Sawt Falasteen - Oscars begin as 'Anora,' 'Conclave' vie for top prize

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo kicked off the show with soaring vocal performances honoring the land of Oz that brought the house down, including a rapturously received "Defying Gravity" from their best picture nominee "Wicked."

Then it was time for host Conan O'Brien, who emerged from Demi Moore's body in a riff on the body horror flick "The Substance" to begin his monologue.

"Welcome to the 97th Academy Awards," he said. "It's Hollywood's biggest night, that starts at four in the afternoon," he quipped.

He took early aim at the controversy that has surrounded "Emilia Perez," whose transgender star Karla Sofia Gascon sank the film's Oscar hopes when a series of offensive tweets were unearthed.

"Little fact for you: 'Anora' uses the F-word 479 times. That's three more than the record set by Karla Sofia Gascon's publicist," he said.

The first prize of the evening -- for best supporting actor -- was no surprise, with Kieran Culkin getting the honor for "A Real Pain."

The race for Hollywood's grandest prize is too close to call, with two wildly different films seen as frontrunners for best picture.

"There will be real tension," said Rotten Tomatoes awards editor Jacqueline Coley. "I would say if 'Conclave' doesn't win, it's definitely going to be 'Anora.'"

"Both sides are feeling more nervous than confident... that should be an indicator that this is really a nail-biter," The Hollywood Reporter's awards expert Scott Feinberg told AFP.

Sean Baker's "Anora" -- about a New York stripper and escort who weds a wealthy Russian playboy, only to learn that her dream marriage is a nightmare illusion -- won the Cannes festival's Palme d'Or last May.

But, Coley says, "it is a little bit polarizing because of the sex worker aspect."

"Conclave" -- a film about the secretive and cutthroat election of a new Catholic leader, lent an uncanny timeliness by the real-life Pope Francis's health woes -- appears to have won over many late voters.

Director Edward Berger told reporters on the red carpet that the intrigue was what gave the movie its power, not the setting.

"The movie could have taken place anywhere -- it could have taken place in a company where the CEO position is suddenly empty," he said.

The film starring Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini earned top honors from Britain's BAFTAs, and the Hollywood actors' SAG Award for best cast.

One Oscars voter told AFP they had voted for "Conclave" because "it's just more of a traditional, classic 'best picture' film."

- Oscar records -

The voter, anonymous because Academy members cannot reveal their picks, also expressed admiration for "The Brutalist," a potential dark horse about a Hungarian Jewish architect making a new life in the United States after World War II.

Adrien Brody, who plays the titular gifted architect and Holocaust survivor, has been the presumed favorite to win the best actor Oscar for months.

Brody has won the prize previously, for 2002's "The Pianist." If he prevails again, he'd join an elite club of double winners including Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson.

But Timothee Chalamet -- who earned wide admiration for his pitch-perfect performance as a sardonic young Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown" -- won the Screen Actors Guild Award over Brody, and could prove a spoiler.

At just 29, he arguably has the most star power of any of this year's nominees, and would beat Brody's record as the category's youngest-ever winner.

Brody is "still the safer pick," said Feinberg -- assuming enough Academy voters made it through his film's three-and-a-half-hour runtime.

- 'Comeback story' -

There could be an even younger winner on the actress side, if a groundswell of support for "Anora" carries its star Mikey Madison, 25, to the Oscars stage.

But she will have to get past Demi Moore, the 1990s megastar who has enjoyed a sparkling career renaissance thanks to gory body horror flick "The Substance."

If the vote is split, Brazil's Fernanda Torres could spring a surprise with "I'm Still Here," about a family ripped apart by her country's military dictatorship.

- 'Wicked' showstopper -

The ceremony itself is expected to be an emotional affair, honoring firefighters who battled blazes that killed 29 people and devastated Los Angeles in January.

As well as Grande and Erivo, producers have also enlisted Doja Cat and Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink to perform.

For the first time, the gala will stream live on Hulu, as well as on US network ABC, and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

M.AbuKhalil--SF-PST