NEW YORK (AP) – Following an outcry from many of the movie industry’s most prominent figures, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has reversed its decision to present four awards during the commercial breaks of this year’s Oscar broadcast.
The film academy on Friday said all 24 categories will be shown live, after all, at the 91st Academy Awards on February 24. On Monday, the academy had said that the winning speeches for cinematography, film editing, makeup and hairstyling and live-action short would be aired in a shortened, taped segment during the broadcast.
“Nine days until the showtime, still tweaking the script” the Academy tweeted Friday afternoon.
The academy has not addressed whether the change meant extending the show’s length, which organizers have said would be reduced to three hours.
Criticism of the move was fiercely contested by many of this year’s Oscar nominees, including “Roma” director Alfonso Cuaron and “BlacKkKlansman” filmmaker Spike Lee. The American Society of Cinematographers issued an open-letter, signed by Martin Scorsese, Brad Pitt and others, calling the academy’s plans an insult to the cinematic arts.