| NEWS 10.20.09 6:32 PM |
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Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman to Produce Oscars Telecast
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Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman will produce the 82nd Academy Awards telecast, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak announced today. This will be the first significant Oscar show involvement for both.
Mechanic is the chairman and C.E.O. of Pandemonium Films and the former chairman and C.E.O. of Fox Filmed Entertainment. His producer credits include this year's Coraline. Shankman’s directorial credits include Hairspray and The Wedding Planner.
In an announcement, Sherak said that Shankman's experience in producing, directing, and especially choreography would prove assets to the production—suggesting dance could play a significant role in the program. He also said that Mechanic's experience as a producer, studio exec, and film historian would come into play.
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Oscars, Award Season, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, ABC |
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| NEWS 02.23.09 12:17 PM |
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What the Press Said About the Oscar Ceremony: Different Is Good
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The press is decidedly divided about what worked and what didn’t at last night’s rejiggered Academy Awards ceremony, but everyone seems unanimous in the assessment that it was different. And any departure for a show that saw its lowest recorded ratings just last year seems to be a welcome one.
- The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley posited that the night’s best move was the selection of Hugh Jackman as host. “Mr. Jackman was high-spirited, not mean-spirited," she wrote. “He spoke with sass, but unlike more satirical predecessors like Chris Rock and Jon Stewart, there were no smirks; he came to the task with Broadway sizzle, not a stand-up routine.” [NYT]
- Whether the production numbers were effective or not doesn’t seem to matter to most. The fact that there was such a dramatic change to the format was enough for The Hollywood Reporter to note that the franchise is "undeniably the better for it.” [Hollywood Reporter]
- Variety’s Timothy M. Gray—who was actually inside the Kodak Theatre—wrote an overwhelmingly positive review, praising the set design and, particularly, the incorporation of music. “The best decision was to move the orchestra onstage, which made a closer physical connection between audience and performers, helping break down that best-behavior attitude; the looser mood was contagious even to the balconies.” [Variety]
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Oscars, Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.23.09 11:22 AM |
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Oscar Governors Ball Chooses Zen-Inspired Understatement Over Splashy Opulence
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When an economy of unprecedented lousiness met one of the the most traditionally lavish parties of the year last night, the result was a Zen-looking Academy Awards Governors Ball marked by restraint, compared with the drama of past years. The party took over the grand ballroom at Hollywood & Highland following the awards at the Kodak Theatre in the same complex.
The classic elements of air, fire, wood, and earth inspired this year's event, which Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Productions produced with ball chair Cheryl Boone Isaacs. This was Boone Isaacs' seventh year as chair, and Cecchetto has worked on the event for more than two decades. "In this economy, we wanted to go with a pared-down look, but keep it elegant and beautiful," said Cecchetto, who drew some of her inspiration from a teahouse in Beijing. She characterized the look and feel as a "marriage of simplicity and beauty." Boone Isaacs added that the use of organic elements in the design was "like a breath of fresh air," and something "totally different"—an important difference from past years, you might say, in light of the glum atmosphere in the world outside the ballroom.
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Award Season, Oscars, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sterling Vineyards, Patron, Ultimat Vodka, Moët & Chandon, Governors Ball |
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| NEWS 02.16.09 1:53 PM |
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Economy Is Coloring Oscar Week—But Events Are On and Telecast May Be Musical, Upbeat
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Will the economy cast a pall over Oscar week? The short answer is yes and no.
In a year when an upbeat movie, Slumdog Millionaire, is expected by some to sweep top honors, the overall tone of the show might be upbeat as well. With new producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, who are behind the movie Dreamgirls, the award ceremony may have a reimagined format—although no one is disclosing too many details yet. Hugh Jackman is the program's host—despite the fact that that spot is typically reserved for a comedian. So some expect to see a music-focused show, according to Reuters, which also pointed out that, earlier in the month, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis promised the show's producers "are going to take some risks, many risks, some bold."
