The thing about waiting until the show to reveal the presenters is, I think, a disasterous decision for one key reason – no Red Carpet walk-down. Nikki Finke points out that Tim Gunn will be the person on the red carpet talking about the fashions of those who walk by. Those people will be the nominees, presumably, not the presenters — and we all know that, Brad and Angelina notwithstanding — the presenters help bring the fashion heat. Says Finke:
But I also have to bash the people who put on the Oscars for a really lousy decision, and then lying to me about it. I’d heard two weeks ago that the Academy wanted presenters to forgo the Red Carpet and premiere their fashions¬†during the awards show itself to beef up¬†ratings. But when I asked about it, they told me, “Oh, no. We wouldn’t do that.” But they’re doing just that, according to celebrity publicists who are pissed that their clients¬†are being asked to sneak in some side entrance and¬†miss their Red Carpet moment (which is¬†why the designers give them those dresses free in the first place). I say don’t fuck with¬†the fashion.¬†It’s the only thing in the broadcast that works.
The biggest problem as I see it is that the presenters had better be really good to justify all of the hoopla. They could be shooting themselves in the (the other) foot if the presenters are the same ol’, same ol’. That’s my only worry.
However, I think it’s time to stop thinking about the bad decisions and start thinking about the good ones – Bill Condon and Laurence Mark are producing the Oscars. That means the show itself won’t be the same old stuff (no offense to whatshisname who’s been directing it for years, just kidding Lou Horvitz!).
