<div id="subtitle">In dribs and drabs, `secret' Oscar show plans revealed in the days before the Academy Awards</div><div><p>Psst: Have you heard that the Oscars are going to be a little ... well, different this year?</p><p>Oh. You have.</p><p>The worst-kept secret in Hollywood this awards season has been how first-time producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon, in a bid to build buzz and bounce back from last year's ratings nadir, are keeping their Oscars overhaul plans a secret. From promising sweeping format changes without elaborating to shrouding presenters' identities and shutting the press out of rehearsals, they've largely succeeded.</p><p>At the secrecy part, anyway.</p><p>"When (the producers) told me what they were going to do, I said, `Look, if it works, you're geniuses, and if it doesn't, you're the putzes who sank the show,'" longtime Oscars show writer Bruce Vilanch said.</p><p>But lest cloaks and daggers become this year's hot red carpet couture, here are the details about the show that — whether by design, or loose lips — have come to light over the past week:</p><p>___</p><p>SONG-AND-DANCE (JACK)MAN: "Hugh (Jackman, the host) is going to come out and say a few things, but he's not going to do a 10-minute monologue ... He's going to be doing a lot of musical stuff, so that will have a different feel to it." — Vilanch, in an interview with The Associated Press.</p><p>___</p><p>NEED A MONTAGE: The original song nominees will be presented together in a medley-style performance, rather than sprinkled throughout the show and played in their entirety. — Nominee Peter Gabriel, who announced in a video blog on his Web site that he was declining to perform "Down To Earth" from "WALL-E" to protest the one-minute limit for his part.</p><p>___</p><p>I'M WITH THE BAND!: The band will be onstage for at least part of the show, rather than in the orchestra pit. A circular ministage juts into the audience. The set is surrounded by a glittering circle of white lights and crystals, and is flanked by enormous chandeliers. — Seen in renderings released by the firm of architect and first-time Oscars set designer David Rockwell.</p><p>___</p><p>NIGHTCLUB JITTERS: "The look of the theater is very different. It's more like the nightclub of your dreams. It's very intimate. ... It's got to be a lot closer." — Jackman, in an AP interview.</p><p>___</p><p>NEVERENDING STORY: "The show's got a narrative line this year, so all the awards are grouped around that. The sequence in which they're given is dictated by this narrative." — Vilanch.</p><p>___</p><p>MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: Five LED flat-screens will move in and out of the set to help carry out the show's "narrative." The entire sets will change and evolve, "powered by a visual narrative that will unfold through 12 transforming sets throughout the night." — The Rockwell renderings.</p><p>___</p><p>PRESENTING ... PRESENTERS!: "There are different people doing groups of awards instead of a different set for each one." And at least some of the presenters who'd been lined up have backed out, emboldened by the anonymity they were afforded by the producers. — Vilanch, who didn't name names.</p><p>___</p><p>MUSIC, MAKES THE PEOPLE, COME TOGETHER: The original-song medley will have a vibrant, world-music theme driven by nominee "Slumdog Millionaire," and includes a drum line made up of Indian, African, Japanese and Chinese percussionists. The "giant extravaganza" also has a full orchestra and choir. — DJ Ravi Drums, the leader of the drum line for the number.</p><p>___</p><p>AP entertainment writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=43298003&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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