Comedian Conan O'Brien will be doing his second stint as host of the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, and he spoke with the local ABC affiliate about the Bay Area's strong showing among the nominees.

ABC 7, which will be carrying the Oscars ceremony locally in the Bay Area, got a little of bit of press-junket time with host Conan O'Brien on Friday morning. Morning anchor Amanda del Castillo, who is heading to LA this weekend to cover the ceremony, chatted with the comedian about his second stint hosting, noting that this is her second time covering the awards, as well.

"So, we're kind of twins in that respect. Although, I think you're at a much higher level," says del Castillo.

"We are. We are twins," O'Brien quickly reples. "We're like the twins in Sinners in many ways. Oh, wait, no we're not. I just did the math, we're not like them at all."

The joke-y back and forth included O'Brien's praise for the Outside Lands festival, which he was spotted at last year — "because of your height," de Castillo says.

"Well, my daughter is a huge live music fan and that's a thing that we do together," O'Brien says. "So, we've been to a bunch of music festivals, but our favorite might be Outside Lands. We just love the vibe there."

O'Brien added, on the topic of the multiple Bay Area nominees — including Ryan Coogler, writer-director of Sinners, one of its stars Delroy Lindo, Best Song nominee for Sinners Raphael Saadiq, and Pixar's Elio — "San Francisco is the jewel for the arts in the United States. I've long believed that."

O'Brien adds, "I have a t-shirt that says that, but it's a very wordy t-shirt. So, I don't wear it often. I think San Francisco is just killing it, always has, always will."

See the full interview below.

Top image: Conan O'Brien helps the crew during the 98th Oscars red carpet roll out at Ovation Hollywood on March 11, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/WireImage)

• Mayor Lurie has picked Mattie Scott, a well-respected anti-violence activist and longtime Fillmore resident, to replace the recently ousted Carter-Oberstone on the police commission. Scott, whose 24-year-old son George Scott was killed in 1996 while attending a party in the Fillmore, is the president of the gun control group Brady California. [Chronicle]
• Oakland's Julian Brave NoiseCat's film Sugarcane is up for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars. NoiseCat said that growing up in the Bay Area "deeply shaped my perspective and who I am." [ABC7]

• NBC Bay Area profiles Black composer Xavier Muzik, whose work from his composition Strange Beasts is often played by the San Francisco Symphony. Muzik recently won the third annual Emerging Black Composers Project. [NBC Bay Area]
• Advocates push for the expansion of slow streets, arguing that it's a cost effective way to reduce traffic deaths. [KQED]
• Danville Bowl is closing on March 31 after being in business for 60 years. [KTVU]
• Antioch Police are looking for 11-year-old Dominic Jesus Garcia who was last seen leaving is school on foot at 11 a.m. today. [KRON4]
• A motorcyclist was killed in a hit and run collision on the Bay Bridge this afternoon. [ABC7]

National:

• Scientists in Antarctica are feeling the impact of the DOGE firings and looming budget cuts. They worry important research as well as geopolitics could be upended long-term. [Wired]
• Trump is expected to sign an executive order making English the official language of the United States. The executive order would undo a Clinton-era mandate requiring government entities and organizations that received federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. [AP]
• Seven planets are lining up tonight in what's called a "planet parade." Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will all be visible at the same time along a single arc in the sky. [NPR]

Video of the Day:

• A super creepy robot was spotted walking the streets recently. Please tell us this is fake.

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Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

The 96th Academy Awards are upon us, and whether you're rooting for your favorite film or simply want to see what movie stars are wearing, there's a local watch party waiting for you.

Forget scrambling to find someone's cable login to watch the Oscars — here's a roundup of five local watch parties, from budget-friendly to truly glamorous.

1. Oscars at the Balboa, Mar. 10, 2024, 3:00 p.m - 7:00 p.m., $15

Catch the pre-show red carpet madness and all the award ceremony action at the Balboa Theatre. Hosted by local actor and tour guide Reed Kirk-Rahlmann, the party promises trivia and prizes throughout the night. Seating is first-come, first-served, so get there early.

2. The Annual Knockout Oscars Watch Party Happy Hour, Mar. 10, 2024, 3:00 - 9:00 p.m., FREE

For the movie buff on a budget, head to Bernal Heights' The Knockout for their free Oscars Watch Party Happy Hour. Enjoy the ceremony on the big screen, with pizza, trivia, and drink specials throughout the evening.

