The Oscars ceremony begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences desperately hopes the ceremony will represent some return to normalcy — and maybe prompt a boost in viewership.
The echo of Will Smith’s slap across Chris Rock’s face still reverberates, but the Academy seems ready to move on. Aside from banning Smith from the ceremony for a decade, it has replaced last year’s first-time producer Will Packer with the seasoned hands of veteran producer Glenn Weiss, and his colleague Ricky Kirshner. And for the first time in five years, the Oscars will have a single solo host: Jimmy Kimmel, back for a third time.