|
 Yet with rock band Queen, pop superstar Lady Gaga and two
musicals in the race for best picture, the highest honors in the
movie industry will have an unusually strong music vibe as the
Oscars seek to regain television audiences.
British band Queen, featuring Adam Lambert as lead vocalist,
will open the Feb. 24 show with a live performance celebrating
the box-office success of best picture nominee "Bohemian
Rhapsody," a representative of the band told Reuters.
Bette Midler, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Lopez and record
producer Pharrell Williams are also set to attend or present,
along with James Bond actor Daniel Craig, tennis champion Serena
Williams, "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman and comedians
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Details have been scant about the first Academy Awards ceremony
in 30 years to go ahead without a host, bringing a curiosity
factor to the last and biggest awards show of the season.
Comedian Kevin Hart withdrew from the host job in December after
past homophobic tweets resurfaced.
"Hollywood is all about suspense," said Tom O'Neil, founder of
awards website Goldderby.com.
One thing is certain; it won't be shorter. A pledge to
broadcaster ABC to keep the show to three hours was wrecked last
week when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences bowed
to protests and scrapped plans to hand out four of the 24 Oscars
during commercial breaks.
In 1989, the last time there was no host, the telecast opened
with an 11-minute song and dance number featuring Rob Lowe and
an actress dressed as Snow White that was widely derided.
Under pressure to deliver a compelling show for viewers after
last year's TV audience hit an all-time low, producers have made
the most of the best original song contenders.
[to top of second column] |
Lady Gaga and actor-director Bradley Cooper will perform a live duet
of her hit song "Shallow" from their best picture contender "A Star
is Born," while Jennifer Hudson has been tapped to sing "Fight" from
documentary "RBG."
Midler will do the honors for the "Mary Poppins Returns" song "The
Place Where Lost Things Go" and country duo Gillian Welch and David
Rawlings will perform ""When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings."
"That is one of the places where the star wattage can make a
difference," said Alison Willmore, critic and culture writer at
BuzzFeed News.
"Lady Gaga is a music superstar and I would imagine her hard core
fans will be tuning in for her," Willmore added.
Organizers have not said whether rapper Kendrick Lamar will perform
his Oscar-nominated song "All the Stars" from superhero movie "Black
Panther."
Oscar producers told the New York Times that Serena Williams would
be one of eight people from outside the world of entertainment who
will appear to talk about what the best picture nominees mean to
them.
Sunday's show is also expected to dispense with the segments between
award handouts that in recent years have focused on pizza deliveries
or surprising people on bus tours.
"I'm not going to miss a lot of those little bits. That often feels
like the part that makes the ceremony long, so maybe without a host
it won't feel like it's dragging," said Willmore.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