3. Oscars Party at Manny's!, Mar. 10, 2024, 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., $10

Craving a low-key vibe with a touch of Hollywood glitz? Mission District community event space Manny's has you covered. Their Oscars Viewing Party offers a fun atmosphere with speciality Oscars-themed cocktails, games, and prizes.

4. Oscar Night at The Academy, Mar. 10, 2024, 3:30 - 8:00 p.m, $25

The Academy SF, the LGBTQ+ social club and event space in Duboce Triangle is hosting its annual Oscar Night viewing party. Mingle with fellow movie enthusiasts, enjoy the ceremony on the big screen, and even participate in their "Academy Award" presentation for social club members. (Members get free admission, but space is limited so register ASAP!)

5. Cinelounge Tiburon Oscars Party 2024, Mar. 10, 2024, 3:00 p.m. - on, $75 - $125

Channel your inner A-lister at CineLounge Tiburon's Oscars Viewing Party. This fancy movie theater in Marin is pulling out all the stops. Get the full awards show experience, complete with an open bar, gourmet hors d'oeuvres, and a red carpet (with a photographer!) to capture your own Hollywood moment. Tickets include the ceremony, food, drinks, and a chance to win prizes for guessing the winners.

Feature image of Hollywood, CA, red carpet at the 91st Annual Academy Awards, vis Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.

Los Gatos-based Netflix is the only one of the big players in streaming video to score big with Oscar nominations this year for their German-language WWI epic All Quiet on the Western Front.

The 2023 Oscar nominations were announced early Tuesday morning, and after several years of encroachment on Hollywood's biggest awards field, streaming services did not outshine the film studios in terms of nominations scored.

The biggest winner in nomination numbers was Everything Everywhere All at Once, A24's fever dream fantasy/sci-fi/family drama that may finally bring an Oscar to lead actress Michelle Yeoh. (Yeoh has already taken home dozens of Critics' Circle awards and a Golden Globe for the role.) The movie has 11 nominations in total, including nods for its entire principal cast, including Supporting Actress nominations for Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis, and a Supporting Actor nod for Ke Huy Quan — a.k.a. Jonathan Ke Quan, known to those of a certain age as Data from Goonies, and Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, when he was a child star.

But coming in second, with nine nominations apiece, were Netflix's All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Banshees of Inisherin, a Searchlight production. The latter won nods for four of its stars, including lead actor Colin Farrell and supporting actor Brendan Gleeson. (It's available for streaming now on HBO Max, FYI.)

The Netflix film, directed by Edward Berger and based on the 1928 antiwar novel by Erich Maria Remarque, scored nominations for Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay — but no nods in the acting or directing categories.

These nomination results are in contrast to the last two pandemic years in which some high-profile films were distributed via streaming only, including last year's Best Picture winner, Apple's CODA. 2021's Best Picture Winner, Nomadland, had a very brief theatrical release before being streamed on Hulu.

Brian Tyree Henry's supporting actor nomination for Causeway is the only big nomination that Apple+ got this year.

But 2023's slate of movies brings us back to pre-pandemic times in terms big, splashy productions competing for prizes, including movies that scored big at the box office last year like Top Gun: Maverick (six noms), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (five noms), and Avatar: The Way of Water (four noms). There's also Steven Spielberg's highly personal The Fabelmans, with seven nominations, including a fifth acting nod for Michelle Williams, and a ninth directing nod for Spielberg.

The Oscars, again hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air on Sunday, March 12 on ABC.

Top image via Netflix

Yeah I guess a few things got overshadowed at the Oscars Sunday night, one of them being Steph Curry and Shaq winning Best Documentary Short for The Queen of Basketball, the story of the only woman ever drafted by the NBA.  

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry remains sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury, but he still won Sunday night. He won at the Academy Awards. As the Associated Press points out, Curry and Shaquille O’Neal were both executive producers of a 22-minute film called The Queen of Basketball, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short, and can be seen in its entirety below.

The Queen of Basketball,is the story of Lusia Harris, a women’s basketball player in the 1970s who has the distinction of scoring of scoring the first basket in women’s Olympic basketball in 1976 (her Team USA squad won the silver medal), and was actually the first and only woman ever to be drafted by an NBA team when the New Orleans Jazz took her in the seventh round of the 1977 draft.

Though as the AP points out, “she was pregnant at the time and never actually went through with trying to make the team.”

Curry and Shaq were not present to receive the award. And Best Documentary Short is one of those “shortened” categories where they awarded the Oscar during a commercial break and then played a quickie edited version of that presentation to speed up the show. But the film’s director Ben Proudfoot accepted the award, and in his moment at the dais, made reference to another underappreciated story in the women’s sports world that’s taking place halfway across the globe.

