Oscars 2023 predictions: Austin Butler or Brendan Fraser? Michelle Yeoh or Cate Blanchett? These are the stars and films we tip to win the big prizes this year
The 95th Academy Awards ceremony is almost upon us – the night the entire awards season has been building up to.
The Oscarsmark the culmination of months of campaigning and huge amounts of spending from studios, but unlike previous years, the 2023 shortlist comes with some uncertainty as to who will take home those gold statuettes.
While there’s an obvious frontrunner for the top prize of best picture, in some of the acting categories things are far less clear cut – making this potentially one of the most exciting ceremonies in a while. So let’s take a look at who is likely to win…
Image: Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh and James Hong in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Pic: A24
Best picture
Usually I’d build up to this but there’s such an obvious frontrunner it’s actually the easiest category to predict this year. Everything Everywhere All At Once has been sweeping ceremonies in the run-up to the Academy Awards (with the BAFTAs being the notable exception – war epic All Quiet On The Western Front was the night’s big winner there).
While it’s far from what may have been considered an ‘Oscary’ film in previous years, exploring the multiverse via hotdog fingers and a new take on the Disney classic Ratatouille, its appeal is undeniable. When it wins it will be proof that it is films with big ideas, rather than just a big budget, that appeal to modern Academy voters.
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Everything Everywhere star on Oscars nod
Best supporting actor
The next easiest to predict is best supporting actor, which will go to Ke Huy Quan for his role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. The star, who first found fame as a child actor in The Goonies and Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom in the 1980s, has been consistently winning throughout awards season.
He also gives lovely speeches and actually seems to enjoy the relentless slog of red carpets and events that nominees face in the run-up to the Oscars. A worthy winner, expect some tears on the night – from him and those watching.
Image: Kerry Condon pictured at the annual Academy Awards nominees luncheon in LA. Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
Best supporting actress
A month ago I would have assumed Marvel would get its first acting win thanks to Angela Bassett‘s commanding performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, the tide of appreciation may have turned, as we’ve seen other nominees in this category – Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu and Kerry Condon – all picking up prizes at various ceremonies in the last few weeks. While Bassett is great in Wakanda Forever, I suspect if she does win it would be a case of voters showing their appreciation for her entire career, rather than this one superhero film.
I actually have a hunch this award will go to one of the five Irish actors nominated this year – I predict a win for Kerry Condon for her performance in The Banshees Of Inisherin. She won this same prize at the BAFTAs and there is definitely some crossover. With Banshees well liked but likely to miss out in other acting categories I think voters will show some love to the dark comedy here.
This has been the hardest one to predict for me. At the start of the year, I thought the best actor prize would go to Colin Farrell, star of The Banshees Of Inisherin, but his hopes seem to have faded as awards season has rumbled on. It seems now to be between Brendan Fraser for The Whale and Austin Butler for Elvis.
We know the Academy loves a transformative role and both performances tick that box, with Fraser playing a hugely obese man in heavy prosthetics, while Butler became the singer – even seemingly permanently changing his own speaking voice for the biopic. It’s almost too close to call but as I’ve promised predictions I’m going to plump for Fraser – his comeback narrative after years feeling cast out of Hollywood is itself like something from a screenplay, and probably too irresistible for many Academy voters.
Image: Cate Blanchett stars in Tar. Pic: Focus Features via AP
Best actress
This feels like another close race, between Cate Blanchett for her turn as the toxic composer Lydia Tar, and Michelle Yeoh for her performance as the multiverse-straddling lead of Everything Everywhere All At Once. While Yeoh surely has a strong chance of picking up a win, I suspect Blanchett will just edge it as she’s been consistently picking up prizes throughout awards season. I’m also guessing Tar is a very well liked film that perhaps won’t be recognised in other categories – and voters may be wary of ticking the Everything Everywhere box too many times.
Image: The Fabelmans. Pic: Amblin Entertainment/Universal Studios
Best director
This is another hard one to call, although this time perhaps because of my own personal bias. I would love to see Steven Spielberg picking up this award for his semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans; it seems bizarre to me that Spielberg has only won two directing Oscars, the last one was more than 20 years ago, in 1999. However, the momentum seems to be on the side of directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinart, known collectively as the Daniels, who are behind Everything Everywhere All At Once. If they do take it, they will be the third pair to ever win best director.
You can watch the Academy Awards on Sunday 12 March from 11pm exclusively on Sky News and Sky Showcase.For everything you need to know ahead of the ceremony, listen to our special Oscars Backstage podcast – and don’t miss our winners episode from Monday morning
The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo will be among the stars headlining Glastonbury Festival this year, it has been announced.
Glastonbury organisers have revealed the line-up for this summer’s event, taking place between 25 June and 29 June, after months of speculation.
The 1975 will take to the iconic Pyramid Stage on the Friday to headline, then Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young will perform on Saturday and Olivia Rodrigo on the Sunday.
Other big names performing include British pop sensation Charli XCX, rapper Loyle Carner electronic group The Prodigy.
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Young’s announcement in January came amid some confusion, as he had days before told fans he was pulling out of the festival because the BBC’s involvement was a “corporate turn-off”.
The Canadian singer-songwriter later said this decision was down to “an error in the information I received”.
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The 1975 will be headlining for the first time, having made their Glastonbury debut in 2014.
