According to organizational management experts, a board of 54 managers is almost unheard of, as a board of this size is bound to produce such a wide variety of opinions that it would make it almost impossible to do anything. But that’s really the size of the board that oversees the work of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. And although he is clumsy in the best of times, he is currently going through something like a civil war.
Since The Hollywood Reporter was the first to announce on February 22, the Academy, coming out of an Oscar-winning TV show that garnered record low ratings for broadcast partner ABC, intends to present eight awards – documentary short, film editing, makeup / hairstyle. original score, production design, short animation, short live play and sound – before the live broadcast of the 94th Oscars on March 27 and then include edited versions of these presentations in it.
Since the story broke, many Academy members and Twitter users have relentlessly criticized the organization – particularly its board, as well as the outgoing CEO. Dawn Hudson – for what they consider to be disrespectful to practitioners of the crafts concerned. Defenders of the Academy, meanwhile, have called on such critics to wait until they see the new format (which seems to be modeled on the one used for some categories in Tony’s TV show) in practice, before solidifying their views, while noting that the organization derives almost all of its operating revenue from the ABC deal and that if the general public continues to flee the TV show, the organization will face an existential threat – in other words, it was necessary to amputate a limb to save a patient.
This week, THR spoke with numerous governors, members and insiders on both sides of the debate to try to better understand their concerns.
In Tuesday, Laura Carpman, manager of the music branch – who selects the nominees for best original song (which will still be performed live) and best original score (which is not) – posted this on social media: “I am shocked that the staff of the Academy denied the Board of Directors the opportunity to vote and participate in the decision to exclude the music industry from the live broadcast. This is literally a wound in the heart of the music community. Thanks to the many members of the music branch who spoke. I hear you loud and clear. I’m staying with you. “
Ava Duverney, manager of the branch of directors, replied: “Sincerely, I was not involved in the decision, but the word” excluded “is powerful for many. It has a special and increased significance for many. And since the winners in the music industry and the nominees and speakers will be fully included in the show, I think it’s important to call a spade a spade so that the importance of true exclusion in these spaces is not minimized. “
Academy officials, meanwhile, say all governors were briefed at numerous board meetings last spring and summer on the board’s awards committee’s intention to implement the controversial changes to the Oscars. The Awards Committee, chaired by the manager of the manufacturers’ industry Jennifer Toddconsists of 12 managers from almost as many branches, including several whose respective awards are affected by this decision, such as another music branch manager, Charles Bernsteinas well as a documentary manager of the branch Kate Amend and make-up artists / hairdressing branch manager Bill Corso (who won his own Oscar in 2005 while standing on the aisle as part of another experiment to streamline television broadcasting).
In addition, say people familiar with the Academy, all managers know that decisions regarding the format of the Oscars show are always delegated to the awards committee, not decided by the full board, because timely decisions about anything are practical. impossible when the full board weighs.
However, critics dismissed the awards committee as a group chosen by the outgoing president of the academy David Rubin – who, as president, appoints people to committees – because they are likely to fulfill his wishes and Hudson. They note that the proposal of the awards committee was supported by Rubin and Hudson, as well as by the man they hired to produce the 94th Oscar TV show, Will Packer.
Another branch manager, who has lost a live broadcast category who wants to remain anonymous, said he was disappointed when he received a call from Hudson in the summer, explaining why significant changes in the shape of the Oscars were needed. The governor says he has been told that the ABC has warned the Academy that it will cancel the Oscars TV show through a clause in the Academy and the ABC Oscar broadcasting deal if 12 categories are not removed from the show. “We were told we would have to sacrifice something or lose the whole show,” he said.
In the end, instead of removing a total of 12 categories from the TV show, the Academy managed to satisfy ABC with the current plan, which will leave more time for the network to recover the types of rating drivers that were clearly absent from last year’s TV show. as it will be this year, three presenters), clips of the nominated films and performances of the best original song nominated for an Oscar.
But many of the regular members of the Academy are anything but happy. Mitchell Block from the branch of short films and feature animation wrote on Facebook: “The lack of transparency of the Academy towards its managers, executive committees and members has put them in this mess. Top-down leadership is good for Putin, but not good for honorary volunteer membership organizations. We are all in this together, but the management of our Academy does not work that way. ”
Other members of the Academy were repulsed. Howard Cohen, co-chair of Roadside Attractions, wrote: “I’m sorry, I’m with David Rubin on this. As a member of AMPAS, attending 7 of the last 8 ceremonies in person, and as a person who has deep respect for artisans moved to non-live slots, this ceremony MUST be changed if he wants to continue in the retail network. The few people upset by this change are worth it if the program can be improved. He has taken a narrow indie journey in the last 15 years. Why bother being on ABC if you ignore the audience?
Added Netflix boss Ted Sarandos, a member of the executive branch, “All traditional Oscars will be presented in front of a full house and will be broadcast on ABC. It will be a great show! Intelligent evolution of radiation. Nobody neglected. ”
Sarandos’ comment on the Academy Awards “in front of a full house” is a reference to the Academy’s insistence that Oscar participants be accommodated at the Dolby Theater until 16:00 PT for the presentation of the eight awards, which will be edited and broadcast on live broadcast time, which starts at 17:00 PT (except for the nominees and presenters, who will be given time to arrive on the red carpet to participate in the pre-broadcast of the ABC Oscars, which will be broadcast at 16: 00 hours).
But according to a manager whose branch will be presented with the award this hour, “I think most people will be at the bar. We will need many more seat fillers. So it will be unpleasant for the nominees whose awards are presented to them. ” This manager added about the members of his branch: “They call me and are upset, and obviously the nominees are upset and I don’t even know what to tell them. The board is just too big and they [the awards committee, Rubin and Hudson] don’t say anything to most of us. They just keep reaching out to this fictional mass audience, but the Oscars are for people who love movies, whether the audience grows or shrinks.
THR heard that the music and sound industries were particularly inflamed by the situation and that there was talk of trying to boycott the nominees for their respective awards to boycott the ceremony. Also, key players in the larger music community are preparing a letter to be sent to the Academy, expressing their dissatisfaction with the situation.
Things could peak on Monday when the academy’s chief executive, governors and nominees gather at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel for the first lunch for Oscar nominees since the pandemic erupted nearly two years ago.