“President Biden, bring Brittney Griner home,” Proudfoot said, referring to the WNBA star who’s currently incarcerated in Russia over some ticky-tack cannabis vape pen allegations.

Related: Steph and Ayesha Curry Appear On ‘Sesame Street,’ Muppet High Jinks Ensue [SFist]

Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 27: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors and NBA Legend, Vince Carter pose for a photograph with the Kia NBA All-Star MVP Kobe Bryant Trophy before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center on February 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

This year's Oscar nominations were announced early Monday morning, and after years of criticism over the awards' lack of diversity — and the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag campaign that began with the 2015 awards — the 2021 slate of nominees is more diverse than ever.

Chloe Zhao, who directed Nomadland, and Emerald Fennell, who directed Promising Young Woman, made history simply by both getting nominations for Best Director. Two women have never been nominated in the category in the same year before, and only five women have ever gotten Best Director nods in the award show's history. Zhao becomes the first woman of color to be nominated for Best Director, and Fennell becomes the first woman to be nominated for her debut feature.

It's also the first time two men of Asian heritage have been nominated together in the Best Actor category: South Korean-born Steven Yeun for Minari, and Riz Ahmed — a Briton of Pakistani descent — for The Sound of Metal. And Ahmed is the first Muslim to get a Best Actor nod.

And Oakland native Ryan Coogler, who directed 2013's Fruitvale Station as well as 2018's Black Panther, made history as part of the first all-Black producing team to win a nomination for Best Picture. Coogler and co-producers Shaka King and Charles D. King were nominated for Judas and the Black Messiah, a film about Black Panther party chairman Fred Hampton and his betrayal by an FBI informant. This is Coogler's first Oscar nomination. (The film is available to stream on HBO Max, and it's now playing at AMC's Bay Street theater in Emeryville.)

As the Mercury News recounts, the 34-year-old Coogler was born in Oakland and grew up in Richmond, and later attended St. Mary's College in Moraga — about 12 years behind Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, another Oakland native who went to St. Mary's.

The Bay Area has plenty to celebrate and root for in this year's Oscar nominations. Because of the pandemic, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences changed the rules for nominees to allow films that debuted on streaming services to be eligible — and this a unique year in which virtually all the nominated films are immediately available for home viewing.

Los Gatos-based Netflix garnered 35 nominations in total, and produced the most-nominated film of the year, Mank, directed by David Fincher. And Emeryville-based Pixar notched up more nominations to add to its awards-filled history, for both Soul and Onward, in the Animated Feature category.

Also, as the Merc notes, in the Best Documentary Feature category, Berkeley-based filmmakers James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham won a nomination for the film Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution. (The entire film is available to watch on YouTube and Netflix.)

Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images

A UC Berkeley journalism lecturer is up for an Oscar tonight in the documentary short category, and that's filmmaker Dan Krauss for his 24-minute film called "Extremis," about people facing end-of-life decisions, largely shot at Oakland's Highland Hospital.

Krauss tells ABC 7, "The Oscars are a celebration of big studio movies and A-list celebrities, but they also shine a spotlight on hardworking, creative filmmakers who may not have the budget, but have plenty of heart."

He also says he met Barbra Streisand at an Oscar event this week, and that was "surreal."

"Extremis" is available for viewing on Netflix.

Also up for an award in the same category is UC Berkeley grad Daphne Matziaraki, a former student of Krauss's. Her 21-minute film made for the New York Times, "4.1 Miles," documents how the refugee crisis has impacted her native Greece.

Watch it in full below.

In case you hadn't heard or didn't watch the 88th annual Academy Awards last night, you should know that odds-on favorite Pixar won the award for Best Animated Feature for the eighth time last night (since the prize started being given in 2001) for the much acclaimed Inside Out. The Emeryville-based animation company's history at the Oscars dates back to 1995's Toy Story, and they've also collectively taken home Best Animated Feature trophies for Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, and Brave.

In giving his brief acceptance speech, writer/director Pete Docter said, "This film was really born out of watching our kids grow up, which is not easy." He added, "Anyone out there who is in junior high [or] high school, working it out, suffering, there are days you're gonna feel sad, you're gonna feel angry, you're gonna feel scared. That's nothing you can choose. But you can make stuff. Make films, draw, write. It'll make a world of difference."

Hear him below.

