<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
He plays the confused guy at the heart of Hollywood’s biggest rallying cry for women in decades, and tonight he’ll be the star of the show at the 96th Academy Awards.
Barbie’s sidekick Ken will appear alongside 65 of his namesakes in a stirring performance of the Oscar-nominated song I’m Just Ken, in what appears to be an attempt to drag the awards into the 21st century.
Barbie was last year’s most successful film, grossing £1.1bn at the box office, and although it is nominated for Best Picture, its director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie have been controversially left out.
A source who saw a rehearsal of the performance, starring Ryan Gosling, who played ‘main Ken’ and is nominated for Best Supporting Actor, predicted: ‘Ken will be the star of the Oscars, which is ironic when Barbie was the focus in empowering women. .
‘Ryan’s performance is over the top and everyone hopes it will be what everyone is talking about after tonight’s show. Hollywood talks a lot about diversity, but when it comes down to it, a white man will be the star of the show, so it’s business as usual.
Barbie’s juicer Ken will appear alongside 65 of his namesakes in a thrilling performance of the Oscar-nominated song I’m Just Ken.
Barbie was last year’s most successful film, grossing £1.1bn at the box office, but its director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie have been controversially left out.
While Barbie is expected to win only a handful of smaller awards, including Best Original Song for What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish, the film will be “front and center” in a ceremony desperate to stop falling ratings and attract younger viewers.
The Mail on Sunday understands that at least a dozen of the world’s top online influencers have been invited to the ceremony for the first time this year, to “bring the Oscars to the real world”.
A source said: “The Oscars have had dismal ratings in recent years (only 18.7 million viewers watched last year), so although Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie haven’t been nominated, all the jokes they will be about Barbie and there.” There are many references to Barbie in the opening monologue.
‘Expect lots of jokes about patriarchy. The Academy needs to connect with a younger audience. That’s why they are inviting influencers with millions of followers. “They hope Ken goes viral.”
Oppenheimer, the film about the creator of the atomic bomb, which created a cultural phenomenon known as ‘Barbenheimer’ when it was released on the same day as Barbie, is expected to sweep tonight’s ceremony.
Despite its box office success and pink releases, Barbie is expected to win only a handful of smaller awards, including Best Original Song for What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish.
British director Christopher Nolan is expected to win Best Director and Best Picture, while Irish actor Cillian Murphy is the favorite to win Best Actor.
Insiders say the Auschwitz drama The Zone Of Interest, directed by Londoner Jonathan Glazer, could cause unrest.
An Academy member said, “People, including big names like Steven Spielberg, have been raving about Hot Zone as one of the best Holocaust films of all time.” It would be a shock if that derailed Oppenheimer for Best Picture, but that’s the joy of the Oscars.’
Other favorites to win are Robert Downey Jr for Best Supporting Actor (Oppenheimer) and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for Best Supporting Actress (The Holdovers).
The race for Best Actress is between Emma Stone (Poor Things) and Lily Gladstone (Killers Of The Flower Moon). But it may not all be bad news for Barbie. Pam Abdy, head of Warner Bros., the studio behind the film, revealed last week that the company would love to make a sequel.
But Robbie seemed to reject that idea in a recent interview, saying: “We put everything into this.” We didn’t build it to be a trilogy or anything, so I can’t imagine what would be next.