Award season is in full swing with shows like the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards taking place in the last couple of weeks, but arguably the most famous one of all is The Oscars which is taking place at the end of the month on March 27th. The iconic awards show has had its fair share of controversies over the years, but the decision to pre-record eight categories before the show and edit them in later is just the latest to ruffle feathers in Hollywood. Many top talents have spoken up against the change and now Oscar winning director Steven Spielberg has given his thoughts on the matter. Speaking exclusively with Deadline, the West Side Story director talked about his displeasure with the change, saying:

“I disagree with the decision made by the executive committee. I feel very strongly that this is perhaps the most collaborative medium in the world. All of us make movies together, we become a family where one craft is just as indispensable as the next. I feel that at the Academy Awards there is no above the line, there is no below the line. All of us are on the same line bringing the best of us to tell the best stories we possibly can. And that means for me we should all have a seat at the supper table together live at 5.”

This is of course when the Oscar broadcast starts and the Academy plans to start announcing the winners of the 8 categories which include Production Design, Sound, Original Musical Score, Makeup and Hairstyling, Documentary Short, Live-Action Short, and Animated Short at 4 PM. Spielberg went on to say:

“When I look back and I think without John Williams, Jaws would wear dentures. With West Side Story, when Tony is singing ‘Tonight’ with Maria, without (Production Designer) Adam Stockhausen he would be singing it on a step-ladder and she would be on the scaffolding, all this on an empty soundstage. Without film editing all my movies would still be in dailies. We all come together to make magic, and I am sad that we will all not be on live television watching magic happen together. Everybody will have their moment in the limelight. All the winners will be able to be shown with their acceptance speeches, but it’s the idea that we can’t all be there.”

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Spielberg brings up a great point that general audiences tend to forget about. Movie making is a team effort. Like Spielberg alluded to, Jaws is a wonderful example of a musical score, especially in the horror genre, making or breaking the film and its tension. Williams' score for Jaws is so iconic and without it the film is an incomplete picture. Thousands of people can work on a film and to see someone like Spielberg stand up for the many crews he has worked with over his six decade career is another reason why he is arguably the GOAT of directors. When the director was asked if he thought the decision should be reversed and if it actually would, he was not very optimistic saying:

“Yes I would, but I have tremendous respect for my fellow governors, and I have tremendous respect for David Rubin. The same thing came close to happening three years ago and at the eleventh hour a decision was made that reversed it and four categories that were in the commercial breaks were reinstated on the live show. I hope it’s reversed, but I’m not anticipating a reversal and I am not optimistic about it.”

As stated previously, there has been backlash from both fans and filmmakers alike which includes such brilliant creators like Denis Villeneuve and Guillermo del Toro. The Oscars themselves are in a bit of a corner right now as they worry about declining viewership and ABC pressured them to make these decisions, or they were going to lose the telecast entirely. However, like Spielberg and other people in the film industry have talked about, The Oscars is about celebrating every facet of the filmmaking process not about the ratings. Although the pre-recorded categories will be edited into the live telecast, it still feels like this is telling the world that these categories have less value than the rest. It is almost as if they are telling you that you can make a great film without them. Things like musical score and production design are critical to a film's success and the short form categories are how a lot of Hollywood finds their future big time filmmakers.

Other award shows have adopted this style of pre-recording categories or awarding certain categories during a commercial break, but this is The Oscars. It is the gold standard of award shows and when Spielberg, a 19 time Oscar nominee, disapproves of what you are doing you should probably listen to him. The famous director's latest film West Side Story is up for seven nominations this year with two of the nominations, Sound and Production Design, being affected by this change. The Oscars premiere on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 8 PM EST.