This is Docter's second Oscar for writing and directing a Pixar feature, the first being for 2009's Up, though he was also one of the key animators who worked on the original Toy Story. He is also best known for Monsters Inc., which was nominated for the Oscar in 2001, but lost out to Shrek.

Docter has worked at Pixar since the age of 21, in 1989, and he admitted in a 1999 interview with Radix Magazine that he based the look of the character of Buzz Lightyear on his own face, using a mirror on his desk while drawing him.

Inside Out was produced by Jonas Rivera, who also took home a prize last night, and co-directed by Ronnie Del Carmen. It was co-written by Del Carmen, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley.

It tells the tale of a young girl's inner journey from childhood into puberty as her emotional life grows more complex, with the core emotions of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust all personified as characters in a control room in her head.

As the Independent noted, in the scroll of extra thank yous that ran underneath the acceptance speeches last night — a new, CNN-like feature that Oscar producers came up with to further shorten the speeches — Docter surprised his kids Nick and Ellie by telling them "Okay yes, let's get a dog."

If your invitation to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party somehow got lost in the mail, you can still get all the ballgowns, ballots and bingo of this Sunday night’s 88th Academy Awards at a local San Francisco Oscars viewing party. The Academy Awards ceremony officially begins at 5:30 p.m. PST Sunday, but some of this year’s nominees for best Oscar watching party in San Francisco begin a little earlier so you can razz the red carpet arrival broadcast, hashtag #SoWhite references and compare last-minute predictions with your gussied-up friends.

Academy of Friends Oscar Night Charity Gala
The glitziest, glammiest and for-a-really-good-cause Oscars party north of Beverly Hills is the annual Academy Awards Night Charity Gala hosted by the Academy of Friends. This is your most opulent Oscars option, but you can be sure that 100% of your ticket price will directly benefit Project Open Hand, Maitri and several HIV/AIDS charities and nonprofits.
San Francisco Design Center Galleria, 101 Henry Adams St., 5 p.m. ($300 General Admission, $750 VIP)

Up The Awards Benefit Bash
Hecklers, razzers and lovable haters always congregate at the Roxie for the annual Up The Awards Benefit Bash, a bring-your-own-carry-out-food Oscars watching party that — hey-o! — now serves beer. You don’t even have to sit through the commercials, because the Roxie plays their “latest discoveries of curious and never-less-than hilarious cinematic detritus during the breaks”.
The Roxie, 3117 16th St., 3:45 p.m. ($15)

Image: Madame Tussaud's and SoMa StrEat Food Park

Oscars Party at The Knockout
The Knockout knocks out another annual Oscars party with Hollywood-themed drinks, fresh-popped popcorn, prizes for the best dressed and the Knockout Oscar Ballot Challenge.
The Knockout, 3223 Mission St, 6 p.m. (Free)

Image: The Oasis

Balboa Theater Oscars Party
Watch the Academy Awards on the silver screen at the Balboa’s beloved annual Oscars party, this year hosted by Reed Kirk-Rahlmann, Joshua Brody, and Merle and Amy Kessler.
Balboa Theater, 3630 Balboa St., 2:30 p.m. ($11)

Like your fun aunt, we've been waiting all year for the 87th Academy Awards, hosted by Doogie Howser MD, held this Sunday and airing live on ABC at 5:30 p.m.* Red carpet coverage has probably already started over on E! Entertainment Television.

This is the most important event of the year, and thus, appropriate accommodations for Oscar viewing are in order. Please bear in mind that this is the first Oscar Telecast following the tragic death of hometown hero Robin Williams. We anticipate (no, demand) constant mention of his genius in both acceptance speeches and the highlight of any awards show, the In Memoriam montage.

Also newly deceased is red carpet pioneer, Joan Rivers. Remind yourself to stock up on tissues.

Should you wish to get out and mingle with fellow film-lovers, here are some Oscar viewing parties worthy of your consideration:

Academy of Friends Gala
At $250-$300 a person, this massive annual HIV/AIDS fundraiser is perhaps the most glamorous way to watch the Oscars in San Francisco. This year the event will be held at the San Francisco Design Galleria and include a ton of food, wine, dancing, and of course, the awards telecast. While we have never been to this particular event, it seems like watching the actual Oscars in detail would be difficult with all those people rudely talking. The only acceptable times to chat during the Oscars are during anything Foreign Language-related, or about sound mixing.

