:00:00. > :00:32.Coming up next here on BBC News it's Talking Movies.
:00:33. > :00:40.Hello from Hollywood, and the special Oscars edition of Talking
:00:41. > :00:45.Movies. Today, we preview the 88th annual Academy Awards. We will be
:00:46. > :00:49.rating the Oscar chances of many of the big names in the running, and
:00:50. > :00:54.looking at the ongoing diversity controversy and finding out how
:00:55. > :01:04.these protests have happened before. I will take us specifically
:01:05. > :01:08.to 1962. Plus, the foreign language category, first nominations for
:01:09. > :01:14.Colombia and Jordan, with this differential competition from
:01:15. > :01:18.Denmark and France. As a filmmaker it is a huge stage to be asked on
:01:19. > :01:24.two. And again, a large contingent of British act as in the running.
:01:25. > :01:34.Who are they and water chances? All that and more in this special Oscars
:01:35. > :01:42.edition of talking movies. -- Talking Movies. This year's Oscars
:01:43. > :01:48.contest is far from certain. That makes the Academy Awards, if he
:01:49. > :01:52.regarded as a horse race, far more interesting. At the Oscars is more
:01:53. > :02:00.than just nominees vying for the big prizes. That said, at Hollywood's
:02:01. > :02:05.Chinese Theatre, the controversy surrounding it has meant there is a
:02:06. > :02:11.big guessing game as to which film will win. I would have to say The
:02:12. > :02:20.Revenant. Why is that? I like Leo, he is the man. I think The Revenant,
:02:21. > :02:26.because it has a lot of buzz. I like mad Max, but probably The Revenant.
:02:27. > :02:32.The major category that is hardest to call seems to be that of best
:02:33. > :02:40.picture. It is seen as a 3-way race. You have the big short, about the
:02:41. > :02:47.financial crash of 2008. Also, Spotlight, about the sexual abuse
:02:48. > :02:52.scandal. And then The Revenant, a revenge thriller starring Leonardo
:02:53. > :02:58.DiCaprio. I think it could be between The Revenant and the Big
:02:59. > :03:04.Short. I think those two are ahead of Spotlight at the moment. The
:03:05. > :03:07.biggest issue to involve the academy has been the outcry that for the
:03:08. > :03:11.second year in a row, all the acting nominees are white, despite well
:03:12. > :03:15.reviewed performances by black actors in several films. Some stars
:03:16. > :03:23.have said they will boycott, including Jaeger Pinkett Smith, in a
:03:24. > :03:27.video posted online. Is it time that people of colour realise how much
:03:28. > :03:31.power we have amassed? According to one count, just 2% of academy
:03:32. > :03:36.members are black. The organisation has moved swiftly to institute
:03:37. > :03:41.measures to diversify its membership, which were welcomed by
:03:42. > :03:45.many. Interestingly, black protest against the Academy is nothing new.
:03:46. > :03:51.It is nothing new at all, and I will take us back specifically to 1962
:03:52. > :03:56.when we had African-American pickets outside the auditorium where the
:03:57. > :04:00.Oscars were being held. It was an African-American FAQ who decided to
:04:01. > :04:03.take up this course, and to hit not only racist representations but what
:04:04. > :04:13.he called nebulous representations. -- act. Negative representations
:04:14. > :04:15.towards black people in film. There will be black presenters and
:04:16. > :04:25.performers as there have been in previous years, and the Oscars will
:04:26. > :04:32.be hosted by Chris Rock. That is partially why you hire Chris Rock.
:04:33. > :04:37.You want him to say provocative things, and he won't get up on stage
:04:38. > :04:40.and not say anything. If he did that, it would be a huge controversy
:04:41. > :04:49.in and of itself. While African-Americans will be frustrated
:04:50. > :04:55.by the lack of black faces in the ranks of acting nominees. Another
:04:56. > :05:01.group, Latinos, almost never get nominations, and very rarely win. I
:05:02. > :05:06.would say it is very tough for a Latino to win an Oscar for Best
:05:07. > :05:11.Actor or Best Actress. We haven't seen that since the early 1950s. All
:05:12. > :05:14.the other actors who have won Oscars up until now have been in supporting
:05:15. > :05:19.roles, whether they are men or women. But at least it could be a
:05:20. > :05:25.consolation prize for Latinos this year, it was a Latino director is
:05:26. > :05:43.perhaps going to go home with the Best Director and best picture Oscar
:05:44. > :05:54.for the second year in a row. Here on Hollywood Boulevard a star can be
:05:55. > :05:59.found for George Arliss, the first British actor to win an Oscar. This
:06:00. > :06:09.year, there is a big contingent for the UK vying for Oscar progress.
