The producers of this year’s highly unusual 93rd annual Academy Awards have pledged to pretend the entire show is a movie itself. Accordingly, they also “cast” it with an ensemble of 15 stars to perform all presentation tasks, and also in place of a host (for a third year in a row).
Among the “cast” the producers seem to at least hold on a Oscar Tradition: To have all four acting winners from the previous year return to present the four acting categories this year. Specific how They’ll be deployed on the show the Academy didn’t say, but you can assume that’s why Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt, and Laura Dern are part of the proceedings.
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Phoenix, Zellweger and Dern similarly took credit at the Golden Globes, although Pitt will appear on the awards circuit for the first time at the Oscars this year. Also the winner of last year’s best director, Bong Joon Ho, who made four trips to the stage for it Parasite, is also part of this ensemble, presumably to present Best Director. Other names announced Monday – in alphabetical order – include Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Harrison Ford, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Rita Moreno, Reese Witherspoon and Zendaya.
“In keeping with our awards-show-as-a-movie approach, we’ve gathered a truly amazing cast of stars,” said producers Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderbergh. “There’s so much wattage here, you might need sunglasses.”
This idea of having a regular group of presenters spin in and out of the show isn’t new. When producer Gower Champion reimagined the 1969 Oscar show, he created what they dubbed “ Friends of Oscar, ” with 10 stars serving exclusively as presenters (and no hosts). The format was then successfully rerun the following year and has been adapted occasionally over the decades – including for the 2009 innovative show produced by Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, who used combinations of five past winners to create the to present acting awards.
Additional talent joining the April 25 live broadcast on ABC will be announced later. Word is that all the nominated songs will be performed on the pre-show for the first time. We will see.
