By Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press
“Girls Trip” producer Will Packer will produce next year’s Oscars, the film academy said Tuesday, October 5.
It’s the first time Packer has been selected for the gig and the third time in as many years that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and broadcaster ABC have enlisted new teams to produce the show.
“What an honor!” Packer said in a statement. “The power, the beauty, the romance of the imagery in movies has always attracted me. I’m fully embracing the challenge of bringing an ode to one of the most iconic mediums in the world to life.”
As the founder and CEO of the film production company Will Packer Productions and Will Packer Media, Packer has produced or executive produced films like “Night School” and “Straight Outta Compton” as well as the television reboot of “Roots.” Packer’s chief of staff Shayla Cowan is producing the Oscars alongside him.
The Oscars have in recent years experienced declining ratings. Its pandemic broadcast earlier this year, like most major awards shows, was less than half of its previous low. But after this year’s detour to Union Station, the proceedings are returning to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood in 2022.
“He’s already bringing a boundless energy and a focus on innovation to this year’s Oscars, to entertain the widest spectrum of fans,” said academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson in a statement.
The 94th Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC on March 27, 2022.
