Conan O’Brien reveals what the Oscars wouldn’t let him get away with

Conan absolutely crushed hosting the 97th Academy Awards, remaining authentic the entire time to both his style and his fans. But while he was able to take jabs at Drake, rip on the campaign-ending controversy surrounding Emilia Pérez and even emerge from the body of Demi Moore, there were certain things that Conan O’Brien was forbidden from doing, chiefly anything related to Oscar himself.

As he revealed on his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, he had an idea to bring Oscar into the mix, but this was nixed. “We’re fighting about things couples fight about. At one point, I thought, wouldn’t it be great if it’s just on the couch? Let’s lay it on a really big couch and I’ll be vacuuming and say, ‘Could you at least lift your feet? Or could you at least get up and help? Load the dishwasher?’ We wanted to do it and they just said, ‘No, no no, that can’t happen.’”

As it turns out, anything that would essentially put the Oscar in a position it wouldn’t normally be in — including even dressing it up — was strictly forbidden, with Conan O’Brien also noting, “One of the people from the Academy came forward and said, ‘Oscar can never be horizontal.’ And that blew my mind. Like, wow, this is like the thigh bone of St. Peter. This is a religious icon.” It does seem a little strange that AMPAS wouldn’t go with Conan O’Brien’s plan to directly involve the Oscar statue, but it does show just how seriously they treat what is essentially their mascot. 

Elsewhere, Conan O’Brien and his team had to redirect their opening montage, which was toned down significantly from the original vision, which had the host partaking in a Billy Crystal-inspired video where he would immerse himself in the Best Picture nominees. Once this was taken off the table due to the fires in Los Angeles, there would be a more straight-laced tribute to the city.

Immediately after the Oscars, Disney suits already seemed set on inviting Conan O’Brien back to host, which seems like both a safe and a smart bet — although with no Dune sandworm to tie in, we can’t wait to see what he’ll do with other Best Picture nominees.

What was your favorite bit from Conan O’Brien’s first time hosting the Oscars?

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