Tensions continue to run high as we’re now about a week and a half away from one of the most controversial Oscars ceremonies in history. While it’s the latest development—the decision to hand out awards in four categories during commercial breaks and run edited versions of those acceptance speeches later in the show—that’s got folks up in arms, the truth is this Oscars ceremony has been something of a disaster for months now.
First there was the Popular Oscar fiasco, which was announced in the same press release that revealed the telecast would be omitting certain categories from the live broadcast. The Popular Oscar category was subsequently jettisoned, then the Academy chose Kevin Hart to host, and we all know how that publicly exploded. Then word leaked that the telecast would be breaking from tradition and last year’s acting winners had not been invited to present those awards this year. Public shaming led the Academy to change its mind, which also happened when word leaked that they had only invited two of the five Best Original Song nominees to perform—“Shallow” and “All the Stars”. Lady Gaga and/or someone from her camp reportedly pushed the Academy to include all five nominees in the telecast, and they relented.
The latest—and loudest—drama concerns the categories that won’t be televised, and a number of directors, cinematographers, and filmmakers have signed an open letter blasting the Academy for the decision. The Academy has released its own statement, basically calling the news and social media coverage of the decision “fake news” and stressing that the non-live categories—cinematography, film editing, hairstyling & makeup, and live-action shot film—will still air in the ceremony.
Which is true, sort of. According to the Academy, they’ll be cutting out the walk to and from the stage for each of these winners, which would account for a total of like 6 minutes from all categories? So methinks they’ll be doing far more editing than that. Moreover, airing these winners later in the broadcast in clip packages underlines them as “also rans” in relation to the other nominees. Does anyone really feel the weight of the Governor’s Awards or Sci-Tech Awards when those clip packages run during the Oscars? Of course not, because the clip package inherently signals that this is “other” in relation to all the other winners that are announced live.
So I don’t buy this whole, “This has been a big misunderstanding” thing. For their part, the filmmakers who signed this open letter—which includes Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Damian Chazelle, Seth Rogen, Ang Lee, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Spike Jonze, and Dee Rees—aren’t buying the Academy’s justification.
While it doesn’t sound like the Academy has any plans of budging on this wrong-headed issue, I do commend these filmmakers for speaking out against the decision. Here’s hoping this year’s Oscars changes are a one-and-done. Read their full statement below.
An Open Letter to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and The Producers of the 91st Annual Academy Awards Broadcast:
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 Rogen, “What better way to celebrate achievements in film than to NOT publicly honor the people whose job it is to literally film things.”
Signed,
Cinematographers
Dion Beebe
Bill Bennett
Roger Deakins
Peter Deming
Caleb Deschanel
Robert Elswit
Mauro Fiore
Greig Fraser
Janusz Kaminski
Ellen Kuras
Ed Lachman
Robert Legato
Emmanuel Lubezki
Anthony Dod Mantle
Seamus McGarvey
Chris Menges
Dan Mindel
Reed Morano
Rachel Morrison
Guillermo Navarro
Phedon Papamichael
Wally Pfister
Rodrigo Prieto
Robert Primes
Robert Richardson
Linus Sandgren
John Seale
Newton Thomas Sigel
Vittorio Storaro
John Toll
Hoyte van Hoytema
Kees van Oostrum
Roy Wagner
Directors
Damien Chazelle
Cary Joji Fukunaga
Spike Jonze
Ang Lee
Dee Rees
Seth Rogen
Martin Scorsese
Filmmakers
Kym Barrett
Judy Becker
Alan Edward Bell
Erin Benach
Avril Beukes
Consolata Boyle
Maryann Brandon
Alexandra Byrne
Milena Canonero
Chris Corbould
Hank Corwin
Tom Cross
Nathan Crowley
Sophie De Rakoff
Chris Dickens
Bob Ducsay
Lou Eyrich
Dante Ferretti
Paul Franklin
Dana Glauberman
William Goldenberg
Affonso Goncalves
Adam Gough
Jon Gregory
Dorian Harris
Joanna Johnston
Paul Lambert
Mary Jo Markey
Joi McMillon
Ellen Mirojnick
Stephen Mirrione
Bob Murawski
John Ottman
Sandy Powell
Fred Raskin
Tatiana S. Riegel
Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir
Mayes Rubeo
Nat Sanders
J.D. Schwalm
Anna B. Sheppard
Terilyn A. Shropshire
Joan Sobel
Michael Tronick
Mark Ulano
Martin Walsh
David Wasco
Billy Weber
Julie Weiss
Michael Wilkinson
Hughes Winborne
Janty Yates
Mary Zophres