As the annual ceremony attempts to appease viewers and winners, new details about how the show actually unfolded are beginning to emerge.
First, let’s get rid of a largely misrepresented fact: The Oscars are happening on March 27 with a live ceremony at 5:00 p.m. PT that will include footage of each winner accepting their award. How it will play out in real time has been the subject of much speculation, and many in Hollywood are crossing their fingers that the Oscars show, hosted by comedians Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, will be entertaining, accessible and widely seen around the world while paying tribute to the artists behind this year’s nominees.
The question is how the Academy will pull off this feat, and many observers and pundits aren’t giving first Oscar producer Will Packer the benefit of the doubt. The Oscars have gone from excellent to mediocre several times over the decades and some have little confidence that this year’s show, which seems desperate for ratings, will do all eight winners (best editing, design production, makeup and hairstyling, original music, sound, live action, animated shorts and documentaries) whose acceptance speeches will be edited on the show.
The Academy isn’t promising to give its full speeches, but throughout the night it will mingle with the live broadcast of edited video of the eight awards presented in the first hour, skipping the long walk to to the scene that tortured so many Oscar producers. over the years trying to stick to the magical three-hour limit.
On March 27, the in-person ceremony will begin at 4:00 p.m. PT, before the regular live stream at 5:00 p.m. PT. Attendees will have tickets showing both start times: as always, the doors to the Dolby Theater will close at the start of the live ceremony.
The Academy will give select presenters and nominees staggered arrival times during the live pre-show which runs from 3:30-5:00 p.m. PT and, as guests complete their pre-show red carpet exploration, the escorts will take them to their seats. during breaks from the 4:00 p.m. PT hour, just as guests do during the three-hour live stream when they return to the theater. (In any case, seat fillers will be on hand.)
Olivia Colman at the 2019 Oscars
ABC/Craig Sjodin
The Academy fills Dolby for the first hour with nominees, presenters and guests, from the first floor (Orchestre and Parterre) to the Mezzanines, reaching out to filmmakers and distributors who are connected to the eight awards given out first, to ensure sure they will be there for these awards. (Some have reportedly threatened not to attend. Most will want to accept their Oscar.)
The Academy publicity team will share the winners via social media platforms as they occur, but will post clips of their winning moments on social media during the live stream, in the order they are broadcast, as well as all other categories.
During the live broadcast, Dolby’s screens will show the eight category winners to the audience as they accept their awards. All winners, including those who received prizes within the first hour, will go backstage in order of their awards on the show, to speak to the “thank you camera” to mention anyone they have left out, and move on to the media press rooms for photographs and interviews, in the order of presentation of their categories at the show, and live the experience with their co-winners.
The truth is, the nominees in all eight categories feel belittled, shunned, and second-rate. It will be difficult to give these winners a great evening. And the Academy is coming back from behind trying to energize a show that needs a surge of goodwill behind it.
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