“It’s really trying to bring the show together, to keep the show moving, so that people are entertained.”
That’s part of Regina Hall and her co-hosts m.o. this year in hosting the Oscar ceremony; the actress speaking with Deadline at our SXSW studio in Austin, TX.
Hall made a pitstop at SXSW during her busy March to promote her new horror movie, Master, which hits Prime Video and select theaters this Friday. The Mariama Diallo directed movie made its world premiere at Sundance.
Talking about the challenges in hosting the Oscars on March 27, Hall expounds, that the big complaint with the Oscars is the length of the show (and you want to) keep everything concise and really fun.”
“You want to celebrate, and roast a couple of people here and there,” she adds, “We want to make sure it’s a really incredible night because it’s the first time the show has had hosts in a couple of years.”
When asked about the whole initial Oscar controversy about certain categories being sidelined from the telecast; that whole situation later clarified by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Dawn Hudson and president David Rubin that the categories of Documentary (Short Subject), Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Short Film (Animated), Short Film (Live Action) and Sound would still be included in the telecast, but in pre-recorded, edited down parts, the Girls Trip star emphasized, “They won’t be out of the show. We’ll get to see all of the winners. Obviously, we love – hair, make-up, sound, editing – there is not a category that is any less.”
“Film doesn’t work without any different person,” says Hall who is co-hosting with the awards show with Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.
“It’s just a matter of time,” the co-host says about the telecast re-formatting, “Because there’s so many complaints about the hours. Their wins will be celebrated during the actual live telecast.”
When we asked her about the input she provides to Oscar producers about the show, Hall joked, “I have final say…I’m deciding who wins. I am the Academy”
