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 in which frontrunners were constantly shuffled, old tweets 

 and space was held for “Wicked,” the 97th Academy Awards get underway Sunday.

Sunday’s Academy Awards, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, will bring to a close one of the most unpredictable Oscar races in recent memory.

The ceremony kicks off 6 p.m. CST and will be broadcast by ABC and streamed on Hulu. Conan O’Brien is 

. The official red carpet preshow on ABC and Hulu starts at 6:30 p.m. Unofficial E! red carpet coverage begins at 3 p.m. CST and The Associated Press will 

Light rain was in the forecast for Sunday morning in Los Angeles, which is still recovering from 

wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods

The fires affected many throughout the film industry and within the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Some even called for the cancellation of Hollywood’s awards season. While 

, O’Brien has been living out of a hotel the last two months. Oscar producers have said the show will celebrate the city’s resilience.

The lead nominee is Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez,” with 13 nominations, but that film has seen its chances crater following uproar over years-old offensive tweets by its star, 

, the first openly trans actor nominated for best actress.

 about a sex worker who weds the son of a Russian oligarch. The Neon release, the 

, won with the producers, directors and writers guild. The only movie with the same resume to not win best picture is “Brokeback Mountain.”

Its closest competition is “Conclave,” 

the papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes

. It won at the BAFTAs and the SAG Awards, wins that came just as 

Pope Francis was hospitalized for double pneumonia

. Oscar voting concluded before the pope fell ill.

 nominated for 10 awards, and the musical hit “Wicked,” also with 10 nominations. Several of the early craft Oscars could be shared between “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two.”

For the first time, an actor is nominated for playing the sitting U.S. president. Sebastian Stan is nominated for best actor for 

 in “The Apprentice,” as is his co-star, Jeremy Strong, for playing Roy Cohn. Trump has called those involved with the film “human scum.”

The political tenor of this year’s ceremony could be volatile, with the Oscars coming weeks into the second Trump administration and falling two days after 

the president’s dramatic rupture with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Speaking earlier this week, O’Brien said he'll strive to strike a delicate balance.

“I cannot ignore the moment we’re in,” he said. “But I also have to remember it’s threading a needle. I also have to remember what we’re here to celebrate and infuse the show with positivity.”

Will Timothée Chalamet win his first Oscar?

While the supporting acting categories feature overwhelming favorites in Zoe Saldana (“Emilia Pérez”) and Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”), both best actor and best actress are close contests.

In best actress, Demi Moore (“The Substance”) is most likely to win, but Mikey Madison (“Anora”) or Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”) could pull off the upset.

Adrien Brody is favored in best actor for his performance in “The Brutalist. But Timothée Chalamet stands a decent chance of beating him, for 

his performance as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.”

, would become the youngest best actor winner ever, edging Brody’s record, set in 2003 in his win for “The Pianist.”

This year's Oscars are unspooling after a turbulent year for the film industry. Ticket sales were down 3 percent from the previous year and more significantly from pre-pandemic times. The strikes of 2023 played havoc with release schedules in 2024. Many studios pulled back on production, leaving many out of work. The fires, in January, only added to the pain.

the twin blockbusters of “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,”

 led the Oscars to a four-year viewership high, with 19.5 million viewers. This year, with smaller independent films favored in the most prominent awards, the academy will be tested to draw as large of an audience.

With a not particularly starry array of best song nominees, the academy has done away with performances of original songs this year. But there will be music, including a performance by “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and a tribute to the late Quincy Jones, with Queen Latifah.

Last year’s acting winners — Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph — will also take part in the ceremony. The acting awards won't get the “fab five” treatment, with five previous winners per category, but producers say it 

 that “maybe don’t normally get the spotlight on the Oscar stage.”

The ceremony will be taking place days following 

. The 95-year-old two-time Oscar winner and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday at their New Mexico home.

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After a topsy-turvy Oscar season in which frontrunners were constantly shuffled, old tweets hobbled a top contender and space was held for “Wicked,” the 97th Academy Awards get underway Sunday.

A topsy-turvy Oscar season concludes today. Here’s what to look for at the show

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