Oscar Producers Talk Early Start Time, 20 Past Winners Presenting Acting Prizes & That Massive ‘I’m Just Ken’ Number With 65 (?) Male Dancers Backing Ryan Gosling: “We’re Going Big!”

deadline.com:

It is crunch time for Raj Kapoor, Katy Mullan, and Molly McNearney, the three Executive Producers of the 96th Annual Academy Awards as they are putting final touches in place for what they hope will be a show that honors not just this year’s crop of movies, but also Hollywood’s and Oscar’s rich past history, and a ceremony that excites viewers to the point of keeping the recent post-pandemic ratings rise rising, (ie not going in the wrong direction).

All indicators are, particularly with the potency and popularity of this year’s Best Picture contenders, and most notably the dual phenomenon of summer blockbusters Barbie and front-runner Oppenheimer (aka Barbenheimer) which have 21 nominations between them, that this could be a banner year for the Oscars as there is nothing more encouraging ratings-wise, as host Jimmy Kimmel told me earlier this week, than doing a show where viewers have actually seen the movies and have a rooting interest in the outcome.

Ratings for other awards shows (save for the dreary numbers the strike-delayed Emmys got) have been upbeat including the revitalized Golden Globes on CBS, Critics Choice Awards on The CW, and the Grammys which also had a Barbie factor with its Song Of The Year winner from Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For”.

To that end, and to boost the numbers watching at home, the Academy for the first time is going an hour earlier, cutting their red carpet pre-show down to just a half hour, and starting the actual Oscar show at 4pm PT/7pm ET with plans for a 3 1/2 hour broadcast.