The 2025 Oscars Producers on Conan O’Brien Being the ‘Perfect Host’ and Those ‘Rampant’ ‘Wicked’ Rumors
“The rumors are rampant, let’s say that,” joked Raj Kapoor, one of the executive producers of the 97th Oscars, over Zoom.
He and colleague Katy Mullan had not yet confirmed reports that the Academy Award-nominated “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande would be performing on the telecast March 2. Though it is still unclear if the musical pair will open the show, or do a medley of songs from the Best Picture-nominated blockbuster, Kapoor said, “What we are doing at the beginning of the show is a love letter to Los Angeles, and there is a beautiful film, and there’s a beautiful performance.”
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There is still time to place bets on how those plans involve Erivo and Grande, or some of the other announced performers like “Born Again” collaborators Doja Cat, Raye, and Lisa of Blackpink. With Queen Latifah confirmed to lead a tribute to the late Quincy Jones, our money is on it being the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Kapoor and Mullan both confirm the show will acknowledge the efforts to rebuild Los Angeles after the devastating wildfires in January and their effects on the film industry. “So many people in that room have been impacted,” said Kapoor. “We all know somebody who has been affected by this … a lot of people are going to be sitting in that audience who may have lost their home, or somebody in their family has lost their home, or their school, or their church, or their favorite business.” He added, “Los Angeles is the heart of filmmaking. And so, all of these filmmakers being in the room, we have to have that message.”
Overall, “connectivity” is the keyword for this year’s Academy Awards, according to the executive producers, and one of the biggest changes with this year’s show will be new host Conan O’Brien as the one to bring everybody together.
“Conan is going to be the perfect host, because what Conan has is this gift to be able to react on the spot to everything that is happening in that room. For us, his gift of improv, his gift of quick wit, is going to be unparalleled,” said Kapoor. “Every time he walks into our room and we are able to spend some time with him, he constantly comes up with fresh ideas, reacts to what’s being said, what happens in the moment. We will see a lot of that on this show. Conan will be very present, and anything that happens live, expect Conan to acknowledge [it].”
Given the rollercoaster this awards season has been, with many of the major categories including Best Picture still up in the air, and scandals plaguing several contenders, from A.I. use to offensive social media posts, the show could use a host who can roll with the punches. But some of the changes to the show had been in the works long before anyone hit translate on any of Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón’s tweets.
For example, the Fab Fives, the popular presentation format used for the acting categories last year, where each nominee got their own dedication from a former winner, is back in a different form. “There will be a version which is an evolution of the Fab Fives that we did last year,” said Mullan, “but this time, for some of the non-acting categories … and again, big stars on stage, speaking from the heart, making it personal, and celebrating all the amazing connections that define the movies that we’re celebrating this year.”
“That decision was made way in advance,” said Kapoor. “We’d love to do the acting categories, but it is challenging to book five past winners presenting to this year’s nominees,” he said. “It’s just a vast number of presenters to make happen. This year, creatively, we shifted our focus, we put them in a couple different places. So, Fab Five is returning, just not in the acting categories.”
Why did the Oscars ditch performances of each Best Original Song nominee in favor of a package highlighting their songwriters? “There’s a team of people that are not working on anything else, but are actually helping us craft this film, and it is about songwriting and the process,” said Kapoor. “That particular nomination package is going to have a different focus this year. You’ll definitely hear pieces of the songs within it, but we are also talking to the songwriters and having their input and a little bit of BTS, maybe, on how some of the songs actually came to be. And we’re doing that for a few other disciplines as well. A few different categories are being presented a little differently.”
Ultimately, coming off several Emmy wins for the 2024 show, including one for Outstanding Variety Special (Live), the onus has been on the producers to “continue to reimagine, reinvent, refocus,” said Kapoor. “We are doing constant edits. There’s people being added every day that are going to be part of this Oscars. There’s some really fun cameos that are going to be unannounced.”
One familiar face that is not returning to the show, however, is four-time host Jimmy Kimmel, who executive produced the last show with Kapoor and Mullan, as well as his partner Molly McNearney. As much as the producers are excited for O’Brien, they admit they checked back in with the late-night host first, given last year’s success and the show still airing on his home network, ABC.
“We absolutely loved Jimmy. Jimmy and Molly are such amazing partners. Jimmy’s done a fantastic job hosting this show. And of course, an offer was made to Jimmy,” said Kapoor. McNearney told IndieWire in May 2024 that she and Kimmel turned down a fifth time producing and hosting due to the added pressure of also having to cover the presidential election on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” around the same time they would’ve been required to start planning for the Academy Awards. “It’s important to have a little recharge and actually get to make eye contact with the kids for a few weeks,” she said. “I look forward to coming back and being able to communicate all sorts of feelings about the current climate.”
On the subject of Kimmel, Kapoor also said, “We were so lucky that he invested his time, but it’s also a huge commitment… we would love to have him back.”
The 2025 Oscars will air live on ABC and stream live on Hulu on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
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