On today’s episode of the Daily Variety podcast, we hear from Variety’s Mark Malkin about how the somber mood in Hollywood and geopolitical uncertainty will impact this year’s Oscar Week celebrations leading up to the March 15 Academy Awards ceremony. Ethan Schanfeld also paints a vivid picture of everything he observed while attending an open casting call for “Baywatch.”
Malkin, Variety’s senior culture and events editor, said there was great nervousness among Oscar producers about the possibility of an escalation in the Iran conflict in the days leading up to Sunday’s live broadcast on ABC.
“I’m hearing that there are meetings taking place to discuss Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D, depending on the state of the world on March 15th,” Malkin said. “What will the red carpet look like? What will it look like on stage? Of course they’re planning a big, glamorous night, but they have to be able to change direction at the last minute.”
Malkin announced the news that Barbra Streisand had been scouted to appear in a tribute segment honoring Robert Redford, her co-star in the 1973 romance film The Way We Were. A rich memorial service is also planned for actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle, who passed away in December. The couple’s son, Nick Reiner, is currently in prison on murder charges.
“Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reunited at the memorial corner in memory of Rob Reiner,” Malkin says. “Billy Crystal will be speaking about Rob Reiner. Meg Ryan will join the other stars of the Rob Reiner films on stage while Billy speaks.”
Shanfeld, a Variety reporter, recounted his experience last month when he spent a day on the beach in Marina del Rey with 2,000 other hopefuls auditioning for roles in Fox’s upcoming reboot of “Baywatch.”
“When I was out on the beach with the contestants trying to get on the show, I talked to people, some of whom are actors who work in Hollywood, and some of whom, like me, had zero acting experience and talked to a mother and daughter from Colorado who were fans of ‘Baywatch’ and wanted a chance to have a small part in the reboot,” Shanfeld says. “I talked to a woman who actually won the Greek version of ‘The Bachelor.’ She told me, she’s been acting for a while and she was always told, ‘You’re too blonde, your breasts are too big.’ So she said, “But now this is finally the role for me.”
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