OSCARS Postpone Awards Ceremony Until April
By Allyson Vannatta, Senior Writer
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the annual awards show will be postponed two months until April 25, 2021.
Due to the delay, Oscars eligibility period for movies will be extended to February 28, 2021.
Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement:
“For over a century, movies have played an important role in comforting, inspiring and entertaining us during the darkest of times. They certainly have this year. Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our Awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone’s control. This coming Oscars and the opening of our new museum will mark an historic moment, gathering movie fans around the world to unite through cinema.”
The Academy confirmed that the show will still be held “at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood” and “will air live on ABC,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
They also emphasized that, “The intent going forward is to ultimately return to awarding excellence for films released in the January-December calendar year.”
Last week, the AMPAS announced new rules for the awards show.
Academy Aperture 2025 begins a new phase where the Oscars will have a set number of 10 Best Picture nominees. This replaces the old rule that allowed for up to 10 nominees, but having 10 wasn’t required.
Another new phase deals with The Academy’s streaming site. There will now be a quarterly viewing process to, “level the playing field,” so movies can be seen all year round instead of the end-of-the-year crunch.
The phase includes an increase in including diverse leaders in Hollywood, including Movieguide® Award Winner DeVon Franklin.
Deadline reports, “AMPAS in conjunction with the Producers Guild of America will create a task force of industry leaders, appointed by AMPAS president David Rubin, and including a 2020 Committee chair DeVon Franklin, to implement and develop new representation and inclusion standards for Oscars eligibility.”
All of these provisions will take effect for the 94th Oscars (2021).
The initiative also sets a cap on term limits for Academy governors.
Movieguide® previously reported on the temporary rule changes the Academy put in place due to COVID-19.
“The major change allows for a tweak in movie eligibility now that the majority of theaters around the world are shuttered due to virus restrictions.”
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