What to watch: It's time for an Oscar Party
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Get your tuxes, gowns and best outfits together – in my case, a wrestling T-shirt and some comfy pants – because it's time for the Oscars!
A refreshingly unpredictable awards season comes to a close Sunday night with the 97th Academy Awards, and our crew will be covering from all over the nation. We'll have folks on the ground in Hollywood, interviewing celebs on the red carpet and hanging out inside the Dolby Theatre, while your boy's going to be liveblogging the festivities from the other coast. (And before then, peep my predictions!) With such a big weekend, it's a good time to catch up on Oscar films you haven't seen yet and/or past winners, and we've got recommendations whether you're feeling the past or the present. But if you want a sporty palate cleanser, Netflix has launched a new basketball comedy with Kate Hudson (an Oscar nominee herself).
Now on to the good (and golden) stuff:
Revisit the best actors in Academy Awards favorites
A year ago, I did rankings for the Oscars' top best actor and best actress performances of the past 25 years. Well, that was so fun, we went back to the well to tackle the supporting categories. A bunch of villains (plus a few good guys) mark the best supporting actor list – and yes, Heath Ledger ranks up there – while a variety of moms and maternal figures, righteous and not so much, pepper the supporting actress crew.
I figure that Timothée Chalamet, Demi Moore, Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña are likely to be the Oscar Class of '25, and we'll see if any of them unleash an acceptance speech that could make my colleague Patrick Ryan's best-of list. (Drunk Olivia Colman set a high bar.) And our pal Marco della Cava rounded up the A-listers still waiting patiently for their first Academy Award.
Catch up with Oscar best pictures past and present
Can "Anora" complete its Cinderella story with a huge Oscar win or will the wannabe popes of "Conclave" pull off a heavenly victory? This year's best picture race has been an interesting one – as opposed to "Oppenheimer" steamrolling everything a year ago – and our movie team rolls out why each of the 10 nominated movies deserve to be in the winners' circle Sunday night. (If you're curious about the ins and outs of the preferential ballot for best picture, Patrick has a great explainer.) We want to hear your picks, too! You haven't lived till you've chosen your fave flicks on the Paste BN Movie Meter. And if you still haven't seen everything yet, here's a streaming guide to watch all the main contenders at home.
Whatever wins Sunday will join a storied canon of best pictures - I ranked those, too, all 96 of 'em! For those interested in Oscar history, be sure to also check out the worst movies to take home the big prize, 15 films that should have won, and a look at the best music performances at the Academy Awards.
Stream Kate Hudson's new Netflix basketball comedy 'Running Point'
Kate Hudson is getting some interesting firsts knocked out at this point in her career. She put out her debut album last year (not too shabby, Katester!) and has her first lead role in a TV show with the Netflix hoops comedy "Running Point." It's about a sibling-run NBA squad where the sister gets tapped to honcho the team – essentially what if Kate Hudson ran the Lakers (creator Mindy Kaling based it on Jeanie Buss' life). I really dig the show's "Draft Day" vibes and Tom Hanks' son Chet is a scene-stealing wild-child player. TV critic Kelly Lawler also likes it, writing in her ★★★ review that the series "mixes the NBA front office with workplace comedy escapades, leaning so much to the latter that a working knowledge of the sport is hardly required."
Fresh off her Valentine's Day date, my colleague Erin Jensen interviewed Hudson about the show, feeling "very timid" about doing comedy but now wanting “to make people laugh and feel good," she says. "When I was younger, I felt like, ‘Oh, if I only do that, then you're not going to be taken as this serious actress,’ and I just think all of that's been sort of thrown out the window, for everybody.”
Even more goodness to check out!
- Let's pour one out for Gene Hackman. From his most memorable roles to the deeper cuts, dude was a legend.
- While we're at it, pour another out for Michelle Trachtenberg, who added bubbly life to a variety of projects like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Euro Trip."
- The Oscars don't really need a host but I'm glad Conan O'Brien is emceeing this year's. He seems to be stoked about it, too.
- Blake Lively is taking a break from the nonstop offscreen drama for a new sequel, "Another Simple Favor." Here's the trailer.
- Morgan Freeman has a new movie out, but he's also thinking about when it might be time for a curtain call.
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email btruitt@usatoday.com and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Bluesky, Instagram and Threads.