Oscars 2015: Show’s Executive Reveals Host Neil Patrick Harris’ Big Challenge

— -- The Oscars are Sunday, and everybody’s getting ready for Hollywood’s big night, including Neil Meron, the co-executive producer of the Academy Awards.

Meron chatted with Sara Haines of “Good Morning America” before the big day, sharing some secrets about the production.

Asked what makes a successful live broadcast, Meron replied: “I think you need surprise … above all, you need entertainment. And it has to be entertaining. Because you don't want people to just sit there and be bored. That is the number one thing. It's entertainment.”

There’s lots of that planned for the upcoming broadcast. In addition to the nominees, the production will feature appearances by the elites of the entertainment world.

“There will be magic, and there will be song. There will be dance,” Meron, who is co-producing the show with Craig Zadan, said. “And [host] Neil [Patrick Harris]; we will make the most use of every talent that Neil has, and that's going to be on the Oscars stage on Sunday.”

Meron said Harris will drive the show’s energy.

“The choice of the host is really important because that really is the lynchpin to the entire evening,” he said. “And I think what Neil has prepared will keep viewers glued to their screen, because there will be surprises from him. And also he's so damn charming.”

Being able to relax the audience will be very important, Meron said.

“A lot of the people in the audience are very much on edge,” he added. “And as the night goes on, more and more people in the house are losers. So Neil has to keep that energy up. And he's very conscious of the challenge.”

Meron has been using social media to promote the event, tweeting tantalizing images of rehearsals and of backstage.

“We like to tease the secrets without giving them away … we put out the pieces of the puzzle, but we allow the audience to try and figure out what the puzzle is,” he said. “And -- such as we announce Jennifer Hudson, but we don't say what she's doing. We announce Lady Gaga, we don't say what she's doing. We announce Anna Kendrick and Jack Black doing some special performance, but we don't say what it is. So that is a way to kind of generate interest. ‘Oh, what could they be doing?’ And they speculate everything. And that's great for us.”

This is Meron’s third time at the helm of the show. Ratings spiked on his two previous runs and he’s hoping for the same this time, but he says it’s not all about that.

“Besides the pressure of hitting a good number in terms of the ratings, you want people to watch. I mean, everybody works so hard,” he said. “Everybody's so invested in the show. There's such passion about the work that you want as many people as possible to watch. So it impacts ratings, of course, but the first thing is to get viewers to enjoy the show.”

The awards will be Sunday at 7 p.m. ET at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The event will be broadcast live on ABC.