Bowing to a backlash that had threatened to engulf an already blunder-plagued Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday reversed its decision to present four awards during the commercial breaks of this year鈥檚 Oscar broadcast.
All 24 categories will be shown live, after all, at the 91st Academy Awards on Feb. 24, the academy announced in a statement. On Monday, the academy had said that the winning speeches for cinematography, film editing, makeup and hairstyling and live-action short would be aired in a shortened, taped segment during the broadcast.
鈥淣ine days until the showtime, still tweaking the script鈥� the Academy tweeted Friday.
The academy did not address whether the change meant extending the show鈥檚 length, which organizers have said would be reduced to three hours.
The academy鈥檚 move to strike awards from the live broadcast was fiercely contested by many of this year鈥檚 Oscar nominees, including 鈥淩oma鈥� director Alfonso Cuaron and 鈥淏lacKkKlansman鈥� filmmaker Spike Lee. The American Society of Cinematographers on Wednesday issued an open-letter to the academy, signed by Martin Scorsese, Brad Pitt and others, calling the plans an insult to the cinematic arts.
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
鈥淲hen the recognition of those responsible for the creation of outstanding cinema is being diminished by the very institution whose purpose it is to protect it, then we are no longer upholding the spirit of the academy鈥檚 promise to celebrate film as a collaborative art form,鈥� the letter read.
The academy on Wednesday defended the decision and blamed 鈥渁 chain of misinformation鈥� on the backlash. Following record-low ratings to last year鈥檚 broadcast, the academy has made a swifter, three-hour telecast a priority. ABC, which airs the Oscars, is planning to premiere a sneak-peak of a new drama series after the Oscar telecast, which regularly ranks as the most-watched non-NFL broadcast of the year.
This is just the latest flip-flop by the academy in its attempts to tweak the Oscars.
READ MORE:
The academy鈥檚 headaches began after it last summer trotted out the induction of a 鈥減opular film Oscar.鈥� The plan sparked such outrage (Rob Lowe pronounced the film industry dead, 鈥渟urvived by sequels, tent-poles and vertical integration鈥�) that the new award was scuttled within a month.
Kevin Hart was announced as this year鈥檚 Oscar host only to withdraw days later when many took issue with his old homophobic tweets and the comedian initially 鈥渃hose to pass on the apology.鈥� Hart finally apologized as he resigned, leaving the Oscars host-less for only the fifth time in its 91-year history.
And after first planning to limit the best song nominee performances, the academy confirmed that all songs will indeed be performed.
Veteran makeup artist Lois Burwell, who is on the film academy鈥檚 board of governors, on Friday called the efforts to change the Oscars an 鈥渆volving process.鈥�
鈥淲ith anything creative, you start in one place and then there鈥檚 the journey to where you end up,鈥� said Burwell. 鈥淎nd sometimes you have to do things that don鈥檛 work in order to find out what does work. So there鈥檚 always a kind of awkwardness about someone going, 鈥極h no, that was a mistake.鈥� But a mistake is something you learn from and build upon.鈥�
AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
Like us on and follow us on .
