Producers Power Down The Oscar Grieve-O-Meter

STV — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:35:36 EST

Rookie Oscarcast producers Bill Condon And Larry Mark gave their most expansive interview to date about the changes forthcoming for their inaugural show; we're not sure we agree, let alone understand.

To wit:

· "Surprise presenters" really means surprise presenters: Maybe it was just odd phrasing on the part of USA Today's Susan Wloszczyna, but we read, "Instead of lining up last year's winners and stars with upcoming movies to tout, Condon and Mark are reaching out to those names associated with a 2008 movie" to mean not all of last year's recipients will necessarily present awards to this year's winners. On one hand we can't believe it; it's decades-old tradition, and what fools would miss an opportunity for Javier Bardem to present an Oscar to Penelope Cruz? Then again, the prospect of a Marion Cotillard/Mickey Rourke liaison is too eerie to contemplate. What gives? (And we're not the only ones puzzled, but then again, everything confuses Tom O'Neil.)

· Jennifer Aniston will be seated directly across an aisle from Angelina Jolie: Or at least that's how we'd choose to interpret Condon's call for a cozier "party" atmosphere. If he and Mark plan anything less, we'd rather not consider it.

· Hold your applause until the dead people are safely offscreen: We're also persuaded to go along with a grave change to the In Memoriam segment: Condon and Mark are turning the audience sound down lest the annual feature devolve into "popularity contest." Are they fucking kidding? This is Paul Newman's last shot at eternal cosmic ownage over Charlton Heston! Here's a cheer for you: RE-CON-SI-DER (*clap-clap-clapclapclap*)

· Shocker: Jack Nicholson will be invited! What will they think of next?

Oscar show promises fun with new producers at the helm [USA Today]

Oscars to Be 100% Funnier/Gayer With Ricky Gervais and Bill Condon At The Helm

Nick Malis — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:15:00 EDT

Are you still trying to scrub the memory of those heinous Emmy awards from your brain? Perhaps this rumor will do the trick. We can all agree that one of the only bright spots of the awards were when Ricky Gervais did that “give me my Emmy” bit with Steve Carell. Well, according to E-Dubs (that’s Entertainment Weekly for you laymen), after that performance, “his reps were besieged with inquiries about his availability and were urged to book a meeting with Academy Awards organizers, stat.” So does that mean Ricky’s gonna host the Oscars? He’d probably do an incredible job, and frankly, he’s the only host who actually feels exciting these days. We’ve already been down the Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres roads, Billy Crystal has been M.I.A. for years, and if they go with Whoopi again, America will pluck out its collective eyeballs in protest. So why not give a Brit a chance?

He’ll certainly be in good company, now that Dreamgirls director Bill Condon has been tapped to executive produce the upcoming Oscar telecast. This is the same dude who wrote the screenplay for Chicago, so he definitely knows how to razzle-dazzle ‘em. But he also directed Kinsey and Gods and Monsters, so which Bill Condon will show up? Will it be his glitzy, gaudy musical side or his frank-exploration-of-human-sexuality side? Either way, it should make for an interesting evening, and as long as five reality hosts aren’t involved, we’ll be watching.

[Photo Credits: Getty Images]

Ricky Gervais Gets 2009 Oscar Buzz [EW]
'Dreamgirls' Duo Producing Oscars Telecast [Hollywood Reporter]

Gawker: defamer, bill condon

Producers Power Down The Oscar Grieve-O-Meter

Oscars to Be 100% Funnier/Gayer With Ricky Gervais and Bill Condon At The Helm