Will the Oscars open with an Ariana Grande-led ‘Wicked’ medley?
Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty Images
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.
Adrien Brody is reflecting on his his first Golden Globe win and sharing gratitude for his role in The Brutalist after taking home best actor in a motion picture drama at the award show this weekend.
The actor joined Good Morning America on Tuesday morning to discuss his win and his appreciation for the role he played in The Brutalist.
“I have had a very blessed career. I’ve had a lot of wonderful work, I’ve had some real epic highlights,” he said. “When you’re able to set the bar high, it’s challenging to find things that are as complex and meaningful and fulfilling.”
“To find a protagonist like this character and a film thats so creative and artistic and relevant is very challenging. And it takes a movie of this magnitude to even have the potential to be received like this. I just was so — I feel very blessed and moved to have even have been a part of this,” Brody continued.
Brody also shared why the film was so personal to him as the descendant of a Hungarian immigrant who comes to America from Hungary in search of a better life, just like the film’s main character.
“Everything that was laid before I had the privilege of being born here and becoming an American actor and having this remarkable life, I have to honor,” Brody said, adding, “I never take any of that for granted. So I’m incredibly grateful for that struggle.”
The Brutalist centers on Brody’s character László Toth, who escapes World War II Europe and travels to America in search of a new life before he is discovered as an architectural talent
Disney+ has moved the premiere date for Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Skeleton Crew up a day. The series will now premiere with two episodes on Dec. 2. According to the official synopsis, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew “follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.” Lucasfilm is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News …
Writer/director Jim Abrahams, best known for his work with brothers Jerry and David Zucker on such comedy classics as Airplane!, Police Squad! and The Naked Gun films, died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Santa Monica, his son Joseph tells The Hollywood Reporter. Abrahams’ other credits with the Zucker brothers include 1977’s Kentucky Fried Movie, 1984’s Top Secret! starring Val Kilmer and 1986’s Ruthless People, featuring Bette Midler and Danny DeVito. On his own, Abrahams directed Big Business, starring Midler and Lily Tomlin, in 1988, as well as co-writing and helming the 1981 comedy Hot Shots! and its 1993 sequel, both starring Charlie Sheen …
Deadline reports Prime Video has greenlit the thriller drama series Silent River, starring and executive produced by John Krasinski and Matthew Rhys. Per the outlet, Silent River is “told through the lens of two men (played by Krasinski and Rhys) whose lives are far more connected than they realize” and explores “the cracks of small-town America in the wake of discovering a serial killer among them.” Krasinski will also reportedly direct the pilot, along with some additional episodes …
CBS has announced The Talk will air its final week of live shows Dec. 16-Dec. 20. Along the way, hosts Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell and Sheryl Underwood will welcome “an array of guests and big holiday giveaways” worth more than $2.5 million. Since its premiere in 2010, The Talk has earned 11 Daytime Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Talk Show and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host …
Rosa Salazar, best known for playing the titular character in Alita: Battle Angel, has been tapped for a leading role in the CBS pilot Einstein, opposite Criminal Minds alum Matthew Gray Gubler, according to Variety. Gubler plays the great grandson of Albert Einstein, a tenured professor whose “bad boy antics land him in trouble with the law and he is pressed into service helping a local police detective (Salazar) solve her most puzzling cases.” Salazar will next be seen playing Rachel Leighton aka Diamondback in the upcoming Marvel film Captain America: Brave New World …
