Steven Prusakowski
The 98th Academy Awards are just hours away, and the excitement is as electric as ever. One battle after another will decide the winners, but before a single award is announced, this year already feels historic. Sinners set an all-time record with 16 nominations, there’s a brand-new casting category added to the mix, and many of the races are too close to predict.
Whatever the outcome of the awards themselves, the night is built to be a memorable one. The Academy and its creative team have poured everything into making it a true celebration of cinema. At the center of it all is Conan O’Brien, back as host after last year’s wildly praised debut. The man who once stayed up late watching Johnny Carson host with his dad isn’t phoning it in, he’s bringing childhood nostalgia and his quick wit as he collaborates with a talented producing team to deliver what promises to be one of the most exciting Oscars in years.
In a virtual press conference (moderated by Jacqueline Coley) with the full creative team including Supervising Choreographer Mandy Moore, Production Designer Misty Buckley, Music Director Michael Bearden, Executive Producer Katy Mullan, Executive Producer and Showrunner Raj Kapoor, and Conan himself, the comedian did what he does best, keeping everyone on their toes and making them laugh – even during a press conference. O’Brien shared personal, candid, and laugh-out-loud stories that reveal exactly why this year feels so special.
For many, the Oscars are as much about cinema as they are about the nostalgia of watching the ceremony with friends and family. This is true for Conan who shared a memory about connecting with his father through the Oscars. He was watching his dad laugh at an iconic Oscar host and saw it as an in. “I remember very clearly Johnny Carson hosting the Oscars and watching my father watch Johnny, and watching my father laugh, and thinking, ‘Wow, okay, that’s cool. That man is making my father laugh’ and it is a triangle. So to think that maybe now I’m part of that equation somehow, and in a cosmic way it links me to my dad is pretty amazing.”
The team behind this year’s ceremony is not holding back. “Everybody is just pushing the limits, making it even more special this year,” shared Executive Producer Katy Mullan. “We’ve got Conan back. Everything that he’s cooking up is going to bring his warmth and charm and amazing talent to the show.” She compared it to “a party that you are dying to be at,” which she plans to be a “special celebration of the incredible films this year.”
While obviously excited about the night’s plan, the creative team was tight-lipped about exactly what viewers would see. “We are doing them in a very different way. We are celebrating the films, and so this year we chose Sinners because it’s the most nominated film ever… we’ve kind of, like, blown it up,” shared Showrunner and Executive Producer Raj Kapoor.
“It’s an incredible year with Sinners getting 16 nominations,” said Mullan. “We’ve been working really closely with the team and all the filmmakers from Sinners, so there’s gonna be a really special moment that pays tribute to how important that film has been this year, how beloved it is with audiences, and also, how it’s just resonated globally in such a huge way.” What that means was not exactly conveyed, only that there will be “a big performance.”
Little was shared, but we do know that the Oscar team actually worked directly with the film’s director Ryan Coogler, their music team, their choreography team, their costume team. Kapoor promised, “it is bigger than we’ve ever gone before.” They brought in the movie’s own costumer Ruth E. Carter, choreographer Aakomon Jones, the original music team, plus new cast members and even ballet dancer Misty Copeland. To Kapoor it is more than celebrating the film’s song. “It’s really how Ryan integrated music and wove that into the entire story,” said the showrunner. “a real celebration, not only of the song, but of the film.”
Conan may have had loose lips when revealing specific details of this big surprise, “I will be singing and dancing in the Sinners part of the show,” he shared before quickly adding, “which was rejected by everyone and I think rightfully so.”
While we may not see O’Brien in a Sinners production, there are other performances to look forward to including one for ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ which Choreographer Mandy Moore worked on to celebrate the global phenomenon the animated feature has become. The goal is to expand the Oscars reach by telling these global stories in a really different way. The plan is to celebrate Korean culture with authentic Korean drummers, singers and choreography.
Conan being Conan, self-deprecation is never far behind. When discussing his preparation he quipped, “Prepare, prepare, prepare. And then… it’s time to throw all that away.” His plan, once he hits the stage, the show has to “breathe” like a bottle of wine (something he admits he knows a lot about). “I can talk about this because I drink way too much wine. And that’s what this started out as, an intervention, and then became a press conference.”
While the Oscars are one of the most watched and critiqued shows of the year, Conan plans to stay cool under pressure. “You have to remember, at the end of the day, it’s not that different from making a room full of people laugh when I’m a guest at a wedding or working on The Groundlings stage when I was starting out, or any of the million other things I’ve done,” explained Conan. “It’s about being myself in that moment and being true to myself, and I believe that that is my job.”
Music Director Michael Bearden is treating the whole evening “like scoring a film,” weaving in “humanity, human touch, connection” and real emotion over anything artificial, “the show is flowing… the music will reflect the same way.”
Many of the details shared were kept to a minimum, but the Oscars team did mention a Bridesmaids reunion, a Marvel heroes reunion and even an extraterrestrial will be on stage. That stage brought to life by Production Designer Misty Buckley will be completely redesigned, an immersive set with trees, moving lights, organic forms, and kinetic architectural layers that move. Film fans can also expect nominees to be celebrated in a very big way through beautiful photos, clips, and nomination packages.
One of the show’s surprises Conan was allowed to discuss was the decision to have Matt Berry as this year’s Oscars announcer. Conan and his team are “massive Matt Berry fans” and pitched the idea themselves. He laughed that fans might think, “Why isn’t it just all Matt Berry? Can’t Conan shut up?” and admitted, “I sympathize, because I’ll be thinking that, too.” Conan called Berry “one of the funniest people alive” and “clearly a genius,” and said he’s “absolutely over the moon.”
Conan summed up the magic of Oscar night best saying the show becomes “a living organism” once it starts, responding in real time “for better or worse.” It is a thrill the whole Oscar team is chasing with months of precise preparation, rehearsals, costumes leading to a night that feels spontaneous, warm, and human. When asked for three words to describe the ceremony Kapoor chose “love, heart, and celebration” while Mullan selected, “elegant, exciting, and surprising.” All sound good to me.
Get ready for the party of the year, because we’re all invited to enjoy the 98th Oscars tonight on ABC starting at 7pm ET.
Comments
Loading…