Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher, Jesse Collins To Produce 93rd Oscars

This year has been full of surprises and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences couldn’t let it end without one more. The already delayed 93rd Academy Awards will be produced by Jesse Collins, Stacy Sher and Steven Soderbergh. And, no, that final name is not a typo.

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“We’re thrilled and terrified in equal measure. Because of the extraordinary situation, we’re all in, there’s an opportunity to focus on the movies and the people who make them in a new way, and we hope to create a show that really FEELS like the movies we all love,” Collins, Sher and Soderbergh said in a statement released by the Academy. 

Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson added, “The upcoming Oscars is the perfect occasion for innovation and for re-envisioning the possibilities for the awards show.  This is a dream team who will respond directly to these times. The Academy is excited to work with them to deliver an event that reflects the worldwide love of movies and how they connect us and entertain us when we need them the most.”

Craig Erwich, president of Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment noted, “Jesse, Stacey and Steven are the ideal storytellers to harness the uniqueness of this moment and celebrate the artists who are dedicated to telling stories that stand the test of time. By enlisting this incredibly talented team of television and film producers, I’m confident we will deliver a prestigious event that will be remembered for years to come.”

Postponed until Sunday, April 25, 2021, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2021 Oscars needed producers in the fold to figure out the logistics of how Hollywood’s biggest awards ceremony will be held. The Emmys and MTV Video Music Awards were a combination of in-person and virtual acceptance speeches. While a vaccine is expected to begin distribution in the United States and California by the end of the month, it’s unclear how widespread it will be by April. Moreover, how strange the Academy’s regular venue, the Dolby Theater, would ook with socially distanced seating if that is even permitted. The Academy has also set a goal of opening the new Academy Museum immediately before the ceremony. It’s also unclear if the producers will move forward with a host-less ceremony for the third year in a row after record-low ratings last February.

Collins is the least familiar name on the docket, but he’s produced numerous awards shows and events including the Grammy Awards, BET Awards and Soul Train Awards, and such television series and specials as “John Lewis: Celebrating a Hero,” “Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices,” “Change Together: From the March on Washington to Today,” “Sunday Best,” “American Soul,” “Rhythm + Flow” and “The New Edition Story.”  He earned an Emmy nomination for the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019.  Collins also has been tapped to co-executive produce the upcoming Grammy Awards and executive produce the Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show, both in early 2021.  So, basically, he’s quite busy over the next five months.

Sher is a two-time Best Picture Oscar nominee for “Django Unchained” and “Erin Brockovich.” A longtime collaborator of Quentin Tarantino and Soderbergh’s, she has produced or executive produced more than two dozen major motion pictures, including such notable films as “Pulp Fiction,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Contagion,” “Garden State,” “Man on the Moon,” “Out of Sight,” “Gattaca,” “Get Shorty” and “Reality Bites.” She also recently produced “Mrs. America,” for FX which earned 10 Emmy nominations. Sher is currently a producer on the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” starring Jennifer Hudson, which is now scheduled for an August 2021 release. 

Soderbergh won an Oscar in 2000 for Best Director for “Traffic” and earned a nomination for directing “Erin Brockovich” that same year.  He also earned a screenwriting nod for “sex, lies, and videotape,” his feature film directorial debut.  He has directed more than 30 films in a three-decade career, including “Magic Mike,” “Contagion,” the “Ocean’s” trilogy, “Out of Sight” and, most recently, “Let Them All Talk,‘ premiering this month on HBO Max.  He also has produced or executive produced a wide range of projects for both film and television, including “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” “The Report,” “Ocean’s Eight,” “Citizenfour,” “Michael Clayton,” “Good Night, and Good Luck” and two seasons of his own series, “The Knick.”

The 93rd Oscars will be held on Sunday, April 25, 2021, and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.