We’ll dutifully sit down and watch the Oscars like we do every year, but it’s almost always too long with trainwreck theatrics and endless montages and this year promises to be no different.
As was confirmed earlier this year by Oscar show producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic, the painfully awkward five presenter format for the acting categories is going to remain intact (apparently it’s something they wanted to scrap, but that industry forces compelled them to keep) promising to once again add an unnecessary air of self-importance to an event that sorely needs to get a sense of humor for once. Anyway, in a way to liven things up, they’ve gone out and found “friends” to present each nominee. We suppose it’s a way to make things feel more personal and touching but it sounds pretty cornball to us.
Stop reading if you don’t the surprise ruined, but honestly, you probably could’ve figured out most of these yourself. Here’s is what has been revealed exclusively to HitFix:
Stanley Tucci presents to Meryl Streep
Connection: The good friends have worked together previously on “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Julie and Julia.”James McAvoy presents to Helen Mirren
Connection: The duo worked on Mirren’s nominated film “The Last Station.”
Peter Sarsgaard presents to Carey Mulligan
Connection: Sarsgaard wooed Mulligan in Best Picture nominee “An Education.”Oprah Winfrey presents to Gabourey Sibide
Connection: Winfrey became an executive producer of Best Picture nominee “Precious: Based on ‘Push’ a Novel by Sapphire” after it debuted at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Sibide also has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.Colin Farrell presents to Jeremy Renner
Connection: They worked on “SWAT” together. That’s not a misprint. Their connection is “SWAT” (This will no doubt touch Renner’s heart.)
Yeah, pretty standard stuff. These are apparently the most prominent match ups, though it will be interesting to see how the other combos play out. There’s no word yet on whether or not this format will extend to the other categories, but God, we hope not. This thing is already going to run an hour over time like it always does.
The other presenters confirmed for the show include: Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Robert Downey, Jr., Queen Latifah, Barbra Streisand, Charlize Theron, Kathy Bates, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner. And as we previously reported, the Best Original Song performances have been scrapped and will be replaced by some of song/clip montage. Sigh.
….and just as we finished writing this, Deadline Hollywood has broken the news that the Oscar show this year won’t open with the traditional monologue by the host (or hosts as is the case this year with both Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin handling those duties). Instead, a musical number by Neil Patrick Harris and Martin Short will greet confused viewers. All we have to say is: seriously? While this isn’t 100% confirmed and may change at the last minute, the duo have been rehearsing a song and dance number that is, for now, set to open the ceremony. If you’re asking yourself, “Why Martin Short?,” apparently he and Shankman have a long working history together, and he’s friends with Steve Martin, but we still think it’s a completely bizarro way to open the show. At this rate, why don’t they drag out David Letterman to do his Uma/Oprah joke again.
We’re just going to go back to watching “Clifford”: