After devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles, the 97th Academy Awards are going forward.
Like the Grammys and other awards shows this year, the ceremony will be transformed by the fires and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has pledged to help its members and the broader film community recover.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s show:
When are the Oscars?
The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The show, to be broadcast live by ABC, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific.
Are the Oscars streaming?
In a first, the Oscars will be streamed live on Hulu. You can also watch via Hulu Live TV, YouTube, AT&T TV and FuboTV. With authentication from your provider, you can watch on ABC.com and the ABC app.
Who’s hosting the Oscars?
Conan O’Brien is hosting the Academy Awards for the first time.
“I never have been invited to the Oscars,” the late-night host-turned-podcaster and occasional movie star said at a news conference Wednesday. “I only hosted so that I could be invited.”
O’Brien said he would not hesitate to talk about the nation’s fraught political situation.
“I cannot ignore the moment we’re in,” he said. “But I also have to remember it’s threading a needle. I also have to remember what we’re here to celebrate and infuse the show with positivity.”
He said compared to all the other things he’s done, hosting the Oscars is like “for the first time getting to drive a Ferrari.
“I’d like to keep the tuxedo,” he said. “They made me an absolutely beautiful tuxedo. It’s the nicest thing I’ve ever put on in my life.”
How have the wildfires altered the show?
The wildfires that consumed large parts of Los Angeles in early January led some to call for the cancellation of the Academy Awards. The academy twice postponed the announcement of nominations but never pushed the March 2 date of the ceremony. Academy leaders have argued the show must go ahead, for their economic impact on Los Angeles and as a symbol of resilience.
The fires will be addressed during the show both directly and in its themes, and viewers will be able to make donations.
“There’s been so many people that have been touched by this devastation,” Raj Kapoor, the show’s executive producer and showrunner, said Wednesday. “There’s been so much outreach, and we really wanted to create some really beautiful moments on stage that celebrate this amazing city that we live in.”
For many involved in the Oscars, the fires have been felt acutely. O’Brien’s Pacific Palisades home survived but his family has been unable to go back to it. O’Brien’s assistant and podcast co-host Sona Movsesian lost her home.
“I know so many people who lost their homes and I’m just, was ridiculously lucky,” O’Brien told The Associated Press. “So we want to make sure that that show reflects what’s happening and that we put a light on the right people in the right way.”
