A 2009 AP file photo of Barbara Walters.
Barbara Walters says her last Oscars television special
will be her best.
Walters will sit down with actresses Sandra Bullock and
Mo'Nique, both nominated for Academy Awards. Bullock is up
for Best Actress for The Blind Side, and Mo'Nique is
nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Precious.
Walters said she believes both will win.
By bidding adieu, Walters is ending a 29-year-old tradition
of talking to celebrities on Hollywood's biggest night. It
wasn't until 1988, though, that she began interviewing
nominees.
"For the first seven years we were not allowed to interview
any of the nominees because the (Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences) thought it would interfere with their
Oscar special," Walters said.
That year she sat down with Glenn Close and Cher, who were
contenders for Best Actress. Cher ended up taking the award
for her role in Moonstruck.
While Walters, 80, is known for getting stars to open up and
often tear up on camera, she says the celebrity interview has
become less special in recent years and many stars are
overexposed.
"I don't find it harder to interview celebrities now,"
Walters said. "I find it harder to interview a celebrity who
hasn't been all over the place. And now everybody's a
celebrity if that's the word you're using."
Just because Walters is stopping her Oscars special doesn't
mean she's done with TV.
"I am not retiring!" she insists. "I will still be doing the
10 most fascinating people, I will still be on 'The View,'
which I love. I will still be doing pieces for ABC News."
Still, she recognizes the long-standing tradition her Oscars
special has created for TV viewers, who made a point to tune
in year after year.
"I'm kind of sad, too," she says, "but television has
changed. Some nominees have just been in one movie. It's a
different time, and I'd rather we left when people say,
'Weren't they wonderful?' than they said, 'Oh, I've seen
that.' I want the memories to be fresh."
The Oscar Night edition of The Barbara Walters
Special will air Sunday at 7 p.m. EDT on ABC.
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