Sunday’s 93rd Academy Awards ceremony was quite the event and provided one of the most surprising turns in the ceremony’s history. For the first time in decades, the ceremony did not end with the award for Best Picture. Instead, the Best Actor and Best Actress awards were presented after Nomandland was named Best Picture, and while speaking with Variety, ABC’s Rob Mills, executive VP of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television, explained why.
It wasn’t just the final categories, the whole show was mixed up. Screenplay, that usually comes in Act 5 or 6, one of the later acts. And best director was also very early. I think the point was, sometimes you watch the show and you feel like, ‘Gosh, I’ve seen this every year.’ So, it really was the ‘Wow, I really don’t know what’s coming next.’
The final award went to Anthony Hopkins, who was not present at the award show. Mills admitted that
“it was not meant to end on somebody who was not present.”
“It was a calculated risk, that I think still paid off because everybody was talking about it,”
“Similarly, nobody wants the wrong envelope to happen, like it did three years ago, but everyone was talking about it. I think some people thought maybe they missed some awards. ‘Why is best picture early?’ or, ‘What’s happening, this is crazy,’ almost like, ‘How can this possibly happen? Best picture has to end it!’ Some people were upset, some people loved it and that was really the point that there was no apathy.”
The choice has left film Twitter a buzz as many felt this was the wrong choice. It’s safe to say this won’t be an idea that will be around next year.
