Oscars Producer Don Mischer Welcomes The Unexpected For Telecast

The Oscars are just two days away and with first time host Seth MacFarlane and a slew of the categories up for grabs, the show should be filled with surprises and twists – something producer Don Mischer is excited about.

“What we want is interesting things to be happening on the show and sometimes the things you don’t plan for… the ones that do cross the line a little bit – they may get criticized – [but they] actually create interest and make the whole thing more fun,” he told Access Hollywood of Sunday’s big night.

“We know that when unexpected, unplanned things happen, sometimes it can benefit us. It doesn’t always mean that we’re in trouble,” he continued.

But what about having to play a winner off of the stage (possibly even Supporting Actor nominee Robert DeNiro) due to time constraints?

“I feel terrible. I mean, it’s not just someone like a Bob DeNiro… take a sound engineer or a sound mixer or film editor… this could be the highlight of their very career, highlight of their life and you tell them they’ve got 45 seconds to speak,” he said. “But we have a job, we have 24 Oscars to give out. We have a limited amount of time in which to do it, so we have no choice but to try and keep things moving.”

Mischer told Access that he’s elated to have two-time Oscar winner Barbra Streisand performing on Sunday’s show.

“She’s a remarkable talent and we had a rehearsal last night and it went really well,” he told Access. “We’re so happy that she’s back and she is just a remarkable talent and really one of a kind.”

Find out who will take home Oscar gold – and how Seth does as the host – on February 24 live on ABC at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT.

— Jesse Spero

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