Oscars: Academy reverses decision after protests; all awards to be presented live

AWARDS-OSCARS/GOVERNORS BALL PREVIEW

After much backlash, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences reversed its controversial decision to hand out four Oscar awards during the live telecast's commercial breaks. In an official statement on Friday, the Academy said it has heard the feedback from its membership regarding the Oscar presentation of four awards —Cinematography, Film Editing, Live Action Short, and Makeup and Hairstyling. “All Academy Awards will be presented without edits, in our traditional format. We look forward to Oscar Sunday, February 24,” the statement read.

Earlier this week the Academy's decision to give out four of the awards during commercial breaks to keep the telecast down to three hours, was met with widespread criticism. The Academy had said that the winners' speeches would be aired later, and that these award categories would be rotated every year.

The film industry, however, was quick to hit back. Actors and technicians took to social media to criticise the Academy's decision to keep out categories like cinematography and film editing that were integral to art of filmmaking. Over 200 cinematographers, actors and filmmakers including Bradley Cooper, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorcese, George Clooney, Christopher Nolan and Seth Rogen signed an open letter to the Academy, urging the body to reverse its decision.

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