By Faryn Shiro and
Kelly Hagan, ABC News
This year’s Academy Awards may be an Oscars show like we’ve never seen before thanks to two men behind the scenes who have been nicknamed “the two dads.”
David Hill, a veteran producer of sports and concert events, and Reginald Hudlin, a writer, director and producer, are producing this year’s Oscars. The occasion marks both the first time the men have worked together and the first time they’ve produced Hollywood’s biggest awards show.
Hudlin told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Lara Spencer that the “two dads” nickname “evolved over the last couple of months” as the pair crafted the awards show. When they first met, Hudlin said the two knew right away what had to be done at this year’s Oscars.
“We agreed that Chris Rock should be the host, and we agreed to bring the orchestra back into the theater,” said Hudlin, who was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar as producer of “Django Unchained” in 2012.
“There’s an embarrassment of riches,” Hill added of Rock’s comedy gold mine. “Let’s put it that way.”
Rock is expected to address the #OscarsSoWhite controversy that erupted after the all-white slate of acting nominations was announced. Hudlin and Hill said the controversy has not impacted their plans for the broadcast.
“We wanted a show that looked like America, that looked like the world,” Hudlin said. “Most of our booking was done before the nominees were announced.”
Hill, who won an Emmy for producing the 2011 World Series broadcast and is a former executive producer of “American Idol,” said the pair also looked at social media, asking the question, “Who do people really, really follow?”
“We just wanted to get the biggest, best talent we could get,” Hudlin added. “And, of course, the most talented people in our business.”
An array of new faces is just the beginning of the changes made by Hill and Hudlin. The pair are also completely changing the order of the awards given out.
“I want people to watch and be surprised,” Hudlin said. “You’re going to be seeing things the way you’ve never seen them before.”
“We’re making the show, and the order of the show, for people who love films,” said Hill.
One already-announced change is that the names of family, friends and colleagues the winners want to thank in their speeches will be scrolled at the bottom of the screen as the winners are speaking. The idea is to give the winners more time.
“There’s gonna be a lot of experimentation,” Hudlin said. “Some of it may work and some of it doesn’t work, but it’s something new.”
Winners will receive an Oscar statue that is now completely hand-cast in bronze before getting its 24-karat finish and the Oscar stage will glitter in gold itself thanks to more than 200,000 Swarovski crystals.
“My biggest inspiration this year was 1970s glam and, of course, the theme of this year’s show, which is that everyone dreams in gold,” set designer Derek McLane told ABC News.
This year the show will open with an animated short set to a musical score created by famed composer Danny Elfman.
“It is kind of a fantasy factory of how Oscars are made,” Elfman said.
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With CAA agent Cameron Mitchell, Oscars producer Reggie Hudlin, Common’s manager Derek Dudley at the Governor’s Ball. Glad to support Reggie, a friend for over thirty years, as he worked to impact the most important cinema awards event in the world.
Dave Chappelle showed up to support Chris Rock. He was backstage the entire show.
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Variety, Tim Gray
David Hill & Reginald Hudlin
The day after the 88th Academy Awards, first-time Oscarcast producers David Hill and Reginald Hudlin said they were exhausted. However, they sounded upbeat about the creativity in the show, the reaction of execs at ABC and the Academy, and at the expanded demographics of the viewers despite a drop in total viewers. The two producers talked with Variety about their challenges and rewards — but didn’t address whether they would return.
What was your opinion of the show’s audience?
Hill: We were up 1% in adults 18-34, plus male viewership was up 20%. Whether it’s because of the nominated movies or whatever, that was the most positive sign I’ve seen. A lot of people think of the Oscars as an old show, but those figures were the most positive signs.
Hudlin: We are both Chris Rock fans, and we wanted to youth-ify the audience and broaden the demos, so that was very satisfying. We had a lot of goals: the opulence and elegance people associate with the Oscars; and we wanted a fast-paced show. And because of the political and racial issues this year, we wanted to address them in a forthright manner. And we wanted to showcase the honorees in a way that was fresh and to respect all the branches. And we wanted a show that was funny and touching. I think we did those things.
What was the Academy reaction?
Hill: They were stoked. I spoke with several governors. My favorite was Jeff Kurland. He was quite effusive and he’s a tough audience.
Hudlin: One of my favorite reactions were from some of the top folks who work in sound, who really appreciated the extra effort we put in to present their category. To excite the branches that often get overlooked — that was a particular pleasure.
And ABC?
Hill: After the show, we saw Ben Sherwood and Robert Mills, and the new president Channing Dungey, they were all stoked. They loved the show and loved the pace of it. That was a key priority — that the show moved and changed.
What were some of the highs and lows of the experience?
Hill: We were really pleased at the look of the show. We had an arranged marriage between Derek McLane, the celebrated Broadway designer who has been doing the sets for several years. And I’d worked with (visual artist) Cindy Hauser ages ago, so we wanted a look with the majesty and grandeur of practical sets and the excitement and versatility of graphics. Last night, you saw how they complement each other. It enabled us to do so much within each act. It was the look and structure of the show which gave it appeal, due to combo of the two.
