The 91st Academy Awards, the highest honour in cinema, are being presented Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The Oscars 2019 are highly anticipated especially because of the many controversies surrounding it, from the decision to announce a new Oscar category of Best Popular Film and later pulling it back to them giving out four technical awards during commercial breaks and going back that decision as well.
The Academy also decided to go host-less as Kevin Hart stepped down after his old objectionable tweets resurfaced. This is the first time the Oscars are going host-less since 1989.
Here are the live updates (IST) from the Dolby Theatre:
9:45 AM
Best Picture
Julia Roberts presented the Academy Award for best picture to racial drama 'Green Book.'
The film from Universal Pictures, directed by Peter Farrelly. stars Mahershala Ali as an African-American concert pianist in the 1960s and Viggo Mortensen as his driver.
It won three Oscars on Sunday, including best supporting actor for Ali and best original screenplay.
9:40 AM
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron is the winner of the Academy Award for best director.
It's the second time Cuaron has won an Oscar as best director. He previously won in 2014 for 'Gravity.' His film 'Roma' is based on his childhood in Mexico and the woman who raised him.
Cuaron has also won two Oscars Sunday night, as well as the best foreign language film for Mexico, its first.
The writer-director dedicated his speech to domestic workers, noting that tens of millions of them work around the world with any rights.
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9: 30 AM
Best Actress
Olivia Colman is the winner of the best actress Academy Award for 'The Favourite.'
It's the first Oscar in her first nomination for Colman, who plays Queen Anne. She has won four British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards and two Golden Globes throughout her career.
She beat out Glenn Close, who was considered the front-runner going into Sunday's Oscars. Colman gave a special shout-out to Close, who she said she has admired all her life.
She thanked 'The Favourite' director Yorgos Lanthimos, as well as her co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.
Colman also thanked her children, who she said she hoped were watching at home. She says, "This is not going to happen again."
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9:15 AM
Best Actor
Rami Malek has won the Oscar for best actor for his riveting performance in 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'
He played the role of the Freddie Mercury, the celebrated member of rock band 'Queen', in the film.
The actor, in his speech, thanked Queen for letting him be a part of their journey and spoke in admiration of Freddie Mercury.
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9:10 AM
In Memoriam
The Academy paid tribute to artists who passed in the last year, including Stan Lee, Margot Kidder, Milos Forman, Nicholas Roeg, Bruno Ganz, and others.
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9:00 AM
Best Original Score
'Shallow' from 'A Star Is Born' has won the Academy Award for best original song.
'Shallow' was written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper perform it in the film. The song won two Grammy Awards earlier this month.
Gaga effusively thanked the academy and her co-winners, as well her sister and Cooper.
She says it was not about winning, but it was about not giving up and all the times people have to get up after they are knocked down.
The best original score winner was 'Black Panther' composer Ludwig Goransson.
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8:46 AM
Best Adapted Screenplay
'BlacKkKlansman' is the winner of the best adapted screenplay Academy Award, delivering Spike Lee his first competitive Academy Award.
Lee started out his acceptance speech with some profanity, telling producers not to start the clock on his speech. Winners have been allotted 90 seconds for their speech from the time their names are called.
The writer-director shares the award with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott.
Lee received the award from Samuel L Jackson, who has appeared in Lee's film.
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8:45 AM
Best Original Screenplay
'Green Book' has won the Oscar for original screenplay.
The winners are Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly.
'Green Book' is based on the real-life story of Vallelonga's father, who drove African-American pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the 1960s and is played by Viggo Mortensen in the film.
'Green Book' is also nominated for best picture, and has already won the best supporting actor Oscar for Mahershala Ali, who played Shirley in the film.
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8:40 AM
Best Live Action Short
Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman’s 'Skin' wins the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short.
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8:25 AM
Visual Effects
'First Man' is the winner of the Oscar for visual effects, beating out films about the Avengers and Han Solo.
Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, and JD Schwalm take the trophy for recreating Neil Armstrong's moon landing. It's the second Oscar for Lambert and Hunter, the first for the other two men.
Other nominees in the category were 'Avengers: Infinity War,' ''Christopher Robin,' 'Ready Player One,' and 'Solo: A Star Wars Story.'
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8:05 AM
Rami Malek races to congratulate real-life Queen members
During the commercial break after 'Bohemian Rhapsody' won Oscars for sound editing and sound mixing, Rami Malek ran from his front-row seat to congratulate the real-life members of Queen.
Sitting several rows back were guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor when Malik, who played their late lead singer Freddie Mercury, raced over to embrace them.
May, with his unmistakable silver curly hair and sparkly tuxedo, has been sought out by members of the Oscar audience throughout the evening.
He, Taylor and Adam Lambert had opened the Oscar show with a rousing version of Queen's 'We Will Rock You' that had the star-studded audience dancing, clapping, grinning and singing along.
— Andrew Dalton (@andyjamesdalton on Twitter) inside the Dolby Theatre
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8:15 AM
Best Animated Short, Documentary Short
Pixar’s Bao wins the best animated short Oscar.
The film is about a lonely Chinese-Canadian mother who lands a second shot at motherhood when a baozi dumpling comes to life as a boy.
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'Period. End of Sentence.', a Netflix drama that seeks to shatter the stigma around menstruation in India, wins best documentary short.
It is directed by Rayka Zehtabchi and produced by Guneet Monga.
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8:00 AM
Best Animated Feature
Everyone's favorite neighborhood webslinger is now an Oscar winner — 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' has won the best-animated feature Academy Award.
It is the first Marvel superhero film to win an Oscar.
The ground-breaking and mind-bending film about multiple spider-heroes from multiple universes gives Sony Pictures its first Oscar for animated feature, a category that has been dominated by Disney for its 18-year existence.
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7:55 AM
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 'Green Book.'
This is Mahershala's second Oscar, after his win in the same category in 2017 for 'Moonlight.'
The actor accepted the award with the same grace as that of his role of African-American classical pianist Don Shirley in the 'Green Book,' and dedicated it to his grandmother, who he said is always pushing him to remain positive.
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7:35 AM
Best Foreign Language Film
Mexico's 'Roma' is the winner of the best foreign language film at the Oscars.
Other films of director Alfonso Cuaron have won Academy Awards, but 'Roma' now becomes the first film from Mexico to win the Oscar for best foreign language film. The movie's dialogue is in Spanish and Mixtec.
It is Cuaron's second win of the night. Earlier in the ceremony, he won the best cinematography award.
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7:15 AM
Melissa McCarthy's 'The Favourite'-inspired stuffed rabbit gown
In a seeming nod to 'The Favourite' and its Queen Anne's affection for bunnies and elaborate dress, Melissa McCarthy had her audience roaring with laughter as she came out to present the award dressed in a huge, white queen's gown covered with stuffed rabbits.
She presented the award with Brian Tyree Henry, who was also decked out in an elaborate period dress.
Laughter resumed as she struggled to open the winner's envelope with a bunny puppet attached to one of her hands.
The Oscar went to Ruth E Carter, costumer for 'Black Panther.'
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7:10 AM
Production Design
'Black Panther' has won the Academy Award for production design and made Oscar history for the second time Sunday evening.
Production designer Hannah Beachler is the first African-American winner in the category.
Beachler wins the Oscar along with set designer Jay R Hart.
Beachler broke down in tears during her acceptance speech, which started out with her thanking "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler.
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7:00 AM
Costume Design
Ruth E Carter has won the Academy Award for costume design and made Oscar history.
Carter is the first African-American costume designer to win the category. Carter has previously been nominated for her work on 'Amistad' and 'Malcolm X.'
She took the stage saying "Wow, wow, I got it." She said the award has been a long time coming.
Carter thanked Spike Lee, who provided her career start with his 1988 film 'School Daze.'
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6:45 AM
Best Documentary Feature
'Free Solo' has won the best documentary feature Academy Award.
The film follows elite rock-climber Alex Honnold's attempt to ascend the famed El Capitan rock formation at Yosemite National Park without ropes.
Vasarhelyi thanked National Geographic, and specifically called them out for hiring female directors. She ended her speech by saying the film is "for everyone who believes in the impossible."
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6:40 AM
Best Supporting Actress
Regina King is the winner of the Academy Award for best supporting actress. The win comes for her performance in 'If Beale Street Could Talk.'
It's the first Oscar and first nomination for King, who has won three Emmy Awards for her work on television.
King thanked author James Baldwin, whose novel is the basis for the film from director Barry Jenkins.
The actress thanked her mother, who was in the audience, and said she is an example of what happens when someone is supported and loved.
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6:30 AM
Queen kicks off Academy Awards
Queen with Adam Lambert has kicked off the Academy Awards with a rocking performance of 'We Will Rock You.'
The intro is a tribute to best picture nominee the Freddie Mercury biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' Lambert transitioned into 'We Are the Champions' for the second song of the opening number, which drew applause from acting nominees Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
Jennifer Lopez and her boyfriend, former pro baseball player Alex Rodriguez, sang along to the opening act.
Glenn Close was especially enthusiastic, stomping and singing along with every word in the front row. Three seats down, Rami Malek had a huge grin. Malek is nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Mercury.
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6:20 AM
Lady Gaga makes late, stunning entrance
Lady Gaga has made a late entrance on the Oscars red carpet, not long after 'A Star is Born' co-star Bradley Cooper arrived with his mother and girlfriend.
Gaga tells The Associated Press she is feeling nervous, but says Tony Bennett told her that if she's nervous it means she cares.
The singer-actress says she's excited to perform the original song nominee 'Shallow' with Cooper on the show.
Gaga is nominated for best actress and has been an awards season darling, although Glenn Close is the favorite to win the category.
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6:15 AM
With the Oscars only minutes away Hollywood's Dolby Theatre is slowly filling as announcers tell people to start finding their seats.
