Oscars 2024 live updates: Red carpet, what to expect and start time

The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.

So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre, and columnist Amy Kaufman will provide a preview of what to expect tonight.

The telecast on ABC begins at 4 p.m. Pacific, an hour earlier than usual. Also, remember we’re back on daylight saving time. Adjust your clocks accordingly and keep it here for live updates.

Nominees List | Red Carpet Photos | Final predictions in all 23 categories | What should win at the Oscars

Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood

The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box

3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.

3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.

3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.

3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.

3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.

3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.

And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara

3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp

3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.

Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.

Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.

If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.

For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.

“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman

The 96th Academy Awards are here, and we bet you’ve seen at least two of the movies nominated for best picture — “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” — and, quite possibly, a good many more because this might just be the best group of nominated films since the Oscars expanded the category in 2009.

So, there’s much to celebrate, and The Times will have you covered throughout the night with our Oscars live blog. Join columnists Mary McNamara and Glenn Whipp as they watch the show, which, hopefully, will feature some exciting moments — but, appropriately exciting moments, like, say, a historic first and not someone striding onstage and slapping a presenter. Staff writer Tracy Brown will also chime in from time to time, adding on-the-ground reporting from inside the Dolby Theatre, and columnist Amy Kaufman will provide a preview of what to expect tonight.

The telecast on ABC begins at 4 p.m. Pacific, an hour earlier than usual. Also, remember we’re back on daylight saving time. Adjust your clocks accordingly and keep it here for live updates.

Nominees List | Red Carpet Photos | Final predictions in all 23 categories | What should win at the Oscars

Artists call for ceasefire with red buttons | Protesters rally in Hollywood

The pros and cons of a casting Oscar | Commentary: The Academy puts Black women in a box

3:54 p.m. Mary … you want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. OK … maybe not the moon … but the title of another Christmas movie nominated for best picture … “It’s a Wonderful Life.” — G.W.

3:50 p.m. A bit more trivia: Giamatti is nominated for his role in “The Holdovers,” which I believe is the first Christmas film ever to get a best picture nomination. — M.M.

3:49 p.m. Paul Giamatti doubling down on his double-double makes me happy. He says he’s not getting out of the car this time, so look for his car pulling into the drive-through off Sunset Boulevard later on tonight. — G.W.

Clara Wong, left, and Paul Giamatti, center, on the red carpet.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

3:48 p.m. Paul Giamatti says he’ll be heading to In-N-Out after the Oscars just as he did after the Golden Globes, which resulted in a viral moment. But does he know that the best way to eat the fries is to dip them first into a vanilla milkshake? Maybe not. (Warning: Does not work with animal-style). And now I’m hungry, which is only fitting — even with Ozempic, the Oscars are a celebration of fasting in Hollywood, not to mention a very long show with very few available snacks. At least for those of us at home, there will be commercial breaks, which were definitely lacking in Netflix’s first-ever streamed SAG awards. — M.M.

3:39 p.m. Even with this being his fourth time hosting, seeing Kimmel in a tux is still a bit surreal for me — and I know for him. To me, he’s still “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean morning radio show. What the hell is he doing up on this stage being all fancy? — G.W.

3:37 p.m. The extra earliness of it all makes me think of Maggie Smith’s line in 1978’s “California Suite”: “Why do they have these things so early? I mean, no woman can look good at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Except, possibly Tatum O’Neal.” (For the youthful among us, O’Neal was a teenager at the time.) But everyone looks great on the red carpet. Including Jodie Foster, who was also a teen actor in 1978 and now is nominated for “Nyad,” in which she plays her first queer character. In fact, this year is the first time two queer actors are nominated for openly gay characters — Foster and Colman Domingo in “Rustin,” which is kind of astonishing.

And in case you are wondering, I have stocked up on trivia for this show, which I fear will be if not boring — I am definitely looking forward to the “I’m Just Ken” number as well as the possibility of Gladstone’s well-deserved win — then even more predictable than usual. (I assume Christopher Nolan has been busy clearing shelf space.) Not that, after the year of the Slap, I don’t value a little bit of predictability. And Jimmy Kimmel is back as host and he’s always good, even when there’s a best picture announcement crisis. Yes indeed, predictability is not always a bad thing at all. — Mary McNamara

3:23 p.m. Good afternoon, Mary! It feels odd for the ceremony to be starting with the sun still so high in the sky. The Oscars are too late in the calendar, but the ceremony this year is too early in the day. I sound like Goldilocks. What’s going to be my “just right” moment tonight? Ryan Gosling decked out in a bright pink suit singing “I’m Just Ken” in what composer Mark Ronson promises will be an “absolute bananas spectacle”? Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American woman to win the lead actress Oscar? Christopher Nolan smiling (?) when “Oppenheimer” wins best picture? I’d give $100 to hear this oh-so-proper Englishman exult and declare himself “King of the World” when that happens. But I’m not holding my breath. What are you looking forward to seeing tonight? — Glenn Whipp

3 p.m. If you’re wondering how so many of the stars you’ll see on today’s telecast are managing not to topple over in their sky-high stilettos, fear not — they’ve had practice.

Some of them, anyway. Twenty-four hours before the Oscars, dozens of celebrities arrived at the Dolby Theatre to rehearse their musical numbers and practice handing out gold statuettes. The Academy Awards is the only award ceremony that actually requires presenters to attend a run-through prior to the live show. Some of them use the opportunity to run through their wardrobe choices as well, including Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera, who had on strappy heels that were far fancier than the rest of their casual attire. Presumably, the “Barbie” co-stars wanted to test-drive their shoes to make sure they were reliable — even if that meant being uncomfortable at 9 a.m. on a Saturday.

Not everyone went that route, including Zendaya, who opted for loafers, and Steven Spielberg, who had on sneakers. The latter immediately walked to the front of the stage, whipped out his cellphone and took a photograph of the audience, where seat placards with headshots noted who would sit where in the crowd.

If the director shared that photo with anyone, he passed on more private information than I’m able to reveal here. Press who witnessed roughly one hour of rehearsal on Saturday were forbidden from revealing, well, basically everything: The seating plans, who is presenting what categories, what the script entails, how the stage looks. During his practice round, Spielberg had a funny bit where he named a deceased Hollywood luminary as the pretend winner. But even naming who that person was would give away too much about the category he’s associated with.

For the record, Spielberg was scolded for not sticking to the script — presenters are supposed to open an envelope and read the name of a potential real winner, noting it’s “for rehearsal only.” When he went his own way, a stagehand gently requested he use an actual nominee’s name instead.

“No,” the filmmaker replied, “that’s bad luck.” —Amy Kaufman