:06:10. > :06:13.This year, six British actors are hoping to carry a statuette back to
:06:14. > :06:17.the UK. In a funny twist of fate, most of them are not actually
:06:18. > :06:21.playing the role of a Brit. Following on from his success last
:06:22. > :06:25.year in The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne will be hoping he can
:06:26. > :06:30.become the first person since Tom Hanks in 1995 to win back-to-back
:06:31. > :06:35.Oscars. You will not tell anyone about this. He is hopeful that the
:06:36. > :06:39.film of one of the first people to undergo sex reassignment surgery
:06:40. > :06:49.will have the same effect on audiences as it did on him. I felt,
:06:50. > :06:56.when I read the script, which was just really overwhelming emotional
:06:57. > :07:04.reaction to a deeply unique love story. If we have retained that then
:07:05. > :07:09.I am very lucky. The whole housing market is propped up on these bad
:07:10. > :07:12.loans. Moving on to the supporting actor category, and it is one
:07:13. > :07:21.dominated as Brits as Christian Bale, Mark Rylands, and Tom Hardy
:07:22. > :07:26.are all vying for the win. For Tom Hardy, it is his first nomination.
:07:27. > :07:31.Reward perhaps for the gruelling shoot that the cast of The Revenant
:07:32. > :07:36.had to go through. For Tom Hardy, the work will always take priority
:07:37. > :07:40.over the awards. I don't personally go in thinking I am doing it for
:07:41. > :07:47.awards, whether nominations come or not, that is not putt I suppose that
:07:48. > :07:49.is not what I work for. I'm tremendously grateful to be
:07:50. > :07:55.nominated, I didn't expect that to happen. Long known as one of the
:07:56. > :08:02.world's finest theatre actors, Mark Rylands has been demonstrating his
:08:03. > :08:05.talent in front of the camera. His performance in the Cold War drama
:08:06. > :08:11.Bridge of Spies, is a showcase the those not already familiar with his
:08:12. > :08:15.talents. It has led to his first nomination and the opportunity to
:08:16. > :08:20.work with Steven Spielberg, which lets face it, can't be that bad.
:08:21. > :08:27.This will be a first for the both of us. You should be careful is not
:08:28. > :08:30.quite there is something very open and enthusiastic about what was
:08:31. > :08:33.happening. I never felt he was trying to shoot on the end of
:08:34. > :08:41.something he had, he was very curious about what I had to bring to
:08:42. > :08:44.it. Up for Best Actress in a leading role is Charlotte Rampling, who
:08:45. > :08:55.takes on the part of a wife who must confront relationships from the past
:08:56. > :08:57.in marriage drama 45 Years. Nominated in the Best Supporting
:08:58. > :09:09.Actress category is Kate Winslet for her role as Steve Jobs's
:09:10. > :09:14.long-suffering assistant. The film was disappointing in the box office
:09:15. > :09:17.but has been widely praised for its structure, presenting Steve Jobs at
:09:18. > :09:21.important parts of his life. You don't think you are having a bizarre
:09:22. > :09:28.overreaction to a 19-year-old girl allowing her mother to list her
:09:29. > :09:36.roadhouse? 45 minutes of real time, past -- fast paced dialogue that was
:09:37. > :09:39.difficult for all of us to keep up with. I took away from the
:09:40. > :09:44.experience and knowledge of Steve that he did have a soft side, he
:09:45. > :09:47.really did, and he did have the ability to be emotional and really
:09:48. > :09:52.feel things in ways that often people don't imagine someone like
:09:53. > :09:55.him really could. The Best Supporting Actress category is
:09:56. > :10:01.perhaps one of the most open in this year's competition, and while Alicia
:10:02. > :10:07.Vikander might currently be the front-runner, don't be too surprised
:10:08. > :10:13.if you see Winslet at the podium after a gap of 17 years. This year,
:10:14. > :10:17.81 films were submitted for inclusion in the Oscars best foreign
:10:18. > :10:23.language film award. At only five made it onto the short list. They
:10:24. > :10:34.came from Hungary, Denmark, France, Jordan and Colombia. All the
:10:35. > :10:47.nominated foreign-language films deal with characters operating under
:10:48. > :10:52.pressure. Especially Son of Saul. Jewish prisoners at the bash which
:10:53. > :11:02.concentration camp who were disposing of the bodies from the gas
:11:03. > :11:09.chamber. I wanted to do this from the perspective of one person within
:11:10. > :11:18.the camp. I wanted to be immersed in the experience, the experience of
:11:19. > :11:25.one person. The academy is often blamed for being Eurocentric in its
:11:26. > :11:48.selections. That has been partly remedied this year with nominations
:11:49. > :11:52.for Colombia and German. In Embrace of the Serpent, from Columbia, there
:11:53. > :12:00.is a story about... It was so timely, through the story I could
:12:01. > :12:12.feel millennia worth of knowledge, million -year-old stories speaking
:12:13. > :12:17.through men, which was moving. Theeb is a coming-of-age story of a young
:12:18. > :12:38.boy who guides had Officer through the desert. The Danish film, Are
:12:39. > :12:43.War, is about... It look simple world I didn't know existed. A world
:12:44. > :12:48.of human suffering, and not just in Afghanistan where the world is
:12:49. > :12:57.harmed not just there but the people at home. That is what we try to look
:12:58. > :13:02.at. Finally, there is the French film Mustang, which had a lot of
:13:03. > :13:07.academy support. The story of five was Lumb sisters who are controlled
:13:08. > :13:11.by overbearing adults. The Oscar nomination has meant a lot to the
:13:12. > :13:18.Turkish director. It gives us a huge universal spotlight and strength. Of
:13:19. > :13:29.course, the film generates a muscular debate and can possibly
:13:30. > :13:31.open a little breach of discussion. Win or lose, all the countries
:13:32. > :13:36.running for an Oscar have benefited from the nomination itself. The
:13:37. > :13:43.accolade has boosted the filmmakers' profile. In some
:13:44. > :13:46.instances, it has helped them secure distribution deals, and often it has
:13:47. > :13:52.made the directors here is in their own country. It is like winning the
:13:53. > :13:57.World Cup. Previously, investors were very confident in the idea of
:13:58. > :14:01.locally made films, so now that we have an Oscar nomination it has
:14:02. > :14:05.changed everything. Not just for myself and for the team that made
:14:06. > :14:12.Theeb but for all filmmakers in Jordan. All the foreign-language
:14:13. > :14:15.films up for Oscars this year are considered strong contenders,
:14:16. > :14:19.showing audiences as Sample of what world cinema has to offer. Although
:14:20. > :14:28.it is a category that has historically been hard to predict,
:14:29. > :14:33.how indication is that Son of Saul is the one to beat.
:14:34. > :14:40.20 actors are up for either leading or supporting performances. Oscar
:14:41. > :14:44.prognosticators say it's likely Leonardo DiCaprio will take home the
:14:45. > :14:52.Best actor Oscar for his performance in the reverend, but in other races
:14:53. > :15:00.there could be surprises. Heralded as the biggest Irish actress since
:15:01. > :15:10.home or in Ojha are, this actress is up for the Best actor award for
:15:11. > :15:16.Brooklyn. She is torn between New York and Ireland. Immigrant story
:15:17. > :15:20.connected with the director. It was very close to my heart because it
:15:21. > :15:26.was about my people, it was about the journey my parents went on back
:15:27. > :15:32.in the 80s, they moved to New York and they went through the same
:15:33. > :15:37.things even though it was a decent different era and different time,
:15:38. > :15:43.they went through the struggles. But Ronan has stiff competition, Brie
:15:44. > :15:47.Larsson is the first favourite. She spent seven years captive in a
:15:48. > :15:55.shared with her son. We're going to bake a birthday cake. It's a 1950s
:15:56. > :15:59.and two women are in love. Carol. Critics describe Cate Blanchett's
:16:00. > :16:03.Carol as cold but it seemed to be powerful enough for the academy to
:16:04. > :16:07.give her a nod for the Best actress in a leading role. We gave each
:16:08. > :16:12.other the most breathtaking of gifts. Cate Blanchett believes the
:16:13. > :16:16.appeal of the film is the universe than 80 of love. If you asked me why
:16:17. > :16:22.I love my husband as madly and passionately as I do I would find it
:16:23. > :16:29.hard to answer that question after 18 years. You think what could there
:16:30. > :16:32.be between these two. That is what is so confusing and will bring and
:16:33. > :16:36.enticing to both of them, they just don't know why. Other nominees in
:16:37. > :16:44.the best actress category include Charlotte and Jennifer Lawrence. --
:16:45. > :16:49.Charlotte Rampling. Moving on to Best actor, the definite favourite
:16:50. > :16:58.is Leonardo DiCaprio who gets mauled by a bear on the frontier in the
:16:59. > :17:02.Resonant. This film has got an amazing reaction. I think certainly
:17:03. > :17:08.from my colleagues, a lot of directors on spoken to, a lot of
:17:09. > :17:15.actors feel like this is a special film and it feels great. And I
:17:16. > :17:19.accused of a crime? Also up for best actor is asked the rookie Bryan
:17:20. > :17:29.Cranston with his portrayal of Hollywood agitator Donald Trumbo
:17:30. > :17:33.during the days of communist fear. Any time you're playing a
:17:34. > :17:37.nonfictional character there's the added Spence of responsibility. In
:17:38. > :17:43.some way that helps you keep it in context of where can go with a
:17:44. > :17:47.character. Another Oscar hopeful for the best actor award is Michael
