Jennifer Hudson and Anna Kendrick to perform at (apparently) musical-stuffed Oscars

Posted by · 9:32 am · February 10th, 2015

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910113765001

Sigh. Oscarcast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are apparently threatening to drown this year's show in musical numbers. No, really, according to the most recent press release, the pair are “creating several musical sequences,” and they keep lining up talent to participate.

First it was announced that Oscar-winning “Frozen” songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez would be penning a thing for host Neil Patrick Harris. (They talked about that a bit at the Grammys Sunday; check out the video above for more.) Then yesterday it was announced that Anna Kendrick would sing something on the show. And now, Jennifer Hudson has been added to the roll call.

I feel like a “Sound of Music” tribute is lurking in there somewhere. I could totally picture Kendrick twirling around, “The hiiillllsss are allliiiiiveee…” But I don't know. Maybe with Hudson they want to pay tribute to the eighth anniversary of “Dreamgirls.” (Just kidding, though I wouldn't put it past them.)

I wish the default on these things wasn't always “musical number.” I wish Oscarcast producers could learn from someone like Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, who turned the Academy Awards into a true celebration of film, not a vanilla ode to Broadway.

But I have no idea what's being planned here so I'll just leave it at that. The last time Hudson performed on the Oscars, of course, was 2012 for that dubious “tribute to musicals” bit (she performed “And I Am Telling You” from “Dreamgirls”). Before that was the actual year of “Dreamgirls” when she picked up an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and belted “Love You I Do.” So…

More news as it comes for the 87th annual Academy Awards, set to air and bring this train to a stop on Feb. 22.




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