Variety will shine a spotlight on the controversy over changes to this year’s Academy Awards telecast with a virtual panel featuring Oscar winners and current nominees in the award categories that will be removed from the live telecast.
“Variety Artisans: Special Report” will be available for viewing Friday, March 4 on Variety.com. Moderated by Jazz Tangcay, Senior Artisans Editor for Variety, the lineup features past Oscar winners and current nominees in the eight craft- and technology-focused categories that will no longer be presented live as part of ABC’s March 27 telecast of the 94th Academy Awards.
“Variety pioneered deep coverage of the artisans of the entertainment world back in the 1990s. Every year we’ve increased our commitment to insightful crafts coverage and broadening readers’ understanding of its importance to the entertainment arts,” said Steven Gaydos, Variety’s executive vice president of global content. “Behind the current headlines about the 2022 Oscar telecast changes, there are compelling personal stories and stunning achievements from vital creative contributors who are essential to the filmmaking process.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stirred anger and frustration in the creative community with its decision late last month to eliminate the categories from the three-and a half-hour ceremony in order to make more time for other segments.
On Feb. 22, AMPAS confirmed that the awards for Documentary (Short Subject), Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Short Film (Animated), Short Film (Live Action), and Sound will be presented at the Dolby Theater before the start of the live show and “folded seamlessly” into the telecast.
In response to the telecast changes, Variety will publish the full acceptance speeches of winners in each of the eight categories in its March 30 Academy Awards wrap-up issue.
Panelists on board for “Variety Artisans: Special Report” include:
- Editor Myron Kerstein, nominated this year for “Tick, Tick … Boom”
- Hair department head Mia Neal, an Oscar winner for 2020’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
- Editor and composer John Ottman, who won for editing for 2019’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”
- Director Ben Proudfoot, nominated for documentary short subject for “The Queen of Basketball”
- Sound editor Randy Thom, who won for 2004’s “The Incredibles”
Next week, Tangcay will also present the 9th annual Variety Artisans Awards at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The March 7 event celebrates the creative collaborations that are crucial to filmmaking and storytelling.
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