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Conan O'Brien Details Oscars Opening That Got Cut... [View all]
Here's the full headline from Variety:
Conan O’Brien Details Oscars Opening That Got Cut, Says the Academy Refused to Let Him Put Clothes on an Oscar or Lay It Down Horizontally: ‘That Blew My Mind’
Variety link: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/conan-obrien-scrapped-oscars-opening-movie-parody-1236336452/
Conan O’Brien and his Oscars head writer Mike Sweeney revealed on the former’s podcast that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences refused to let them put clothes on an Oscar or have it presented horizontally. O’Brien hosted the 2025 Academy Awards earlier this month and had some ideas for a promo video that got turned down. The promo featured O’Brien and a 9-foot-tall Oscar statuette as a domestic couple.
“We’re fighting about things couples fight about,” O’Brien said on the “Conan Needs a Friend” podcast about the promo. “At one point, I thought wouldn’t it be great if it’s just on the couch? Let’s lay it on a really big couch and I’ll be vacuuming and say, ‘Could you at least lift your feet? Or could you at least get up and help? Load the dishwasher?’ We wanted to do it and they just said, ‘No, no no, that can’t happen.’”
O’Brien remembered, “One of the people from the Academy came forward and said, ‘Oscar can never be horizontal.’ And that blew my mind. Like, wow, this is like the thigh bone of St. Peter. This is a religious icon.” When the duo wanted to put an apron on the statuette to depict it as a housewife serving O’Brien leftovers, the Academy said: “No clothing on Oscar. Oscar is always naked.” The promo ended up being made without these additions.
Elsewhere on the podcast, O’Brien revealed the original opening to the 2025 Oscars that got scrapped. The bit that made it to air was a direct spoof of “The Substance” in which O’Brien crawled out of the back of Demi Moore. The sketch recalled Billy Crystal’s annual tradition of starting the Oscars by digitally inserting himself into scenes from the nominees. O’Brien originally planned to do that on a larger scale.
- more at link -
“We’re fighting about things couples fight about,” O’Brien said on the “Conan Needs a Friend” podcast about the promo. “At one point, I thought wouldn’t it be great if it’s just on the couch? Let’s lay it on a really big couch and I’ll be vacuuming and say, ‘Could you at least lift your feet? Or could you at least get up and help? Load the dishwasher?’ We wanted to do it and they just said, ‘No, no no, that can’t happen.’”
O’Brien remembered, “One of the people from the Academy came forward and said, ‘Oscar can never be horizontal.’ And that blew my mind. Like, wow, this is like the thigh bone of St. Peter. This is a religious icon.” When the duo wanted to put an apron on the statuette to depict it as a housewife serving O’Brien leftovers, the Academy said: “No clothing on Oscar. Oscar is always naked.” The promo ended up being made without these additions.
Elsewhere on the podcast, O’Brien revealed the original opening to the 2025 Oscars that got scrapped. The bit that made it to air was a direct spoof of “The Substance” in which O’Brien crawled out of the back of Demi Moore. The sketch recalled Billy Crystal’s annual tradition of starting the Oscars by digitally inserting himself into scenes from the nominees. O’Brien originally planned to do that on a larger scale.
I thought Conan did an awesome job as the host for the Oscars night this year. I hope he gets invited back.
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