The Oscars have introduced another potential controversial decision as they have decided to not broadcast eight of the awards during the live telecast. The 94th Academy Awards are set to air on ABC on March 27, 2022, and the major films nominated include West Side Story, The Power of the Dog, Don't Look Up, and Dune, just to name a few. In contrast to the last three ceremonies, the ceremony will have a host for this telecast in the form of Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science is certainly in a particular bind, as they are coming off of the previous year's ceremony, which had the lowest viewership numbers in the ceremony's history with under 10 million viewers. Every year, the Academy experiments with decisions to shake up the ceremony, but oftentimes the decision backfires, like holding off Best Actor to the end of last year's awards, which resulted in the broadcast ending without a final award as Anthony Hopkins was not present to accept it. Instead of allowing for major trailers for films like Thor: Love and Thunder or Jurassic World: Dominion to air during the telecast akin to the Super Bowl, the Academy continues to tweak the ceremony, and they seem to have made another decision that will leave many unhappy.
According to THR, The Academy has made the decision to not broadcast eight of the categories or acceptances during this year's ceremony. The eight categories - documentary short, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound - will take place inside the Dolby Theatre an hour before the live telecast commences and will be recorded and then edited into the subsequent live broadcast. This is the second time the Academy has attempted this, as it was previously mentioned in 2018 but was canceled due to industry backlash.
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