Multiple high-profile filmmakers and creative talents including James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro and Kathleen Kennedy have joined the growing chorus of voices asking the Academy to change its plans for the March 27th telecast of the Oscars.
In a letter (via Variety) sent today to Academy President David Rubin and signed by over seventy film professionals, it is said the plan to present eight awards during the pre-telecast hour will ‘demean’ these crafts and give them ‘second-class citizens’ status.
Those eight categories include original score, film editing, production design, makeup and hairstyling, sound, documentary short, live-action short and animated short.
Indeed nearly half of those who’ve signed the letter are famed composers including John Williams, Alexandre Desplat, Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, John Powell, Ramin Djawadi, John Debney, and Hildur Guonadottir.
The letter comes as Steven Spielberg spoke about the controversial changes to the Oscars telecast recently, expressing his displeasure (via Deadline):
“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… 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.
When I look back and I think without [composer] 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 Academy continues to insist nominees in those categories will be announced, and the winner’s acceptance speech aired in edited form, as part of the three-hour ABC show which is scheduled to air on March 27th.
