How the Oscars Are Reinventing Themselves Amid Pandemic, Low Ratings

The Oscars are making a bold attempt to reinvent the awards show to prevent a ratings disaster. The ceremony will broadcast live from Los Angeles’s historic Union Station, a major transportation hub.

Instead of the traditional set at the Dolby Theater, the Oscars set will feature couches and carpets separated by partitions. The show will play out like a 3-hour movie, Variety senior correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister told Inside Edition.

Attendees like Regina King, Brad Pitt and Reese Witherspoon will not be required to wear masks, but they will all be tested for COVID-19 at least three times before the show and receive temperature checks. Others on the red carpet also face strict requirements.

“I have to take an at-home COVID test and then two additional COVID tests and will get my temperature checked when I arrive,” Wagmeister said.

Oscars ratings have plunged 44% since 2014. Also working against the awards ceremony is the closure of theaters for so many months and the lack of a single blockbuster movie. Only 18% of film watchers have even heard of “Mank,” the Netflix film leading the race with 10 nominations.

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