LOS ANGELES: Next year’s pandemic-hit Oscars will be produced by “Contagion” director Steven Soderbergh, the Academy announced this week, as Hollywood’s biggest night finally begins to take shape. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle The ceremony, set to take place April 25, has already been postponed due to coronavirus and seen its film eligibility rules relaxed due to the lack of open theaters, while its format still remains unclear. But the Los Angeles-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday unveiled “a dream team who will respond directly to these times” in creating the show. “The upcoming Oscars is the perfect occasion for innovation and for re-envisioning the possibilities for the awards show,” said president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson in a statement. “The Academy is excited to work with them to deliver an event that reflects the worldwide love of movies and how they connect us and entertain us when we need them the most.” Soderbergh – who won a best director Oscar for 2000’s “Traffic” – will be joined in planning the ceremony by former Grammys producer Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher. Soderbergh and Sher previously worked together on “Erin Brockovich” as well as “Contagion,” which was praised at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic for its eery prescience.