The Cheshire band, known for hits such as Somebody Else and Chocolate, have regularly made headlines due to the antics of frontman Matty Healy.
Glastonbury, which takes place at Worthy Farm in Somerset in the summer, has worked closely with the BBC – its exclusive broadcast partner – since 1997.
Image: Neil Young performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival last May. Pic: Amy Harris/Invision/AP
Appetite for the esteemed festival saw standard tickets sell out in 35 minutes in November.
They cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, up £18.50 from the price from the 2024 festival, and were sold exclusively through the See Tickets website.
The date for the resale – where tickets not fully paid for are put back up for purchase – is set for some time in spring.
The headliners last summer on the iconic Pyramid Stage were Dua Lipa, SZA and Coldplay, who made history as the first act to headline the festival five times.
2026 is likely to be a year off for Glastonbury, with the festival traditionally taking place four out of every five years, and the fifth year reserved for rehabilitation of the land.
Ofcom received 825 complaints over the Brit Awards, with the majority relating to Sabrina Carpenter’s raunchy performance and Charli XCX’s outfit, the media watchdog says.
US pop star Carpenter, 25, sported a red sparkly military-style blazer dress for her performance at the awards show on Saturday night, paired with stockings and suspenders for a rendition of Espresso.
The song was mixed with a Rule Britannia mash-up, as dancers in military parade dress followed her.
She then switched to a red sparkly bra and shorts for her next song, Bad Chem, which she performed alongside dancers in bras and shorts while sitting suggestively on a large bed.
Image: Sabrina Carpenter performing her second song. Pic: Reuters
Carpenter later received the global success award at the ceremony, and was also nominated in the international artist and international song of the year categories.
But much of the buzz on social media surrounded her performance, which took place before the 9pm watershed.
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The singer addressed the concerns during her acceptance speech for artist of the year, saying: “I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples. I feel like we’re in the era of ‘free the nipple’ though, right?”
Carpenter paid tribute to the UK in her acceptance speech, saying: “The Brits have given me this award, and this feels like such an insane honour in a very primarily tea-drinking country… you really understood my dry sense of humour because your sense of humour is so, so dry. So I love y’all more than you even understand.”
Actor Noel Clarke begins his High Court libel case against The Guardian’s publisher today.
Clarke, 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over a series of articles it published about him in April 2021.
They were based on the claims of 20 women Clarke knew “in a professional capacity” who allege his behaviour towards them amounted to sexual misconduct.
Clarke, known for his roles in the Kidulthood trilogy and Dr Who, “vehemently” denies “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing”.
What will the trial cover?
Clarke is suing GNM for libel, sometimes also referred to as defamation.
It’s a civil tort – not a criminal offence – defined as false written statements that have damaged the person’s reputation. This means Clarke can seek redress or damages but no one will face charges or prison.
Clarke claims the articles The Guardian published in 2021 altered public opinion of him, damaged his reputation, and lost him work.
He said after the allegations emerged: “In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me.
“If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologise. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations.”
The Guardian is defending the claim on the basis of truth and public interest.
It said in its statement: “Our reporting on Noel Clarke in 2021 was based on the accounts of 20 brave women. After we published our first article, more women came forward.
“At trial, 32 witnesses are set to testify against Mr Clarke under oath. We look forward to a judge hearing the evidence.”
The trial will only focus on liability – not the amount of damages to be paid if Clarke is successful.
The actor tried and failed to get the case struck out in January, with his legal team saying it had “overwhelming evidence” of “perversion of the course of justice”.
His lawyers told the High Court three of the journalists involved in the articles had “deliberately and permanently” deleted messages, which meant he could not get a fair trial.
Lawyers for GNM told the court there was “no adequate evidential basis” for Clarke’s application for a strike out and said it sought “to smear Guardian journalists and editors without any proper justification”.
The trial, which will be presided over by judge Mrs Justice Steyn, is expected to last between four and six weeks.
Image: In July 2015. Pic: PA
What has happened since the articles were published?
A month before the articles about him were published in April 2021, Clarke received BAFTA’s outstanding contribution to British cinema award.
However, once the allegations against him emerged, he was suspended by the organisation and the prize rescinded.
His management and production company 42M&P told Sky News they were no longer representing him and Sky cancelled its TV show Bulletproof, starring Clarke and Top Boy actor Ashley Walters as the lead roles.
ITV also decided to pull the finale of another of his dramas, Viewpoint, following the Guardian articles.
The Met Police looked into the allegations against Clarke for any potential criminal wrongdoing, but in March 2022 announced they “did not meet the threshold for criminal investigation”.
Clarke filed the libel claim the following month and has attended several of the preliminary hearings in person.
He says he has faced a “trial by media” – and that the ordeal has left him suicidal and in need of professional help.
Image: At the UK premiere of Kidulthood in London’s Leicester Square in 2006. Pic: PA
‘Rising star’
Clarke made his TV debut in a revived version of Auf Wiedersehen Pet in 2002.
Soon after he played Mickey Smith in Dr Who and Kwame in the six-part Channel 4 series Metrosexuality.
He wrote and starred in the film trilogy Kidulthood, Adulthood, and Brotherhood, which were based in west London, where he grew up, and explored the lives of a group of teenagers given time off school after a bullied classmate takes their own life.
It was a box office success and eventually saw Clarke given BAFTA’s rising star prize in 2009.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.