Lynette Howell Taylor & Stephanie Allain Tapped to Produce 92nd Oscars
Lynette Howell Taylor & Stephanie Allain Tapped to Produce 92nd Oscars
11/15/2019 by Katie Kilkenny
The Feb. 9 event will be the first Oscar-producing gig for both Taylor and Allain, who both have an extensive film background.
The 92nd annual Academy Awards has found its producing team.
Veteran producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain have teamed up to produce the 2020 awards show, Academy president David Rubin revealed on Friday. The Feb. 9 event will be the first Oscar-producing gig for both Taylor and Allain, who both have an extensive film background.
“The combined producing talents of Lynette and Stephanie will bring dynamism and excitement to the 92nd Oscars show,” said Academy President David Rubin. “Their vast production experience ranges from groundbreaking independent film to global blockbuster. We look forward to collaborating with them to bring an unforgettable Oscars event to movie fans around the world.”
The pair have an impressive joint filmography between them, with Howell Taylor having produced A Star Is Born, Captain Fantastic, Big Eyes, Blue Valentine and Half Nelson in the last two-odd decades and Allain having produced Netflix's Dear White People, Beyond the Lights, Black Snake Moan and Hustle & Flow. As a former senior vp of production at Columbia Studios, Allain pitched John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood and later was president of Jim Henson Pictures and the festival director of the LA Film Festival from 2011 to 2016.
Howell Taylor founded the production company 51 Entertainment (Unicorn Store), while Allain's company, Homegrown Pictures, is behind Juanita, Burning Sands and Life Size 2.
“We have both watched the Oscars for as long as we can remember, and to be given the opportunity to produce the show is a dream,” Howell Taylor and Allain said in a statement. “It’s an honor and a thrill to join forces to deliver an entertaining show that celebrates the artistry of this year’s best films.”
“How thrilling to have both Lynette and Stephanie leading our Oscars production team,” Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said in her own statement. “I have every confidence that they will deliver a high-caliber performance.”
ABC's Oscars telecast in February this year, produced by Glenn Weiss and Donna Gigliotti, averaged 29.6 million viewers, a 11.5 percent gain from 2018’s show. It was the first Oscars ceremony in 30 years to not have a host.
The 2019 telecast producers shared a background in TV and film: Weiss’ career is centered in television and live events while Gigliotti is a prolific film producer. In comparison, Howell Taylor and Allain are both established in the film space, and Allain is known for championing diverse talent, launching the careers of filmmakers such as John Singleton, Robert Rodriguez and Justin Simien.
The Academy has not yet announced whether it plans to bring back a host for the 2020 ceremony, or go hostless again. The 2019 telecast was the most-watched entertainment telecast on TV since the 2017 Oscars and the highest-rated non-sports program since the post-Super Bowl This Is Us in 2018.
The 92nd annual Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and broadcast live on ABC.
This article was originally published on The Hollywood Reporter.
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Katie Kilkenny, Khareem Sudlow
