The Academy’s decision to present four categories — cinematography, film editing, makeup and hairstyling and live-action shorts — during commercial breaks on this year’s Oscar show has been greeted with widespread outrage, with the condemnation stretching from Oscar watchers to past Oscar winners Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón and Emmanuel Lubezki.
If I may: I would not presume to suggest what categories to cut during the Oscars show but – Cinematography and Editing are at the very heart of our craft. They are not inherited from a theatrical tradition or a literary tradition: they are cinema itself.
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) February 12, 2019
Cuarón, a multiple nominee this year for “Roma,” also weighed in. “In the history of CINEMA, masterpieces have existed without sound, without color, without a story, without actors and without music,” he tweeted. “No one single film has ever existed without CINEMAtography and without editing.”
And Lubezki, the only cinematographer to win three consecutive Oscars, wrote on Instagram, “Cinematography and editing are probably the ‘elementary particles,’ the primordial components of cinema. It’s an unfortunate decision.”
But those responses were among the more measured comments on social media — or, for that matter, the comments from affected Academy members reached by TheWrap on Monday.
“This is a failure of stewardship, a failure of nerve, a failure of producing, a failure to understand television, a failure of network custody of the Oscars, and a failure of Academy governance,” author and journalist Mark Harris wrote.
In a subsequent tweet, Harris added, “This is about ABC using the falling ratings for ALL awards shows as a way to tell AMPAS ‘You’re doing it wrong’ with the goal of turning the show into an infomercial for commercial Hollywood product, including its own, and AMPAS being too naïve about TV to know it’s being played.”
By the way: How interesting that none of the categories consigned to commercial breaks happen to feature a nominee from Disney, the parent company of ABC.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) February 11, 2019
Read more tweets about the Academy’s move below:
The Academy needs to stop chasing after this fictional audience they think they can attract. Having a 3-hour show won’t attract new viewers who have never watched and don’t care. Instead they alienate their loyal audience of film lovers #PresentAll24
— Rachel West (@rachel_is_here) February 12, 2019
If I was a winner or a presenter w/ a modicum of influence and power in Hollywood, I would use my time up there and get ALL the nominees of the 4 commercial break categories to come up on stage and each one make a speech. Just throwing that idea out there. #PresentAll24
— Irvin Contreras (@malcolm_irvin) February 12, 2019
(Excerpt) Read More at: TheWrap.com