AUSTIN, Texas — The 91st Academy Awards ceremony is happening this Sunday, with a lot of compelling storylines going on.
Glenn Close finally has a chance to win an Oscar for her role in "The Wife." This is the fourth time she has been nominated for Best Actress and the seventh time overall, if you include Best Supporting Actress.
Ironically, her biggest competition comes from a newcomer Lady Gaga in "A Star is Born." While it's her first Oscars nomination, she has the second best chance of winning behind Close.
For Best Actor Rami Malek is the frontrunner with momentum for his transformative role as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody." People will want to keep an eye on another real-life portrayal – Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in "Vice."
Alfonso Cuarón will likely win his second Oscar for Best Director. While he won his first Oscar for directing "Gravity" in 2013, he has the chance to win again this year for "Roma."
If Cuarón wins, it will be the fifth time in the last six years that the winner is from Mexico. Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Iñárritu, who won this award twice, have all taken home statues in recent years.
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Best Picture could go in pretty much every direction possible. The eight nominees are "Bohemian Rhapsody," "The Favourite," "Black Panther," "BlacKkKlansman," "Green Book," "Vice," "A Star is Born" and "Roma."
Roma remains the frontrunner with the chance to be the first foreign language film to ever win Best Picture and the first Netflix movie as well. A streaming service provider taking home an Oscar for Best Picture could change the game for how movies are made, funded and cast.
Any of the eight nominees could realistically win, depending on how political or nostalgic the Academy voters are feeling. Social undertones have played a part in recent years.