Producing the Oscars is a tough job, as it’s basically just a boring succession of people reading out nominees and then winners thanking God and their hairdressers, but somehow you’ve got to try and turn it into something that hundreds of millions of people around the world won’t mind sitting down for four hours and watching.
Last year that job went to Laurence Mark and Bill Condon, the producer and director of Dreamgirls, who added a bit more verve into the show, with innovative staging and Hugh Jackman giving the event a more lounge-type feel. However despite their success (not least in the ratings) they’re not returning for the next Oscar ceremony, citing other commitments, and so the the Academy has jumped on another producer and director, in the hope they can continue to turn the Oscars back into something worth watching.
They’ve signed up Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman for next year’s awards, who may seem an odd pair, but could actually be a very good team. Mechanic is a producer who used to be CEO of Fox (he was allegedly fired after Fight Club bombed at US cinemas). He has plenty of clout in the industry and has also previously served on the Academy’s board of governors. Shankman meanwhile is the director of Hairspray, who’s also a celebrated choregrapher. It’s therefore a team that knows how to put on a razzle dazzle show and also has the power to get the Hollywood A-list to do what they ask.
As yet, they haven’t announced a presenter for the show, although with the Oscar telecast only four and a half months away on March 7th, Shankman and Mechanic better get a move on sorting it all out.