Oscars 2022: James Cameron, John Williams & Others Urge Academy To Reverse Controversial Telecast Changes

Some
of
Hollywood’s
most
high-profile
filmmakers,
including
director
James
Cameron,
producers
Kathleen
Kennedy
and
Lili
Fini
Zanuck,
composer
John
Williams
and
others
wrote
an
open
letter
to
the
Academy
Of
Motion
Picture
Arts
And
Sciences,
asking
to
reverse
course
and
present
all
23
Oscars
on
the
live
March
27
telecast.

For
the
unversed,
Oscars
2022
set
to
be
held
on
March
27
will
be
announcing
eight
categories
winners
during
the
pre-telecast.
The
categories
include
original
score,
film
editing,
production
design,
makeup
and
hairstyling,
sound,
documentary
short,
live-action
short
and
animated
short.

The
letter
obtained
by
Variety
is
addressed
to
Academy
President
David
Rubin
and
signed
by
76
film
professionals
including
multiple
Academy
Award
winners
stating
that
the
members
condemn
the
plan
to
present
8
awards
during
the
pre-telecast
hour.

The
film
professionals
said
that
the
act
of
announcing
the
categories
before
“demean” these
crafts
and
“relegate
[them]
to
the
status
of
second-class
citizens.”
It
added,
“To
diminish
any
of
those
individual
categories
in
the
pursuit
of
ratings
and
short-term
profits
does
irreparable
damage
to
the
Academy’s
standing
as
impartial
arbiters”

The
letter
further
said
that
the
categories
are
“Critical
artistic
crafts”
that
“will
always
deserve
the
same
respect
and
recognition
as
crafts
like
acting,
directing,
and
visual
effects.”
It
added,
“Seeking
new
audiences
by
making
the
telecast
more
entertaining
is
a
laudable
and
important
goal,
but
this
cannot
be
achieved
by
demeaning
the
very
crafts
that,
in
their
most
outstanding
expressions,
make
the
art
of
filmmaking
worthy
of
celebration.”

However,
the
Academy
is
yet
to
make
a
change
to
the
pre-telecast
schedule.
According
to
reports,
the
category
winners
be
announced
before
the
ceremony
and
the
winner’s
acceptance
speech
will
be
aired
in
edited
form
as
part
of
the
three-hour
Academy
Awards
ceremony
on
ABC.

Directors
Cameron,
Joe
Roth
and
Guillermo
del
Toro,
producers
Kennedy
and
Zanuck;
writer
Tony
Kushner,
costume
designer
Milena
Canonero,
production
designers
Dean
Tavoularis,
Dante
Ferretti
and
Geoffrey
Kirkland,
and
cinematographers
Dante
Spinotti
and
Vittorio
Storaro
are
among
others
who
signed
the
letter.