Funcheap 2015 Oscars Party & “Neil Patrick Harris” Meet & Greet
Enjoy the glitz of the Oscars under the stars (and under a freeway) at SoMa StrEat Food Park. Hosted by our pal Johnny FunCheap, this event features free entry, booze deals, food trucks, a red carpet, Oscar betting pools, and the actual wax version of Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris, on loan from Madame Tussaud's. Prizes, cocktails, selfies with Doogie, and red carpet coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. can all be yours if you just RSVP here.

Academy Awards Live at the Historic Balboa Theater
If you're willing to trek out to the Balboa Theater, you can watch the Oscars from an actual movie theater seat, giving the whole event a very authentic feel. This all-ages event will run you $7.50-$10 and will feature games, costume contests, and the standard movie snacks. Children might be in attendance.

Up the Oscars Benefit Bash
The Roxie Theater is host to a commercial-free Oscar telecast! (WHAT? GENIUS!) Instead of sucking down corporate propaganda in between celebrating the cinematic arts, curator Stev Sechovec will provide the audience with all sorts of thrilling film, video, and cheesy commercial clips. Get there in time for the Red Carpet Walk of Shame, starting at 3:45, and while small snacks will be provided, attendees are welcome to bring their own Oscar-worthy feasts. $12 in advance, $15 at the door.

Academy Awards at the New Parkway Theater
Check out the festivities at the New Parkway Theater in Oakland, where $25 gets you delicious finger foods and comfy, funky couch seating in one of two screening rooms. Drinks coast extra, naturally, and doors open at 3:30pm.

A Night in Berkeleywood
Get your picture taken with a real Oscar statuette (how this was procured, we do not know) at the Hotel Shattuck in Berkeley. Food and wine provided for a whopping $100 per person, but we're under the impression that it's fancy food and wine. Doors open at 4 and you can buy tickets here.

At Home
Those of you wishing to toast the winners at home while shouting "STFU!" whenever Anne Hathaway appears on screen can download Oscar ballots here.

If anyone is rolling their eyes out there, thinking to themselves, "The Oscars are stupid nonsense, and have nothing to do with art" while reading this on your Samsung and not having basic cable, allow us to remind you and your fellow anti-awards show curmudgeon Joaquin Phoenix of the indescribable magic of the Academy Awards:

*Googling of Oscars start time reveals a start time of 4 p.m. This is a lie perpetrated by ABC to get you to watch 90 minutes of their red carpet interviews. Say what you want about the banality of E! Entertainment Television, but there is one thing they do better than network news, and that is red carpet interviews and commentary. Turn on ABC at 5:30 for the actual show, or beforehand during E!'s commercial breaks. Duh.

Uptown Almanac's Jackson West tweets this photo of 14th and South Van Ness at 9:10 last night, around an hour after Cate Blanchett was awarded the best actress Oscar at last night's Academy Awards.

As those of you who saw Blue Jasmine (the SF-set film in which Blanchett appeared) might recall, 305 South Van Ness was home to some of the greatest scenes in the film, as the location of Ginger's (Sally Hawkins) apartment. The intersection might have been expected to be ground zero for some sort of cinephile Muni and dumpster conflagration, but this was apparently not to be.

Still eager to relive last night's awards ceremony? We recommend LAist's liveblog of the event and LAist's red carpet photos.

Just want a list of the nominees and winners? Here you go:

Best picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

Actor in a leading role
Matthew McConaughey Dallas Buyers Club
Christian Bale American Hustle
Bruce Dern Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor 12 Years a Slave

Actor in a supporting role
Jared Leto Dallas Buyers Club
Barkhad Abdi Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper American Hustle
Michael Fassbender 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill The Wolf of Wall Street

Actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett Blue Jasmine
Amy Adams American Hustle
Sandra Bullock Gravity
Judi Dench Philomena
Meryl Streep August: Osage County

Actress in a supporting role
Lupita Nyong'o 12 Years a Slave
Sally Hawkins Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence American Hustle
Julia Roberts August: Osage County
June Squibb Nebraska

Director
Alfonso Cuaron Gravity
Steve McQueen 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne Nebraska
David O. Russell American Hustle
Martin Scorsese The Wolf of Wall Street

Adapted screenplay
12 Years A Slave John Ridley
Before Midnight Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips Billy Ray
Philomena Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
The Wolf of Wall Street Terence Winter

Original screenplay
Her Spike Jonze
American Hustle Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack
Nebraska Bob Nelson

Animated feature film
Frozen
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
The Wind Rises

Documentary (feature)
20 Feet From Stardom
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square

Music (original song)
"Let it Go" Frozen Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
"Happy" Despicable Me 2 Pharrell Williams
"Ordinary Love" Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom U2, lyrics by Paul Hewson
The Moon Song" Her music by Karen O, lyrics by Karen O and Spike Jonze

