The new Fan Favorite category, which will be determined by Twitter users, is not the only change coming to the Academy Awards ceremony set to take place on March 27. In order to shorten the length of the ceremony (and, hopefully, attract more viewers), the Oscars are cutting the presentation of eight categories during the televised event. The award for film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, sound, production design, documentary short, animated short, and live action short will be given out an hour before the ceremony begins. The winners will be edited into the live telecast.
The Oscars wouldn’t be the only prestigious awards show to announce some of its categories off the telecast. The Grammys award more golden gramophones in their pre-ceremony than they do in their main telecast, while the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which recognizes categories like makeup and cinematography, is aired on an entirely different network than the Emmys: FXX instead of CBS.
Twitter users did not take kindly to this, pointing out that an awards show that aims to reward good work in film should not remove the important behind-the-scenes players. The American Cinema Editors Board of Directors issued an official statement voicing their disdain.
#AcademyAwards #FilmEditors pic.twitter.com/r72GRhQK9i
— AmericanCinemaEditor (@ACEFilmEditors) February 23, 2022
Some Twitter users are even stating that they will boycott the ceremony as a way to protest this decision.
I'm planning to boycott the Oscars in solidarity with production designers, composers, hair & makeup artists, and editors who supported us when cinematography was on the chopping block.
Film is a collaborative effort that cannot succeed without the hard work of each department. https://t.co/Fk8DbTTh51
— carnival of lols (@elleschneider) February 23, 2022
The only real way to wake @TheAcademy up is to boycott the telecast. If they actually go through with this, no one should watch. One of my favorite films of all-time is up for 10 #Oscars this year, but I won’t waste my time tuning in if every category isn’t getting equal respect.
— Johnny Sobczak (@JohnnySobczak) February 23, 2022
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This wouldn’t be the first time that viewers boycott the ceremony. The Oscars have been boycotted by audiences and nominees alike, most recently in 2016 when the #OscarsSoWhite movement aimed to highlight how few POC garnered nominations each year.
The removal of these categories is puzzling, especially for a ceremony that will be hosted by three people instead of one. Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall will be leading the ceremony. Perhaps the Oscars would get their desired viewership numbers if they stuck to their old antics — like organizing a “Men in Black” inspired dance routine to announce the winner for Best Original Score, a category that will now be featured off-air
In response to the announcement that the Academy Awards will no longer announce "Best Original Score" on-air, I want to remind everyone that in the 90s they used to announce the scores through choreographed dance routines.
Here is Men in Blackpic.twitter.com/1wToOLXSrx— Ben Crew (@BenjaminCrew1) February 23, 2022
