Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will not return as Oscar producers in 2016

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will not return as Oscar producers in 2016

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the duo that have produced the Academy Awards telecasts for the past three years, will not return for a fourth chance at bat in 2016.

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the that has produced the Academy Awards telecasts for the past three years, will not return for a fourth chance at bat in 2016. According to a report from BBC News, the two had a three-year contract with the Academy that has now expired, and “will be moving onto new projects.”

While praised by Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs as “wonderful creative partners,” Zadan and Meron had received mixed reviews for their Oscar telecasts. In particular, this year’s show, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, was heavily criticized for limp jokes, poor pacing, and an overlong runtime. In fact, television ratings for the 2015 Oscars plummeted 16% from last year, hitting their lowest point in six years.

Not that Zadan and Meron could be entirely blamed for the failure of this year’s show. The biggest winner of the night, the Michael Keaton-starring Birdman, was a polarizing and unorthodox piece of filmmaking, without much mainstream appeal or commercial success. Other nominated films, like BoyhoodSelma, and The Imitation Game were similarly high-brow. In fact, of the eight Best Picture nominees this year, only Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper could be classified as a big box office hit.

Still, Zadan and Meron definitely had their vices as producers, and tended to build Oscar shows that proved tiring and dull for the average television audience. For instance, the two were often criticized for allotting so much time to musical numbers over the course of the telecast.

2013’s show, for example, featured an extensive tribute to movie musicals, including past Oscar winners like Dreamgirls and Chicago. Zadan and Meron had served as producers for the latter film. The two paid tribute to their own work this year, shoehorning a song from their failed ABC musical series Smash into the telecast as part In Memoriam section.

The 2015 show also included a 50-year celebration of The Sound of Music. The segment, which featured Lady Gaga performing a medley of songs from the 1965 Best Picture winner, was generally praised by the media and by viewers on Twitter. However, even fans of the tribute wondered about its place in the proceedings, especially at the two-and-a-half hour mark with six Oscars left to be presented.

Still, Zadan and Meron had a few golden moments throughout their three-year run as Oscar producers. Perhaps their greatest hit came last year, when Ellen Degeneres broke a world record and crashed Twitter with “selfie” photo taken with Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Meryl Streep, Bradley Cooper, and other big names.

Meron bid farewell to the Oscars job with a simple Tweet: “Ending 3 year deal producing #Oscars, its an honor to say ‘We’d like to thank The Academy’.”

Be social, please share!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail