Bill Mechanic Articles

James Cameron is ecstatic that Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker was the night's big winner First the good news: the Adam Shankman-Bill Mechanic-produced 2010 Oscar telecast drew 14% more viewers than last year, when Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture. Whether that was because of Avatar, the Super Bowl Ratings Effect, Sandra Bullock, The Twilight Saga: New Moon's Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson (who [...]

According to New York magazine's Vulture blog, Sacha Baron Cohen has been axed from the Oscar telecast because the Borat/Brüno performer who once landed on Eminem's lap was supposed to have appeared in a sketch with Ben Stiller that might have offended Best Director nominee James Cameron. The Avatar filmmaker has a reputation of being short tempered, and his blockbusting sci-fi epic is in the [...]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and 82nd Academy Awards production designer David Rockwell (above, with Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman) have unveiled the set for the 2010 Oscar show. This is Rockwell's second consecutive year as the designer of the Oscar telecast set. As per the Academy's press release, "light and movement, the most basic components of moviemaking, will be integrated into [...]

Adam Shankman (right) and Bill Mechanic will produce the 2010 Academy Awards telecast, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak has announced today. As per the Academy's press release, this will be the "first major Oscar show involvement" for both of them. Shankman’s directorial credits include Bedtime Stories (2008), Hairspray (2007), A Walk to Remember (2002) and The Wedding Planner (2001). His [...]