What to expect on the Oscars

We are here on the champagne carpet where all the nominees presenters and performers will stream pass on their way right into the Dolby Theater for the big show and joining me now is someone who knows exactly what we will see on that legendary stage for the 95th Academy Awards Bill Kramer the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Bill good morning or good afternoon depending on where you are in the country morning here yes exact it's great to have you thank you so we mentioned it off the top and it's the buzz of the town the red carpet is gone the champagne carpet is in tell us what went into this decision give us the behind the scenes I love that that's big news it is this is the first time that we fully enclosed the carpet we're going for an evening look you know when people are walking the carpet it's daytime here in Los Angeles still so they're gonna be enclosed in a beautiful rich red with dramatic lighting a new step and repeat and the champagne carpet is really going to work in that environment and make for some great photos so you're upping the elegance a little up the elegance the class fact think old Hollywood nighttime luxe and this is part of it and it's champagne you're not gonna make the stars take their shoes off before they come no booties Tom Cruise Rihanna way they keep their shoes on okay it's part of the outfit so let's talk about this is your first year as the boss here the CEO overlooking the Academy Awards you talked about this being a pivotal moment for the Academy and your efforts to re-engage with the audience what did you mean by that what are some of the changes we can expect I think everybody knows the past couple of years have been different for us this is a year to really lean into who we are as an Academy the Oscars are about filmmaking and movie makers and all of the arts and disciplines of movie making it's also about big stars so you're gonna see a lot of behind the scenes of all of the disciplines and collaborations that go into movie making some amazing performances it's big and some great surprises let me ask you something important obviously we're coming off the year of that infamous Oscars slap the moment between Chris Rock and Will Smith how do you move beyond that without ignoring it you know you have to you have to address it some way but how do you move forward and how do you prepare this year for the unexpected so we've been talking about this a lot really since the last show we are much more prepared as an organization to make quick decisions if something happens on stage it's a live television show you never know what's going to happen so we are much more prepared to act in a manner that's compassionate and swift that keeps the show going I heard something about a crisis team in place as well what is that how would that factor yeah I mean that that's what I'm referring to in terms of being able to mobilize a group of core decision-makers so if something happens in the theater on stage behind the scenes we're able to pivot very quickly someone who is pretty good on his feet and handling a crisis on live television the host Jimmy Kimmel he is back you described him as a comfort he was also there for that mix up a few years back with moonlight la la land what does he bring to the team having someone a host who knows live TV who can pivot if something happens on stage can engage the audience can keep things going and can think on their feet I think is absolutely critical for a show like the Oscars all right let's talk about the musical performances I know you can't hear everything but we know that Lady Gaga will not perform Rihanna will be among those performing correct what else can you tell us about the musical we have some amazing performances lined up Rihanna David Burnin Sunlucks Sophia Carson I know you have Diane Warren on the show in a bit and then not to not to is going to be performed it's going to be a spectacular moment there have been changing topics here a lot of conversations and some concerns about diversity at the Academy Awards over the years but you say diversity and representation will be an important part not only of what we're going to see this year yes but in the future how are you going about making represent representation a high priority something we think about constantly this is a long tail conversation we have an amazingly diverse group of nominees this year but the Academy is deeply committed to helping to create a film industry that is much more reflective of the world that we live in today so we've amazing talent development programs that's creating a pipeline of new movie makers that can move right into the industry excellent we're looking forward to Bill Kramer thank you so much man great to see you good luck with everything we appreciate it and of course still ahead here don't forget to tune into the Oscars this Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern 5 p.m. Pacific right here on ABC well hey there GMA fans Robin Roberts here thanks for checking out our YouTube channel lots of great stuff here so go on click the subscribe button right over right over here to get more of awesome videos and content from GMA every day anytime we thank you for watching and we'll see you in the morning on GMA.

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