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Oscars, Award Season, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Budgets, Gift Suites, Hugh Jackman, Vanity Fair, Governors Ball |
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| NEWS 02.04.09 11:39 AM |
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In the News: Wells Fargo Nixes Vegas Meetings, Karl Largerfeld Sacrifices V.I.P. Section
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FROM NEW YORK
Here are a few stories on our radar this week:
No Vegas Meetings for Wells Fargo: Government bank bailout beneficiary Wells Fargo came under fire when the AP published a story about two employee events scheduled at expensive Las Vegas hotels. In response to the negative press, Wells Fargo canceled a conference for mortgage officials and an insurance employee meeting later in February. A spokesperson confirmed there were no plans for other such events for the rest of the year. [Reuters]
Lagerfeld Shuns Elitism at Paris Show: New York fashion week is just a few days off, and many looked to last week's couture shows in Paris for ideas of how the economy might affect the coming round of ready-to-wear presentations. A lot of designers continued to embrace opulence on the runway and at after-parties, but Karl Lagerfeld was not among them. He cut the V.I.P. section to create "equality in an unfair world." [WSJ]
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Wells Fargo, Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Phelps, Oscars, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Live Nation, Ticketmaster |
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| NEWS 01.26.09 4:31 PM |
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Oscar Governors Ball Preview: Bamboo, Sushi, Bonsai Trees
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 | A Governors Ball tabletop
Photo: BizBash |
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In a year marked by tough economic times, an over-the-top, glittery, sequined Oscar ball might not seem like the most appropriate choice. That's one reason you can expect to see a Zen-looking party space inspired by the elements of water, air, fire, wood, and earth for the academy's annual Governors Ball following this year's Academy Awards on February 22.
Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Productions will again produce the party—which will take to the grand ballroom at Hollywood & Highland following the awards at the Kodak Theatre in the same complex—with ball chair Cheryl Boone Isaacs. It's Boone Isaacs' seventh year as chair, and Cecchetto has worked on the event for more than two decades. "I've always wanted to work with an East-meets-West Asian theme," said Cecchetto at a press preview of the decor earlier today. "In this economy, we wanted to go with a pared-down look, but still elegant and beautiful."
Boone Isaacs added, "One of our things is that we want to make each year completely different from the last. [The use of the organic] elements is kind of like a breath of fresh air—totally different."
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Oscars, Award Season, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sterling Vineyards, Moët & Chandon, Patron |
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| NEWS 01.22.09 12:18 PM |
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Academy Stages Brightly Colored Press Conference to Announce Oscar Noms
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 | The academy's colorful press conference
Photo: Richard Harbaugh/©A.M.P.A.S. |
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This morning, while most Angelenos were still sleeping, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominations for the 81st Academy Awards, which will be doled out at the Kodak on February 22. Academy president Sid Ganis and Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker announced the nominees beginning at 5:38 a.m. local time at a live news conference attended by 400 international media members at the academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Staging featured bold lighting in saturated hues that changed throughout the program and a collage of five flat-screens that showed the nominated films in each category. Two giant Oscar statuettes flanked the stage amid the hail of flashbulbs. After the conference, lists of the nominees were then distributed and posted online.
Official screenings of all of the nominated films will begin for academy members this weekend at the Goldwyn Theater. Screenings also will be held at the Academy's Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood and in London, New York, and San Francisco. —Alesandra Dubin
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Milk, Focus Features, Oscars, Award Season, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
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| TOP 100 EVENTS 02.29.08 7:29 PM |
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Southern California's Top Entertainment Industry Events 2008
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 | The Environmental Media Awards
Photo: Alex Berliner/Berliner Studios/BEImages |
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1. Academy Awards
The most ballyhooed shindig of the entertainment year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences’ Oscars take place at the Kodak Theatre. Vanity Fair generally has a lock on the most coveted after-party, but the magazine canceled its 2008 event in the wake of the Writers Guild strike, leaving Elton John's AIDS fund-raiser as this year's most high-profile Oscar bash. Sequoia Productions is the longtime producer of the academy’s official Governors Ball. The 80th annual show was held on February 24.
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Southern California's Top 100 Events, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, DirecTV, People Magazine, ET, Recording Academy, Warner Brothers, Sony, Film Independent, Screen Actors Guild, American Film Institute, Environmental Media Association, Toyota, Goldenvoice, Women in Film, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, American Cinematheque, The Los Angeles Times, Glaad, N.A.A.C.P., Starz, BET |
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