuschia pink Valentino frock demonstrates she is – and we mean this as a compliment – a lazy dresser. The dress has all the impact – thanks to the kind of colour more usually found on a highlighter in your stationery tidy – without sacrificing comfort. It has pockets and, with the floor-grazing length, she could even be wearing sneakers. We hope she is.
Updated
Glenn Close, favourite to win an Oscar for best actress, has come presumably en homage to an Oscar statuette in an extraordinary floor length gold gown. The cape puddling on the red carpet is something of a theme among the best actress nominees – Melissa McCarthy arrived in a monochrome caped suit a few moments ago. Looking forward to seeing Lady Gaga in something similar.
Updated
I’ve figured out what a Glambot is, by the way. It’s a high-speed camera mounted on a robotic arm that has the ability to rotate, lift, pan, tilt and roll with unprecedented swiftness. How has E! utilised such impressive technology? By encouraging famous people to sort of stand in front of it and waggle their arms around a bit. Maybe it is the end of the world after all.
Updated
The trend for women wearing trousers on the red carpet has been growing over the last few years but Melissa McCarthy is the first major female star at the Oscars this year to spurn a dress. Her palazzo pants are very spring/summer 2019. The flowy cape, meanwhile, brings the movie-star glamour. The resemblance to Daenerys Targaryen’s outfits in Game of Thrones only makes us more convinced that McCarthy might actually be queen of the world.
Updated
If there isn’t going to be an Oscars monologue this year – rumours suggest that it’s going to be replaced by some sort of hellish Queen medley – here’s a quick rundown of some of the other awards season monologues, so hopefully you can get your fill that way.
Film Independent Spirit awards – Aubrey Plaza
A very strong monologue with good cameos and a splendid closeup of Tilda Swinton’s dirty napkin. 8/10
Writers Guild Awards – Chelsea Peretti
Perhaps the best monologue of the year, possibly because the awards also celebrate television, which meant that a great deal of time could be spent explaining why The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is bad. 10/10
Baftas – Joanna Lumley
Literally a hellmouth created by a near total absence of identifiable jokes. When we all die, this will be the last thing we see. Awful awful awful awful. 3/10
Updated
At the 2012 Oscars, Angelina Jolie’s became such a focus of red carpet attention, it gained the ultimate pop culture honour of becoming a meme. Regina King, nominated as best supporting actress for her role in In Beale Street Could Talk, could follow in her footsteps, with a white Oscar de la Renta dress with thigh-high split. Twitter is already calling it a “winner’s dress”. Time will tell.
Updated
An early highlight in the arrival of ingenu, Richard E Grant, buoyed no doubt by his win at the Independent Spirit awards this weekend. The awards’ wildcard choice for best supporting actor is wearing a relatively safe red velvet tux jacket with clashing lapels, and, he says, his own scent called ‘Jack’.
Updated
Sugar almond shades are making a bid as an early Oscars 2019 red carpet trend. After Emilia Clarke’s ultraviolet, Yalitza Aparicio, who is the first indigenous Mexican person to be nominated for an Oscar – read Roma star’s hometown wills her on to Oscars glory! – has taken to an aqua shade. It comes complete with twinkly sparking sequins. As Roma, the film that Aparicio stars in, is filmed in black and white, it’s frankly lovely to see her in colour. The subtle homage to Elsa from Frozen is also appreciated. The sequel to the Disney smash does come out this year, after all.
Updated
Director Spike Lee, whose film BlacKkKlansman is nominated for best picture and best adapted screenplay, arrives in a millefeuille of papal purple by pioneering black designer, Oswald Boateng (the colour was also big at Gucci and Louis Vuitton this season), and gold Air Jordan 3 “Tinker” trainers embellished with the name of his film company. Sort of like a billboard then. Note he wore something similar to the Baftas, with a different hat. For those under any doubt as to whether there is a Prince connection, he’s also wearing a bespoke necklace by Amedeo Scognamiglio in homage to the late popstar. Apparently the ‘Love Hate’ rings are an homage to his 1990 film, Do The Right Thing, which was famously snubbed at the time.
Updated
If this liveblog falls silent for any significant periods of time, it’s because I’m watching the E! red carpet coverage and I’ve fallen down a Glambot wormhole. All the presenters keep saying the word ‘Glambot’ over and over again, and I don’t know what it is. I need to get a definitive answer, otherwise I’ll convince myself that the singularity has happened and E! is leading the onslaught against humanity. More as I get it.
In the meantime, here is an article explaining what is going to happen tonight, who we think will win, a quick plug for the Guardian’s Oscar-nominated documentary short Black Sheep (which, not being biased or anything, is VERY GOOD) and another mention of the bingo game. Really cannot reiterate the bingo thing enough, guys.
Updated
It’s 10, 10, 10, 10 across the board for Billy Porter, the actor seen in Ryan Murphy vogueing series, Pose. Fans of Porter will see his floor-length black gown-plus-tuxedo – gown-cedo? – as the next chapter in his bid to win the red carpet. It follows his sequinned and beaded cape plus suit at the Golden Globes and arguably upstages it. The pose itself – hand on hips, smize at the ready – means he wins, whatever the category is.
Updated
Professional declutterer and Netflix star Marie Kondo arrived predictably early, and looking immaculate, in a honeysuckle pink lace gown with floral embellishments by Jenny Packham from her autumn/winter18 pre-Collection. Apparently Kondo tried on three different gowns by the UK designer but ultimately decided that the pink version sparked the most joy.
Updated
Hi from the fashion desk! Lauren Cochrane and Morwenna Ferrier will be taking you through the style on the red carpet.
Emilia Clarke, the actor known for her role in Game of Thrones, is clearly knowledgable about colour theory. Her choice for the Oscars is a strapless gown in Ultraviolet, the colour hotly tipped by Pantone. It seems churlish to point out that this is the colour of 2018, rather than 19, especially because she’s matched the colour so expertly with that sharp bob and plum-coloured lipstick. Living Coral - 2019’s shade - would clash with the red carpet anyway.
Updated
A liveblog is born
Hello, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the 2019 Oscars. Tonight is not just the highlight of the cinematic year, but it might just be the highlight of the year full stop, for the simple reason that it might just be a full-blown car crash.
There’s no host, every one of the Academy’s proposed changes to modernise the ceremony has gone down in flames, it’s been snowing in Los Angeles and there’s a general sense of jeopardy not seen since Rob Lowe duetted with Snow White 30 years ago.
To add to the excitement, for the first time ever, nobody knows who’s going to win anything. Frontrunners are scattered all over the place, and the results of the big prizes are anyone’s guess, frankly.
Here’s how tonight will proceed. From now until 1am, I’ll be tag-teaming the Oscars red carpet with the fashion team. And then, when the ceremony itself starts at 1am GMT, I’ll be bringing you all the action as it happens, either until it finishes or until the sun expands and swallows the Earth. It’s a long ceremony, is what I’m trying to say. All the while, why not play along with this Oscars Bingo game?
If you’re in America, it’s going to be a fun evening. If you’re British, go to bed. All the good bits will be on YouTube tomorrow morning. Sleep is important, you know.
Updated
