Guillermo del Toro says a year when many Oscar nominees were working under life-risking pandemic conditions is not the time to change how the categories are honored during the live telecast.
The Oscar-winning director shared his feelings on the Film Academy’s recently announced decision to not traditionally telecast eight categories during the live ceremony, including film editing and original score, during his Hollywood Critics Association Filmmaking Achievement Award acceptance speech on Monday night.
“Most of the [movies] that are here tonight were done against many, many difficult odds and with a lot of people — we don’t do them alone,” del Toro said towards the end of his speech. “We do them together, and the people that made them with us did it risking everything in a pandemic, showing up.”
After acknowledging what made movie production for most of this year’s Oscar-nominees particularly unique, he went on to encourage other Hollywood figures to use their voice to speak out against the move.
“I must say, this — if any year was the year to think about it, this was not the year to not hear their names live at the Oscars. This is the year to say it and say it loud,” he said.
Adding, “I have to advocate for all of us, as many of you that have a voice and that can say we should not do that. We should not do it here, we shouldn’t do it ever, but not this year. We are together in this.”
Just a day after del Toro’s comments, The Academy’s approach to honoring the eight category winners during the 2022 ceremony was clarified. Counter to some interpretations of the original announcement, the Oscars will present all 23 categories in front of the full house of the Dolby Theater, with the winners acceptance speeches airing on ABC during the telecast in addition to being shared on social media.
The nominees will be read from the stage with winners delivering their acceptance speech in traditional fashion, before being escorted to the press room. For the purposes of the telecast, footage of the eight Oscars winners’ speeches will be woven into the live telecast and visible on a large screen inside the Dolby. However, honorees walking to the stage or unfolding their thank you list will be cut from the telecast edit.
Source: Hollywood
