Oscars 2021: Unique Academy Awards To Reunite Stars As Nomadland Seeks Big Win

Nomadland, which has swept most of the awards shows in the run-up to the Oscars, enters Sunday as one of the clearest best picture frontrunners in years

It is guaranteed to be an Oscars like no other: broadcast live from a train station, honoring films few saw in movie theaters, and reuniting Hollywood's A-listers for the first time in more than a year due to Covid-19. Chloe Zhao, whose drama "Nomadland" about transient Americans roaming the West in vans is tipped to win best picture and in the running for five more Oscars, is among the nominees set to emerge from long isolation on Sunday to take part in Tinseltown's biggest night. "We want to see our friends! We have a lot of friends nominated this year, and we're really excited to see them," Zhao said of the 93rd Academy Awards. But while the nominees enjoy a much-needed catch-up, the usual high-wattage glamour of the stars parading in couture gowns and jewels will be more subdued, with organizers promising only a "teeny-tiny red carpet."