Billie Eilish, Ryan Gosling and a Native American tribe… The Oscar ceremony show, orchestrated by Jimmy Kimmel, is getting ready

The 96th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday March 10 in Los Angeles. An evening, hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, which will see the return of Ryan Gosling in the Ken costume. The actor will sing on stage the title track from the film “Barbie”, nominated for best song.

When the pop phenomenon barbie was nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture, the organizers of the ceremony immediately knew who to contact: Ryan Gosling, whose song I’m Just Ken went viral.

The actor will get back into the role of the plastic doll’s boyfriend on Sunday to perform this unexpected hit.for the first time” on stage, recalls Raj Kapoor, the organizer of the show around the awards ceremony. It will be “a moment that everyone will want to watch“, he believes.

Two “Barbie” titles in the running

Traditionally, the five songs nominated for best song are performed live on the Oscar stage. And this year, a rare occurrence, two of them come from the same film: What Was I Made For? by pop star Billie Eilish, also composed for barbie ; and by his side, I’m Just Ken which created the surprise. This six-minute ballad on the fragility of the male ego, sung by Gosling who becomes Barbie’s enemy in the film, caused a sensation among fans.

A former Disney child star, the actor was the frontman of a rock band during his youth. Since knowing he had to perform at the Oscars, he has immersed himself in rehearsals. “He will not leave anyone disappointed with his performance“, promises the evening’s executive producer, Molly McNearney.

Bank on barbie is a no-brainer for the Oscars. Greta Gerwig’s feminist comedy dominated the global box office this year, with $1.4 billion in revenue: the ceremony therefore hopes to ride on this success to attract new viewers. Last year, producers placed a lot of emphasis on the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.

Before this year’s ceremony, host Jimmy Kimmel filmed a promotional clip where he visits “Barbieland” with Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera. “We give a lot of love to Barbie, but also to all the films that were nominated“, continues Molly McNearney.

The ceremony will be able to count on Oppenheimer, the other half of the “Barbenheimer” summer phenomenon that caused a tidal wave to theaters last summer. And the organizers are planning other highlights: Native Americans from the Osage tribe will come and sing the ceremonial music of Killers of the Flower Moon, the historic fresco by Martin Scorsese thanks to which Lily Gladstone could win the Oscar for best actress. “We have spent a lot of time and thought on how to properly honor this tradition“, confides Raj Kapoor.

New surprise for Jimmy Kimmel?

The Oscars hit rock bottom during the pandemic, with only 10 million viewers in 2021. An audience score that questioned their relevance in the era of social networks and TikTok. But they then rebounded well, and returned to 18.7 million last year.

A performance partly due to the successful return of comedian Jimmy Kimmel at the helm of the evening. Sunday March 10, he will put on the host costume for the fourth time. This will be an opportunity for him to mention the actors’ and screenwriters’ strikes, which paralyzed Hollywood for six months last year, says Molly McNearney, who is also the comedian’s wife.

Its first ceremony in 2017 was marked by a major imbroglio: the envelopes had been poorly distributed and La La Land had been mistakenly announced as the Oscar for Best Picture instead of the actual winner, Moonlight. This did not traumatize the comedian, who recently made it known that he was hoping for surprises and unexpected things for Sunday. “This is where Jimmy completely shines. He revels in discomfort“, says Molly McNearney.