A Variety article courtesy of columnist Marc Malkin claims that “the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering postponing” the Oscars, and this is according to multiple sources.
Are you kidding me?! Instead of just embracing the endless array of streaming content available at our fingertips during this crisis, an oasis of counterprogramming that includes “The King of Staten Island,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” “Bad Education,” “The Assistant,” “The Invisible Man,” among others, the Academy is rather opting to call it a year? Did they not get the memo that Netflix has a hell of an Oscar-bait lineup ready to go?
Just imagine the ripple effect a canceled/postponed Oscars could have on the industry. The fall festivals, whether digital or live, would be devastated by this, ditto the already-screened contenders so far this year. Christopher Nolan is desperately trying to get “Tenet” out by August, and no Oscars would basically mean that movie is further pushed down to an undetermined date.
If anything, as COVID-19 rages on, why can’t we have the Oscars in some form? The coming Oscar season, in the face of defiance, should be celebrated. With things starting to open up a bit, does this mean the Academy has basically thrown in the towel and is saying, “Who are we kidding here? Movie theaters will be one of the last things to open and it could be a while before any sort of normalcy starts creeping back in…”? Why can’t they just adapt to the environment? Are they too scared to fully embrace streaming? Has Spielberg had his say about this at the Board meetings?
The Oscars are currently set for Feb. 28, 2021, on ABC. “It’s likely they’ll be postponed,” one of Malkin’s sources, familiar with the matter, tells him. Godspeed.