Music (original score)
Gravity Steven Price
The Book Thief John Williams
Her William Butler and Owen Pallett
Philomena Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr. Banks Thomas Newman

Visual effects
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

Cinematography
Gravity
The Grandmaster
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners

Costume design
The Great Gatsby
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Invisible Woman

Makeup and hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Film editing
Gravity
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club

Documentary (short subject)
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

Foreign language film
The Great Beauty Italy
The Broken Circle Breakdown Belgium
The Hunt Denmark
The Missing Picture Cambodia
Omar Palestine

Short film (live action)
Helium
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)
Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem

Short film (animated)
Mr. Hublot
Feral
Get a Horse!
Possessions
Room on the Broom

Production design
The Great Gatsby
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Gravity
Her

Sound editing
Gravity
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

Sound mixing
Gravity
Captain Phillips
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

Last night, Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres decided she wanted to try and break the record for most-retweeted Tweet ever—President Obama's reelection victory Tweet got over 780,000. To beat his record, she pulled in celebrities like Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Spacey and more to pose for a selfie, which was taken by Bradley Cooper. And she succeeded, with the Tweet hitting over 1 million RTs by 8:17 p.m. PST. Of course, that kind of superstar virality meant Twitter engineers were having near-breakdowns.

Right before Ellen posted the selfie, engineer Vincent Chu Tweeted:

Other Twitter employees also reacted:

Then the selfie was unleashed:

So Ellen managed to break records and Twitter was so hot that it crashed briefly—but the bigger winner was Frank Underwood:

Where are you watching the Oscars? Probably at home in something cozy, if you're smart. But should you find the willpower to venture out this weekend, here are two options for watching them in public with fellow diehard Hollywood buffs.

For the indoor types, the Balboa Theatre in the Outer Richmond will be hosting their annual Academy Awards viewing party, emceed by Reed Kirk Rahlmann, who has the dubious honor of being listed on the IMDB page for Howard the Duck, which is widely regarded as one of the worst films of all time. Here's what Rahlmann had to say about the event:

Once again it is time for the Balboa Theater Oscar party! And once again I have the honor of hosting. I have opinions about the nominees (Gravity? Best Picture? Really?) and I’m sure you do too. And I want to hear them! I also want to hear about your Tenuous Oscar Connections. Do you work with someone who saw Judy Dench at Starbucks? Know someone who was Joaquin Phoenix’s orthodontist? Tell the story—there’s a prize in it for you. Do you have a favorite film that no one else has heard of? Share it with the audience. And costumes are always encouraged. So don’t sit home and watch. Come share the experience of the movies as they should be experienced—at a theater filled with Oscar fans. Hope to see you there.

The event has been known to sell out, but there are still tickets available here. $10 for grownups and $7.50 for those on the older and younger ends of the age spectrum.

Meanwhile, across town in SoMa, the StrEat food truck corral and beer garden will also be rolling out the red carpet. The TVs will be tuned to the pre-show red carpet for all your cheering and/orjudging purposes, there's an Oscar pool, free popcorn and, of course, food from seven different vendors including The Melt, Lil Burma and Frozen Kuhsterd. It all starts at 2:30 pm for the good seats. More info can be found on the Facebook Event here.

Sunday night is the most important night of the year. It's Oscar night, that's why! How much will you squirm when Anne Hathaway delivers her self-consciously kooky and over-prepared acceptance speech? A lot. But chef Ben DeVries of Luella, the noted Russian Hill restaurant, will help ease your pain with a tasty and convenient Luella-in-a-bag special, themed after the Oscars.

At $22/person ($44 minimum) the Oscars Luella-in-a-bag features:

- Gaufrette with house cured salmon, crème fraiche and chives
- Crostini with house made ricotta and marinated artichokes
- Ahi tartare taco with lime vinaigrette and mango salsa
- House made biscuit with seared filet, bone marrow butter and horseradish cream
- Bruschetta with wild mushrooms and gremolata
- Veal meatball with tomato porcini sauce
- Chocolate mousse with hazelnuts, white chocolate sauce and blackberry puree

This is for more refined, serious Oscar parties. Lemon Drops at the Midnight Sun this is not. Oh, and you can add on a bottle (or eight) or Prosecco.

This Luella-in-a-bag requires at least at 24-hour advanced order and is available for a curbside pick up. Available for pick up on Saturday, February 23 between 5:00-6:30pm.

More details.