Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino lead protest over recent Oscar decision
Earlier this week, several highly respected filmmakers from across the industry wrote an open letter to protest the Academy’s recent decision to give away some key awards during the commercial breaks of The Oscars telecast. These four awards include Best Hair & Makeup, Best Live Action Short, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.
Yesterday afternoon, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino were joined by filmmakers including Spike Lee, Damien Chazelle, Ang Lee, Reed Moreno, and many, many others who penned an open letter to the Academy, (via The Playlist). The letter doesn’t mince words, calling the decision “nothing less than an insult to those of us who have devoted our lives and passions to our chosen profession.”
The letter closed quoting a line that Seth Rogen posted on Twitter, stating “What better way to celebrate achievements in film than to not publicly honor the people whose job it is to literally film things.” Rogen also signed the letter in solidarity.
What better way to celebrate achievements in film than to not publicly honor the people’s who’s job it is to literally film things.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) February 12, 2019
The Academy, however, was unmoved by the letter and fired back a response about an hour later. They opened by stating that “we’d like to assure you that no award category at the 91st Oscars ceremony will be presented in a manner that depicts the achievements of its nominees and winners as less than any others.” They then pulled the old ‘fake news’ excuse, calling the discussion around their decision “the result of inaccurate reporting and social media posts” leading to “a chain of misinformation that has understandably upset many Academy members.”
They did go on to clarify that all the speeches from winners in those four categories will be aired later in the telecast, but time spent “walking to the stage and off” will be edited out. They went on to explain that this will be a permanent feature, and every year four categories will be getting similar treatment. Additionally, the four categories chosen this year will be exempt from the rotation next year.
Between this and the inability to find a host for the telecast, this year’s Oscars has already been mired in controversy, and we’re still more than a week away from the telecast. Which, by the way, will air on ABC Sunday, February 24.
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
