Deadline
EXCLUSIVE: Expressing his dismay and disappointment at the Academy’s controversial decision to move the eight-category presentation one hour before the actual ABC Oscars telecast at 5:00 p.m. PT on March 27, Steven Spielberg has emerged as the most influential voice yet to voice his dissent. to the idea.
In an exclusive interview following Fox’s Sunday run of West Side Story, Spielberg, a three-time Oscar winner who not only received another nomination for Best Picture and Director this year, but also sits on the Academy’s Board of Governors, told me: he felt the need to make a statement.
“I do not agree with the decision of the executive committee. I feel very strongly that this is perhaps the most collaborative environment in the world. We all make films together, we become a family where one craft is as necessary as another,” the 19-time Oscar nominee and Thalberg Award winner told me. “I feel like there is no above or below the line at the Oscars. We are all on the same line, and the best of us tell the best stories we can. And for me, that means we all have to sit down to dinner together at 5 o’clock.”
AMPAS
This is of course a reference to the actual start time of the ABC broadcast. However, the Academy has announced plans to introduce eight categories starting at 4:00 pm in Dolby. As AMPAS President David Rubin and CEO Don Hudson told me in an exclusive interview last week, they plan to give nominees and winners in these categories the full Oscar experience, as well as a pre-recorded version of the category and the winner’s speech, edited for broadcast. in an attempt to save time and cut the show down to three hours. These categories are Production Design, Sound, Original Musical Score, Makeup and Hair, Film Editing, Documentary Short, Short Film, and Animated Short Film.
West Side Story is up for seven Oscars, and its two nominations for “Artist” and “Sound” are in the affected categories. According to him, the collective experience of making films and equal respect for everyone is very important for Spielberg.
Oscar.org
“When I look back, I think without John Williams, Jaws would have been wearing dentures. In West Side Story, when Tony sings “Tonight” with Maria, without (production designer) Adam Stockhausen, he will sing it on a ladder and she will be on scaffolding, all on an empty sound stage. Without editing, all my films would still be in the daily papers,” he said.
“We all came together to create magic, and I’m sad that we won’t all be on the air to watch the magic happen together. Everyone will have their moment in the spotlight. All the winners can be shown with their acceptance speeches, but the idea is that we can’t all be there,” he added, referring to the moment when TV viewers also see these envelopes open for the first time as 15 other categories will be presented.
The Academy plans to post the results of these eight categories on their social media platforms as winners are announced so they will be known before ABC’s broadcast. It’s similar to what Tony and the Grammys do (the Emmys have separate Creative Arts shows). Ironically, at Sunday’s Independent Spirit Awards, the Film Editing category was featured during a commercial break.
Oscar has never before separated live and taped categories. This has always been a red line, but due to declining ratings, there has been pressure to make significant changes to the show.
Does Spielberg hope the decision will be reversed?
“Yes, I would, but I have the utmost respect for my fellow governors, and I have the utmost respect for David Rubin,” he said, emphasizing the latter about his colleagues at the Academy, noting that the idea first came up in 2019. “Same. it was close to happening three years ago and at the eleventh hour a decision was made that completely changed that and four categories that were in commercial breaks were reinstated live. show. I hope things will change, but I don’t expect a reversal and I’m not optimistic about it.”
The decision drew strong backlash from various guilds and other industry figures such as Oscar nominees Guillermo del Toro, Denis Villeneuve and Jane Campion. Music Branch Governor Laura Karpman also made her objections to the idea public, and over the weekend Oscar-winning Sound Branch member Tom Fleischman even went as far as resigning from the Academy.
When I asked Rubin last week if this decision was set in stone or could be reversed, as it was in 2019, he stressed that he believes it will be good in every way. “I can’t imagine that we are not going to give the Oscar, which is dreamed and dreamed by both the nominees and the audience,” he said. “We are very pleased with this plan. It feels inclusive, respectful and festive.”