Oscars Producers Tease Serena Williams' Surprising Role, Star Is Born Duet and Queen Opener!
Really, who needs a host when you’ve got Queen as an opening act?
When the Oscars get underway on Sunday, it will be the legendary rock band, and not a traditional tux-wearing host, taking centerstage to kick off Hollywood’s biggest night. And if all goes as planned, the surefire rollicking performance should set the tone for an energy-infused and memorable evening.
“We feel everything about it is a great way to open the show,” says Glenn Weiss, a 14-time Emmy winner who is directing and co-producing the awards with Oscar-winning producer Donna Gigliotti. (Fun fact: Weiss served up the jaw-dropping romantic moment at last year’s Emmys when he proposed to his girlfriend on stage after his win for directing the 2018 Academy Awards).
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With more moving performances to follow — from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper to Bette Midler and Jennifer Hudson — and dozens of glamorous A-listers (Streisand! Charlize! J.Lo!) taking the stage over the course of the night, this year’s Oscars promises to be a mix of pomp and heartfelt celebration of the year’s top filmmakers.
With just a few days to go, the creative duo behind the 91st Academy Awards took a break from last-minute preparations to chat with PEOPLE.
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What’s the vision for this year’s show?
Gigliotti: In terms of the overall feeling, the show is going to be fun and the show is going to be moving, and is really going to embrace the notion of what audiences love about the [nominated] movies. That’s really our theme, because we are blessed with really popular movies that have been nominated this year. What we’re trying to do is really honor the artists who made the films and embrace the audiences who supported and loved those films.
How did the idea of Queen opening the show come about?
Gigliotti: Well, one day in the office, Glenn was humming “We Are the Champions” and then he went into “Bohemian Rhapsody” and I said, “My gosh, what a great way to open the show!”
Weiss: What really happened is, she said “The only way I can shut him up is if we go along with this…”
Gigliotti: I said, so let’s go get Queen to do this instead of Glenn!
Weiss: It’s exactly the energy, it’s exactly the recognizable music…we feel everything about it is a great way to open the show.
And getting Bette Midler to perform is also fun.
Gigliotti: If you can get Bette Midler on the Academy Awards and Bette Midler wants to come on the Academy Awards, essentially your job as producer is to simply nod your head and say ‘Yes’.
One might assume Barbra Streisand, who is a presenter, would introduce A Star is Born, but I understand Serena Williams will do those honors. So you’re mixing things up around the Best Picture categories?
Gigliotti: Yes, we are mixing them up and not necessarily in obvious ways. We think it’s interesting to have the perspective of film lovers coming on the show to present. Yes, Serena Williams is going to present A Star is Born. [For each Best Picture nominee], we’re going to have an individual come onto the stage — and it is an individual who feels some connection to the film that they are presenting. The idea came about because I happened to look at William Goldman’s obituary in the New York Times and there was a picture of Paddy Chayefsky and Norman Mailer handing Bill Goldman his Oscar and I thought to myself, This is so interesting that Norman Mailer would be on the Oscars as a presenter. This is really where the idea came from. Then I thought it’s because Norman Mailer at the time was a cultural icon. So I said who are the cultural icons that we could call on that might be interested in the pictures that are nominated this year? That was the genesis of the idea.
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There have been various controversies over the last few months, especially the Kevin Hart host/no-host situation. How did you navigate all of that and how challenging was it to shift gears along the way?
Weiss: The world might have been more aware of some things as it played out publicly (but) part of the production process is working around obstacles and plans that keep shifting. That’s the normal course of action doing a show like this. The show that we may conceive of in pre-production, and then when the nominations come out, is not necessarily the show that will air. That’s universal with every Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy show in this world. I think we have done a lot of shifting and working around circumstances, some which was more public than others. But it’s sort of the normal course of action in this type of show.
Gigliotti: In other words, as a producer, what you’ve gotta do is rock and roll. That’s really what it amounts to. That is the nature of the job.
Donna, you know Bradley Cooper from producing Silver Linings Playbook. Did you know he could sing and how excited are you to hear him and Lady Gaga?
Gigliotti: I did know he could sing. I know he can dance. I know that he is incredibly smart, that he speaks French perfectly, I know he is very handsome. And I also know he is one of the most polite human beings that walks the planet Earth. I love him. I know all of that from Silver Linings. And the [duet] is going to be great!
What’s the first thing you’re looking forward to when the show is over?
Gigliotti: Are you kidding? A large glass of red wine.
Weiss: I’m looking forward to that moment where we’re off the air and we’ve had a successful show and people are walking away very honored. I’m just going to feel relieved.
Donna, where do you keep your Oscar, and Glenn, where are your zillion Emmys?
Gigliotti: My Oscar is prominently featured on the table in my living room. My housekeeper comes in and she dusts the Oscar carefully and she often says to me, ‘Donna, Oscar looks so lonely, he needs a friend!’ What she means is that he needs another Oscar. Maybe Glenn will loan me one of his Emmys.
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Glenn, are your Emmys strewn about your house?
Weiss: Sort of, yes.
Glenn, you had that memorable moment when you proposed to your girlfriend on stage at the last year’s Emmys. Are you married yet?!
Weiss: Not yet. I’ve had no time for any wedding!
Finally, set designer David Korins told us there are 40,000 red roses as part of this year’s set design. If nothing else, are you happy with the way the backstage smells?
Weiss: Interesting – no one has asked about the smell! You know what? It’s a lovely picture, it’s great to be around and I think it will present differently than anything you’ve ever seen. It’s beautiful!
The 91st Academy Awards take place on Feb. 24 and air live on ABC at 8 p.m.
