Despite criticism from top talent such as Martin Scorsese, Guillermo del Torro, Spike Lee, & Quentin Tarantino regarding their decision to not air four of the categories live during the Oscar ceremony, The Academy is defending and clarifying their decision to make changes to the telecast.
Here is what The Academy had to say about their decision:
“As the Academy’s officers, we’d like to assure you that no award category at the 91st Oscars ceremony will be presented in a manner that depicts the achievements of its nominees and winners as less than any others. Unfortunately, as the result of inaccurate reporting and social media posts, there has been a chain of misinformation that has understandably upset many Academy members. We’d like to restate and explain the plans for presenting the awards, as endorsed by the Academy’s Board of Governors.”
In a letter, signed by top AMPAS brass, The Academy went on to lay out a series of explanations, with them saying, “We’d like to restate and explain the plans for presenting the awards, as endorsed by the Academy’s Board of Governors.”:
· All 24 Award categories are presented on stage in the Dolby Theatre and included in the broadcast.
· Four categories – Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Live Action Short – were volunteered by their branches to have their nominees and winners announced by presenters, and included later in the broadcast. Time spent walking to the stage and off, will be edited out.
· The four winning speeches will be included in the broadcast.
· In future years, four to six different categories may be selected for rotation, in collaboration with the show producers. This year’s categories will be exempted in 2020.
· This change in the show was discussed and agreed to by the Board of Governors in August, with the full support of the branch executive committees. Such decisions are fully deliberated.
Our show producers have given great consideration to both Oscar tradition and our broad global audience.
We sincerely believe you will be pleased with the show, and look forward to celebrating a great year in movies with all Academy members and with the rest of the world.
John Bailey, President
Lois Burwell, First Vice President
Sid Ganis, Vice President
Larry Karaszewski, Vice President
Nancy Utley, Vice President
Jim Gianopulos, Treasurer
David Rubin, Secretary
This does provide a bit of clarity after Monday’s announcement that did not sit well with many people in the industry. It was announced then that the winners in the best cinematography, best editing, best hair & makeup, and best live action short would be announced during commercial breaks. The American Society of Cinematographers weighed in the next day with its president Kees van Oostrum saying, “After receiving many comments on this matter from ASC members, I think I speak for many of them in declaring this a most unfortunate decision.”
The criticism didn’t stop there. In an open letter, about 40 industry insiders urged the Academy to rethink the decision in an open letter to AMPAS president John Bailey Here is the open letter in its entirety:
“On Monday, February 11, 2019, John Bailey, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, announced that this year’s Oscar presentations for Best Cinematography — along with Film Editing, Live Action Short and Makeup and Hairstyling — will not be broadcast live, but rather presented during a commercial break. This decision was made to reduce the length of the show from four hours to three. The vocal response from our peers and the immediate backlash from industry leaders over the Academy’s decision makes it clear that it’s not too late to have this decision reversed.
The Academy was founded in 1927 to recognize and uphold excellence in the cinematic arts, inspire imagination and help connect the world through the universal medium of motion pictures. Unfortunately, we have drifted from this mission in our pursuit of presenting entertainment rather than in presenting a celebration of our art form and the people behind it.
Relegating these essential cinematic crafts to lesser status in this 91 st Academy Awards ceremony is nothing less than an insult to those of us who have devoted our lives and passions to our chosen profession.
The show’s director, Glenn Weiss, has stated that he will determine what “emotionally resonant” moments from the four winners’ speeches will be selected to air later in the broadcast. The show will cut any additional comment from presenters, as well as any recitation of the nominees as they see fit.
Since its inception, the Academy Awards telecast has been altered over time to keep the format fresh, but never by sacrificing the integrity of the Academy’s original mission. 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. To quote our colleague Seth Rogan, “What better way to celebrate achievements in film than to NOT publicly honor the people whose job it is to literally film things.”
While The Academy addressing the issue takes a little of the sting off, there is something about the decision that still doesn’t sit right. Perhaps a lot of these choices were made back in August but some of me is thinking that there is a bit a spin here due to the negative reception of their decision. Perhaps we should reserve judgment until we see the show but it’s understandable why the talent behind those categories and those who believe in its integrity, would be upset.
