Steven Spielberg speaks out about the Motion Picture Academy’s recent decision to pre-record the Academy Awards presentations for eight categories prior to the live telecast. Spielberg, of course, is no stranger to Hollywood’s Biggest Night, having earned three Oscars in the course of his storied career (two for Schindler’s List and one for Saving Private Ryan). This year, his remake of the Broadway musical, West Side Story, has seven nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture.
The Academy recently announced a change to the ceremony format in an effort to cap the show at three hours. Eight categories will be presented an hour prior to the ABC telecast, pre-recorded at the Dolby Theatre and edited into the live program. The eight categories are Best Production Design, Sound, Original Music Score, Makeup and Hairstyling, Film Editing, Documentary Short, Live Action Short, and Animated Short.
But not every filmmaker has been on board with these changes, including Spielberg, whose West Side Story has nominations in Production Design and Sound. In an interview with Deadline, he voiced his disagreement over the Academy’s decision, stressing the importance of these positions on the film crew and asserting that “we should all have a seat at the supper table.” He said:
“I disagree with the decision made by the executive committee. I feel very strongly that this is perhaps the most collaborative medium in the world. All of us make movies together, we become a family where one craft is just as indispensable as the next. I feel that at the Academy Awards there is no above the line, there is no below the line. All of us are on the same line bringing the best of us to tell the best stories we possibly can. And that means for me, we should all have a seat at the supper table together live at 5 [p.m. PT].”
Separating eight categories from the rest of the live broadcast was undoubtedly a difficult decision for the Academy. There are essentially two parties to please — the filmmakers deserving of awards and the audience watching on TV. In a separate Deadline interview, Motion Picture Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said that the Oscars’ viewership tends to drop as the show heads into the fourth hour, prompting the need to keep the show at three hours to retain the TV audience’s attention. Those attending the Oscars in person, however, will be present for all four hours of the ceremony, ensuring a full audience at the Dolby when the eight pre-taped category winners accept their awards. TV viewers will then see snippets of those moments during the broadcast.
While the Academy appears to be making a compromise, the trouble with these changes is the way they leave some filmmakers feeling as though their line of work is lesser than others. Elements like design and editing are not treated as glamorously as acting and directing, but they are integral to any good movie, and filmmakers like Spielberg understand that. Still, for the purposes of saving time, the Academy will soon find out of their strategy proves successful. The 94th Academy Awards is scheduled to air on March 27 on ABC.
