The 2019 Academy Awards have almost arrived. Every year, those who work in the movie industry gather to celebrate the past year’s greatest achievements in filmmaking.

This year the Oscars take place at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sunday, February 24. The whole event airs at 8 PM ET.

Controversies around the gala

As with years past, there has been quite a lot of controversy leading up to the Oscars, but never more so than this year.

One of the most striking announcements came when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said that there won’t be a host for the 2019 Academy Awards gala. This happened after comedian Kevin Hart was selected but then chose to step down (or was perhaps made to step down) when controversial comments he made in the past were revealed.

This is not the first time the show has gone without a host. 30 years ago, the 61st Academy Awards ceremony was also without a host, and it was notoriously dreadful. It will be interesting to see how it goes this time.

Another controversy surrounded the announcement of a new category, Best Popular Film, which questioned the way the selection process works. At one point, the Academy also said that only two of the Best Original Song contenders would be performed during the ceremony, another decision that was quickly reverted.

One of the biggest racket was caused by the decision to have four of the 24 categories presented during commercials. It was argued that this shows a lack of respect for the winners in those categories, which include Best Cinematography and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. This decision was reversed after it was criticized by several celebrities such as George Clooney and Guillermo del Toro.

It all starts with the Red Carpet

The earlier red carpet proceedings will be streamed live on Twitter. You can watch them on the Academy Awards official Twitter account here. Another site Entertainment Tonight Online and as usual the E network, available on many live TV streaming services, will have Oscars pre-coverage all day Sunday, with E's red carpet coverage beginning at 5 PM ET.

ABC's red carpet coverage will begin at 5:30 PM ET.

If you're planning to watch the red carpet on your mobile device, you can stream it live on ABC Go or on the ABC app. Look out for The Oscars: All Access, a live coverage giving viewers backstage access, red carpet highlights, and other interesting details surrounding the ceremony.

Stream the Oscars ceremony live with ABC

The 2019 Academy Awards will be broadcast on ABC, as they are every year. ABC is owned by Disney, which also owns numerous other major brands, including Marvel. Because of the success and major star power associated with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nobody should be surprised that 2019 marks the first ever nomination for the superhero movie in the best picture category. Coming from Marvel, obviously.

Watch it with Smart DNS Proxy for FREE

As you probably know, ABC is geo-restricted so for audiences in the US, ABC is streaming the live broadcast of the Oscars on the ABC website, but only to specific cities and only after you sign in with a participating pay TV provider -- typically a cable company, satellite provider or live streaming service.

If you subscribe to a live TV streaming service that include ABC, you can use it to watch the Oscars too. DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue and NowTV all carry ABC as part of their package. All of them offer a 7-day free trial, so you can sign up now and cancel after the ceremony if you want. All you need to do is to join Smart DNS Proxy for a 14-day free trial (or log in if you are already a member), set up our service (you can use our support articles or write to our engineers who will be happy to help you out) and you’re good to go!

Major Oscars categories

Let's focus on the big six: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

Best Picture

Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star is Born
Vice

Best Director

BlacKkKlansman -- Spike Lee
Cold War -- Paweł Pawlikowski
The Favourite -- Yorgos Lanthimos
Roma -- Alfonso Cuaron
Vice -- Adam McKay

Best Actor

Christian Bale -- Vice
Bradley Cooper -- A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe -- At Eternity's Gate
Rami Malik -- Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen -- Green Book

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio -- Roma
Glenn Close -- The Wife
Olivia Colman -- The Favourite
Lady Gaga -- A Star is Born
Melissa McCarthy -- Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali -- Green Book
Adam Driver -- BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliot -- A Star is Born
Richard E Grant -- Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell -- Vice

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams -- Vice
Marina de Tavira -- Roma
Regina King -- If Beale Street Could Talk 
Emma Stone -- The Favourite
Rachel Weisz -- The Favourite

Let us know in the comments section on your predictions and, after the ceremony, if they turned out to be true.

Where to watch the nominated movies

Here’s a quick guide on where to watch all nominated movies from this year’s Academy Awards.

Best Picture Nominees

Black Panther

Streaming: Netflix

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

BlacKkKlansman

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Bohemian Rhapsody

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu

The Favourite

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Green Book

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu

Roma

Streaming: Netflix

Rent/Buy: Not yet

A Star is Born

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Google Play, iTunes, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Movies Anywhere

Vice

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

All other nominated films

A Quiet Place

Streaming: EPIX

Rent/Buy:  Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Avengers: Infinity War

Streaming: Netflix

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Streaming: Netflix

Rent/Buy: Not yet

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Capernaum

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

Cold War

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

At Eternity's Gate

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

First Man

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

First Reformed

Streaming: Amazon

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Free Solo

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

If Beale Street Could Talk

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

Incredibles 2

Streaming: Netflix 

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Isle of Dogs

Streaming: HBO

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Mary Poppins Returns

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

Mary Queen of Scots

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes

Minding the Gap

Streaming: Hulu

Rent/Buy: Not yet

Mirai

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

Never Look Away

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

Of Fathers and Sons

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

RBG

Streaming: Hulu

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Ready Player One

Streaming: HBO

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Shoplifters

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Still in theaters

The Wife

Streaming: Not yet

Rent/Buy: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, YouTube

Join the biggest and the best streaming community with Smart DNS Proxy, watch the 2019 Oscars ceremony and stay with us for endless hours with streaming fun across multiple devices, thousands of movies and shows on hundreds of platforms!