Moviefone Editorial

Tag: oscars presenters

  • ABC Confirms No Host for 2019 Oscars, Says Controversy Is ‘Compelling’

    ABC Confirms No Host for 2019 Oscars, Says Controversy Is ‘Compelling’

    Oscars.org

    The lead-up to this year’s Oscars ceremony has been like a continuing loop of the “This is fine” meme, with controversy after controversy plaguing the telecast over the past few months. But according to the new president of ABC Entertainment, all of that drama has only made the event more buzzworthy than ever.

    During a panel discussion at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Tuesday, Karey Burke addressed concerns about all of the uncertainty that still surrounds the ceremony, despite its looming air date later his month. While Burke herself might be feeling a bit like that dog in a burning room, she didn’t show it, assuring reporters that even though she was initially worried about what went down with former host Kevin Hart (who dropped out after some of his old homophobic tweets surfaced), she’s since changed her tune.

    “I ironically have found that the lack of clarity around the Oscars has kept it in the conversation, and the mystery has been really compelling,” the exec told the TCA crowd. “People really care. I think it’s fascinating… to me that shows evidence of how relevant the Oscars still are.”

    Burke also said that this year’s Oscars would forego having a host altogether, something that the Academy confirmed on Tuesday. That would help the show keep its pledge of clocking in at only three hours — nearly an hour shorter than last year’s telecast.

    “The main goal, which I’m told the Academy promised last year, is to keep the show to three hours,” Burke said. “The producers decided to wisely not have a host and have the presenters and the movies be the stars. That’s the best way to keep the show to a brisk three hours.”

    The exec was upbeat about the big draw of box office hits among the nominees (namely $200 million-plus grossers “Black Panther,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “A Star Is Born”), as well as the “phenomenal” tunes up for Best Original Song, which Burke confirmed will all be performed. (Thanks to Lady Gaga, perhaps?) There are still some unanswered questions, including which awards will be cut from the live telecast, but Burke also pledged that there would be a “very exciting opener.”

    Based on everything that’s gone down with this year’s show already, we’re definitely expecting the unexpected. The 91st annual Oscars will air on ABC on Sunday, February 24.

    [via: The Hollywood Reporter]

  • 2019 Oscars Reveal First Round of Presenters

    2019 Oscars Reveal First Round of Presenters

    Warner Bros.

    This year’s Oscars will mark the first time in three decades that the ceremony has gone without a host. But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is making sure that the event will still feature plenty of stars on stage.

    Earlier this week, Oscars producer Donna Gigliotti and co-producer and director Glenn Weiss revealed the first round of presenters who will be announcing categories and handing out statuettes at the Academy Awards later this month. That group is:

    Awkwafina, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Brie Larson, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amandla Stenberg, Charlize Theron, Tessa Thompson, and Constance Wu.

    We have to hand it to producers: That’s a pretty solid list of people. We’re especially excited to see what kind of witty banter Fey, Poehler, and Rudolph deliver. (Perhaps a preview of their upcoming Netflix film, “Wine Country”?)

    According to the producers, the show’s aim is to put the focus squarely on the honored films, and the diversity that they represent in the industry at large.

    “The Oscar nominees have generated tremendous worldwide attention through their captivating stories, achievements and performances,” Gigliotti and Weiss said in a joint statement. “We want to give the public an opportunity to once again experience the moments that have moved us all. It is a celebration of our universal love of movies.”

    The 91st annual Oscars will air on Sunday, February 24 on ABC.

    [via: Oscars.org]

  • Oscars 2018: Academy Reveals New Rules to Avoid Another Best Picture Mix-Up

    It will be years before anyone forgets the epic snafu that ended last year’s Oscars telecast, in which “La La Land” was accidentally declared the Best Picture winner over true victor “Moonlight,” before producers realized that the presenters had been given the wrong envelope. The Academy certainly hasn’t forgotten, and has introduced a detailed new set of rules about how those envelopes are handled, in an effort to stave off any future mix-ups.

