Oscars 2016: All eyes on Chris Rock

The Academy Awards celebrate the best in film, but the ceremony isn’t exactly a popularity contest.

Hollywood’s biggest night is nearly here, and here’s what’s in store for the Oscars this Sunday. Actor-comedian Chris Rock will be hosting the awards show as his second time, according to a November press release.

While Super Bowl ratings are enormous no matter which teams play in the game, Oscars ratings are often directly tied to which films and stars are in contention for the biggest awards.

I’ve seen all but one of this year’s nominees (Bridge of Spies), and Mad Max: Fury Road is already a regular fixture on HBO Now, so I’m skipping this year’s marathon.

Least predictable but perhaps most important to the size of the audience is a large wave of criticism about the total dominance of white nominees. “The show can address the issue, as I’m sure it will. Beyond that, it’s not their job to convince the world that the academy has changed its tune and will have a diverse slate of acting nominees next year”.

The 26-year-old star of “Room” has won everything in sight for her performance as a kidnapped mother protecting her young son, and the Oscars – which love anointing up-and-coming actresses – should be no different. Similarly, there was a big ratings bump in 2004, when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, that year’s top-grossing film, won best picture. Dave Grohl, though not nominated for an Oscar, will be performing, however. (Birdman, last year’s victor, was also his.) Voters will be keenly aware of this, but the wells of support for this film run deep: with 12 nominations, it’s by far the most broadly adored of this year’s serious contenders.

Rock initially told The Hollywood Reporter in December that he wanted to host the 88th annual Academy Awards because “it just seemed like a good time”.

Oscar host Chris Rock and telecast producers Reginald Hudlin and David Hill – who would typically be promoting the show this week to inspire tune-in – have gone silent. ABC said that no advertisers have dropped out of the show as a result of the controversy.

Now the academy, the group of filmmakers who vote on the nominees each year, is reportedly over 90 percent white, over 70 percent male, with an average age over 62 to 63.