The Oscars are set for a shakeup this year with the awards for cinematography, editing, make-up and hairstyling and live-action short films handed out during the ad breaks.
The latest Oscars news comes after a slew of recent missteps by the Academy as they try to improve their telecast.
In an attempt to shorten its telecast and win back viewers after a record-low of 26.5 million people tuned in last year, the Academy have decided to present four statues during ads breaks.
The four categories were announced this week, with “emotionally resonant” moments of the winners’ acceptance speeches to be shown later in the broadcast.
The Academy’s decision has not gone down well with Hollywood, with many Oscar winners and nominees publicly denouncing the move.
Two-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron, whose film Roma is up for 10 awards this year, tweeted: “In the history of CINEMA, masterpieces have existed without sound, without color (sic), without a story, without actors and without music”.
Cuaron was not the only one outraged by the move, with almost 500 actors, directors, composers, and filmmakers signing the American Society of Cinematographers’ open letter to the Academy.
The letter has been signed by the likes of George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, Robert De Niro, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt and Sofia Coppola, and says: “it’s not too late to have this decision reversed”.
The Academy replied with its own letter, stating the awards would not be presented in a way that lessens the achievements of the winners.
This year’s awards will also be without a host for the first time since 1989 after homophobic tweets by comedian Kevin Hart, who was set to host, were uncovered and he stepped down.
