'Oppenheimer' dominates at the 2024 Oscars

Ramy Youssef, Mark Ruffalo and Billie Eilish wore matching red lapel pins to the Academy Awards, but what do they mean?

The pins call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. A group of over 400 stars have joined Artists4Ceasefire, which in late October first published a letter urging the US Congress and President Joe Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel through Artists4Ceasefire.org.

In a press statement, Artists4Ceasefire said: “The pin symbolizes collective support for an immediate and permanent cease-fire, the release of all of the hostages and for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza."

Other stars who have signed the letter include Cate Blanchett, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Bradley Cooper, Annie Lennox and America Ferrera.

The post was updated with the detail that Mark Ruffalo was also wearing the ceasefire pin.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce may have been the buzziest subject of football season, but for award season, Jimmy Kimmel isn’t so sure the celebrity couple will get a mention in his opening monologue at the Oscars on Sunday.

When asked if he plans to talk about Swift and Kelce onstage during his fourth time as host of Hollywood’s biggest night, Kimmel told CNN in an interview this week that the duo is “not off limits, but probably played out.”

It’s a careful balance, Kimmel explained, to poke fun at the celebrities gathered inside the Dolby Theatre, while not offending them.

On Aaron Rodgers, who ignited a controversy with Kimmel after falsely suggesting the comedian would be mentioned in court documents connected to the Jeffrey Epstein case, Kimmel quipped, “Uh, I don’t know who that is.” Jokes aside, Kimmel said he doesn’t plan to mention Rodgers during the Oscars ceremony, and the athlete is not likely to be invited onto “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” anytime soon.

“Probably not,” Kimmel responded when asked if there’s a world in which he would have Rodgers on his show as a guest. “The way I look at it,” he continued, “The next step is for Aaron Rodgers to reach out to me – not the other way around. So, I don’t see that happening. Listen, we have some major differences in the way we think.”

As expected, “Oppenheimer” had a strong showing when the 96th Academy Awards nominees were revealed last month.

The Christopher Nolan film leads Oscar contenders with 13 nominations.

The fantasy film “Poor Things,” starring Emma Stone, followed with 11, while the Martin Scorsese drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” got 10 nominations.

The summer blockbuster “Barbie” earned eight nominations.

Here are the nominees in three key categories, and check out the full list of nominees here.

Best picture:

Best actor in a leading role:

Best actress in a leading role:

Famed chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck spoke to CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister on the red carpet a short time ago.

He's the man behind the menu at the exclusive Governors Ball, the lavish after-party held after each Academy Awards.

Some of the night's biggest stars will feast on smoked salmon, macaroni and cheese, mushroom risotto with truffles, Peking duck and much more, Puck said.

He also told Wagmeister about some of his favorite interactions with A-listers, including the time actor Joaquin Phoenix stepped into the kitchen to enjoy his meal with the staff, and the time Julia Roberts kissed the chefs as she exited through the kitchen.

Legendary funny-man Bill Murray also made an appearance on one occasion, throwing steak salt everywhere.

“Barbie” might have saved the summer box office, but as the lengthy build-up to the Oscars nears its end, “Oppenheimer” is clearly the movie that award voters have been waiting for.

Director Christopher Nolan’s historical epic about the father of the atomic bomb added awards from the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America over the weekend – the latter having emerged as one of the most reliable bellwethers for the Academy Awards, aligning with the best-picture winner 11 of the last 14 years.

Throw in the film’s 13 Academy Award nominations and previous wins at the Golden Globes, Directors Guild of America, the BAFTAs and the Critics Choice Awards, and while there could always be some stunning surprise, to all appearances the Oscar race is likely over except for the acceptance speeches thanking the Academy and Universal Pictures.

In hindsight, the golden hardware showered on “Oppenheimer” should have been predictable, given all the boxes that the film checks. Near the top of that list, despite trailing “Barbie” in revenues the film still grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide, providing award voters with a rare mix of prestige – a star-studded cast, a long-admired director and weighty material – and the kind of commercial success that actually might help attract TV viewers.

