Oscar Producers Preview The Big Night: Heartfelt L.A. Tribute And Fires’ Impact On Show, Star Reunions, Musical Numbers, Conan, Politics & More
Just a short few months after last year’s Oscars had ended, Academy CEO Bill Kramer confidently told me the 97th annual Academy Awards broadcast was in many ways planned and well on its way to being locked in terms of what the show would be and how it would be executed. That sounded impressive.
Then the Los Angeles wildfires changed everything.
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That was definitely acknowledged in my conversation recently with this year’s returning producers of the Oscars, Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan. Each won Emmys for last year’s highly praised show (along with host Jimmy Kimmel and his producer/wife Molly McNearney), the first Oscar show to take a top Emmy in several years.
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“I think it might be an AI, but there was that amazing image that was on the internet of the Oscar, like, surrounded by ash, and it did, like, really make you feel … you know, especially because we had so many conversations,” Mullan told me. “Like you said, we have been preparing for the show for months and months and months, and then what happened in January did cause us to rethink a lot of elements and really think, ‘OK, how do we acknowledge it? How do we reflect on it? And how do we also still give people the ability, who work so hard and have so much talent, to be able to walk on that stage and still seize their moment?’ So, yeah, I mean, it’s been an interesting and difficult couple of months, and we just really hope that this year’s show kind of helps heal and is a bit of a love letter to L.A. and all the great people and talents that live here.”
Kapoor, who is in his eighth year working in various capacities on the Oscar show, was also a producer on this year’s Grammys, which were widely acclaimed for the way they handled a show for an industry and a city so affected by the complete devastation of the fires. He shares some information on how they are incorporating it into the show but still not losing the flavor of what the Oscars are all about.
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“It’s definitely influenced our show. We have moments that definitely acknowledge the fires, what has happened. It’s kind of our unique spin of how we acknowledge that, but there will be at least three moments within the show that touch on it and hopefully have some messaging that may be inspiring. There’s, you know, a charitable component with the Motion Picture Academy and the charities that they are supporting. And then there is the way that [host] Conan [O’Brien] will acknowledge it, as well,” he tells Deadline.
“So, I think, you know, throughout the evening, there’s going to be some touchstones to acknowledge, because so many people in that room, so many people in the film industry, have been impacted by it, and I think almost everybody in Los Angeles knows somebody who has experienced some sort of loss or impact. So, we feel that it’s very prudent that we acknowledge it and make it part of our show, but we also have the Oscars to produce. So we have 23 awards to still give out, and we want to really honor everybody who is nominated and have all the unique things that make the Oscars the Oscars.”
Many people closely connected to the Academy are among those who lost their homes, so it hits in personal ways, as it does across the city.
As for the elements of the show to expect, the producers confirm they are bringing back the concept of the “Fab 5,” in which five former winners present an Oscar to the newest winner. That was the brilliant innovation of the 2010 show produced by Bill Condon and Larry Mark in which five acting winners presented to that year’s winners in both leading and supporting acting categories. It was repeated last year, but this time will be different according to Kapoor.
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“It’s definitely not in the acting categories this year, we didn’t really want to repeat ourselves, and last year was really successful, so maybe some year in the future those will return for the acting categories, but this year, we decided to do it for a few different disciplines,” he said. “We’re doing it in a really unique way, but one of the things that I think we learned last year from Fab 5 is that it was these great moments for presenters to connect with nominees, and we love that connectivity. We love that storytelling. We love that emotion, and it kind of made those awards even a little bit more special, and so, yeah, we’ve planned a couple of them. We didn’t want to let that idea go, but I think, for some really unique categories, you know, that are maybe a little more unexpected.” He added that the Fab 5 won’t be utilized for the directing category, which could have made sense. He said instead that they have something “really great” planned for directing.
Additionally, the producers are promising unique reunions for presenting duos, sometimes with people not seen together in a while and moments he previews will be unexpected and perhaps even “tug on the heartstrings a little bit too.” He also says top comedians may be dropping by for cameos during the broadcast.
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One staple of Oscar shows we won’t be seeing is the performance of the five Best Song nominees, a move announced a day before nominees were even revealed. It caused consternation among the Music branch and some of the nominees, but as the Academy said there will be musical performances — including Wicked’s dynamic duo of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Kapoor would neither confirm nor deny that they would be opening the show when I asked about that. “Everybody will assume they’re performing together, and so, if that happens, it’s only at the Oscars, because we have not actually seen them sing together since this movie came out, and what a lovely way for that to happen than on a show like ours,” he said.
One key moment in the show will be a “Love Letter to Los Angeles,” honoring films of the past, present and future among other elements. It will include musical components that could include some of the acts announced for music segments including the Los Angeles Master Chorale (for sure), Queen Latifah, Lisa of Blackpink, Doja Cat and Raye.
O’Brien is hosting for the first time but is no stranger to awards shows with two Emmy-hosting stints in the past which had hilarious filmed bits. Mullan told me what we might expect as he and his team continue to work on his part of the show.
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“There are a lot of ideas, and he has a great team of people who’ve been cooking them up for weeks and weeks and weeks, and what we have, at the moment, is probably way too many, but we love that, because then we can whittle it down to the best of the best of the best for the show,” she said. “Some of them are pre-taped. A lot of them are live in the room. I think that [Conan] is just so beloved, and he has such great connections with, pretty much, everybody who’s going to be in that audience. So, seeing that from the stage and allowing him to kind of really own that room and like, give everybody license in that room to have a good time, it’s crucial and is the key. But you know, what we love about Conan and his style is that he always comes up with something unexpected, and we’re going to pepper that through the show. So, yes, there will be some pre-tapes. There’s definitely going to be some unexpected moments, and there are probably some surprises we haven’t even thought of yet, because it’s a constantly evolving, creative process at the moment.”
Last year, the show largely avoided politics until the very end, when Donald Trump revealed on his Truth Social account exactly what he thought of the host and the show. Kimmel couldn’t resist reading the post on air, even if wife and co-producer McNearney reportedly didn’t encourage it. Now that Trump is President again, are the producers ready for more unexpected moments like that, or politics in general, which the Academy probably hopes do not occur?
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“You know, we can’t necessarily control how speeches come together and how people are inspired at the moment. So, if anything it’s live television, but I think, tonally, for the show, we have so many other things to talk about this year, and of course, we want to be of the moment, and we have a global audience to speak to,” Kapoor said. “You know, the fires have already caused one [unexpected issue], you know, another piece of business that we really want to deal with eloquently and really put some attention on that. But we’re really focusing on making a fun and exciting show that maybe people can forget some of their other problems and come enjoy a night of television that celebrates filmmaking, that has, you know, some really big elements of entertainment and excitement and performances that feel really unique. And so, yeah, I mean [politics] is definitely not our focus. We are not focusing on that, but again there are certain things that are out of our control, and we will have 23 unique winners, all speaking from the heart when they come to our stage.”
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This is the first year both ABC and a streaming platform, in this case Hulu, will be broadcasting the Oscars live. How do they feel it will affect the show and ratings?
“I think, in the Disney-ABC family, they’re such a remarkable team to work with, and so, the fact that, now, they’ve opened it up to Hulu, we feel like we’re getting even more support from the Disney family. It’s like everybody who actually works on Hulu is actually also involved now at the Oscars. So, we are having additional support with marketing and thinking about how it translates to socials, and so, for us, it excites us, because it opens up even more audience,” Kapoor said. “So, people that may not watch linear television anymore, but who have streaming, you know, there’s an easier way for them to watch this year. So, we’re really excited about that opportunity. It really hasn’t impacted our show flow. I think it’s because we still have our regular ABC show to produce, but with Hulu, it just further expands this audience and the opportunity for the Oscars to reach more people, and yeah, it’s been so delightful working with everybody at Disney and ABC, and I think they are so charged and excited about this additional piece of the show being able to further expand.”
At the time I interviewed Kapoor and Mullan it had not been revealed that controversial Emilia Perez Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón, the Oscars’ first trans acting nominee, will be attending Sunday’s show after skipping all others since revelation of her shocking past social media posts. Her presence could add an interesting wrinkle to the Oscar ceremony, however, when I asked if all 20 of the acting nominees would be coming, Kapoor was diplomatic. “Everybody’s invited, you know, and we don’t have our full RSVP list yet. That continues throughout this process, and so, they are not placed, but I know everybody who’s nominated is invited to the show,” he said.
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Finally, don’t expect a three-hour show. It rarely happens, and Mullan is resigned to that. It is in fact a key reason the Academy cut an hour from its preshow to just a half-hour so the Oscar broadcast could start at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and be over while still in primetime and not the local news in the East.
“We always want to bring it in at three and a half hours. It’s three and a half,” Mullan promised — and hopefully not a minute more. “We always feel the pressure of making it the tightest, most entertaining show and making sure that we get out on time so that, you know, everybody can get to bed if they’re on the East Coast.”
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