Oscars Latest: Arrivals begin for an unusual Academy Awards

The Latest on the Oscars (all times local): 2:45 p.m.

The preparations are done and the arrivals have begun for a most unusual Oscars. Paul Raci, up for best supporting actor Sunday, and Diane Warren, up for best original song, were among the early arriving nominees. Raci, a 73-year-old first-time nominee for “Sound of Metal,” and Warren, a 12-time nominee who has never won, walked a red carpet that was heavily scaled back for the pandemic outside Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, where the ceremony is being held for the first time.

Actor Colman Domingo of multiple nominee “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” made the day’s first big fashion splash with a shockingly pink tuxedo. “Mank” has the most nominations and “Nomadland” is the favorite in several top categories at the 93rd Academy Awards starting at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

Show producers are hoping to return some of the traditional glamour to the Oscars, even in a pandemic year. The red carpet is back, though not the throngs; only a handful of media outlets will be allowed on site. Casual wear is a no-no. Pulling the musical interludes (though not the in memoriam segment) from the three-hour broadcast — and drastically cutting down the time it will take winners to reach the podium — will free up a lot of time in the ceremony. And producers, led by filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, are promising a reinvented telecast.

The Oscars will look more like a movie, Soderbergh has said. The show will appear more widescreen and the presenters — including Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Harrison Ford, Rita Moreno and Zendaya — are considered “cast members.” The telecast’s first 90 seconds, Soderbergh has claimed, will “announce our intention immediately.”