The 2024 Oscars have two timing problems. For one thing, the show airs an hour earlier than its historic slot — starting at 7 p.m. ET. and 4 p.m. on the West Coast. ABC's live broadcast on March 10 also coincides with the “spring forward” of the first day of daylight saving time, making things even more confusing for viewers in the vast majority of the United States.
So when showrunner Raj Kapoor and his fellow executive producers Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan hopped on Zoom earlier this week, they were happy to talk about everything from crisis plans, “memoriam” pressure, to barbie promo and the inherent madness of trying to create a viral moment. But they also wanted to remind Oscar fans of this new time slot.
Ok, we're only a few days away. Is part of you a little worried that people still haven't gotten the memo about the early departure time?
MOLLY MCNEARNEY Yes, that’s why this article is imperative. (Laughs.) Whoever is reading this, tell your friends.
KATY MULLAN We have to make sure no one is late because it's daylight saving time and the show airs an hour early!
RAJ KAPOOR We think ABC and the Academy have done a good job so far. And we think there are many benefits to starting earlier. But yeah, we just hope everyone gets the memo.
There is so much 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. How do these discussions take place?
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 acceptance speeches — and we certainly can't control them. This is Jimmy's fourth Oscars. In the past, we've created big pre-produced comedies with lots of celebrities – and we don't do that. We did it in the promo, of course, but we find these look a bit laborious. It's a lot of work for very little gain. I think we shine more when Jimmy is more in the moment, spontaneous, commenting on what's happening in the room. And we're definitely creating a killer monologue. Katy, Raj and I have worked tirelessly to bring together great presenters with Taryn Hurd, our talent producer. There will be 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 hope that things will happen naturally and spontaneously. And if a moment gets a big reaction in the room, I hope it leads to those viral moments. We have some amazing cameos planned.
That barbie promotion was so well received. Once you saw the finished product, was there a part of you that thought, “Should we think of this as some sort of intro to the show?” » It's really reminiscent of Billy Crystal's intros from the 90s.
MCNEARNEY Totally! When everything went so well, I had the same thought. A lot of us were like, “Oh, should we open the show with this?” » But I think it's better to use it to promote the series. I think it raised awareness about the time change. We have millions of eyes on this thing. We better have our tight 10 minute monologue, because we have 23 price give up.
It seems almost impossible to have an “in memoriam” awards ceremony without upsetting someone because of an omission or limited screen time. There are so many controls. Can you tell me about how you troubleshoot this part of the series?
MULLAN I've never worked with a larger group of people who cared about understanding the elements of the show. And what's great about the Oscars having been going on for so many years, and given the size of the Academy, is that there's a whole group of people dedicated to making sure that the right people are present – that everyone’s name is spelled. correctly, that all images are correct. There's just a tremendous amount of care and love and attention that goes into making sure that it absolutely works and that it's done in a truly reverent way. We have a performance of it this year that I hope will be really moving and do justice to everyone.
There was a lot of talk about adding a crisis team on last year's TV show, after the slap, and we just saw a protest disrupting some of the Independent Spirit Awards. What can you tell me about preparing for potential interference?
KAPOOR There are many plans in place and hundreds of people involved in these types of decisions. There is a formal plan, but ultimately a few people will make key decisions in a very short period of time if something happens. There is a lot of thought that goes into every element of this series. That's what the Oscars are for. This is why it is a global spectacle, because every nuance is thought out in advance.
Ok, for each of you, what gives you the most excitement – and the most anxiety – about nailing it all on your big day?
KAPOOR I think our set and our vision is really beautiful in the theater. We're about to find out what it looks like from every camera angle, as all of our cameras will start arriving tomorrow. But the design itself is very immersive: classic and modern. There are all these beautiful touchstones that we really put a lot of time and thought into, from how people are presented on stage and even how they leave the stage, and giving Hamish Hamilton, our director, all the tools he wants to show. people present themselves in their best light. Presenters and winners during their acceptance speeches will also be much closer to the rest of the audience this year. I hope this will be evident on screen. I'm probably most excited to deliver a show that comes pretty close to time and feels really good. We don't want anyone looking at the clock.
MCNEARNEY I'm really excited to celebrate with the people who put the show together over the first few months. What worries me, as someone married to the host, is that you always get nervous if a joke doesn't go well. There is always anxiety whenever someone is vulnerable in a time where everyone has an opinion on everything. It's still a little intimidating for me. Luckily, it's not Jimmy's.
MULLAN The other night I had an anxiety dream where I was on the back of a moped that Ryan Gosling was riding and we couldn't find the Dolby Theater. (Laughs) Live TV is so complicated! And it's kind of thankless, because you have to make it look effortless, 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.
MULLAN It started out great, and then I realized we were going to be late for the show!
Raj, you mentioned the pressure to arrive on time. What are the real consequences of not arriving on time – other than just annoying people? And when the Emmys came exactly on time, were you all thinking, “Oh, great…”
KAPOOR Yeah, thank you very much Jesse Collins! (Laughs.) This doesn't happen very often. We want to give people the opportunity to express themselves, but we also want to control that a little. Everyone needs to feel good at home. At the end of the day, that's three and a half hours of live television and there's only so much we can control. We can't really talk about the ramifications. We just feel the pressure to be really good partners with the Academy and ABC and produce the show that they would like to put out. And the message is an on-time broadcast.