Liza Minnelli in Cabaret ... Faye Dunaway in The Eyes of Laura Mars ... the shark in Jaws (well, perhaps not): 70s glamour is the big inspiration for Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony, according to the ceremony’s production designer Derek McLane.
McLane, who has designed the Oscars three times before, told the Los Angeles Times that his visual touchstones included The French Connection, Taxi Driver and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Those hoping that the Oscars will take place on a set resembling an asylum or a decaying Times Square crawling with junkies will be disappointed, however.
McLane said that the set would dazzle due to 10,000 Swarovski crystals being used in the proscenium, and also in “crystal waves”. The designer told Variety that the set would also incorporate the latest LED technology, and more video than has been used in the set before.
“I think the show will feel probably a little more modern,” McLane told Variety. He also hinted that the design would attempt to convey how a film is made.
