“We want people when they watch the Oscars to be inspired by the films but also be inspired by the broadcast and feel something like it’s a show that you can watch with your friends and your family and debate on who should have won and who is winning,” Kapoor said.
“Our show being a month after that and Conan having been affected himself, we’re just looking at the right way to calibrate it so that it feels like the right show for March 2 — that we do acknowledge it and reflect on it but also allow people the chance to step on that stage and have their moment and celebrate their talent.".
Last year’s Oscars was by all accounts a successful show, with memorable performances and unscripted moments (thanks in part to Emma Stone’s dress), and a winning movie that most people had seen.
O’Brien, he said, has been a “wealth of ideas and imagination” since he accepted the gig and that he and his team are going to keep writing up until the show — and as a veteran of live television, he's skilled at in-the-moment improvisation as well.
“If you love the movies, like come to the Oscars and maybe you’ll discover things that you actually have not seen yet but will want to,” Kapoor said.
