Conan O’Brien has shared behind-the-scenes stories from his hosting stint at this year’s Oscars. According to O’Brien, there was a nearly four-minute spoof video planned that would have put him in various films, including Wicked and Gladiator II. However, the idea ultimately didn’t make it due to the production blunders and changes made during filming.
The initial plan included O’Brien showing up as a gladiator still wearing green makeup from his Wicked character, with Javier Bardem breaking the fourth wall to ask about the dye not coming off. The video bit that did air featured a straightforward riff on nominated film The Substance, with O’Brien emerging fully dressed from Demi Moore’s back.
Other ideas that didn’t make it included having the Dune sandworm command more screen time and even having it present an award in an envelope. However, the Academy ultimately nixed these concepts due to logistics and production issues.
O’Brien also recalled a promo idea where he and the Oscar statuette were depicted as a domestic couple arguing, but the Academy deemed it off-limits. The writer Mike Sweeney shared that one person from the Academy told them “Oscar can never be horizontal,” which left him speechless.
Despite these setbacks, O’Brien and his team adapted to the changing circumstances and ultimately focused on creating a new opening sequence. The host reflected that ideas change over time and what’s funny now may not be four weeks later.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/conan-o-brien-recaps-oscar-163352104.html