Oscar Awards Show On One Tonight (Press, 10 April 1984)

On 10 April 1984, major anticipation surrounded the Academy Awards as celebrities Shirley MacLaine and Robert Duvall emerged as leading contenders for Oscars, with a global audience of 500 million expected to tune in. MacLaine was the 3-1 favourite for Best Actress for her performance in "Terms of Endearment," where she portrayed a determined widow facing challenges from her strong-willed daughter, played by Debra Winger, who was also nominated for the same award. Despite her past four nominations without a win, critics felt this was MacLaine's year. She expressed confidence in her performance and acknowledged the difficult competition from her onscreen daughter. Duvall, at age 53, was a 3-2 favourite for Best Actor for his role in "Tender Mercies," which depicted a recovering alcoholic country-western singer. Duvall faced stiff competition from four British actors, namely Michael Caine and Tom Conti, both of whom played poets, and Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay from "The Dresser." Caine, nominated for previous roles in "Alfie" and "Sleuth," remarked on the pressure of potentially winning but noted it wouldn’t devastate him if he didn’t. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences anticipated a significant boost to box office revenues for the winners, estimating that an Oscar could add up to US$20 million for the best film recipient and US$4 million for best actor or actress. This led to studios investing heavily, around US$4 million, in promotions for their nominees. In the running for Best Actress alongside MacLaine and Winger were Jane Alexander for "Testament," Meryl Streep for "Silkwood," and Julie Walters for "Educating Rita." If Caine and Walters triumphed, they would be the sixth pair in Oscar history to both win from the same film. For Best Film, the frontrunner was "The Right Stuff," a film that examined the early space programme, with "Terms of Endearment," "Tender Mercies," "The Dresser," and "The Big Chill" also in the mix. A win for "The Dresser" would mark the third consecutive year that a British film took the award, following the successes of "Gandhi" and "Chariots of Fire." In supporting categories, Jack Nicholson was favoured for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Terms of Endearment," while Cher was the favourite for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "Silkwood." The "Academy Awards 1984" ceremony was set to be broadcast live at 8 p.m. on One.

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