Oscars 2023: Creative team reveals ceremony theme, addresses Will Smith slapgate incident

Ahead of the 95th Academy Awards, a press conference was held to discuss what the viewers of the Oscars 2023 can expect from the live telecast. In the discussion, the Oscars creative team revealed that there will be various themes at the awards ceremony and all the categories will be included in the live show. The showrunner and executive producer of the show, Ricky Kirshner said that this year's Oscars will be about "honoring the crafts and what it takes to make a movie."

At the press conference, the Will Smith and Chris Rock factor was also addressed by the creative team which included Kirshner, writers Nefetari Spencer, Dave Boone, Agathe Panaretos, musical director Rickey Minor, and producer Sarah Levine Hall.

Notedly, every year, the Best Actor award winner presents the Oscars to the Best Actress winner the following year, but since Will Smith has been banned from attending the ceremony for ten years after the 'slap' fiasco, there may be some changes.

Addressing the topic, Molly McNearney said during the press conference, "We’re going to acknowledge it, and then we’re gonna move on." She further added, "We don’t want to make this year about last year. It’s certainly something we can and will address in a comedic fashion."

Kirshner said, "There’s no more ‘This is what we used to do.’ We’ve rethought the show and we’ve got presenters that make sense for the categories." He continued, "Most people see just the actors in front of the camera, but as you know, there are hundreds of people that make movies and a lot of people across the country don’t know what it takes, but we’re going to show that."

Lady Gaga will not be performing at the Oscars

The showrunner and executive producer Glenn Weiss disclosed that singer Lady Gaga will not be performing at the Academy Awards. Gaga was expected to perform her Oscar-nominated song titled Hold My Hand from the movie Top Gun: Maverick.

Weiss also took some time and talked about the production of the show, He said, "We’ve added surround sound and you’re going to find an experience that is going to be adaptable, immersive, and taking on the flavor of the winners and the movies. It’s going to be a really visually stunning experience."

Oscars 2023 will be held on Sunday, March 12 EST,  at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.