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Conan O'Brien has shared what his Oscar tribute to his late friend Rob Reiner, who was murdered in December at age 78, might be like.
The comedian promised the televised farewell message would be 'very powerful.'
The 98th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday in Hollywood. Reiner was a major contributor to the industry, directing When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride.
O'Brien, 61, and Reiner go way back and they were close friends.
The funny man was one of the last people to see the director before his life came to an abrupt halt inside his Los Angeles mansion on December 14.
The filmmaker and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, attended O'Brien's holiday party with their son Nick in Los Angeles on December 13.
Conan O'Brien has shared what his Oscar tribute to his late friend Rob Reiner, who was murdered in December at age 78, might be like
The comedian promised the televised farewell message to Reiner would be 'very powerful'
The festivities took place just hours before they were found dead inside their home.
Nick has been charged with their murders and is now in a Los Angeles jail awaiting trial. He has pleaded not guilty.
O'Brien was asked on Wednesday, during the rolling out of the Oscar red carpet at the famed Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, what he would say.
The star told Extra: 'It's hard to sum up in this environment and would sound kind of pithy and weird to sum up here.
'I don't think it would be appropriate, but it's going to be a very powerful part of the show.'
He said he was looking forward to hosting the Academy Awards for the second year in a row.
Asked why he returned as host, he said: 'I had a lot of fun and I just wanted to do it again, and then the movies this year have been insane. It was such a great year for movies that I'm excited to be even a small part of it.
Reiner and son Nick, who has been charged with his murder. He has pleaded not guilty
Nick during his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Los Angeles on February 23. Reiner is facing two counts of first-degree murder for the killing of his parents
'We've been working hard with my writers. I got great writers. We have a bunch of ideas. Some things are a little more ambitious than last year, and we'll see how it goes.'
And O'Brien is not too worried if things go wrong. He joked: 'I can always skip town if I have to and lay low for a while.'
Meanwhile, Oscars organizers say security arrangements for the ceremony are tight following reports of an FBI alert – warning of a possible retaliatory drone attack targeting the US West Coast.
The annual awards ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre, with the event broadcast live on ABC and streamed on Hulu. It will be shown globally in more than 200 territories.
O'Brien posed after rolling out the Red Carpet on Wednesday at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood for the upcoming Academy Awards
A view of a large billboard sign featuring this year's Oscar host placed near the venue
Preparations for the show were underway earlier in the week as the red carpet was rolled out and media gathered ahead of the broadcast.
The security focus follows reports that the FBI had warned law enforcement agencies across California of a potential retaliatory drone attack by Iran in response to American military actions, according to an alert reported by ABC News.
Officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department declined to comment directly on the memo but confirmed heightened vigilance in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
Raj Kapoor, executive producer of the Oscars, addressed questions about security during a press conference with the creative team behind the awards.
He said: 'I feel like on this show, we have one of the best teams in the business in all aspects, and that comes down to our security team.'
Kapoor added: 'So, of course, every year we monitor what’s going on in the world. We have the support of the FBI and the LAPD, and it’s a close collaboration.'
English (US) ·