by Thinus Ferreira
Hollywood's 93rd Academy Awards taking place Sunday night in Los Angeles and broadcast globally from Monday morning very early will be taking place from the train station in the City of Angels but that is not the only way that the Oscars will be done differently and look different from previous years.
1. Starting earlier and later
The 93rd Academy Awards will be broadcast live from Los Angeles on Monday morning as a simulcast event at 02:00 South African time on M-Net Movies 1 (DStv 104) and not 03:00 - an hour earlier than usual.
The live red carpet coverage on E! (DStv 124) will also start an hour earlier at 23:00 on Sunday night, instead of midnight as usual.
Blame it on the Oscars ceremony that is usually done and dusted by late-February but that was shifted to a later and later date due to the Covid-19 pandemic this year. Then America's daylight saving time kicked in during mid-March.
M-Net is also not broadcasting the Oscars during prime time for the first time in decades but doing so much later.
Instead of 20:00 or 20:30 as in previous years, the recorded broadcast of the 93rd Academy Awards for DStv subscribers is only scheduled to start on M-Net (DStv 101) at 22:30 on Monday night, 26 April.
2. A more cinematic look
Action! Chase scenes! Explosions! Well, maybe not explosions and the only chasing happening will be nominees hoping to bag a golden statuette, however, the action thriller filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is one of the Oscar producers this year, alongside Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher.
Their plan is to bring a more cinematic look to the 93rd Academy Awards.
They want to make it look less like a TV show and more like a movie, filmed at a rate of 24 frames a second and widescreen with cinema shots and panoramic scenes that will include the train station's art deco architectural style.
"Our plan is that this year's Oscars will look like a movie, not a television show," the producers said in a press release. "In keeping with our awards-show-as-a-movie approach, we've assembled a truly stellar cast of stars. There's so much wattage here, sunglasses may be required."
2. A stop at the station
While some parts of the Oscars this year will be done and have been pre-recorded from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles where the awards ceremony has been done from since 2002, the Oscars is relocating to a train station ...Union Station in LA.
But why? Again blame Covid-19.
Since the Oscars is about film, it's another part of Steven Soderbergh's vision to try and bring a much more cinematic look to this year's Academy Awards. The old ticket-counter room at Union Station will house the main stage of the Oscars this year, with the jacaranda-filled north and south patios that will also be used for the official pre-show.
To include Europe and Britain, Sunday's awards show will include links to locations in those countries as well.
3. No host but it won't be virtual
The Oscars is going hostless again - only the third time in its history on Sunday night but the producers learnt from the Golden Globes and what didn't work.
This year's Oscars will have a rotating group of presenters as well as an "in-studio" audience of people physically present.
People have been invited and a nominee - who is allowed to bring along a guest - will be seated at little tables and alcove seating in so-called "pods" inside Union Station. Attendees will be wearing masks but won't be wearing masks on camera.
Some of the presenters include Brad Pitt, Renee Zellweger, Joaquin Phoenix, Laura Dern, Halle Berry, Harrison Ford, Reese Witherspoon, Angela Bassett, Bong Joon Ho, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Rita Moreno, Zendaya and Viola Davis.
4. Best song nominees in the pre-show special
In another big change, all of this year's Best song nominees will have their songs performed in their entirety during the 90-minute pre-show that is entitled Oscars: Into the Spotlight - including one done from Iceland!
South African viewers will be able to see Oscars: Into the Spotlight on M-Net Movies 1 (DStv 104) from 00:30 until 02:00.
Ariana DeBose and Lil Rel Howery are the two presenters of this official pre-show special that will "highlight the nominees' journey to Hollywood's biggest night to give fans around the world the ultimate insiders' sneak peek to the party, and, for the first time, bring Oscar music to the festivities" the Academy said.
Molly Sandén will sing the song "Husavik" from the film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga recorded in Húsavík, Iceland.
Celeste and Daniel Pemberton, Diane Warren and Laura Pausini, H.E.R. and Leslie Odom Jr. will all perform the other four nominated songs at Los Angeles' Dolby Family Terrace of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
These songs include "Hear My Voice" from the film The Trial of the Chicago 7, "Io Sì" from The Life Ahead, "Fight for You" from Judas and the Black Messiah and the song "Speak Now" from the film One Night in Miami.
