Oscars 2025: Hollywood counting down as Aussies in line for awards

The highly anticipated 2025 Academy Awards ceremony will be held this morning, bringing together Hollywood's elite to witness the crowning of the year's best films, actors, and creators. This year's Oscars are taking place during a turbulent time for the film industry, marked by events such as the Los Angeles fires and the unfortunate passing of renowned actor Gene Hackman and his wife. These circumstances add a layer of solemnity to the celebration of cinematic achievement.

Several Australian filmmakers have also received nominations for this year's Oscars, drawing significant attention. The awards ceremony will begin at 11:00 AM Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), with live coverage of the red carpet starting 30 minutes prior at 10:30 AM AEDT. The renowned talk show host Conan O'Brien will be the master of ceremonies for this year's Oscars, promising an entertaining evening.

Presenters are typically former Oscar winners, who will add glamour to the ceremony along with a lineup of performers. While the Oscars ceremony itself is proceeding as planned, the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles led to some adjustments in the lead-up. The voting period was extended by a week, postponing the announcement of nominees, and the Oscar nominees luncheon was also canceled, impacting the usual pre-ceremony festivities.

Australian actor Guy Pearce is a leading figure among the Australian nominees, having received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his outstanding performance in the film "Brutalism." The film also garnered nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Supporting Actress (Felicity Jones), and Best Director (Brady Corbet). Pearce will face stiff competition, especially from Kieran Culkin for his role in "A Real Pain." Culkin has swept the awards circuit this season, leading Pearce to jokingly say in a recent interview that he is sure to lose to his peer.

Other nominated Australian filmmakers include former Oscar winner Adam Elliot, who received a nomination for his animated feature film "Memoir of a Snail." Melbourne producer Liz Kearney is also nominated for the same film. Elliot previously won the Best Animated Short Film award in 2016 for "Harvey Krumpet." Australian cinematographer Greig Fraser is nominated for his work on "Dune: Part Two," having previously won an Oscar in 2022 for the previous film in the series. Australian producer Maya Gnyp, along with American director and producer Smriti Mundhra, received a nomination for Best Documentary Short Film for "I'm Ready, Warden," which tells the story of former U.S. Marine John Henry Ramirez's final week on death row.

Australian special effects supervisor Rodney Burke received an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes." He will compete against Australian colleagues Luke Miller and David Clayton, who worked on the Robbie Williams biopic "Better Man," which portrays the singer as an anthropomorphic chimpanzee. You can view the list of Best Picture nominees and how to watch them [here](https://www.9news.com.au/entertainment/oscars-2025-how-to-watch-academy-awards-best-picture-nominees-australia-streaming/56ecda52-8d18-41c1-abc0-a3228be1f7e5 "here").