Get ready for the one of the most entertaining Academy Scientific and Technical Awards presentations in recent memory. Five-time Emmy nominee Natasha Lyonne, known for her delightfully off-the-cuff and knowledgeable appearances on talk shows and podcasts, has been selected as this year’s host by the Academy. The event is set to be held Friday, Feb. 23 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Margot Robbie, Olivia Munn, Jason Segel, John Cho, Leslie Mann, Sir Patrick Stewart, David Oyelowo and Nia DaCosta have hosted in recent years.
Lyonne will present 16 different achievements over the course of the evening. Among the honorees are the innovators of Dolby Atmos, an industry standard in cinema sound; IMAX (for their prismless laser projection technology); and Pixar, for the engineering of their Universal Scene Description (USD), a key framework in navigating 3D landscapes.
Notably absent this year is a top-level Sci-Tech Award of Merit, which is often but not always recognized, with Eastman Kodak and Avid among notable past recipients.
Lyonne, prepping for a second season of “Poker Face” on Peacock, just directed Jacqueline Novak’s Netflix special “Get on Your Knees” and will be seen on the streamer later this year in Azazel Jacobs’ “His Three Daughters.” Costarring Carrie Coon and Elizabeth Olsen, the film is coming off a wave of great reviews at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. She also executive produced and stars in the upcoming animated series “The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy,” produced under her Animal Pictures banner.
