Academy reveals which Oscar categories won't be televised live
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) has announced which Oscar presentations will not be televised live during its awards ceremony in 24 February.
In a letter to the Academy’s members, the organisation’s president, John Bailey, said that the awards for cinematography, editing, live action short, and makeup and hair will be handed out during commercial breaks in the show, and that the acceptance speeches for the awards will be aired later in the broadcast. Bailey said the presentations of the four awards will live stream on the Oscars website, and different categories would be selected for relegation in subsequent years.
The announcement triggered a wave of negative reaction, with New York Times critic Manohla Dargis calling it “insulting and wrong” and former Village Voice critic Bilge Ebiri writing: “I am fucking furious … what a stupid decision.” Both pointed out that Bailey made his name in the industry as a cinematographer, with credits including American Gigolo, Ordinary People and Groundhog Day.
The announcement comes as the Academy has continued to run into problems while seeking ways to stem the ratings decline for its flagship Oscar broadcast, after host network ABC demanded changes in the wake of record low figures for the 2018 edition. Original host Kevin Hart dropped out, and a proposal for a “best popular film” category was dropped after widespread ridicule. It is considered imperative to hold the running time of the notoriously sprawling show to three hours, but plans to cut some of the Oscar nominated songs and not invite former winners to present the acting awards had to be reversed.