The Oscars have issued a mandate that there will be no Zoom acceptance speeches during this year’s telecast, but that decision is causing alarm among nominees, who are worried they won’t be able to make it to Los Angeles to attend the ceremony in person.
According to a report in Variety, studio executives, awards strategists, personal publicists, and the stars and filmmakers who are up for awards this year are unhappy with the firm stance taken by Oscar telecast producers Steven Soderbergh, Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher. They believe that it’s unsafe and impractical to ask nominees to show up in person in the midst of a global pandemic.
Multiple nominees will likely be unable to attend as they live overseas, where COVID rates are climbing, or are filming movies or TV shows in production hubs like Australia or the UK.
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However, despite its advantages, Zoom calls have been one of the biggest hurdles in pulling off a smooth virtual event. From Daniel Kaluuya’s (Judas and the Black Messiah) muted audio reaction at the Golden Globes to Nicole Beharie (Miss Juneteenth) staring at a screen for about 10 seconds because of a delay before she heard her name announced on the Gotham Awards, there have been many mishaps. Nonetheless, the decision to not allow Zoom speeches is now being seen as exclusionary.
There’s a strong possibility that the entire slate of nominees in some categories, particularly the Best International Feature race, might not have anyone attending in Los Angeles. With fewer people on hand to pick up their statues, the broadcast could be lighter on the rousing acceptance speeches from major stars that make the Oscars engaging ceremony on TV.
The 93rd Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on 26th April, 2021.
