What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T10 WHATS UP! April 25 - May 1, 2021 es, arguably a necessary step given the hit to movie theater businesses during COVID-19 lockdowns. Also, because the ceremony was postponed from February to April this year, the eligibility window for films was expanded so that more films would qualify. Producers are keeping with at least one trend as this year's ceremony will have no host. The Oscars haven't had an of- ficial host since Jimmy Kim- mel ("Jimmy Kimmel Live!") took the helm in 2018. Present- ers and performers for this year's gala had not been an- nounced as of press time, but nominees were announced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas ("Bay- watch," 2017) and Nick Jonas ("The Voice") through a global livestream on March 15. The black-and-white film "Mank" (2020) led the list of nominees by a mile with an impressive 10 Oscar nods, in- cluding Gary Oldman for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Amanda Seyfried for Best Ac- tress in a Supporting Role. Six films clocked in with six nom- inations each: "The Father" (2020), "Minari" (2020), "Ju- das and the Black Messiah" (2021), "Nomadland" (2020), "Sound of Metal" (2019) and "The Trial of the Chicago 7" (2020). All of those films, in- cluding "Mank," are up for the coveted Best Picture Oscar along with "Promising Young Woman" (2020). The latter film garnered five nomina- tions, as did "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (2020). Fans may notice more diver- sity among this year's nomi- nees as well, which may be at- tributed to the Academy's ef- forts to encourage equitable representation in the movie industry and reflect the diver- sity of audiences through its Academy Aperture 2025 initia- tive. "Judas and the Black Mes- siah" is the first Best Picture nominee to have an all-Black production team. Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell also made history as their Best Di- rector nominations mark the first time two women have been nominated in that cate- gory in the same year. Other notable firsts include Steven Yeun becoming the first Asian American to be nominated for Best Actor for his work in "Minari" and Riz Ahmed as the first Muslim ac- tor nominated for Best Actor for his part in "Sound of Met- al." The late Chadwick Bose- man received a nomination for his role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," making him the first African American to receive a posthumous Best Actor nomi- nation. This is also the first time since 1973 that two Black women have been nominated in the Best Actress category in the same year: Viola Davis for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and Andra Day for "The Unit- ed States vs. Billie Holiday." A statue of an Academy Award continued from page T2 The show must go on: Academy Awards adapt to pandemic protocols TV FEATURE Celebrations 5 x 5