The Midlands gets set for Oscar Night! Winner predictions

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COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– Sunday is Hollywood’s biggest night as the 91st Academy Awards takes place here on ABC Columbia.
But the road to the Oscar’s is always riddled with controversy and of course, predictions.
ABC Columbia’s Alexis Frazier shares some insight from local movie experts.

The 91st awards show has been the center of controversy since August when the academy approved the now tabled popular film category.

“The controversy is always,”  Amanda Windsor, Marketing manager at the Nickelodeon theatre said.  “The academy is always going to have controversy every year. That’s why we throw our Oscar party to make fun of it.”

Things got even more heated last week when producers announced they’d be cutting 4 categories from the live broadcast to save time, but a lot of backlash quickly made them change their minds.”

“Bringing the other categories back was a wise choice,” Windsor said.

“It’s a sign of the academy listening,” Omme-Salma Rahemtullah, program coordinator at the Nickelodeon theatre said. “People were really upset that they were going to take out the categories so they kept them. They were really upset about getting a new popular picture category.”

Shortly after Kevin Hart signed on, years old homophobic tweets resurfaced. When asked to apologize, he decided to bow out.

Without a host, the spotlight can shine on the nominations.

Windsor and Rahemtullah from the Nickelodeon theatre in downtown Columbia gave us their Oscar predictions.

This year the competition is stiff but most of the buzz has been surrounding the best actress. And everybody has their favorite for the gold.

“I think they’re going to give it to Glenn Close even though I have my feelings about The Wife,” Windsor said.

“I think Yalitza Aripicio from Roma will win best actress,”Rahemtullah said. “Kind of changing that landscape, changing what we expect of a leading actress is really important so I’d really like to see her win, and I think she will, I think she stands a good chance.”

Roma could make history as the first Netflix movie nominated for best picture at this years Oscars, and if it wins it could be a game changer.

“It’s looking like it is going to definitely win foreign picture,” Rahemtullah said. “But it has a really good chance at best picture.”

Regardless of who wins, Sunday night’s show is sure to be a talker for years to come.