LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) What appeared yesterday to be a tremendous rift between the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and literally 100 high-profile industry insiders, including Quentin, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Seth Rogan and Ang Lee, may have been mended with a clarification by the Academy last night.
Cinematographers and directors sent an open letter to the Academy expressing reservations over its decision to move four of the awards to be handed out during the Feb. 24 broadcast to commercial breaks. Media outlets reported that awards for cinematography, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, and live action short would take place off camera and out-of-sight to the public. The announcement was made on Monday and yesterday the American Society of Cinematographers expressed its dismay with president Kees van-Oostrum saying, “After receiving many comments on this matter from ASC members, I think I speak for many of them in declaring this a most unfortunate decision.”
That was followed by an open letter condemning the situation.
However, the Academy clarified its decision, noting that all four winners will be broadcast, with their speeches included, but will be shown later in the broadcast but “time spent walking to the stage and off will be edited out.”
The full letter from the Academy reads:
All 24 Award categories are presented on stage in the Dolby Theatre, and included in the broadcast,” the Academy stated, noting that the four categories “were volunteered by their branches to have their nominees and winners announced by presenters, and included later in the broadcast.”
The Academy added that, in the future, “four to six different categories may be selected for rotation” with this year’s categories exempted in 2020.
As the Academy’s officers, we’d like to assure you that no award category at the 91st Oscars ceremony will be presented in a manner that depicts the achievements of its nominees and winners as less than any others,” said the Academy statement released Wednesday night. “Unfortunately, as the result of inaccurate reporting and social media posts, there has been a chain of misinformation that has understandably upset many Academy members. We’d like to restate and explain the plans for presenting the awards, as endorsed by the Academy’s Board of Governors.”
The letter, signed top AMPAS brass, went on to lay out a series of explanations, with the Academy saying, “We’d like to restate and explain the plans for presenting the awards, as endorsed by the Academy’s Board of Governors.”
· All 24 Award categories are presented on stage in the Dolby Theatre, and included in the broadcast.
· Four categories – Cinematography, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Live Action Short – were volunteered by their branches to have their nominees and winners announced by presenters, and included later in the broadcast. Time spent walking to the stage and off, will be edited out.
· The four winning speeches will be included in the broadcast.
· In future years, four to six different categories may be selected for rotation, in collaboration with the show producers. This year’s categories will be exempted in 2020.
· This change in the show was discussed and agreed to by the Board of Governors in August, with the full support of the branch executive committees. Such decisions are fully deliberated.
Our show producers have given great consideration to both Oscar tradition and our broad global audience.
We sincerely believe you will be pleased with the show, and look forward to celebrating a great year in movies with all Academy members and with the rest of the world.
John Bailey, President
Lois Burwell, First Vice President
Sid Ganis, Vice President
Larry Karaszewski, Vice President
Nancy Utley, Vice President
Jim Gianopulos, Treasurer
David Rubin, Secretary
The original open letter was signed by:
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
Spike Lee
Dee Rees
Seth Rogan
Martin Scorsese
Quentin Tarantino
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
h/t Deadline
