2016 Oscars: 88th Academy Awards Details and Presenters

Erik Anderson January 28, 2016

Oscars producers David Hill and Reginald Hudlin announced today the first slate of presenters for the 88th Oscars telecast. The Oscars, hosted by Chris Rock, will air live Oscar^® Sunday, February 28, on ABC.

First Slate of Presenters and Performers

Benicio Del Toro
Tina Fey
Whoopi Goldberg
Ryan Gosling
Kevin Hart
Lady Gaga (with an introduction by Vice President Joe Biden)
Sam Smith
Charlize Theron
Jacob Tremblay
The Weeknd
Pharrell Williams

“Each of these artists brings a wonderfully distinctive element to the Oscars stage,” said Hill and Hudlin. “Together they represent the many thrilling ways stories can be shared about the human experience, and we’re honored they will be part of the celebration.”

Second Slate of Presenters and Performers

Steve Carell
Priyanka Chopra
Quincy Jones
Byung-hun Lee
Jared Leto
Julianne Moore
Olivia Munn
Margot Robbie
Jason Segel
Andy Serkis
J.K. Simmons
Kerry Washington
Reese Witherspoon

These artists have enriched the international moviegoing experience with a range of memorable work from the comic to the profound,” Hudlin and Hill said. “In the process, they have won over millions of fans, and we count ourselves among them.”

Third Slate of Presenters and Performers

Patricia Arquette
Abraham Attah
Cate Blanchett
Emily Blunt
Louis C.K.
Common
Russell Crowe
Chris Evans
Jennifer Garner
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Michael B. Jordan
Rachel McAdams
Dev Patel
Eddie Redmayne
Daisy Ridley
Sarah Silverman
Sofia Vergara

“Through their work, these artists have shown us the unique, transformative power of cinema,” said Hill and Hudlin. “We are delighted they will be joining us on the Oscars stage this year.”

Fouth Slate of Presenters and Performers

J.J. Abrams
Henry Cavill
Sacha Baron Cohen
Morgan Freeman
Dave Grohl
John Legend

Fifth Slate of Presenters and Performers

Chadwick Boseman
Liev Schrieber
Olivia Wilde

“We’re thrilled to be joined by a movie icon, a filmmaking dynamo, a larger than life action hero, a master of satire and two world renowned music power-hitters, “said Hill and Hudlin. “This year’s show reflects a commitment to showcase cinematic contributions from a variety of genres and this latest list of presenters reflects just that.”

The Oscar-nominated songs “Manta Ray” (from Racing Extinction) and “Simple Song #3” (from Youth) will not be performed at the Oscars due to “time constraints.” This marks the second time J. Ralph (“Manta Ray”) has been denied a performance of a nominated song at the Oscars; the first was “Before My Time” from the documentary Chasing Ice, the year Adele won for “Skyfall.”

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Producers David Hill and Reginald Hudlin today announced 14 key members of the production team for the 88th Oscars^®, which will air live on Sunday, February 28, on ABC.

This year, Glenn Weiss makes his Oscar^® telecast debut as director. Weiss has directed numerous televised events, including 15 Tony Awards^® shows, for which he has garnered three directing Emmys^®. Other directing credits include the “38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “BET Awards,” “Peter Pan Live!,” “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” “Primetime Emmy^® Awards,” “Live from Lincoln Center,” “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular,” “Garth Brooks, Live from Las Vegas” and the “American Music Awards.”

Supervising producer Michael Seligman has more than 300 major television events to his credit and has earned 13 Emmy nominations, including 11 for his work on Oscar telecasts. Seligman’s other producing credits include “The American Giving Awards,” “America Celebrates July 4th at Ford’s Theatre,” “Stand Up to Cancer” and “Return to the Titanic…Live!”

The 88th Oscars brings three new consulting producers to the telecast: Cindy Hauser, Nicolle Yaron and Chris Pizzi.

Hauser is the screens and content producer. She will be overseeing the creation of several on-screen visuals, including the In Memoriam segment. For more than a decade, Hauser has worked in graphics and visual displays as well as produced several high-profile live events. Her credits include “YouTube Play” at the Guggenheim Museum, “YouTube OnStage Live from the Kennedy Center” and “Google Engage” events in Dublin and Singapore.

