Oscars update: Academy will air all awards live
BOWING TO A
BACKLASH that had threatened to engulf an already blunder-plagued Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday reversed its decision to present four awards during the commercial breaks of this year’s Oscar broadcast. All 24 categories will be shown live, after all, at the 91st Academy Awards on February 24, the academy announced in a statement. On Monday, the academy had said that the winning speeches for cinematography, film editing, makeup and hairstyling and live-action short would be aired in a shortened, taped segment during the broadcast.
“Nine days until the showtime, still tweaking the script” the Academy tweeted Friday. The academy did not address whether the change meant extending the show’s length. The academy’s move to strike awards from the live broadcast was fiercely contested by many of this year’s Oscar nominees, including Roma director Alfonso Cuaron and
Blackkklansman filmmaker Spike Lee. The American Society of Cinematographers issued an open-letter to the academy, signed by Martin Scorsese, Brad Pitt and others, calling the plans an insult to the cinematic arts. “When the recognition of those responsible for the creation of outstanding cinema is being diminished by the very institution whose purpose it is to protect it, then we are no longer upholding the spirit of the academy’s promise to celebrate film as a collaborative art form,” the letter read.
The academy on Wednesday defended the decision and blamed “a chain of misinformation” on the backlash. Following record-low ratings to last year’s broadcast, the academy has made a swifter, three-hour telecast a priority. ABC, which airs the Oscars, is planning to premiere a sneakpeak of a new drama series after the Oscar telecast.
The academy’s headaches began after it last summer trotted out the induction of a “popular film Oscar.” that the new award was scuttled within a month. Kevin Hart was announced as this year’s Oscar host only to withdraw days later when many took issue with his old homophobic tweets. Hart finally apologised as he resigned, leaving the Oscars host-less for only the fifth time in its 91-year history.
And after first planning to limit the best song nominee performances, the academy confirmed that all songs will indeed be performed.