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.
Sheriff Reports Preliminary Autopsy Results On Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa
Preliminary autopsy results didn't determine how Oscar-winner Gene Hackman and his wife died at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but did rule out that they were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, the sheriff leading the investigation said Friday.
The condition of the bodies found Wednesday indicated the deaths occurred at least several days earlier and there was no sign of foul play.
At a news conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the initial examination by the medical examiner showed no sign of carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas produced from kitchen appliances and other fuel-burning items. When it collects in poorly ventilated homes, it can be fatal.
Mendoza also said an examination of the 95-year-old Hackman's pacemaker showed it stopped working on Feb. 17, which means he may have died nine days earlier.
Hackman's body was found in an entryway. The body of his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, was in a bathroom. She was on her side and a space heater was near her head. Investigators said the heater likely was pulled down when she fell. There also was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop.
Whether the pills or other drugs were a factor won't be known until toxicology tests are completed in the coming weeks.
Dr. Philip Keen, the retired chief medical examiner in Maricopa County, Arizona, said it would be unlikely for a person who tests negative for carbon monoxide initially to later be found to have been poisoned by it.
He also said the moment when a pacemaker stops working could mark the point when a person dies, but not always.
"If your heart required a pacemaker, there would certainly be an interruption at that point — and it might be the hallmark of when... Read More