Not cool, Academy, not cool.

Before jumping into this opinion piece, I’d like to say that what I wrote about is made trivial by the invasion of Ukraine. At a time when innocent people are in grave danger, the Oscars are not important at all. I stand with Ukraine, and I encourage everyone to continue praying for Ukraine and looking for ways to help. With that said, if you want a diversion from the news, keep on reading.

On February 22nd, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 8 awards for the upcoming Oscars ceremony will not be announced live during the broadcast. 8 out of the 23 awards will be announced an hour prior to the live broadcast, and edited versions of those award presentations and acceptance speeches will air during the broadcast. The 8 categories that will not be presented live are: Documentary (Short Subject), Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Short Film (Animated), Short Film (Live Action), and Sound.

There are many reasons the Academy may have decided on this new format. One reason could be that the awards ceremony has gone over its 3 hours nearly every year, despite producers best efforts to keep the show moving. 23 awards is a lot to give out in one night so it’s understandable that they would want to shorten the show. But in the same statement that they announced that those 8 categories would not be presented live, they said that the show would still be 3 hours. So maybe time wasn’t what drove this decision.

Most likely, the Academy has made this decision due to the fact that the Oscars had the lowest rating in its history last year. Both the Academy and ABC want viewership to go up, but less and less people care about the Oscars each year. Perhaps they think by removing the “less interesting” awards they will have more time for celebrity appearances which will make more people want to watch. Of course, many people have been saying for years that if the Academy would nominate films that people love (Spiderman: No Way Home, I mean you) more people would tune in. But of course that is all speculation.

Many in Hollywood were upset by this decision, and in my opinion rightfully so. The Academy is made up of film professionals from 17 different branches that cover all aspects of filmmaking. Many members of the Academy are freelance, meaning they don’t work for a specific company or have a specific group of colleagues. The Academy and other guilds that they are a part of (PGA, DGA, SAG, etc.) are the equivalent of their colleagues. These guilds are made up of like minded people creating films and doing the same kind of work (similar to our colleagues, for those of us with 9-5 jobs). Keeping that in mind, can you imagine if someone decided that what your department does is less important that what another department does, and your department doesn’t deserve to be honored?

That’s what the Academy has inferred, whether they meant to or not, by deciding that certain categories shouldn’t be aired live. They have decided that acting, directing, writing, and producing (best picture is awarded to producers) are the important parts of making a film, and makeup, sound, editing, and score aren’t as important. Which is of course crazy! So many films we love would be NOTHING without the makeup, the sound, the editing, and the score. I mean, can you imagine Star Wars without it’s iconic theme? Or any super hero movie without the bangs, crashes, and smacks of a fight scene? What about editing? Editing can make or break a scene. It might be hard to imagine, but if the editor cut away too soon and we didn’t see that tear roll down the actor’s cheek, or if the editor stayed on a shot too long, the entire feeling of the scene could change. And what about makeup? Try picturing Cruella without any makeup on the actors faces. It feels wrong!

Winning an Oscar is your peers telling you that you’ve created the best film in that category of the entire year! It’s this awe-inspiring moment filled with emotion and validation that your contributions matter. Imagine how you would feel if you were a filmmaker in one of these categories, knowing that the award you accepted wasn’t even during the actual ceremony. Instead of filmmakers being validated for their efforts, they are being reminded that what matters in Hollywood is fame and beauty, not excellence in your craft.

This decision by the Academy confirms what many people have claimed for years, that the Academy cares about being elite and flashy, and not about honoring incredible filmmaking.

There is a part of me that wants to boycott the Oscars completely this year, but I will still be tuning in to see how they handle this new format and to support the work of all the nominated filmmakers this year. Perhaps the Academy will surprise me, or perhaps they will confirm that honoring filmmakers isn’t the purpose of the Oscars.