An Update to the Oscar Telecast Plans?

The Oscars are less than a month away, but plans for this year’s April 25th ceremony are still very much in flux. 

After the “no Zoom” demand from producers Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Steven Soderbergh was met with massive criticism, particularly regarding the nominees not currently in the U.S. who would have to figure out travel plans during a pandemic simply to attend the show, some of those requirements have become a little more lenient. 

Chief among the new adjustments is that there will be “hubs” in London, Paris, and potentially elsewhere that will allow the nominees to attend the show from overseas, as opposed to the Oscars simply shutting out anyone who isn’t in the U.S. What do these hubs entail? Why force attendees to go to hubs where they’ll be beamed in via satellite rather than just letting people Zoom in safely from home? All good questions.

During a virtual press conference today with the ceremony’s producers, their COVID consultant Dr. Erin Bromage, and many of the international nominees, the producers and Dr. Bromage addressed concerns while also allowing the other participants to ask questions. 

When the question of whether or not people can Zoom in if they aren’t able to travel to any of these venues, Soderbergh responded, “The Z Word?’ Look, let’s just say, we hope it doesn’t come to that”, before going on to explain how impressive the ceremony will be, as it’ll be shot in widescreen in 24 frames per second with a stunning opening. 

The producers gave some teases of specifics for how the ceremony in Los Angeles is going to look, which includes rotating attendees in and out of their different venues, including pre and post show party settings. 

Ultimately, the gist of it all is that no one knows what’s going on still, and perhaps the producers are starting to realize that managing an event as massive as this during a global pandemic is a lot more difficult than simply saying that everyone should attend in person because they promise it will be safe. 

Soderbergh did promise those in the Zoom call Tuesday morning that there will be much more transparency moving forward as to what their plans are, so we’ll keep you posted on any new updates as they come in.