:17:48. > :17:51.Fassbender, German born. He was nominated for his portrayal of the
:17:52. > :17:56.late Apple CEO in the film Steve Jobs. His performance was compelling
:17:57. > :18:02.enough to secure him an Oscar nod even after the film made a largely
:18:03. > :18:07.unimpressive showing at the box office. Matt Damon has been
:18:08. > :18:12.nominated for his role in the Martian and Eddie Redmayne in The
:18:13. > :18:17.Danish Girl. In cinemas 40 years ago the film Rocky was a big triumph, it
:18:18. > :18:22.gave Sylvester Stallone his first box office hit. Now he's up for a
:18:23. > :18:27.best supporting actor Oscar for reprising his role in the film
:18:28. > :18:30.Creed. It seems that Sylvester Stallone has no opponents in this
:18:31. > :18:36.category. He's a clear favourite to win. The credit is one person for
:18:37. > :18:43.his nomination, filmmaker Ryan Kubler. He had this crazy idea to
:18:44. > :18:49.resurrect Rocky when in 2006 it was done -- he credits. And I thought,
:18:50. > :18:53.you know, he has this passion I can relate to because I have that
:18:54. > :18:58.passion a long time ago when I did it at the same age. You really have
:18:59. > :19:03.to take a chance nowadays and do something out of the box, this is as
:19:04. > :19:09.far as it gets, he recreated Rocky for a new generation but it's not
:19:10. > :19:12.Rocky, it's Creed. Also nominated for Best supporting actor are Mark
:19:13. > :19:21.Rylance, Tom Hardy, Christian Bale and Mark Ross Lyon. In the best
:19:22. > :19:27.supporting actress category, Alicia appeared alongside Eddie Redmayne in
:19:28. > :19:30.The Danish Girl. She delivers one of the strongest performances of the
:19:31. > :19:35.year, she struggles with and supports her husband's transition to
:19:36. > :19:40.a woman in the film. Another favourite in the best supporting
:19:41. > :19:45.actress category is Rooney Mara, who plays Cate Blanchett's unexpected
:19:46. > :19:49.mother in the film Carol. You're going to fix it now. As we've
:19:50. > :19:54.already reported, Kate Winslet is also vying for best supporting
:19:55. > :19:58.actress for her portrayal of Joanna Hoffman in Danny Boyle's Steve
:19:59. > :20:02.Jobs. Other nominees for best supporting actress other than those
:20:03. > :20:06.we've already mentioned are Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rachel McAdams. Even
:20:07. > :20:14.though each actress may have a favourite, nothing is the definite.
:20:15. > :20:17.Anything can happen and there could be surprises.
:20:18. > :20:19.Now it is time to stick our necks out as we try to predict the
:20:20. > :20:33.Oscars. Here goes. Best documentary feature will go to
:20:34. > :20:37.a knee, his portrait of the late singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse.
:20:38. > :20:41.Best original screenplay will be won by the investigative journalism
:20:42. > :20:45.drama spotlight. Best adapted streamline, screenplay will go to
:20:46. > :20:51.The Big Short. That's good for us. The trophy for best animated film
:20:52. > :20:56.will be the prize for Inside Out, ingeniously set largely within the
:20:57. > :20:59.mind of an 11-year-old girl. Best foreign-language film looks likely
:21:00. > :21:04.to go to Hungary for son of salt. Best supporting actress looks like
:21:05. > :21:08.going to Alicia Yida candour for her role in The Danish Girl. -- son of
:21:09. > :21:12.salt. It looks like being a good night for Sylvester is the loan
:21:13. > :21:17.because we think he will get the best supporting actor trophy. How do
:21:18. > :21:21.you know all this? Rest actress will go to award season favourite Brie
:21:22. > :21:26.Larsson for Room and Best actor, everything points towards Leonardo
:21:27. > :21:31.DiCaprio getting that right. Finally he will take home an Oscar. Best
:21:32. > :21:38.rector should go to Alejandro is for the Resonant. If he wins he will be
:21:39. > :21:41.joining an exclusive club because only two... And finally to the most
:21:42. > :21:46.uncertain big Oscars race of all, best picture. Talking movies
:21:47. > :21:59.predicts the best picture award will go to... The rock macro red and it.
:22:00. > :22:05.That brings a special Oscars preview to a close, we hope you've enjoyed
:22:06. > :22:10.the programme. You can reach us online@BBC.com and you can find us
:22:11. > :22:16.on Facebook too. So, from me, Tom Brook, and the rest of the talking
:22:17. > :22:20.movies production team at Hollywood we leave you with writings on the
:22:21. > :22:26.wall which has been nominated for original song.
:22:27. > :22:32.# I've been there before, but always here before.
:22:33. > :22:40.# I've spent a lifetime running, and I always get away.
:22:41. > :22:58.# But with you I'm feeling something that makes me want to stay.
:22:59. > :23:01.The chilly feel to the weather continues