Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer Will Present at the Oscars (Plus Everything Else You Need to Know)

After a winter barrage of award shows — the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Grammys — the grandaddy of them all, the Academy Awards, are around the corner. The 96th Oscars may be a coronation for “Oppenheimer,” which comes in with a leading 13 nominations, though other films, including “Barbie,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Poor Things” are in the mix.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s show:

WHEN ARE THE OSCARS?

The Oscars will be held Sunday, March 10, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony is set to begin at 7 p.m. EDT — one hour earlier than usual — and be broadcast live on ABC. A preshow will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT. This is your early reminder to set your clocks accordingly — it’s the first day of daylight saving time in the US.

WHO’S PRESENTING AT THE OSCARS?

Last year’s big acting winners are all coming back to present at the show (a tradition), including Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. The academy also announced that “Scarface” co-stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino are set to hand out awards as well (no word on whether it’s together or not). Other celebrities set to grace the Dolby stage include Zendaya, Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Lange, Nicolas Cage, Mahershala Ali, Sam Rockwell and Luptia Nyong’o. More names will be revealed as show day gets closer.

ARE THE OSCARS STREAMING?

The show will be available to stream via ABC.com and the ABC app with a cable subscription. You can also watch through services including Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.

WHO’S HOSTING THE OSCARS?

Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted last year’s ceremony, will emcee for the fourth time. That ties him with fellow four-timers Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Lemmon, and leaves Kimmel trailing only Johnny Carson (five), Billy Crystal (nine) and Bob Hope (11) among repeat Oscar hosts. “I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times,” said Kimmel.

WHAT’S NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE AT THE 2024 OSCARS?

The ten nominees for best picture are: “American Fiction”; “Anatomy of a Fall”; “Barbie”; “The Holdovers”; “Killers of the Flower Moon”; “Maestro”; “Oppenheimer”; “Past Lives”; “Poor Things”; and “The Zone of Interest.”

WHO ARE THE FAVORITES?

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is the frontrunner. Nolan, the best director favorite, is also poised to win his first Oscar. The best actress category could be a nail-biter between Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”). If Gladstone were to win, she would be the first Native American to win an Oscar.

Best actor, too, could be a close contest between Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”) and Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”). Both would be first-time winners. Giamatti’s co-star Da’Vine Joy Randolph is favored to win best-supporting actress, while Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”) is expected to win best-supporting actor. His closest competition is considered Ryan Gosling for “Barbie.”

WHAT’S UP WITH THE ‘BARBIE’ SNUBS?

While “Barbie,” 2023’s biggest box-office hit, comes in with eight nominations, much discussion has revolved around the nominations the film didn’t receive. Greta Gerwig was left out of the directing category and Margot Robbie missed on best actress. In those omissions, some have seen reflections of the misogyny parodied in “Barbie,” while others have noted the tough reception comedies have historically had at the Oscars. The nominations for “Barbie” include best-adapted screenplay (by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach), best supporting actress for America Ferrera and two best song nominees in Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” and the Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt composition “I’m Just Ken.”

ARE THERE ANY CHANGES TO THE OSCARS THIS YEAR?

Though recent Oscars have been marked by everything from slaps, envelope snafus and controversies over which awards are presented live during the telecast, this year’s show comes in with no big changes (besides starting an hour earlier). All of the awards are to be broadcast live (though honorary prizes remain separated in the earlier, untelevised Governors Awards). The academy is adding a new award for best casting, but that trophy won’t be presented until the 2026 Oscars.

WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO LOOK FOR?

Composer John Williams is nominated for his record 49th best-score Oscar, for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and 54th overall. Godzilla is going to the Oscars for the first time, with “Godzilla Minus One” notching a nomination for best visual effects. And for the first time, two non-English language films are up for best picture: the German language Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest” and the French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall.”

British rock band The Who are to say their final goodbye to North America this summer.

Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend confirmed Thursday that they will perform hits from six-decade career during "The Song Is Over North America Farewell Tour," named after the band’s 1971 hit.

The band, which by the 1970s had become one of the world’s biggest touring bands, easily filling the largest US stadiums, will play their first gig in Florida on Aug. 16, with further dates in cities including New York, Toronto, Los Angeles and Vancouver, before a final date in Las Vegas on Sept. 28.

"Every musician’s dream in the early '60s was to make it big in the US charts," Daltrey said. "For The Who, that dream came true in 1967 and our lives were changed forever."

The band went from performing club shows to headlining the Woodstock festival in the US and becoming one of the biggest box-office draw in the world. The band were inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990.

Daltrey, 81, and Townshend, two years his junior, have been one of rock's most prolific double acts, surviving the deaths of drummer Keith Moon in 1978 and bass guitarist John Entwistle in 2002.

"Today, Roger and I still carry the banner for the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle, and, of course, all of our long-time Who fans," Townshend said. "I must say that although the road has not always been enjoyable for me, it is usually easy: the best job I could ever have had. I keep coming back."

Though Daltrey didn’t write songs, he was able to channel Townsend’s many and complicated moods — defiance and rage, vulnerability and desperation.

Together, they forged some of rock’s most defining sounds: the stuttering, sneering delivery of "My Generation," the anguished cry of "They’re all wasted!" from "Baba O’Reilly," and the all-time scream from "Won’t Get Fooled Again." Two of their albums "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia" were also adapted into successful films in 1975 and 1979, respectively.

Pre-sales will run from May 13 ahead of the general sale beginning May 16.

"Well, all good things must come to an end. It is a poignant time," Townshend said. "For me, playing to American audiences and those in Canada has always been incredible."

Daltrey, who said a throat specialist has told him he should have a "day off" after every gig he performs, and Townshend also revealed there are no plans at the moment for a farewell tour of the UK.

"Let’s see if we survive this one," Daltrey said. "I don’t want to say that there won’t be (a UK farewell tour), but equally I’m not confident in saying there will be."

Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer Will Present at the Oscars (Plus Everything Else You Need to Know)