Washington : The 94th Academy Awards ceremony will be a three-act show with each one-hour act emceed by a different host.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that this year’s Oscars ceremony will be a three-act show with a different host helming each hour, in a strategy to lure a broader audience and share the burden of guiding the telecast.
For the uninformed, this multi-host strategy has been introduced by the Academy, following three years of hostless Oscar ceremonies.
The sources told the outlet that the new strategy helps address the biggest deterrents for potential emcees — the time commitment of preparing for the lengthy show and the often unflattering glare of the spotlight that the high-pressure gig can shine on entertainers.
The new plan also gives the Academy an opportunity to hire hosts who can attract different demographics to the flagging ABC telecast, as per the insiders.
For the uninformed, there is a history of certain controversies associated with a list of well-known television hosts including Chris Rock who hosted the prestigious ceremony in 2016 and led the show through the #OscarsSoWhite moment; in 2017 when Jimmy Kimmel stepped presided over the chaotic, live TV gold of Envelopegate.
In 2019, comedian Kevin Hart stepped down from the job when a series of his old homophobic tweets resurfaced, and after watching that controversy unfold, few performers wanted to step into the role, spurring the Academy to go hostless.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, these controversies even led the viewership drop down to millions.
Last year’s telecast producers– Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins — executed a variation of the multi-host idea, as some presenters played a larger role than just announcing a category and its winner.
Regina King, for instance, opened the unorthodox show by walking in a long tracking shot at LA’s Union Station and delivering a monologue about racial justice, the pandemic and how the Oscars were handling COVID-19 protocols.
For the unversed, the 94th Academy Awards will broadcast live from Hollywood’s 3,400-seat Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2022, where hosts will return to entertain an audience of nervous nominees.