With just a day to go before the Sunday of the 94th Academy Awards, feelings of “anger” and “disrespect” over the academy’s announcement that eight categories will not be presented live during the broadcast have not yet subsided, nor has the feeling for some describe it as a lack of transparency. The academy continues to stand by its controversial decision, but even if the curtain closes on Oscars night, it’s likely the internal squabble won’t be over.
Eight awards are planned to be presented — short documentary, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound — beginning Sunday at 4:00 p.m. PT, prior to the live broadcast of the Oscars, which begins at 5 p.m., with edited versions of these categories playing as part of the broadcast. The academy has announced there would be a seated audience for the presentation, although the red carpet is expected to run until 4:45 or 4:50 p.m.
Outside the academy management, the decision has met with widespread criticism. Academy members, including Steven Spielberg and Guillermo de Toro, have spoken out against the plan. Statements were made by around 10 clubs and guilds. Several petitions were signed. Some have spoken out about showing disapproval on Sunday by wearing their Academy or Guild pins backwards.
As first reported in , Oscar winner Tom Fleishman resigned from his Academy membership over the decision and four-time Sound Mixing contestant Peter Kurland said he intended to step down, while two other recent Oscar winners told THR that they consider these similar moves.
The Academy has stayed true to its message. Oscars producer Will Packer said at a press conference on Thursday: “These are the people we work with and people we love. And we want to make sure everyone has their moment on this show and is treated with the same reverence and elegance you’ve come to expect from the Oscars. One of the misconceptions is that things are taken off the show and that’s not the case. It is not.”
Several nominees in affected industries said they had heard from Academy President David Rubin or CEO Dawn Hudson since the decision, but their words fell hollow.
As all of this is happening, Academy members in various affected branches are telling THR that there has been a deafening silence from a key group: their Academy branch governors. Members of at least three such branches, who wish to remain anonymous, say they have received no formal communication from their branch officials since the announcement, despite the outcry. Which begs the question, why?
Several academy members who spoke to THR said governors were effectively pressured to remain silent. “The anger is still there. And frustration at their own governors’ inability to speak out,” an academician told THR this week.
Sources also say the decision was made within the academy by a small group of its leadership and awards committee, and many governors learned of it shortly before or at the same time as the Feb. 22 announcement. “Many think we have rogue leadership,” said one academician.
The televised decision was made with ABC, the holder of the broadcast rights through 2028 and the source of most of the Academy’s annual revenue (The Oscars bring the Academy about $100 million in annual royalties plus a portion of advertising revenue). , sources say.) The move followed the Oscars broadcast with the lowest ratings ever — and a highly unconventional one, given that COVID-19 is keeping the awards in a scaled-down event at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, rather than in a lavish setting were presented at the Dolby ceremony.
Oscar-winner Bill Corso, a governor from the makeup artist and hairstylist industry (one of the affected categories) and a member of the awards committee, said he attended when governors were briefed about the change shortly before the announcement, but he described the meetings as “positive”. He said: “There were a few concerns but nobody banged their fists on the table. … It was understood that changes needed to be made and this was a respectful way of doing it.
“We’re trying to make the best possible choices for the artists and the awards show,” he says, noting that this includes “celebrating the work” while also making the show “more entertaining.”
On March 1, music industry governor Laura Karpman wrote on social media, “I am shocked that Academy officials have denied the Board of Governors an opportunity to vote and participate in the decision to exempt the music industry from the.” Exclude live broadcast. This is literally a wound in the heart of the music community. Thank you to the many members of the music industry who have spoken out. I hear you loud and clear. I stand by you.”
The next phase begins next Monday. This summer, the academy will elect a new president, as Rubin proclaimed. The academy will also be looking for a new CEO to replace the outgoing Hudson. “There is so much malevolence,” said one academician. “Something has to change”