Guillermo Del Toro Responds to Cutting Oscar Categories From Live Telecast

CBR

Guillermo Del Toro Has A Heartfelt Message For The Oscars

Guillermo del Toro has responded to the decision to cut four categories from the 91st Academy Awards' live telecast.

Between the backlash over a proposed "popular films" category and the loss of host Kevin Hart, this year's Academy Awards have already experienced significant controversy. But less than two weeks before Hollywood's biggest night, the Oscars have now upset some members of the creative community.

Each year changes are made to the format of the live telecast, and with the Academy's board of governors committed to a three-hour broadcast means some categories will be presented during commercial breaks: cinematography, film editing, live-action short, and makeup and hairstyling. The winners' speeches will be shown later in the telecast.

Guillermo del Toro, the Academy Award-winning director of The Shape of Water, was quick to express the importance of cinematography and editing to filmmaking. "Cinematography and Editing are at the very heart of our craft," he wrote on Twitter. "They are not inherited from a theatrical tradition or a literary tradition: they are cinema itself."

The decision was announced on Monday, the eve of the beginning of final voting, by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President John Bailey in an email to Academy members: "Viewing patterns for the Academy Awards are changing quickly in our current multi-media world, and our show must also evolve to successfully continue promoting motion pictures to a worldwide audience."

The four cut categories will also be streamed on Oscar.com.

The 91st Academy Awards will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.