The 2022 Oscars telecast hasn't even started yet and we already know who won about a third of the awards.
In the hour before the Oscars broadcast on Sunday, eight awards were handed out in the Dolby Theater but not televised, and the Academy announced them on social media.
Dune won the Oscars for Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Production Design, while The Eyes of Tammy Faye won Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Best Documentary (Short Subject) also went to "The Queen of Basketball," Best Animated Short Film went to "The Windshield Wiper," and Best Live Action Short Film went to "The Long Goodbye."
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While the awards were being given out, ABC was continuing to air a pre-show featuring red carpet interviews with celebrities, including Oscars co-host Regina Hall.
The Academy announced in February it wouldn't hand out these eight Oscars live, though the plan is to edit the winners' acceptance speeches into the live show. Still, the decision was highly controversial, and Steven Spielberg was among those who urged the Academy to reverse the plan. "We all come together to make magic, and I am sad that we will all not be on live television watching magic happen together," he told Deadline.
The decision was made after years of declining ratings at the Oscars, and the Academy said presenting the eight awards before the show would "provide more time and opportunity for audience entertainment and engagement through comedy, musical numbers, film clip packages, and movie tributes." The show is expected to feature, for example, a live performance of the hit Encanto song "We Don't Talk About Bruno."
"We must prioritize the television audience to increase viewer engagement and keep the show vital, kinetic, and relevant," Academy President David Rubin said.
But writer and director Phil Lord tweeted Sunday, "Hope it feels better on screen but there's no mistaking this first hour feels smaller in the room than it would during the telecast."