Yaron makes her Oscar debut as the element producer and will be coordinating with the Academy on social media. Her credits include “The Voice,” for which she received an Emmy Award as a senior supervising producer. Yaron most recently served as an executive producer on the series “Rising Star” and “World’s Funniest.” Her other credits include the “Primetime Emmy Awards,” “People’s Choice Awards” and the “MTV Movie Awards.”

Pizzi, this year’s insert producer, will be working with Lori Margules, who is the consulting producer on nomination packages. Pizzi is a three-time Sports Emmy-winning producer for NFL, PGA and NASCAR studio shows for FOX Sports. His credits include “Riggle’s Picks” on “FOX NFL Sunday” and a variety of commercials for FOX Sports. Margules’ credits include previous Oscar telecasts as well as the “Primetime Emmy Awards,” “Golden Globe Arrivals Special,” “NAACP Image Awards,” “BET Awards” and “Billboard Music Awards.”

Production designer Derek McLane returns to the Oscars for a fourth consecutive year, after earning an Emmy nomination for his work on each of the previous telecasts and winning in 2014. His other television credits include “The Wiz Live!,” “Peter Pan Live!” and “The Sound of Music Live!” McLane also has designed sets for several acclaimed Broadway productions; he received a Tony Award^® for his work on the drama “33 Variations” as well as three nominations for musicals.

Fatima Robinson rejoins the production team as show choreographer. She previously worked on the 79th and 81st Oscar telecasts, as well as choreographed Pharrell Williams’s performance of “Happy” for the 86th Oscars. Robinson recently served as performance producer and choreographer for several episodes of “The Voice.” Her other credits include such feature films as “This Is the End,” “Public Enemies” and “Dreamgirls,” and the television events “The Wiz Live!,” “The Super Bowl XLV Halftime Show,” and the “BET Awards,” “American Music Awards” and “Grammy Awards.”

Billy Kimball makes his Oscar debut this year as head writer. He has previously written for the Governors Awards and was the writer on the “Independent Spirit Awards” nine times. Kimball is currently a writer and consulting producer on the HBO comedy series “Veep.” His other writing credits include “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” “The Simpsons” and the documentary feature “Waiting for ‘Superman,’” which he co-wrote with Davis Guggenheim. In addition, previously announced Oscar host Chris Rock will be writing special material.

Byron Phillips is the Oscar telecast’s supervising music producer. Phillips has developed and produced content and strategic plans for television, film and music platforms. Earlier this month, he served as the co-executive producer of the “47th NAACP Image Awards” after producing the organization’s previous three shows. He was the co-founder of New Nation Networks and AntHill Mob Entertainment, and has held executive positions with BET Networks and Hollywood Records.

Harold Wheeler returns for his third Oscar telecast, his first as music director. An accomplished orchestrator, composer, conductor, record producer and arranger, Wheeler has received numerous Emmy and Tony Award nominations as well as an NAACP Theatre Award for lifetime achievement. His television credits include the “People’s Choice Awards,” the “AFI’s 100 Years…” series, and 17 seasons of “Dancing with the Stars.” Wheeler also composed music for two Democratic National Conventions and the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics. On Broadway, he has orchestrated such musicals as “Hairspray,” “The Full Monty,” “Dreamgirls,” “The Wiz” and “Promises, Promises.”

Talent producer Taryn Hurd rejoins the Oscar telecast team for the third consecutive year. She also has served as talent producer on events including the past two Governors Awards ceremonies, “Red Nose Day,” “Think It Up,” the FOX network’s “New Year’s Eve Live,” the Breeders’ Cup telecast, “Teen Choice 2013” and “VH1 Divas Salute the Troops.”

Lightning designer Robert Dickinson returns for his 26th Oscar show. He has won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for Oscar telecasts. His extensive credits include the “Kennedy Center Honors,” “Grammy Awards,” “Primetime Emmy Awards,” “Tony Awards,” “NAACP Image Awards” and “American Music Awards”; Olympics ceremonies in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Athens and Vancouver; and the specials “Peter Pan Live!” and “The Sound of Music Live!”

The 88th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 28, at the Dolby Theatre^® at Hollywood & Highland Center^® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, following red carpet coverage at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and hosted by Chris Rock. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. The show will also be available online on ABC.com and the WATCH ABC app.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.