Every stop along the award season road leads to one final destination: the Oscars. Ensuring the Sunday, March 4th event meets every expectation of a grand affair, producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd have surrounded themselves with a team of ten core department members. Each is an award-calibre artisan in their own right.
“This team brings more than 90 years of combined Oscars telecast experience,” said De Luca and Todd. “Collaborating with them as we celebrate the 90th year of the Oscars is both fitting and thrilling.”
Returning for a third consecutive year is director Glenn Weiss. Weiss currently holds thirteen Emmy wins for directing live events including numerous Tony Award telecasts and the 2017 Oscars. Additional directing credits include The Kennedy Center Honors, Peter Pan Live! and Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. Joining him is a 20-year Oscar veteran, supervising producer Rob Paine, who has more than 200 television events to his name and has six Emmy nominations. His credits include 12 Super Bowl Halftime Shows and The Kennedy Center Honors.
After receiving six consecutive Emmy nominations, and a win for last year’s Oscar production design, Derek McLane returns for his seventh season as the Oscar Production Designer. McLane has also designed sets for several acclaimed Broadway productions and is currently designing for Moulin Rouge! The Musical. He won a Tony Award for his work on the drama “33 Variations” and was Tony-nominated for “Anything Goes,” “Ragtime” and “The Pajama Game.”
Returning as head writer is Jon Macks, an eight-time Primetime Emmy nominee. This is his 21st time writing for the Oscars, and he has received three WGA Award nominations for the telecast. His team includes writers Dave Boone and Carol Leifer. A ten-time Emmy nominee, Boone has written for eleven Oscar telecast beginning with the 70th Oscars. The 90th Oscars marks four-time Emmy nominee Leifer’s seventh Oscar telecast.
Music director Harold Wheeler is another Oscar alum, returning for his fifth telecast. An accomplished orchestrator, composer, conductor, record producer and arranger, Wheeler has received multiple Emmy and Tony Award nominations as well as an NAACP Theatre Award for lifetime achievement.
Taryn Hurd rejoins the Oscars telecast team for the fifth consecutive year as talent producer. She’s also worked on the past four Governors Awards ceremonies along with numerous variety television specials and award shows.
Lighting designer Robert Dickinson returns for his 29th Oscars show. He has won 18 Primetime Emmy Awards, including three for Oscars telecasts. Raj Kapoor joins the Oscars for the second consecutive year, as co-producer, overseeing screen content and performances.
The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland, and will be broadcast live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
