By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --The film academy has tapped Brett Ratner and Don Mischer to produce next year’s Academy Awards.
This will be Ratner’s first involvement with the Oscar show and Mischer’s second: He produced and directed the 2011 Academy Awards telecast and was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the show.
Academy president Tom Sherak made the announcement Thursday.
Mischer said in an interview that he’s excited to oversee the Oscars again.
“I was just so happy to receive the call from the academy saying we’d like to have you come back,” he said. “It was unexpected and a real delight. More than anything, I’m looking forward to working with Brett.”
Ratner said producing the Oscar show is “beyond a dream come true.”
“This wasn’t even in my dreams, it’s so far out,” he said. “This is something I never could have imagined.”
Ratner has produced and directed both film and television. His credits include “X-Men: The Last Stand,” ”Rush Hour” and the pilot of TV’s “Prison Break.” (He also directs commercials via HSI Productions.)
Mischer is a veteran producer and director of live television events, including Super Bowl halftime shows, Olympics opening ceremonies, the Emmy Awards and this year’s Oscars.
Dawn Hudson, chief executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said she is eager to see Mischer’s expertise blend with Ratner’s “smart and fresh take for the show.”
“They have great chemistry,” she said, “and their vision meshed so well with ours.”
The two men declined to reveal their plans. They said they haven’t discussed potential hosts for the show.
“Everything is open at this point,” Mischer said. “We’re just at the starting gate.”
He said they plan to watch past telecasts and “figure out what we can do to make things better.”
Ratner said they plan to start working on the show immediately. “Work begins now,” he said. “We’re going to hang up the phone and get to work.”
The 84th annual Academy Awards will be presented at the Kodak Theatre on Feb. 26, 2012.
“Overnight Success” Has Been More Than A Decade In The Making For Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson
Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit "The Perfect Couple," have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of "Gossip Girl." Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's "This Must Be the Place." They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles — "The White Lotus" for Fahy and "Bad Sisters" for Hewson — that have led to new frontiers of opportunity.
Susanne Bier, who directed "The Perfect Couple," says both Fahy and Hewson are "going to be big stars."
"They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways," Bier says. "Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do."
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of "Bad Sisters, " out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called "Sirens," written by Molly Smith Metzler ("Maid") for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor ("The Crown," "Challengers") and Brandon Sklenar ("It Ends With Us").
The two actors spoke candidly about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and... Read More