83rd Academy Awards Producers Speak & Foreign Language Directors

On Friday afternoon producers Don Mischer and Bruce Cohen, along with Academy President Tom Sherak, took some questions from the press on the upcoming Academy Awards broadcast. The three were especially proud of hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco as well as the PS 22 Chorus who will be performing on Sunday’s telecast.

I asked them about the 45 second acceptance speech time limit. With 24 awards, they’re hoping the winners will have short, graceful speeches, but there will be a visual graphic to show how much time is remaining. Producer Cohen even went as far as to call the nominees of the first two Oscar categories that will be awarded on Sunday evening, Art Direction and Cinematography, to remind them about the time constraints.

Producer Mischer was quick to remind everyone that as soon as an Oscar winner pulls out their paper with the many thank-you’s on it, people are quick to turn the channel. Sherak made the humorous quip, “this year’s Academy Awards are green and paperless. We’ll be setting up a paper detector in the arrivals tent.”

When asked why they chose Hathaway and Franco as this year’s Oscar hosts, Cohen said, “we took advantage of the talent with these young hosts, plus the added appeal having real movie stars. We’re making Oscar history – this is the first time a man and a woman will host together.”

When asked about the sets, Cohen said, “artistically, the audience at home will be leaving the Kodak Theatre in 2011 and, with the aid of set transitions, transported to various scenes in film history.”

On Academy Awards producers past and present, AMPAS President Tom Sherak said, “we’ve had 83 years of talented producers and it’s all about the talent brought each year to the Oscar show. Don Mischer and Bruce Cohen have brought their vision to the 83rd Academy Awards.”

83rd Academy Awards Producers Don Mischer (left) and Bruce Cohen (right) with Academy President Tom Sherak at a press conference held on the red carpet on Friday, February 25, 2011.

Earlier over at the arrivals tent on the red carpet, a photo opportunity took place on Friday morning featuring the directors of the 5 Oscar®-nominated films in the Foreign Language Film Award category for the 83rd Academy Awards. Pictured (from left to right): Rachid Bouchareb, “Outside the Law (Hors-la_loi)”; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Biutiful”; Yorgos Lanthimos, “Dogtooth”; Susanne Bier, “In a Better World”; and Denis Villanueve, “Incendies”.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, CA.