As if the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences didn’t have enough embarrassment tonight over Will Smith’s clobbering of Chris Rock, backstage craftsman and filmmakers provided a postmortem on that pre-show which saw eight categories relegated to a taping outside the live telecast.
Some took the high road, not wanting to distract from the evening’s win for their or their master filmmaker’s work, while others promptly assessed: AMPAS needs to fix this problem and not shortchange categories again. The slots that were recorded at 4-5pm and later inserted into the live broadcast included Film Editing. Original Score. Production Design. Animated Short Film. Live Action Short Film. Sound.
“Does anybody want to ask me about what it’s like as an irony, that as an editor, my speech was edited tonight?” exclaimed Oscar winningDuneJoe Walker, film editor, in the press room.
He immediately sought an answer.
“It went down well, I thought the speech. And yet I saw it go out, and they cut the beginning, the middle and the end of it,”Walker complained.
“And that’s an irony. We all stand together in the Academy with equal strength and I feel strongly that was a disservice to our eight categories that were not televised live,”It was stressed by the editor.
Walker’s winwas one of six for Warner Bros./Legendary’sDuneThey took home trophies in Production Design, Original Score (VFX), Sound and Cinematography. Four of these trophies were awarded.Dune’During the pre-recorded 4 pm hour prior to the live broadcast, s winners were awarded. Overall,DuneA great streak of success, all below the line, won six of its ten nominations.
“We understand the pressures on the Academy financially, but also I think we all stand together,”Walker “The statue of the Oscars has five reels which represent the five branches of the Academy as it started, and they are equal size and strength.”
Walker’s comments came much later in the evening. Some of the early winners who stepped backstage didn’t want to court controversy, even though it was the elephant in the room.
Doug Hemphill is one ofDune‘s Oscar winning five sound winners, answered when asked the question about the eight-shunned categories: “We’re here to honor the film and honor Denis (Villeneuve); that’s something for later.”
Ben Proudfoot won the Oscar for Best Short Doc. The Queen of BasketballLucy Harris, who was the first female to be drafted by a NBA team, was among the early nominees. His acceptance remarks were edited, and then inserted into the live broadcast.
However, backstage, he didn’t want that black cloud hanging over his Oscar glory. Asked if he’d consider making a speech on the topic, he told press, that the night was “about priorities. This is Lucy Harris’ Academy Award. I helped her. I gave her an assist. It’s her story. Details of how a TV awards show is produced can create a lot of grumpy people. We didn’t do the film for that, we made it for Lucy Harris.”
“I will continue to voice my concerns,”Proudfoot said, “There’s nothing less or small just because it’s short and I think Lucy Harris’ family will agree.”
“Look, obviously, ideally all the categories should get equal number of air time, and there’s no hierarchy of awards,”Riz Ahmed shared an Oscar win in Best Live Shorts forThe Long GoodbyeAneil Karia
“What’s important is that it doesn’t become the story, and we’re here to celebrate filmmakers like Aneil.”
“It would be weird if the story became ‘Oh, how come we didn’t get to celebrate these filmmakers enough?’ By making it a story, we’re adding to the problem. I think the focus here is the amazing film that Aneil’s made, the amazing craft that’s gone into all these categories,”The actor was added.
There were still those below-the line winners, whose categories were included in the live telecast. They wanted everyone to recall the horrors of the night. If their peers were to keep quiet, they would be loud.
Oscar winnerDuneDP Greig Fraser, who was in the show’s category, made it clear. “I want my particular collaborators in production design, editing, make-up and hair to be equally rewarded for the job they do.”
“I know we balance economics with awards shows, but films are made by sound recorders, editors, production designers; that’s how films are made. It seems odd to have some random relegation. Everyone in this crowd realizes and understands why this happens. We understand the economics. It’s up to us to change the economics. We want to encourage people watching these awards: I’m not an actor, director, but I want to be a make-up artist. I want that celebrity to apply for me in a job I want to go for.”
“They really need to think about it for next year; it’s cheating on people,”Oscar-winning actress Cruella Jenny Beavan, costume designer, was part of this show.
Many of the nominated craft people on the red carpet voiced their dissatisfaction with the eight categories being moved to a preshow. However, Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer and CEO, told Deadline that he thought the idea was a good one. “a step toward making it a better broadcast.”