Hudlin: They were real MVP’s for the show. Derek’s been doing sets for the past three years and we were happy to have him back and Cindy was a great addition. They showed that one plus one equals five. The show’s look changed from act to act, from award to award. It created a level of visual excitement that kept the audience engaged.
Hill: There are 142 separate pieces that make up the Oscars; each one of those mini-acts has to be dreamed up, organized, overseen. It has been three months of solid slog, at mixing bays, organizing talent, and constant meetings with Chris and his writers, who have been cloistered away. That’s 142 little shows. What you saw was four months of slog, seven days a week. Our greatest disappointment was the Andy Serkis segment. We wanted him to appear to TV viewers as Gollum, then switch to Caesar, then reveal him in a dinner suit. But the technology isn’t there, so we gave up on that five days ago. However, we have found a company in Norway that might be able to do it in the next 12-18 months.
Hudlin: It was exciting to go to the edge of technology and live performance. That entire act, which was devoted to sound effects and visual effects, that was really satisfying. It was exciting to show off those departments that are the cornerstones of so many movies. It was great to show them off in new ways.
Would you produce the Oscars again?
Hill: It’s too soon to ask!
Hudlin: I’m picking up my renewed passport, so there’s a vacation in my immediate future. And I’m shooting a movie this spring and David has the “American Idol” finale. So for awhile, we will be returning to our “day jobs.” At this point, I’m excited about little things — like Saturday and Sunday.
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The Hollywood Reporter, by Gregg Kilday
Reginald Hudlin, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Gregory Nava
To encourage diversity, president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has appointed three new members to the board of governors; other new members have been added to the group’s executive committees; and the individual branches will determine specific criteria regarding members’ voting rights.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has appointed three new members of the board of governors, it was announced Tuesday. They are Reginald Hudlin, Gregory Nava and Jennifer Yuh Nelson.
In its efforts to diversify voices within the organization, the Academy board also appointed additional Academy members to each of the board’s six oversight committees.
Mexico-born actor Gael Garcia Bernal, whose credits range from Y Tu Mama Tambien to the current Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle, is joining the awards and events committee, chaired by first vp Jeffrey Kurland; cinematographer Amy Vincent, whose work includes Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan, is joining the preservation and history committee, chaired by vp John Bailey; producer Effie Brown, who emerged as a champion of diversity in the recent edition of HBO’s Project Greenlight, is joining the museum committee, chaired by vp Kathleen Kennedy; executive Marcus Hu, co-founder of the indie distributor Strand Releasing, and animator Floyd Norman, whose long list of credits encompass work on the 1967 animated Jungle Book and 2001’s Monsters Inc., are joining the education and outreach committee, chaired by vp Bill Kroyer; executive Vanessa Morrison, president of Fox Animation, is joining the finance committee, chaired by treasurer Jim Gianopulos; and producer Stephanie Allain, director of Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival, is joining the membership and administration committee, chaired by secretary Phil Robinson.
The Academy announced that the board also reaffirmed its resolution, adopted in January, that Academy members must be active in the industry to maintain voting privileges. Under the guidelines enunciated in today’s announcement, an active voter is defined as a member who has worked in the motion picture industry during the last 10 years; or who has worked anytime during three 10-year periods whether consecutive or not; or who has won or been nominated for an Academy Award.
The voting rules, as currently formulated, do not appear to specifically address when the qualifying periods begin when a new member is admitted to the Academy or whether a new member’s qualifying work can be post-dated to begin during an earlier period in his or her career. The new announcement also said that the executive committee of each branch “will determine specific criteria for active voters” based on the above guidelines. A spokesperson for the Academy explained that the current formulation is not meant to be “a one-size-fits-all formula for making decisions about our members, because each branch can be more varied in how they implement” the guidelines.
As part of the new regulations designed to promote diversity and approved by the board of governors on Jan. 21, three new seats have been added to the 51-member board of governors. The Academy president nominates who will fill those seats, which are earmarked for women and people of color, and those nominations then must be confirmed by the board. The board held a second vote at Tuesday’s board of governors meeting to approve bylaws allowing for the new governors and approve the specific nominees.
The other members of the board are all elected by their respective branches, with each of the 17 branches represented by three governors on the board.
In announcing the Academy’s latest moves, Boone Isaacs said: “I’m proud of the steps we have taken to increase diversity. However, we know there is more to do as we move forward to make this a more inclusive organization.”
Hudlin, one of the three new governors, is a member of the executive branch and produced the recent 88th Oscars with David Hill. He boasts extensive film and TV credits as both director (House Party, Boomerang, The Ladies Man) and producer (Django Unchained, for which he was Oscar-nominated). He is currently directing Marshall, a biopic about Thurgood Marshall starring Chadwick Boseman.
Nava, a member of the writers branch, has written and directed such films as El Norte (for which he received a best original screenplay nomination) and Selena and wrote 2002’s Frida.
Yuh Nelson, a member of the short films and feature animation branch, directed Kung Fu Panda 2 (for which she was Oscar-nominated) and the new Kung Fu Panda 3, which she directed with Alessandro Carloni.
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