Oscars: ABC’s Rob Mills On Conan, Sean Baker’s Mission Statement, ‘The Wiz’, Adrien Brody’s Speech, Luke Skywalker Saving Han Solo & Hoping To Run It Back In 2026

deadline.com:

It was a huge night for and independent filmmaking at the 97th Oscars. Sean Baker matched Walt Disney’s record and Mikey Madison surprised many by beating Demi Moore to win Best Actress.

Conan O’Brien was a popular host, funny but sympathetic, running a show that handed out a lot of awards to a lot of movies from the aforementioned sex worker comedy drama to The Brutalist, I’m Still Here, Dune: Part Two, Wicked, No Other Land, The Substance, Conclave, A Real Pain, Flow and even a couple for the embattled Emilia Pérez.

There was also a lot of singing and dancing, touching tributes and plenty of star reunions during the show, which ran for 3 hours and 47 minutes on ABC, and for most of that on Hulu.

It was a night described by Rob Mills, EVP Unscripted & Alternative Entertainment at Walt Disney Television, the man in charge of the telecast, as a “great experience.” In an interview with Deadline, Mills addresses the show, its length, Conan’s performance, those musical performances, who is The Wiz fan, James Bond, Adrien Brody’s speech, Sean Baker’s theatrical call, the In Memoriam, Hulu going down, Luke Skywalker saving Han Solo and thinking about next year’s Oscars. DEADLINE: Congratulations on the show last night.