Mark Wahlberg Presented With Ted at Oscars

Mark Wahlberg and Ted, the obnoxious teddy bear the film Ted, presented at the 85th Academy Awards. Ted was digitally displayed on the empty chair on the large screen at the Oscars. Ted pointed out some of the actors in the crowd that were part-Jewish and then told Wahlberg he needed to be Jewish and not Catholic if he "wanted to work in this town." Ted claimed that he was Jewish.

Tippett Studio brought Ted to life for the special segment. To film the segment, a duplicate of the Academy Awards stage was constructed at CBS Studios, with lighting and cameras situated to match the Dolby Theatre set up. The feat involved planning exact camera positions so that the animation, rendered using Dell Precision workstations, would integrate seamlessly on Oscar Night with Wahlberg and the show audience. Tippett artists created 10 different outcomes in a four-week production schedule to match all the different winner possibilities.

The photo below shows the stage with an empty chair - how it looked without Ted. Videos of Mark Wahlberg and Ted presenting can be found here on the ABC's Oscars website.



Photo: Tippett Studio (top) / Matt Brown/ © A.M.P.A.S. (bottom)