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Oscars live and in person from L.A.’s Union Station, where the homeless say they were ejected

'They told us if we didn’t move, they were gonna just demolish our stuff'

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Tonight, for the first time, the 93rd Academy Awards will be held in downtown Los Angeles at the city’s big commuter hub, Union Station, and that can only mean one thing — homeless people who shelter and panhandle at the station have been ordered out.

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Fox 11 Los Angeles reports that the homeless were told to clear out about one week before the Oscars show, which airs live tonight at 5 p.m. PST.

“They told us if we didn’t move, they were gonna just demolish our stuff,” DJ, who lives in a tent, told the network television station.

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An Academy Awards spokesperson told Fox News that organizers were working with community groups to reduce disruption for Union Station’s homeless population.

“NO unhoused residents are being forced to relocate,” City Council Member Kevin De León added. “Since being sworn in, my office has been painstakingly working to house those experiencing homelessness throughout my district and we were able to offer housing options to unhoused residents in the vicinity of Union Station.”

Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, where the A-list have packed into a single space for the last 20 years, will also host part of a ceremony spread over multiple locations, but the Art Deco Union Station is key to Oscars producers’ determination to host an in-person show in the age of Zoom.

“It’s the f—ing Oscars. It’s not a webinar,” Steven Soderbergh, one of the show producers, told the Los Angeles Times. “So we’re just trying to get people somewhere where we can really make it look great. We want everybody to participate.”

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Soderbergh and fellow producers Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins have positioned most presenters, including Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford, and the nominees at the station, limited the audience to 170 people and restricted the nominees to a plus-one. Other nominees will join by satellite from international venues.

Complicating things, trains will continue to roll as will the people in attendance in an attempt to avoid congregate situations between categories.

Strange also this year will be the red carpet scene during the Oscars pre-show. A handful of reporters will stand at least seven feet from the stars who won’t be required to wear masks on camera but have been told to don them during commercial breaks.

The producers have stationed  a COVID-19 safety team with PCR testing capability on site.

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Few of the winners seem to be locked down after an extended awards season, but “Nomadland” – Chinese-born Chloe Zhao’s slow- burn quasi-documentary about the traveling community of American van dwellers – is seen as the front runner for taking home best picture.

If Zhao, 39, wins best director, she will be only the second woman and the first Asian woman to clinch the Academy Award in that field.

“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which is set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War protests, is seen as the strongest challenger to “Nomadland” for best picture, awards experts say.

The race for lead actress is wide open, featuring Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”), Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”), Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”) and Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday”).

he late “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman, 43, appears to be in line for his first Oscar, for his final film role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” But Britain’s Anthony Hopkins, who plays a man struggling with dementia in “The Father,” could be rewarded, while Riz Ahmed’s deaf punk drummer in “Sound of Metal” is seen as another possible best actor winner.

With additional reporting by Jill Serjeant, Reuters

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