Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
The organizers for the upcoming Oscars ceremony are leaving nothing to chance after Will Smith stormed the stage last year and slapped Chris Rock across the face.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer, says this year the team behind the awards show are pulling out all the stops to make sure nothing that shocking will again.
“We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place,” Kramer told Time Magazine.
“We’ve run many scenarios. So it is our hope that we will be prepared for anything that we may not anticipate right now but that we’re planning for just in case it does happen. Because of last year, we’ve opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars,” Kramer said.
Kramer elaborated that the team has worked together to develop a strategic plan for how to handle the crisis both with the audience who may feel unsafe and the media.
“This is how we all come together. This is the spokesperson. This will be the statement. And obviously depending on the specifics of the crisis, and let’s hope something doesn’t happen and we never have to use these, but we already have frameworks in place that we can modify,” Kramer said.
The team has also enlisted late-night host Jimmy Kimmel with the hopes that his previous experience as a host and his work in live television will help in the event of another viral moment.
“It’s so important to have a host who knows how to handle live television and a live audience. That’s a very specific skill, and there aren’t a lot of people who can do that well. Jimmy is a dream to work with,” Kramer said.
Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately stated Jimmy Fallon would be hosting at the Oscars. Mediaite regrets the error.
The post Upcoming Oscars Ceremony Will Be Equipped With ‘Crisis Team’ in the Event of Another Will Smith-Style Stunt first appeared on Mediaite.