The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences have announced that four categories will be presented during commercial breaks when the 91st Oscars are broadcast by ABC on February 24th.
The surprise is which categories however. Rather than the lowest on the pecking order – all four short film categories and the two sound categories – the impact categories include some biggies. The four impacted are cinematography, film editing, live-action short and makeup & hairstyling.
The winners’ speeches will air later during the broadcast and will still be streamed live online. The Academy’s board of governors approved a plan in August to present some of the 24 awards categories during breaks in order to reduce the show’s running time to three hours.
At the time it had not been known how many and which categories would be presented under the new format, attracting criticism about it being a downgrade for some categories.
The Academy says the plan is to have 4-6 different categories selected on a rotating basis, in collaboration with the show producers, and those getting the abbreviated treatment this year will be guaranteed a regular spot on the 2020 broadcast. Trouble is only six of the Academy’s seventeen branches volunteered to have their respective awards presented under the new system.