The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has retreated from a plan of awarding four Oscars during commercial breaks, according to reports from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline: Hollywood.
As Emily Litella (a 1970s reference you can find on Google) might say, “Never mind!”
Originally, the academy planned that Oscars for cinematography, editing, live action short and makeup and hairstyling be given out during commercials, with edited versions being shown later.
This didn’t go over well from academy members of the affected categories, especially cinematography and editing, two crucial parts of movie making.
Had the rule been in effect last year, the broadcast would haven’t included live coverage of director of photography Roger Deakins finally winning after after a long string of nominations. One of Deakins’ nominations was for the 2012 007 film Skyfall, and many Bond fans were pulling for him to finally win in 2018.
Here’s an excerpt from The Hollywood Reporter story:
In a statement on Friday afternoon, the Academy stated that it “has heard the feedback from its membership regarding the Oscar presentation of four awards – Cinematography, Film Editing, Live Action Short, and Makeup and Hairstyling.” The statement continued: “All Academy Awards will be presented without edits, in our traditional format. We look forward to Oscar Sunday, February 24.”
The move came just nine days before this year’s Oscar telecast. The academy and ABC, which airs the awards show, have been trying to keep the program to three hours.
UPDATE (9:40 p.m., New York time): The statement is on the academy’s website.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Deadline: Hollywood, Oscars, Roger Deakins, Skyfall, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety | Leave a comment »