#Oscars2016

The biggest night in Hollywood has finally arrived and I could not be more excited! The Oscars are not just a big night for Hollywood, but also a VERY busy night for social media. Even though the Oscars is one of the most cliche awards night in existence, it has always been my favorite. I LOVE movies and I am so excited because there are so many awesome nominees this year.

Since the Golden Globes, there has been some social media discussion regarding the lack of ethnicity in the nominees for Best Actor and Actress. But there has also been a large amount of social media posts regarding the HIGH potential for Leonardo DiCapiro to FINALLY win an Oscar (after decades of great work) … which is pretty exciting. I can’t wait to see what The Revenant (great movie by the way) will take home, including possibly Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and many more.

There were definitely some great movies this past year including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Hateful Eight, The Big Short, and Room, all of which have been showcased on social media outlets including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and various news articles and journals. #Oscars2016 already exists on social media platforms (and has for weeks), but there is also an #OscarsSoWhite hashtag that was created for the boycotts lead by Jada Pickett Smith. But the highlight of social media has been the Revenant. It has been the talk on social media channels and, as of February 25^th, it has been mentioned OVER 11 million times on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

Aside from hashtags and fan posts on social media, these actors, actresses, and other contributing members to the films have gained hundreds of thousands of followers and Facebook fans, millions of social media mentions, and millions of YouTube views. But due to the amount of attention drawn to the main hits of the year, the independent films nominated aren’t getting much attention. However, keep in mind that social media popularity has no way of predicting which of the eight movies will take home Best Picture at the 88^th Oscars Ceremony. And the losers at this year’s ceremony wont be leaving empty handed. Instead this year’s gift bag will contain a record of $200,000 worth of “swag” including a year of unlimited Audi car rentals, free stays in hotels in Italy, and a $900 toilet paper dispenser.

I can’t wait to see social media blow up tonight as well as the aftermath – including the winners, the losers, and the hottest (and not so hot) looks worn by the celebrities. It will definitely be an event no one will want to miss!