2017 Oscars: Production Team Set for 89th Academy Awards

Erik Anderson February 14, 2017

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Eight key members of the production team (in addition to the announcement last week of Glenn Weiss returning as director) have been announced for the 89th Academy Awards.

“This team has over 75 years of combined experience working on Oscars telecasts,” said Oscars producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd. “It’s truly a privilege to work alongside them.”

Rob Paine has been associated with the Oscars telecast for over 20 years and returns as the Supervising Producer. Paine has more than 200 television events to his name and has earned four Emmy^® nominations and a Peabody Award. His other credits include 11 Super Bowl Halftime Shows, “The Kennedy Center Honors” and the recent gala opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Production designer Derek McLane returns to the Oscars for a fifth consecutive year. He has earned four Emmy nominations for his work on the Oscars telecasts and won in 2014. His other television credits include “Hairspray Live!,” “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.

Billy Kimball returns for his second 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.

Also returning as a writer is Jon Macks, an eight-time Emmy nominee. This is his 20th time writing on the Oscars; he has been the head writer for the hosts on seven Oscars telecasts. In addition to his work on the Oscars, Macks wrote for 22 years on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and writes for Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Chris Rock and Martin Short.

Harold Wheeler returns for his fourth Oscars telecast. An accomplished orchestrator, composer, conductor, record producer and arranger, Wheeler has received multiple Emmy and Tony Award nominations as well as a NAACP Theatre Award for lifetime achievement. His television credits include the “People’s Choice Awards,” “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 musicals including “Hairspray,” “The Full Monty,” “Dreamgirls,” “The Wiz” and “Promises, Promises.”

Taryn Hurd rejoins the Oscars telecast team for the fourth consecutive year as Talent Producer. She also has served as talent producer on the past three Governors Awards ceremonies along with numerous variety television specials and award shows.

Lighting designer Robert Dickinson returns for his 28th Oscars show. He has won 18 Primetime Emmy Awards, including three for Oscars telecasts. Additionally, Dickinson has been honored with two Daytime Emmy Awards. His credits include “The Kennedy Center Honors,” “The Grammys,” “Primetime Emmy Awards,” “Tony Awards” and “Academy of Country Music Awards” Olympics ceremonies in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Athens and Vancouver; the ceremonies of the European Games in Baku; and the specials “Peter Pan Live!” and “The Sound of Music Live!”

Raj Kapoor joins the Oscars for the first time designing screen content and performances. Kapoor’s recent credits include six Grammys, Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary, ABC’s “Greatest Hits” and the “Radio Disney Music Awards.” Kapoor has mounted numerous large-scale international tours for Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Soul 2 Soul, One Republic, American Idol, Jason Aldean, Shania Twain, Juanes, Jewel, Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and Rascal Flatts. He has also directed and produced Las Vegas residencies for Shania Twain, John Fogerty, Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey.

The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be broadcast live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST. The Oscars, produced by De Luca and Todd and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, also will be televised in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. Additionally, “The Oscars: All Access” live stream from the red carpet and backstage will begin at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST on Oscar.com.

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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.