In the wake of the wildfires that blazed through Los Angeles in January, a handful of Hollywood staples — from Stephen King to Jean Smart — called upon the Academy to shift or cancel the Oscars altogether. But scrapping the event was never considered by the show’s executive producers.
“It was never a discussion to cancel or to move the show,” executive producer Raj Kapoor told TheWrap, adding that the team worked with city and state officials to ensure the show met safety regulations to go on. “As producers and for the Academy, it was really important message of support for the city that the show does continue. We employ thousands of people — we are a show that is responsible for … a piece of people’s annual income. So many people work on this show and depend on us.”
Kapoor, who executive produces the Oscars alongside Katy Mullan, noted that with the Oscars being vital to the “fabric of Los Angeles,” he hopes that “even when the city is damaged or injured,” the show can draw awareness to the devastation from the wildfires and aid in the ongoing rebuilding efforts, both through employing L.A. staffers and the charitable funds set up by the Academy.
Finding the best way of acknowledging and reflecting on the fires in the telecast, however, is still a “constant conversation,” Mullan told TheWrap just a week and a half out from the show, explaining the producers’ priority is to give “everybody who’s in that audience, who’s worked so hard to be there and really deserves to have this incredible honor of being celebrated on an Oscar stage their moment.”
Unlike other awards shows that were scheduled in the weeks following the wildfires, the Oscars had the benefit of time, with the March 2 ceremony taking place nearly a whole two months from when the fires began, and a whole month after the Grammys took place on Feb. 2.
Kapoor, who also served as an executive producer for the Grammys and spearheaded that show’s heavy focus on musical tributes to the city and firefighters, noted that the immediacy of the Grammys, as well as its music-centric format, gave the show a different touch. “Music is sometimes a little easier … we [were] able to adapt a little faster,” he said.
“The Grammys happened a month earlier than the Oscars will, so it’s a little bit of a different tone of how we address something on a show that happens four weeks later, and how people have moved on a little bit … maybe there’s been a little bit more healing and a little bit more repair and outreach,” Kapoor said. “It’s got a little bit of a different touch than it would have if this show was four weeks earlier.”
But the Oscars will be pretty bereft of music as this year’s show won’t include live performances of the songs nominated in the best original song category. Kapoor and Mullan said the decision came from this year’s theme of spotlighting the “alchemy of filmmaking,” which aims to highlight the collaboration required for movies to come together.
“We’re doing a lot more behind the scenes,” Mullan said, noting that the songs will still be a “big moment in the show” just in a different way. “We decided that this year … we would put to put a spotlight on the songwriters themselves, rather than having the songs be on the show. So we are crafting a different approach to that presentation and doing more of a spotlight, essentially, on them within a film.”
While the nominated songs from “Emilia Pérez,” “The Six Triple Eight,” “Sing Sing” and “Elton John: Never Too Late” won’t be performed live, there’s still a chance “Wicked” fans could hear their favorite songs when Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo take the stage (the main “Wicked” songs don’t qualify for the original song category), though the EPs remain tight-lipped on what the stars had in store.
Grande and Erivo were announced as performers earlier this week alongside Doja Cat, Blackpink’s Lisa, Raye and Queen Latifah, and while what their performance remains under wraps, audiences can expect some sort of reference to the past, with Mullan explaining “with our musical performances, we’re really excited about celebrating the lineage and the past and how it affects and inspires the present of filmmaking.”
The emphasis on the “alchemy of filmmaking” will be threaded all the way through the ceremony, from the non-acting categories getting the “fab five” treatment all the way to the orchestra and the nomination packages.
“There’s some really special moments in there,” Mullan said. “Al of us have these nostalgic moments around the movies and around music, and … this year is going to celebrate that with some performances that really celebrate not just the great movies we’ve had this year, but also some of the legacy and the lasting impact of films that that we all have experienced from childhood to today.”
As the night leads up to the prestigious Best Picture award, the producers paid special attention to selecting the presenter for the award, which sometimes includes “an interesting pairing or a reunion.”
“That tension and that anticipation really leads to that moment, so we also hope the presenters are part of that,” Kapoor said. “Maybe it’s somebody you haven’t seen in a while or a really interesting union of actors, actresses, some sort of interesting pairing that maybe needs to be celebrated again on stage.”
The Oscars air live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and Hulu.
