When is it and who's going to win? Everything you need to know about this weekend's Oscars

After a long old awards season rocked by allegations of sexual assault and the inspiring Me Too and Time’s Up movements that were born to give voice to victims, we’re finally in the home stretch. That’s right, the 2018 Academy Awards will be taking place at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Centre in Los Angeles this Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know about the ceremony…

When’s it on?

The Oscars start at 8.30pm local time with guests hitting the red carpet from about 7pm. That means the live show will start at 1.30am on Monday.

The full ceremony will also be repeated at 8am, with highlights of all the major moments at 8pm.

Where to watch it?

If you have Sky you can watch the ceremony live on the Sky Cinema Oscars channel from midnight. Alternatively, you can watch it on Now TV, which comes with a 14-day free trial for new customers.

You can also follow along on Twitter where highlights and clips will be posted, including at @TheAcademy.

Who’s hosting?

Jimmy Kimmel is having a second crack at hosting duties. Kimmel has years of experience as the host of his own late-night chat show on ABC and should put in another confident performance this year. You can be pretty sure he’ll include a few jokes about Trump and the Hollywood figures who have been accused of sexual misconduct and harassment.

Who’s up for an award?

Best Picture nominees:Call Me by Your Name; Darkest Hour; Dunkirk; Get Out; Lady Bird; Phantom Thread; The Post; The Shape of Water; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Lead Actress nominees: Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water; Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Margot Robbie, I, Tonya; Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird; Meryl Streep, The Post.

Lead Actor nominees: Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name; Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread; Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out; Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour; Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Supporting Actor nominees: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project; Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water; Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World; Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Supporting Actress nominees: Mary J. Blige, Mudbound; Allison Janney, I, Tonya; Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread; Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird; Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water.

Director nominees: Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan; Get Out, Jordan Peele; Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig; Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson; The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro.

Adapted Screenplay nominees: Call Me by Your Name, James Ivory; The Disaster Artist, Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Logan, Scott Frank, James Mangold & Michael Green; Molly’s Game, Aaron Sorkin; Mudbound, Virgil Williams & Dee Rees.

Original Screenplay nominees:The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani; Get Out, Jordan Peele; Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig; The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonagh.

Who will win?

According to GoldDerby, these are the favourites to win on Sunday night.

Best Picture:Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Lead Actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Lead Actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Director:The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro

Adapted Screenplay:Call Me by Your Name, James Ivory

Original Screenplay: Get Out, Jordan Peele

Who’s performing?

Common and Andra Day will perform his Oscar-nominated song ‘Stand Up for Something’ from Marshall.

Mary J. Blige will perform ‘Mighty River,’ from Mudbound, the Oscar-nominated song she co-wrote with Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson.

Natalia LaFourcade, Miguel and Gael Garcia Bernal will perform the Oscar-nominated song ‘Remember Me’ from Coco.

Keala Settle will perform the Oscar-nominated song ‘This is Me’ from The Greatest Showman.

Sufjan Stevens will also perform his Oscar-nominated song ‘Mystery of Love’, written for Call Me by Your Name.

What to look out for?

It’s going to be hard to top last year’s Moonlight-Best Picture snafu as one of the greatest Oscar moments of all time, but there could still be some memorable moments to look out for.

According to TMZ, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty will be presenting the Best Picture award – AGAIN! Haven’t they learnt their lesson?

Also, could there be another highly-political Oprah Winfrey Golden Globes-style moment? One of the most important questions is how prevalent the Me Too and Time’s Up movements will be during Hollywood’s biggest night. We’ll certainly be watching to find out. 

(Image: Rex)