Steven Spielberg has had a long-standing positive relationship with Academy Awards. Since 1978, he’s been nominated in 19 Oscar categories (including Best Picture and Best Director), with the most recent announcements coming just weeks ago. His latest film was West Side Story, is expected to do quite well at this year’s ceremony – though the filmmaker, like many of his colleagues, isn’t happy with the recent news that eight of the show’s categories are being left out of the network broadcast.
Last month, it was announced that the Oscar telecast would not include the award for Best Animated Short Film or Best Documentary Short Subject. Steven Spielberg expressed his disapproval at the decision. Deadline. The director spoke primarily to technical categories, which he explained.
The executive committee’s decision is not in my favor. This medium is, in my opinion, the most collaborative in the world. We all make movies together. It becomes a family, where each craft is equally important.
Film is an original art form in that it can’t be created by one person. While directors are responsible for the overall vision and direction of the production, this is done in collaboration with all involved in every stage. Steven Spielberg continues to explain that Oscars award shows are intended to emphasize the complexity of the craft and raise everything to the same level.
The Academy Awards is a place where there is no line between the top and the bottom. We all share the same line, bringing our best to the table and telling the best stories possible. This means we should all be seated at the table at 5.
Steven Spielberg didn’t address the Academy Awards not including shorts categories during the broadcast. But it is worth noting that the Oscars are not meant to discriminate between medium and highlight filmmaking achieved in qualifying works less than feature length.
The Academy Award winner three times shares the same sentiment. DuneDenis Villeneuve, director of the film, had a similar opinion earlier in the week. He compared production to being part of a football team and said that the Oscars were an opportunity for those in the industry not to be forgotten to receive the deserved praise.
Steven Spielberg highlighted his point by saying that the viewing experience of his films would not be the same without key collaborators. They won’t be acknowledged during the Academy Awards on-air this year. Spielberg said,
When I look back and I think without John Williams, Jaws would wear dentures. With West Side Story, when Tony is singing ‘Tonight’ with Maria, without (Production Designer) Adam Stockhausen he would be singing it on a step-ladder and she would be on the scaffolding, all this on an empty soundstage. Without film editing all my movies would still be in dailies.
The Oscars’ controversial move is an attempt by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to cut the show’s length and increase the audience… but we won’t find out if this will work until later in the month. Awards season fiends may recall that similar actions were threatened back in 2019, but the Academy ended up changing their mind.
ABC will air the ceremony on Sunday, March 27th. You can find all information about the show in our quick guide. Check out our 2022 Oscar Nominations Rundown to see who’s up for the trophies.