Powerhouse Chicago and Smash producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron knew for years they wanted to produce the Academy Awards. Appropriately, in fact, The Bucket List co-producers had it on their own bucket list. Check!
Named on Thursday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as producers of next year’s 85th annual awards ceremony, Zadan and Meron hinted to EW.com their hopes for the telecast (an emphasis on music and personal emotion), set to air live Feb. 24 on ABC. The lifelong musical lovers – Meron just watched a favorite, West Side Story, on Blu-ray the other day – have produced dozens of film, TV and theater projects ranging from 2002 Oscar winner Chicago, NBC Broadway TV show Smash, Broadway revival How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and 2007’s Hairspray and Footloose remakes. Zadan co-produced 1984′s beloved original Footloose. The pair has been nominated for eight Emmys, but no Oscars.
READ FULL STORY »
