NEW YORK (AP) — Ninety seconds. That’s how quickly Steven Soderbergh believes the Academy Awards will convince viewers that this year’s telecast is different. The concept for the show, which Soderbergh is producing with Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins, is to treat the telecast not like a TV show but a movie. And he’s convinced he’s got a doozy of an opening scene. Soderbergh promises the broadcast will “announce our intention immediately.” The pandemic has shaken the Oscars like never before. There will be no audience. Some nominees will be connected remotely by satellite link. But for the producers, the challenges of COVID-19 are an opportunity to, finally, rethink the Oscars.
