Academy Awards Brings Back Red Carpet

The red carpet has been rolled out for the Oscars—and this year, it's actually red. Last year, the Academy Awards broke a tradition that had been in place since 1961 and used a champagne-colored carpet outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The New York Times reports that last year's change was part of a trend for colorful carpets at big entertainment events that included a pink carpet for the world premiere of Barbie last July. This year, the carpet is once again a shade known as Academy Red. Producers say they're confident that blockbusters like Barbie and Oppenheimer will help make the 96th Academy Awards a great show, the AP reports.

"We're really excited about this year," says executive producer Molly McNearney. "It's a phenomenal year of movies. And we have great movies that the home audience is familiar with, which makes our jobs easier." She is producing the show for the fourth time and her husband, Jimmy Kimmel, is hosting for the fourth time. Katy Mullan, another executive producer, says there will be "entertainment and lots of surprises and a few cameos." She says producers hope people will remember that the show starts an hour earlier than usual this year, at 7pm Eastern on Sunday. (A new award has been added this year.)