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A strictly limited guest list, stars waiting outdoors and a central role for protective masks: this year's Oscars should be glamorous in the midst of the corona crisis.
Two months late, the most important film award in the world will be presented on Sunday in Los Angeles.
And while cinema fans are waiting eagerly to see who will be awarded the coveted gold statues, the organizers promise a dazzling and at the same time safe spectacle.
Planning the 93rd Oscar gala in Corona times is "like building an airplane in flight," reports star director Steven Soderbergh, one of the producers of the ceremony.
His experience with filming in the midst of the pandemic - and his virus thriller “Contagion” from 2011 - helped him.
Without postponing the ceremony originally planned for February 28 to April 25, the gala would not have been possible anyway, says the filmmaker.
"It would have been impossible for us to do what we're doing now - I don't know how we would have done it."
Oscar program: what's different this year
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In order to minimize the risk of infection, the gala will take place simultaneously in several locations this year: In the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, the traditional venue, and in the high halls of the Art Deco Union Station in Los Angeles.
Only nominees, their life partners and a limited number of high-profile presenters such as Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt and Reese Witherspoon are invited.
Even the powerful Disney boss Bob Iger did not receive an invitation, as Soderbergh reveals.
The guests are alternately led inside so that there are no too large gatherings in closed rooms.
And then of course the subject of mouth and nose protection.
"Masks will play a very important role in the story of this evening," says Soderbergh, without revealing any details.
"If that sounds cryptic, then it's on purpose." There must be a little tension - especially since the Oscar organizers have to fear a collapse in the number of television viewers, which has been declining for years.
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In any case, the Corona-tired TV audience will not have to watch superstars in zoom quality.
When actors are switched on, for example from external locations in Paris and London, they are in high-gloss cinema quality via satellite transmission.
These are the nominees in the most important categories
Who will give acceptance speeches at the Oscars is of course still open - but the road movie “Nomadland” by director Chloé Zhao has become a clear favorite.
The moving semi-fictional drama about forgotten Americans on the fringes of society, with Frances McDormand in the lead role, has won a number of film awards in the past few weeks and has been nominated for six Academy Awards.
An overview of the nominated films in the most important categories:
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Best movie:
"The Father"
"Judas and the Black Messiah"
"Deficiency"
"Minari - Where we put down roots"
"Nomadland"
"Promising Young Woman"
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"Sound of Metal"
"The Trial of the Chicago 7"
Best Director:
Lee Isaac Chung for "Minari"
Emerald Fennell for "Promising Young Woman"
David Fincher for "Mank"
Thomas Vinterberg for "Der Rausch"
Chloé Zhao for "Nomadland"
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Best main actress:
Viola Davis for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
Andra Day for "The United States vs. Billie Holiday"
Vanessa Kirby for "Pieces of a Woman"
Frances McDormand for "Nomadland"
Carey Mulligan for "Promising Young Woman"
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Best Actor:
Riz Ahmed for "Sound of Metal"
Chadwick Boseman (posthumously) for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
Anthony Hopkins for "The Father"
Gary Oldman for "Mank"
Steven Yeun for "Minari"
The best supporting actress:
Maria Bakalova for "Borat Anschluss Moviefilm"
Glenn Close for "Hillbilly Elegy"
Olivia Colman for "The Father"
Amanda Seyfried for "Mank"
Youn Yuh-Jung for "Minari"
Best supporting actor:
Sacha Baron Cohen for "The Trial of the Chicago 7"
Daniel Kaluuya for "Judas and the Black Messiah"
Leslie Odom Jr. for "One Night in Miami"
Paul Raci for "Sound of Metal"
Lakeith Stanfield for "Judas and the Black Messiah"
Best original script:
"Judas and the Black Messiah" by Will Berson and Shaka King
"Minari" by Lee Isaac Chung
"Promising Young Woman" by Emerald Fennell
"Sound of Metal" by Darius Marder and Abraham Marder
"The Trial of the Chicago 7" by Aaron Sorkin
Best international film:
"The Intoxication" (Denmark)
"Better Days" (Hong Kong)
"Collective - Corruption Kills" (Romania)
"The Man Who Sold His Skin" (Tunisia)
"Quo Vadis, Aida?" (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Best documentary
"Collective - Corruption Kills"
"The Mole - A Detective in a Retirement Home"
"Summer of the cripple movement"
"My teacher, the octopus"
"Time"
Transmission on German television by Prosieben
In Germany, the Oscars will be broadcast by Prosieben on television and live on the website on the night of April 25th to 26th from 2 a.m. There will also be reports from Los Angeles in advance. A rerun will be broadcast at 4.55 a.m. On the Monday after the award ceremony, the broadcaster will show a summary at 6 p.m.