Don Mischer Set To Direct The Oscars For Third Consecutive Year

Don Mischer (center) at the 84th Annual Academy Awards®, Hollywood, CA February 26, 2012.

Don Mischer will direct the 85th Academy Awards telecast, telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Oscars will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on ABC.

This will be Mischer’s third consecutive year as director of the Oscars and marks the continuation of Don Mischer Productions’ multi-faceted relationship with the Academy, which includes producing the Oscars® red carpet pre-show and producing the annual Governors Awards. Mischer’s other credits include “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial,” “The Kennedy Center Honors,” several Super Bowl halftime shows and the opening ceremonies of both Winter and Summer Olympic Games.

“I am so very excited to be directing the Academy Awards again this year and to be working with creative producers like Craig and Neil,” said Mischer. “All of us at Don Mischer Productions are also thrilled to be producing the Oscar® pre-show, and most significantly to continue a wonderfully gratifying relationship with the Academy.”

Producers Don Mischer (left) and Brian Grazer (center) during rehearsals for the 84th Academy Awards® presentation, Hollywood, February 23, 2012.

I really like Mischer. He’s a true Movie Geek. While I was covering the Academy Awards once again for WAMG, Mischer said, ““I remember as a kid growing up the first time I saw ‘The Ten Commandments’ with Charlton Heston. I think all of us remember the first time we ever went to the movies and had a theatrical experience that made a great impact on us.” It’s apparent he’s had a long time love affair with going out to a movie theater. “There’s something about that focused experience when you go to the movies that’s just part of our cultural tapestry. I will always remember how I felt in a theater when I saw Tom Hanks land successfully in the ocean in ‘Apollo 13.’ There is something about sharing those moments with other people that makes it a better experience.”

Mischer has served as producer as well as director on the 83rd and 84th Academy Awards and was nominated for Emmys® for directing both shows. Last year’s Oscars received eight Emmy® nominations, the most for any TV special. Among the many honors Mischer has earned are 15 Emmy Awards, 10 Directors Guild of America Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a Peabody Award, and the Producers Guild’s 2012 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television.

www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy