For many, the Oscars are the pinnacle of Awards SZN, mostly because it’s considered the most prestigious of film awards. However, the whole thing has more or less stayed the same in its nearly 100 years. On the one hand, this says almost everything you need to know about how well distributed awards are between demographics like sex and race. On the other, though, it means almost any change would be welcome, if only because it’s something to talk about on a topic that can, at times, become pretty bland really quickly.
On Wednesday morning, the Academy announced three new changes that will get film buffs to at least look up from their Letterboxd accounts: a new category, a new airdate, and a new approach to the telecast.
Change is coming to the #Oscars. Here's what you need to know:
- A new category is being designed around achievement in popular film.
- We've set an earlier airdate for 2020: mark your calendars for February 9.
- We're planning a more globally accessible, three-hour telecast. pic.twitter.com/oKTwjV1Qv9
Let’s break down each of these changes. The first, and perhaps the most interesting, will add a category designed to recognize outstanding achievement in popular film. Per a message sent to its members, reproduced by The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy has yet to finalize specific eligibility requirements for these so-called popular movies, so key details “will be forthcoming.”
In any case, though, this sounds like an attempt to modernize the Academy’s reach and diversify the kinds of movies they choose to honor. It’s unclear what exactly constitutes a “popular” movie and how nominations in this category might affect eligibility in others. Still, possible candidates for these might be, for example, superhero films, which typically fall way short of the elements the Academy awards in a category like Best Picture but still hold massive popular appeal and can (and often do) also achieve critical success.
The second update is merely a scheduling change for 2020. The new official airdate of the 92nd Oscars awards is February 9, 2020, two weeks before the expected date of February 23. Note that the 2019 awards will still air later in the month on February 19. The change means little to most people, though it does imply there will be less time between Oscars and the Golden Globes, which are usually held in early January. In 2019, the Golden Globes will air on January 6.
The third and final change the Academy announced today addresses one of the most annoying aspects of the Oscars: its length. The Oscars have never adhered to strict timing schedule, and in the past have lasted anywhere from one hour and 44 minutes (1972) to four hours and nine minutes (1999). Last year, the telecast lasted just under four hours.
Now, the Oscars will commit to a three-hour telecast in an attempt to create “a more accessible Oscars for our viewers worldwide.” The way they intend to pull this off is interesting, though, and affects those of us who look forward to watching how creative actors avoid getting played offstage after long speeches. Still to be determined select categories out of the total 24 will be presented live in the Dolby Theater during commercial breaks, and the “winning moments” will be edited and inserted later in the broadcast. Previously, the vast majority of the Oscars was entirely live.
While the practical impact of these changes remains to be seen, we can all agree that whatever the Academy does, it will literally never top the best Oscars moment of all time (which wasn’t and could never have been scripted): Warren Beatty and Faye Dunawaye’s catastrophic Best Picture mixup back in 2016.
