Photo: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences / Courtesy
LOS ANGELES – The Oscars are supposed to celebrate excellence in film. Therefore, the gala must be at the level of the production of the best films. Nothing is left to improvisation -except for the occasional slap in the face- and each moment is planned and rehearsed in detail.
LA OPINIÓN had access on Saturday morning to rehearsals inside the Dolby Theaterwhere presenters, cameras, producers and the entire team that will broadcast the show refined the last details.
Despite the exclusive access – barely a dozen journalists from the United States were able to see the rehearsal this morning from the first level above the stalls – we cannot tell many details nor did they allow us to take photos (the ones you see in this article are photos shared by the Academy itself). But we can say:
– Most of the celebrities who will present tomorrow participate in the rehearsals. But there is no dress code, everyone comes dressed as they want. If someone is not there, a production person plays her on stage.
– Each award is presented complete, with its video and everything. A fictional winner is announced. And someone from the production collects the Oscar and gives a speech. If it is a collective prize, several go up. And they are good speeches!
– The pace of rehearsals is slow. It is repeated a lot, the details are adjusted… Coordinating what each one says with the music, which is live music, is one of the things that is most affected.
– The tests also serve to adjust the position of the camerasespecially the one that moves on stage and those that are in the stalls following presenters and winners.
– In the seats where the stars are going to sit, there is a cardboard with their photo.
– Some of the celebrities who stopped by for rehearsal on Saturday morning included Kate Hudson, Halle Berry, Andie MacDowell, Hugh Grant, Mindy Kaling, Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, John Cho, Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors. Later came Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek.
– This Saturday afternoon-night will be the general rehearsal, “dress rehearsal”, with the actual order of the awards, in real time and with formal attire.
In short, the Oscars ceremony -which can be seen in the United States on the ABC channel starting at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET- is organized to the millimeter. Improvisation, very little.
· Read here all the coverage of the Oscars 2023