The Academy's controversial idea to not present certain Oscars during the live telecast is back.
At next month's 2022 Academy Awards, eight of the 23 Oscars will not be presented live, Deadline reports. Instead, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President David Rubin announced Tuesday these awards will be presented prior to the live telecast, and the presentations will then be "edited" and "folded seamlessly" into the show.
"In order to provide more time and opportunity for audience entertainment and engagement through comedy, musical numbers, film clip packages and movie tributes, a change in the show's production will take place," Rubin said.
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The categories that won't be presented live are documentary short subject, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short film, live action short film, and sound.
The Academy previously floated the idea in 2019 of not presenting the Oscars for cinematography, editing, live action short, and makeup and hairstyling live. But this sparked backlash, with directors Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino among others signing an open letter arguing that "relegating these essential cinematic crafts to lesser status" was "an insult." As a result, the idea was walked back.
Since then, viewership for the Oscars has only further declined, prompting the Academy to consider a number of changes including honoring a "fan favorite" film selected by Twitter. The Academy's Tuesday announcement once again drew criticism, and #PresentAll23 quickly began trending on Twitter. "These winners deserve to be given their time in the spotlight they so richly deserve and dedicated themselves to accomplish," critic Courtney Howard argued.
Rubin wrote, though, that the Academy "must prioritize the television audience to increase viewer engagement and keep the show vital, kinetic, and relevant," adding that the goal is to "create an exciting, streamlined" show without "sacrificing the long-held fundamentals of our organization." He also promised that even though they won't be live, "ALL winners' acceptance speeches will be featured" during the broadcast.