Read more about Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling is grateful for his Oscar nomination, but joined the chorus of people who question the omission of his costar Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig from their individual respective categories.

Gosling was nominated in the supporting actor category for his portrayal of Mattel’s Ken doll in “Barbie,” last year’s biggest blockbuster, starring alongside Robbie’s titular Barbie.

His nomination counts as one of the eight nods that the film received, but the furor over the hit movie’s director Gerwig and Robbie not earning individual nominations in the director and lead actress categories, respectively, has been ongoing since the nominations were announced. (“Barbie” was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, which like CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)

While Gerwig and Robbie were not recognized individually, they did each earn Oscar nominations this week. Gerwig was recognized in the adapted screenplay category alongside her “Barbie” co-writer (and husband) Noah Baumbach, and Robbie was nominated as a producer with the film’s best picture nomination, alongside three others.

In his statement, Gosling also honored his costar America Ferrera, who earned a surprise supporting actress nod for her performance in the film.

Read Gosling’s full statement, as provided to CNN.

Method dressing on the red carpet has reached new heights this season (most recently with the incredible looks from the “Dune: Part Two” press tour), and the creative team from “Godzilla: Minus One” certainly got the memo with matching clawed heels.

Director Takashi Yamazaki, and CGI and visual effects directors Masaki Takahashi, Kiyoko Shibuya and Tatsuji Nojima each got a little lift with reptilian claws cupping their heeled shoes and boots. They also posed with Godzilla figures from the kaiju film.

“Godzilla: Minus One” nabbed a slew of awards at the Japan Academy Film Prize (otherwise known as the Japanese Academy Awards) two days ago, and the team hopes to take home the Oscar for Visual Effects tonight. They are up against the teams from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” “The Creator” and “Napoleon.”

It’s been 10 years since Ellen DeGeneres broke X (then still Twitter) by posting an instantly iconic selfie packed with A-List actors during the 2014 Oscars telecast.

DeGeneres managed to squeeze Meryl Streep, Bradley Cooper, Jared Leto, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Spacey, Lupita Nyong’o and Channing Tatum into the frame.

Revisiting this moment and the famous faces is a time capsule. Some of those photographed have been working steadily ever since. For others – like Spacey, who was fired from “House of Cards” in 2018 amid the #MeToo movement after facing sexual misconduct allegations – things have certainly changed.

Cooper, for one, has become an Oscar mainstay since his 2014 supporting actor nomination for “American Hustle.” A decade later, he has earned double-digit Oscar nominations and will return to tonight's Academy Awards as a nominee for “Maestro” – a film he directed, produced and stars in.

Lawrence was also a nominee for her performance in “American Hustle.” She went on to earn another Oscar nod the following year for her performance in “Joy” and has appeared in a film every year since. She also became a mom along the way.

Leto won an Oscar that year for “Dallas Buyers Club,” as did Nyong’o for “12 Years a Slave.” Leto has since toggled between roles in various blockbuster movies, the 2022 mini-series “WeCrashed” and has stuck with his rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.

Read more about the selfie that broke the Internet

Members of the Osage Nation arrived on the 2024 Oscars red carpet a short time ago, after members of the tribe collaborated with decorated filmmaker Martin Scorsese on "Killers of the Flower Moon," a film that recounts a dark and painful chapter of Osage history.

In 2019, Scorsese and his team met with Osage Nation Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear to discuss the film. Chief Standing Bear offered up resources, such as the tribe’s language department, that could assist in the film’s production, the Osage News reported at the time.

That same year, Scorsese met with residents of Oklahoma’s Gray Horse community, many of whom are descendants of the Osage victims who were killed in the 1920s.

Also, countless Osage people worked on “Killers of the Flower Moon”and their mark is evident throughout, said Chad Renfro, the tribe’s ambassador for the film and a consulting producer on the project.

Osage consultants weighed in on a myriad of details, from wardrobe to traditional customs, resulting in a level of authenticity that Gray said he hasn’t seen in a mainstream Hollywood project about Native people.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" enters this evening with double-digit nominations.

Read more about the making of the film here.