In a move that’s rattled Hollywood, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Tuesday that eight Oscar categories will not be presented live at this year’s ceremony. Instead, those trophies will be handed out in the hour before the show, with the recorded speeches then being “edited [and] folded seamlessly” into ABC’s broadcast of the 2022 Oscars. Unsurprisingly, one of the races not affected by the change is Best Visual Effects, which this year recognizes five box office blockbusters: “Dune,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “No Time to Die” and “Free Guy.” (“Dune” is predicted to win this race, according to Gold Derby’s racetrack odds.)
The eight Oscar categories that will now be taped earlier in the evening are: film editing, makeup & hairstyling, production design, score, sound, documentary short, animated short and live action short.
The 15 unaffected categories that will play out like usual are: picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, adapted screenplay, original screenplay, cinematography, costume design, song, visual effects, documentary feature, animated feature and international feature.
SEE 2022 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees in all 23 categories at the 94th Academy Awards
“To be clear, all the nominees in ALL awards categories will be identified on air and ALL winners’ acceptance speeches will be featured on the live broadcast,” reiterated Academy President David Rubin in a letter to the members first obtained by our sister site The Hollywood Reporter. “Every awarded filmmaker and artist in every category will still have the celebratory ‘Oscar moment’ they deserve on the stage of the Dolby, facing an enrapt audience.”
The move comes as the ratings for the Oscars continue to plunge year after year. Rubin said the change was necessary “in order to provide more time and opportunity for audience entertainment and engagement through comedy, musical numbers, film clip packages and movie tributes.” It remains to be seen how much time will actually be saved by rewarding eight trophies earlier and then editing them into the broadcast, a process that has long been employed by the Tony Awards.
Rubin also took a swipe at last year’s ceremony, which received universal negative critiques when it ended with the Best Actor category instead of Best Picture. “For the audience at home, the show’s flow does not change, though it will become tighter and more electric with this new cadence, and the live broadcast should end – yes, with the Best Picture category – at the three-hour mark,” he noted.
For all you “Spider-Man” fans out there who’ll be tuning into the 2022 Oscars to see whether “No Way Home” wins the visual effects race, nothing changes for you, either. The #1 movie of the past three years will still find out its fate on the main broadcast, as opposed to earlier in the evening. And in case you’re wondering, it’s been 17 years since a Marvel movie last won Best Visual Effects, which was “Spider-Man 2” (2004).
Marvel movies have long been shunted by the academy as nothing but popcorn fare. Indeed, they’re not nearly as pretentious or artsy as your typical Oscar nominees. Only one such film, “Black Panther” (2018), managed to reap a Best Picture nomination. The visual effects branch has been the kindest to the comic book franchise, with 12 Marvel Cinematic Universe entries earning bids, including “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Shang-Chi” this year. In addition, three Marvel movies not within the MCU have been recognized here: “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014), the original “Spider-Man” (2002) and its winning sequel “Spider-Man 2” (2004).
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