Oscar has issued an order that there will be no acceptance speeches from Zoom during this year’s broadcast, but that decision is causing consternation among the nominees, who are concerned that they will not be able to make the trip to Los Angeles.
Studio executives, award strategists, personal advertisers and the stars and filmmakers competing for awards this year are dissatisfied with the staunch stance of Oscar broadcast producers Steven Soderbergh, Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher. They believe it is unsafe and impractical to ask nominees to appear in person in the midst of a global pandemic. The Academy is facing great resistance to reconsider its position, because several nominees are unlikely to be able to attend. Many live abroad, where COVID rates are rising, or are filming movies or TV shows in production centers like Australia or the UK
Making productions work at Zoom has been one of the biggest obstacles to awards during the pandemic. From Daniel Kaluuya’s silenced audio reaction (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) at the Golden Globe to Nicole Beharie (“Miss Juneteenth”) looking at a screen for about 10 seconds because of a delay before hearing her announced name at the Gotham Awards, there were serious obstacles to holding a quiet virtual event. However, the decision not to allow Zoom’s speeches is now being seen as excluding. There is a great possibility that the entire list of nominees in some categories, especially the best international race, will not have anyone present in Los Angeles. With fewer people available to pick up his statues, the broadcast could be lighter in the speeches of acceptance of big stars who make the Oscar nomination on television.
Two meetings were scheduled for Friday, March 19 – one for executives from film studios and another for personal advertisers – to discuss the guidelines of international nominees and the requirements needed to participate in the program. That meeting was postponed to Tuesday, March 23, before being abruptly canceled the night before the scheduled date. No new dates have been provided.
“There was no clarity,” complained a studio executive. “It is extremely frustrating.”
This year’s nominees are more diverse than previous editions and some of the top contenders are about to make history. Seventy women received a total of 76 nominations, with Emerald Fennell (“Promising young woman”) and Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) becoming the sixth and seventh women to be nominated for best director. Nine of the 20 nominees are people of color, also a record. Under current and future travel restrictions, several of these nominees may be unable to attend. Fennell and Zhao are pioneers in categories that include best film, director, original and adapted script. None of them are currently in the United States, nor are others nominated, such as Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”), Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat 2,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7”), Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”) , Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”) and Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari”).
Emerald Fennell on the set of “Promising young woman”.
Courtesy of Merie Weismiller Wal
In an interview with Variety, Fennell was asked if she would attend the ceremony.
“I hope so,” she said. “I am desperate to. The thought of losing him is so horrible, and I can’t bear to think about it. Obviously, it is all that is safe and allowed, but I will not break the law by swimming in the Atlantic. Although I would do it if I had the time and the essential strength. “
On Thursday, the UK will ban all international travel until at least 17 May, and possibly until June. A £ 5,000 ($ 6,856) fine will be imposed on anyone traveling without “good reason”. That’s a few bucks for some celebrities, but the optics may not look good. The UK will allow you to travel abroad with a “reasonable excuse”, with the person having to fill out a form to travel. Some of the excuses listed include essential work and activities, although it is not clear whether watching Oscar falls into any of these categories.
The Academy provided some information about the broadcast and presence on the nominees’ website. For travel and accommodation, talent is responsible for all expenses related to the 93rd Oscar. This is a cost that smaller indies are concerned with. However, it is fair to note that studios spend millions of dollars campaigning for the Oscar each year, with some spending $ 100 million or more.
In addition, some talents are currently filming in sets of COVID bubbles around the world. It is rumored that the Academy would request nominees for quarantine anywhere from five to 14 days before the ceremony. After attending the Oscars, the talent cannot just go back to work – in many cases, participants would need to be quarantined for another 14 days after leaving the USA. This would end productions for 10 to 30 days for people to attend the ceremony, potentially costing the studios millions of dollars in delay. It does not appear that the producers asked for information on whether the participants were vaccinated.
Security is also a major concern. In previous years, the Oscar would block several streets around the Dolby Theater. This year’s broadcast will be held at Union Station in Los Angeles, where trains will continue to run. It is not yet clear how the participants will flow between the different internal and external parts of the station and what contingencies are planned if Los Angeles has a rare rainy day.
Oscar hopes to find a way to recapture magic at a time when award programs are struggling to attract viewers. The Grammy and Golden Globe, for example, had their lowest numbers ever, and this year’s Oscar nominee season has no box office hits like “Joker” or “Avatar”. This means that a battle between smaller films like “Nomadland” or “Mank” for the top prize can be difficult to sell.
With producers eager to avoid Zoom’s thanks, there was pressure to allow the winners to pre-record speeches. But it comes with its own problems. There is a concern that these speeches seem monotonous, without the wave of excitement that accompanies the declaration of the winner. In addition, talents and publicists fear that the recordings of nominees who are losers may leak online, causing their customers to be ill.
In addition, cinemas are campaigning for the Academy to make a PSA for the public to return to cinemas. A source close to the Academy says the idea came up in discussions and expects what they call “a love letter to the cinema, both in feeling and in the physical sense”. Some cinema owners were unhappy that no one recognized the economic devastation that the coronavirus caused in the exhibition space during Globo or other award shows.
“It would be a big mistake if Oscar did not use his platform to encourage people to return to the cinema,” said a theater industry executive. “They keep talking about the magic of cinema. Well, here’s a chance to show you that. “
The Oscar will take place on Sunday, April 25 at ABC.