A different Oscars
The Oscars will be different this year and we tell you exactly why....
THE NAME It’s been 85 years since the first Academy Awards show. The AMPAS (Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences) have retired the phrase Academy Awards and will now simply be known as the Oscars. Rebranding began a few weeks ago. The show’s producers confirmed the change to a website and said they thought the change might continue in the future. However, an Academy spokesperson paid put to rumours saying, “It is right for this show, but we could easily go back to using ‘Academy Awards’ next year”.
Most press releases, promotions, advertising, events and parties have stopped using the number 85 and will only go by the name Oscars. The official website does just that, if only it is for this year. NEW HOST Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s taking over hosting duties from Billy Crystal. And if you watch TV as hawk-eyedly as we do, you’ll know that Seth is something of a force of nature, comedically. That being said, it’s his first time hosting. Rachael MacFarlane recently told a website why her 39-year-old brother, the youngest executive producer in television history at 25 and a self-made millionaire, is the best man for the job, “He really loves this stuff. He has been preparing for this his whole life… He’s a born performer… He’s this brilliant marriage of that Old Hollywood charm with the cutting-edge brand of humor he brings to his work.”
In Seth’s own words, “This year’s Oscars will be like nothing you can imagine. Unless you can imagine three hours of, like, people getting awards and stuff.” He understands that people are nervous on the night and that they need to be entertained. But don’t watch expecting to see a Family Guy episode. If you want any indication of the wit coming your way, here’s a sample from his Oscar nominations announcement where he made a joke about Amour: “The last time Austria and Germany co-produced something was Hitler.”
MUSICAL MUSES Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Russell Crowe join this year’s nominees Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway along with Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, and Helena Bonham Carter in a celebration honouring movie musicals of the last decade, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced.
“We are pleased to have been able to amass so much talent to create the celebration of musicals of the last decade that we envisioned,” said Zadan and Meron. “We are thrilled that so many talented actors have agreed to bring our vision to life.”
Hudson, Zeta-Jones, Jackman, Hathaway, Crowe, Seyfried, Redmayne, Barks, and Bonham Carter join a stellar list of previously announced performers including Adele, Dame Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones and Barbra Streisand. It was also recently announced that Kristin Chenoweth will have a duet with MacFarlane that the show’s producers and Broadway veterans Zadan and Meron say is a “can’t-miss moment”.