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Entertainment  

Song, dance, and politics

The 89th Academy Awards should be a schizophrenic affair: equal parts pomp and politics.

The only thing expected to take the stage more often than the frothy front-runner "La La Land" at Sunday's ceremony is protest (and probably some punchlines) over the policies of President Donald Trump. For largely liberal Hollywood, his election has proven a rallying cause-celebre throughout an awards season that has otherwise been a parade of honours for Damien Chazelle's celebrated musical.

Just how political things are going to get at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles may be the biggest question of Sunday night's show, to be broadcast by ABC beginning at 8:30 p.m. EST, with red carpet coverage starting earlier. The current forecast for Sunday is only a slight chance of rain, though the inside of the Dolby Theatre is expected to be far stormier.

Even the usually glitzy lead-up to Sunday's show has taken on the form of a gathering tempest. On Friday, the United Talent Agency, forgoing its usual Oscar party, instead held a rally over immigration. 

More strikingly, the six directors of the foreign film nominees on Friday released a joint statement condemning "the climate of fanaticism and nationalism we see today in the U.S. and in so many other countries, in parts of the population and, most unfortunately of all, among leading politicians."

And sure to stoke the rhetoric at Sunday's Oscars is news this weekend that U.S. immigration authorities are barring entry to a 21-year-old Syrian cinematographer who worked on the documentary short nominee "The White Helmets," about the nation's civil war.

Meanwhile, some Trump supporters are calling for a boycott of the broadcast, expecting more speeches like Meryl Streep's fiery remarks at the Globes — which prompted Trump to call her "overrated." 

Host Jimmy Kimmel will have a delicate balance on his hands. Play it too light and he'll appear out of sync with the mood. Hammer too hard and he'll alienate viewers already inundated by politics.

A lot of the suspense has been deflated by the juggernaut of "La La Land," the Golden Globe winner and favourite to win best picture. It's up for 14 awards, tying it with "Titanic" and "All About Eve" for the record.

For the first time, an actor of colour is nominated in each acting category. A record six black actors are nominated. Four of the five films nominated for best documentary were made by black filmmakers. Bradford Young ("Arrival") is the second black cinematographer ever nominated. Kimberly Steward, the financer of "Manchester by the Sea," is the second black female producer nominated for best picture.



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