Oscars co-producer Lynette Howell was thrilled with Eminem’s surprise appearance at the Academy Awards on Sunday night (09.02.20).
The 47-year-old rapper performed at the awards bash at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and Lynette revealed that his appearance – which included a rendition of his 2003 Best Song Oscar winner ‘Lose Yourself’ from ‘8 Mile’ – had been in the works for some time.
She explained to People: "So we reached out [to Eminem] to see if that was something he might want to be involved in. He said yes."
And Lynette is delighted the event organisers managed to keep Eminem’s performance under wraps until the last minute.
She said: "We’ve been holding onto it for a while. It was nice that we surprised people – we don’t usually get to surprise anybody in this day and age!"
The producer was also pleased with the ceremony more broadly, revealing she was "happy about all the winners".
Asked how the production team feels about this year’s ceremony, she shared: "We feel really happy.
"I’m so happy about all the winners, it’s an incredible group of winners, and the performances killed it. I’m just thrilled."
Meanwhile, Janelle Monae opened the event with a performance of ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ from the film of the same name, paying tribute to the late Fred Rogers.
At one point, she sang directly to Tom Hanks, who portrayed the beloved children’s entertainer in the movie, and after giving him her hat to wear, she took off her cardigan to belt out an original song dedicated to the year’s nominees.
Janelle, 34, was briefly joined by ‘Pose’ star Billy Porter during the segment, and finished off with a swipe at the lack of female directing nominees and recognition for black actors.
She said: "We celebrate all the women who directed phenomenal films … Happy Black History Month."
Oscars co-producer hails Eminem’s surprise performance