    In an interview with The Associated Press, PwC chairman and senior partner Tim Ryan revealed the safeguards that the accounting firm and the Academy will now follow at this year’s ceremony. It all comes down to having more checks and balances in place, Ryan explained.

    The changes include having a third person from PwC — who has an extra set of envelopes, and has also memorized the winners — sitting in the show’s production control room, so they can monitor the proceedings and immediately notify someone if something is amiss. Two other PwC employees will remain on either side of the stage (though not the same ones from last year, obviously), and each will have a set of envelopes, as well as memorize the winners.

    To prevent last year’s exact mix-up (a PwC employee, allegedly distracted by Twitter, gave presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty the Best Actress envelope instead of the Best Picture envelope), the PwC rep will now check with the presenter and a stage manager to make sure the presenter has the correct envelope before stepping out on stage. All three PwC reps will attend rehearsals for the ceremony, and practice protocol for what to do if an error occurs (something that definitely wasn’t done before, based on last year’s chaos). And they are banned from using their phones or social media during the telecast.

    “Our singular focus will be on the show and delivering the correct envelopes,” Ryan told the AP.

    Academy president Dawn Hudson said that she was satisfied with the new rules, and confident that this year’s ceremony would run smoothly.

    “Let me tell you, I don’t think this error will ever happen again or would happen again,” Hudson told the AP. “We put in a lot of protocols to make sure it won’t, but I don’t think it will anyway. I think everyone will be very focused on getting that right.”

    We’ll keep our fingers crossed that she’s correct. (Though honestly, we wouldn’t be totally disappointed if she’s wrong. We’re already anticipating the memes.)

    [via: The Associated Press]

  • ‘Avengers,’ ‘Fifty Shades’ Stars Among Second Wave of Oscars 2017 Presenters

    'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' Beijing PremiereThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the second batch of presenters for this year’s Oscars telecast, and the eclectic group includes stars from blockbuster franchises including “The Avengers” and “Fifty Shades of Grey,” as well as past Academy Award winners and nominees, and one hilarious Ghostbuster for good measure.

    The stars who will be handing out trophies on Oscar Sunday are: Halle Berry (Best Actress winner for “Monster’s Ball”); “Fifty Shades Darker” costars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan; “Avengers” headliners Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson; Gael García Bernal; Samuel L. Jackson (a Best Supporting Actor nominee for “Pulp Fiction”); Shirley MacLaine (Best Actress winner for “Terms of Endearment”); Kate McKinnon (“SNL” star and shoulda-been nominee for her scene-stealing turn in the “Ghostbusters” reboot); and Hailee Steinfeld (Best Supporting Actress nominee for “True Grit”).

    Those presenters join the previously-announced group of Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Mark Rylance, and Alicia Vikander, who all took home the top acting prizes at the 2016 Oscars.

    The 89th annual Oscars will take place on Sunday, February 26, with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. EST (4 p.m. PST) on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel will host the ceremony.

    [via: Oscars.org]

  • First Wave of Oscars 2017 Presenters Include Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson

    88th Annual Academy Awards - Press RoomThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the first group of presenters for the 2017 Oscars, and in keeping with tradition, they include all four of the winners from last year’s acting categories.

    The presenters revealed on Thursday are Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson, Mark Rylance, and Alicia Vikander. DiCaprio took home the Best Actor statuette in 2016 for “The Revenant,” his first Oscar win after four previous acting nominations; Larson was crowned last year’s Best Actress for her work in “Room“; Rylance was awarded the Best Supporting Actor prize for “Bridge of Spies“; and Vikander was named Best Supporting Actress for “The Danish Girl.”

    Typically, it’s customary for past male winners to present the trophy to the new female winners, and vice versa. (So last year’s Best Actor would award the statuette to this year’s Best Actress, and so on.) The Academy didn’t announce just how the trophies will be handed out this year (in years past, they’ve also had groups of actors and actresses hail each individual nominee in every acting category), though it seems likely they’ll stick with the traditional format this time around, based on announcing all four returning winners in one batch of presenters.

    The Oscars, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place on Sunday, February 26 on ABC.

    [via: Oscar.com]