An in-person Oscars show like no other to take place in Los Angeles next week
A“teeny-tiny” red carpet, no invitations for Hollywood’s most powerful moguls and a “central” role for masks – the Oscars is taking no risks when it comes to Covid-19, but the event still would have been “impossible” to hold only weeks earlier, producers said on Saturday.
The 93rd Academy Awards, which will be held in-person in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 25, will mark the first time Tinseltown’s finest have assembled in more than a year, for a three-hour show that co-producer Steven Soderbergh said is “not going to be like anything that’s been done before”.
The delayed ceremony takes place barely a week after California opened vaccinations to all those over the age 16, with infection rates plummeting after a massive winter surge ripped through the state. Cinemas are even reopening.
Asked about the impact of the show’s two-month postponement, Soderbergh said: “It would have been impossible for us to do what we’re gonna do ... I don’t know how we would have done it.”
The director told a virtual press conference: “This is the working definition of trying to build an airplane while it’s in the air.”
He said his experience of making films during the pandemic – and his 2011 thriller Contagion – had proven invaluable.
The ceremony will take place amid the “physical grandeur” of Los Angeles’s cavernous Union Station, with nominees mingling outdoors and then rotated in and out of the Dolby Theatre during the show.
The traditional red carpet will be dramatically downsized, and the guest list will also be so limited that even powerful Disney boss Bob Iger “won’t be there”, said Soderbergh.
Speaking from the venue’s courtyard, where only nominees, their plus ones, and a handful of presenters will chat and drink, Soderbergh said he hopes the Oscars will present to the world “a glimpse of what’s going to be possible when most people are vaccinated, and rapid, accurate, cheap testing is the norm”.
“Masks are going to play a very important role in the story of this evening,” he said. “If that’s cryptic, it’s meant to be, but that topic is central to the narrative.”
Soderbergh and fellow producers Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher are keeping many details under wraps, but said the unusual and “hopefully unique” nature of a pandemicera Oscars “certainly opened up an opportunity to try some things that haven’t been tried before”.
The ceremony will have “the aesthetic of a film as opposed to a TV show”, including use of movie-like “over-the-shoulder shots from within the audience” and high-resolution, widescreen formats, said Soderbergh.
Most nominees are expected to attend in person, with hubs in London and Paris set up allowing Europeans unable to travel because of restrictions to dial in – but only via slick, industry-standard satellite hook-ups, not Zoom.
Recent awards shows have been slammed for their heavy use of remote calling for nominees, particularly after Daniel Kaluuya briefly lost audio as he accepted his Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in Judas and the Black Messiah.
“Zoom has been a great thing, we’re on it constantly,” said Soderbergh. “It’s just in the context of this show ... that doesn’t really fit.”
Following the awards-showas-a-movie concept, no host has been announced, but presenters – billed as the ceremony’s “cast” – will be “playing
Masks are going to play a very important role in the story of this evening. If that’s cryptic, it’s meant to be, but that topic is central to the narrative
themselves, or ... a version of themselves”.
Previously announced A-list presenters include Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt and Reese Witherspoon, with more set to be unveiled before the show.
Nominees will be asked to share personal stories, in a show set to make extensive use of interviews.
“The stories have been incredible, so helpful to us,” said Soderbergh. “And a wonderful archive – a snapshot of movies in 2020.”