Bill Condon and Laurence Mark talk to the AP:
Mark: I think people tune in to see the Oscars. I don’t think they tune in to see any one person, or any one person perform or present. I think they tune in to see the Oscars and what we’re all up to this year with them, so that is our theory.
AP: Did you get any resistance from the academy or the network with that approach?
Mark: It took the academy a moment or two but I think they actually got on board very quickly with it. The academy has been around for a chunk of time and they do have traditions, and we’re honoring as many of them as we can possibly manage to honor. But one or two (we’re) breaking and they seem to enjoy the fact that things like this are going on, because by the way, you’re talking about it, aren’t you?