Out Hollywood producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will be adding the 85th Academy Awards to their long list of credits. The duo has been announced as producers of next year’s Oscar ceremony.
"We are very excited to collaborate with [Academy President Hawk Koch] and everyone at the Academy to produce this year's Oscars," said Zadan and Meron. "We hope to utilize our experience in producing features, TV, and theater to bring something fresh and special to this incredible awards show. When we filmed 'The Bucket List,' we made our own personal bucket list, and producing the Oscars was #1. It's truly a great honor."
They currently serve as executive producers on the hit shows Smash and Drop Dead Diva, on which they recently aired an episode challenging the FDA's ban on donations from gay men. Throughout their career they produced films such as the Hairspray, The Bucket List, and the Oscar-winning Chicago, but also many inclusive and GLAAD Media Awards-winning projects, including Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story and What Makes a Family. Zadan and Meron also produced the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, which aired on Logo in 2005.
Said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick, “For decades, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have been fearless in bringing powerful and entertaining stories to screens, and will undoubtedly bring that same level of passion and skill for storytelling to the Oscars.”
Last March Zadan and Meron received the Vito Russo Award at the 23rd GLAAD Media Award in New York for their contributions to LGBT images in film and television. Watch their acceptance speech below.
The 85th Academy Awards will air live on ABC on Sunday February 24, 2013.