Oprah Winfrey, Ben Stiller among latest batch of Oscars presenters
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The latest batch of Oscars presenters has been announced.
Joe Alwyn, Sterling K. Brown, Willem Dafoe, Ana de Armas, Lily-Rose Depp, Selena Gomez, Goldie Hawn, Connie Nielsen, Ben Stiller and Oprah Winfrey join the lineup. Nick Offerman will be this year’s announcer for the show.
Previously announced presenters include last year’s winners in the acting categories, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Emma Stone. Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Elle Fanning, Whoopi Goldberg, Scarlett Johansson, John Lithgow, Amy Poehler, June Squibb and Bowen Yang are also among those presenting.
Conan O’Brien hosts the 97th Oscars on March 2, airing live on ABC and streaming live on Hulu at 7 p.m. ET.
Joy Behar returns to the stage in her new play, My First Ex-Husband.
Written by Behar over the span of 12 years, the new show features a rotating cast of actresses playing women who tell stories about the people they used to be married to. While fictional, the play is based on interviews Behar conducted with women in her life. It opens off-Broadway on Thursday, and The View co-host says it’s great to finally be producing something she spent so much time writing.
“I had to find people who were willing to talk about their first marriage,” Behar said. “Everything is anonymous, obviously, and the names are changed. The places are changed, the dates, all sorts of things. No one will recognize who they are. So, that took a while.”
Performing alongside Behar is one of her best friends of over 40 years, actress Susie Essman.
“People say to me, ‘How come you never had a fight with each other?’ We never fought. We never had a problem. And I’ve had girlfriends that have ghosted me or I’ve ghosted them over the years, you know. But not her,” Behar said.
She says she loves performing her own comedy for the instant feedback of laughter.
“With the drama, you don’t know if they’re crying. You don’t even know if they’re moved or touched. You can’t tell,” Behar said. “I like to have that immediate response. It might be my own insecurities, I don’t know. But that’s what it is. So, I like comedy.”
While My First Ex-Husband is funny, Behar says it has its serious moments.
“I was surprised at how funny it was, frankly,” Behar said. “Because it is poignant. I mean, a divorce is not a happy occasion. And yet, when you talk about what happened in retrospect and with distance, it’s funny.”
Rachael Kirkconnell is sharing her side of her split from Matt James after four years together.
While appearing on the Jan. 29 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, Kirkconnell, who met James on season 25 of The Bachelor, said she’s “doing OK” and that “some days are better than others” after their breakup.
James shocked many fans when he announced in an Instagram post that he and Kirkconnell were no longer together.
James wrote in the caption, “Father God, give Rachael and I strength to mend our broken hearts. Give us a peace about this decision to end our relationship that transcends worldly understanding. Shower our friends and family with kindness and love to comfort us. And remind us that our Joy comes from you, Lord.”
Kirkconnell said that James shared the breakup post “two or three hours after” they privately called it quits while on a trip together in Tokyo. She saw the post right before she got on a flight where she wouldn’t have service for 12 hours, leaving her “freaking out” and “in total shock.”
As for what led to the split, Kirkconnell said they were butting heads in Tokyo, which led to a serious argument about compatibility issues in their relationship and marriage.
“He said that at the end of the day there were just qualities about me that he worries about having in a wife. Like at the end of the day, like, there are things that we aren’t compatible with,” Kirkconnell said.
She added, “And yeah, it was just one of those things where he I think just had this realization that I should want to propose to you by this time. Like, at this point in our relationship, I should be wanting those things and I should be ready for that. But I’m not still, I still don’t feel like we’re ready or I don’t feel like I’m ready. I don’t know if I ever see myself proposing to you. I can’t actually see myself married to you. He said that, you know, maybe one day he would get there, but he doesn’t feel ready now.”
Kirkconnell also said she doesn’t see how she could be with James again given how he handled their split, saying she “forgive[s] him” but feels like he “disrespected” her.
Good Morning America has reached out to James for comment.
The Oscars have already announced that the nominees for best original song won’t be performed on the telecast this year, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any performances at all.
According to Matthew Belloni of the industry insider newsletter Puck, the Academy Awards telecast will open with a medley of songs from Wicked, featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. He writes that the move “makes sense” because “in a year with mostly little-seen nominees, the telecast is leading with its best asset.” Belloni also says The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences declined to comment.
Wicked received 10 nominations, including best picture, and since none of its numbers were eligible to be nominated for best original song, a performance on the telecast would likely be a very popular moment, were it to happen.
As for best original song, those nominees include Elton John‘s “Never Too Late”; two songs from the other musical in the running for the Oscars this year, Emilia Pérez; a Diane Warren-penned song called “The Journey,” from the movie The Six Triple Eight; and “Like a Bird,” from the film Sing Sing.
The Oscars, hosted by Conan O’Brien, air March 2 on ABC.
