Steven Spielberg
Legendary director criticizes the new Oscar reform
Steven Spielberg is “sad” about the Oscar Academy’s decision.
© NPX/starmaxinc.com/ImageCollect.com
Steven Spielberg has spoken out against the decision to no longer honor eight Oscar categories live.
The decision not to present eight categories of the upcoming Oscar ceremony live on March 27 has caused displeasure among many filmmakers and film fans. Director Steven Spielberg (75) has now also criticized the plan of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The US industry website “Deadline” said Spielbergthat he “opposes this decision of the Executive Committee” and immediately gave solid arguments.
In his eyes, the film industry is “perhaps the most collaborative medium in the world. We all make films together. We’re becoming a family in which one craft is just as indispensable as the other,” says Spielberg. Under no circumstances should there be a kind of two-class society at the Oscars. “We are all on the same level […] and that means to me that we should all have a seat at the table live at 5 p.m..” That this will probably not be the case makes him “sad”.
Less time, more odds?
The director is alluding to the planned procedure for the upcoming 94th edition of the awards, which traditionally starts at 5 p.m. local time and live from Los Angeles. Under the new schedule, the awards for eight categories, including Best Documentary, Editing, Sound and Best Original Music, will be recorded one hour beforehand. After that, a compilation should then be built into the live broadcast – to save time and to improve the ratings, which have been steadily declining recently.
The 15 remaining categories and two new categories will then be transferred as usual. In 2022 there will be an audience award for the first time, which can be voted on in advance via Twitter under #OscarsFanFavorite. In addition, the “Best Cheering Moment” in film history will be awarded this year, for which the same procedure applied via #OscarsCheerMoment.
Spielberg no longer believes in the turning point
Spielberg, who was himself nominated for an Oscar for his new adaptation of the musical “West Side Story”, still hopes that the decision will be reversed. He referred to the year 2019. At that time it was also planned that some categories would be awarded during the commercial break. Massive criticism of it ensured that the plan was ultimately discarded. But Spielberg is skeptical that this will be the case this time: “I hope it will be reversed, but I don’t expect it and I’m not very optimistic.”