This year, instead of hiring a movie industry stalwart like recent Oscar show producers Steven Soderbergh and Will Packer who separately oversaw Academy Awards broadcasts over the past couple of years that were, shall we say, memorable for all the wrong reasons, the Academy has turned to awards show and live TV veterans Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner and gone for experience rather than take a chance on someone who is not known for putting together a massive television production for Hollywood’s biggest night of the year.
In going the safer route AMPAS returned to the days of Gil Cates who reliably produced 14 Oscar shows and could be counted on to try new things, but also uphold tradition.
Weiss is actually no stranger to the Oscars having directed the seven previous ceremonies for which he won two Emmys, plus 21 Tony Awards shows for which he won 12 Emmys.
Along with his partner Kirshner who also has 30 years of entertainment production experience and won 9 Emmys, the pair between them has also done numerous Super Bowl Halftime Shows, political conventions, Emmy Awards shows, Presidential Inaugurals, and so many more.
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