The Academy to Not Broadcast Four Categories for First Time Ever

Scene from Cold War

The Academy Awards is officially less than two weeks away. However, it's still a year where every week brings some big news. Where most years would be content to just let audiences prognosticate who will win, it seems like The Academy has made it a challenge to slowly present controversial new rulings that fill the cinephiles more with dread than anticipation. So, what is in store this time around? Those predicting that categories would forgo being presented during the broadcast have finally been proven right to be skeptical as the Academy's increasingly incompetent president John Bailey has listed four categories that will appear in the broadcast, though not when you think they will. Yes, things are starting to evolve and change in ways more concrete, and none of it is particularly welcomed.

For many people, last summer marked a point of ridicule for Oscar rules. Where most summers are presented with small tweaks to branch rules, this year found three very controversial ideas that were to be put forward. Most of the ridicule came from the Best Popular Film Oscar category, which was laughed out of existence (though Bohemian Rhapsody's nomination suggests there's remnants still in the voting). The other big rule that many thought wouldn't come immediately was the shortened broadcast. It has been a harrowing journey to chronicle everything that has changed in the past month. First, only two of five Best Original Song nominees would perform. Then Lady Gaga persuaded them to have all five perform. Now there's talk that they're only performing 90 seconds of the song. Why? So that the broadcast could be cut down to three hours, that's why.

If that wasn't frustrating enough, the many other tweaks have threatened to take out several categories from being televised. This is the start of degrading categories to general audiences who otherwise wouldn't care what goes into making a film. What is cinematography? You won't see that on the Oscars telecast. What is editing? You won't see that on the Oscars, either. What you will see is something that is planning to look like a bleak and hollow husk of its former self. The Academy wants to appeal to the widest possible audience and should in a year that has produced several Best Picture nominees that are actually, you know, popular. Get people what they want with A Star is Born, Black Panther, and even Bohemian Rhapsody. Bailey complains (falsely) that not enough people watch the ceremony, so why not give spectacle instead of this nonsense stripped down show?

To summarize the new rules, Bailey sent out an e-mail to the various branches announcing what will be in place. Those fearing that categories will be cut to commercial breaks will be rewarded for their skepticism. You can watch the speeches in real time online via a streaming option, or you can wait until later in the ceremony when it will be edited into the show. While this sounds apt, just know that the same e-mail has claimed that those in the categories will have 90 seconds to get from their chairs to the podium and make a speech. Given how long Glenn Close is probably going to weep for finally winning an Oscar after 30 years, it's a bit absurd to play favoritism like this. Everyone deserves some time for the credit they put into the work.

The categories that will be excised from the ceremony and presented during commercial breaks are: Best Editing, Best Live Action Short, Best Cinematography, and Best Hair and Make-Up. On one hand, it's optimistic to think that this fiasco only pulled four categories from the show. However, it gets a little more cynical when you look deeper into things. For starters, it's another favoritism game and if you look at the nominees for these four categories... they're not the most popular films (save for Best Editing). Best Cinematography specifically has three foreign language films up for the award - a rather triumphant accomplishment that is now going to be ignored. Similarly, Best Hair and Make-Up's triage has below-the-radar films (besides Vice) in terms of popularity. It makes sense why you would cut it for that reason. However, this is a moment to celebrate the diversity in Hollywood. The fact that Bailey, a former cinematographer, is excising the Best Cinematography category when three of the nominees share a rare accomplishment is a bit boneheaded. 

Also, if these four get cut what's to stop the ceremony from whittling down still? As mentioned, these four categories have the additional pressure to run to the stage and give Oscar speeches IN 90 SECONDS. There's no good way to do that, especially if The Academy maintains the idea of sticking the lesser categories towards the back of the room. It's going to be a disaster, either having to keep commercial breaks running longer or rudely pushing these four winners off the stage. What is to stop this year's trial run from cutting out half of the categories next year? What's to stop them from just giving up and just putting every category into a strict run and thank style speech? It's all a headache, and only reflects a lack of communication and passion for the arts.

It's true that the Tony Awards have been doing this for years to some achievement. It's a decent template to follow, though even they have the additional problem of having more categories to present and thus filling every second with some form of action. Yes, it does diminish background jobs to some extent, but it keeps the show moving. If The Academy Awards want to keep going in this way (please don't), it's a good model to have. However, there's something strange. Last night was the Grammys, which usually is one of the weaker telecasts. However, the presence of Alicia Keys giving humble introductions made the whole ceremony flow smoothly. There was warmth and diversity in every step. It's something that The Oscars are missing this year. There's no sense of warmth or even focus. It's like last year's Emmy telecast which was dull as nails and the epitome of what The Oscars stand to look like. Nothing happened except awards, and it made for a dull evening. In a year of controversy, The Oscars have three major awards shows to pull influence from. It's just a matter of which they choose to.

The good news is that in a year that has felt like one trainwreck after another, The Academy has toned it down a bit. Only cutting four categories is a far cry from what was likely to happen. However, it's still an insult to how the show usually runs and seeks to diminish the hard work of everyone who worked behind the scenes on these movies. At some point it feels like only the Best Picture category will be broadcast live and allowed to be more than 90 seconds long. In a year where diversity stands to be recognized, marginalizing it to commercial breaks is rather offensive. From a capitalist standpoint, it makes sense that the less popular titles will get ignored. However, this isn't what The Academy has or should be about. They are allowed to make mistakes (see: Bohemian Rhapsody), but they need to learn from them as well. Nothing so far has suggested that they will learn much until they kick John Bailey out of the job of Academy President. Those scoffing at Cheryl Boone Isaacs dragging her feet with progressive initiatives will be crying now. She actually did her job of making The Academy more modern. Bailey's only worked to make them irrelevant.