Oscars Producers Make Their Case For A ‘Film’ Not TV Show Ceremony

It goes without saying that Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher, and Jesse Collins didn’t necessarily pick the best year to take over the Academy Awards. Producing an Oscars telecast after pandemic restrictions have already led to massive rating drops for sister ceremonies such as the Emmys, Grammys, and Golden Globes isn’t ideal. It doesn’t help that with movie theaters closed for most of the past year most viewers haven’t actually seen many of this year’s Best Picture nominees (even Netflix releases were not massive hits in their own universe). But Saturday morning the trio took some questions from the media that provided a few more hints about what their seemingly unconventional ceremony will entail.

READ MORE: Oscars disappointingly move Original Song performances to this year’s pre-show

Some quick clarifications for those who care about the ceremony which will primarily take place at Los Angeles’ Union Station. The red carpet will be minor. Sher notes it’s “not a traditional red carpet. It’s a teeny tiny red carpet.” More presenters beyond the initial “cast” will be announced at the end of next week. And if a nominee cannot make it to the United States they will accept via Satellite link and not zoom (Soderbergh clarified that curtly). Moreover, while traditional set COVID protocols are in place (“There’s no universe in which we are going to ever put anybody at risk”) they would not confirm whether masks were required only for Soderbergh to say “Masks are going to play a very important role in the story of this evening If that’s cryptic it’s meant to be.”

A majority of the call found Soderbergh describing his pitch for the telecast which, again, focuses on making it a “film.” And even though 14 time Emmy Award winner Glenn Weiss is in the control room again (two of his wins were for previous Oscar telecasts), this is absolutely Soderbergh’s show. At one point the “Traffic” and “Contagion” filmmaker gave a long answer that underscored, from his perspective at least, how different this show will be.

“We are just trying to create an experience that has the aesthetics of a film as opposed to a TV show,” Soderbergh says. “On a technical level that means shooting 24 frames per second. That means using a wider screen format. It means compositionally setting up shots that look more like movie shots than television shots where people are not just nailed to the center of the screen all the time. Over the shoulder from within the audience. The room is so beautifully laid out. We were walking through with Glenn Weiss, the director and the number of great angles to be had is a blessing. But Glenn and I at a certain point are going to have to determine which ones we are going to use and at one point in the show. It’s gonna sound different in terms of how Questlove is approaching the scoring of the show.. We just want the whole thing out of the gate to announce itself as just being different. And if you like movies you’ll feel like you’re watching a movie. The presenters will be playing themselves or at least a version of themselves But, in the writing, we have been interacting with them and are hoping they will bring some of their experience and their movie love to what they say. As Stacey said if you stand on that stage as someone presenting or the winner? The emotion in that room is up in your grill. It’s going to be wonderfully intense because you’re gonna feel these are the people I work with these are the people I respect. I think for anybody who is in the room regardless of the outcome, they are going to have a very special evening.”

We’re going to assume Soderbergh and his colleagues realize that many awards shows have tried these same techniques over the years and they are not necessarily new. For instance, over-the-shoulder camera shots are staples of live television whether it’s an awards ceremony or sporting event. But if he can find a way to bring a new spin to it? Well, bless.

As for the story he wants the show to present, well, it’s certainly something we’ve heard from Oscar producers in the past.

“I think you need to start from a sincere place. Storytelling is a great catchall for a lot of these types of events, but movie storytelling, we think, is unique,” Soderbergh. “And we want to explain why we think that’s true. And we have the resources through the stories that the nominees have been telling us, as part of the interview process, to really tease out the detail of what makes movies so special, why we connect with them so strongly all over the world.”

Collins gave perhaps the most upbeat and fun-sounding comment regarding the telecast noting, “The show’s going to be good. I mean, I think it’s just like, we’re going to celebrate our movie love. We’re going to give you three hours of entertainment. I think the films, like she said, have been honest. It’s going to be a very sincere show, and it’s also going to be optimistic. It’s going to show us where we can go in the future, and I think that’s exactly what the Oscars needs to be at this time.”

From the sounds of it, most of the telecast will be pre-taped segments. In fact, Soderbergh said he’d been shooting something just the day before for the ceremony. Considering the fact the Original Songs were pushed to the pre-show we’re hoping that means there will be a musical number of some kind somewhere.

We hope.

The 93rd Oscars will be held on Sunday, April 25 and air live on Oscar Sunday, April 25, on ABC at 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM PT (that’s the pre-show time).