This year's Oscars will have eight craft categories pre-recorded, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the biggest union, representing behind-the-scenes workers in North America, has joined the chorus of criticism.
As part of the awards broadcast on March 27, eight categories will be shown retroactively: film editing, makeup and hairstyling, production design, and animated shorts.
When it comes to behind-the-scenes positions like those of the IATSE's President Matthew Loeb, "workers are often overlooked, despite their critical role in every production," he said in a statement. Since its inception in 1929, the Academy Awards have been the sole place where film and television's greatest minds assemble to recognize one another's accomplishments in their industry, motivating millions who tune in to the TV broadcast. We don't think it's beneficial to deviate from this essential goal for certain crafts and categories but not for others. The Academy made arrangements to include these categories in the broadcast; nonetheless, our opinion is that the awards should place on equal footing all the roles that make movies possible. The victors receive the same praise if they take home the same prize. I urge the Academy to reexamine this matter.
In a bid to make the presentation more television-friendly, the Academy stated last month that it would not present every category live on air in a bid to make the show more television-friendly. Instead, the prizes would be presented one hour before the live broadcast and included in the show.
Will Packer, the show's producer this year, said in an interview with Variety that he believes the choice was the correct one. This year's Academy Awards are at a critical juncture, and we need to recognize that. This year, more than any other, will serve as a preview of what this exhibition will become in the future.
However, the industry's response to the new Oscar format was strong. The choice has also been criticized by actors like Guillermo Del Toro and Jane Campion.
Former winners and current candidates join senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay in Variety's special Artisans report to voice the general view that their work wasn't as respected as they thought it was. As well as Randy Thom, editor Myron Kerstein, who was nominated this year for "Tick, Tick... Boom!," hairstylist Mia Neal, who won the 2020 Academy Award for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," editor and composer John Ottman, who won the 2019 Academy Award for "Bohemian Rhapsody," and director Ben Proudfoot, who was nominated for a documentary short subject for "The Queen of Basketball," joined Tangcay.
Thom was offended when someone at the academy claimed or implied that they knew certain crafts were more essential and deserved more respect than others.