“We invited all five,” Weiss said of this year’s nominees for best song. The other four nominees have been confirmed for the show. “We have great relationship with Lady Gaga, but she is in the middle of shooting a movie,” said Weiss, referencing her work in Joker: Folie à Deux. “It didn’t feel like she could get a performance to the caliber that she is used to, so she isn’t going to perform at the show.”

Slapgate

Viewers acan expect to hear something about last year’s Slapgate when Jimmy Kimmel takes the stage at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre to host the ceremony.

Executive producer Molly McNearney told reporters, “We are going to address it and then we are going to move on.”

There will be a change in the tradition of the actors receiving their Oscars from the previous year’s winners.

Will Smith, who won best actor last year for King Richard, was banned from Academy events for 10 years for slapping presenter Chris Rock onstage.

Following last year’s widely criticized decision to present 8 categories — including best score, film editing and sound — before the live telecast, with edited versions added to the telecast, exec producer and showrunner Ricky Kirshner asserted that “one of the themes of this year’s show is honoring the crafts. We are going to show what it takes to make a movie] and honor the people [who do this work.”

The Academy had previously said that all of the categories would be presented live this year — addressing the outrage over the prior telecast — though little new information was provided about what these presentations would look like.

Highlighting the Crafts

“We are going to really highlight the crafts,” Kirschner said, offering that at the end of most of the acts, a QR code will be posted, allowing viewers to access two- to three-minute videos “to meet the nominees in the category and learn a little bit more about who they are and what they do.”