What’s The Fuss

As The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report on Feb. 22, the Academy, coming off an Oscars telecast that drew record-low ratings for broadcasting partner ABC, intends to present eight awards – documentary short, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short and sound – prior to the live telecast of the 94th Oscars on March 27, and then incorporate edited versions of those presentations into it.

The Academy’s defenders have called on such critics to wait until they see the new format in practice before hardening their opinion, while also noting that the organization derives almost all of its operating revenue from the deal with ABC, and if the general public continues to flee the telecast, the organization will face an existential threat – in other words, that it was necessary to amputate a limb in order to save the patient.

Academy insiders say, all governors know that decisions related to the format of the Oscars show are always delegated to the awards committee, not adjudicated by the full board, since timely decisions about anything are virtually impossible when the full board is weighing in.

Critics dismiss the awards committee as a group handpicked by outgoing Academy president David Rubin – who, as president, appoints people to committees – because they are most likely to carry out his and Hudson’s wishes.

The Decision

In the end, rather than dropping 12 categories altogether from the telecast, the Academy was able to satisfy ABC with the current plan, which will leave the network with more time to restore the sorts of ratings-drivers that were glaringly absent from last year’s telecast, such as a host, clips of the nominated films and performances of the best original song Oscar nominees.

Mitchell Block of the short films and feature animation branch wrote on Facebook, “The Academy’s lack of transparency to its governors, executive committees and members got them into this mess. Top-down leadership is good for Putin but not good for volunteer honorary organizations with a membership. We’re all in this together, but that’s not how the management of our Academy works.” Other Academy members pushed back.

Things could come to a head Monday when the Academy’s CEO, governors and nominees congregate at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel for the first Oscar Nominees Luncheon since the outbreak of the pandemic nearly two years ago.