At the end of last night’s Oscar ceremony, they weren’t kidding. Conan O’Brien, if you want, the job of “host for life” at the Academy Awards is yours — at least for the last two years of your contract with ABC.
“Oh, that’s not a joke. Conan is a lifelong host, yes,” Rob Mills, Walt Disney Television’s executive vice president in charge of Oscar telecasts in the unscripted alternative entertainment category, told Variety on Monday morning. “He hasn’t even accepted it yet. He’s just been told. We’re assuming it’s not a comedy. We’re going to treat it as if it’s fact.”
Variety spoke by phone Monday with Mills and others involved in the telecast to discuss highlights and serious questions.
How did this cold opening for O’Brien, who played Aunt Gladys in Weapons, come about after some of the year’s biggest films?
“This was one of the most ambitious things we’ve ever done,” one of the people said, adding that production took place within the past three weeks. “It took several days to shoot. It was a lot of work.”
Mills said, “Sometimes this kind of work is like fantasy camp, and it’s always incredible to work with Conan. I remember when he had special occasions and hosted things like the Emmy Awards, he made movies like this.” “For the 10th anniversary of ‘Late Night,’ he shot a movie that literally had people following him. He’s always done movies like this.” It also reminded me of something Billy Crystal used to do. So it felt like it was definitely Conan and at the same time obviously Oscar. ”
How was the animated version of Conan who played the role of Aunt Gladys inserted into “KPop Demon Hunters”?
The official said, quite simply, “We found an animation company that can do this very quickly!”
Where did the children like the “weapons” in the opening sketch come from?
They are real child actors brought in through casting calls.
Who were the multiple Michael B. Jordans in the audience?
That was just Michael B. Jordan. He loves this bit and came over last week to film himself reacting in different ways. “Once he came up with the idea, he said he really liked it and he came on set and we had him there for a short period of time to synthesize it,” the producer said.
Did Leonardo DiCaprio know he would be asked to become a meme?
Not at all! Please forgive me for being a little confused about how to react at first. But then he still figured out how to react. “Anyone over 30 would have been confused,” the source joked.
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How was Josh Groban involved in creating the song about Conan’s dream acceptance speech?
“My favorite part of the awards show was when Conan hosted the Emmys and he sang the ‘You’ve Got Trouble’ number,” Mills said. “Last year he said, ‘I Won’t Waste. He loves musical numbers. So, yeah, he came up with that. Remember, he did a movie and did a monologue. Conan obviously thought about this. Because by the time that first act was over and I got to Zoe Saldaña, it didn’t feel like this was already long. The movie was great, the monologue was great, and the song was great. And he got the joke right away.
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What was it like broadcasting live from London with Matt Berry as announcer? Why wasn’t he here?
Yes, Matt Berry was in London. And technology has now reached a point where there is no delay. but why? “I think they like the idea that this is so international. God bless him, he came to every rehearsal. I can’t imagine the different times he would have been up. I don’t know exactly why he wasn’t here, but I think they thought it was kind of cool to have someone across the ocean.”
Berry was scheduled to appear on camera one more time, but it was cut due to time constraints. Similar to the classic reference to Basil Rathbone last time, this time I was going to give a shout out to Cyd Charisse.
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How did Jane Lynch end up appearing in a YouTube ad parody? Why the dodgy flashlight line? Was there any chance she would run more ads?
Producers have been focusing on some pre-tapes this year. “The vertical video was also smart,” the producer said. “I keep coming up with ideas, so I used a lot of them this year. It just so happened that a lot of them were pre-taped.”
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This year’s set includes more green, and O’Brien even downplayed it with the leaf blower. Where did the idea for that design come from?
“You’ll never see a set with trees!” said the producer. Added Mills: “I think it looked really nice and[production designers]Misty Buckley and Alana Billingsley did a great job.[Executive producer]Raj Kapoor has been doing these shows for a long time and they really have an eye for it.” And yes, the bit with Conan and the Leaf Blower being killed in the room. “When I heard that was happening, I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like,'” Mills said.
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How did you pull off the “Pierce the Veil” performance of “I Lied to You”? Why didn’t we get to see more of Buddy Guy? Did they forget to give him the guitar in the first place?
“I think it was a situation where every corner wanted something to happen,” Mills said. “And yes, I agree. There are no words to describe Buddy Guy. He’s a genius and definitely one of the inspirations for the whole movie. So I think they just wanted you to see it everywhere because there was so much going on everywhere. By the end, you’re like, ‘Oh my god, here comes Misty Copeland pirouetting.'” I mean, that number had it all. ”
Was there an unusually high amount of abuse from the winners on this year’s show? How did they miss Frankenstein costume designer Kate Hawley’s “shit”? Then, ironically, one of the winners in the sound department (“F1”) also had to beep.