As staffers busy themselves shooting last-minute group photos ushers urge audience members to hide their credentials from the cameras.
Most of Hollywood's big names ignored the exhortations, mingling in the lobby or on the red carpet until the last minute.
Exceptions included James McAvoy who walked up to introduce himself to Octavia Spencer, whose dark blue gown filled the two empty seats next to her.
Another was Elsie Fisher, the first to arrive in the theatre's coveted floor section. She got in early enough to hear the band's sound check.
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6:00 AM
Brie Larson has given Oscar fans a little pre-show entertainment, breaking into a dance and waving to the bleachers as the 2016 Oscar winner for 'Room' walked the red carpet.
Meanwhile, James McAvoy stopped to wish good luck to supporting actor nominee Richard E Grant, who is up for an award for 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?'
And Allison Janney gave some love to the red carpet reporters, stopping for a few quick interviews as they waited on Lada Gaga's arrival.
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5:45 AM
Glenn Close gets emotional
Glenn Close, considered by many to be a sure thing to win her first Oscar, says she got emotional before arriving at the ceremony.
The 71-year-old nominee for best actress in 'The Wife' says on the red carpet that she's not nervous but she became overwhelmed earlier Sunday thinking about what winning an Oscar would mean and how long she's been in show business. It is Close's seventh Oscar nomination, and she is the most decorated living actress to not have won an Academy Award yet.
Close says she hopes she can keep it together during the show.
She wore a shimmering gold gown that she says has four million beads on it and weighs 42 pounds.
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5:00 AM
Richard E Grant has prepared for Oscar night in the most unusual way.
The supporting-actor nominee for 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' jumped on a trampoline after having breakfast with co-star and fellow nominee Melissa McCarthy and her family. He posted a video on Twitter , which included McCarthy laughing in what the actor described as her "her signature giggle!"
Grant says jumping around was his way of "keeping it real." The British actor is a first-time nominee and has said he has no expectation he'll win, so he's just basking in the glory of the moment.
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4:55 AM
Oscar-goers welcome news of R Kelly's conviction
Some Oscar-goers are welcoming the news of singer R Kelly being jailed in Chicago on charges of sex abuse involving underage girls.
Actor Brian Tyree Henry of 'If Beale Street Could Talk' says he's "really glad justice is happening." He says he wants the alleged victims to be heard and vindicated. Henry also says it's time for people to stop purchasing Kelly's R&B music.
Diane Warren, a best original song nominee for the documentary 'RGB,' says Kelly "should be prosecuted. It's beyond not buying his music."
Questlove, drummer for The Roots, calls Kelly's arrest on Friday "justice well-deserved." He credits the "brave women" who came forward to tell authorities their stories and says believing the women is very important.
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4:40 AM
Diego Luna is in awe of best actress nominee Yalitza Aparicio
The Mexican actor sang the praises of his countrywoman on the Oscars red carpet on Sunday, saying he believes the 'Roma' star is "an amazing actress." Aparicio is nominated for her first film performance in the Netflix film from director Alfonso Cuaron, and has made history as the first indigenous performer nominated for a best actress honor.
Luna says of the 25-year-old's performance: "I think she found a way to tell a story that we needed to hear."
He says Aparicio and 'Roma' tell the story of an invisible community with such passion and authenticity. He says, "It reminds me of why I do this, you know."
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3:50 AM
Stars are beginning to walk the red carpet at the Academy Awards, with Constance Wu from 'Crazy Rich Asians' among of the early arrivals.
'Eighth Grade' star and presenter Elsie Fisher scurried by reporters calling her name to the entrance of the Dolby Theatre, where the 91st Academy Awards ceremony will be held.
There were many who wanted to greet Marie Kondo as well. The lifestyle guru gracefully managed requests while 'The Hate U Give' star Amandla Stenberg greeted 'Dumplin' Star Danielle Macdonald.
Other early arrivals included nominated songwriter Diane Warren, 'If Beale Street Could Talk' composer Nicholas Brittell and 'Mary Poppins Returns' maestros Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
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3:45 AM
It's blue skies and sunshine above the red carpet at the Oscars.
A cool breeze is blowing and temperatures are in the mid-60s (18 Celsius) as the stars make their way down the carpet in front of the Dolby Theatre.
A special lane has been set up in the middle of the carpet, divided by two thick white lines. It's akin to a carpool lane on the freeway, used to usher some of the biggest names directly to interviews for ABC's preshow and reduce the clogging that usually occurs.
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12:15 AM
A winter of discontent for the Academy Awards will culminate in an Oscar ceremony that may lack a host but isn't missing intrigue.
The run-up to the 91st Academy Awards has featured a series of missteps and backtracks by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. A new best "popular film" category was in, but then it was out.
Kevin Hart was the host and then he wasn't. Some categories were removed from the live broadcast, and then they were back.
But if the script this Oscar season has been constantly rewritten, the film academy is hoping on Sunday for a Hollywood ending.
It's also hoping for better ratings than the all-time low viewership last year.
(With inputs from TNIE Online Desk)