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The 2024 Academy Awards have two concerns about the timing. For one, the show airs an hour ahead of its historic time slot, starting at 7 pm ET and 4 pm on the West Coast. ABC’s live broadcast on March 10 also coincides with the “spring preview” of the first day of daylight saving time, further confusing things for viewers in the vast majority of the United States.
So when the broadcast’s showrunner Raj Kapoor and fellow executive producers Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan joined Zoom earlier this week, they were happy to talk about everything from crisis plans to “in memoriam” pressure, which Barbie promotion and the inherent silliness of trying to engineer a viral moment. But they were also very keen to remind Oscar fans about that new schedule.
Okay, just a few days left. Is any part of you a little worried that people haven’t gotten the memo about the early start time yet?
MOLLY MCNEARNEY Yes, that is why this article is imperative. (laughter.) Whoever is reading this, tell your friends.
KATY MULAN We have to make sure no one is late because there is daylight saving time. and The show airs one hour early!
RAJ KAPOOR We think ABC and the Academy have done a good job so far. And we think an earlier start time has many benefits. But yeah, we just hope everyone gets the memo.
There’s a lot of pressure on these shows to produce a “viral moment.” The very nature of this means that they can’t really be designed, and yet you still have to try. What are those discussions like?
MCNEARNEY Everyone’s goal is to have something memorable in this show. But I agree with you. I don’t think it’s something that can be planned and designed in advance. Last year, some of the best moments came from the acceptance speeches, and we certainly can’t control them. This is Jimmy’s fourth Oscar. In the past, we’ve created big pre-produced comedy bits with a lot of celebrities, and we’re not doing that. We did it in the promotion, of course, but it seems a bit laborious to us. It’s a lot of work for very little reward. I think we shine brighter when Jimmy is more in the moment, spontaneous, commenting on what’s happening in the room. And we’re definitely crafting a killer monologue. Katy, Raj and I have worked tirelessly to bring together great presenters along with Taryn Hurd, our talent producer. There will be some surprises. There will be some great performances. But trying to plan a viral moment is a dead end.
KAPOOR We can only plant the seeds and wait for things to happen naturally and spontaneously. And if a moment generates a big reaction in the room, hopefully that will lead to those viral moments. We have some awesome cameos planned.
That Barbie The promotion was very well received. Once you saw the finished product, was there any part of you that thought, “Should we consider this a kind of introduction to the show?” It really reminded me of those Billy Crystal intros from the ’90s.
MCNEARNEY Completely! When everything worked so well, I thought the same thing. A lot of us thought, “Oh, should we open the show with this?” But I think it’s better to use it to promote the program. I think it raised awareness about the time change. We have millions of eyes on that thing. We better have our tight 10-minute monologue, because we have 23 prizes to give out.
It seems almost impossible to do an “in memoriam” segment of an awards show without upsetting someone about an omission or limited screen time. There is a lot of scrutiny. Can you talk to me about how you solve problems in that part of the program?
MULAN I have never worked with a larger group of people who care more about getting program elements right. And the best thing about the Oscars having been held for so many years, and with the Academy the size it is, is that there is a whole group of people dedicated to making sure that the right people are there, that everyone’s name is written down. correctly, that all images are correct. There is a tremendous amount of care, love and attention that goes into ensuring that it is absolutely fulfilled and that it is done in a truly reverential way. We have an execution this year that will hopefully be really moving and do justice to everyone.
There was a lot of talk about adding a crisis team to last year’s broadcast, after the slap, and we just saw a demonstration disrupt some of the Independent Spirit Awards. How much can you tell me about preparing for possible interference?
KAPOOR There are many plans in place and hundreds of people involved in those types of decisions. There is a formal plan, but, in the end, there are a few people who will make key decisions at very short notice if something happens. There is a lot of thought that goes into every piece of this program. That’s why the Oscars are. That’s why it’s a global show, because every nuance is thought out in advance.
For each of you, what makes you most excited (and most anxious) about accomplishing everything on the big day?
KAPOOR I think our set and our vision look really beautiful in the theater. We’re about to find out what it looks like with each camera angle, because all of our cameras will start arriving tomorrow. But the actual design is very involving: classic but modern. There are all these beautiful reference points that we’ve really put a lot of time and thought into, from how people are presented on stage and even how they walk off stage, and giving Hamish Hamilton, our director, all the tools he wants. show people. in the best light of it. The presenters and winners, when making their acceptance speeches, will also be much closer to the rest of the audience this year. Hopefully that will be evident on screen. I’m probably the most eager for us to put on a show that hits pretty close to the mark and feels really good. We don’t want anyone looking at the clock.
MCNEARNEY I’m very excited to celebrate with the people who put on the show. What gives me anxiety, as someone who is married to the host, is that you always get nervous if a joke doesn’t land. There’s always anxiety when someone is out there and vulnerable in a time when everyone has an opinion on everything. That’s always a little intimidating for me. Fortunately, it’s not for Jimmy.
MULAN The other night I had an anxiety dream where I was on the back of a moped that Ryan Gosling was driving and we couldn’t find the Dolby Theater. (laughter.) Live TV is so complicated! And it’s a little thankless, because you have to make it look completely simple, even though behind the scenes everyone is sweating about how many times it could go wrong.
I love that your idea of a nightmare is being on a moped with Ryan Gosling.
MULAN It started off good and then I realized we were going to be late for the show!
Raj, you mentioned the pressure to be on time. What are the real consequences of not being on time, besides annoying people? And when the Emmys came exactly on time, was everyone thinking, “Oh, great…”
KAPOOR Yes, thank you very much, Jesse Collins! (laughter.) That doesn’t happen very often. We want to give people the opportunity to speak, but we also want to control that a little bit. It still has to feel great for everyone at home. Ultimately, it’s three and a half hours of live television and we can only control a limited number of things. We can’t really talk about the ramifications. We just feel the pressure to be great partners with the Academy and ABC and produce the show they would like to deliver. And the message is a timely spectacle.