“It’s a lot of work. I mean, it’s something you never want them to do, but ‘fuck’ is kind of a minor expletive. Luckily, they understood that.”
The “In Memoriam” once again omitted the names of a significant number of celebrities, causing further outrage. How does that happen?
“It’s difficult. I think it’s the most difficult thing the academy does,” Mills said, adding that the decision on who appears on the telecast is up to the academy. “It’s always tough to be demonized for this. Yeah, there’s always going to be people who get left out. Unfortunately, we’re losing more and more people, especially people who are legendary every year, so that’s probably the hardest needle to thread. I think what they did last night was the best memorial in Oscar history.”
What happened to the “golden” songwriters? The orchestra, apparently unaware that another winner was about to speak, cut him off.
“As we conduct the inquest next year, we will look at how we are dealing with the speech,” Mr Mills said. “When you win an Oscar, you go on stage, and it might be one person, or it might be five or six people, and you’ll see right away what kind of time they’re allotted. You’ll look at that and say, OK, do I need to nominate one person to speak? We might keep it going behind the scenes, we might have a feed on social or something. We’ll look at everything and figure out what’s the most elegant solution, because it’s hard, especially if you’re cutting someone off, if it’s theirs.”We talk about that at the awards luncheon, and this time is designated, so I don’t know if that’s the most elegant solution, but it’s definitely something we should seriously consider. ”
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Also, why was the “Golden” performance shortened? The entire verse was cut, perhaps due to time constraints?
“It was by design, it wasn’t something you could call audible, because those things are well rehearsed,” Mills said. “Yes, the verses were cut, but I certainly think that the vibe came through with the leads and the direction. Probably the best thing a musical number can accomplish is make you want to go see the movie again. I think both musical numbers go beyond just the music and really encapsulate both the kind of feel of those movies.”
What was the audience’s noisy documentary troupe all about?
“I think they were just excited to be celebrated,” Mills said. “I agree that there was a lot of energy in the room. I thought it was great during the documentary incident, which was so exciting for the night, and people also really, really love ‘Sinners.’ There was a huge sense of happiness every time ‘Sinners’ was mentioned, and it was really contagious.”
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Where did the idea for Conan to team up with Sterling K. Brown a la Casablanca come from?
When O’Brien’s team approached Brown with the idea, he immediately liked it. The idea came together quickly over the weekend.
How difficult was it to compete with so many stars of Rob Reiner movies?
“Talyn Hurd has done an unparalleled job in this field and truly worked day and night to get everyone to their destination,” Mills said. “There’s someone she told me she’s dreamed of attending the Oscars forever, like John Cusack. He was someone she wanted to get and we talked about it all the time. Everybody wanted to pay tribute to Rob Reiner. Obviously we’re missing some of the stars of the movie, but for the most part, I would say pretty much everyone was there.”
Did Barbra Streisand always just sing snippets of “The Way We Were”?
“Raj and[executive producer]Katie[Mullen]went to Barbra very early on,” Mills said. “I think she agreed right away. It was fine until the week of the screening, but what’s going to happen with this? How much of this is oral testimony versus singing? Remember, when Marvin Hamlisch died 13 or 14 years ago, she sang the entire song. I think she didn’t want to repeat the exact moment.” Obviously Robert Redford was a huge loss for everyone who enjoys movies, and I think she wanted to make sure that it was impactful.”And she also lost Alan Bergman, who wrote all of the music for Yentl, this year, and I think she wanted to make sure that it was impactful as well. And I think she did a great job of that. ”
How was Grogu operated in the audience?
“I didn’t ask,” Mills said. “I never ask how magic happens.”
Conan’s “Host for Life” sketch/”One Battle After Another” parody with Jim Downey appeared at the end of the Oscars. Has there ever been a post-Oscar Awards telecast sketch? Was an alternate sketch for the finale of the Conan movie made in case the best picture was taken in another movie?
First, there was no replacement sketch at the end of the show. This “One Battle” parody would have been carried out even if the “Sinners” had won.
Mills said it was truly unusual for the Oscars that O’Brien’s team appeared at the end of the show. “They said, ‘We really like it,’ and this was before they even shot it yet,” Mills said. “Of course, knowing the fact that[legendary SNL writer]Jim Downey was playing the role, Conan ended up working with him. For those from SNL, Downey is a hero to them. That’s just the way it is. This is the easiest kind of thing to cut. “This is on tape and it’s going to save me 90 seconds of air time, whatever it is.” So I had to give them my promise that this was going to happen.” Over time, I forget the minutes and seconds, but I’m thrilled that we were able to do something like this. ”
Will O’Brien really be chosen as “emcee for life”? Or at least one more time before it moves to YouTube and MrBeast really takes over? How solid is that offer?
“Anything that’s hard, the hardest thing, can be examined,” Mills said. “Solid as oak.”
